Man shot after failed suicide bomb attack on Brussels station

Soldiers shot a suspect in the heart of Brussels after a small explosion at a busy railway station last night continued a week of extremist attacks in the capitals of Europe.

A bomb squad performed a controlled explosion of a bomb belt the suspect had at Central Station and was checking for more hazards, VTM network reported.

Authorities set up a wide perimeter around the station, located near the city’s famed Grand Place square.

It appeared no one else was injured besides the suspect and the damage from the explosion was limited, Brussels prosecutor’s office spokeswoman Ine Van Wymersch told VRT.

Prosecutors later said the man had died. They are treating the incident as a terrorist attack.

Nicolas Van Herreweghen, who works for Belgium’s national rail company, said the male suspect was very agitated, yelling about jihadists and then “Allahu akbar”, Arabic for “God is great”, before blowing up something on a baggage trolley.

He said the man appeared to be 30 to 35 years of age, adding: “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.”

The government agency that owns Belgium’s railways was warned by a train driver who saw people running across the rail lines inside the station, spokesman Arnaud Reymann told broadcaster RTL.

National newspaper La Libre Belgique quoted the prosecutor’s office as saying the suspect was wearing a backpack and an explosive belt.

The information could not be immediately confirmed.

Brussels police said via Twitter that there was “an incident with an individual at the station. The situation is under control”.

They asked the public to follow police instructions.

Central Station is one of the busiest in the nation and soldiers could be seen patrolling there after the explosion.

Getty. Belgian police outside Central Station in Brussels.