Belgian security forces conducted 13 raids in three cities Sunday, taking four people into custody and continuing a crackdown on suspected terrorists in the wake of Tuesday's deadly attacks.
Federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw's office said nine people initially were detained in Brussels, Duffel and Mechelen. Five were later released, state-owned broadcaster RTBF reported.
Van Leeuw said the arrests were made "in connection with terrorism" but did not link them directly with the attacks at Brussels Airport and a metro station that killed 31 people and wounded hundreds more. In addition, Italian police said they had arrested an Algerian man accused of providing fake documents to suspects in the attacks in Paris and Brussels.
Also Sunday, police in Brussels fired water cannons to disperse protesters at a "Rally Against Fear" held in support of victims of terror. Authorities had canceled the rally, citing a police force already strained by investigations in the wake of the attacks. Several hundred rallied anyway, RTBF reported, including hundreds of right-wing protesters dressed in black, some covering their faces with balaclavas.
"They define themselves as (sports) hooligans, but their outfits evoke their nationalist trend," RTBF reported.
Brussels police Commissioner Christian De Coninck said several of the men, supporters of three Belgian soccer teams, were arrested in a clash with police hustling them to a train station. Two police officers were injured, he said.
Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur expressed outrage that "this kind of scum" had added to the nation's pain instead of aiding healing. Prime Minister Charles Michel chastised the group for their "highly inappropriate" behavior at a solemn event.
Belgium was struggling to return to normalcy. Brussels Airlines juggled flights out of alternative Belgium airports following the blast at its hub, Brussels Airport, which won't reopen until at least Tuesday. The airport said police have wrapped up their investigation at the site, and authorities are working on plans to open temporary ticketing desks.
On Saturday, officials charged three men with terrorist offenses, including a man identified by Belgian media as the "man in the hat" shown on surveillance video at Brussels Airport minutes before Tuesday's attacks.
While prosecutors have not officially identified a suspect as the man in the video, they confirmed they have charged a man identified as "Faycal C." for “involvement in a terrorist group, terrorist murder and attempted terrorist murder.” Belgian state TV and the newspaper Le Soir, using a different spelling, identified the suspect as Faisal Cheffou, a Belgian freelance filmmaker and journalist.
Prosecutors are awaiting DNA evidence before making an official statement on whether they believe they have the third terrorist in custody, RTBF reported. Prosecutors did say that they have searched the latest suspect's home and turned up no weapons or explosives.
On the surveillance video, the third terrorist, wearing a hat and light-colored clothing on the right, is shown walking beside the two other terrorists. Authorities said the man was pushing a cart with luggage containing a 35-pound bomb that did not detonate.
The other two men in the airport surveillance video have been identified as Ibrahim El Bakraoui, 29, and Najim Laachraoui, a bombmaker linked by DNA to the Paris terror attacks in November that killed 130 people. Also identified in the Brussels attacks is Khalid El Bakraoui, 27, Ibrahim's brother, who blew himself up in a subway car at a metro station.
Contributing: Doug Stanglin
