A man has shot dead two police officers and a nearby driver in the eastern Belgian city of Liège.
The gunman took a female cleaner hostage at a school before being killed by police. Two other police officers were also injured.
The man’s motive is not yet clear but terror prosecutors are looking after the case.
Police sources quoted in local media said the man was heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” (“God is greatest” in Arabic).
“There are elements that point in the direction that this is a terrorist act,” Eric Van Der Sypt, spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office, told the AFP news agency.
Belgian broadcaster RTBF said the gunman had only been released from prison on Monday. It said that he may have been radicalised while in jail.
Belgium’s Prime Minister Charles Michel said he was following the situation closely and expressed his support for those caught up in the shooting.
Footage on social media showed people running to safety as several gunshots rang out. The police appear to have been shot outside a cafe.
A security perimeter has been put in place where the shooting took place and the public has been asked to avoid the area.
Belgium remains on alert after attacks in 2016 claimed by the Islamic State group left 32 people dead.
Later that year a man attacked two police officers with machetes while shouting “Allahu Akbar” before being shot dead.
Source: BBC
