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Another Arrest by Belgium in Paris Inquiry; 2 Held Longer in New Year’s Plot Belgium Arrests 6 and Holds 2 Longer Over New Year’s Eve Plot
(about 1 hour later)
LONDON — The authorities in Belgium on Thursday announced the arrest of a man on terrorism charges in connection with their investigation of the Paris attacks, as a court prolonged the detention of two other men accused of plotting an assault in Brussels on New Year’s Eve. LONDON — The authorities in Belgium announced the arrests of six men on Thursday, and a court prolonged the detention of two others, in connection with a plot to attack the capital, Brussels, on New Year’s Eve.
The suspect, Ayoub Bazzarouj, a 22-year-old Belgian citizen, was arrested after the search of a house in the Molenbeek section of Brussels on Wednesday. The six men were arrested after searches of seven houses in the Brussels area, amid growing scrutiny of a motorcycle club called the Kamikaze Riders.
His arrest came as two men already in custody — identified in Belgian news reports as Mohamed Karay, 27, and Saïd Souati, 30 — had their detention extended in connection with a plot, along with other security concerns, that prompted the Brussels City Council on Wednesday night to cancel the New Year’s Eve fireworks that traditionally take place at the Place de Brouckère. “There are persons in the group who have been linked to Sharia4Belgium,” a radical Salafist organization that the Belgian government has designated as a terrorist group, a spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office in Brussels said.
Mr. Karay and Mr. Souati were said to be members of a motorcycle club called the Kamikaze Riders. The group’s Facebook page suggests that the members, all Muslims from the Brussels region, attend motor sports events, but it makes no mention of radicalization, extremism or violence. The group’s Facebook page suggests that the members, all Muslims from the Brussels region, attend motor sports events, but it makes no mention of radicalization, extremism or violence.
A spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office in Brussels said, however, that “there are persons in the group who have been linked to Sharia4Belgium,” a radical Salafist organization that the Belgian government has designated as a terrorist group. One of the six men, Said Abu Shahid, has a YouTube account with videos supporting the Islamic State.
The authorities also said on Thursday that they had conducted seven house searches in the Brussels area and had taken in six people for questioning, as part of their scrutiny of the Kamikaze Riders. One of them, Said Abu Shahid, has a YouTube account filled with Islamic State messages. The two men arrested this week whose detentions were extended on Thursday have been identified in Belgian news reports as Mohamed Karay, 27, and Saïd Souati, 30.
The house in Molenbeek where Mr. Bazzarouj was arrested, on Rue Delaunoy, is where Salah Abdeslam, a fugitive and the only direct participant in the Nov. 13 Paris attacks who is still believed to be alive, is thought to have hidden after the attacks. The plot, along with other security concerns, prompted the Brussels City Council on Wednesday night to cancel the New Year’s Eve fireworks that traditionally take place at the Place de Brouckère, a short distance from the city’s central square, known as the Grand Place or Grote Markt.
About 10 cellphones were seized during the search that led to Mr. Bazzarouj’s arrest, and they are being examined. No weapons or explosives were found. Also on Thursday, the authorities announced that they had charged a Belgian man as part of their investigation of the Paris terrorist attacks that killed 130 people. He is one of nine who have been detained as part of that investigation.
The man was “charged with terrorist murder and participation at the activities of a terrorist organization,” according to a statement from the federal prosecutor’s office in Brussels. The suspect, Ayoub Bazzarouj, a 22-year-old Belgian citizen, was arrested after the search of a house in the Molenbeek section of Brussels on Wednesday, officials said.
Molenbeek, a working-class neighborhood just west of the Brussels city center, was the home of at least three men believed to have taken part in the attacks: Mr. Abdeslam and his brother Ibrahim, who died in the attack, and Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who is believed to have been a planner of the attacks. Mr. Bazzarouj was arrested at the same house in Molenbeek, on Rue Delaunoy, where Salah Abdeslam, a fugitive and the only direct participant in the Nov. 13 Paris attacks who is still believed to be alive, is thought to have hidden after the attacks.
The other men who have been put in preventive detention in Belgium in connection with the Paris attacks, which killed 130 people, are: About 10 cellphones were seized during the search that led to Mr. Bazzarouj’s arrest, and they are being examined. No weapons or explosives were found in the house.
The suspect was “charged with terrorist murder and participation at the activities of a terrorist organization,” according to a statement from the federal prosecutor’s office in Brussels.
Molenbeek, a working-class neighborhood west of the Brussels city center, was the home of at least three men believed to have taken part in the attacks: Mr. Abdeslam and his brother Ibrahim, who died in the attack, and Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who is believed to have been a planner of the attacks.
The other men who have been put in preventive detention in Belgium in connection with the Paris attacks, some of whom have not been fully identified, are:
■ Mohamed Amri and Hamza Attou, accused of being the getaway drivers for Mr. Abdeslam;■ Mohamed Amri and Hamza Attou, accused of being the getaway drivers for Mr. Abdeslam;
■ Abraimi Lazez and Ali Oulkadi, who are accused of helping Mr. Abdeslam after the attacks;■ Abraimi Lazez and Ali Oulkadi, who are accused of helping Mr. Abdeslam after the attacks;
■ Abdellah Chouaa, who is suspected of being an associate of Mr. Abdeslam’s;■ Abdellah Chouaa, who is suspected of being an associate of Mr. Abdeslam’s;
■ Mohamed Bakkali, who lived at a house in the Belgian town of Auvelais that may have been used as a hide-out;■ Mohamed Bakkali, who lived at a house in the Belgian town of Auvelais that may have been used as a hide-out;
■ Samir Z., who is believed to have been a friend of Bilal Hadfi, one of the attackers (another friend, Pierre N., has been given a conditional release); ■ Samir Z., who is believed to have been a friend of Bilal Hadfi’s, one of the attackers (another friend, Pierre N., has been given a conditional release);
■ Abdoullah C., who is suspected to have had contacts with Hasna Aitboulahcen, a cousin of Mr. Abaaoud. Mr. Abaaoud died in a police raid outside Paris on Nov. 18.■ Abdoullah C., who is suspected to have had contacts with Hasna Aitboulahcen, a cousin of Mr. Abaaoud. Mr. Abaaoud died in a police raid outside Paris on Nov. 18.