Brussels, Feb 22: A high alert was issued in Brussels on Thursday after reports claimed that an armed miscreant was on the loose in the city. Several regions were under lockdown, with heavy police deployment. In the Forest neighbourhood, located in southern suburb of Brussels, a cluster of buildings were reportedly cordoned off the search for the gunman.

Brussels police spokeswoman Kathleen Calie, while speaking to reporters, confirmed that a gunman is "on loose" after murdering an individual in Forest region. He, however, clarified "the incident is not terror-related'.

Forest mayor Marc-Jean Ghyssels, while speaking to local broadcaster RTL, said the police has "suspected the presence of an armed man" in the area.

The incident in Brussels brings back to memory the terror attack in the city in March 2016, when militants affiliated to Daesh or the Islamic State (ISIS) attacked a metro station claiming 32 lives.

Brussels, which is also the capital of European Union, drew flak over its security apparatus in November 2015, when Salah Abdeslam, the mastermind of the deadly terror attack in Paris on November 13, 2015, which killed over 130 people, was found hiding in the city post the attack. He was nabbed by the Brussels police after a gunbattle which lasted several hours.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 22, 2018 07:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).