This article is from the source 'washpo' 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 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/european-security-chief-warns-of-threat-from-a-community-of-5000-suspects/2016/03/24/71877cc4-f12e-11e5-a2a3-d4e9697917d1_story.html

The article has changed 14 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 9 Version 10
Islamic State threat in Europe ‘more urgent’ than feared, security chief warns Islamic State threat in Europe ‘more urgent’ than feared, security chief warns
(35 minutes later)
BRUSSELS — A top European security official warned Thursday that the threat of Islamic State attacks is greater than previous assessments, underscoring calls for tighter security even as police widened the hunt for accomplices in the Brussels blasts.BRUSSELS — A top European security official warned Thursday that the threat of Islamic State attacks is greater than previous assessments, underscoring calls for tighter security even as police widened the hunt for accomplices in the Brussels blasts.
Rob Wainwright, chief of Europol, said that the terrorist group has adopted a "more aggressive" posture toward Europe and that security authorities were focused on about 5,000 suspects who had become radicalized in Europe and traveled to Syria to fight. Many have now returned.Rob Wainwright, chief of Europol, said that the terrorist group has adopted a "more aggressive" posture toward Europe and that security authorities were focused on about 5,000 suspects who had become radicalized in Europe and traveled to Syria to fight. Many have now returned.
[Security forces missed chances before the Brussels attacks][Security forces missed chances before the Brussels attacks]
“We are faced by a more dangerous, a more urgent security threat from so-called Islamic State," Wainwright told the BBC on Thursday. "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.”“We are faced by a more dangerous, a more urgent security threat from so-called Islamic State," Wainwright told the BBC on Thursday. "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 spoke ahead of an emergency session of European security chiefs in Brussels. European leaders have been criticized for not acting more quickly to integrate security strategies, and they will be under pressure Thursday to produce results.Wainwright spoke ahead of an emergency session of European security chiefs in Brussels. European leaders have been criticized for not acting more quickly to integrate security strategies, and they will be under pressure Thursday to produce results.
The bloodshed struck directly at “the liberty upon which the European project was built,” said Belgium’s prime minister, Charles Michel, in a speech to mark a national day of mourning.The bloodshed struck directly at “the liberty upon which the European project was built,” said Belgium’s prime minister, Charles Michel, in a speech to mark a national day of mourning.
Meanwhile, police pressed ahead with a manhunt for a suspected accomplice who is believed to have fled Tuesday's attack at the Brussels airport.Meanwhile, police pressed ahead with a manhunt for a suspected accomplice who is believed to have fled Tuesday's attack at the Brussels airport.
[A quiet morning in Brussels ends in gruesome terrorist attacks][A quiet morning in Brussels ends in gruesome terrorist attacks]
The French newspaper Le Monde and the Belgian broadcaster RTBF reported that video monitors had captured images of another possible accomplice, who is believed to have slipped away on the Brussels subway. The report could not be immediately confirmed.The French newspaper Le Monde and the Belgian broadcaster RTBF reported that video monitors had captured images of another possible accomplice, who is believed to have slipped away on the Brussels subway. The report could not be immediately confirmed.
In a sign of the intense pressure on Belgian authorities following what are widely regarded as a host of security failures in the lead-up to Tuesday's attacks, the country's interior and justice ministers offered to resign on Thursday, according to Belgian media reports. Both Interior Minister Jan Jambon and Justice Minister Koen Geens have come under criticism for their departments' inability to disrupt the terror cell before it struck, despite links between the Brussels plotters and the attackers in Paris last November.In a sign of the intense pressure on Belgian authorities following what are widely regarded as a host of security failures in the lead-up to Tuesday's attacks, the country's interior and justice ministers offered to resign on Thursday, according to Belgian media reports. Both Interior Minister Jan Jambon and Justice Minister Koen Geens have come under criticism for their departments' inability to disrupt the terror cell before it struck, despite links between the Brussels plotters and the attackers in Paris last November.
The Brussels attackers had been on authorities' radar. One of the men who would become a suicide bomber, Khalid el-Bakraoui, 27, had even been subject to an international arrest warrant. The Belgian prosecutor's office said Thursday that the warrant was issued on Dec. 11 last year and that he was wanted for using a false name to rent an apartment in the Belgian city of Charleroi that was used as a hideout for the Paris attackers.The Brussels attackers had been on authorities' radar. One of the men who would become a suicide bomber, Khalid el-Bakraoui, 27, had even been subject to an international arrest warrant. The Belgian prosecutor's office said Thursday that the warrant was issued on Dec. 11 last year and that he was wanted for using a false name to rent an apartment in the Belgian city of Charleroi that was used as a hideout for the Paris attackers.
On Wednesday, authorities had suggested that Bakraoui and his older brother, Ibrahim, were spurred to carry out their attacks as security crackdowns and raids closed in.On Wednesday, authorities had suggested that Bakraoui and his older brother, Ibrahim, were spurred to carry out their attacks as security crackdowns and raids closed in.
Days before the attacks, counter­terrorism police raided their Brussels safe houses. An ally who took part in a terrorist rampage in Paris last November was shot and captured by authorities. And Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, a 29-year-old Belgian with a long rap sheet, wrote that he did not want to wind up in a prison cell, Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said Wednesday.Days before the attacks, counter­terrorism police raided their Brussels safe houses. An ally who took part in a terrorist rampage in Paris last November was shot and captured by authorities. And Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, a 29-year-old Belgian with a long rap sheet, wrote that he did not want to wind up in a prison cell, Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said Wednesday.
The Bakraoui brothers were among three suicide bombers who struck Tuesday, tearing apart a Brussels subway car and shattering the city’s main airport terminal. At least 31 people were killed and 300 injured in the bloodiest attack on Belgian soil since World War II.The Bakraoui brothers were among three suicide bombers who struck Tuesday, tearing apart a Brussels subway car and shattering the city’s main airport terminal. At least 31 people were killed and 300 injured in the bloodiest attack on Belgian soil since World War II.
[Obama sticks to strategy against Islamic State][Obama sticks to strategy against Islamic State]
Bakraoui detonated a suitcase full of nails, screws and powerful explosives at the airport, killing himself in the process, Van Leeuw said. So did Islamic State bombmaker Najim Laachraoui, 24, who is also believed to have prepared explosives for the Paris attacks, according to an Arab intelligence official and a European intelligence official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.Bakraoui detonated a suitcase full of nails, screws and powerful explosives at the airport, killing himself in the process, Van Leeuw said. So did Islamic State bombmaker Najim Laachraoui, 24, who is also believed to have prepared explosives for the Paris attacks, according to an Arab intelligence official and a European intelligence official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
An unidentified man who left an even larger suitcase of explosives at the airport is believed to still be at large, he said. That suitcase did not detonate, sparing Belgium even more casualties.An unidentified man who left an even larger suitcase of explosives at the airport is believed to still be at large, he said. That suitcase did not detonate, sparing Belgium even more casualties.
Laachraoui’s involvement draws the boldest line yet between the Paris attacks and those in Brussels. His DNA was found on explosives in the Paris attacks, and authorities believe that he was versed in assembling powerful explosives from ingredients readily available. His participation in two attacks suggests that the Islamic State is increasingly able to strike on European soil — although his death may also mean that he feared imminent capture by European authorities.Laachraoui’s involvement draws the boldest line yet between the Paris attacks and those in Brussels. His DNA was found on explosives in the Paris attacks, and authorities believe that he was versed in assembling powerful explosives from ingredients readily available. His participation in two attacks suggests that the Islamic State is increasingly able to strike on European soil — although his death may also mean that he feared imminent capture by European authorities.
Terrorism experts regard bomb­makers, especially those trained in handling sensitive explosives, as among the most valuable and protected members of a terrorist organization. It is highly unusual for them to participate in suicide attacks themselves.Terrorism experts regard bomb­makers, especially those trained in handling sensitive explosives, as among the most valuable and protected members of a terrorist organization. It is highly unusual for them to participate in suicide attacks themselves.
[Why is Brussels under attack?][Why is Brussels under attack?]
Laachraoui’s DNA was found in a Brussels apartment raided last week. The discovery of a militant cell there eventually led to the arrest of Salah Abdeslam last Friday. Abdeslam is believed to have been involved in logistics for the Paris massacres, which claimed 130 lives.Laachraoui’s DNA was found in a Brussels apartment raided last week. The discovery of a militant cell there eventually led to the arrest of Salah Abdeslam last Friday. Abdeslam is believed to have been involved in logistics for the Paris massacres, which claimed 130 lives.
Before Laachraoui allegedly learned to make bombs in Syria with the Islamic State, he attended a Catholic school in the ethnically mixed Brussels neighborhood of Schaerbeek.
“He was a good student,” Veronica Pellegrini, the director of the Institut de la Sainte Famille d’Helmet, said of the bomber who killed himself and dozens of others at the airport on Tuesday. Pellegrini said he spent six years at the school and studied humanities, and that he never had to fail and repeat a class.
In an interview, Pellegrini said the school never asks the students what religion they observe. And she said that the school has not heard from Laachraoui since he graduated in 2009.
The school’s Web site describes its philosophy: "For us, school is a place of learning and a space for a common life. Each student acquires knowledge and skills, learns to live and to work with others.” On another page, describing the school’s philosophy, it quotes from the Bible: "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers ... Do not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth."
It was another fragment in the lives of violent Islamic extremists who grew up in Brussels in a manner that gave no hints at what they would later become.
After a court hearing Thursday, Abdeslam’s lawyer, Sven Mary, said the suspected terrorist is not fighting extradition to France, reversing his earlier position. In response to reporters' questions, the lawyer said the 26-year-old suspect had not known about the plans to attack Brussels and that his client "wants to leave for France as quickly as possible" so he can "explain himself."After a court hearing Thursday, Abdeslam’s lawyer, Sven Mary, said the suspected terrorist is not fighting extradition to France, reversing his earlier position. In response to reporters' questions, the lawyer said the 26-year-old suspect had not known about the plans to attack Brussels and that his client "wants to leave for France as quickly as possible" so he can "explain himself."
The computer file that Brussels prosecutors cited Wednesday does not mention Abdeslam by name, but it says the attackers feared that if they did not strike quickly, they risked winding up in prison alongside “him.”
“If they drag on, they risk finishing next to him in a cell,” Van Leeuw said, paraphrasing the contents of the file.
Van Leeuw described the computer file as a “will.” He did not explain why authorities believed the computer belonged to Bakraoui.
Khalid el-Bakraoui is believed to have been the suicide bomber on a Brussels subway car that blew up as it sped out of a station underneath the heart of the European Union quarter of Brussels, an area packed with embassies and international organizations. That attack came 73 minutes after the one at the airport, meaning that commuters were already reading the news of the first explosions when the carnage reached them.
Khalid el-Bakraoui appears to have been a kind of surreptitious real estate broker for the plotters, according to a European security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case. Using assumed names, he rented an apartment in the Forest area of Brussels where Abdeslam’s fingerprints were found and an apartment near Charleroi, Belgium, where Paris attack ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud stayed as he plotted the violence.
Both Bakraoui brothers served prison time for violent crime, the European security official said. The announcement on Wednesday that two of the attackers were brothers highlighted another emerging tactic from the militant group: They would be the third pair of brothers involved in an Islamic State attack in Europe in the past 15 months.
[Brussels terrorists probably used explosive nicknamed ‘the Mother of Satan’][Brussels terrorists probably used explosive nicknamed ‘the Mother of Satan’]
Van Leeuw , the Belgian prosecutor, said the brothers had not previously been suspected of ties to terrorism. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that Turkey had deported the elder Bakraoui to Europe in July and warned European counter­terrorism officials that it believed the man was a militant, suggesting a serious lapse by Belgian authorities.
But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that Turkey had deported the elder Bakraoui to Europe in July and warned European counter­terrorism officials that it believed the man was a militant, suggesting a serious lapse by Belgian authorities.
The Reuters news agency, citing another Turkish government official, said Bakraoui was deported again in August after arriving in Antalya on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.The Reuters news agency, citing another Turkish government official, said Bakraoui was deported again in August after arriving in Antalya on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.
A photo, released to Turkish media Thursday, showed a police mug shot of Bakraoui — smiling and unshaven, wearing a dark T-shirt — prior to his deportation to the Netherlands in July.A photo, released to Turkish media Thursday, showed a police mug shot of Bakraoui — smiling and unshaven, wearing a dark T-shirt — prior to his deportation to the Netherlands in July.
There were signs that an even bigger attack had been forestalled. Authorities found large stockpiles of bomb-building materials at Ibrahim el-Bakraoui’s apartment in the Schaerbeek area of Brussels, the prosecutor said: 33 pounds of TATP explosives, nearly 40 gallons of acetone, 8 gallons of hydrogen peroxide, detonators, and a suitcase full of nails and screws. Both acetone and hydrogen peroxide are easily obtainable; together they can be used to make potent explosives.
Secretary of State John F. Kerry plans to visit Brussels on Friday.Secretary of State John F. Kerry plans to visit Brussels on Friday.
Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report.Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report.
Read more:Read more:
Here’s what we know about the attacks in BrusselsHere’s what we know about the attacks in Brussels
Explosives called ‘The Mother of Satan’ were likely used in the attackExplosives called ‘The Mother of Satan’ were likely used in the attack
Why are brothers teaming up to launch terror attacks?Why are brothers teaming up to launch terror attacks?
Who is Najim Laachraoui, suspected Islamic State bombmaker?Who is Najim Laachraoui, suspected Islamic State bombmaker?