Belgium evacuates two nuclear power stations amid fears ISIS will attempt to follow the Brussels attack with a dirty bomb 

  • Tihange nuclear plant, around 50 miles southeast of Brussels, evacuated
  • Doel nuclear facility, near Antwerp, has also been evacuated by authorities
  • French company ENGIE, which runs facilities, confirmed staff had left sites
  • See more on the Brussels attack at www.dailymail.co.uk/BrusselsAttacks 

By Ben Tufft For Mailonline

Published: 15:26 EST, 22 March 2016 | Updated: 19:45 EST, 22 March 2016

The Belgian government has ordered an electricity operator to evacuate two of its nuclear power stations, just hours after devastating terror attacks in the country's capital, which have killed 34 people.

French company ENGIE, which runs the Tihange nuclear plant around 50 miles southeast of Brussels, and the Doel plant, near Antwerp, confirmed all non-essential staff had left the sites.

There are fears ISIS will attempt to follow today's attacks with a dirty bomb, but it is unclear if the government has specific intelligence of an attack targeted against the facilities.

French company ENGIE, which runs the Tihange nuclear plant (pictured) around 50 miles southeast of Brussels, and the Doel plant, near Antwerp, confirmed all non-essential staff had left the sites 

French company ENGIE, which runs the Tihange nuclear plant (pictured) around 50 miles southeast of Brussels, and the Doel plant, near Antwerp, confirmed all non-essential staff had left the sites 

Tihange nuclear power plant is about an hour's drive away from the Belgian capital where the attacks occurred

Tihange nuclear power plant is about an hour's drive away from the the Belgian capital where today's attacks took place

Security has been heightened at all the country's nuclear sites and a spokesperson at Belgium's Federal Agency for Nuclear Control said: 'There is an increased military presence at the sites since the events of this morning.'

Earlier this year police discovered ISIS were working to breach Belgium's nuclear security, CBS reported.

Belgian security services learnt in February that two men had been secretly videotaping one of the country's senior nuclear scientists.

Police found 10 hours of video footage of the unnamed nuclear official outside his home in Flanders, which had been secretly recorded.

The footage was discovered when police searched the home of Mohamed Bakkali, who was arrested and charged with terrorist activity and murder over alleged links to the November Paris attacks.

Interior minister Jan Jambon told Belgium's Parliament there was not a threat to the country's nuclear facilities last month

Interior minister Jan Jambon told Belgium's Parliament there was not a threat to the country's nuclear facilities last month

At the time, the interior minister Jan Jambon told Belgium's Parliament that while there was a threat 'to the person in question,' there was not one to the country's nuclear facilities.

He added: 'To date, we have no indication that there is a specific threat to the Belgian nuclear sites. The nuclear industry is one of the best protected areas.'

Ian Armstrong, an analyst at Global Risk Insights, a publication which provides political risk analysis to businesses, said ISIS had the likely intention of making a dirty bomb.

'ISIS nuclear espionage in Belgium demonstrates a focused intention to acquire radioactive substances,' he said.

'With nuclear substances found in radiological devices, laboratories, and nuclear power plants around the world, the risk is present both within its base of operations in the Middle East and North Africa as well as in any number of countries where ISIS members are active.' 

It comes just hours after the massacres in Brussels at an international airport and subway station, which ISIS have claimed responsibility for, that have killed a total of 34 people and injured close to 200 others. 

Security has been heightened at all the country's nuclear sites, including the Doel plant, near Antwerp, (pictured) where non-essential staff have been evacuated

Security has been heightened at all the country's nuclear sites, including the Doel plant, near Antwerp, (pictured) where non-essential staff have been evacuated

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