A suspect reportedly holding a machine gun was spotted in a nearby garden while two others are believed to be on the run.
19:01, UK,Tuesday 15 March 2016
A suspect has been shot dead in an exchange of fire with police following a raid on a house in Brussels, Belgian media reports.
Police confirmed that one man had been found dead and four police officers were injured.
Two other suspects were believed to be still on the run as authorities launched a manhunt after targeting an apartment in a Belgian-French anti-terror operation.
A suspect apparently holding a machine gun was reportedly "neutralised" after being spotted in a nearby garden by a police helicopter.
The operation in the southern district of Forest was ongoing and was linked to the investigation into last November's Paris attacks in which 130 people were killed.
Earlier, Belgium's federal prosecutor said one or more people had barricaded themselves into the apartment after police had been shot at through a door during the raid.
Three officers were wounded during an initial search of the property while a fourth was hit by gunfire as more police were mobilised.
It came as Belgian officers continued their hunt for Salah Abdeslam, a major suspect in the Paris shootings and bombings.
"Police were fired at," Eric Van Der Sypt, a spokesman for the federal prosecutor said.
He added that the search in the Forest district was "linked to the Paris attacks investigation".
Witnesses reported a heavy exchange of fire lasting several minutes, RTL radio said.
France's interior minister revealed French police units were involved in the operation.
People in two schools and two nurseries nearby were asked to remain indoors and the security cordon around the area was extended, the local mayor's office said.
The incident happened across the street from an Audi car plant and train lines leading to the Gare du Midi railway station, where trains run to London and Paris.
Eleven people have been arrested and charged in Belgium in connection with the Paris attacks last November and eight are still in detention.
Abdeslam, who is believed to have played a key logistical role in the killings, fled across the border to Belgium hours afterwards.
The 26-year-old and his associate Mohamed Abrini, both from the Molenbeek area of Brussels, are still at large despite concerted efforts to track them down
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