Brussels, 25 July 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Belgian police on Thursday detained seven people suspected of planning a terrorist attack, the federal prosecutor's office said.

Police conducted 14 searches throughout the country, including in the cities of Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent and Liege, after a request from a judge in Antwerp.

"Seven people were brought in for questioning," the statement said, adding that the judge would decide whether they should be issued with an arrest warrant.

All of those detained "are suspected of participating in the activities of a terrorist group, of financing terrorism and of preparing a terrorist attack."

The statement gave no details about which terrorist groups the detainees are suspected of being involved in.

Belgium has in recent years had a particular problem with Islamist terrorism.

A Brussels-based cell of the Islamic State group murdered 131 people in Paris in November 2015, while 32 people were killed in Brussels in March 2016.