Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam has been found guilty of attempted murder after a shootout in Brussels in March 2016.

Neither Abdeslam nor his co-accused, Sofien Ayari, were in court to hear the verdict amid tight security at the Palais de Justice building in the Belgian capital.

Abdeslam, 28, is in solitary confinement in a French prison, awaiting another trial for his alleged role in the 2015 Paris terror attacks which killed 130 people.

Prosecutors say he is the lone survivor of an Islamic State suicide squad.

Shootout

Monday's verdict followed a shootout with police in the Forest area of Brussels in March 2016, four months after the attacks in the French capital.

Abdeslam was close to being arrested in a Brussels hideout when he and Ayari fled.

Another man sprayed gunfire at police and was killed.

Three officers were wounded, one of whom has suffered brain lesions, epileptic fits and problems with balance and vision.

Three days later, Abdeslam was finally caught in the Molenbeek area of the Belgian capital, near his family home.

Brussels attack

Four days after that, 32 people were killed in twin terror attacks at Brussels airport and at a metro station.

After turning up for the first day of the trial, Abdeslam refused to attend again, claiming the court was biased against Muslims.

Lawyers for police officers wounded in the shootout have accused Abdeslam of "mocking" the trial.