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Brussels attacks: Paris suspect Salah Abdeslam says he 'didn't know' of plans – live Brussels attacks: Paris suspect Salah Abdeslam says he 'didn't know' of plans – live
(35 minutes later)
11.20am GMT
11:20
A Turkish official has told Reuters that Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, who blew himself up at Brussels airport, was deported from Turkey a second time last year.
Last night Turkey’s prime minster Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Bakraoui was caught in Turkey in June 2015, and deported to the Netherlands.
He said Turkey reported the deportation to the Belgian authorities in July 2015 adding that Belgium “ignored” Turkey’s warning that the attacker was a militant.
Now an official has told Reuters Bakraoui travelled back to Turkey and was deported again in August.
The official said Bakraoui was deported on police suspicion that he was a foreign fighter, but no crime was committed in Turkey.
Turkish police released a photograph of Bakraoui that was taken last July in Turkey.
11.01am GMT
11:01
Belgian broadcasters will fall silent at 2.30pm [1330 GMT] as part of a nationwide minute’s silence in honour of the victims of Tuesday’s attack, RTBF reports.
Cérémonie d’#hommage : l'ensemble des chaînes radio et TV de la #RTBF observeront une minute de silence à 14h30. pic.twitter.com/6rFdNeRqSt
This is the second day of national mourning in Belgian.
On Wednesday 2,000 people gathered for 60 seconds of quiet at noon, in front of the steps of the Brussels stock exchange.
Related: Belgium holds minute's silence for Brussels attack victims
10.37am GMT10.37am GMT
10:3710:37
Channel 4 News managed to film Abdeslam’s laywer Sven Mary denying that his client knew anything about the Brussels attacks.Channel 4 News managed to film Abdeslam’s laywer Sven Mary denying that his client knew anything about the Brussels attacks.
“He didn’t know it,” Mary told reporter Paraic O’Brien.“He didn’t know it,” Mary told reporter Paraic O’Brien.
He won't fight extradition & we ask lawyer how Abdeslam reacted when heard about Brussels attacks pic.twitter.com/6vZju1WWZhHe won't fight extradition & we ask lawyer how Abdeslam reacted when heard about Brussels attacks pic.twitter.com/6vZju1WWZh
10.08am GMT10.08am GMT
10:0810:08
Haroon SiddiqueHaroon Siddique
The last call of missing Indian citizen Raghavendran Ganesh has been tracked to the Brussels metro, writes Haroon Siddique.The last call of missing Indian citizen Raghavendran Ganesh has been tracked to the Brussels metro, writes Haroon Siddique.
India’s minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj confirmed that Ganesh was travelling in the metro when he made the call.India’s minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj confirmed that Ganesh was travelling in the metro when he made the call.
Raghavendran Ganesh - We have tracked his last call in Brussels. He was travelling in the metro rail. @SanjeevKandakur @IndEmbassyBruRaghavendran Ganesh - We have tracked his last call in Brussels. He was travelling in the metro rail. @SanjeevKandakur @IndEmbassyBru
His mother, Annapoorni Ganeshan, told the News Minute that he had visited India last month when his wife, who lives in Chennai, gave birth to a child.His mother, Annapoorni Ganeshan, told the News Minute that he had visited India last month when his wife, who lives in Chennai, gave birth to a child.
Ganeshan has worked for technology company Infosys in Brussels for four years.Ganeshan has worked for technology company Infosys in Brussels for four years.
His mother said:His mother said:
They said that his name does not appear in the casualty list nor in the injured list. They are leaving to one hall where a few attack victims with minor injuries have been lodged for treatment.They are saying some people are conscious some others are unconscious, so I am just hoping the Infosys officials recognise him. His friends are also looking for him in the city.They said that his name does not appear in the casualty list nor in the injured list. They are leaving to one hall where a few attack victims with minor injuries have been lodged for treatment.They are saying some people are conscious some others are unconscious, so I am just hoping the Infosys officials recognise him. His friends are also looking for him in the city.
I hv spoken to Raghavendran's mother Mrs Annapoorni. /1 pic.twitter.com/9M1qlKkVVH @arvindram77I hv spoken to Raghavendran's mother Mrs Annapoorni. /1 pic.twitter.com/9M1qlKkVVH @arvindram77
UpdatedUpdated
at 10.32am GMTat 10.32am GMT
10.03am GMT10.03am GMT
10:0310:03
Angelique ChrisafisAngelique Chrisafis
A court hearing in Brussels on Abdeslam’s detention has been postponed until 7 April, Angelique Chrisafis reports from Brussels.A court hearing in Brussels on Abdeslam’s detention has been postponed until 7 April, Angelique Chrisafis reports from Brussels.
The court agreed to a request to the delay the hearing, from Abdeslam’s lawyer, Sven Mary.The court agreed to a request to the delay the hearing, from Abdeslam’s lawyer, Sven Mary.
Speaking outside the court Mary confirmed that Abdeslam “wants to be transferred to France as soon as possible”.Speaking outside the court Mary confirmed that Abdeslam “wants to be transferred to France as soon as possible”.
Le Monde reminds us that Mary had previously indicated that he would oppose the extradition request.Le Monde reminds us that Mary had previously indicated that he would oppose the extradition request.
9.43am GMT9.43am GMT
09:4309:43
Mary has told reporters that Abdeslam did not know about the attacks on Brussels airport and the metro, AFP report.Mary has told reporters that Abdeslam did not know about the attacks on Brussels airport and the metro, AFP report.
#BREAKING Paris suspect Abdeslam says he 'didn't know' about Brussels attacks: lawyer#BREAKING Paris suspect Abdeslam says he 'didn't know' about Brussels attacks: lawyer
9.35am GMT9.35am GMT
09:3509:35
Reuters has more on Abdeslam’s apparent desire to return to France.Reuters has more on Abdeslam’s apparent desire to return to France.
Salah Abdeslam, the prime surviving suspect for November’s Paris attacks, will no longer fight extradition to France but wants to return to his home country to explain himself as soon as possible, his lawyer said on Thursday.Salah Abdeslam, the prime surviving suspect for November’s Paris attacks, will no longer fight extradition to France but wants to return to his home country to explain himself as soon as possible, his lawyer said on Thursday.
“Salah Abdeslam has asked me to inform you that he wishes to leave for France as quickly as possible,” Sven Mary said in comments broadcast on BFM TV, speaking from Brussels.“Salah Abdeslam has asked me to inform you that he wishes to leave for France as quickly as possible,” Sven Mary said in comments broadcast on BFM TV, speaking from Brussels.
Mary said he hoped this could happen “as soon as possible”, adding that Abdeslam “wants to explain himself in France”.Mary said he hoped this could happen “as soon as possible”, adding that Abdeslam “wants to explain himself in France”.
Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said last week that at worst it could take three months for Abdeslam to be handed over to France after he said he would oppose extradition to his homeland.Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said last week that at worst it could take three months for Abdeslam to be handed over to France after he said he would oppose extradition to his homeland.
UpdatedUpdated
at 10.10am GMTat 10.10am GMT
9.33am GMT9.33am GMT
09:3309:33
Angelique ChrisafisAngelique Chrisafis
Outside the Brussels Palais de Justice there was a huge security presence with army and armed police ahead of Salah Abdeslam’s extradition hearing, writes Angelique Chrisafis.Outside the Brussels Palais de Justice there was a huge security presence with army and armed police ahead of Salah Abdeslam’s extradition hearing, writes Angelique Chrisafis.
Abdelsam’s lawyer Sven Mary is currently inside at a meeting with Belgian magistrates in a pre-scheduled hearing to discuss whether to keep the Paris attack suspect in detention.Abdelsam’s lawyer Sven Mary is currently inside at a meeting with Belgian magistrates in a pre-scheduled hearing to discuss whether to keep the Paris attack suspect in detention.
Abdeslam is not thought to be in the court. He has been held in a high security prison near Bruges. Mary had said earlier that he would ask for a full hearing to be postponed.Abdeslam is not thought to be in the court. He has been held in a high security prison near Bruges. Mary had said earlier that he would ask for a full hearing to be postponed.
Mary was attacked last night, according to Le Soir. “I had to close my office to ensure the safety of my staff ,” he told the paper.Mary was attacked last night, according to Le Soir. “I had to close my office to ensure the safety of my staff ,” he told the paper.
9.22am GMT9.22am GMT
09:2209:22
London landmarks were lit up in the colours of Belgian flag last night in tribute to the victims of the attacks.London landmarks were lit up in the colours of Belgian flag last night in tribute to the victims of the attacks.
9.19am GMT9.19am GMT
09:1909:19
Salah Abdeslam, the surviving member of the Paris attacks, wants to be extradited to France “as quickly as possible” his lawyer has said, according to the French broadcaster BFM TV.Salah Abdeslam, the surviving member of the Paris attacks, wants to be extradited to France “as quickly as possible” his lawyer has said, according to the French broadcaster BFM TV.
Abdeslam was captured in Brussels last Friday after four months on the run.Abdeslam was captured in Brussels last Friday after four months on the run.
A Belgian judge is to due decide today whether he should be held in custody for another month. France is seeking his extradition to face terrorism charges.A Belgian judge is to due decide today whether he should be held in custody for another month. France is seeking his extradition to face terrorism charges.
8.55am GMT8.55am GMT
08:5508:55
Matthew WeaverMatthew Weaver
Europol warns of new ‘aggressive’ strategy by IsisEuropol warns of new ‘aggressive’ strategy by Isis
The EU’s law enforcement agency Europol has warned that Brussels attacks shows that a network of at least 5,000 terrorists suspects is more dangerous than previously feared.The EU’s law enforcement agency Europol has warned that Brussels attacks shows that a network of at least 5,000 terrorists suspects is more dangerous than previously feared.
Rob Wainwright, the head of Europol, confirmed the connection of the Brussels bombers to November’s attacks in Paris and warned of new “aggressive” strategy by Islamic State [Isis] militants to attack Europe.Rob Wainwright, the head of Europol, confirmed the connection of the Brussels bombers to November’s attacks in Paris and warned of new “aggressive” strategy by Islamic State [Isis] militants to attack Europe.
“We are concerned about the extent to which we are now uncovering a more widespread network than was first feared,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.“We are concerned about the extent to which we are now uncovering a more widespread network than was first feared,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Wainwright said he could not talk in public about the identity of the man seen in CCTV footage at Brussels airport dressed in a white jacket.Wainwright said he could not talk in public about the identity of the man seen in CCTV footage at Brussels airport dressed in a white jacket.
But he said: “We are faced by a more dangerous, a more urgent security threat from so-called Islamic State. It threatens not just France and Belgium but a number of European countries at the same time ... It is certainly the most serious threat we have faced in at least a decade.”But he said: “We are faced by a more dangerous, a more urgent security threat from so-called Islamic State. It threatens not just France and Belgium but a number of European countries at the same time ... It is certainly the most serious threat we have faced in at least a decade.”
Wainwright said the “innovative use of the internet to radicalise and recruit larger sections of the populations” by Isis militants posed an “unprecedented threat”.Wainwright said the “innovative use of the internet to radicalise and recruit larger sections of the populations” by Isis militants posed an “unprecedented threat”.
He said: “The nature of the threat, the way it is dispersed across a largely unconnected randomised community of a least 5,000 individuals means it is not possible to reduce the threat to zero. So we have to redouble our efforts.”He said: “The nature of the threat, the way it is dispersed across a largely unconnected randomised community of a least 5,000 individuals means it is not possible to reduce the threat to zero. So we have to redouble our efforts.”
Wainwright is due to attend today’s meeting of interior ministers in Brussels to discuss better ways of sharing intelligence in different countries.Wainwright is due to attend today’s meeting of interior ministers in Brussels to discuss better ways of sharing intelligence in different countries.
He added: “It is difficult to know how many [militants] are on active duty in preparing to launch attacks in Europe, but we are concerned about a community of 5,000 suspects that have been radicalised in Europe, that have travelled to Syria and Iraq for conflict experience, some of whom have since come back to Europe. And some of those will be among those that are taking part in what is clearly a new strategy that so-called Islamic State have launched in the west to take us on, in a more aggressive way to use teams of well-trained, well-planned terrorists to carry out multi attacks aimed at mass causalities.”He added: “It is difficult to know how many [militants] are on active duty in preparing to launch attacks in Europe, but we are concerned about a community of 5,000 suspects that have been radicalised in Europe, that have travelled to Syria and Iraq for conflict experience, some of whom have since come back to Europe. And some of those will be among those that are taking part in what is clearly a new strategy that so-called Islamic State have launched in the west to take us on, in a more aggressive way to use teams of well-trained, well-planned terrorists to carry out multi attacks aimed at mass causalities.”
8.21am GMT
08:21
Henry McDonald
Henry McDonald reports from Dublin on increased security at Ireland’s main airport and port.
Armed Irish police are to be deployed for the first time at the Republic’s major airport and Dublin Port, in response to the attacks in Brussels.
Armed officers from the Garda Siochana’s Regional Support Unit will have a presence at Dublin airport and the city’s main ferry port.
Up until Tuesday’s atrocity in Belgium there was no armed Garda presence at either the airport or the port in the Irish capital.
The armed unit has already been seen on Dublin’s streets in the aftermath of the eruption of a major gangland feud between two notorious rival Irish criminals, which last night claimed its third life.
Although the Irish Republic is neutral and has never been a member of Nato, there is considerable controversy over the use of the country’s second airport Shannon by the US military as a transport hub for its personnel from North America to Europe and beyond.
7.32am GMT
07:32
Attackers and suspects: what we know
Claire Phipps
The Bakraoui brothers
Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, 29, detonated one of two devices that exploded at Zaventem airport. His younger brother Khalid el-Bakraoui, 27, was responsible for a third explosion, in a metro carriage at Maelbeek station.
Both men died in the attacks. Ibrahim el-Bakraoui was identified from his fingerprints. Police later found a computer containing a last statement from him, in which he said he felt “in a rush, not knowing what to do, being hunted everywhere, not being safe”, and feared “if this goes on, ending up … in a cell”.
The brothers, both Belgian nationals, had long criminal records, although not for terrorism offences. But police had been searching for them before the Brussels attacks after investigators linked them to the attacks in Paris last November.
Najim Laachraoui
Najim Laachraoui has been named in Belgian media reports – but not officially confirmed – as the second airport suicide bomber.
Like the Bakraoui brothers, he was already being hunted by police in connection with the attacks on Paris, for which he was suspected of being a bomb-maker.
In the confusion following the attacks, local media originally reported that 24-year-old Laachraoui was the suspect in the light-coloured coat and hat believed to have fled the airport without detonating his bomb, and that he had later been arrested. But those reports turned out to be wrong.
Before the Brussels attacks, Belgian prosecutors said DNA evidence had identified Moroccan-born Laachraoui as an accomplice of Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam.
The third man at the airport
Police continue to search for a man seen in CCTV images wearing a hat, sunglasses and light-coloured coat. He is believed to have fled the airport after his suitcase bomb failed to detonate.
The ‘second metro bomber’
French newspaper Le Monde and Belgian broadcaster RTBF report that a second man, carrying a large bag, was seen on CCTV in the Brussels metro with Khalid el-Bakraoui.
Le Monde says police are now searching for a potential second accomplice.
7.22am GMT
07:22
Angelique Chrisafis
Angelique Chrisafis in Brussels writes:
As the investigation continues, links are being examined to all suspects who have been arrested in connection to terrorism offences in recent months in Belgium, particularly those who were detained after raids relating to the Paris attacks.
One key figure who was arrested in Belgium in the days following the Paris attacks in November is Mohamed Bakkali, 28. He was suspected of renting two of the Belgian hide-outs for the Paris attackers.
During searches at Bakkali’s wife’s house in November, police found a 10-minute film shot by a fixed-camera hidden in a bush, which showed the home of a senior Belgian nuclear official in the Flanders region, and the official coming and going.
Bakkali has been in prison since his arrest at the end of November.
In a report that has not been confirmed by Belgian prosecutors, the Belgian state broadcaster RTBF said Bakkali’s name appeared in the will left on a computer thrown in a bin by the Brussels airport bomber Ibrahim el-Bakraoui.
In this will, Bakraoui complained of feeling hunted and said he didn’t want to end up in a prison cell like another man, whom he did not name.
Updated
at 7.23am GMT
7.14am GMT
07:14
Salah Abdeslam, the Paris attacker arrested in Brussels last week, who is known to have been linked to this week’s suicide bombers, is due in court this morning for a hearing.
More links between the Paris and Brussels attackers are emerging; here’s what we know so far:
Related: Suicide bombers in Brussels had known links to Paris attacks
7.01am GMT
07:01
Angelique Chrisafis
Angelique Chrisafis in Brussels writes:
Some 48 hours after the attacks, the police investigation in Brussels is focused on identifying and finding possible accomplices or other attackers.
France’s Le Monde and the Belgian broadcaster RTBF have reported that police are working to identify a man carrying a big bag who was filmed by CCTV cameras in the company of the metro suicide bomber Khalid el-Bakraoui just before Bakraoui blew himself up.
RTBF reported that this man’s identity was not known, and it was not clear if he had died in the attack or had escaped.
6.53am GMT
06:53
Helen Davidson
European security chiefs will hold an emergency meeting in Brussels on Thursday in the wake of the twin terrorist attacks on the city.
Some world leaders have raised questions about the ease of access to Europe by terrorists, and criticised Belgium’s record of responding to the threat of terrorism before the deadly attacks in its capital.
Numerous European leaders have also voiced concern that “the future of Schengen is at stake” and that free movement between EU borders has weakened security.
The French prime minister, Manuel Valls, called for approval of a passenger name records directive requiring airlines to hand over passenger details to EU countries.
The president of the European commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, called for a “security union” and said he hoped the EU would adopt proposals by the commission for the protection of external borders.
Related: Brussels bombings: EU ministers meet as border controls criticised
6.43am GMT
06:43
RTBF also reports that a “will” found by police on a computer, apparently written by suicide bomber Ibraham el-Bakraoui, mentioned a man called Mohammed Bakkali.
Bakkali was arrested in November. He was said to be connected to an apartment in Auvelais, near the central Belgian city of Namur, that was used by the Paris attackers.
RTBF speculates that it could be Bakkali – rather than captured Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam – to whom Bakraoui was referring when he said:
If I go on like this [I] will end up in a prison cell next to him.
6.34am GMT
06:34
Belgian broadcaster RTBF also reports that a second man was apparently seen in the metro with Khalid el-Bakraoui. It’s not clear what the source is for this information, and neither RTBF nor Le Monde have the images.
6.16am GMT
06:16
‘Second metro attacker’ – reports
French newspaper Le Monde reports that a second man, carrying a large bag, was seen on CCTV in the Brussels metro with Khalid el-Bakraoui, who authorities say carried out the suicide bombing at Maelbeek station.
Le Monde says police are now searching for a potential second accomplice – officials have said they are hunting for a suspect seen at Zaventem airport who is believed to have fled the scene without detonating his bomb.
This is the first mention of a second attacker in the metro bombing. The Guardian is not yet able to verify this report.
5.50am GMT
05:50
Opening summary
Claire Phipps
Welcome to ongoing coverage of the aftermath of the terrorist strikes in Brussels that killed 31 people.
European justice and security ministers will hold an emergency meeting in Brussels today to discuss the response to the terror threat.
Here are the latest developments:
Related: Agonising wait for news of missing loved ones after Brussels attacks