Federal prosecutors confirmed that six unidentified people were arrested, including three who were detained outside the prosecutors’ own office, in the centre of Brussels.
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Schaerbeek is the neighborhood where the attackers hid and assembled their bombs before striking Brussels’ airport and a subway stop near the European Union’s headquarters.
Friday’s raid in Schaerbeek follows seven arrests made in a series of overnight raids by Belgian police as part of ongoing investigations into Tuesday’s attacks in Brussels. Prosecutors said that tge arrests were linked to a raid in Paris on Thursday, where an attack was allegedly foiled.
Three terrorists died in the explosions and a massive manhunt was launched to track down other suspects believed to be behind the blasts.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Kriket was in the “advanced stages” of a plot to attack the country.
The attacks came days after the arrest of November 13 Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam in Brussels.
The terrorists responsible for the bombing of the Brussels airport had also gathered information on Belgium’s nuclear power program, and may have been planning an attack on one of the nuclear power plants.
Belgian police rounded up six more people they said were connected to this week’s terror attacks, as the government on Thursday acknowledged high-level counterterrorism failings.
De Standaard newspaper said the man, whom it did not name, was arrested after a policeman recognised him from the security footage.
The Brussels airport will be closed at least through Sunday.
Belgium officials have identified the two airport suicide bombers as Najim Laachraoui and Ibrahim El Bakraoui.
Suicide bombers hit the Brussels airport and a metro train on March 22, killing 31 people and wounding at least 270 in the worst such attack in Belgian history. The November attacks in Paris left 130 people dead and over 300 wounded.
One was detained in Jette, on the outskirts of the city, while two others were arrested in Brussels, the official added.
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“The United States stands firmly with Belgium and with the nations of Europe in the face of this tragedy”, Kerry said Friday, according to the AP.
