Belgian and French police launched a vast manhunt for suspects late Tuesday after a Kalashnikov-wielding assailant was killed and four officers were wounded during an anti-terror operation in Brussels linked to the Paris attacks.
Armed police came under fire as they carried out a daylight search on a property in the quiet suburb, sparking a series of gun battles that wounded four officers and left children trapped in nearby schools.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said operations were continuing after the gun battle in the southern Brussels suburb of Forest, adding that it was "linked to the attacks in Paris".
"During what was believed to be a routine search, security forces were fired on. That was followed by police operations which are ongoing," Michel told a press conference.
The national security council of key ministers and security officials will meet on Wednesday, he added.
Michel thanked residents for their "composure" as bursts of gunfire erupted in the streets and dozens of heavily-armed police with balaclavas and sub-machineguns sealed off the area.
The dead person had not been identified but prosecutors said it was not Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in the November 13 killings in Paris claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, which killed 130 people.
A French police source said the operation was focused on the associates of one, or several, of 11 people who have been charged in Belgium in connection with the attacks.
READ: Belgian police arrest 16, Salah Abdeslam not caught: prosecutor
READ: Phone 'saved me', says Paris attack survivor
"In this operation, one or several people opened fire on the police as they came through the door" of the property in an initial search, the federal prosecutor's office said in a statement.
"One suspect armed with a Kalashnikov-type assault rifle was killed in an assault" by police about three hours later, it said, adding that officers were "actively pursuing investigations, day and night".
Kalashnikov rifle
Eric Van Der Sypt, spokesman for the prosecutor's office, was quoted by the Belga news agency as saying: "A body was found during a search of a house... his identity has not been established yet but whatever the case, it is not Salah Abdeslam."
A French policewoman, who Justice Minister Koen Geens said had been helping in a joint investigation between French and Belgian police, was among three officers wounded in the initial assault. A fourth was hurt in an exchange of fire.
Security forces launched a huge operation after the gunbattle broke out, cordoning off the area with vehicles while a police helicopter hovered overhead, AFP reporters at the scene said.
"I've been stuck since three o'clock this afternoon," pensioner Renee told AFP.
"Imagine, I was waiting here, in the Saint-Denis square, to go to the hairdresser and the police turned up. They shouted: 'Evacuate, evacuate the square'."
Children and teachers in two schools and two nurseries near the scene were asked to remain indoors, before they were eventually let out one by one accompanied by armed police.
Police later started letting people back into their homes and 50 people who had been trapped in an Aldi supermarket were also allowed out.
Brussels lockdown
By midnight, calm had largely returned to the area and most locals had been allowed to return to their home. The special forces officers still present, their faces covered by hoods, seemed relaxed, said an AFP journalist.
The incident took place across the street from an Audi auto factory and the train lines leading to the Eurostar cross-channel terminal at the Gare du Midi railway station.
Soldiers are still on guard at key areas including train stations and EU institutions.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve confirmed earlier that French police were involved in the operation.
"A team made up of Belgian and French police came under fire, apparently from assault weapons, during a raid," he said after arriving in the Ivory Coast capital.
Two weeks after the Paris attacks, Brussels was put on five days of lockdown with authorities warning of an imminent threat of violence amid an ongoing manhunt for Abdeslam.
Abdeslam, 26, who is believed to have played a key role in organising the Paris attacks, fled across the border to Belgium hours after the killings in the French capital and is now one of the most wanted men in Europe.
He was reportedly holed up for three weeks after the Paris attacks in an apartment in the Schaerbeek district in north Brussels, where police found a fingerprint, traces of explosives and possible suicide belts.
AFP
Wed Mar 16 2016
![One dead, 4 police wounded in Brussels raid over Paris attacks One dead, 4 police wounded in Brussels raid over Paris attacks](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2016-03/51458089256_BrusselRaid.jpg)
A member of the special forces takes position on a roof near the site of a shooting in the southern Forest district of Brussels on March 15, 2016. AFP / Belga / DIRK WAEM
![PRK Nenggiri: Peratusan keluar mengundi indikator, tawan semula atau status quo PRK Nenggiri: Peratusan keluar mengundi indikator, tawan semula atau status quo](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/61723697236_CalonPRKNenggiri.jpg)
PRK Nenggiri: Peratusan keluar mengundi indikator, tawan semula atau status quo
Peratusan keluar mengundi akan menjadi antara indikator penting yang menentukan keputusan Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Nenggiri Sabtu ini, sama ada Barisan Nasional (BN) berjay
[TERKINI] Banduan Iran ditahan disyaki miliki heroin
Seorang banduan lelaki warga Iran yang sedang menjalani hukuman penjara 30 tahun di Penjara Tapah ditahan pada petang Rabu kerana disyaki memiliki dadah jenis heroin.
!['Keluarga mula sedar kehilangan Nidza Afham selepas dimaklumkan kekasihnya' - Aufahanie 'Keluarga mula sedar kehilangan Nidza Afham selepas dimaklumkan kekasihnya' - Aufahanie](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/41723698722_NidzaAfham.jpg)
'Keluarga mula sedar kehilangan Nidza Afham selepas dimaklumkan kekasihnya' - Aufahanie
Aufahanie mendedahkan dia dan ahli keluarga mula sedar tentang kehilangan abangnya, Nidza Afham selepas dimaklumkan oleh kekasih arwah abangnya itu.
[TERKINI] Pembunuhan Cikgu Istiqomah: Polis serahkan kertas siasatan kepada PPN hari ini
Kertas siasatan berhubung kes pembunuhan kejam guru wanita Istiqomah Ahmad Rozi, 33, akan diserahkan kepada Pejabat Pendakwaan Negeri (PPN) hari ini untuk arahan lanjut.
![Polis tahan banduan warga Iran miliki dadah di Penjara Tapah Polis tahan banduan warga Iran miliki dadah di Penjara Tapah](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/81723698023_AziziMatAris.jpg)
Polis tahan banduan warga Iran miliki dadah di Penjara Tapah
Seorang banduan warga Iran yang sedang menjalani hukuman di Penjara Tapah didapati memiliki dadah jenis heroin.
![Jangan normalkan remaja bawah umur memandu Jangan normalkan remaja bawah umur memandu](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/51723017349_TBbawahumur.jpg)
Jangan normalkan remaja bawah umur memandu
Masyarakat dinasihatkan untuk tidak menormalkan perbuatan memandu kenderaan oleh remaja bawah umur yang berbahaya termasuk boleh mengakibatkan kematian.
AWANI Ringkas: Bukan arahan saya - Fahmi Fadzil
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Wang kertas tertera wajah Raja Charles dilelong RM5.2 juta
Wang kertas tertera wajah pemerintah monarki Britain, Raja Charles III, berjaya dilelong pada harga 914,127 pound Sterling (RM5.2 juta) dalam empat siri lelongan di London baru-baru ini.
Penemuan takungan air, saintis percaya wujud hidupan di Marikh
Jumlah takungan air yang banyak jauh di dalam kerak planet Marikh, menimbulkan semula persoalan dalam kalangan saintis yang percaya tentang kemungkinan wujudnya hidupan di planet merah tersebut.
Mpox atau cacar monyet: WHO isytihar mpox kecemasan kesihatan awam global
Pertubuhan Kesihatan Sedunia (WHO) mengisytiharkan Monkeypox atau Mpox sebagai kecemasan kesihatan awam global, pada Rabu.
![Menteri Luar ketuai delegasi Malaysia ke Sidang Kemuncak Peringatan ASEAN-EU di Brussels Menteri Luar ketuai delegasi Malaysia ke Sidang Kemuncak Peringatan ASEAN-EU di Brussels](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2022-12/51670894922_ZambryAbdKadir.jpg)
Menteri Luar ketuai delegasi Malaysia ke Sidang Kemuncak Peringatan ASEAN-EU di Brussels
Ia dijangka membincangkan, antara lain, hala tuju hubungan dialog ASEAN-EU serta kerjasama politik, keselamatan dan ekonomi.
![Sidang Kemuncak ASEAN-EU buka ruang bincang isu perdagangan Sidang Kemuncak ASEAN-EU buka ruang bincang isu perdagangan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2022-05/71652333565_European.jpg)
Sidang Kemuncak ASEAN-EU buka ruang bincang isu perdagangan
Sempena dengan sidang kemuncak itu rundingan dua hala intensif antara wakil EU dan Malaysia bakal diadakan.
![Pemimpin EU hampir capai persetujuan pelan rangsangan ekonomi 750b Euro Pemimpin EU hampir capai persetujuan pelan rangsangan ekonomi 750b Euro](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2020-07/71595290105_PedroSanchez.jpg)
Pemimpin EU hampir capai persetujuan pelan rangsangan ekonomi 750b Euro
Ini selepas Presiden Majlis EU Charles Michel membentangkan kompromi untuk mengurangkan jurang antara kumpulan yang bersetuju dan yang tidak.
![Sesi persekolahan di Belgium dibuka semula Sesi persekolahan di Belgium dibuka semula](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2020-05/61589814467_SchoolchildrenBelg.jpg)
Sesi persekolahan di Belgium dibuka semula
Setiap murid dan pelajar perlu memastikan penjarakan sosial sepenuhnya namun sesi pembelajaran menerusi dalam talian tetap diteruskan.
![Tidak peduli rayuan Itali, Kesatuan Eropah akhirnya tampil mohon maaf Tidak peduli rayuan Itali, Kesatuan Eropah akhirnya tampil mohon maaf](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2020-04/41587102743_UrsulaVonDerLeye.jpg)
Tidak peduli rayuan Itali, Kesatuan Eropah akhirnya tampil mohon maaf
Selepas Rom mendakwa permohonan bantuan perubatan dalam usaha memerangi pandemik COVID-19 tidak mendapat respons bulan lalu, Kesatuan Eropah (EU) tampil membuat permohonan maaf kepada negara itu.
![COVID-19: Belgium umum kilang coklat sebagai sektor penting, dibenarkan beroperasi COVID-19: Belgium umum kilang coklat sebagai sektor penting, dibenarkan beroperasi](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2020-04/71586582986_chocolateEasterb.jpg)
COVID-19: Belgium umum kilang coklat sebagai sektor penting, dibenarkan beroperasi
Beberapa pengeluar jenama coklat sedang berusaha memastikan jualan mereka tidak terjejas dalam tempoh kritikal ini.
![Laman web palsu sebar berita propaganda India Laman web palsu sebar berita propaganda India](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2019-12/61576619684_PakistanIndiaKas.jpg)
Laman web palsu sebar berita propaganda India
Kewujudan rangkaian penyebaran berita palsu pro-India didedah.
![OIC sokong krisis di Syria diselesaikan guna politik OIC sokong krisis di Syria diselesaikan guna politik](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2019-03/41552621215_OIC.jpg)
OIC sokong krisis di Syria diselesaikan guna politik
Pertubuhan Kerjasama Islam (OIC) mendesak komuniti antarabangsa untuk segera membantu pelarian Syria dan menyokong penyelesaian politik.
![Wan Azizah kesal Suu Kyi abai isu Rohingya Wan Azizah kesal Suu Kyi abai isu Rohingya](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2018-10/41539921159_WanAzizahWanIsmail.jpg)
Wan Azizah kesal Suu Kyi abai isu Rohingya
Dr Wan Azizah berkata reputasi Suu Kyi sebagai Pemenang Hadiah Keamanan Nobel tercalar berikutan keengganannya mendesak tentera Myanmar menamatkan kempen keganasan yang berlarutan sekian lama itu.
![Malaysia, EU akan meterai PCA pada Januari 2019 Malaysia, EU akan meterai PCA pada Januari 2019](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2018-10/61539902528_WANAZIZAH.jpg)
Malaysia, EU akan meterai PCA pada Januari 2019
Malaysia akan melihat perdagangan dua hala dan pelaburan dengan lebih meluas apabila PCA ditandatangani dengan EU, kata Timbalan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.