Kerry in Brussels as Belgian Authorities Face Criticism

BRUSSELS— U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is holding counterterrorism talks in Brussels on Friday as top members of Belgium’s embattled government face ongoing criticism for a series of security and intelligence failings in the run-up to this week...
Kerry in Brussels as Belgian Authorities Face Criticism
Police take up positions on a road as they guard check points during a police raid in the suburb of Schaerbeek in Brussels, Thursday, March, 24, 2016. Belgium's prime minister refused to accept the resignations of his justice and interior ministers Thursday despite increasing evidence of intelligence and law enforcement failures to prevent this week's suicide bombings by Islamic militants. AP Photo/Alastair Grant
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BRUSSELS—U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is holding counterterrorism talks in Brussels on Friday as top members of Belgium’s embattled government face ongoing criticism for a series of security and intelligence failings in the run-up to this week’s bomb attacks in the city that killed 31 people and wounded 270.

Kerry’s arrival Friday morning comes hours after at least six people were detained in raids linked to Tuesday’s attacks on the Brussels airport and subway system. Belgian prosecutors are expected to decide later Friday whether to charge or release them.

French counterterrorism police also detained a man Thursday who officials say was in the advanced stages of an attack plot. Officials told The Associated Press that the suspect, Reda Kriket, 34, had a past Belgian terrorism conviction and was linked to the suspected ringleader of the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud.

Amid signs that life in Brussels was returning to some sort of normality on the third day of mourning the dead, authorities lowered Belgium’s terror-threat level by one notch. However, they said the situation remained grave and another attack is “likely and possible.” Belgium had been on its highest alert since Tuesday’s bombings.

Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel, right, and Foreign Minister Didier Reynders, center, welcome U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry upon his arrival at the Prime Minister's residence in Brussels, Belgium, Friday, March 25, 2016. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel, right, and Foreign Minister Didier Reynders, center, welcome U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry upon his arrival at the Prime Minister's residence in Brussels, Belgium, Friday, March 25, 2016. AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert