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A 22-year-old man has been arrested in Brussels on suspicion of carrying out terror attacks as part of the investigation into last month’s massacres in Paris.
The Belgian federal prosecutor named the man as Ayoub B, saying he was detained on Wednesday during a police raid in Molenbeek, where several of the Isis militants who carried out the attacks in France had links.
“A judge issued an arrest warrant this morning (Thursday) for carrying out terror attacks and participation in the activities of a terrorist group,” a spokesperson said.
Ten mobile phones are being examined after being seized from a home which was first searched three days after the 13 November massacres. No weapons or explosives were found.
Fugitive Salah Abdeslam, believed to be the only surviving attacker, lived in Molenbeek with his brother Brahim, who blew himself up on the Boulevard Voltaire.
The Belgian “mastermind” of the atrocity, Isis militant Abdelhamid Abaaoud, also grew up in the district.
The property searched on Wednesday was initially thought to have links to Abdeslam, with the Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper reporting “strong evidence” was found in November that indicated he may have spent time there.
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Ayoub B is the 10th person to be arrested in the Belgian investigation and will appear in court within five days.
The federal prosecutor’s office accused the two men of being part of a terror cell after seizing military-style uniforms, computer equipment and Islamist propaganda.
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