Belgian police say troops shoot knife attacker in Brussels

Belgian soldiers shot a man dead in downtown Brussels on Friday evening after he attacked the troops with a knife, federal police said.

“We believe that it is a terrorist attack,” said a prosecutors’ office spokeswoman, who added the attacker “is dead.”

The assailant “yelled twice ‘allahu akbar’ (God is greatest) while attacking the soldiers” in the Belgian capital, she said. Soldiers then opened fire on the man.

Belgium’s anti-terror crisis center also said in a tweet that the soldiers had “neutralized” the man and that the “situation is under control.”

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel tweeted: “All our support is with our soldiers. Our security services remain on alert. We are following the situation closely.”

Associated Press television images from central Brussels showed that police have sealed off a main street not far from the Belgian capital’s main Grand Place tourist attraction.

Belgium has been on high alert since suicide bombers killed 32 people in attacks on March 22, 2016 on the Brussels main airport and subway system.

The Federal Prosecutor’s office, which handles terror probes in Belgium, could not be immediately reached for confirmation.