Bomb blast at Brussels police building

A bomb has exploded at the Brussels Institute of Criminology, Belgian officials said.

A car rammed through the barriers at 3 a.m. local time on Monday and one or more attackers detonated the bomb near a laboratory which caught fire, broadcaster RTL said.

The building was empty and no one was injured.

The institute is linked to the Belgian ministry of justice and carries out forensic investigations in criminal cases.

Europe has been on high alert after attacks by so-called Islamic State in Paris and Brussels over the past year.