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Agence France-Presse

At the Gare du Midi train station in Brussels, a line of taxis awaits desperate travellers facing a city on lockdown, many from London or attack-hit Paris.
The terror alert is at its highest in the Belgian capital following the Paris atrocities and the subsequent raids that have targeted dozens of jihadist suspects from this city.
“Eighty euros in an hour, as much as yesterday!” said one driver, his smile at odds with the sombre atmosphere.
Brussels city closed its metro system and shopping centres after reports of an “imminent threat” of a gun and bomb attack similar to the horror seen in Paris last week which left at least 130 people dead.
Watch: Closed for business in Brussels as authorities warn attack 'serious and imminent'

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said authorities feared a “Paris-style” attack “with explosives and weapons at several locations” despite the hundreds of soldiers patrolling the city, home to the EU and NATO.
Arriving at dawn by train on Saturday, many travellers stumbled upon a shuttered metro, likely to remain closed until at least Sunday afternoon.
The national security committee will decide whether to extend lockdown, as security services intensified raids in the immigrant districts of the capital to track down jihadists thought to be behind the bloodshed in Paris.

“By order of the police, the station is closed,” 16-year-old Sarah, sporting a military jacket and a lip ring, read from a sign.
She said she had just arrived by train from Antwerp.
“I need to get back home, how am I supposed to do that now? There is no bus that can take me,” she said in frustration.
“All they do is scare us, it's not normal.”

Jonathan, 26, pulled out his smartphone and snapped a photo of the sign.
“I'm going to post this on Facebook to warn my friends because everybody doesn't really seem to be up to date.”
Standing next to an exit, Gilles, an agent for the city's public transport system, waved his arms in all directions as he answered passengers' persistent questions.

“How do we get to Louise?” someone asked.
“Bus 27 and walk the rest of the way!” he responded for the third time.
“You have to be very patient. Some react well, others are very unhappy,” he said.
“My role is to give as much information as possible.”
The city's historic Grande Place, usually bustling with tourists, is quiet. Some stragglers traverse the cobblestones to take photos in front of the town hall's gothic architecture.
An armoured vehicle patrols the entrance. Officers step aside to let a bride pass, her white dress a stark contrast against the khakis worn by the guards.
“We'll be quick,” a guest murmurs.
The shopping district a few blocks away usually attracts 44,000 people a day but the large Galeria Inno shopping centre is closed. Management at the neighbouring mall City 2, decided to close at noon.

But during the two hours it was open, shops were deserted, with most residents following the recommendations of the authorities to avoid commercial hubs.
“It's completely empty!” said 26-year-old Adele, who works for a chocolate shop.
“There won't be anybody today, everybody is sharing info on social media,” she said.
A bit further on a woman waits for her colleagues to open an accessories boutique.
“It's complicated with the metro (which connects directly to the mall),” she said.
“For safety reasons, I would have preferred to stay warm at home but at the same time we can't give in to panic.
“Paris also has a lot of shops, and they didn't close after the attacks,” she said.


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Paris terror attacks

Terror attack fears: No shopping or trains as heavily-armed soldiers patrol tense Brussels under second day of lockdown

Soldiers and police patrol in Rue Neuve, the biggest shopping street in Brussels where all stores had to close following the terror alert level being elevated. Photo: EPA

French and Flamish signs announce the temporary closure of a movie theatre in Brussels. Photo: AFP

Metro stations were closed as a safety precaution. Photo: EPA

The Belgian government said it had concrete evidence of a planned terrorist attack that would have employed weapons and explosives. Photo: EPA

Armed security forces guard the City Hall in Brussels, Belgium. Photo: EPA

Turkey holds Belgian citizen over Paris terror attacks while Brussels remains on high alert

The sealed-off entrance to a metro station in Brussels. Photo: AFP

The grinning jihadi: Did this 20-something Belgian mastermind the Paris terrorist attacks?

This undated image taken from a Militant Website on Monday Nov. 16, 2015 showing Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud. A French official says Abdelhamid Abaaoud is the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks was also linked to thwarted train and church attacks. (Militant video via AP)

An undated photograph of a man described as Abdelhamid Abaaoud that was published in the Islamic State's online magazine Dabiq and posted on a social media website. A Belgian national currently in Syria and believed to be one of Islamic State's most active operators is suspected of being behind Friday's attacks in Paris, acccording to a source close to the French investigation. "He appears to be the brains behind several planned attacks in Europe," the source told Reuters of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, adding he was investigators' best lead as the person likely behind the killing of at least 129 people in Paris on Friday. According to RTL Radio, Abaaoud is a 27-year-old from the Molenbeek suburb of Brussels, home to other members of the militant Islamist cell suspected of having carried out the attacks. REUTERS/Social Media Website via Reuters TVATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE 

Abdelhamid Abaaoud is shown in this image taken from a video posted on a militant website. The video shows Abaaoud dragging corpses behind a truck. Photo: AP

Belgian connection: Arrests over Paris attacks highlight extremism fears over France’s neighbour

epa05025341 Police officers investigate the scene in the streets of Molenbeek, Brussels, Belgium, 14 November 2015. A man has been arrested in the Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek during police raids that are being carried out in connection with the terrorist attacks in Paris, the broadcaster RTBF reports. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET

A car is towed during a police raid in Brussels' Molenbeek district on November 14, 2015, in connection with the November 13 deadly attacks in Paris. Several people were arrested in Brussels on November 14 during police raids connected to the attacks in Paris, Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens said. Geens said on RTBF television that these arrests in the capital's Molenbeek neighbourhood "can be seen in connection with a grey Polo car rented in Belgium" found near the concert hall in the French capital where scores of people were killed. AFP PHOTO / BELGA / JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE = BELGIUM OUT =

epa05025315 Police officers investigate the scene in the streets of Molenbeek, Brussels, Belgium, 14 November 2015. A man has been arrested in the Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek during police raids that are being carried out in connection with the terrorist attacks in Paris, the broadcaster RTBF reports. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET

Belgian police cordon off a street during a police raid in connection with the November 13 deadly attacks in Paris, in Brussels' Molenbeek district on November 14, 2015. Several people were arrested in Brussels on November 14 during police raids connected to the attacks in Paris, Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens said. Geens said on RTBF television that these arrests in the capital's Molenbeek neighbourhood "can be seen in connection with a grey Polo car rented in Belgium" found near the concert hall in the French capital where scores of people were killed. AFP PHOTO / BELGA / JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE = BELGIUM OUT =

Police officers investigate the scene in the streets of Molenbeek, Brussels, which is home to many Muslims. Photo: EPA

News

World

Belgian security officials meet later on Sunday to decide whether to extend a lockdown in Brussels over fears jihadists are plotting a Paris-style attack, as police stepped up their hunt for key suspects behind the carnage in the French capital

