Belgian prosecutors charged three men with terrorism offences on Saturday after raids brought heightened security to Belgium and France and the Euro 2016 soccer tournament.
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A total of 40 people were questioned during the swoop, the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Nine other suspects arrested during the overnight searches have been released, it said in a statement.
The latest raids targeted several areas tied to the attacks of November 13 and March 22.
“It will be the case in the coming hours that we will take additional and adapted measures”, said Prime Minister Charles Michel after a meeting of the nation’s security council.
“The investigatory results necessitated an immediate intervention”.
No incidents were immediately reported after the match which ended with a 3-0 defeat for the Irish, sending Belgians into the streets in celebration.
“We considered on the basis of the crisis centre advice that we had to maintain the events and I want to recall again what I have said many times, we want to continue living normally”. The statement said there were no major incidents during the raids and that no arms or explosives were found.
The operation comes as Belgium is still under the second highest terror alert in wake of the March 22 attacks on the Brussels subway and airport which left 32 people dead.
The federal prosecutor’s office said early Saturday homes and auto ports were searched in 16 municipalities, mostly in and around Brussels.
Forty people were initially detained and 152 garages searched in Friday night’s raids in Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia.
The country is under a level three terror alert, one below maximum.
Belgian media had earlier reported that militant Islamists may have been planning to attack the football fan zone in Brussels, where Belgium’s games in the Euro 2016 tournament in France are screened.
There were several warnings of further attacks in recent days.
According to state broadcaster RTBF and daily Flemish newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, 30 people and their families have had their personal security stepped up since Friday, including the prime minister, interior minister and justice minister.
Police in Belgium are believed to have foiled a terror plot targeting fans gathering to watch a televised Euro 2016 football match in Brussels.
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Belgian media report that he is the eighth person to have been charged over the attacks, which were carried out by three suicide bombers.
