After a four-month manhunt, police have captured the top fugitive in last year's deadly Paris attacks in the same Brussels neighbourhood where he grew up.
Salah Abdeslam, 26, is a childhood friend of the suspected ringleader of the attacks and is suspected of driving a car carrying a group of gunmen who took part in the shootings.
He and four other suspects were detained in a raid in Molenbeek, including three members of a family who allegedly sheltered him. Abdeslam was shot in the leg, officials said.
Helmeted police with riot shields cordoned off the area, and two explosions were heard.
France's BFM television broadcast images of police tugging a man with a white hooded sweatshirt toward a police car, as he dragged his left leg as if it were injured.
The Islamic extremist attackers killed 130 people at a rock concert, the national stadium and cafes on November 13 in Paris, in the country's deadliest attacks in decades.
Belgian prime minister Charles Michel called Friday's arrests a success in the "fight against terrorism".
He said he spoke to President Barack Obama about the arrest, and the White House said US officials have been in close touch with French and Belgian officials about the investigation into the Paris attacks.
French president Francois Hollande congratulated the Belgian government for an operation that lasted several weeks. He warned that the investigation is not over and said authorities would continue to pursue anyone involved in financing or organising the attacks.
Two other people believed to be linked to the attacks were still being sought, including fellow Molenbeek resident Mohamed Abrini and a man known under the alias of Soufiane Kayal.
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