News / Europe
Belgian Police Reportedly Make Arrest in Connection with Bombings
Last updated on: March 23, 2016 6:52 AM
Local media reports from Belgium say police have detained 25-year-old Najim Laachraoui as a suspect in Tuesday's bombings in Brussels, in which at least 34 people were killed.
Reports say Laachraoui was arrested in the Brussels-area municipality of Anderlecht. He had been sought by police even before the Brussels bombings.
The other two bombers have been identified by media reports as brothers Khalid and Brahim el-Bakraoui, ages 27 and 30. The Belgian government has not yet confirmed the information.
Broadcaster RTBF says the men were known to police and had criminal records, but no history of terrorist activity. The Belgian broadcaster says Khalid el-Bakraoui used a false name to rent the Brussels apartment that police raided last week, finding weapons and a fingerprint for Salah Abdeslam, the main suspect in the November 13 Paris bombings who was arrested on Friday.
DNA found
The newspaper La Derniere Heure says Najim Laachraoui's DNA was found in houses used by those who carried out the Paris attacks. He is believed to have traveled to Hungary with Paris suspect Abdeslam.
The newspaper La Derniere Heure says Najim Laachraoui's DNA was found in houses used by those who carried out the Paris attacks. He is believed to have traveled to Hungary with Paris suspect Abdeslam.
Earlier Wednesday, Belgian police released a photo of a wanted suspect in the Brussels bombings.
The photograph taken from closed circuit television shows a man wearing a black hat, a light-colored jacket and sunglasses, pushing an airport luggage cart alongside the two men who are believed to have been the suicide bombers. Authorities have not confirmed that the men in the photograph are the suspects media reports have named.
Police also say they found a bomb, chemicals and an Islamic State flag during a raid on a house in a Brussels neighborhood while searching for the suspect.
A third unexploded bomb and at least one Kalashnikov rifle were found at the airport.
Islamic State claims responsibility
Islamic State is claiming responsibility for Tuesday's carnage.
Islamic State is claiming responsibility for Tuesday's carnage.
Two bombs went off at the airport and a suicide bomber blew himself up about an hour later at the Maelbeek subway station, near European Union headquarters in downtown Brussels.
More than 200 people were wounded. Belgium's terror alert is at maximum level.
A U.S. official told VOA there is no reason to doubt the Islamic State claim.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel told reporters that Tuesday's events represent "a black moment" in Belgium. He appealed to Belgians to "please be calm and show solidarity."
Post attack chaos
Videos showed people fleeing the Zaventem airport in Brussels as the two blasts shattered the massive windows, leaving glass and tile scattered on the airport floor. People can be heard wailing and calling for help.
Videos showed people fleeing the Zaventem airport in Brussels as the two blasts shattered the massive windows, leaving glass and tile scattered on the airport floor. People can be heard wailing and calling for help.
Cameras captured a similar terrible scene at the Maelbeek subway station where victims emerged on the street with burns and wounds.
All flights in and out of the Brussels airport were canceled Tuesday and the entire subway system was shut down.
WATCH: Video footage from scene of attack
US travel warning issued
The U.S. State Department issued a travel warning to American citizens throughout Europe, warning them to use caution at sporting events, tourist sites, restaurants, and on transportation. It also advised taking particular care at large festivals and on religious holidays.
The U.S. State Department issued a travel warning to American citizens throughout Europe, warning them to use caution at sporting events, tourist sites, restaurants, and on transportation. It also advised taking particular care at large festivals and on religious holidays.
Authorities in Frankfurt, London, Paris and the Netherlands have boosted security at their airports in response to the Brussels' bombing. There is so far no direct link to the November terrorist attacks in Paris, also claimed by Islamic State.
Pre-planned
Max Abrahms, a political science professor at Northeastern University who focuses on terrorism, said the blasts likely were part of operations that were planned prior to Abdeslam's arrest.
Max Abrahms, a political science professor at Northeastern University who focuses on terrorism, said the blasts likely were part of operations that were planned prior to Abdeslam's arrest.
"They were in the works and quite likely they were expedited in the immediate aftermath of the capture," he told VOA.
Crackdowns on terror groups often motivate terrorist cells to action, said Abrahms.
"There’s an incentive for these kinds of terrorist groups to strike back immediately after an apparent loss to the organization, in order to communicate that the group isn’t dead," he said.
National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin and reporter Katherine Gypson contributed to this report
National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin and reporter Katherine Gypson contributed to this report
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