BRUSSELS (AFP) - A couple and a young boy were shot dead in an overnight attack near the eastern Belgian city of Liege, media reports said on Saturday.

The woman was seriously wounded in the attack near the local sports ground in Vise, and died early on Saturday of her injuries, the Belga news agency said.

The boy, whose age was given as nine or 10, was the woman's nephew and godson.

The Liege public prosecutors office was investigating the killings but had not established how many people were involved in the attack, it said.

The victims were shot several times with a pistol, it added.

Belga cited local mayor Marc Neven as saying that a "man sitting in a car opened fire on a man, a woman and a boy as they were returning home".

Other reports citing Mr Neven said it appeared the killer or killers waited for the victims, but there was no obvious motive for the attack.