Brussels shopping centre in lockdown amid reports of man armed with bomb

A man feared to be carrying explosives has been arrested near a shopping centre during an anti-terror operation in central Brussels. Police have sealed off the streets around the City2 shopping centre in the commercial centre of the Belgian capital. “A man was arrested at 5.30 this morning, possibly in possession of explosives,” a spokeswoman for the Brussels prosecutor said. Authorities later confirmed no explosives were discovered. City 2 tightened security measures last week in response to media reports of a heightened threat to shopping centres based on an internal police memo, Belgian daily Le Soir reports. Bomb attacks on Brussels airport and the city’s metro killed 32 people in March and were claimed by the Islamic State group.

The bomb disposal team of the army is verifying whether this is the case.

Spokeswoman for the Brussels prosecutor

Brussels bomb