Suspect With Cookie-Filled 'Bomb Belt' Arrested in Brussels

— -- A man is in custody in Belgium after police said he claimed to have been kidnapped and strapped with a bomb belt, which resulted in shutting down a section of downtown Brussels this morning.

The Brussels prosecutor's office said the bomb squad discovered the belt was a fake and contained only salt and cookies.

After police concluded there was no explosion threat, they lifted the security cordon.

Authorities said the man, identified only as "J.B.," was taken in for questioning. Police are investigating whether the incident had any links to terrorism or whether it was a hoax.

Officials said the suspect called police around 5:30 a.m. and told them he had been kidnapped and that someone else was going to detonate his explosive belt.

Police immediately went to a shopping center where they identified the man as J.B.

Police in hoods and military gear were seen patrolling the area. The center had shut down as police cars surrounded the outside entry to the building and the surrounding streets, which included one of the city's busiest metro stations.

The suspect had also recently contacted police declaring he had been incited to join ISIS in Syria, according to the prosecutor's office.

Belgian authorities said this morning that the level 3 terror alert for Brussels remained unchanged.

Belgium remains on high alert after the Islamic-State-claimed bomb attacks in March that left 32 dead at Brussels airport and subway station.

ABC News' Louise Dewast contributed to this report.