One person was wounded and detained in a major police operation in the northern Brussels borough of Schaerbeek, the Belgian public broadcaster RTBF quoted the local mayor as saying.

RTBF cited unidentified sources saying the person arrested had not responded to police orders and had been found to be in possession of a suitcase containing explosive substances.

Unconfirmed reports have emerged that the man arrested in Friday's raid was Mohamed Abrini, 31, a suspect in November's Paris attacks.

At least three blasts — which the police said were controlled explosions — were heard during the raid, which was part of an ongoing investigation after multiple bombing attacks killed at least 31 people and wounded 316 on Tuesday at Brussels Airport and the Maelbeek metro station.

Police sources said the raid was linked to Thursday's arrest of a man accused of plotting a terror attack in France.

Christian Hartmann/ReutersPolice use a robotic device as they take part in a search in the Brussels borough of Schaerbeek following Tuesday's bombings in Brussels, Belgium, March 25, 2016.

The broadcaster RTL quoted a witness as saying the police approached a person at a bus stop on Friday and asked the person to remove a jacket.

"No doubt to check if the person had an explosives belt strapped on," the witness told RTL. The witness said that it was not clear whether the person had been wounded but that he was lying on the ground and talking to the police.