About 190 Terrorism-Related Cases Launched in Belgium Since January

Belgian federal prosecutors have opened 189 cases related to terrorist activities since the beginning of this year, or about 23 cases per month, which is close to the record set in 2015, local media reported on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – According to De Tijd newspaper, prosecutors focused on terrorism suspects who had never left Belgium rather than those who went to fight abroad.

In 2015, 313 terrorism cases were opened, largely due to the fact that Belgian nationals were leaving to fight in Syria alongside terrorist groups.

In April, Belgian media reported, citing the Interior Ministry, that the police suspected that 18,874 people had links to terrorists, 2,248 of which were registered in police databases in connection with strong radicalization.

The terror threat level in Belgium remains high since March 22, 2016, when a series of blasts hit Brussels Airport and a metro station located near the EU institutions in the center of the city, killing 35 and injuring about 340 people. The Islamic State terrorist group, outlawed in many countries including Russia, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

In June 2017, a man suspected of planning to detonate a bomb was shot at one of Brussels' main railway stations.