The security threat level for Brussels has been reduced to level 3 from level 4, said Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo, although the threat level for the country as a whole was kept at 3 - the second highest level.
"We managed to neutralise the guilty person. So there was no longer any imminent threat," Mr De Croo told a news conference, regarding the decision to reduce the threat level for Brussels.
A Tunisian gunman suspected of killing two Swedish football fans in Brussels died after being shot by police in a cafe in the city's Schaerbeek area, hours after an attack which Sweden's prime minister said showed Europe must bolster security to protect itself.
The attacker identified himself last night on social media as Abdeselem Al Guilani and claimed he was a member of the so-called Islamic State.
He is thought to have been a 45-year-old Tunisian living illegally in Belgium.
Two Swedish nationals were shot dead and a third one was wounded in the attack.
The suspect escaped on a moped and was the subject of a massive police manhunt.
Belgian television, quoting the interior minister, said a weapon used in last night’s attack was found on the person shot by police.
The two victims were in Brussels for a Euro 2024 football match between Sweden and Belgium. The match was abandoned at half time.
The Belgian public prosecutor said the attack was likely linked to a recent spate of burnings of the Koran in Sweden which have triggered threats from Islamist extremists, rather than events in Gaza.
The prime ministers of Belgium and Sweden will take part in a ceremony in Brussels tomorrow to honour the two fans who were killed, the two said.
"Sweden and Belgium mourn the victims of yesterday's attack together," Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
He said he had invited his Swedish counterpart to the Belgian capital "to commemorate the victims and pay tribute to the police".
"We wish the people of Sweden strength and courage to get through these difficult times."
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson replied on X that he would attend.
Mr Kristersson said the suspect had also "spent time in Sweden" but provided no further details.
Sweden's foreign ministry said the victims were a man in his 70s from the Stockholm region and a man in his 60s living abroad.
The wounded Swede was a man in his 70s currently in hospital, it said.
Mr De Croo called last night's shooting a brutal "terrorist attack".
"Last night three people left for what was supposed to be a wonderful soccer party. Two of them lost their lives in a brutal terrorist attack," Mr De Croo told a news conference.
"The perpetrator targeted specifically Swedish supporters who were in Brussels to attend a Red Devils soccer match. Two Swedish compatriots passed away. A third person is recovering from severe injures," Mr de Croo said.
Belgium had raised the security alert status of its capital city to the highest level before reducing it to the second highest this afternoon, with increased police presence, particularly for Swedish people and institutions, and warned the public to be extra vigilant and avoid unnecessary travel.
The attacker, who unsuccessfully sought asylum in Belgium in November 2019, was known to police in connection with people smuggling, Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne told a news conference.
Sweden's Sapo security police, who in August raised their terrorism alert to the second-highest level and warned of an increase in threats against Swedes at home and abroad, said they were in contact with their international counterparts.
"We are in a serious situation ... Sweden has (over time) ended up in an increasingly clear focus of violent Islamist extremism," a Sapo spokesperson said in a statement.
Targeting Swedes
In a video message in Arabic claiming responsibility after the attacks, the assailant claimed to be inspired by the Islamic State.
Authorities said it appeared that the attacker was specifically targeting Sweden and had chosen to strike against football fans from the country visiting Brussels for a match.
In recent months, Swedish authorities have issued permits for several protests at which copies of the Koran, Islam's holy book, were burned - triggering angry diplomatic protests from several Muslim countries and a wave of protests.
The federal prosecutor said that in a video posted online before the attack the man had described any desecration of the Koran as a "red line".
Belgian officials have said that there does not appear to be any link between the suspect's action and political fallout from the fighting between Hamas and Israel in and around Gaza.
Additional reporting Reuters
