A Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw has identified Ibrahim El Bakraoui as one of two suicide bombers at the Brussels airport and his brother, Khalid El Bakraoui, as the man behind a deadly suicide blast about an hour later on a train near the Maelbeek metro station.CNN reports that one of the bombers at the airport may be the man authorities named as a suspect in the Paris terror attacks.
Belgian investigators believe that the second suicide bomber killed in the Brussels airport was alleged bomb-maker Najim Laachraoui.
They have not established his identity conclusively, a senior Belgian counter-terrorism official said.
The official added that they are still checking against DNA and fingerprint records.
Meanwhile, ISIS have posted a statement claiming responsibility for the two bomb blasts which occurred in the departures area of Zaventem airport and one on a metro train in an apparently coordinated attacks at the height of rush hour on Tuesday morning, March 22.
A third explosion reportedly hit Maalbeek metro station, close to EU institutions.
The BBC reports that the metro system and airport have both been closed, and all public transport in the city suspended.
Two blasts ripped through the departure wing of the Brussels airport
Two explosions were heard at the airport, while another blast rocked the Maalbeek metro station
The Belgian government has confirmed casualties at the airport and Maalbeek metro station.
There were conflicting reports regarding the tolls, however, Frederic Van Leeuw places the figures at 31 dead and 270 wounded.
Brussels transport officials had earlier said 15 died at Maalbeek and media say up to 13 died at the airport.
Meanwhile, the mayor of Brussels is quoted to have said on Tuesday that 20 people died and 106 were injured in the blast on the metro train.
Yvan Mayeur told a news conference that 17 people were severely injured.
Public broadcaster VRT said at least 34 people were killed in total, at the metro and the airport.
The whole metro system was closed on Tuesday, and Belgium’s terror threat remains at its highest level.
The attack at the airport targeted an American Airlines desk and was probably carried out by a suicide bomber, Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said.
According to Belgian TV, one of the blasts in the Brussels airport was caused by a suicide bomber.
At the time of filing this report, Belgian police say they have found three unused suicide belts at Zaventem airport.
Belgium’s interior minister, Jan Jambon, said on Monday the country was aware of the risk of a possible revenge attack following the capture of 26-year-old Abdeslam.
“We know that stopping one cell can … push others into action. We are aware of it in this case,” he told public radio. The attacks come four days after Salah Abdeslam, the main suspect in the Paris attacks, was captured in Brussels. Meanwhile, police has release photo of Brussels attacks suspects.
Authorities say bomber Ibrahim El Bakraoui is the man in the middle. Laachraoui, an ISIS bomb-maker, is the man on the left in the picture, a Belgian counterterrorism official told Cruickshank.
An injured victim of the blast
The Prime Minister said the UK “will do everything we can to help” Belgium, as security was stepped up at airports including Heathrow and Gatwick in response to the blasts.
Mr Cameron confirmed he would be chairing a meeting of the Government’s COBRA emergency committee later this morning to discuss events in Brussels.
Meanwhile, following the explosions in Brussels, Turkey’s national flagship carrier on Tuesday cancelled scheduled flights to Brussels until Friday, March 25.
Daily Sabah reports that reciprocal flights between Turkey and Brussels’ Zaventem Airport have been cancelled until Friday, Turkish Airlines (THY) announced.
Earlier in the week, police had identified Najim Laachraoui, 24, as a suspect in the November Paris attacks and said they were intensifying their search for him.
Investigators are continuing to use raids, arrests and forensic analysis as tools to get to the bottom of the Brussels attacks, which killed 31 people and wounded 270 others.
Belgian counter-terrorism official Paul Van Tigchelt said on Wednesday, March 23 that the stakes are high.
Culled from; Naija.com
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