Two people have been killed in an anti-terror operation in eastern Belgium, officials say.

Prosecutors said a third person was wounded in the raid in the town of Verviers. No police or members of the public were harmed, they added.

Magistrate Eric Van der Sypt told reporters police had targeted a group returning from Syria who had been about to launch "large-scale" attacks.

Suspects had opened fire on police with assault weapons, he said.

"The suspects immediately and for several minutes opened fire with military weaponry and handguns on the special units of the federal police before they were neutralised," he said.

Anti-terror raids were also under way in the Brussels region, he added.

The terror threat level in Belgium has been raised to three - the second highest, Mr Van der Sypt said.

Witnesses in Verviers reported hearing heavy gunfire for several minutes and at least three explosions.

Witness Marylou Fletcher told the BBC: "We were going back from shopping and saw the police cars. We thought there was an accident then we heard something blowing up. We started running but did not understand what had happened. There was a lot of gun shots.

"My children cried. They are just terrified."

The area around the train station has been cordoned off and reports on social media say there is a heavy police presence in the town centre.

Verviers is in the province of Liege and has a population of about 56,000.

The incident comes a week after attacks in neighbouring France that killed 17 people.

Belgian media has reported that some of the weapons used in the attacks in Paris were bought near the Midi train station in Brussels.

The attacks - on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, a kosher market and police - have heightened security fears in several European countries.

In May last year, four people were killed inside the Jewish museum in Brussels. A Frenchman of Algerian descent is in custody in Belgium over the attack.


BBC