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Who are the Brussels attacks suspects named by Belgian media? Who are the Brussels attacks suspects?
(35 minutes later)
Two of the suspected suicide bombers who blew themselves up in the twin Brussels attacks that killed at least 31 people on Tuesday have been named by the state broadcaster, RTBF, as brothers Khalid and Ibrahim el-Bakraoui. The Belgian federal prosecutor has named brothers Ibrahim and Khalid el-Bakraoui as suicide bombers in the Brussels attacks on Tuesday that killed at least 31 people. Frederic van Leeuw said Ibrahim and Khalid blew themselves up at Zaventem airport and Maelbeek metro station respectively.
Ibrahim el-Bakraoui was identified by RTBF on CCTV from Zaventem airport. A third suspect, Najim Laachraoui, was also identified in the CCTV footage. Police are searching for a third suspect who was filmed on CCTV at the airport. Belgian media identified him as Najim Laachraoui, but authorities have not confirmed this.
Najim LaachraouiNajim Laachraoui
Laachraoui is the only one of the three named suspects seemingly still at large. The 24-year-old, whose nationality has not been given, had only just been identified as a key suspect in the Paris attacks. He had previously been sought in connection with the November attacks on the French capital under his alias, Soufiane Kayal. Laachraoui is reported to have travelled to Syria in 2013 and was thought to have been key in a recruitment ring of Brussels youths for jihad. His DNA was found in two hideouts used by the Paris attackers and also on explosive material, prosecutors said. He was travelling under his alias with Salah Abdeslam, 26, another prime suspect in the Paris attacks (who was cornered by Belgian police last Friday) in September last year when their Mercedes was stopped at the Hungarian border with Austria. The Belgian state broadcaster RTBF reported that he could have been one of the bomb makers in the Paris attacks. Laachraoui, a 24-year-old whose nationality has not been given, is seemingly still at large. He had only just been identified as a key suspect in the terrorist attacks in Paris in November. He had previously been sought in connection with the Paris attacks under his alias, Soufiane Kayal. Laachraoui is reported to have travelled to Syria in 2013 and was thought to have been key in a recruitment ring of Brussels youths for jihad. His DNA was found in two hideouts used by the Paris attackers and also on explosive material, prosecutors said. He was travelling under his alias with Salah Abdeslam, 26 – another prime suspect in the Paris attacks who was cornered by Belgian police last Friday – in September last year when their Mercedes was stopped at the Hungarian border with Austria. The Belgian state broadcaster RTBF reported that he could have been one of the bomb makers in the Paris attacks.
Ibrahim el-BakraouiIbrahim el-Bakraoui
El-Bakroui is believed to have detonated at least some of the explosives at Brussels’ main airport. He and his brother, Khalid, had a long history of organised crime in Belgium and were well-known to police. Ibrahim el-Bakraoui was sentenced in 2010 for firing a Kalashnikov at police officers in the course of an armed robbery in Brussels. He was released before serving his full sentence. It recently emerged that both brothers had clear links to the Paris attacks. They were among the suspects on the run and being hunted since the police raids of recent days. One of the brothers is known to have rented one of the hideouts of the Paris jihadist team, in Charleroi in Belgium, where two of the attackers met before heading to the French capital. One of them is also believed to have provided ammunition and weapons for the Paris attacks. El-Bakraoui is believed to have detonated at least some of the explosives at Brussels’ main airport. He and his brother, Khalid, had a long history of organised crime in Belgium and were well-known to police. Ibrahim el-Bakraoui was sentenced in 2010 for firing a Kalashnikov at police officers in the course of an armed robbery in Brussels. He was released before serving his full sentence. It recently emerged that both brothers had clear links to the Paris attacks. They were among the suspects on the run and being hunted since the police raids of recent days. One of the brothers is known to have rented one of the hideouts of the Paris terrorist team, in Charleroi in Belgium, where two of the attackers met before heading to the French capital. One of them is also believed to have provided ammunition and weapons for the Paris attacks.
Khalid el-BakraouiKhalid el-Bakraoui
Police told RTBF they believe el-Bakroui, was the metro bomber in Tuesday’s attacks on Brussels. He had rented the flat in Forest, south-west Brussels, that was raided by police last Tuesday, a week before the Brussels attacks, and where Abdeslam had been present. He was sentenced in 2011 to five years in jail for a series of car-jackings. Khalid el-Bakraoui has been identified as the metro bomber in Tuesday’s attacks. He had rented the flat in Forest, south-west Brussels, that was raided by police the previous Tuesday, and where Abdeslam had been present. He was sentenced in 2011 to five years in jail for a series of carjackings.