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Two Americans among dead in Brussels attacks, U.S. official says Belgian police mount raids as Kerry joins European counterterrorism talks
(about 1 hour later)
BRUSSELS — At least two Americans were killed in Tuesday’s terrorist attacks in Brussels, a U.S. official said Friday, as Secretary of State John F. Kerry made a somber visit to the heart of the European Union that was struck by Islamic State violence. BRUSSELS — Belgian commandos and bomb units swept through a district at the heart of the Brussels attack probe Friday, underscoring the widening security fears even as Secretary of State John F. Kerry and European allies looked to sharpen strategies against the Islamic State.
Kerry gave no further detail about the identities or the number of the American fatalities, who were among at least 31 people killed in three suicide bombings. Belgian authorities, meanwhile, stepped up raids in parts of Brussels, detaining several people in connection with the attacks. The raids followed police operations in France and Germany that displayed the expanding crackdowns that increasingly connect the last two terrorist blows in Europe: November’s bloodshed across Paris and Tuesday’s twin-site suicide bombings in Brussels that killed at least 31 people — including at least two Americans.
The U.S. official said two Americans have been confirmed dead so far and that there could be more. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive findings. Among those arrested in the latest roundups was a French suspect who officials believe was directing a plot for an impending attack in France. The investigation touched off a series of related police raids in Belgium.
[Families still in desperate wait for news after attacks][Families still in desperate wait for news after attacks]
“The United States is praying and grieving with you for the loved ones of those cruelly taken from us, including Americans, and for the many who were injured in these despicable attacks,” Kerry said alongside Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel. Meanwhile, the list of the Brussels victims became clearer.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said earlier this week that the U.S. Embassy was still working to account for all of its staff members in Belgium. At least two Americans were killed, a U.S. official said Friday, but their names remained undisclosed.
Also among the dead from the airport bombings: a Dutch brother and sister who lived in the United States. They were Alexander Pinczowski, 29, and Sascha Pinczowski, 26, said a representative for their family, James Cain.
Cain, the father of Alexander Pinczowski’s fiancée and a former U.S. ambassador to Denmark, said the siblings had hoped to become U.S. citizens. Britain, the Netherlands, China and France also confirmed at least one citizen each among the fatalities.
“We will not rest until we have eliminated your nihilistic beliefs and cowardice from the face of the Earth,” Kerry said, directing his remarks at Islamic State-connected attackers who have struck around the world.“We will not rest until we have eliminated your nihilistic beliefs and cowardice from the face of the Earth,” Kerry said, directing his remarks at Islamic State-connected attackers who have struck around the world.
[For Islamic State, terror in Europe but retreat in Mideast][For Islamic State, terror in Europe but retreat in Mideast]
The identities of more victims filtered out. Among them: a Dutch brother and sister who lived in the United States. Alexander Pinczowski, 29, and Sascha Pinczowski, 26, were killed in the airport bombing, said a representative for their family, James Cain. Kerry met with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel before joining a Europe-wide security meeting to examine ways to counter militant reach into the continent. Officials have raised alarms about potential threats from citizens returning after fighting with the Islamic State and other groups.
Cain, the father of Alexander Pinczowski’s fiancée and a former U.S. ambassador to Denmark, said that the siblings had hoped to become U.S. citizens. Even as Kerry and the others gathered to assess the problems, police fanned out just miles away.
Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders added that another Dutch citizen has died. He did not release the name, but Dutch media reported that the victim was Elita Weah, 40.
Britain said one of its citizens, David Dixon, was killed in the attacks, and China and France noted at least one victim each.
Even as Kerry met with Belgian and E.U. leaders about the Islamic State violence, police sweeps in France, Germany and Belgium were a sign that the threat has not abated.
One large raid appeared to concentrate on the Brussels district of Schaerbeek, the same area where some of the attackers stayed and where police later found an apartment filled with bombmaking material.One large raid appeared to concentrate on the Brussels district of Schaerbeek, the same area where some of the attackers stayed and where police later found an apartment filled with bombmaking material.
Police detained one person, the Belgian federal prosecutor said in a statement, and witnesses reported hearing explosions, apparently from bomb squad robots.Police detained one person, the Belgian federal prosecutor said in a statement, and witnesses reported hearing explosions, apparently from bomb squad robots.
Belgian TV aired amateur footage of the detention that appeared to show a man who had been shot in the leg being dragged away from a tram stop by black-clad counterterrorism police while a bomb-disposal robot waited nearby. Belgian prosecutors said the man was arrested in connection with a French raid a day earlier.Belgian TV aired amateur footage of the detention that appeared to show a man who had been shot in the leg being dragged away from a tram stop by black-clad counterterrorism police while a bomb-disposal robot waited nearby. Belgian prosecutors said the man was arrested in connection with a French raid a day earlier.
And Germany held a man who was deported from Turkey to Europe in July alongside Brussels suicide attacker Ibrahim el-Bakraoui over suspicions of trying to fight in Syria. A German official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was not immediately clear whether the man detained Thursday had direct ties to Bakraoui. In Germany, authorities held a man who was deported from Turkey to Europe in July alongside Brussels suicide attacker Ibrahim el-Bakraoui over suspicions of trying to fight in Syria. A German official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was not immediately clear whether the man detained Thursday had direct ties to Bakraoui.
[Pentagon: Senior Islamic State commander killed in Syria][Pentagon: Senior Islamic State commander killed in Syria]
Both Ibrahim and Khalid el-Bakraoui, the brothers who blew themselves up on Tuesday, were on a U.S. terrorism watchlist ahead of the attack, according to a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. It was not clear whether they had been on the U.S. “no-fly” list.Both Ibrahim and Khalid el-Bakraoui, the brothers who blew themselves up on Tuesday, were on a U.S. terrorism watchlist ahead of the attack, according to a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. It was not clear whether they had been on the U.S. “no-fly” list.
Earlier, a new suspect in the attacks was identified as Naim al-Hamed, a 27-year-old Syrian man born in Hama. He was described as “very dangerous, suspected of being armed,” according to a police notice detailed in Belgian media.Earlier, a new suspect in the attacks was identified as Naim al-Hamed, a 27-year-old Syrian man born in Hama. He was described as “very dangerous, suspected of being armed,” according to a police notice detailed in Belgian media.
Hamed was suspected of involvement in both attacks, but it was not immediately clear whether he was the elusive third attacker who authorities believe dropped a suitcase with explosives at the Brussels airport and then vanished.Hamed was suspected of involvement in both attacks, but it was not immediately clear whether he was the elusive third attacker who authorities believe dropped a suitcase with explosives at the Brussels airport and then vanished.
Belgium’s federal prosecutor said Friday that a man detained in a raid the previous night in the Paris suburb of Argenteuil is believed to have connections to Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the deceased ringleader of November’s Paris attacks that left 130 dead, the Associated Press reported, citing unnamed French officials. Belgium’s federal prosecutor said Friday that a man detained in a raid the previous night in the Paris suburb of Argenteuil is believed to have connections to Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the deceased ringleader of November’s Paris attacks that left 130 dead.
The 34-year-old French citizen, Reda Kriket, had been convicted in a Belgian court in July for participating in the activities of a terrorist group, the prosecutor said.The 34-year-old French citizen, Reda Kriket, had been convicted in a Belgian court in July for participating in the activities of a terrorist group, the prosecutor said.
Three more raids in Brussels were conducted in connection with Kriket’s arrest, according to the prosecutor.Three more raids in Brussels were conducted in connection with Kriket’s arrest, according to the prosecutor.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that Kriket was “at the advanced stage” of plotting an attack on the country. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that Kriket was “at the advanced stage” of plotting an attack on the country. But Cazeneuve said there was no apparent link to Tuesday’s attacks in Brussels, which served as a hub for militants planning the Paris massacres.
But Cazeneuve said there was no apparent link to Tuesday’s attacks in Brussels, which served as a hub for militants planning the Paris massacres.
[Security forces missed chances before the Brussels attacks][Security forces missed chances before the Brussels attacks]
At the same time, police pressed ahead with a manhunt for a suspected accomplice who is believed to have fled Tuesday’s attack at Brussels Airport.At the same time, police pressed ahead with a manhunt for a suspected accomplice who is believed to have fled Tuesday’s attack at Brussels Airport.
The French newspaper Le Monde and the Belgian broadcaster RTBF reported that video monitors 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 captured images of another possible accomplice, who is believed to have slipped away on the Brussels subway. The report could not be immediately confirmed.
Criticism has also been leveled at the Dutch government, which on Thursday released a letter from Turkish authorities announcing their decision to deport Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, 29, to the Netherlands in July, after he was apparently detained at the Turkey-Syria border.Criticism has also been leveled at the Dutch government, which on Thursday released a letter from Turkish authorities announcing their decision to deport Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, 29, to the Netherlands in July, after he was apparently detained at the Turkey-Syria border.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that Turkey explicitly warned Dutch authorities that Bakraoui, who would become one of the airport suicide bombers, was “a foreign terrorist fighter.”Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that Turkey explicitly warned Dutch authorities that Bakraoui, who would become one of the airport suicide bombers, was “a foreign terrorist fighter.”
But the letter does not explain why Bakraoui was deported, and Dutch Justice Minister Ard van der Steur said Turkey did not explain its decision. Because Bakraoui was not on any watch lists at the time and because he had a valid Belgian passport, van der Steur said, “there was no reason to take any action.”But the letter does not explain why Bakraoui was deported, and Dutch Justice Minister Ard van der Steur said Turkey did not explain its decision. Because Bakraoui was not on any watch lists at the time and because he had a valid Belgian passport, van der Steur said, “there was no reason to take any action.”
Lindsey Bever in Washington and James McAuley, Missy Ryan and Souad Mekhennet in Brussels contributed to this report.Lindsey Bever in Washington and James McAuley, Missy Ryan and Souad Mekhennet in Brussels contributed to this report.
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