Third suspect charged over French terror plot

Federal prosecutors in Belgium on Saturday announced they were charging a Belgian national, identified only as Y.A., in connection with the investigation into the foiled terrorist plot in France, which authorities said would likely have been an act of "extreme violence."

"He has been charged with participation in the activities of a terrorist group," the federal prosecutor's office said in a statement. The man, said to be in his mid-30s, was detained late on Thursday, and appeared before a judge on Friday, according to the prosecutors.

The statement said the charge was connected with the Belgian-French investigation into Reda Kriket, who was arrested in a Paris suburb on March 24 on suspicion of planning the terrorist attack in France. An arsenal of weapons and explosives was found at his home during a police search.

Two other suspects - Abderrahmane A. and Rabah M. - are being held in Belgium, while the Netherlands is also holding a French national, all in connection with the same plot.

European authorities are attempting to step up efforts to combat cross-border jihadist networks, with close links being found between the attackers blamed for the November attacks in Paris and those behind last week's suicide blasts at the airport and a metro station in the Belgian capital, Brussels.

tj/ng (AFP, Reuters)