Broadcaster RTL quoted a witness as saying police approached a person at a bus stop and asked the person to remove a jacket.
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Belgian authorities have faced criticism for missing a series of signals pointing to a pending attack, and pressure is mounting on the government domestically and internationally.
Two other suspects were also arrested in Brussels Friday, one in the Forest district and one in Saint-Gilles, a Belgian prosecutor said.
The media, citing unnamed sources, said Thursday the suspect was filmed by surveillance cameras in the Brussels metro on Tuesday carrying a large bag alongside Khalid El Bakraoui, whom prosecutors have identified as a suicide bomber.
The raids and subsequent arrests happened days after jihadist attacks at the Brussels Airport and metro station killed 31 people. Taken together, those disclosures “amounted to the first high-level acknowledgment that European officials could have done more to avert the bombings”, according to the New York Times.
Brahim el-Bakraoui had already been named as one of the perpetrators of the airport attack, which left 11 people dead.
While a massive manhunt continued for at least two people thought to be directly involved in the triple bombing attack, Belgium’s interior and justice ministers offered to resign.
Schaerbeek mayor Bernard Clerfayt said a man had been arrested and shot in the leg.
Authorities lowered Belgium’s terror-threat level by one notch, although they said the situation remained grave and another attack was “likely and possible”.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks in Brussels and Paris, which have laid bare European security failings and prompted calls for better intelligence cooperation and a tougher response to Islamic State extremists. RTBF said it is not clear whether the second suspect was killed in the attack.
The younger brother of suspected Brussels suicide bomber Najim Laachraoui said Thursday evening he is sad and overwhelmed over what his sibling had done.
“This is by far the most complex and serious terrorist we have seen in Europe for at least a decade; and it’s coming from IS that have made a decision to become more direct and aggressive”.
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In addition, British officials say David Dixon, a computer programmer and United Kingdom citizen living in Brussels, a United Kingdom, died in the bombing on the Brussels subway and the Chinese embassy reported the death of a Chinese national identified only by his surname – Deng. “The identification is still ongoing”, he said, referring to man caught on CCTV entering Maelbeek station with presumed bomber Khalid El Bakraoui.
