A damaged car at the army barracks in Flawinne, Namur Province, after a man attempted to drive through the barrack's barriers | JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images Belgian military base attacked Shots fired at man who tried to ram car into gates of barracks.

A balaclava-clad man tried to drive a car through the gates of the barracks at Flawinne near Namur Monday, according to the newspaper La Dernière Heure.

No one was hurt but shots were fired and there were fears that the car contained explosives, according to La Libre.

The attacker fled the scene, but was arrested at around midday, a spokesperson for prosecutors in Namur said.

The car was recovered in the nearby village of Belgrade. The Belgian ministry of defense confirmed that the bomb squad had been dispatched to check the car for explosives.

Steven Vandeput, Belgium's defense minister, is to visit the military base later Monday, the ministry said.

About 650 soldiers are stationed at the Flawinne barracks. The defense ministry described the situation as “very serious.”

Belgium has had a heightened security presence for much of 2015. In January, less than a week after the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris, Belgian police foiled an attack in Verviers. Two people were killed in a shootout. The ministry of defense said the increased measures contributed to the swift reaction of military personnel to Monday's attempted attack.

In May 2014, four people were killed in a terrorist attack on the Jewish museum in Brussels.

Laurens Cerulus contributed to this article.

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