Brussels police attacked after arresting veiled woman: media

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Protesters hurled bins and metal barriers at a Brussels police station on Thursday night after a Muslim woman was arrested for refusing to remove a face veil, Belgian media reported.

"They tried to enter by force, but they were not able to," a spokesman for Brussels police told broadcaster RTL. "So instead they threw metal barriers and bins."

Six protesters were arrested, according to state broadcaster VRT. The woman was released and expected to be questioned later.

Belgium and France both banned people from wearing full face veils in public last year.

Belgian state broadcaster VRT and newspapers said the woman had scuffled with officers trying to arrest her at a bus stop and that a policewoman was injured.

"Finally, the woman's veil was removed and she was taken to hospital with mild concussion," the police spokesman told Le Soir newspaper.

The woman's husband went to the police station later that day to complain, accompanied by about 20 others.

A spokesman for Brussels police was not immediately available to confirm the details of the protest or the arrest.

(Reporting by Ben Deighton; editing by Andrew Roche)