Two teenagers arrested in Belgium on suspicion of terrorist plot

The office of Belgium’s federal prosecutor says two underage people suspected of plotting what has been labelled a terror attack have been arrested.

Aged 16 and 17, the suspects were arrested on 31 October after raids in the cities of Eupen and La Calamine, located in the province of Liège. The prosecutor’s office said they were suspected of “attempted terrorist assassination and participation in a terrorist organisation.”

The two minors have been placed in a youth protection centre. According to Belgian broadcaster RTBF, the suspects had recorded a video of allegiance to Islamic State and were suspected of planning a stabbing attack against police officers.

The arrests were made before Monday’s attack in Vienna, where a man who had previously tried to join Isis went on a rampage in the Austrian capital and fatally shot four people before being killed by police.

Four years ago, coordinated attacks killed 32 people and injured hundreds more at Brussels’ Zaventem airport and on the city’s metro system. Belgian authorities have since thwarted several terror plots.