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Brussels New Year's Eve fireworks cancelled due to terror threat

'We are forced to cancel considering the risk analysis done by the Crisis Centre'

Samuel Osborne
Wednesday 30 December 2015 20:40 GMT
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Soldiers patrol the Rue Neuve pedestrian shopping street in Brussels on 21 November, 2015
Soldiers patrol the Rue Neuve pedestrian shopping street in Brussels on 21 November, 2015 (JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images)

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Brussels has cancelled its New Year's Eve fireworks display because of a terror threat, the city's mayor has said.

"We are forced to cancel considering the risk analysis done by the Crisis Centre," mayor Yvan Mayeur told the French-language RTBF network.

Two suspected members of an Isis cell were arrested on suspicion of planning attacks in Belgium over the holidays.

Military-style uniforms, computer equipment and Isis propaganda were found during police raids in Brussels and the Flemish Brabant and Liege regions.

Six people were taken into questioning but four have since been released.

The prosecutor's office said the searches revealed "the threat of serious attacks that would target several emblematic places in Brussels and be committed during the end-of-year holidays".

Brussels was home to four of the radical Islamist attackers who killed 130 people in Paris on 13 November.

London's New Year's Eve firework celebrations will still be going ahead, a spokesman from the London Mayor's Office told The Independent.

In a statement released yesterday, Superintendent Jo Edwards of the London Metropolitan Police said: "New Year's Eve is a major celebration in the diary and the Met has been working with colleagues to ensure celebrations run smoothly and the event is safe and enjoyable for everyone who attends.

"Our policing plan remains under constant review and the public can expect to see additional police officers in central London, which includes an increased number of firearms officers.

"Our plans are purely precautionary and not as a result of any specific intelligence."

Additional reporting by agencies

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