Right before Christmas, the American Embassy issued an alert to all American citizens in the Brussels area, telling us to keep a low profile, avoid the Christmas markets and shopping centers, and be wary of using public transit in the city. The reason? Belgian police had arrested fourteen terror suspects and were concerned an attack was imminent.
And now terror fears have led to the cancellation of one of our favorite Belgian traditions: massive fireworks displays at midnight on New Year's Eve. Our house is situated so that we can watch the fireworks over Brussels from our third floor windows. It's always a spectacular display and one we enjoy with champagne glasses in hand.
Details from BBC News:
Traditional New Year's Eve fireworks in the Belgian capital Brussels have been cancelled because of a security alert.
The Christmas market will close at 1800 instead of staying open all night, and even the ice rink will close early.
"We are still facing a potential threat," a spokesman for the Belgian capital said.
The alert follows police saying they had discovered a plot to free a jailed al-Qaeda suspect, Nizar Trabelsi. He has denied any such plot.
Last week police detained 14 people suspected of taking part in the alleged plot. But a judge said there was not enough evidence to hold any of them.
Trabelsi himself wrote to a Belgian newspaper to deny any attempt to carry out a jailbreak or terror attack.
The government raised security levels, with increased patrols at Brussels airport, transport systems and commercial centres, and says it sees no reason to lower them.
"We've reviewed the situation and the conclusion is that there is no reason to scale back the current level of (terror) alert," Jaak Raas of the government's Crisis Centre said.
Trabelsi, 37, is a Tunisian who came to Europe to play professional football in 1989.
He was arrested two days after the 9/11 attacks on targets in New York and Washington, and is now serving 10 years for plotting to blow up an air base in Belgium used by US personnel.
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December 31, 2007