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A gunman was arrested in Belgium today after an attempted terrorist attack on a military base using a car feared packed with explosives.

The assault happened soon after 9am in the village of Flawinne, east of Charleroi, where a commando unit is stationed.

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.

"The car did not get through the gates," said the source. "There was a brief gunfight and then the masked man fled from the scene. He appeared to be acting alone."

(Image: canalc.be/Twitter)

The car was abandoned in a ploughed field, and could be seen covered in bullet holes and with its front tyres deflated.

The so far unidentified attacker meanwhile tried to run away but was captured after a manhunt led by a police helicopter.

A Belgium defence ministry spokesman Tony Langone said 'bomb disposal experts' were en route, as the abandoned car was thought to be packed with explosives.

He said nobody was hurt in the initial incident, but the man had been "armed and dangerous" and a "potential threat to everyone in the area".

(Image: canalc.be/Twitter)

A witness told newspaper La Mueue that she saw the masked man carrying "something heavy" in his arms.

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Mr Langone confirmed that the man was arrested by anti-terrorist police 'soon after midday'.

A witness told Belgian media: '"I live 100 meters from the base. Police wearing bullet proof jackets have sealed off the surrounding area, and I can't get home."

The Ford Escort was later identified as being registered to an owner in the nearby village of Belgrade. It was likely to have been stolen, said a police source.

(Image: Getty) (Image: Rex)

Only around 50 military personnel are currently in Flawinne, as those normally based there are on an exercise overseas.

A police school in Namur was evacuated as a precautionary measure.

Belgium has suffered a number of terrorist incidents in recent years, including a lethal attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels.

Belgium foiled what authorities say was a plot to attack police in January, killing two men in one of several raids against an Islamist group that officials said had been about to launch large-scale attacks.

(Image: canalc.be/Twitter)

Since then, soldiers have been guarding several sites across the country, such as the European Commission headquarters, embassies and Jewish schools in the capital Brussels.

An estimated 400 Belgians have joined terror group ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

Among them is 31-year-old Hicham Chaib, who has risen through the ranks of ISIS to become head of the terror group’s bloodthirsty religious police force.

The terrorist oversees the regime’s chilling campaign of amputations, beheadings, stoning and thrown people to their death if they fall foul of strict religious laws.