Two Suspects Arrested in Belgium Over New Year’s Eve Terror Attack Plot

Belgian police arrested two people suspected of planning an attack on New Year's Eve, local media reported Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — During house searches in different parts of the country on Sunday and Monday, six people were arrested in total, however four of them were swiftly released, the RTBF news outlet reported.

"The items seized during searches, including computer equipment, military uniforms and Islamic State propaganda material, are currently under investigation. Neither weapons nor explosives were discovered," police said in a communique, as cited by the media.

The two arrested individuals were charged with participating in a terrorist group and plotting a bomb attack. One of them is believed to be both leader and recruiter of a terrorist cell, the media reported.

The searches were not linked to the attacks in Paris, which killed 130 on November 13, according to the media. The Daesh (Islamic State) terrorist group, which claimed the responsibility for the attacks in Paris, is outlawed in many states including Russia.

Belgium has decided to retain the highest terror alert level in place until the end of 2015, after it was revealed that several attackers and an alleged organizer of the Paris attacks were either born or lived in Belgium. Belgian police has conducted dozens of counter-terrorism raids in different cities across the country in their hunt for the Paris attacks' suspects.