Two police officers stabbed in suspected terror attack in Brussels

Two police officers have been stabbed in Brussels in an incident that could be terror-related, prosecutors said.

A 43-year old Belgian man stabbed one officer in the neck and the other in the abdomen in the north-east of the Belgian capital on Wednesday, before fleeing the scene.

The assailant was stopped by a second group of police officers, breaking the nose of one officer, who shot him in the leg.

“We have reason to believe that it is terror-related,” federal prosecutor’s spokesperson Eric Van Der Sypt said. According to the Guardian, he declined to provide details or explain why prosecutors suspected the attack was linked to terrorism.

The suspect has been identified as Hicham D, 43, a Belgian citizen. Belgian media reported that Hicham D is known to Belgian police and is believed to have links to jihadists who travelled to Syria to fight. He also served as a Belgian army officer until 2009.

A judge will reportedly decide later on his “possible detention”, the prosecutor said.

Belgian prosecutors said the officers had not suffered life-threatening injuries.

The attack happened near a main road in a region linked to previous terror attacks.

It comes just hours after commuters were evacuated from Brussels Nord station over a bomb scare.

Belgian cities remain tense following the March bombings, with soldiers guarding embassies and patrolling railway stations in the capital.