Authorities in Belgium on Saturday released 14 suspects detained over an alleged plot to free an al-Qaeda prisoner after a court decided there was insufficient evidence to hold them for more than 24 hours.
Despite the release, officials said the investigation was not over.
"We think there is still a threat," Lieve Pellens, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office, said in a telephone interview with the Associated Press.
Increased anti-terrorism measures triggered by the arrest of the suspects on Friday would remain in place over the holidays, Pellens said.
Police picked up the 14 suspects in a series of early-morning raids Friday. Earlier reports had indicated that explosives and arms had been also seized.
But on Saturday, Pellens said that searches of the suspects' homes had produced no explosives, weapons or other evidence to persuade the court to charge them with any offence or keep them in jail.
Legal limitation
Unlike some other European nations, Belgium does not have anti-terror laws which allow suspects to be held longer than 24 hours without charge, Pellens said.
The 14 were expected to remain under police surveillance and could be detained again if more evidence is uncovered.
The authorities did not release the suspects' identities.
Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and the prosecutor's office alleged the suspects planned to use explosives and weapons to free Nizar Trabelsi.
The 37-year-old Tunisian was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2003 for planning to a drive a car bomb into the cafeteria of a Belgian air base where about 100 American military personnel are stationed.
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