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A suspect has reportedly been shot dead in a cafe following a possible terror attack in Brussels.
Officials say the suspect has been identified as a man called Abdesalem L, although prosecutors subsequently followed up saying they were unsure if the person shot was the suspect. The latest update comes following the deaths of two people, both believed to be Swedish, who were shot before a football match in yesterday's violence in the Boulevard d'Ypres area of the Belgian capital.
Speaking to BFMTV the mayor of Brussels, Phillippe Close, said: "It would appear that the suspect has been neutralised". He added he was unsure of the suspects status but was aware law enforcement had had to "use force".
Another person was injured during the violence. Reports of the latest shooting, said to have been in the Schaerbeek area, came via local outlet RTL Info, which, posted on X saying: "A man neutralized in Schaerbeek, his identity is not yet known".
In a separate post on X, a journalist thought to work for the outlet, said: "A suspect shot dead, according to 2 sources. Identity confirmation pending".
The initial incident, which occurred at around 7:20pm yesterday (October 16), was confirmed by mobile emergency and resuscitation service SMUR. It said in a statement: "Our services were called around 7:20 p.m. Tram traffic was stopped."
According to police reports one person was indicated to have been shot in a hotel lobby and two more in a taxi. Footage of the alleged shooting has circulated widely on social media channel X.
Following the incident, a huge manhunt was launched by authorities to find the suspect, after some footage appeared to show the suspect fleeing on a moped.
The shooting took place shortly before Belgium and Sweden's Euro Qualifier match. Following the incident, UEFA said in a statement: "Following a suspected terrorist attack in Brussels this evening, it has been decided, after consultation with the two teams and the local police authorities, that the UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying match between Belgium and Sweden is abandoned. Further communication will be made in due course."
Belgium's National Crisis Centre raised the capital's terror alert to its highest level following the attack. The rest of the country was raised to the second highest. Following the initial incident, an investigating source said: "He was also screaming about carrying out a revenge attack. He was shooting at various people, and hit a number of them. This had all the hallmarks of a terrorist attack."
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said the assailant was a Tunisian man living illegally in Belgium. The suspect is alleged to have said in the video that, for him, the Koran is "a red line for which he is ready to sacrifice himself".
According to Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne, the suspect was denied asylum in 2019. He was known to police and had been suspected of involvement in human trafficking, living illegally in Belgium and of being a risk to state security.
Information provided to the Belgian authorities by an unidentified foreign government suggested that the man had been radicalised and intended to travel abroad to fight in a holy war. But the Belgian authorities were not able to establish this, so he was never listed as dangerous.
The man was also suspected of threatening a person in an asylum centre and a hearing on that incident had been due to take place on Tuesday, Mr Van Quickenborne said.
Asylum State Secretary Nicole de Moor said the man disappeared after his asylum application was refused so the authorities were unable to locate him to organise his deportation.
A terror alert for Brussels was raised overnight to four, the top of Belgian's scale, indicating an extremely serious threat. It previously stood at two, which means the threat was average.
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