Brussels terror attacks: man arrested as police source names El Bakraoui brothers bombers
Both brothers have a criminal records, but have not been linked by the police to terrorism until now
The identities of the Brussels bombers is becoming clearer after three blasts – two at the airport and one in the metro train system – killed 34 and wounded more than 100.
An image of three men walking through the terminal building at the airport which was to suffer two massive explosions was released. The man in the middle wearing dark clothes are reported to be Khalid and Ibrahim El Bakraoui, the man dressed in lighter clothes is believed to be Najim Laachraoui, according to a police source quoted in Belgian media.
The El-Bakraoui brothers are considered the suicide bombers who blew themselves up in Brussels. They were being sought for links with Salah Abdeslam, the prime suspect in the Paris attacks, RTBF television reported Wednesday, citing police sources.
RTBF named the two as Khalid and Ibrahim El Bakraoui, saying Khalid last week rented an apartment in Brussels under a false name where police found Abdeslam’s fingerprints after a raid.
Police arrested Abdeslam, Europe’s most wanted man, in a dramatic operation in Brussels on Friday that had been hailed as a “victory” in Belgium’s campaign against terrorism.
Khalid is also linked to renting an apartment in the southern Belgian city of Charleroi from where Abdeslam and the other Brussels-based Islamic State jihadists set off to carry out the November 13 Paris attacks which left 130 people dead.
