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Images of Belgian PM’s Office Found on Laptop in Trash Bin


FILE - Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel is pictured at his official residence in Brussels, March 25, 2016. Belgian government officials said Wednesday that there were “absolutely no” specific indications Michel was under a terrorist threat.
FILE - Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel is pictured at his official residence in Brussels, March 25, 2016. Belgian government officials said Wednesday that there were “absolutely no” specific indications Michel was under a terrorist threat.

Police found images and floor plans of the Belgian prime minister’s office and residence on a laptop computer discarded in a garbage bin near an apartment used by suspects in the Brussels attacks last week.

Several Belgian newspapers reported Wednesday that the laptop was found during a raid on Rue Max Roos in the Schaerbeek neighborhood several hours after the attack on Brussels Airport and on a metro rail station that left 32 people dead and scores wounded.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, a Belgian government official confirmed the media reports, adding that there were “absolutely no” specific indications that Prime Minister Charles Michel was under threat from the attackers.

He said that the computer was full of various information obtained from the Internet about Michel’s office on Rue de la Loi, where he holds regular cabinet meetings, and about many other locations.

Authorities have confirmed that the prime minister's office has long been under special security, which has been even stricter since the Paris attacks on November 13 and the attacks in Brussels last week.

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