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Belgium police hold three men in Ghent flat drama | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Three men have been detained after police responded to reports that four men had burst into a flat in the Belgian city of Ghent. | |
Armed police moved in hours after the siege began in the Dampoort area early on Monday. | |
Authorities said the incident was not linked to terrorism. Local media said it may have involved drugs. | Authorities said the incident was not linked to terrorism. Local media said it may have involved drugs. |
No weapons were found and police did not confirm that a hostage had been taken during the incident. | |
Reporters at the scene said that three people had given themselves up without violence and had been led away with their hands held aloft. | Reporters at the scene said that three people had given themselves up without violence and had been led away with their hands held aloft. |
It is not yet known whether they are suspects. | |
Local prosecutors said there was no indication of any link to terrorism or jihadist group Islamic State. | Local prosecutors said there was no indication of any link to terrorism or jihadist group Islamic State. |
"This isn't the same sort of incident as the events in Sydney," spokeswoman Annemie Serlippens said. | "This isn't the same sort of incident as the events in Sydney," spokeswoman Annemie Serlippens said. |
One neighbour told the BBC that "100% this was drugs related". | |
Initial reports that a hostage had been taken were not confirmed by authorities or residents, BBC correspondent Damian Grammaticas reports from Ghent. | |
The head of Ghent police Filip Rasschaert told De Standaard website that they were carrying out the operation carefully because of the potential involvement of a hostage. | The head of Ghent police Filip Rasschaert told De Standaard website that they were carrying out the operation carefully because of the potential involvement of a hostage. |
Federal authorities had taken control of the incident, he said. | |
"They have all they need to bring a successful end to a hostage-taking," he said. | "They have all they need to bring a successful end to a hostage-taking," he said. |
Ghent resident Ruben Denys, who was within the police cordon, told the BBC: "There are police officers around the building, at the back and on people's terraces. A truck has arrived with ladders. They have guns." | Ghent resident Ruben Denys, who was within the police cordon, told the BBC: "There are police officers around the building, at the back and on people's terraces. A truck has arrived with ladders. They have guns." |
Belgian TV said that another siege had taken place in Ghent in October, involving a man implicated in an earlier hostage-taking. That incident involved an unpaid debt, it reported. | Belgian TV said that another siege had taken place in Ghent in October, involving a man implicated in an earlier hostage-taking. That incident involved an unpaid debt, it reported. |