The Belgian capital of Brussels is once again suffering a terrorist threat, according to local media reports.
Police in the city are currently surrounding a suspected terrorist in Brussels who is said to be wearing a “long coat and wires.” Belgium is currently preparing to celebrate its National Day on July 21.
A report in the Le Soir media outlet quotes a Brussels police spokesperson called Ilse de Keere, who says that “a person wearing a long coat, with wires coming out, is considered the suspect.”
Temperatures in the city have reached 32C, and the man raised suspicions with his thick winter coat. “A person with a long coat is considered suspicious,” said a Belgian police source.
“We didn’t take any risks. The person was stopped and kept at a distance,” Christian De Coninck of Brussels police told Belgian TV. “We are now waiting for more information from the bomb disposal unit which is at the scene now and then we’ll know more.”
The incident took place near the Place de la Monnaie in central Brussels. Businesses in the area have been evacuated and a bomb squad is attending the scene. A number of roads around the area are blocked.
According to police the suspect is now “under control” but has not been detained.
Photos posted to social media show a man on his knees with his hands in the air. He is surrounded by security services who have him at gunpoint.
Belgian police have since tweeted that the situation remains “unchanged” several hours after the standoff began.
Security has been stepped up in Brussels ahead of the National Day celebrations on 21 July. Earlier this year bomb attacks in the city left 32 people dead.
The national holiday is subject to extra security operations following the 14 July attack in Nice, France. The date marks Bastille Day and is celebrated throughout the country. A French-Tunisian man drove a large truck through crowds of people watching a fireworks display, leaving 84 people dead and many more injured.
