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A terrorist gunman shouting 'Allahu Akbar' knifed two policewomen before grabbing one of their weapons and shooting them dead before going on a rampage in the Belgian city of Liege today.

The attacker also shot dead a 22-year-old man before being killed by anti-terrorist officers.

The suspect, who was reportedly dressed in black and wearing a backpack, opened fire after being questioned in a routine documents check by officers in the street near a cafe in the centre of the city.

He is said to have disarmed one of the officers and opened fire.

Police said the attacker was a prison inmate who had been granted a few hours release on Monday but failed to return to prison. The attacker was known drug offender, according to reports.

Although the motive for the attack was not immediately clear, Belgium terror prosecutors have now taken over the case.

The drama unfolded soon after 10.30am local time, when gunfire was heard near the Cafe des Augustins in the city centre.

Two police officers and passer-by shot dead in Belgium 14 show all Two police officers and passer-by shot dead in Belgium 1/14 Emotional: A police officer puts up his hand to cover his face at the scene of a shooting in Liege, Belgium REUTERS 2/14 Explosives experts arrive at the scene of a suspected terror attack in Liege EPA 3/14 A bomb squad arrives at the scene of a suspected terror attack in Liege EPA 4/14 Armed police stand behind a car at the scene of the shooting in Liege, Belgium REUTERS 5/14 An ambulance car is seen on the scene of a shooting in Liege REUTERS 6/14 A police cordon and police in vests at the scene of a fatal shooting in Liege REUTERS 7/14 Ambulance vehicles arrive at the scene of the fatal shooting AFP/Getty Images 8/14 Forensics experts after two police officers and a passer-by were shot dead during a terror attack in Liege, Belgium REUTERS 9/14 Police special forces are seen during a shooting in Liege REUTERS 10/14 People run from the scene of a suspected terror attack in Belgium REUTERS/VICTOR JAY 11/14 Police special forces on scene after the fatal shooting REUTERS 12/14 Police officers are seen on the scene of a shooting in Liege REUTERS 13/14 Armed police walk past emergency services vehicle following the shooting REUTERS 14/14 Four forensics officers near to the scene of the shooting REUTERS 1/14 Emotional: A police officer puts up his hand to cover his face at the scene of a shooting in Liege, Belgium REUTERS 2/14 Explosives experts arrive at the scene of a suspected terror attack in Liege EPA 3/14 A bomb squad arrives at the scene of a suspected terror attack in Liege EPA 4/14 Armed police stand behind a car at the scene of the shooting in Liege, Belgium REUTERS 5/14 An ambulance car is seen on the scene of a shooting in Liege REUTERS 6/14 A police cordon and police in vests at the scene of a fatal shooting in Liege REUTERS 7/14 Ambulance vehicles arrive at the scene of the fatal shooting AFP/Getty Images 8/14 Forensics experts after two police officers and a passer-by were shot dead during a terror attack in Liege, Belgium REUTERS 9/14 Police special forces are seen during a shooting in Liege REUTERS 10/14 People run from the scene of a suspected terror attack in Belgium REUTERS/VICTOR JAY 11/14 Police special forces on scene after the fatal shooting REUTERS 12/14 Police officers are seen on the scene of a shooting in Liege REUTERS 13/14 Armed police walk past emergency services vehicle following the shooting REUTERS 14/14 Four forensics officers near to the scene of the shooting REUTERS

Images of social media showed pedestrians fleeing with the sounds of gunshots and sirens in the background.

One witness said on Twitter: ”Lot of police at the Boulevard d’Avroy in Liege right now. I heard gunshots. I saw people fleeing in my street.”

A local police source said: “Two officers were hit and then the man went on the run. He was seen running into the Waha secondary school, where he is said to have taken a female cleaner hostage.’

Minutes later, anti-terrorist special forces police could be seen surrounding the area, which went into lock down.

They are said to have shot the suspect dead at the school. Two more police officers were injured in the exchange of fire.

The school cleaner was not believed to have been hurt in the shoot-out.

The source said: “The gunman was then neutralised,” confirming that he was shot dead. “He was heard shouting Alluhu Akbar’ – Arabic for ‘God is the Greatest’.”

Catherine Collignon, a spokesman for Liege prosecutors, confirmed “four deaths in total.”

She confirmed that “terrorism” was considered the principal motivation for the attack by those leading the judicial enquiry.

The attacker had been stopped by the officers for a routine documents check close to the Boulevard d’Avroy.

None of the children in the Waha school were hurt in the attack.

Belgium’s anti-terrorist crisis centre was monitoring the situation, Interior Minister Jan Jambon said on Twitter.

Belgium has been the target of terrorist attacks by Islamic State operatives in recent years, leading to a massive increase in security across the country.

In March 2016, a Brussels-based Isis cell murdered 32 people in the Belgium capital in coordinated bomb attacks on the city airport and an underground train station.

The killers were all linked to the November 2015 attacks on Paris, in which 130 people lost their lives.

Liege, an industrial city close to the German border in the French-speaking Wallonia region of Belgium, was also the scene of a shooting attack in 2011.

A gunman killed four people and wounded more than 100 others before turning the gun on himself.