Belgium security forces are currently investigating a “suspicious” white powder that was found at a well known mosque that is located close to the European Commission building.

According to Reuters, a person inside the Islamic and Cultural Centre of Belgium called into the local fire department saying that they thought they had found anthrax powder.

From Reuters:

“Reuters journalists saw about a dozen emergency vehicles, including police, outside the Islamic and Cultural Centre of Belgium, a large Saudi-established institution including a mosque situated 200 meters from the European Commission.

A spokeswoman for the fire service said it had taken a call from the mosque from a person saying they believed that they had found anthrax powder, prompting the deployment of specialist crews. There was no immediate word on what the substance was.”

More to come. Stay with Rise News. 

UPDATE – Nov, 23rd 2:25 PM EST – Brussels will remain on the highest alert level and maintain security measures that have severely disrupted normal life in the city until at least Monday as it faces an “imminent” threat of attack, Belgium’s prime minister said Monday.

Police said an explosive belt had been found in the southern Paris suburb of Montrouge. The explosive belt was found without a detonator by a street cleaner.

Police have taken the explosive device to its lab for an extensive investigation.

UPDATE – NOV, 22nd 6:45 PM EST – Police say 16 people arrested in 19 police operations around Belgium; Paris fugitive still at large.

WATCH LIVE – 6:40 PM EST: Press conference on Belgium anti-terror raids.

Brussels has been placed on the highest level of alert by Belgium officials due to fear of an “serious and imminent” terrorist attack there.

The metro in Brussels has also been closed due to security fears and people are being told to stay away from large public gatherings.

“The advice for the population is to avoid places where a lot of people come together like shopping centres, concerts, events or public transport stations wherever possible,” a spokesman for the government’s crisis centre said according to the Guardian.

Brussels among many other distinctions also houses the European Union.

We will update this story. Stay with Rise News. 

#BREAKING Brussels metro closed due to terror alert: official

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) November 21, 2015