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Paris attacks: Five more people arrested in raids connected to the terrorist shootings at two houses in Brussels

Prosecutors say the raids were carried out on the orders of an investigating judge after an analysis of phone records 

Caroline Mortimer
Monday 21 December 2015 16:38 GMT
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An armed police at the scene of the police raid in Laeken, Brussels on Sunday
An armed police at the scene of the police raid in Laeken, Brussels on Sunday (Reuters)

Belgian authorities say they have arrested five people after two days of raids related to the Paris attacks.

On Sunday evening, a house in Brussels was searched on orders from an investigating judge specialising in terrorism - with two brothers and their friend being taken into custody.

The following morning another house was raided in the Laeken district of the city - leading to two further arrests.

The prosecutor’s office said an analysis of phone records lead to Sunday’s search and it was linked to a string of co-ordinated terrorist attacks across Paris which left 130 people dead last month.

Authorities say no weapons or explosives were found at either residence and did not identify those in custody.

Isis claimed responsibility for the mostly deadly terror attack on Western soil since 9/11.

Belgium's security services came under intense international security when it emerged that the deprived east Brussels suburb of Molenbeek was home to two of the Paris suspects.

The suburb was also home to the Moroccan national Ayoub el-Khazzani who attempted to open fire on a high-speed train in France earlier this summer and French-Algerian Mehdi Nemmouche who killed four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels last year.

Since the attacks, France - which is still under a state of emergency - has tightened security on the border with its north eastern neighbour.

People travelling on high-speed trains from France to Belgium and the Netherlands must now pass through metal detectors but this has not been extended to slow trains between the countries.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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