Brussels official: City still faces grave threat

The mayor of one of Brussels’ many municipalities tells Belgian media that the capital is still facing a grave threat, according to the prime minister.

Schaerbeek Mayor Bernard Clerfayt says: “There are two terrorists in the Brussels region that could commit very dangerous acts.”

One of the suspected Paris attackers, Salah Abdeslam, is at large and is known to have crossed into Belgium the morning after the November 13 attacks. The source of the mayor’s information about a second suspect wasn’t immediately clear and the prime minister’s office declined to comment.

Belgium’s national Crisis Center on Saturday raised the threat alert in the Brussels region to Level 4, which indicates a “serious and immediate threat.”

Clerfayt says it was necessary to try to anticipate and prevent any such acts and their consequences.

He says: “As long as this threat is present, we must be very attentive.”

— AP