Third suspect in Brussels bombings arrested; linked to Paris attacks
The third man caught on surveillance cameras was identified as Najim Laachraoui, who was arrested Wednesday morning in the Belgian commune of Anderlecht, Belgium’s La Dernière Heure tabloid reported, citing well informed sources inside the police.
DNA testing had determined that Laachraoui, 24, was also behind the bombs used in the November 13 Paris massacres, in which 130 people were killed.
He is believed to have made the suicide vests used in the Paris attacks. Media reports quoted a French police official as saying that Laachraoui’s DNA was found on all the vests, as well as in a Brussels apartment where they were made.
Laachraoui reportedly went to Syria in February 2013 and has been on a most wanted list since December.
Laachraoui, a Belgian citizen born in May 1991, is reported to be a native of the Brussels commune of Schaerbeek.
Earlier Wednesday, Belgian police identified the brothers behind the airport attacks as Khalid and Brahim el-Bakraoui.
Belgium’s public broadcaster RTBF said the brothers had criminal records and were known to police.
Two explosions at the airport and another at a metro station on Tuesday left some 35 dead and 250 wounded, plunging the Belgian capital into a lockdown.RTBF said that Khalid el-Bakraoui had used a false name to rent a place in the Forest neighborhood of the Belgian capital where police killed a gunman in a shootout last week.
Brussels remained on edge Wednesday following the bombings, as police said they had uncovered an explosive device, chemicals and an ISIS flag in searches.
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via Defense News