Belgian Neo-nazis in 'terror Plot'

Belgian police yesterday arrested 17 alleged neo-Nazis, mostly serving soldiers, who were said to be planning to destabilise the country's institutions in a series of terrorist attacks. In simultaneous raids on five army barracks and 18 private addresses across the northern Flanders half of Belgium, police uncovered a homemade bomb and numerous weapons.

The raids by 150 police officers in East Flanders, Antwerp and Limburg were the most dramatic breakthrough in a two-year investigation into far-right activists allegedly operating inside the armed forces.

The federal prosecutor's office, which is not limited by the sort of pre-trial restrictions in force in Britain, described the arrested people as mainly "soldiers and people with an extreme right ideology who clearly express themselves through racism, xenophobia, Holocaust denial, anti-semitism and neo-Nazism".

The main suspect, who is a member of the neo-Nazi Blood and Honour Flanders group, recruited in military bases throughout Flanders, the Flemish-speaking half of Belgium.

The arrests are likely to have a strong impact in Belgium, where mainstream politicians are bracing themselves for significant advances by the hard-right Vlaams Belang party in next month's local elections. The party insists it is non-violent, however, and distances itself from neo-Nazis.