Belgian police Friday arrested 14 Muslim extremists suspected of planning the jailbreak of an al-Qaida prisoner convicted of plotting a terrorist attack on U.S. air base personnel, officials said. Extra police were deployed across the capital at airports, subway stations and other public places. The U.S. Embassy warned Americans of "a heightened risk of terrorist attack in Brussels," although it had no indication of any American targets.Police arrested the 14 in all-night raids across the country and discovered arms and explosives apparently intended for the jailbreak. The prisoner, Nizar Trabelsi, a 37-year-old Tunisian who played soccer for several German teams, was sentenced to the maximum 10 years in jail four years ago. He had admitted planning to drive a car bomb into the canteen at Kleine Brogel, a Belgian air base where about 100 American military personnel are stationed. Trabelsi was sent to the high-security unit of Lantin jail, 60 miles east of Brussels, but there have been reports that he has been moved since then. Police have refused to confirm the reports.
The federal prosecutor's office said the 14 were planning to free Trabelsi by force, and the government did not rule out the possibility that other attacks had been planned. "If a group with an extremist view of Islam were ready to use arms and explosives to release Mr. Trabelsi, there is no guarantee that they would not use them for other ends," said Lieve Pellens, spokeswoman for the federal prosecutor's office.