26 November 2008

"VTM received a DVD on which masked people appeared, with a threat against Belgium," a spokesman for the government's crisis centre said, without providing further details.

On its Internet site, VTM - the main commercial TV station in Belgium's Dutch-speaking Flanders region - said three masked and armed men appeared on the DVD.

It said the trio linked their threat to Belgium's decision to send F-16 fighter jets to Afghanistan.

The federal prosecutor's office launched an inquiry after VTM informed Belgian authorities about the DVD message, spokesman Benoit Ranackaer said.

"We always take this type of threat seriously," he said.

"Were the threat on the DVD to appear real or imminent, the crisis centre would take appropriate measures and the competent services would be set to work immediately," a statement from the centre said.

It said that the "risk of a terrorist threat against Belgium is currently evaluated ... as low."

(AFP/Expatica 2008)