Brussels lockdown continues as Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam eludes capture
Brussels will be put on lockdown again today after police failed to capture the prime suspect in its hunt for the people behind the Paris attacks 10 days ago.
Belgian police have arrested 16 more people overnight, but Salah Abdeslam – the 26-year-old brother of a man who blew himself up in a Parisian cafe during the attacks, is not among them, local media reports. There have been numerous reported sightings of the man, including suggestions he has been heading towards the German border.
As a result, the Belgian capital enters its third day of being on lockdown. The metro and many shops will be closed, as will schools. Businesses have been advised not to encourage staff into work, after the Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel warned yesterday that a Paris-style attack was likely.
The country's terror threat is at the highest level, with Michel saying the potential attack would be "serious and imminent".
"What we fear is an attack similar to the one in Paris, with several individuals who could possibly launch several attacks at the same time in multiple locations," he said at a news conference last night.
Separately, UK prime minister David Cameron has travelled to Paris to meet with French President Francois Hollande to "pay tribute to the courage of the French people following the terrorist attacks".