Brussels in Lockdown after Terror Threat Level Is Raised to Maximum

Military vehicles commonly sighted in Brussels on Saturday
as city moves to maximum terror alert level.

THE GUARDIAN: Shops close, football is cancelled and people are urged to stay home as army patrols streets in face of ‘serious and imminent threat’ of Paris-style attack

Brussels has been blanketed with security after the Belgian government raised alert levels on terrorist threats to the maximum, warning of the “serious and imminent” possibility of a Paris-style attack involving firearms and explosives.

The city’s metro system was closed down on Saturday until Sunday afternoon at the earliest as shops shut, shopping malls were partly shuttered, professional football was cancelled, concerts were called off and music venues, museums, and galleries closed their doors for the weekend.

The heightened alert level followed meetings of the national security and counter-terror services late on Friday, which concluded, on the basis of undisclosed evidence, that a major attack was being planned in Brussels. The rest of the country was put on a level three alert, one level short of the maximum. » | Ian Traynor in Brussels | Saturday, November 21, 2015