Prosecutors have charged a man who was detained last week during a dramatic raid in Brussels neighborhood where a suspected bomb factory was found earlier in the week.
The man, identified as A. Abderrahmane by the federal prosecutor’s spokesman, was charged with participation in the activities of a terrorist group. The charges relate to information stemming from the arrest last week of a terror suspect in France, rather than the Brussels bombings.
A. Abderrahmane was shot in the leg during his arrested on Friday in the Schaerbeek area of Brussels. Witnesses said loud bangs were heard in street and a bomb disposal robot could be seen inspecting an object that was identified by one witness as the suspect’s backpack. It was later blown up by bomb disposal.
“The police arrived [from] all over the place,” the bystander, Lyna Haddad, told NBC News. “They asked us to get on the floor … [and] they shot at the man.”
RELATED: Man arrested, wounded in area near Brussels bomb factory
Belgian police, meanwhile, arrested nine people on Sunday morning in 13 raids, including one in the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek. Five of those were released, while a judge was deciding whether the remaining four should remain in temporary custody.
And in Italy, police said Sunday they had arrested an Algerian man in Salerno over his alleged involvement in producing fake documents used by terrorists in the Paris and Brussels attacks.
So far only one suspect, Faycal Cheffou, has been charged in relation to the Brussels terror attacks.
Elsewhere in Europe, Dutch prosecutors on Sunday said police had arrested a 32-year-old Frenchman in the port city of Rotterdam at the request of French authorities who suspect him of “involvement in planning a terror attack.” Prosecutors said in a statement that French officials requested the arrest Friday after the suspect emerged during an investigation. The suspect, whose identity was not released, is expected to be extradited to France soon. Twelve more people were arrested after clashes broke out at the site of a canceled peace rally that was to be centered around a memorial at the Brussels Stock Exchange. Peaceful demonstrators were met by right-wing demonstrators, who flooded the square carrying anti-terror signs and chanting. Police in riot gear fired a water cannon at the group to keep them back and at least a dozen people were arrested after explosives were thrown at the officers. This story first appeared on NBCNews.com.
Matthew Grimson
Annick M'Kele Recommended
