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Belgium confirms arrest of ‘man in the hat’ at airport bombing | Belgium confirms arrest of ‘man in the hat’ at airport bombing |
(about 9 hours later) | |
PARIS — The Belgian federal prosecutor confirmed Saturday that Mohamed Abrini — who was arrested Friday afternoon — was the “man in the hat” captured in surveillance footage alongside two suicide bombers at Brussels Airport on March 22. | PARIS — The Belgian federal prosecutor confirmed Saturday that Mohamed Abrini — who was arrested Friday afternoon — was the “man in the hat” captured in surveillance footage alongside two suicide bombers at Brussels Airport on March 22. |
Abrini had been at large since the Brussels attacks, which killed 32 and injured hundreds more at the airport in Zaventem and a metro station close to the headquarters of the European Union. Footage showed him calmly walking out of the airport and into the city, where he disappeared. | Abrini had been at large since the Brussels attacks, which killed 32 and injured hundreds more at the airport in Zaventem and a metro station close to the headquarters of the European Union. Footage showed him calmly walking out of the airport and into the city, where he disappeared. |
He was arrested Friday in the Schaerbeek section of Brussels, not far from the apartment where he and his collaborators left for the airport on the morning of the attacks. | He was arrested Friday in the Schaerbeek section of Brussels, not far from the apartment where he and his collaborators left for the airport on the morning of the attacks. |
“After being confronted with the results of the different expert examinations, he confessed his presence at the crime scene,” the federal prosecutor said in a statement. “He explained having thrown away his vest in a garbage bin and having sold his hat afterwards.” | |
Abrini is also alleged to have been a significant actor in the attacks in Paris on Nov. 13, which killed 130 and injured hundreds more in a series of shootings and suicide bombings at a stadium, concert hall and restaurants across the French capital. | |
According to European investigative files obtained by The Washington Post, Abrini ferried fellow terrorists back and forth across the French-Belgian border in the days leading up to the attacks. He was seen on camera with Brahim Abdeslam, who detonated a suicide bomb outside a Paris cafe, and with Salah Abdeslam, who was arrested in Brussels on March 18. | According to European investigative files obtained by The Washington Post, Abrini ferried fellow terrorists back and forth across the French-Belgian border in the days leading up to the attacks. He was seen on camera with Brahim Abdeslam, who detonated a suicide bomb outside a Paris cafe, and with Salah Abdeslam, who was arrested in Brussels on March 18. |
The documents also suggest that Abrini probably traveled from Europe to Syria and back, via Turkey, in the months before the November attacks. | The documents also suggest that Abrini probably traveled from Europe to Syria and back, via Turkey, in the months before the November attacks. |
In addition to Abrini, suspects identified as Osama K., Herve B.M. and Bilal E.M. have been charged with “terrorist murder” and participating in the “activities of a terrorist group,” the prosecutor’s office said Saturday. | In addition to Abrini, suspects identified as Osama K., Herve B.M. and Bilal E.M. have been charged with “terrorist murder” and participating in the “activities of a terrorist group,” the prosecutor’s office said Saturday. |
Despite these arrests, Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon was quick to point out that more terrorists could still be at work in the small nation that has become a hotbed for radical Islamist activity in Europe. | |
“There are perhaps other cells that are still active on our territory,” Jambon told Belgium’s RTL television network on Saturday. | “There are perhaps other cells that are still active on our territory,” Jambon told Belgium’s RTL television network on Saturday. |
Belgium remains on high alert. | Belgium remains on high alert. |
Read more: | Read more: |
Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world | Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world |
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