An hour after the airport bombings, Khalid El-Bakraoui, who was 27, detonated his bomb inside Brussels Maalbeek Metro station, killing 20 commuters. Several attackers were also killed.
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That intel, the official said, is now being compared with the mountains of information about ISIS in Europe that has been compiled by a special “Task Force Fraternité” run by Europol that was set up after the Paris attacks to coordinate counterterrorism investigations throughout Europe.
Appearing alongside Ibrahim El Bakraoui in the surveillance photograph is a man Belgian investigators believe was alleged bomb-maker Najim Laachraoui, multiple European officials told CNN.
Prime Minister Charles Michel refused to accept either resignation. “(Justice Minister Koen) Geens too. When the Belgians didn’t take custody of Ibrahim, the Turks deported him to the Netherlands.
“There’s evidence these guys are floating around in Europe and haven’t been rounded up yet and hope to launch an attack”, one official said, adding, “there’s a constant drumbeat and fear something else is going to happen”.
But a Turkish official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly said the bomber was allowed to go free because Belgian authorities could not establish any ties to extremism. That person was not one of the suspected bombers and it was not clear what the circumstances of the arrest were. But on Thursday he was more self-critical.
“After all, the movement and activities of the terrorists involved in the Brussels attack was already known”. “We may not be able to prevent some of the planned attacks”, says Stockmans, “but what we can control is our response to it”.
The terrorists responsible for the attack in Brussels may have also been considering an assault on a nuclear power plant.
“The cries of distress, the cries of pain, the scream of sirens, the apocalyptic images will remain engraved” on memories, he said – just like those of recent attacks in Paris, Mali, Tunisia and Turkey.
The intelligence shortcomings have prompted European authorities to once again call for quicker and more efficient intelligence cooperation.
The taxi driver who drove the airport came forward to police and gave them information about the pickup site.
He was caught and has been speaking to investigators after a shootout at an apartment in the south of the city, after which another Islamic State flag and explosives were found. These are all very challenging dimensions.
On Wednesday, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said there are a “large number” of such fighters back in Europe. Abdeslam is thought to have rented rooms, shopped for detonators and driven at least one of the killers from Brussels to Paris.
On Thursday, his lawyer said he had changed his mind and would not fight extradition from Belgium to France.
Schaerbeek residents described hearing detonations during the police raids. Abdeslam’s lawyer, Sven Mary, told reporters at the courthouse that he asked for a one-month delay on any transfer while he studies the large dossier, but that Abdeslam “wants to explain himself in France, so it’s a good thing”.
It comes comes after Belgium’s terror watch status was lowered from the highest to the second highest level earlier today.
The head of the terror threat assessment authority, Paul Van Tigchelt, said the imminent nature of the threat has lessened since the attacks on the airport and subway Tuesday.
Thousands of people gathered at Place de la Bourse in the center of downtown Brussels – including dozens of students chanting “stop the war” – in solidarity with those killed. They sang peace songs, took selfies and wiped away tears. “You can never know when you are stepping on a mine”, Erdogan said Friday.
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Because of the climate of suspicion, and because he wanted to protect his family, Ashraf didn’t want his last name published.
