Shots fired as masked gunman rams vehicle at military barracks

A man wearing a balaclava tried to force his auto through the gates of a military barracks in Belgium on Monday, and several shots were fired, but no one was hurt, Belgian prosecutors said.

Shots were fired after a dark blue Ford Escort was driven through a perimeter fence towards the barracks, said a judicial source from nearby Namur.

After failing to break through, soldiers opened fire at the attacker, who is reported to have fled.

“No one was hurt, it seems”.

There were no immediate reports of serious injuries at the barracks, said defense spokesman Tony Langone.

“It seems incomprehensible”, he added. It’s home to one of the country’s largest military barracks. “There are plenty of weapons there to strike back”. The vehicle was later recovered at Belgrade, near to Flawinne.

In January, Belgium police killed two men in a major counter-terrorism raid, just a week after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in the French capital Paris.

Since a lone gunman killed four people in the May 2014 attack on the Jewish museum in Brussels, Belgium has been on high alert for further extremist attacks.

A preliminary report has also estimated that 500 people have left Belgium to fight in Iraq and Syria – many for Islamic State.