BRUSSELS — Belgian police carried out a several raids in Brussels on Thursday morning as part of their investigation into the Paris attacks.

The raids are directly related to one of the Paris attackers 20-year-old Bilal Hadfi, who was one of three suicide bombers that blew himself up at the Stade de France football stadium.

Belgian journalists say he has a connection to a local violent street gang. Belgian police said at least one raid took place in the Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek, which has been the focus of investigation for several days.

Despite the raids, and drizzling rain, residents packed a local market near the Place Communale at the center of the community. But police were visible in the area, and security was high. According to a local member of the community, who asked not to be named, not all of the raids were directly related to the Paris attacks. He believes police were also using the raids to target other criminal components in the city.

Despite new raid, and the rain,market packed in molenbeek. And full of police pic.twitter.com/4QyYA7yQgm — Megan Specia (@meganspecia) November 19, 2015

The community has been under scrutiny for its link to the Paris terror plot, and some have dubbed the area as a haven for jihadis to launch attacks against Europe because of its working class roots and high Muslim population.

Thousands in the community gathered on Wednesday night to combat that message, before waking up to more raids in their neighborhood this morning.

The scene in #molenbeek market as raids continue in #brussels, life goes on. pic.twitter.com/NuLiKDZDZV — Megan Specia (@meganspecia) November 19, 2015

Catherine Demeyer, a social worker in Molenbeek who has aided new refugees coming to the area for the past three years says the majority of those living in the neighborhood are as scared as the rest of the public.

"They are scared to even walk on the streets. They say, 'Ok, I've got an Arabic name, an Arabic face, and even worse, I am from Molenbeek,'" said Demeyer. "People here are also afraid from terrorists, and its the same thing they just left. They thought we were safe here."

But a small extremist element has been allowed to thrive in the neighborhood and in Brussels at large. Additional raids took place in the Jette, Laeken, and Uccle areas of Brussels.

At least two other members of the Paris plot, brothers Salah Abdeslam and Ibrahim Abdeslam, were also connected to the area. Salah Abdeslam still remains unaccounted for.

It is unclear if any arrests were made during the operations, but there are clear links between the Paris attacks and Belgium. The investigation is still underway.