10th Suspect Charged in Deadly Paris Attacks
The attacks killed 130 people in November.
LONDON — -- Ten cellphones were seized during a police search in Brussels Wednesday, conducted in relation to the Paris attacks investigation that has also netted a 10th suspect, Belgian officials said.
The house where the cellphones were found is located in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, a neighborhood of the capital, where one individual was held for questioning. Seven other houses were searched today in Molenbeek, Anderlecht, Laken and Sint Pieters Leeuw and six individuals were taken in for questioning, the federal prosecutor's office said in a written statement.
As for the 10th suspect, identified by investigators as Ayoub. B, born in 1993, he was charged today "with terrorist murder and participation at the activities of a terrorist organization,” the Belgian prosecutor said in a separate statement.
Ayoub. B, a suspect in the Nov. 13 attacks in the French capital that killed 130, will appear before a judge within five days to decide whether he should be held in preventive detention.
Meanwhile, authorities in Brussels have canceled the city's New Year's Eve fireworks display because of security concerns.
"Together with the interior minister, we've decided to not have the celebrations on Thursday evening," Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur told state broadcaster RTBF.
“It is better not to take risks,” Mayeur said, adding "we can't check everyone."
The decision was made after the crisis center at the Interior Ministry Monday raised the level of terror threat to 3 out of a possible 4.