A man has been shot dead after attacking two soldiers with a machete in the centre of Brussels.

The attacker, aged 30, was injured in the street but later died in hospital. One of the soldiers suffered a wound to the face, the other has a hand injury.

Photographs showed the street cordoned off with police and troops in the area.

Soldiers have become a familiar sight on the streets of the Belgian capital since terror attacks which killed more than 30 people last year.

Belgium's federal prosecutor's office said the attacker was "not known for terrorist activities" but said that he had shouted "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest" in Arabic) during the assault.

The attack on Friday is being treated as a terrorist incident, the prosecutor's office said.

Witness Ryan MacDonald‏ wrote on Twitter that he heard the sound of a gunshot before seeing a "heavy police presence outside".

Another witness said he heard "two loud bangs and a load of sirens".

The attack took place on Boulevard Emile Jacqmain in the centre of Brussels.

The presence of soldiers on the streets of Brussels is part of a large-scale security operation designed to reassure the public in the wake of terrorist attacks in the city in March 2016 in which 32 people were killed.

Troops on patrol in a busy district of shops and restaurants in the centre of the city appear to have been the target for this latest attack.

Source:
courtesy of BBC NEWS

by BBC NEWS

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