Brussels mosque evacuated after 'suspicious' powder discovery

Brussels oldest mosque has been evacuated and decontamination units were called to the scene to investigate envelopes reportedly containing a "suspicious powder". 

The city’s fire brigade spokesperson Meys Stone told local newspaper Le Libre several envelopes containing “white powder” had been discovered inside the building, which is a few hundred metres away from the European Parliament, but that the contents of the envelopes had not yet been determined. 

Security services feared the powder to be anthrax but first partial tests show that the powder is not radioactive.

The seven people who were inside the mosque where several envelopes containing the white powder of undetermined chemical composition were found, are currently undergoing decontamination, with no apparent symptoms according to Le Libre.

Pictures on social media showed a significant number of emergency service personnel outside.

Seven people, originally reported as 11, appear to have been transferred to hospital from the mosque. The individuals are believed to have been taken to the hospital as part of a decontamination procedure.

There have been conflicting reports as to whether the items discovered are packages or envelopes. 

The city has been in a state of high alert since the Paris attacks that killed 129 people on 13th November, with Belgian citizens are believed to have been among those who carried out the attacks.