Earlier in the day, Brussels raised its terror alert level from 2, "average," to 3, "serious," soon after the investigation into the deadly terror attacks in Paris showed that the perpetrators of these attacks could be linked to Belgium.
The number of soldiers deployed in the country to provide police officers with necessary support is expected to be increased from 220 to 520, the Belgian Le Soir daily reported.
On November 13, a series of coordinated attacks at various locations in the French capital left about 130 dead and 350 injured. At least seven people have been detained in Brussels over alleged links to the Paris terrorist attacks. A manhunt is underway for the alleged mastermind of the Paris massacres, Belgian-born Abdelhamid Abaaoud, thought to be in Syria.
This year, the level of terrorist threat in Belgium was raised to 3 in January, soon after the counter-terrorist raids in the eastern Belgian town of Verviers, when police stormed a hideout where radical Islamists prepared attacks against European citizens. The threat level was decreased in March.
