Belgium: 4 armed men enter house, no terror link | World News - Hindustan Times
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Belgium: 4 armed men enter house, no terror link

AFP | By, Brussels
Dec 15, 2014 06:02 PM IST

Police said on Monday that two hours in it was still unclear what the intention was, and there was no information available either about the armed men who entered the apartment block or whether they had taken hostages.

Belgian police surrounded an apartment in the city of Ghent on Monday after four armed men were believed to have taken a hostage, but there were no immediate indications of terrorism, prosecutors said.

Special-forces-police-guard-a-street-in-Ghent-western-Belgium-Four-armed-men-have-entered-an-apartment-and-police-have-blocked-off-a-wide-perimeter-around-the-area-AP-Photo
Special-forces-police-guard-a-street-in-Ghent-western-Belgium-Four-armed-men-have-entered-an-apartment-and-police-have-blocked-off-a-wide-perimeter-around-the-area-AP-Photo

Special armed police set up a wide perimeter around the building after the siege started several hours ago in a working-class area of the northwestern, Flemish-speaking city.

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"There is no indication that this is linked to terrorism, the Islamic State or what is happening at the moment in Sydney," the prosecutor told AFP.

The Belgian siege happened at the same time as a lone gunman kept terrified staff and customers captive in a cafe in Australia's largest city, brandishing an Islamic flag.

Ghent's local prosecutor said that "four armed men" were involved and that one hostage was believed to have been taken but stressed that it appeared to be an isolated incident with no terror links.

A person in the building, which is divided into several flats, saw the armed men and was able to leave before calling the police to alert them, a police spokesperson said.

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