Raids Intensify Across Europe In Aftermath of Brussels Attack

Brussels anti-terror police made six arrests late Thursday night as authorities race to crack down the cell responsible for Tuesday’s dual attack.  A French national Reda Krikiet, who had connections to Paris terrorist mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud was detained. German authorities also made several arrests of suspects they believe are linked to the Brussels attack.

The Belgian prosecutors office did not make any formal statements on the identities of the six arrested, why they were arrested, or whether they will face charges. Reports indicated that one of the arrested had been shot by police when authorities closed in on an apartment. His name and condition were not released by authorities but he was described as a “big fish.”

The Brussels bombing anti-terror raids are correlating with ongoing raids dating back to the Paris attacks in November. Many of the suspects from Tuesday’s attacks including Najim Laachraoui and the El Bakraoui brothers were connected to Paris. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve noted that 75 people have been taken into custody for questioning about the Paris attacks. Out of the 75 arrested, 37 have been placed under formal investigation, and 28 have been incarcerated.

Thursday’s terror raids focused on the Schaerbeek district of Brussels where authorities had previously found bomb-making materials, a cache of weapons, and an Islamic State (IS) flag. Authorities made house-to-house inspections of the neighborhood, and residents said they heard several explosions as police forcefully entered several homes.

In France, Reda Kriket, a 34-year old Frenchman who was arrested in Argenteuil, a suburb in northern Paris. Minister Cazeneuve said authorities foiled Kriket’s plan which was in the advanced stages of a major terrorist attack in Paris. Cazeneuve also declared that at this current time there is no tangible evidence to link Kriket to either the Paris or Brussels attacks.

Kriket was found guilty of absentia trial by Belgian court in July 2015 for trying to join a jihadist network, and sentenced to ten years in jail. Kriket was an IS recruiter along with  Abaaoud who was also found guilty of absentia.

Further arrests were made in West Germany of two suspects believed to be connected to the Brussels attacks. One of the suspects detained was Samir E, who was well known to the Salafist scene, and arrested during a police raid in Dusseldorf. Samir E had been arrested in mid-2015 by Turkish authorities for trying to enter Syria; this was around  the same time as Khalid El Bakroui had entered Syria.  Turkey expelled both of them to Amsterdam and questioned whether the two knew each other.

The other suspect detained was a 28-year old Moroccan man, who was detained when police asked for ID at a train station, and found he was banned from travel in the EU Schengen Zone. They also found suspicious  text messages on his phone mentioned Khalid El Bakraoui. The text messages on his phone  read “fin” which is French for “the end” and came at 9:08 AM, minutes later Khalid El Bakraoui would detonate his explosives on the Maelbeek Metro killing 20.

Law enforcement will have to maintain a deterrent presence throughout Europe by continuing these raids and capturing IS members. Salah Abdeslam was finally captured during a raid and with two terrorists from Tuesday’s attack on the run and in hiding raids may be the only effective means of flushing them out.