Armed police launched a major new raid in Brussels in the wake of the suicide attacks, in the Schaerbeek area of the capital, Belgian media reported Friday, a day after six suspects were arrested over the carnage. Cain is the father of Alexander’s fiancé, Cameron Cain. Authorities have opened a criminal case over suspected residency law violations and the man remains in custody.
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The workers – who wore fluorescent vests emblazoned with the words “We are working to protect and preserve your messages” – stepped gingerly among the flags, tea candles and beer bottles left as tokens of support, slowly picking the sopping hand-written notes and stacking them into the bins.
Bakraoui was one of two suicide bombers at the airport whose suitcase bombs killed 11 people.
Abdeslam, a 26-year-old French national born in Belgium, did not have prior knowledge of the Brussels bombings and had stopped co-operating with police following the attacks, his lawyer Sven Mary said.
The Belga news agency said the police operation is linked to an attack plot in France that was foiled by French police on Thursday.
State Department sources said the two Americans confirmed to have died in the blast are in addition to the brother and sister.
The EU home affairs commissioner, Dimitris Avramopoulos, said on Thursday the “attacks did not come as a surprise”, raising further questions as to why global authorities failed to stop the bombers.
A statement from the Foreign Office said: “We can confirm David Dixon lost his life in the attacks which took place in Brussels on Tuesday 22 March 2016”.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls demanded a “strong European response”, but officials say many states, including France, withhold their most cherished intelligence despite a mantra of willingness to share information.
Belgium Prime Minister Charles Michel also confirmed the deaths during a joint press conference with Secretary of State John Kerry Friday in Brussels.
The US secretary of state, John Kerry, was due to arrive in Brussels on Friday in a show of solidarity.
Separately, in France, a suspect who was plotting an attack has been arrested near Paris, officials said.
Top members of Belgium’s embattled government are facing criticism over the country’s counter-terrorism efforts since – and before – last November’s Paris attacks, which authorities believe were plotted from Belgium.
In a speech, Mr Kerry said: “We – all of us representing countless nationalities – have a message for those who inspired or carried out the attacks here or in Paris, or in Ankara, in Tunis, San Bernardino, or elsewhere: We will not be intimidated”. It said officials will determine later Friday whether some of those detained will remain in custody.
Belgian lawmakers meanwhile are due to discuss how to beef up counterterrorism measures amid growing signs that Belgian authorities missed a series of signals pointing to a pending attack. He did not release their identities.
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“People are jumping to conclusions”, Kerry said of critics.
