Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Police in Brussels are searching for armed gunmen following a raid linked to the Paris attacks

Police at the scene where shots were fired during a police search of a house in the suburb of Forest near Brussels, Belgium, March 15, 2016.
Police at the scene where shots were fired during a police search of a house in the suburb of Forest near Brussels, Belgium, March 15, 2016.

Armed Belgian police locked down a section of Brussels on Tuesday as they hunted fleeing gunmen who wounded an officer during a raid linked to the investigation of November's Islamic State attacks in Paris.
Police sources told RTBF, that one of the gunmen was killed.

Police told residents to stay indoors as local media reported four officers had been wounded. One of them, who was shot in the head, is said to be in a serious condition. 

Bernard Cazeneuve, the French Interior Minister, said the raid was a joint operation between French and Belgian authorities

French news site iTele said two armed people went on the run after escaping the building via its roof. The gunmen are allegedly carrying automatic weapons.

Police have asked journalists and locals not to take any pictures as the operation is still ongoing in rue du Dries, in the southern suburb of Forest, near the main north-south railway linking Paris and Amsterdam.

rue du Dries, bruxelles

According to witnesses, 20 police cars were present, including armoured vans. "An ambulance is there and paramedics are tending to injured police officers. Now military personnel is entering the house. There are about 50 policemen present," a witness told RTL.

Two schools near the site of the raid were shut following the police operation.

Police at the scene where shots were fired during a police search of a house in the suburb of Forest near Brussels, Belgium, March 15, 2016. REUTERS/Yves Herman 

Police at the scene where shots were fired during a police search of a house in the suburb of Forest near Brussels, Belgium, March 15, 2016.

Belgian security forces are still hunting suspects and associates of Brussels-based militants involved in the attacks in Paris on November 13 in which 130 people were killed. 

One of the prime suspects connected to the Paris attacks, 26-year-old Frenchman Salah Abdeslam from Brussels, is still on the run. According to Francetvinfo, the raid in Brussels on Tuesday was not connected to Abdeslam.

Abdeslam left Paris shortly after his brother blew himself up in the attacks. Belgian authorities are currently holding 10 people who have been arrested in the months since the attacks.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/shots-fired-during-police-raid-linked-to-paris-attacks-in-brussels-2016-3?r=US&IR=T
 

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