Brussels: Belgian police has detained a man in an anti-terror operation near a shopping mall early on Tuesday, triggering an emergency meeting of the prime minister and the federal crisis center.
Authorities have closed off the City 2 shopping center in Central Brussels following reports of a pre-dawn alert.
Police in hoods and military were seen patrolling around the shopping center with police cars outside. Media reported that an alert was sounded around 5.30 a.m. and reaction was immediate.
A bomb squad team was deployed to the centre in the city's retail district and the man was quickly detained. Police have sealed off the streets around the shopping centre.
"A man was arrested at 5.30 this morning, possibly in possession of explosives," a spokeswoman for the Brussels prosecutor said.
However, no explosives were found on the man who claimed to be carrying bomb in Brussels shopping centre, a BBC report said quoting security sources.
Belgium has been living under a threat level that an attack is possible and likely since the November attacks in Paris, some of whose perpetrators were either Belgian nationals or had lived in Brussels. On March 22, attacks on the Brussels subway and airport killed 32.
(With AP inputs)
