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Man wounded and detained in police operation in Schaerbeek, Brussels

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    • One person was wounded and taken into police custody after a major police operation in the Schaerbeek district of Brussels, the local mayor said.

    According to La Libre and La Capitale news organizations, a Belgian prosecutor said the man was not Mohammed Abrini who is wanted in connection with November’s Paris attacks.

    The Mayor of Schaerbeek, Bernard Clerfayt said the man was wounded in the leg during the police operation and added that the man is linked to the bomb attacks in Brussels and to a raid in Paris on Thursday.

    Member of the Belgian DOVO bomb squad in Schaarbeek on March 25. (VTM)

    Special units of the federal police, supported by the military cordoned off an area of Schaerbeek at around 1 p.m.

    Belgian broadcaster RTBF reported a man with a backpack had been “neutralized” after refusing to comply with police orders.

    Three explosions were heard during the operation, but Clerfayt said they were controlled explosions – a remote-controlled bomb disposal robot can be seen in the video footage from the incident.

    It is thought police believed the man’s backpack contained explosive materials, but this has not been confirmed.

    The security operation ended at around 3 p.m.

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