Dozens of terror plots thwarted across Europe, say officials

In the U.K., at least seven terror plots were stopped. In Germany, at least one was thwarted. Belgian authorities foiled numerous plots, and French authorities tell NBC that they have foiled dozens more, including one last Thursday.
 But these efforts by European officials since the rise of ISIS two years ago have far from curbed the terror group’s threat on the continent. One senior European counter-terrorism official confirmed to NBC News Thursday that authorities are bracing for more attacks by ISIS sleeper cells hidden throughout Europe – including possibly Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
 “This wasn’t the only plot that ISIS was planning,” the senior European counter-terrorism official said of Tuesday’s Brussels attacks. “Security services all over Europe are constantly working to hopefully prevent plots. And we do know that a lot of plots have been thwarted, and that the arrests of people in Europe have stopped attacks.”
 The senior official also told NBC News that some of the thwarted plots were deemed significant and imminent – an assertion confirmed by a second intelligence official.