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Paris attacks: Several arrests made in Belgium following raids in Brussels linked to Isis

The justice minister said a Belgian car had been linked to the attacks was rented by someone in the area

Lizzie Dearden
Saturday 14 November 2015 12:47 EST
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Belgian police blocking a street during a police raid in connection with the attacks in Paris, in Brussels' Molenbeek district on 14 November
Belgian police blocking a street during a police raid in connection with the attacks in Paris, in Brussels' Molenbeek district on 14 November (AFP/Getty Images)

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Several suspects have been arrested in Belgium following a series of police raids linked to the terror attacks in Paris.

Up to three properties in the Molenbeek district of Brussels were reportedly searched on Saturday.

Koen Geens, the justice minister, told the VRT network that the arrests came after a car with Belgian license plates was seen close to the Bataclan concert hall, where Isis militants shot at least 80 victims dead at an Eagles of Death Metal concert.

He said "there were arrests relating to the search of the vehicle and person who rented it", numbering the number of people detained as“more than one.”

Timeline of Paris attacks

The Belgian public broadcaster, RTBF, was told by a source close to the operations that there had been “between two and three searches, linked to the Paris attacks”.

Police in Paris were also searching for a foreign car wanted in connection with the suicide bombings and shootings.

It is a black Seat with the numberplate GUT 18053 and five-spoke alloy wheels. Members of the public have been warned not to approach it.

President Francois Hollande said the attacks were an "act of war" that had been "prepared, organised and planned from abroad" with assistance from within France.

The holder of a Syrian passport found near the body of one of the suicide bombers who attacked Paris’ Stade de France is believed to have passed through Greece in October.

Nikos Toskas, Greece's minister for citizen protection, said he landed on the island of Leros alongside asylum seekers where he was identified and registered before moving on.

An Egyptian passport was also discovered at the scene of the explosions.

Another attacker was identified as a French national by his fingerprints and was said to be known to the security services.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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