Update 2: according to a Belgium prosecutor, the incident has been deemed to be a terrorist attack.
#BrusselsCentralStation incident deemed to be act of terrorism, according to prosecutor.
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA)
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Update: The suspect in Brussels train station blast shouted "Allahu Akbar," according to a witness quoted by AFP.
#UPDATE Suspect in Brussels train station blast shouted "Allahu Akbar," according to a witness
— AFP news agency (@AFP)
A Reuters correspondent at the scene a little over an hour after the incident - in which the man detonated a small explosion - said the area was quiet, with police manning a cordon and a few bystanders calmly watching security forces at work.
Local media quoted officials offering somewhat differing accounts of what happened. A police spokesman said it was still unclear if the suspect had died, after other officials had described him as having been killed. A public prosecutor, quoted by DH newspaper, said they were investigating whether it was a terrorist incident in a city that has been on high alert since a Brussels-based Islamic State cell launched an attack that killed 130 people in Paris in November 2015 and four months later killed 32 people in their home city.
"An individual carrying a rucksack and an explosive belt in Central Station has been shot dead," DH quoted the prosecutor as saying. "He seems to have set off his device when the soldiers started paying attention to him."
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Another day, another (attempted) terrorist attack, this time in Brussles where moments ago gun shots and an explosion were reported at the Central Station, which was promptly evacuated.
BREAKING: Brussels Central Station evacuated after reports of an explosion pic.twitter.com/GsoRirOAif
— Raheem ???????? (@RaheemKassam)
BREAKING |
Police & military cordon is expanding outside central station in #Brussels after the explosion pic.twitter.com/TODzZhprq4
— Vocal Europe (@thevocaleurope)
Reuters and ABC add that a suspect who was wearing an explosive belt, was "neutralized" by the the military...
DEVELOPING: Explosion has occurred at Brussels Central Station; suspect shot by military, senior Belgian law enforcement official tells @ABC
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics)
- BELGIAN MEDIA SAY POLICE "NEUTRALISED" PERSON WEARING EXPLOSIVE BELT AT BRUSSELS CENTRAL STATION
And the situation is now under control:
- BELGIAN POLICE ON TWITTER SAY INCIDENT WITH PERSON IN BRUSSELS CENTRAL STATION UNDER CONTROL
Peter De Waele of the federal police said “According to initial findings, there is not much damage, but more details are missing for now,” and added that the incident was still under investigation. There have been no confirmed reports of casualties by authorities.
