Islamic State flag found at Brussels shoot-out scene: Prosecutor

The suspect gunned down in a shootout with Belgian police on Tuesday was found with an Islamic State flag, a Kalashnikov rifle and a book of extremist literature next to his body, Belgian prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Brussels: The suspect gunned down in a Brussels shootout with police was found with an Islamic State flag, a Kalashnikov assault rifle and a book of Salafist literature next to his body, Belgian prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Thierry Werts, a spokesman for anti-terror prosecutors, told a press conference that the man had been identified as 35-year-old Belkaid Mohamed, an Algerian national who was illegally in Belgium.

"Next to the body was a Kalashnikov, a book on Salafism and an Islamic State flag," Werts said.

Mohamed was "neutralised" by police snipers on Tuesday in response to heavy gunfire from the building where police on a routine search had stumbled upon him.

Werts said that "two persons who were probably in the flat and whose identity is not known fled the scene and are being tracked down".

Searches throughout the southern district of Brussels found "no results", he said.

Prime Minister Charles Michel said a vast police operation was still under way in Brussels after the shootout in which four police officers were slightly wounded.