Terror threat level lowered, but some soldiers to remain

Soldiers will continue to patrol major events and "sensitive" locations including places of worship and nuclear power plants, despite the overall terror threat level in Belgium being downgraded to a level not seen in three years.

Prime minister Charles Michel announced on Monday that the threat level would be lowered from three to two - out of a possible four - following the latest assessment by Belgium's Co-ordinating Body for Threat Analysis, meaning an attack on Belgian soil is now deemed "unlikely".

The level 3 alert was introduced in January 2015 following attacks in Paris against satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket. This was escalated to level 4 during the November 2015 "lockdown" and again in the wake of the March 2016 Brussels attacks.

Brussels mayor Philippe Close said: "For us it is important that there remains a military presence at places deemed at-risk, such as embassies, the Jewish Museum and synagogues."