Brussels manhunt after gunfire in raid 'on Paris suspects'

There is still lots of confusion in the area, a local resident told the BBC

Belgian and French police are said to be still hunting two men after shots were fired at police during a counter-terrorism raid in Brussels.

Four officers, all said to be Belgian nationals, were wounded. Streets in the suburb of Forest have been sealed off .

One suspect was shot dead, but two others are said to be still at large.

The raid is linked to the Paris attacks which killed 130 people last November. Islamic State (IS) militants have claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Schools in lockdown

Police said earlier on Tuesday they were pursuing at least two suspects who had escaped over rooftops.

Eric Van Der Sypt, a spokesman for the federal prosecutor, told AFP news agency that "police were fired at" during the raid on Tuesday afternoon. He added that the raid was "linked to the Paris attacks investigation".

A major police operation was launched, with a helicopter flying overhead.

"Two individuals apparently barricaded themselves inside a home,'' Forest mayor Marc-Jean Ghyssels told reporters.

Local media later reported that the police surrounded a flat and one of the suspects was shot dead in an exchange of fire. But two others are still on the run.

The prosecutor's spokesman later confirmed that a suspect had been killed. His identity was not yet known, although he emphasised that the man was not Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam.

The BBC's Damian Grammaticas at the scene earlier said the whole area was flooded with police, and every access road was blocked.

Two local schools with about 100 children were in lockdown, Euronews reporter Sandor Sziros told the BBC.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve confirmed that French police officers were also taking part in the Brussels raid.

The incident happened near railway lines used by high-speed trains to London and Paris.

Since the 13 November attacks, officials have identified most of the people they believe to have carried out the assaults.

Most of the suspects have either died during the attacks or been killed in later police raids.

But two suspects - Salah Abdeslam and Mohamed Abrini - are still on the run.

However, French police sources said that Abdeslam was not the target of Tuesday's raid.

In addition, 11 people have been arrested and charged in Belgium in connection with the killings. Another eight are still in detention.

Parts of Brussels were sealed off for days after the Paris massacre amid fears of a major incident. A number of suspected attackers lived in the Belgian capital.

Police have also carried out a series of raids in the city.

Brussels police detain six over 'New Year terror plot'

Security on the Champs-Elysees in Paris is tight

Police in Belgium have detained a further six people in connection with an alleged plot to target Brussels on New Year's Eve, prosecutors say.

Cities around the world have heightened security measures as New Year celebrations get under way.

Belgian police detained the six during raids at locations in and around the Belgian capital on Thursday. Two men were arrested earlier in the week.

The city's main fireworks display has been cancelled over the feared plot.

Moscow's normally crowded Red Square will be closed

The two men seized in Brussels on Sunday morning, named as 30-year-old Said Saouti and 27-year-old Mohammed Karay, both Belgian nationals, can be held for another month, a judge ruled on Thursday.

Both are members of a motorcycle club called the Kamikaze Riders. Some members have links to Islamist groups and to Belgians who have travelled to Syria to fight with so-called Islamic State, Belgian media report.

It is not clear whether the six taken in for questioning on Thursday morning are also connected to the motorcycle club.

Brussels is on high alert

Police seized material during Thursday's raids including computers, phones and materials for playing airsoft - a type of military simulation game in which replica weapons firing plastic pellets are used.

Separately, Belgian police arrested a tenth suspect over the 13 November Paris attacks, in which 130 people were killed.

The Belgian national, identified as Ayoub B, was detained on Wednesday during a raid in the Brussels district of Molenbeek. He has been charged with terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group.

Authorities say the apparent plots to target New Year celebrations are not related to the suspected network behind the Paris attacks.

The Mayor of Brussels, Yvan Mayeur, said the decision to cancel the city's New Year celebrations was based on intelligence suggesting they could be targeted.

Extra measures

Security is being stepped up in other major European cities ahead of New Year celebrations, including Paris, London, Berlin and Moscow, with officials wary of possible terror plots.

Meanwhile in Turkey, security services say they have thwarted a major plot to attack celebrations in Ankara.

Earlier this week, Austrian police claimed a "friendly intelligence service" had tipped them off that major European capitals were at risk of being attacked over the holiday period.

The French capital has also cancelled its main New Year fireworks display but the traditional gathering on the Champs-Elysees will take place, amid tight security.

Projections on the Arc de Triomphe will be shorter than normal and four giant screens will be placed at intervals to avoid creating tightly packed crowds.

Arrests in Ankara

On Wednesday, Turkish police arrested two suspected IS members over an alleged plot to attack celebrations in Ankara.

State media said they were planning two separate attacks on crowded areas. Suicide vests and explosives were found during police raids.

Security will also be stepped up in Istanbul, with local media reports saying that some officers will be wearing Father Christmas outfits and other disguises to patrol crowds undetected.

Red Square closed

Security is also being tightened in cities where the authorities say there is no specific intelligence about a possible attack.

Authorities in Moscow will completely close off Red Square, where crowds normally count down to midnight.

Berlin bag ban

In Berlin, backpacks and fireworks will be prohibited and bags searched on the "party mile" leading up to the Brandenburg Gate.

Up to a million people are expected to attend the celebration.

Berlin's interior minister Frank Henkel encouraged party-goers to not allow fear to sour their celebratory mood. "Caution is a good counsellor, fear is not," he told broadcaster RBB.

Precautions in London

London's Metropolitan Police will deploy 3,000 officers in the inner city, including extra armed officers.

More than 100,000 people are expected to watch the Mayor of London's fireworks show, a ticketed event.

"Our plans are purely precautionary and not as a result of any specific intelligence," said a spokesperson.

Asia drills

Australian officials had assured revellers that thousands of extra police would patrol major cities, but urged residents to celebrate. "Don't change your way of life," said Melbourne's Lord Mayor Robert Doyle.

The US embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh, warned its citizens of "possible attacks" against hotels and clubs in the city in connection with New Year's Eve celebrations.

And a number of other cities around the world have been put on high alert or called up additional police officers, including Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and New Delhi, where police and anti-terror squads conducted mock terror drills this week.

Source: BBC