Belgium will appoint 13 investigative judges to preside over cases involving terrorism in an attempt to deal with a perceived increasing threat of the crime,Belgian newspaper 'De Tijd' reported on Tuesday.

The specialist terrorism judges will be officially appointed inabout a month's time, the report said, citing Justice Minister Laurette Onkelinx.

It was initially intended that only five specialized examining magistrates would be appointed, but due to a growing backlog and the sheer volume of cases requiring attention, the number of postswas expanded to 13.

Federal terrorism magistrate Johan Delmulle said police and public prosecution offices already had employed terrorism specialists, and it was only logical their investigations should be led by an investigative judge with the same expertise.

Of the judges, four will be working in the capital of Brussels,and two in each of the three major cities -- Antwerp, Gent and Mons. Liege is to get three, one of whom will be responsible for the German speaking community.

The number of posts was based on an analysis of the terrorism threat and the number of cases that are already being investigatedin certain regions.

The 13 will be directly responsible for their posted region although they will also be empowered to operate on a national level.

The federal public prosecution office started 223 investigations into alleged terrorist crimes in the past four years. Some 40 percent of them, or 89 investigations, were opened in 2005.

Belgium's Federal Public Prosecutor's Office said that the appointment of the specialist examining magistrates was vital to terrorism prevention efforts. Recent high profile terrorist trialshave highlighted the need for specialists in the field. Enditem