ISIS Recruitment In Brussels: Belgium Detains 10 In Counterterrorism Raids Over Suspected Links To Militant Group

Belgian police detained 10 people over suspected links to a recruitment cell for Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, in Brussels Tuesday morning, the country’s federal prosecutor reportedly said. The people were taken in custody following nine counterterrorism raids in the city.

Authorities reportedly said that investigation revealed that many people have been sent to Syria to fight alongside the extremist group. The prosecutor’s office said the raids were not linked to the probe into last November’s ISIS attack in Paris that killed 130 people.

“The raids were conducted as part of an investigation into a recruitment network linked to Islamic State [group],” the prosecutor’s office said, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The raids were reportedly carried out in several parts of Brussels and had been ordered by a judge in the southeastern city of Liege. Prosecutors said that police have seized computer equipment and mobile phones during the raids.

The detained people have been questioned over their links to the Sunni militant group and the electronic materials seized are being examined, prosecutors reportedly said.

Multiple raids have been conducted in Belgium after it was revealed that several of those involved in the Nov. 13 Paris attacks were from the country. Following the attacks, Brussels raised the terror alert in the city fearing an imminent threat.