THE man behind a botched suicide bombing attack at a Brussels station has been named as prosecutors reveal evidence indicates he was an ISIS sympathiser.

The Belgian authorities say Moroccan Oussama Zariouh, 36, screamed "Allahu akbar" at soldiers and charged at them before being killed in a hail of gunfire.

26 The suspect's Facebook page shows a man believed to be Zariouh in a series of selfies Credit: Facebook

26 Brussels Central Station was evacuated amid following an explosion - this unverified picture posted on Twitter purports to show the suspected explosion Credit: Twitter/remybonnaffe

26 Police this morning were seen inspecting the spot of the blast in Brussels' main Central Station Credit: AP:Associated Press

Just seconds earlier, he had tried to detonate his bomb next to dozens of commuters standing near a train information board.

Prosecutors said they are treating the incident as “attempted terrorist murder” and have appointed a specialist judge to the case.

"There are also indications that the suspect had sympathies for the terrorist organisation IS," the said in a statement, using an acronym for Islamic State or ISIS.

Officials described the device as containing nails and gas canisters, adding that Zariouh was “not known for terrorism”.

However, it emerged this afternoon the authorities had found explosives in his home town - a notorious ISIS hotbed.

Bruno Struys, a Belgian author who writes on Islamist fighters, said he had lived in Belgium since 2002, was married between 2004 and 2007 and moved to Molenbeek in 2013.

His Facebook page, which had not been updated since May last year, showed a man believed to be Zariouh in a series of selfies taken at the wheel of a car.

The photographs were first published by respected Belgian newspaper site Dhnet.be.

26 Investigators taped off the area of the explosion in the station's concourse. Commuters were allowed to walk past the scene Credit: AP:Associated Press

26 Police patrol outside the station in Brussels this morning after the explosion last night Credit: AP:Associated Press

26 Soldiers raced to the scene after reports of a small explosion inside the major terminal Credit: Rex Features

26 People are assisted under the cordon as they are evacuated from the station Credit: Getty Images

26 Belgian police stand in front of a police cordon as people are evacuated at the Grand Place square near Central Station Credit: AP:Associated Press

26 There was still a heavy police presence at the station this morning following last night's events Credit: AP:Associated Press

26 A soldier stands armed close to the cordon at Brussels Central train station last night Credit: Getty Images

His social media page lists him as hailing from the coastal Moroccan city of Nador and a former student of the Mohamed I University in Oujda, where he graduated in 2002.

The page includes shared posts on Islamic doctrine, religious charities, civilian deaths in Syria and the alleged abuse of Muslims around the world.

It's reported he was self-employed, working in a telephone shop as a fitter.

A police raid on his apartment this morning recovered materials he had use to build his small bomb.

Françoise Schepmans, mayor of Moleenbeek, said that he had lived since 2013 in a leafy and respectable neighbourhood not linked to deprivation or radicalism.

His name had not appeared on any checklists or databases linked to Islamist radicalism.

“He was not on the radar,” she said.

Investigator Eric Van der Sypt added: "He grabbed his suitcase, while shouting and causing a partial explosion. Fortunately, nobody was hurt."

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When the suitcase - filled with two devices, nails and gas bottles - failed to explode a second time, he ran towards a soldier on the upstairs concourse shouting "Allahu akbar" but was gunned down immediately.

Van der Sypt continued: "It was clear he wanted to cause much more damage than what happened. The bag exploded twice but it could have been a lot worse."

The country's Prime Minister Charles Michel added: "We have avoided an attack that could have been a great deal worse."

Belgian media said the attacker was also a well-known sex offender.

Authorities also confirmed he had lived in Molenbeek - a notorious district of Brussels that was home to the terrorists behind the Paris attacks in 2015.

Forensic teams were this morning pictured at properties in the area of western Brussels.

No one else was injured in the blast as investigators confirmed they believe it was a terrorist attack.

26 Belgian police were this morning pictured at properties in the notorious district of Molenbeek Credit: AP:Associated Press

26 The area has been home to several jihadists responsible for large-scale attacks on Western Europe in recent years Credit: AP:Associated Press

Dramatic pictures emerging overnight showed a fireball engulfing the station's concourse. It is believed to have been caused by the device's detonator.

Witness Nicolas Van Herrewegen said: "There was a man shouting, and shouting and shouting.

"He was talking about the jihadists and all that and then at some point he shouted: 'Allahu akbar' and blew up the little suitcase he had next to him. People just took off."

26 Police officials and soldiers stood on alert in a cordoned off area outside Gare Centrale in Brussels Credit: AP:Associated Press

26 Soldiers were seen outside the Brussels Central train station after reports a man with an explosives belt was shot by troops Credit: Twitter/Amichai Stein

26 A Belgian soldier remained on guard after a terror attack at Brussels Central Station Credit: Getty Images

One Brit mum-of-three described how she was caught up in the "chaos".

Rozina Spinnoy, 45, from Giffnock, Scotland, told the Daily Record: "Two policemen [came] towards me telling me in French to ‘get out, get out and go up the stairs.’

“Someone said to me it was a bomb and gunfire and I thought ‘oh my god’.

“I’m still in shock. I’m so glad I’m home.”

Prosecutors said the attacker was killed in the confrontation, but his body was left lying inside the station for several hours over fears he could be carrying explosives.

Dozens of police cars could be seen outside the station last night as the square outside was evacuated and a cordon put in place.

Passengers reported being told to leave the station and evacuated to a nearby restaurant.

26 Armed police stand guard after a suspected suicide bomber was shot by soldiers inside the station Credit: Getty Images

26 The station has been sealed off while police carry out an investigation into what they have described as a terrorist incident Credit: Rex Features

26 Belgian Army soldiers patrol near the station after the terrorist incident last night Credit: AP:Associated Press

26 Belgium's national crisis centre said the suspect had been "neutralised" and the situation was under control Credit: Getty Images

26 Brussels prosecutor's office said there appeared to be no civilian injuries or deaths from the explosion Credit: Getty Images

26 Passengers being evacuated from the square close to the station, where a suspected suicide bomber detonated a device Credit: Getty Images

Van Herrewegen, a railway sorting agent, also told AFP news agency he had gone down to the station's mezzanine level when he heard someone shouting.

He said: "He cried 'Allahu Akbar', and he blew up a wheeled suitcase.

"I was behind a wall when it exploded.

"I went down and alerted my colleagues to evacuate everyone. He (the suspect) was still around but after that we didn't see him."

He added: "It wasn't exactly a big explosion but the impact was pretty big. People were running away."

26 A police officer sets up a cordon around the station where people had been enjoying their evening Credit: Getty Images

26 Police officers speak on the street outside Belgium's busiest station, which was the scene of a suspected terror attack last night

26 A soldier stands guard close to the scene of the attack, which did not injure anyone else

He described the suspect as well-built and tanned with short hair, wearing a white shirt and jeans.

The witness said: "I saw that he had something on him because I could see wires emerging, so it may have been a suicide vest."

After reports of the blast were heard, a witness told RTL: "People are running everywhere."

Another told the broadcaster: "Panic in the Gare Centrale. Shots heard."

Arnaud Reyman, spokesman for Infrabel, the Belgian railway operator, said: "A crowd panicked in the station and ran for the tracks after an incident."

26 Soldiers patrolling the station were able to 'neutralise' the suspect after he reportedly detonated an explosive device Credit: Getty Images

26 Police raced to the scene after reports of a 'small explosion' inside the station on Tuesday night Credit: AP:Associated Press

The Belgian capital's Grand Place, a major tourist site filled with restaurants and shops, was evacuated along with the station about 200m away.

Brussels has been on high alert since ISIS suicide bombers struck the city's airport and metro in March 2016, killing 32 people and injuring hundreds more.

ISIS claimed the attacks, which were carried out by the same jihadist cell behind the November 2015 Paris attacks that killed 130 people.

Soldiers have been deployed at railway stations, government buildings and European Union institutions in Brussels since the aftermath of the Paris attacks when a link to Belgium was first established.

Belgium suffered a further shock last August when a machete-wielding man shouting "Allahu akbar" attacked two policewomen in the industrial town of Charleroi, before being shot dead.

The country's law enforcement agencies and intelligence services came under intense scrutiny for apparently missing a series of leads after the Paris attacks which could have led them to the Brussels bombers.

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