Brussels Cancels New Years Festivities Amid Terror Fears
December 30, 2007 by national
Filed under World Report
Traditional New year’s Eve fireworks in the Belgian capital Brussels have been canceled because of a security alert.
The Christmas market will close at 1800 instead of staying open all night, and even the ice rink will close early.
“We are still facing a potential threat,” a spokesman for the Belgian capital said.
The alert follows police saying they had discovered a plot to free a jailed al-Qaeda suspect, Nizar Trabelsi. He has denied any such plot.
Last week police detained 14 people suspected of taking part in the alleged plot. But a judge said there was not enough evidence to hold any of them.
Trabelsi himself wrote to a Belgian newspaper to deny any attempt to carry out a jailbreak or terror attack.
