A masked gunman rammed the front gate of a military barracks in Belgium today with a car full of explosives.
Belgium on ALERT: Firefight after masked gunman attacks military barracks with 'car bomb' – https://t.co/j6Nz6Sxc84 pic.twitter.com/5EQK2F9uH8
— NewsYab.com (@NewsYab) October 26, 2015
The attack was near Namur, in the south of the country.
Belgian officials say the attacker’s identity is known.
UPDATE: THE SUSPECT WAS CAUGHT—
Retweeted Ahmad Al-Issa (@ahmadalissa):
Gunman attacks #Belgian army base after failed car bomb attempt – local… https://t.co/IXVgIhQZgG
— Ballistic Furniture (@BallisticFS) October 26, 2015
Shots were fired—
The gunman is reportedly still on the loose.
BREAKING: Shots fired at Belgian military barracks after suspected failed car bomb attack https://t.co/Y4qIlaf9y5 pic.twitter.com/eVmOuwUaPu
— Daily Express (@Daily_Express) October 26, 2015
Express.co reported:
A MILITARY barracks was on lockdown this morning after a masked gunman rammed the front gate with a car and exchanged fire with Belgian soldiers.
The gunman was said to be on the loose after ramming the car – thought to be full of explosives – into the front barricade at the Flawinne military base outside Charleroi, 50 miles south of Brussels.
Local media reported that he then began a gunfight with paratroopers stationed at the base before fleeing on foot. TV channel Canal C spoke of a “huge police presence” at the scene and said “several shots” had been fired.
The station added that the attacker was thought to have been rumbled when their car was searched at the checkpoint, and that the vehicle was found abandoned in the nearby town of Belgrade.
Images later emerged purporting to show the attacker’s car abandoned in a field near the scene. The photographs show a black Ford Focus hatchback with its front end visibly caved in from a heavy impact.