"We identified 57 people who pose a threat to the nation," Jambon told journalists adding that most suspects were allegedly Islamist militants that returned from Syria.
Molenbeek municipality largely populated by Muslims is dubbed "the crossroads of European jihadism" by media outlets. On March 18, Belgian police arrested a number of terror suspects, including Salah Abdeslam who allegedly was a mastermind of Paris attacks in November 2015, in the notorious district.
Police arrest 5 suspected members of an ISIS cell in Spain, Belgium, and Germany that spread propaganda https://t.co/EzdL660zAE
— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) 28 сентября 2016 г.
After terror attack of March 22, the Belgian authorities withdrew over 600 residence permissions in Brussels, Jambon said adding that the government planned to carry out searches for radicals and extremists in five more municipalities of the country's capital.
On March 22, a series of blasts hit Brussels Airport and a metro station located near the EU institutions in the center of the city, killing 32 and injuring over 300 people. The Islamic State jihadist group, outlawed in many countries including Russia, claimed responsibility for the attacks.