IS flag found during Brussels raid linked to Paris attacks

Two men detained in Brussels as part of a manhunt for suspects connected to the Paris terror attacks have been released without charge, according to the Federal Prosecutor's Office.

In a statement, the office said a man arrested in a hospital in Halle and a man arrested following a search of a house in Forest have both been released.

It also said a house search conducted in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw was "negative".

An Islamic State flag and a Salafist manual was found by the body of a gunman shot in a house raid near Brussels, authorities said.

The gunman shot dead on Tuesday in Brussels following a raid linked to investigations into the Paris attacks was named as Mohamed Belkaid, a 35-year-old Algerian living illegally in Belgium.

A police sniper shot dead the suspect, who had an assault rifle, after four officers were wounded on Tuesday during what investigators had expected to be a routine search of an apartment in the suburb of Forest.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Belgian federal prosecutors said they were holding two men, one who had been admitted to hospital near Brussels with a broken leg.

It has not yet been established whether they were connected to the shooting. Two suspects remain on the run.

Two militant suspects have been detained after the Brussels shooting on Tuesday, Belgian broadcaster VTM reported on Wednesday.

VTM cited no source and the judicial authority were not immediately available for comment.

Earlier reports said that police were searching for two suspects who fled when officers killed an unidentified armed person during the raid linked to the Paris attacks.

A major police operation is still under way in Brussels after shots fired in a raid related to the Paris terror attacks.

Four police have been wounded in the operation. One gunman has been killed and officers say they are hunting for two others.

ITV News Correspondent Neil Connery reports:

• Brussels shootout: What we know so far

Armed officers continue to patrol the streets of Forest, Brussels, after gunmen unexpectedly opened fire during a police raid.

The operation, linked to investigations into November's terror attacks in Paris, involved both French and Belgian forces - though authorities have admitted this was a coincidence, as the raid was not expected to yield much in the way of evidence.

Prosecutors have confirmed that one suspect was killed in a second raid on the building, and said searchers were ongoing for any other suspects still on the loose.

One gunman killed during an operation in Brussels linked to November's Paris terror attacks was holding a Kalashnikov assault rifle at the time, the Belgian federal prosecutor has revealed.

In a statement, the prosecutor's office said when officers approached the apartment to search it, "one or more people immediately opened fire on police the moment the door was opened by the security forces."

Around five hours later, police stormed the building again and "a suspect armed with a Kalashnikov was killed".

Earlier reports said the suspect was spotted in a garden near the apartment block, and had been shot by a sniper.

School and nursery children in the Forest district of Brussels have been allowed to return home, after schools were put on lockdown following a shootout.

Gunmen opened fire on police during a raid carried out as part of the ongoing investigations into November's terror attacks in Paris.

Several of those responsible had been living in Brussels.

Reports suggested one suspect in the raids has been killed by officers while two others were on the run, but after several hours parents were allowed to head to the schools within the cordon - accompanied by an armed guard - to collect their children.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said the operation was ongoing.

The presence of French police in Brussels at the time of a raid connected with the Paris terror attacks in November was a "coincidence", a Belgian minister has said.

The unnamed minister told reporters that the raid - which began at 2pm local time (1pm GMT) had not been expected to yield much evidence.

At least one gunman opened fire when officers stormed the apartment building in the Forest district of Belgium's capital city, injuring four officers.

In a news conference, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel revealed one of the four injured was a French female police officer - but did not confirm reports that one suspect had been killed and at least two others were on the run.

Two of the four injured officers have now been released from hospital.

A manhunt is ongoing on the streets of Brussels tonight, after four police officers were injured in a gunfight during a raid linked to November's terror attacks in Paris.

At least two suspects are on the run, with one other believed to have been killed in a shootout with armed officers.

ITV News correspondent Duncan Golestani reports:

Two suspects in the raids in Brussels are still at large after one was "neutralised", local media has reported.

Armed officers launched a manhunt on the streets of the Forest district after at least one gunman opened fire through the door of an apartment, as police carried out a raid linked to November's terror attacks in Paris.

At least one of the suspects still at large is believed to have barricaded themselves inside the apartment.

Local media reported that a police helicopter spotted another suspect, armed with a machine gun, in a nearby garden before he was "neutralised" by security forces.

The reports do not clarify whether "neutralised" means killed or arrested.

Belgian police carried out the raid with the support of their French counterparts. Four officers were injured during the exchange of bullets.

A large part of southern Forest has been cordoned off and residents asked to stay indoors, while two schools have been placed on lockdown while the search continues.