Armed Suspect Killed In Brussels Counterterror Raid

Police at the scene where shots were fired during a counterterrorism operation in Brussels on March 15.

An armed suspect has been killed during a Franco-Belgian counterterrorism raid in Brussels.

The Belgian Federal Prosecutor's Office said on March 15 that police officers went to search an apartment in the southern suburb of Forest, when "one or more people immediately opened fire on police the moment the door was opened by the security forces."

Police stormed the building some five hours later and "a suspect armed with a Kalashnikov was killed," it said, adding that searches were continuing.

Four police officers were wounded in the raid, which was linked to the Paris attacks that killed 130 people in November 2015. Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for the gun-and-bomb attacks.

Eleven people have been arrested and charged in Belgium in connection with the Paris attacks, and eight are still in detention.

French police sources said key suspect Salah Abdeslam, from the Molenbeek area of Brussels, was not the target of the March 15 raid.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters