BRUSSELS — (CNN) Belgian authorities have arrested two people on suspicion of being involved in a plot to attack parts of Belgium’s capital during New Year’s celebrations, the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office said Tuesday.
The plot appears to have been inspired, but not directed, by the ISIS terror group, a senior Belgian counterterrorism official told CNN on condition of anonymity.
The prosecutor’s office said the arrests are not linked to November’s deadly Paris terror attacks, which authorities say involved a number of militants who had been living in Belgium.
The arrests are connected to an alleged plot that was to target “several of Brussels’ emblematic sites” during “the end of the year/New Year’s celebrations.” No further details about the alleged plot were released.
The arrests came as investigators conducted several searches in the Brussels area, as well as the Flemish Brabant and Liege areas, on Sunday and Monday, the prosecutor’s office said.
Investigators seized computer equipment, military-type training outfits and ISIS propaganda material, the office said.
One of the suspects was arrested on suspicion of playing a leading role in the threat of attacks, participating in the activities of a terrorist group as a leader and recruiting to commit terrorist offenses as author or co-author.
The other was being held on suspicion of playing a leading role in the threat of attacks and taking part in the activities of a terrorist group as an author or co-author, the office said.
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