Two female police officers in the Belgian city of Charleroi were injured Saturday by a person armed with a machete.

The incident follows a series of knife and gun attacks carried out across Europe in recent weeks, some of which are being linked to terrorist motives.

One of the two officers suffered deep cuts around the face and has been taken to hospital, the Belga news agency reported. Her colleague was only slightly injured.

The attacker is in a serious condition and has also been taken to hospital after being shot by a third police officer, Belga wrote.

"Individual struck but alive," Charleroi police wrote on Twitter.

Later on Saturday, DPA reported the man who attacked two police officers with a machete in Charleroi has died in a hospital after being shot by police, citing RTBF broadcaster.

The incident took place outside the police headquarters, according to the tweet.

"I strongly condemn the attack in Charleroi," Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel wrote on Twitter.

Interior Minister Jan Jambon called it a "vile act" in a tweet and expressed his support for the police officers, their families and their colleagues. The Belgian threat analysis unit, OCAM, is evaluating the situation, he added.

A large security perimeter has been set up around the site of the attack in the city 50 kilometres south of Brussels, and prosecutors are on site, Belga wrote.