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| Brussels police try to identify man pictured with suicide bomber | Brussels police try to identify man pictured with suicide bomber |
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| Police investigating the Brussels suicide attacks are working to identify a man filmed in the company of metro train bomber Khalid el-Bakraoui shortly before he blew himself up, French and Belgian media have reported. | Police investigating the Brussels suicide attacks are working to identify a man filmed in the company of metro train bomber Khalid el-Bakraoui shortly before he blew himself up, French and Belgian media have reported. |
| France’s Le Monde and the Belgian broadcaster RTBF said the man was carrying a big bag and was considered a potential fifth attacker. It is not clear whether he died in the attack or escaped. | France’s Le Monde and the Belgian broadcaster RTBF said the man was carrying a big bag and was considered a potential fifth attacker. It is not clear whether he died in the attack or escaped. |
| Some 48 hours after the attacks, the police investigation in Brussels is focused on identifying and finding possible accomplices or other attackers. | Some 48 hours after the attacks, the police investigation in Brussels is focused on identifying and finding possible accomplices or other attackers. |
| Three bombers, two at the airport and one at the metro station, are believed dead but a third man seen at the airport – pictured on CCTV wearing white – remains unidentified and is the subject of an ongoing manhunt. 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. | Three bombers, two at the airport and one at the metro station, are believed dead but a third man seen at the airport – pictured on CCTV wearing white – remains unidentified and is the subject of an ongoing manhunt. 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. |
| At least three suspects in the Brussels attacks had known links to the terror cell behind November’s carnage in Paris, and one was flagged by Turkey as an Islamist militant and deported in June 2015. | At least three suspects in the Brussels attacks had known links to the terror cell behind November’s carnage in Paris, and one was flagged by Turkey as an Islamist militant and deported in June 2015. |
| A 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. | A 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. | 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 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 a report that has not been confirmed by Belgian prosecutors, the Belgian 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 did not want to end up in a prison cell like another man, whom he did not name. | In this will, Bakraoui complained of feeling hunted and said he did not want to end up in a prison cell like another man, whom he did not name. |
| Turkey said on Wednesday it had warned Belgium that Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, who acted as a suicide bomber at the Brussels airport, was a suspected foreign fighter when it deported him to the Netherlands in 2015. | Turkey said on Wednesday it had warned Belgium that Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, who acted as a suicide bomber at the Brussels airport, was a suspected foreign fighter when it deported him to the Netherlands in 2015. |
| His brother, Khalid, is believed by authorities to have carried out the bombing of the metro station, and Najim Laachraoui has been tentatively named in Belgian media as the second airport bomber. Before the bombings all three were being sought by police in connection with the Paris attacks, and were believed to be linked to one of the Paris terrorists, Salah Abdeslam, who was arrested in Brussels last week. | His brother, Khalid, is believed by authorities to have carried out the bombing of the metro station, and Najim Laachraoui has been tentatively named in Belgian media as the second airport bomber. Before the bombings all three were being sought by police in connection with the Paris attacks, and were believed to be linked to one of the Paris terrorists, Salah Abdeslam, who was arrested in Brussels last week. |
| During a raid on an apartment in Schaerbeek, police found a laptop containing a note written by Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, saying he suspected the police were searching for him. | During a raid on an apartment in Schaerbeek, police found a laptop containing a note written by Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, saying he suspected the police were searching for him. |
| European security chiefs will hold an emergency meeting in Brussels on Thursday after the twin terrorist attacks on the city, which killed 31 and injured more than 300 people. 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. | European security chiefs will hold an emergency meeting in Brussels on Thursday after the twin terrorist attacks on the city, which killed 31 and injured more than 300 people. 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. |
| So far, three of the dead have been named. Adelma Tapia Ruiz, a Peruvian, was killed at the airport. Her husband, Christopher Delcambe, and their twin three-year-old daughters survived after they stepped outside the departures area for the girls to play, shortly before the explosion. | |
| The death of 20-year-old Belgian law student Leopold Hecht at the Maelbeek metro station, was confirmed by Brussels’ Saint Louis University. It said in a Facebook post Hecht was “one of the unfortunate victims of barbaric acts”. Oliviere Delespesse, an employee of the Federation of Wallonia-Brussels, was also killed at Maelbeek. | The death of 20-year-old Belgian law student Leopold Hecht at the Maelbeek metro station, was confirmed by Brussels’ Saint Louis University. It said in a Facebook post Hecht was “one of the unfortunate victims of barbaric acts”. Oliviere Delespesse, an employee of the Federation of Wallonia-Brussels, was also killed at Maelbeek. |
| Another 28 deaths are yet to be publicly identified; it is unclear whether the three suicide bombers are included in that number. The identification process has been complicated by the violence of the attack and the number of foreigners among the victims. | Another 28 deaths are yet to be publicly identified; it is unclear whether the three suicide bombers are included in that number. The identification process has been complicated by the violence of the attack and the number of foreigners among the victims. |