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Brussels police arrested a suspected gunman accused of shooting dead two Swedish football fans in what Belgium's prime minister condemned as an act of «terrorist madness». Officials said police opened fire and the suspect was «neutralised» during the arrest, which followed an intensive overnight manhunt in the Belgian capital for an assailant armed with an automatic rifle. There were conflicting accounts of the suspect's condition after his arrest which took place in the Schaerbeek district of central Brussels. Prime Minister Alexander de Croo earlier said the detained man was of Tunisian origin and had been living in the country illegally. He added that someone claiming responsibility for the killings had posted on social media that he was inspired by the Islamic State extremist group. «The terrorist attack that happened yesterday was committed with total cowardice, the attacker chose as a target two Swedish football fans,» de Croo told a news conference, adding that a third person — a taxi driver — was seriously wounded. «Terrorism strikes indiscriminately,» he said.

Brussels on Monday night, and a man who identified himself as a member of the Islamic State claimed responsibility in a video posted online. The suspected assailant fled the scene after the shooting as a football match between Belgium and Sweden was about to start, triggering a massive manhunt and prompting Belgium to raise its terror alert to the highest level. A Belgian federal prosecutor said there was no evidence that the attacker, who was still on the loose, had any link to the recent renewed conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants. The likely motive for the attack was the Swedish nationality of the victims, the prosecutor said. Sweden in August raised its terror alert to the second-highest level, warning of an increase in threats against Swedish interests abroad, after Koran burnings and other acts in Sweden against Islam's holiest text outraged Muslims and triggered threats from jihadists. The suspected assailant, calling himself Abdesalem Al Guilani, claimed in a video on social media that he was a fighter for Allah. The federal prosecutor said the third victim, who was wounded but whose condition was not in life-threatening, was a taxi driver.

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