This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2016/mar/23/brussels-attacks-police-search-airport-bomb-suspect-live

The article has changed 45 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 19 Version 20
Brussels attacks: police hunt bombing suspect captured on CCTV – live Brussels: police hunt bombing suspect captured on CCTV – live
(35 minutes later)
4.44pm GMT
16:44
Erdogan: 'one Brussels attacker caught in Turkey last June'
Turkey’s prime minister has said one of the Brussels attackers had been caught in Turkey in June 2015, and deported to the Netherlands by his request, according to Reuters.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey reported the deportation to the Belgian authorities in July 2015 and also notified Dutch authorities, adding that Belgium “ignored” Turkey’s warning that the attacker was a militant.
Updated
at 4.55pm GMT
4.34pm GMT
16:34
Arthur Neslen
It was a normal day’s commute and about 50 people sat in Joaquin Romero’s train carriage, which had just stopped at Maelbeek. A woman sitting next to him asked “Where is Arts-Loi?” Romero began to reply that it was the next stop. And then chaos descended, writes Arthur Neslen in Brussels.
“Just as I finished answering, I saw a blinding white light – a big flash – and there was smoke all around me and people shouting,” he said. “It was a living nightmare, like a movie. That same sense of time having stopped. I was in front of the door and it was completely destroyed, so I jumped through it.”
It was 9.11am and Khalid el-Bakraoui had just detonated a suicide vest in the next carriage. Reports of the attack at the airport an hour and a half before had already filtered through to passengers, and some began to panic.
Romero, 50, a chemicals worker, was supposed to be taking photos at an event organised by his employer, the Cefic trade association, but in the rush to get out he left his camera bag behind.
“The first thing I did was just to shout ‘I’m still alive! It’s OK!’ about 10 times but my ears had a ringing noise in them,” he said.
Amid the pandemonium, Romero saw that people were bounding up the stairs – which were blast-damaged but still usable – and he followed them.
“I didn’t check to see if anyone else was injured. I just wanted to save myself,” he said. “Then I touched my neck and there was a sharp feeling. That’s when I realised there was a piece of glass stuck in it.”
Romero ran out of the station and asked a nearby police officer what to do – but the officer did not understand what had happened. Then Romero looked back. “I saw a lot of people with blood on their faces – so much blood that I couldn’t recognise if they were men or women and I realised that I had been very lucky.”
The glass splinter was small and, despite of his proximity to the blast, Romero sustained only a minor cut, a fact he attributes to his clothing. “I had a scarf on yesterday and maybe that is what saved my life,” he said.
He finally found a pharmacy worker who cleaned and dressed the wound, then called his wife and family. Romero has since been prescribed sedatives and plans to see a trauma counsellor.
Updated
at 4.49pm GMT
4.34pm GMT
16:34
Peter Beaumont
Israel’s minister of transport, intelligence and atomic energy has delivered a harsh critique of Belgian anti-terrorism strategy shortly after co-ordinated attacks claimed by Isis that left at least 31 people dead.
In jarring and unsympathetic language, Yisrael Katz declared in an interview on Israel Radio: “If in Belgium they continue to eat chocolate and enjoy the good life with their liberalism and democracy, and do not understand that some of the Muslims there are planning terror, they will never be able to fight against them.”
Katz’s crass remarks came amid a flurry of columns in the Israeli media and remarks by security experts, criticising the European strategy against Isis, barely 24 hours since the deadly attacks – and with a large element of victim blaming.
Also joining in was former Mossad director Shabtai Shavit, who echoed Katz’s remarks, although in moderately less inflammatory language, blaming the attacks on Belgian’s “laid-back culture” in a country he described as “ultra-liberal, that exists with no governability”.
“It is human nature to react only after large-scale disasters. An example is the September 11 terror attacks in New York. But immediately after the terror attack in New York, the US came to its senses and carried out extensive reforms, of a scope that it had not carried out since the end of the cold war. Homeland security in the US today, from the aspects of budgets and manpower, is the largest ministry in the US cabinet. They also upgraded their law enforcement and intelligence systems by the same degree.
“The European Union, in numbers, has more residents that the US. It could be that the disaster that befell them yesterday will finally wake them up. Isis succeeded in discerning, very well, the soft underbelly of western Europe. And that is Brussels, Belgium, a country that is ultra-liberal, that exists with no governability. It has had a transition government for years because it is impossible to form a real government. It is a country that is madeup of three ethnic groups with three languages, French, Flemish and German. It is a country in which the people don’t know how to communicate with each other because of the language problems.
“There is a general laid-back culture. So the bad guys discerned this, and slowly but steadily, set up base there. They found fertile ground for building a base of helpers from their own people and religion. The Muslim quarters in Brussels are quarters that the police will not enter. In short, that is the situation today. And to get out of it, and this is not just Belgium, Europe has to come to its senses and to decide that this is a number one priority. Belgium is not on its own. We saw that it was a terrorist from Belgium who carried out the terror attack in France.”
Katz’s remarks were immediately condemned by Israeli opposition figures. “The government has devised a system to eradicate terrorism: stop eating chocolate,” opposition MK Shelly Yachimovich tweeted.
For his part, the Zionist Union leader, Isaac Herzog, said: “Stop this contemptible talk. Where did you get the chutzpahto degrade innocent victims of terror? Where do you get this miserable cynicism from? This is a distortion of the most basic human morality. This is a painful moment internationally that obligates all people to identify with the bereaved families, whoever they are, and wish the wounded a speedy recovery.”
Updated
at 4.52pm GMT
4.24pm GMT4.24pm GMT
16:2416:24
Latest Brussels transport advisory from Belgium’s crisis center:Latest Brussels transport advisory from Belgium’s crisis center:
Attention: metro will be closed in #Brussels from 7pm. Via @STIBMIVB More information: https://t.co/7aeU4AmzGTAttention: metro will be closed in #Brussels from 7pm. Via @STIBMIVB More information: https://t.co/7aeU4AmzGT
4.12pm GMT4.12pm GMT
16:1216:12
Speaking in Argentina where he is on an official visit, Barack Obama has renewed his call for the world to “stand united against terrorism” and pledged that the US will go after Isis aggressively. Speaking in Argentina, where he is on an official visit, Barack Obama has renewed his call for the world to “stand united against terrorism” and pledged that the US will pursue Isis aggressively.
UpdatedUpdated
at 4.14pm GMT at 4.56pm GMT
4.00pm GMT4.00pm GMT
16:0016:00
Spencer AckermanSpencer Ackerman
The Brussels attacks became an opportunity for Republicans in the US Congress to open a new line of attack against closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, writes Guardian US national security editor Spencer Ackerman. The Brussels attacks became an opportunity for Republicans in the US Congress to open a new line of attack against closing the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, writes the Guardian’s US national security editor, Spencer Ackerman.
At a Wednesday foreign-affairs committee hearing, two Republican members of the House of Representatives predicted that the deadly attacks would sway European nations to reverse their longstanding support for shuttering the wartime-detention center. At a foreign affairs committee hearing today, two Republican members of the House of Representatives predicted that the deadly attacks would sway European states to reverse their longstanding support for shuttering the wartime detention center.
But envoys from the US state and defense departments rubbished the suggestion.But envoys from the US state and defense departments rubbished the suggestion.
Dana Rohrabacher, a conservative California Republican, mocked “the idea that people throughout the world are going to be so upset with us for keeping a significant number of people who are captured as part of terrorist units incarcerat[ed] in Guantanamo, that’s such a horror story that it’s a recruitment vehicle ... let me suggest that if that is true, that our European allies and some others believe that these hardened murderers, who murder men, women and children, and incarcerating them in Cuba or anywhere else, let me suggest that that attitude of our European friends may well be changing in the next six months or so when they realize that the slaughter that’s taking place in Paris and now in Brussels is part of an international movement to destroy western civilization and replace it with a caliphate.” Dana Rohrabacher, a conservative California Republican, mocked “the idea that people throughout the world are going to be so upset with us for keeping a significant number of people who are captured as part of terrorist units incarcerat[ed] in Guantánamo, that’s such a horror story that it’s a recruitment vehicle … let me suggest that if that is true, that our European allies and some others believe that these hardened murderers, who murder men, women and children, and incarcerating them in Cuba or anywhere else, let me suggest that that attitude of our European friends may well be changing in the next six months or so when they realize that the slaughter that’s taking place in Paris and now in Brussels is part of an international movement to destroy western civilization and replace it with a caliphate.”
“You think our allies are going to change their position in light of Brussels and Paris? ... Isn’t there a chance they will change their position with respect to our activities in Gitmo in light of recent events?” asked Representative David A Trott of Michigan. “You think our allies are going to change their position in light of Brussels and Paris? … Isn’t there a chance they will change their position with respect to our activities in Gitmo in light of recent events?” asked Representative David A Trott of Michigan.
Paul Lewis, the US defense department official tasked with implementing Barack Obama’s plans to close Guantanamo, appeared unpersuaded. Paul Lewis, the US defense department official tasked with implementing Barack Obama’s plans to close Guantánamo, appeared unpersuaded.
“Sir, it’s been a continuing position that they want Gitmo closed. That our leadership and the Bush administration leadership said the costs of Gitmo outweigh the benefits”, Lewis said.“Sir, it’s been a continuing position that they want Gitmo closed. That our leadership and the Bush administration leadership said the costs of Gitmo outweigh the benefits”, Lewis said.
The Obama administration’s longstanding plans for Guantanamo are to continue to hold without charge around 45 of the remaining 91 detainees at a different facility, something human-rights groups consider a mockery of “closing” Guantanamo. Even that plan, the hearing underscored, is in jeopardy on Capitol Hill, where Obama needs Congress to change a law banning the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to US soil. The Obama administration’s longstanding plans for Guantánamo are to continue to hold without charge about 45 of the remaining 91 detainees at a different facility, something human rights groups consider a mockery of “closing” Guantánamo. Even that plan, the hearing underscored, is in jeopardy on Capitol Hill, where Obama needs Congress to change a law banning the transfer of Guantánamo detainees to US soil.
Updated
at 4.32pm GMT
3.27pm GMT3.27pm GMT
15:2715:27
Latest summaryLatest summary
Matthew WeaverMatthew Weaver
Here is a round-up of the latest key developments:Here is a round-up of the latest key developments:
Handing over the liveblog to Raya Jalabi in New York.Handing over the liveblog to Raya Jalabi in New York.
UpdatedUpdated
at 4.10pm GMT at 4.33pm GMT
2.57pm GMT2.57pm GMT
14:5714:57
Here’s a video explainer on the suspected attackers.Here’s a video explainer on the suspected attackers.
2.51pm GMT2.51pm GMT
14:5114:51
An American teenager who was wounded in the Brussels terror attacks had previously escaped injury in the Paris and Boston bombings.An American teenager who was wounded in the Brussels terror attacks had previously escaped injury in the Paris and Boston bombings.
Chad and Kimberly Wells said on Wednesday it was a “miracle” their son, Mason, 19, survived the deadly attacks in Belgium, saying he was just metres from where a bomb exploded at Zaventem airport.Chad and Kimberly Wells said on Wednesday it was a “miracle” their son, Mason, 19, survived the deadly attacks in Belgium, saying he was just metres from where a bomb exploded at Zaventem airport.
Wells said his son escaped with minor burns and was in “good spirits”. It has also emerged that Mason survived the Boston marathon explosion in 2013 and last year’s attacks in Paris.Wells said his son escaped with minor burns and was in “good spirits”. It has also emerged that Mason survived the Boston marathon explosion in 2013 and last year’s attacks in Paris.
UpdatedUpdated
at 2.59pm GMTat 2.59pm GMT
2.47pm GMT2.47pm GMT
14:4714:47
Here’s video of the minute’s silence observed across Brussels. Large crowds gathered outside the European commission building to remember the victims, while lawmakers and Belgian royals gathered inside to do the same.Here’s video of the minute’s silence observed across Brussels. Large crowds gathered outside the European commission building to remember the victims, while lawmakers and Belgian royals gathered inside to do the same.
UpdatedUpdated
at 2.53pm GMTat 2.53pm GMT
2.45pm GMT2.45pm GMT
14:4514:45
The British embassy in Brussels has opened a book of condolences on Facebook, writes Oliver Milne.The British embassy in Brussels has opened a book of condolences on Facebook, writes Oliver Milne.
Introducing the digital book, Britain’s ambassador to Belgium, Alison Rose, wrote: “The UK stands in solidarity with Belgium at this difficult time. Our thoughts are with those affected by the attacks. We invite anyone who wishes to send a message of condolence to use this virtual book. Thank you.”Introducing the digital book, Britain’s ambassador to Belgium, Alison Rose, wrote: “The UK stands in solidarity with Belgium at this difficult time. Our thoughts are with those affected by the attacks. We invite anyone who wishes to send a message of condolence to use this virtual book. Thank you.”
Those wishing to sign it, can do so here.Those wishing to sign it, can do so here.
UpdatedUpdated
at 3.22pm GMTat 3.22pm GMT
2.44pm GMT2.44pm GMT
14:4414:44
The French prime minister has again urged the European parliament to approve passenger name records (PNR), insisting the proposed system would help intercept terrorist suspects.The French prime minister has again urged the European parliament to approve passenger name records (PNR), insisting the proposed system would help intercept terrorist suspects.
Speaking in Brussels, Manuel Valls said: “We would have had a good chance to intercept a number of individuals, if PNR had existed. It protects individual liberty but it can also allow us to track and catch terrorists. We need this tool in order to keep a closer eye on those who need to be tracked. The European parliament has to show that it is fully committed to combatting terrorism.”Speaking in Brussels, Manuel Valls said: “We would have had a good chance to intercept a number of individuals, if PNR had existed. It protects individual liberty but it can also allow us to track and catch terrorists. We need this tool in order to keep a closer eye on those who need to be tracked. The European parliament has to show that it is fully committed to combatting terrorism.”
Valls also called for “massive” investment in security systems. “Let’s not forget there are young people who are leaving for Syria to fight and they are coming back and fighting their own fellow countrymen and women. There are lots of people in France who are being won over by Salafism and radical Islamism, things that have led to events in Paris, Brussels and elsewhere,” he said.Valls also called for “massive” investment in security systems. “Let’s not forget there are young people who are leaving for Syria to fight and they are coming back and fighting their own fellow countrymen and women. There are lots of people in France who are being won over by Salafism and radical Islamism, things that have led to events in Paris, Brussels and elsewhere,” he said.
“Young people need to keep a clear head. The best way of fighting this ideology of death is through life, living through the basis of our values such as tolerance.”“Young people need to keep a clear head. The best way of fighting this ideology of death is through life, living through the basis of our values such as tolerance.”
UpdatedUpdated
at 2.49pm GMTat 2.49pm GMT
2.27pm GMT2.27pm GMT
14:2714:27
Haroon SiddiqueHaroon Siddique
A third victim of the attacks has been identified, writes Haroon Siddique.A third victim of the attacks has been identified, writes Haroon Siddique.
The Federation of Wallonia-Brussels announced on Facebook that one of its employees, Olivier Delespesse was killed in the attack on Maelbeek metro.The Federation of Wallonia-Brussels announced on Facebook that one of its employees, Olivier Delespesse was killed in the attack on Maelbeek metro.
“Our thoughts go out to his family,” it said. His colleague Anne Hellemans had previously posted an appeal for information regarding his whereabouts on Facebook.“Our thoughts go out to his family,” it said. His colleague Anne Hellemans had previously posted an appeal for information regarding his whereabouts on Facebook.
She later wrote: “The news that we have received concerning Olivier Delespesse is bad... He died in the bombing of the metro yesterday.”She later wrote: “The news that we have received concerning Olivier Delespesse is bad... He died in the bombing of the metro yesterday.”
Disparition: Olivier DELESPESSE, passé par Maelbeek et n'est jamais arriver à son travail. #AttentatsdeBruxelles pic.twitter.com/Q4zFkeUpRNDisparition: Olivier DELESPESSE, passé par Maelbeek et n'est jamais arriver à son travail. #AttentatsdeBruxelles pic.twitter.com/Q4zFkeUpRN
Two other victims have been named as Belgium law student Leopold Hecht and Peruvian Adelma Tapia Ruiz.Two other victims have been named as Belgium law student Leopold Hecht and Peruvian Adelma Tapia Ruiz.
2.23pm GMT2.23pm GMT
14:2314:23
The king and queen of Belgium visited Zaventem airport this afternoon to pay their tributes to the emergency services who responded to yesterday’s attacks, writes Oliver Milne.The king and queen of Belgium visited Zaventem airport this afternoon to pay their tributes to the emergency services who responded to yesterday’s attacks, writes Oliver Milne.
During the visit, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde expressed their gratitude to firefighters and the airport staff.During the visit, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde expressed their gratitude to firefighters and the airport staff.
This afternoon the royal couple will visit a nearby military hospital which treated some of the first victims of yesterday’s suicide bombings.This afternoon the royal couple will visit a nearby military hospital which treated some of the first victims of yesterday’s suicide bombings.
UpdatedUpdated
at 2.32pm GMTat 2.32pm GMT
2.17pm GMT2.17pm GMT
14:1714:17
Zaventem airport remains closed while police continue to investigate. A Twitter account managed by the airport said it was unclear when it would reopen.Zaventem airport remains closed while police continue to investigate. A Twitter account managed by the airport said it was unclear when it would reopen.
Investigation still ongoing. Until we have access to the building & can assess damage, it remains unclear when we can resume operations.Investigation still ongoing. Until we have access to the building & can assess damage, it remains unclear when we can resume operations.
UpdatedUpdated
at 2.26pm GMTat 2.26pm GMT
2.06pm GMT2.06pm GMT
14:0614:06
The French prime minister, Manuel Valls, is giving a press conference in Brussels with the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker.The French prime minister, Manuel Valls, is giving a press conference in Brussels with the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker.
Live now: press conference by @JunckerEU & PM of France @manuelvalls. https://t.co/cAWAOVeEpe #BrusselsAttacks pic.twitter.com/2IRB2hrnpELive now: press conference by @JunckerEU & PM of France @manuelvalls. https://t.co/cAWAOVeEpe #BrusselsAttacks pic.twitter.com/2IRB2hrnpE
UpdatedUpdated
at 2.11pm GMTat 2.11pm GMT
1.38pm GMT1.38pm GMT
13:3813:38
Three members of staff at the European commission were injured in the attacks, Politico reports.Three members of staff at the European commission were injured in the attacks, Politico reports.
Commission vice-president Kristalina Georgieva confirmed the officials were among the victims of the attacks, but did not provide details about the circumstances or the extent of their injuries.Commission vice-president Kristalina Georgieva confirmed the officials were among the victims of the attacks, but did not provide details about the circumstances or the extent of their injuries.
“The commission’s staff is ready to contribute to the fight in Europe against what has become so frequently an enormous stress for our people,” said Georgieva, who handles human resources and administration for the EU’s executive body.“The commission’s staff is ready to contribute to the fight in Europe against what has become so frequently an enormous stress for our people,” said Georgieva, who handles human resources and administration for the EU’s executive body.
UpdatedUpdated
at 3.12pm GMTat 3.12pm GMT
1.34pm GMT1.34pm GMT
13:3413:34
Reuters has a few more details from the press conference held by the federal prosecutor, Frederic Van Leeuw.Reuters has a few more details from the press conference held by the federal prosecutor, Frederic Van Leeuw.
Two brothers carried out suicide bombings at Brussels airport and on the metro on Tuesday, adding that airport bomber Ibrahim el-Bakraoui had left a will on a computer.Two brothers carried out suicide bombings at Brussels airport and on the metro on Tuesday, adding that airport bomber Ibrahim el-Bakraoui had left a will on a computer.
His brother Khalid blew himself up on a carriage of the Brussels metro at Maelbeek station, Leeuw said. Two other men captured on CCTV at the airport with Ibrahim had yet to be identified, he said.His brother Khalid blew himself up on a carriage of the Brussels metro at Maelbeek station, Leeuw said. Two other men captured on CCTV at the airport with Ibrahim had yet to be identified, he said.
The first bomb at the airport went off near desk 11 at 7.58am (6.58am GMT) and the second followed 9 seconds later near desk 2 of the departure hall, Leeuw said.The first bomb at the airport went off near desk 11 at 7.58am (6.58am GMT) and the second followed 9 seconds later near desk 2 of the departure hall, Leeuw said.
The prosecutor quoted Ibrahim’s will as saying: “Always on the run, not knowing what to do any more, being looked for everywhere, not being safe any longer and that if he waits around any longer he risks ending up next to the person in a cell.”The prosecutor quoted Ibrahim’s will as saying: “Always on the run, not knowing what to do any more, being looked for everywhere, not being safe any longer and that if he waits around any longer he risks ending up next to the person in a cell.”
The second airport suicide bomber has not been identified, while a third man, who left the airport before the explosions, is still being hunted, Van Leeuw said.The second airport suicide bomber has not been identified, while a third man, who left the airport before the explosions, is still being hunted, Van Leeuw said.
During a raid in the Brussels district of Schaerbeek on Tuesday night, police found 15kg of explosives, 150 litres of acetone, 30 litres of oxygenated water, detonators, a suitcase filled with screws and nails as well as materials, such as plastic boxes, needed to pack the explosives.During a raid in the Brussels district of Schaerbeek on Tuesday night, police found 15kg of explosives, 150 litres of acetone, 30 litres of oxygenated water, detonators, a suitcase filled with screws and nails as well as materials, such as plastic boxes, needed to pack the explosives.
UpdatedUpdated
at 2.33pm GMTat 2.33pm GMT
1.27pm GMT1.27pm GMT
13:2713:27
The bells of Belgium’s oldest university rang out to the tune of John Lennon’s Imagine last night, writes Oliver Milne.The bells of Belgium’s oldest university rang out to the tune of John Lennon’s Imagine last night, writes Oliver Milne.
“Hope must survive”, tweeted the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, sharing a short video of its library bells playing the anthem for peace.“Hope must survive”, tweeted the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, sharing a short video of its library bells playing the anthem for peace.
UpdatedUpdated
at 1.40pm GMTat 1.40pm GMT