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| Suspected suicide bomber shot at Brussels railway station | Suspected suicide bomber shot at Brussels railway station |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Belgian soldiers have shot a man suspected of being a would-be suicide bomber at Brussels Central Station, officials say. | Belgian soldiers have shot a man suspected of being a would-be suicide bomber at Brussels Central Station, officials say. |
| He was shot after reportedly setting off a small explosion and no-one else is believed to have been injured. | He was shot after reportedly setting off a small explosion and no-one else is believed to have been injured. |
| Prosecutors later said the man had died. They are treating the incident as a terrorist attack. | |
| In March 2016, 32 people were killed in attacks on Brussels claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group. | |
| According to Belgian newspaper La Libre Belgique, quoting prosecutors, the man who was shot was wearing a rucksack and a bomb belt. | |
| He detonated a device when he attracted the attention of soldiers in the station, the paper says. | He detonated a device when he attracted the attention of soldiers in the station, the paper says. |
| Several Belgian media outlets quote witnesses as saying the man shouted "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great" in Arabic) before setting off the explosion. | Several Belgian media outlets quote witnesses as saying the man shouted "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great" in Arabic) before setting off the explosion. |
| Nicolas Van Herrewegen, a railway sorting agent, told reporters he had gone down to the station's mezzanine level when he heard someone shouting. | Nicolas Van Herrewegen, a railway sorting agent, told reporters he had gone down to the station's mezzanine level when he heard someone shouting. |
| "Then he cried 'Allahu Akbar' and he blew up a wheeled suitcase," he told AFP news agency. | |
| "I was behind a wall when it exploded. I went down and alerted my colleagues to evacuate everyone. He [the suspect] was still around but after that we didn't see him." | "I was behind a wall when it exploded. I went down and alerted my colleagues to evacuate everyone. He [the suspect] was still around but after that we didn't see him." |
| "It wasn't exactly a big explosion but the impact was pretty big," he added. "People were running away." | "It wasn't exactly a big explosion but the impact was pretty big," he added. "People were running away." |
| Mr Van Herrewegen described the suspect as well-built and tanned with short hair, wearing a white shirt and jeans. | Mr Van Herrewegen described the suspect as well-built and tanned with short hair, wearing a white shirt and jeans. |
| "I saw that he had something on him because I could see wires emerging, so it may have been a suicide vest," he said. | "I saw that he had something on him because I could see wires emerging, so it may have been a suicide vest," he said. |
| 'Shutters down' | 'Shutters down' |
| Arash Aazami arrived at the station just after the explosion. He told the BBC: "As we entered into the station, we were evacuated loudly by some security personnel. | Arash Aazami arrived at the station just after the explosion. He told the BBC: "As we entered into the station, we were evacuated loudly by some security personnel. |
| "Looked around, saw people running in the streets, trying to seek refuge and decided to do the same ourselves." | "Looked around, saw people running in the streets, trying to seek refuge and decided to do the same ourselves." |
| As the station and Grand Place were evacuated, businesses and restaurants were ordered to close and draw down their shutters, RTL radio reports. | As the station and Grand Place were evacuated, businesses and restaurants were ordered to close and draw down their shutters, RTL radio reports. |
| Metro lines running through the station were also briefly suspended on orders of the police, according to the radio. | Metro lines running through the station were also briefly suspended on orders of the police, according to the radio. |
| On 22 March of last year, three suicide bombers mounted twin attacks on the city's Zaventem airport and Maelbeek underground station. | On 22 March of last year, three suicide bombers mounted twin attacks on the city's Zaventem airport and Maelbeek underground station. |
| The same Brussels-based IS cell was also behind the gun and bomb attacks in Paris in November 2015, that killed 130 people. | The same Brussels-based IS cell was also behind the gun and bomb attacks in Paris in November 2015, that killed 130 people. |
| The French capital was jolted again on Monday when a man with an Islamist background died after ramming his car into a police van on the Avenue des Champs-Élysée. | The French capital was jolted again on Monday when a man with an Islamist background died after ramming his car into a police van on the Avenue des Champs-Élysée. |
| London has also been on edge since a van was driven into Muslim worshippers outside a mosque on Sunday night, with one man dying and nine people injured. It followed IS-claimed attacks on London's Borough Market in June and a pop concert in Manchester in May that together left some 30 people dead and more than 100 injured. | London has also been on edge since a van was driven into Muslim worshippers outside a mosque on Sunday night, with one man dying and nine people injured. It followed IS-claimed attacks on London's Borough Market in June and a pop concert in Manchester in May that together left some 30 people dead and more than 100 injured. |