Tourists evacuated as Brussels soldiers foil “terror attack”

Belgian authorities claim they foiled a “terror attack” in the middle of a busy Brussels train station, which saw huge numbers of locals and tourists evacuated from the area.

A man believed to be a suicide bomber was shot down by soldiers after triggering an explosion at Brussels Central Station, at around 8pm on Tuesday.

Per the ABC, Federal prosecutor Eric Van der Sypt said soldiers “neutralised” a male suspect at the Central Station immediately following the explosion.

But the man remained in the spot he was shot down, as a bomb squad checked if he was armed with more explosives, per ABC, which resulted in no more explosives being found.

The man, according to local media, was wearing an explosive belt.

According to the media reports, The Grand Place, a popular tourist spot, was also evacuated because of fears the man might not be acting alone.

Grand Place square, which was bustling with tourists given the popular summer season, were evacuated and a security cordon was set up, per the ABC.

Belgian federal prosecutors said the incident was being treated as a terrorist attack. The national alert level for Brussels has remained at its second-highest level.

Per the ABC, a police spokesman said there was an explosion around a person before they were “neutralised by the soldiers that were on the scene”.

Rail company spokeswoman Elisa Roux also told the publication that trains were being diverted from the station, which has lines running directly beneath the city centre, while replacement buses were sent out to take passengers to the area.

According to the media reports, The Grand Place, a popular tourist spot, was also evacuated because of fears the man might not be acting alone.

Grand Place square, which was bustling with tourists given the popular summer season, were evacuated and a security cordon was set up, per the ABC.

It’s been over a year since a terror attack targeted Brussels’ Zaventem airport, along with a metro train, that saw 32 people killed.

“Such isolated acts will continue in Brussels, in Paris and elsewhere. It’s inevitable,” Brussels Security Consultant Claude Moniquet, a former French agent, told broadcaster RTL.

Moniquet compared the incident to an attack the day before on Paris’s Champs-Elysees avenue where a man was killed after slamming his car into a police convoy, packed with explosives and weapons. Thankfully, no one else was injured.

But per ABC, Moniquet admitted attacks in Europe could increase, though many would be “amateurs” carrying out attacks after being radicalised, doing minimal damage.

Image: Twitter @remybonnaffe

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brussels terrorism