No sign of Paris suspect in Belgium raids as Brussels remains under high alert

Brussels remained under partial lockdown Monday after police carried out raids around the Belgian capital amid warnings of possible terrorist attacks similar to those that killed 130 people in Paris 10 days ago.
Five more people were arrested Sunday night, bringing to 21 the number of people arrested in raids across Brussels and in Charleroi, another Belgian city, said federal prosecutor Eric Van der Sypt.
But authorities found no firearms or explosives in the raids, suggesting they hadn't defused the threat that has prompted the government to raise the terrorism alert to its highest level for Brussels.
The operation also didn't uncover Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in the November 13 attacks on Paris who fled to Belgium in the aftermath and remains on the loose. 

A Belgian soldier stands guard around a security perimeter as a reported police intervention takes place around the Grand Place central square in Brussels on Sunday, November 22. Multiple raids took place throughout Brussels, according to the Belgium Federal prosecutor, and 16 people were arrested. Salah Abdeslam, a suspect in Paris terror attacks, was not among them.
CNN security analyst Paul Cruickshank said there's "unprecedented concern" among Belgium authorities.
"The worry is that there's another attack team out there, that they have explosives, that they have weapons," he said Monday morning on CNN's "New Day." "Belgian police don't have a handle on where these guys are and that's why they're shaking the tree so hard."
As the work week begins in Brussels, a major European capital, schools, shopping malls and the subway remain closed. Soldiers and heavily armed police are out in force on the streets, and people have been warned to avoid large gatherings.
"This is a very exceptional situation that I have never seen in my life," said Alain Destexhe, a 57-year-old member of the Brussels regional parliament. He described the atmosphere in Brussels as "very heavy."

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