Brussels raid gunmen identified as Mohamed Belkaid

Belgium officials have identified one of the gunman responsible for firing shots during a raid in the region as Algerian national Mohamed Belkaid, aged 36. The gunmen was killed by snipers during the conflict, as he attempted to fire shorts at police from an apartment window in the suburb of Forest. Four officers were wounded in the raid, with police still tracking down a further two suspects who were also thought to be in the apartment. The raid has been linked to an investigation into the Paris attacks which took place in November, killing 130 people. According to Eric Van der Sypt, a spokesman for the Belgium prosecutor, ‘a flag of ISIL was found in the flat’, in addition to Salafist literature and Kalashnikov ammunition. Van der Sypt also maintained that Belkaid had been living in Belgium illegally and was not known to the authorities except for in one case of robbery.