By Associated Press

PUBLISHED: 00:56 EST, 13 March 2012 | UPDATED: 00:56 EST, 13 March 2012

A Belgian mosque leader last night burned to death as he tried to save a worshiper set alight in a brutal petrol bomb attack.

One man was arrested - a Muslim who said he was born in 1978 - in the attack on the mosque in Anderlecht, a suburb of Brussels, the Belgian capital, said Jean-Marc Meilleur, a spokesman for the Brussels Prosecutor's Office.

'It seemed that this person showed up and pulled out a knife and an axe, and that he spread flammable products - petrol we assume - in order to start a fire and threaten the mosque occupants,' Meilleur said.

Grief: Women react outside of a Shi'ite mosque in Brussels on following an arson attack in which the local Imam died of suffocation in a room inside

Grief: Women react outside of a Shi'ite mosque in Brussels on following an arson attack in which the local Imam died of suffocation in a room inside

He said the man's name and age could not be verified, as he had no identification papers. He added that the man had been locked in a room by worshippers at the mosque before authorities apprehended him.

Marie Verbeck, a police spokeswoman, told The Associated Press that no other people were being sought in connection with the attack.

Investigation: Police and members of a forensics team stand at the entrance to a Mosque following petrol bomb attack in Brussels

Investigation: Police and members of a forensics team stand at the entrance to a Mosque following petrol bomb attack in Brussels

Anger: Women mourn outside of the mosque following the arson attack. One man has been arrested in connection with the attack

Anger: Women mourn outside of the mosque following the arson attack. One man has been arrested in connection with the attack

Anxious: People wait in the street after the petrol bomb attack. A witness saw a man setting fire to the mosque in Anderlecht, killing the mosque's imam Sheik Abdullah and injuring another person.

Anxious: People wait in the street after the petrol bomb attack. A witness saw a man setting fire to the mosque in Anderlecht, killing the mosque's imam Sheik Abdullah and injuring another person.

Shcok: Neighbours gather as news spreads of the arson attack and people learn that the local imam has been killed

Shcok: Neighbours gather as news spreads of the arson attack and people learn that the local imam has been killed

One other person received minor injuries, Meilleur said. He added that the attack took place between 6 and 7 pm local time.

An Associated Press photographer at the scene saw fire damage and people gathered outside the mosque, some of whom were praying.

Le Soir newspaper said the imam, whom it reported to be 47 years old, died trying to put out the fire. Verbeck said she did not have the name of the imam.