Belgium's crime lab attacked

Belgian police have arrested five people after blasts at the country's national crime laboratory just north of Brussels caused major damage but no casualties.

It started with a car ramming through the gates and up against the main building at the National Criminology Institute in Neder-Over-Hembeek early yesterday.

Then came a fire and several explosions.

Officers said there was no immediate reason to believe there was a terror link - Belgium remains on high alert after deadly Islamic State claimed attacks in March and that it could have been criminals trying to destroy evidence.

"The five arrested were in the immediate neighbourhood," said Ine Van Wymersch, a spokeswoman for the Brussels prosecutor, and they were being questioned, "to see if they had any role in the incident."

There was no indication it was terrorism, she added, and "it goes without saying that individuals may have wanted to destroy evidence."

She described the facility as "an important part of the justice department" that was presently dealing "with sensitive information in connection with several ongoing cases."

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