COPS detained a man with suspected militant links who was found to be carrying two gas bottles in his car after he was pulled over in Brussels for running a red light, Belgian officials said.

The man was not named and prosecutors said in a statement that it was too early to speculate on whether he had any criminal intent, although he was "known to police".

5 The van after its back doors were ripped off by a controlled explosion Credit: Getty Images

5 Police officers guard the cordoned-off street in the centre of Brussels Credit: AP:Associated Press

"The car was stopped because the driver jumped several red lights. The police then noticed several gas canisters in the boot and rather than take any risks, they called for help from the army bomb squad," a police spokeswoman said.

The Brussels prosecutors' office said the bomb disposal squad carried out several controlled explosions but found "no detonating mechanism or other explosives in the car."

The mayor of the district where he was stopped said police had previously suspected him of links to radical Islam.

5 The van was filled with gas canisters but no detonators Credit: Getty Images

Charles Picque told AFP the driver was "someone potentially dangerous" who was listed as radicalised.

Local RTBF television said the driver was aged 27 and had gone to Syria in 2014 and been arrested on his return to Belgium.

He was subsequently sentenced to five years in prison, suspended, at a trial of recruiters of foreign fighters for the Islamic State group in Syria.

The trial was of top jihadist recruiter Khalid Zerkani, who was sentenced in 2016 to 15 years in prison for recruiting dozens of people, including several who became key suspects in the Brussels and Paris attacks, to wage jihad in Syria.

5 An area close to the city's main Gare du Midi rail station was sealed off Credit: AP:Associated Press

"When you put it all together... and that there were gas canisters in the boot, which he did not want to open, then obviously you have to be prudent," Picque said.

An area close to the city's main Gare du Midi rail station was sealed off and the bomb squad called in to check the car after local officers had pulled the driver over.

A security perimeter was set up in the Porte de Hal neighbourhood, near the main Midi rail station in an area that is famous for a medieval fortress which attracts tourists.

Nearby buildings were evacuated and public transport either halted or diverted, causing rush-hour chaos.

5 Belgian police sealed off an area of central Brussels Credit: Reuters

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An official said national counter-terrorism investigators had not so far been involved.

The incident sparked immediate concerns after French police apparently foiled an imminent attack in September when they detained several women driving a car filled with gas canisters next to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

The Belgian capital is on high alert approaching the first anniversary of ISIS suicide attacks that killed 32 people on March 22.

The same jihadist cell also played a key role in the November 2015 Paris attacks which claimed 130 lives.

Authorities significantly stepped up security after the Brussels attacks, with troops in full combat gear patrolling the streets and guarding key buildings.