Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Police cordon off the street where troops were attacked

A man has been shot dead after attacking soldiers with a machete in Brussels, in what prosecutors are treating as a terror attack.

The Somali attacker, aged 30, died in hospital. One of the soldiers suffered a hand injury.

Photographs show the street cordoned off with police and troops in the area.

Soldiers have become a familiar sight on the streets of the Belgian capital since terror attacks which killed more than 30 people last year.

The attack took place on Boulevard Emile Jacqmain in the centre of the city.

Belgium's federal prosecutor's office said the attacker had not been "known for terrorist activities" but had shouted "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest" in Arabic) during the assault.

Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption The man attacked two soldiers with a large knife in the centre of Brussels

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The area on Boulevard Emile Jacqmain has been cordoned off by police

Witness Ryan MacDonald‏ wrote on Twitter that he had heard the sound of a gunshot before seeing a "heavy police presence outside".

Another witness said he had heard "two loud bangs and a load of sirens".

Earlier reports spoke of two soldiers being injured in Friday's attack but only one was confirmed to have been wounded.

The attacker was born in 1987. He came to Belgium in 2004 and was granted asylum after five years, followed by citizenship in 2015, prosecutors say. He had been living in the city of Bruges.

Not known for any terror-related activities, he was charged with assault and battery in February. No details were given.

A fake firearm and two copies of the Koran were found among his possessions.

The presence of soldiers on the streets of Brussels is part of a large-scale security operation designed to reassure the public in the wake of terrorist attacks in the city in March 2016 in which 32 people were killed.

Brussels marks bomb attacks anniversary

In June, a soldier shot dead a man who had tried to bomb a Brussels train station.

He was identified as a 36-year-old Moroccan national, named by local media as Oussama Zariouh.</s>BRUSSELS, Aug 25 (Reuters) - A man was shot in the centre of Brussels on Friday evening after attacking two soldiers with a knife, Brussels prosecutors said.

The man was critically wounded but was still alive and in hospital, they said. The soldiers were lightly wounded in the attack, one in the face and the other in the hand.

"With the identity that we currently have, it is a 30-year-old man who is not known for terrorist activities," a spokeswoman for the prosecution service said.

In addition to regular police, Brussels streets are being patrolled by soldiers due to a heightened security threat level in the wake of militant attacks in Paris and the Belgian capital in 2015 and 2016.

In June, troops shot dead a suspected suicide bomber in Brussels' central train station but there were no other casualties, in what authorities treated a terrorist incident. (Writing by Robert-Jan Bartunek; editing by Andrew Roche)</s>A machete-wielding attacker has reportedly been shot after targeting soldiers on patrol in Brussels, according to local media.

Pictures posted online showed a police cordon with paramedics working behind the line, while witnesses claimed they had seen a man with a knife confront two military officers in Boulevard Emile Jacqmain.

Belgian broadcaster RTBF reported that the officers were injured, but not badly.

The authorities have not yet confirmed any details of the incident, though the country's anti-terror Crisis Centre said soldiers had "neutralised" a person in the capital city.</s>A man was shot in the centre of Brussels on Friday evening after attacking two soldiers, prosecutors said, adding that the man was taken to hospital and was in critical condition.

“With the identity that we currently have, [the suspect] is a 30-year-old man who is not known for terrorist activities,” a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office said.

The soldiers were lightly wounded in the attack, one in the face and the other in the hand.

The crisis center said in a tweet late Friday that the situation "is under control".

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel also tweeted that "all our support is with our soldiers. Our security services remain on alert. We are following the situation closely."

In June, Belgian troops shot dead a suspected suicide bomber at Brussels' main train station. The man was later identified as a 36-year-old Moroccan national, the federal prosecutor's office said.

The Belgian capital – home to the headquarters of both NATO and the European Union – has been on high alert since a Brussels-based Islamic State group cell organised an attack that killed 130 people in Paris in November 2015. Four months later, associates of those attackers killed 32 people in Brussels.

>> Read more: The Brussels bombers and their links to the Paris attacks

Attacks in Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Sweden have been carried out in the name of the Islamist group by other young men, many of them locals.

"Such isolated acts will continue in Brussels, in Paris and elsewhere. It's inevitable," Brussels security consultant Claude Moniquet, a former French agent, told broadcaster RTL shortly after the thwarted attack at Brussels central station.

With the Islamic State group under pressure in Syria - and with Belgium being the most fertile European recruiting ground for foreign Islamist fighters - he said attacks in Europe may increase, though many of these would be by "amateurs" who would not manage to commit large acts of terror.</s>Brussels: A man was shot in the centre of Brussels on Friday evening after attacking two soldiers with a knife, state broadcaster RTBF reported.

It is not clear whether the man had survived the shooting, RTBF said. Brussels police were not immediately available for comment.

More to come.</s>A man armed with a machete has been shot after he attacked soldiers on patrol in Brussels as he shouted "Allahu Akbar".

Witnesses said they heard gunshots tonight as the knifeman confronted two military officers in the Belgian capital.

Belgian broadcaster RTBF reported a 30-year-old Somalian man wielding a knife and shouting "Allahu Akbar" was "shot down" after soldiers were attacked and injured.

Early reports suggested the troops were not seriously hurt while the man was killed.

However, sources from inside the Belgian prosecutor's office later said the man was alive and in a critical condition in hospital.

However, sources from inside the Belgian prosecutor's office later said the man was alive and in a critical condition in hospital.

Pictures taken from the scene show a police cordon on a pavement with paramedics working inside.

Thomas da Silva Rosa tweeted: "A man with a machete attacked soldiers on patrol in Brussels centre, now shot dead."

Ryan MacDonald wrote: "Sound of gunshot, heavy police presence outside on Boulevard Emile Jacqmain, Brussels."

Another man said: "Heard two bangs and loads of sirens in Brussels, anyone know what's happening?"

The attack took place Boulevard Emile Jacqmain at around 8:20pm local time (7.20pm UK time).</s>A man armed with a machete was shot in Brussels on Friday after he attacked soldiers on patrol.

The man had attacked two soldiers in the Belgian capital, witnesses said.

The suspect was in a critical condition.

"With the identity that we currently have it is a 30-year-old man who is not known for terrorist activities," a spokeswoman for the prosecution service said.

Reports said the soldiers were not seriously injured.

Freddie Martyn, 25, told the Telegraph: "Just picked up my brother from the train station. We saw two to three ambulances, three army dogs, 10 police officers and the same amount of soldiers.

"Apparently a guy with a machete attacked one soldier and apparently it all went very quickly. They thought he had a bomb on him. They fired two shots directly at him and took him out."</s>A man has been shot dead after attacking two soldiers with a knife in a terror-related incident in Brussels, Belgium. The man, said to be aged 30, was taken to hospital after the attack, which took place at about 8.20pm local time, but later died</s>A man has been shot in the centre of Brussels on Friday evening after attacking two soldiers with a knife.

The man is in a critical condition, Belgian prosecutors told Reuters. They also confirmed the man was not known to have any terror links.

“With the identity that we currently have it is a 30-year-old man who is not known for terrorist activities,” said a prosecution spokeswoman.

The soldiers were lightly wounded in the attack, one in the face, the other in the hand.

In addition to regular police, the streets of Brussels are being patrolled by soldiers due to a heightened threat level following a series of terror attacks in Paris and the Belgian capital in 2015 and 2016.

In June, soldiers shot dead a suspected suicide bomber in the Brussels central train station but there were no other casualties, in what authorities treated as a terrorist incident.</s>Soldiers have shot dead a man in Brussels after he charged troops with a knife in what authorities said was a terror attack.

The man twice shouted "Allahu akbar", Arabic for "God is great", as he charged the soldiers, said Esther Natus, a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutor's office.

"We do consider it a terror attack," Ms Natus said.

She did not identify the man or confirm whether he was known to police, saying only that "the suspect is dead" and one of the soldiers was slightly wounded.

Police secure a scene in downtown Brussels after a reported knife attack on Belgian Army soldiers this evening. Picture: AP

Brussels mayor Philippe Close said three soldiers came under attack and one had been taken to hospital.

Federal Police spokesman Jonathan Pfunde said the attacker had been "neutralised" and Belgium's anti-terror crisis centre tweeted that the situation was "under control".

"All our support is with our soldiers," prime minister Charles Michel said via Twitter.

"Our security services remain on alert. We are following the situation closely."

Associated Press television images showed police had sealed off a main street near the Grand Place, a central square that is a popular tourist site.

Thomas da Silva Rosa, who lives near where the incident took place on Boulevard Emile Jacquemain, said he saw the attacker lying in the street in the aftermath.

"I live right in front of the station. It was already blocked by police at the scene and there was a man lying on the ground. The police said he had been shot by soldiers," said the public affairs consultant.

"He was lying on the ground, appeared dead."

Belgium has been on high alert since suicide bombers killed 32 people in attacks on March 22 2016, on Brussels' main airport and subway system.

Soldiers and extra police have been deployed at public buildings and around large gatherings for more than a year.
A Somali man has been shot dead after attacking soldiers with a machete in Brussels, in what prosecutors are treating as a terror attack.