The area around the incident, including a primary school, was immediately placed on lockdown after two men with Kalashnikov rifles opened fire on officers.
One suspect was on the run, police confirmed, with officers placing roadblocks around the southern suburb of Forest. Snipers were deployed on rooftops and a police helicopter circles the area overhead.
The neighbourhood flanks that of Molenbeek, home to several of the Islamists that carried out the attacks on 13 November, including Salah Abdeslam who fled across the Belgian border after the attacks and remains at large.
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Police officers walk in the street near the site of a shooting on Dries-Driesstraat at Forest-Vorst in Brussels on March 15, 2016
EMMANUEL DUNAND via Getty Images
Bernard Cazeneuve,the French interior minister, said French police were involved. “A team made up of Belgian and French police officers intervened and came under fire – shots from heavy weapons,” he said.
International police forces are still hunting suspects relating to the attacks in the French capital that left 130 people dead.
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A police officer stands near the site of a shooting on Dries-Driesstraat at Forest-Vorst in Brussels on March 15, 2016
EMMANUEL DUNAND via Getty Images
Belgian Police Attacked
(01 of09)
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A police officer takes position at the site of a shooting in the southern Forest district of Brussels on March 15, 2016.Shots were fired at Belgian police in the capital Brussels as they carried out an operation linked to the Paris attacks, Belgian prosecutors told AFP. The raid comes as Belgian police continue their hunt for Salah Abdeslam -- a key suspect in the November attacks which killed 130 people -- who comes from Brussels. / AFP / Belga / DIRK WAEM / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read DIRK WAEM/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:DIRK WAEM via Getty Images)
(02 of09)
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Police officers stand near the site of a shooting on Dries-Driesstraat at Forest-Vorst in Brussels on March 15, 2016. Shots were fired on March 15 at Belgian police in the capital Brussels as they carried out an operation linked to the Paris attacks, Belgian prosecutors told / AFP / BELGA / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read /AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AFP via Getty Images)
(03 of09)
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Police officers take position at the site of a shooting in the southern Forest district of Brussels on March 15, 2016.Shots were fired at Belgian police in the capital Brussels as they carried out an operation linked to the Paris attacks, Belgian prosecutors told AFP. The raid comes as Belgian police continue their hunt for Salah Abdeslam -- a key suspect in the November attacks which killed 130 people -- who comes from Brussels. / AFP / Belga / DIRK WAEM / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read DIRK WAEM/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:DIRK WAEM via Getty Images)
(04 of09)
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Police officers walk at the site of a shooting in the southern Forest district of Brussels on March 15, 2016. Shots were fired at Belgian police in the capital Brussels as they carried out an operation linked to the Paris attacks, Belgian prosecutors told AFP. The raid comes as Belgian police continue their hunt for Salah Abdeslam -- a key suspect in the November attacks which killed 130 people -- who comes from Brussels. / AFP / Belga / DIRK WAEM / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read DIRK WAEM/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:DIRK WAEM via Getty Images)
(05 of09)
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People gather on a street corner near a police car near the site of a shooting on Dries-Driesstraat at Forest-Vorst in Brussels on March 15, 2016. Shots were fired on March 15 at Belgian police in the capital Brussels as they carried out an operation linked to the Paris attacks, Belgian prosecutors said. The raid comes as Belgian police continue their hunt for Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in the November attacks which killed 130 people, who comes from Brussels. / AFP / EMMANUEL DUNAND (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:EMMANUEL DUNAND via Getty Images)
(06 of09)
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Police officers stand at the site of a shooting in the Dries-Driesstraat street on March 15, 2016 at Forest-Vorst in Brussels. Shots were fired on March 15 at Belgian police in the capital Brussels as they carried out an operation linked to the Paris attacks, Belgian prosecutors told / AFP / BELGA / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read /AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AFP via Getty Images)
(07 of09)
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A police officer runs in the street near the site of a shooting on Dries-Driesstraat at Forest-Vorst in Brussels on March 15, 2016. Shots were fired on March 15 at Belgian police in the capital Brussels as they carried out an operation linked to the Paris attacks, Belgian prosecutors told / AFP / BELGA / DIRK WAEM / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read DIRK WAEM/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:DIRK WAEM via Getty Images)
(08 of09)
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A police officer cordons off the area as people gather near the site of a shooting on Dries-Driesstraat at Forest-Vorst in Brussels on March 15, 2016. Shots were fired on March 15 at Belgian police in the capital Brussels as they carried out an operation linked to the Paris attacks, Belgian prosecutors said. The raid comes as Belgian police continue their hunt for Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in the November attacks which killed 130 people, who comes from Brussels. / AFP / EMMANUEL DUNAND (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:EMMANUEL DUNAND via Getty Images)
(09 of09)
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Police officers walk at the site of a shooting in the Dries-Driesstraat street on March 15, 2016 at Forest-Vorst in Brussels. Shots were fired on March 15 at Belgian police in the capital Brussels as they carried out an operation linked to the Paris attacks, Belgian prosecutors told / AFP / BELGA / DIRK WAEM / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read DIRK WAEM/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:DIRK WAEM via Getty Images)