PARIS: Police in France have detained three teenagers who were allegedly in contact with four people arrested in Belgium over the weekend on suspicions they were planning a jihadist attack, a source close to the case said Tuesday.
The three minors, aged 15 to 17, are not thought to be implicated directly in what was considered a looming attack on a Brussels concert hall, but allegedly have espoused extremist Islamist beliefs, the source said, confirming an online report by France’s Journal du Dimanche newspaper.
Belgian police on Sunday detained three minors in their “late teens” and an 18-year-old for what prosecutors said were messages plotting an attack deemed “imminent enough to intervene.”
A source close to the investigation told AFP the three minors in particular were targeting the Botanique cultural complex, one of the capital’s best-known sites.
The initial investigation indicates the adult suspect was planning a separate attack, and was in contact with one of the three minors.
The arrests stemmed from a police operation looking into people deemed potentially violent and with links to Islamic extremism.
The suspects were arrested in raids on home addresses in the cities of Brussels, Ninove, Charleroi and Liege.
No weapons or explosives were found. Police took away mobile phones and laptops for analysis.
Belgian authorities remain highly vigilant since the 2016 jihadist attacks by suicide bombers that killed more than 30 people in blasts at the Brussels airport and the city’s metro system.
And in October last year, a Tunisian man shot dead two Swedish football fans in Brussels before being shot and killed by police.
France arrests three teens over links to Brussels jihadist suspects
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France arrests three teens over links to Brussels jihadist suspects
- The arrests stemmed from a police operation looking into people deemed potentially violent and with links to Islamic extremism
Winter storm packing snow and strong winds to descend on Great Lakes, Northeast
- The fierce winds on Lake Erie sent water surging toward the basin’s eastern end near Buffalo, New York, while lowering water on the western side in Michigan to expose normally submerged lakebed — even the wreck of a car and a snowmobile
NEW YORK: A wild winter storm was expected to bring strong winds, heavy snow and frigid temperatures to the Great Lakes and Northeast on Tuesday, a day after a bomb cyclone barreled across the northern US and left tens of thousands of customers without power.
The storm that hit parts of the Plains and Great Lakes on Monday brought sharply colder air, strong winds and a mix of snow, ice and rain, leading to treacherous travel. Forecasters said it intensified quickly enough to meet the criteria of a bomb cyclone, a system that strengthens rapidly as pressure drops.
Nationwide, more than 127,000 customers were without power Tuesday morning, more than a third of them in Michigan, according to Poweroutage.us.
BACKGROUND
The storm that hit parts of the Plains and Great Lakes on Monday brought sharply colder air, strong winds and a mix of snow, ice and rain, leading to treacherous travel.
As the storm moved into Canada, the National Weather Service predicted more inclement weather conditions for the Eastern US, including quick bursts of heavy snow and gusty winds known as snow squalls. Blustery winds were expected to add to the arctic chill, with low temperatures dipping below freezing as far south as the Florida panhandle, the agency said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned that whiteout conditions were expected Tuesday in parts of the state, including the Syracuse metro area.
“If you’re in an impacted area, please avoid all unnecessary travel,” she said in a post on the social platform X.
Snow piled up quickly in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on Monday, where as much as 2 feet (60 centimeters) fell in some areas, according to the National Weather Service. Meteorologist Ryan Metzger said additional snow was expected in the coming days, although totals would be far lighter.
Waves on Lake Superior that were expected to reach 20 feet (6 meters) on Monday sent all but one cargo ship into harbors for shelter, according to MarineTraffic.com.
The fierce winds on Lake Erie sent water surging toward the basin’s eastern end near Buffalo, New York, while lowering water on the western side in Michigan to expose normally submerged lakebed — even the wreck of a car and a snowmobile.
Kevin Aldrich, 33, a maintenance worker from Monroe, Michigan, said he has never seen the lake recede so much and was surprised on Monday to spot remnants of piers dating back to the 1830s. He posted photos on social media of wooden pilings sticking up several feet from the muck.
“Where those are at would typically be probably 12 feet deep,” he said. “We can usually drive our boat over them.”
Dangerous wind chills plunged as low as minus 30 F (minus 34 C) across parts of North Dakota and Minnesota on Monday. And in northeast West Virginia, rare, nearly hurricane-force winds were recorded on a mountain near Dolly Sods, according to the National Weather Service.
In Iowa, after blizzard conditions eased by Monday morning, high winds continued blowing snow across roadways, keeping more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) of Interstate 35 closed. State troopers reported dozens of crashes during the storm, including one that killed a person.
On the West Coast, the National Weather Service warned that moderate to strong Santa Ana winds were expected in parts of Southern California through Tuesday, raising concerns about downed trees in areas where recent storms had saturated the soil. Two more storms were forecast later this week, with rain on New Year’s Day potentially soaking the Rose Parade in Pasadena for the first time in about two decades.
