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Brothers Among 3 Brussels Suicide Attackers; Another Assailant Is Sought Brothers Among 3 Brussels Suicide Attackers; Another Assailant Is Sought
(about 1 hour later)
BRUSSELS — Three suicide bombers — including two brothers — carried out the attacks on Brussels on Tuesday, the Belgian authorities announced on Wednesday, as they continued to hunt for at least one more assailant. The toll from the assaults stood at 31 dead and 300 injured. BRUSSELS — The Brussels suicide bombers included two Belgium-born brothers with a violent criminal past and suspected links to plotters of the Islamic State’s Paris attacks last November, the authorities said Wednesday, raising new alarms about Europe’s leaky defenses against a militant organization that has terrorized two European capitals with seeming impunity.
Investigators were urgently piecing together links between the attacks, on the Brussels Airport and on a subway car, and the November terrorist assaults that killed 130 people in and around Paris in November. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for both sets of attacks. One of the brothers was deported by Turkey back to Europe less than a year ago, Turkey’s president said, suspected of being a terrorist fighter intent on entering Syria, where the Islamic State is based. Despite that statement, Belgian officials said neither brother had been under suspicion for terrorism until recently, an indication of the Islamic State’s ability to remain steps ahead of European intelligence and security monitors.
In a trash can in Brussels, police found a computer with a document suggesting that the attackers acted out of a sense of urgency and desperation after the capture on Friday of Salah Abdeslam, the last surviving direct participant in the Paris attacks. At least 31 people plus the suicide bombers died on Tuesday in the blasts — two at the Brussels Airport departure terminal from homemade bombs hidden in luggage, and one at a subway station about seven miles away in the heart of Brussels. The number of wounded climbed to 300 from 270 on Wednesday as the area slowly sought to recover from one of the deadliest peacetime assaults in Belgium’s history.
In the document, which authorities called a will, the elder brother, Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, 29, wrote that he no longer felt safe, did not know what to do and feared that if he dallied, he would end up “next to him in a cell.” It was not immediately clear if “him” was a reference to Mr. Abdeslam. “The European values of democracy and of freedom are what was savagely assaulted by these tragic attacks,” Prime Minister Charles Michel said after meeting with his French counterpart, Manuel Valls, who said: “Our two peoples are united in this hardship.”
Mr. Bakraoui and another man blew themselves up at Brussels Airport at 7:58 a.m. Tuesday, in two explosions, nine seconds apart. At 9:11 a.m., his younger brother, Khalid el-Bakraoui, 27, carried out a suicide attack at the Maelbeek subway station. Many Belgians attended memorials and others stayed home from work. Subway service was reduced and the airport, now a crime scene, was to remain closed at least through Thursday. And new evidence emerged of how the magnitude of the attacks could have been far worse.
The authorities on Wednesday evening were trying to determine if the other suicide bomber at the airport was Najim Laachraoui, 24, a Belgian who, like Mr. Abdeslam, has been linked to the Paris attacks. The authorities recovered two undetonated bombs at the airport that had been constructed with between 20 and 40 pounds of a volatile compound known as TATP — an explosive also used in the Paris attacks — combined with ammonium nitrate and metal bolts and nails, according to an American official who had reviewed intelligence shared by Belgium. The official said they also recovered what the Belgians called a suicide belt at the site, and found two more bombs concealed in suitcases, similar to those recovered at the airport, at the residence from where the bombers hailed a taxi before Tuesday morning’s attacks.
The Bakraoui brothers had a history of violent crime, but Belgian officials said they had no reason to suspect that they were terrorists until recently. As of Wednesday evening, the police were still hunting for at least one other member of the Brussels bomb ring, a man in a white coat and dark hat seen pushing a luggage cart in an airport surveillance photo, who was believed to have escaped before the explosions. They were also trying to determine if the other suicide bomber at the airport was Najim Laachraoui, 24, a Belgian believed to be a bombmaker, who has been linked to the Paris attacks.
On Wednesday evening, however, Turkey’s president contradicted that account, saying his government had detained Ibrahim el-Bakraoui near the Syrian border on June 14, alerted the Belgian government that he “was a foreign terrorist fighter,” and then deported him. There were indications that the Brussels bombers may have acted out of urgency because they feared discovery, after the arrest last Friday in Belgium of the only remaining survivor among the Paris attackers, Salah Abdeslam, who is said to be cooperating with law enforcement authorities.
“Despite our warnings that this person was a foreign terrorist fighter, the Belgian authorities could not identify a link to terrorism,” the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said at a news conference in Ankara, the nation’s capital. The Belgian prosecutor said the authorities found a recently composed will — which was possibly a suicide note — of the elder brother involved in the Brussels bombing, Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, 29, on a discarded computer in a garbage can. The will expressed his fear of being caught and ending up in a prison cell.
The Belgian government did not have an immediate response to his announcement. Mr. Bakraoui and the unidentified bomber blew themselves up at Brussels Airport at 7:58 a.m. Tuesday, in two explosions nine seconds apart. At 9:11 a.m., his younger brother, Khalid el-Bakraoui, 27, carried out the suicide attack at the Maelbeek subway station.
In a news conference on Wednesday morning, Frédéric Van Leeuw, the Belgian federal prosecutor, described the trail that led investigators to identify the brothers. While the Belgian authorities have been credited for acting quickly in the aftermath of the assaults, there were growing questions about whether they had also suffered an enormous intelligence lapse.
After the attacks, a taxi driver approached the police and led them to a house on the Rue Max Roos, in the Schaerbeek section of Brussels, where he had picked up three men, according to Mr. Van Leeuw. There, the authorities found about 33 pounds of the explosive material triacetone triperoxide, or TATP — a large amount. (By comparison, officials say the suicide belts used by the Paris attackers each contained less than a pound of TATP.) The most prominent question arose from assertions by Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that his government had detained Ibrahim el-Bakraoui near the Syrian border on June 14, alerted the Belgian government that he “was a foreign terrorist fighter,” and then deported him to the Netherlands.
At the house in Schaerbeek, investigators also found nearly 40 gallons of acetone and nearly eight gallons of hydrogen peroxide. Acetone, a solvent found in nail polish remover, and hydrogen peroxide, found in hair bleach, are among the ingredients used to make TATP. The investigators also found detonators, a suitcase full of nails and screws, and other materials that could be used to make explosive devices. “Despite our warnings that this person was a foreign terrorist fighter, the Belgian authorities could not identify a link to terrorism,” Mr. Erdogan said at a news conference in Ankara.
As the investigation continued, Belgium remained in a state of mourning and on the highest level of alert. The nation observed a minute of silence at noon for the victims. The airport, where about 10 people died, stayed closed. Many subway lines were not running. The Maelbeek station, where about 20 people were killed, remained shut. Schools reopened, but many employees stayed home. Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens acknowledged that Mr. Bakraoui had been deported to Europe last year, but he told the VRT broadcaster that he was not known to the Belgian authorities for terrorism, and was a common law criminal who had been given conditional release from prison.
Prime Minister Charles Michel of Belgium said his country would show resolve. “The European values of democracy and of freedom are what was savagely assaulted by these tragic attacks,” he said after meeting in Brussels with his French counterpart, Prime Minister Manuel Valls. Mr. Valls said, “Our two peoples are united in this hardship.” In his own news conference, Frédéric Van Leeuw, the Belgian federal prosecutor, described the trail that led investigators to identify the brothers.
On Wednesday, the Belgian police raided a building in the Anderlecht neighborhood of Brussels. Officers in hazmat suits carted out files and plastic boxes from the building, while masked officers stood guard outside. Two police officers in the neighborhood said an arrest had been made, but the identity of the person arrested was not clear. After the attacks, a taxi driver who suspected he may have driven the bombers to the airport approached the police and led them to a house on Rue Max Roos, in the Schaerbeek neighborhood of Brussels, where he said he had picked up three men, according to Mr. Van Leeuw. There, the prosecutor said, the authorities found about 33 pounds of TATP, considered a large amount.
Several Belgian news outlets reported last week that the Bakraoui brothers, who grew up in the working-class Laeken neighborhood of Brussels, had been wanted for questioning since the March 15 raid. It was not clear why the authorities did not formally ask the public to help find them. At the apartment in Schaerbeek, investigators also found nearly 40 gallons of acetone and nearly eight gallons of hydrogen peroxide. Acetone, a solvent in nail polish remover, and hydrogen peroxide, found in hair bleach, are among the ingredients used to make TATP. The investigators also found detonators, a suitcase full of nails and screws, and other materials that could be used to make explosive devices.
Ibrahim el-Bakraoui was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2010 for shooting at police officers after the attempted robbery of a currency exchange office. It was not clear when or why he was released — or how he ended up in Turkey. (The Turkish government said he was deported to the Netherlands, not Belgium, but did not provide an explanation.) On Wednesday, the Belgian police raided a building in the Anderlecht neighborhood of Brussels. Officers in hazmat suits carted out files and plastic boxes as masked officers stood guard outside. Two police officers in the neighborhood said an arrest had been made, but the identity of that person was not clear.
In 2011, Khalid el-Bakraoui was sentenced to five years in prison for attempted carjacking; at the time of his arrest, he was in possession of assault rifles. Interpol issued an arrest warrant for him in August after he violated the conditions of his parole. Several Belgian news outlets reported last week that the Bakraoui brothers, who grew up in the working-class Laeken neighborhood of Brussels, had been wanted for questioning since a March 15 raid on an apartment in the Brussels suburb of Forest, which had been linked to the Paris attacks. It was not clear why the authorities did not formally ask the public to help find them.
Khalid el-Bakraoui is believed to have used a false name to rent a safe house in Charleroi, Belgium, and the apartment in Forest. Fingerprints belonging to two of the Paris attackers, Abdelhamid Abaaoud and Bilal Hadfi, were found in the Charleroi house on Dec. 9, and Mr. Abdeslam’s prints were found in the Forest apartment after the March 15 raid. Ibrahim el-Bakraoui was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2010 for shooting at police officers after the attempted robbery of a currency exchange office. It was not clear when or why he was released — or how he ended up in Turkey.
Speaking on Belgian radio on Wednesday morning, Interior Minister Jan Jambon of Belgium said that police raids would continue, and that the threat status would remain at its highest level, 4. In 2011, Khalid el-Bakraoui was sentenced to five years in prison for attempted carjacking; at the time of his arrest, he was in possession of assault rifles. Interpol issued an arrest warrant for him in August after he violated his parole.
“There are many hypotheses to put on the table,” he said. “It’s up to investigators to sort out fact from fiction.” He is believed to have used a false name to rent a safe house in Charleroi, Belgium, and the apartment in Forest. Fingerprints belonging to two of the Paris attackers, Abdelhamid Abaaoud and Bilal Hadfi, were found in the Charleroi house on Dec. 9, and Mr. Abdeslam’s prints were found in the Forest apartment.
Mr. Jambon discounted speculation that the attacks were reprisals for the arrest of Mr. Abdeslam, saying it was unlikely that terrorists “could have launched attacks of a scale seen yesterday in two, three days.” Speaking on Belgian radio on Wednesday morning, Interior Minister Jan Jambon of Belgium said that the police raids would continue, and that the threat status would remain at its highest, Level, 4. “There are many hypotheses to put on the table,” he said. “It’s up to investigators to sort out fact from fiction.”
Speaking later to RTL radio, Mr. Jambon said it was also unlikely that the attacks could have been avoided even if Belgium had been at the highest threat level instead of Level 3, which was imposed after the Paris attacks.Speaking later to RTL radio, Mr. Jambon said it was also unlikely that the attacks could have been avoided even if Belgium had been at the highest threat level instead of Level 3, which was imposed after the Paris attacks.
“We were at Level 3; that means the probability is enormously elevated,” he said, adding that Belgium had “everything possible in place to avoid a catastrophe like what happened yesterday, like other countries.” He said Belgium had “everything possible in place to avoid a catastrophe like what happened yesterday, like other countries.”
Mr. Jambon added, “A zero risk is not going to happen.” Areas like the Brussels Airport departure hall are particularly vulnerable because, as at most Western airports, bags are not searched until after check-in. That allows a would-be attacker to pack a bomb into a suitcase that could have far more space than an explosive vest and therefore be far more lethal.
“Level 4 is when we have information that an attack will occur at a certain moment, in a certain place,” he continued. “We did not have that information.”
The Place du Grand Sablon, a handsome square in central Brussels that normally pulsates with tourists and shoppers seeking chocolates and luxury goods, was silent on Wednesday. Several shops were closed. At one cafe, the few customers were hunched over newspapers.
Under gray drizzle, the road in front of the Maelbeek subway station remained closed. Most employees of the European Union buildings in the area, which is usually bustling on a weekday morning, appeared to have stayed home.
“It’s a scary situation,” said Anton Zeilinger, an Austrian diplomat who lives and works nearby and who was at his office when the station was bombed on Tuesday. He said of the attackers, “A few bombs won’t destroy the way we live, even if they want to.”
Dozens of people continued to congregate at the Place de la Bourse to light candles and place flowers, drawings and other tokens of grief at a makeshift memorial in the middle of the square. Hundreds gathered at noon to stand in silence, before breaking into applause.
In the Eurostar lounge at the Gare du Midi, one of the main train stations in Brussels, passengers also observed a minute of silence at noon. Access to the station was permitted through just one entrance, and soldiers searched bags and luggage before allowing anyone in to buy tickets or to walk to the platforms. The subway lines that connect the train station to the rest of the city were closed.
Gilles de Kerchove, the European Union’s counterterrorism coordinator, told the broadcaster RTBF that the apparent link between the Bakraoui brothers and Mr. Abdeslam suggested that the Brussels attacks were not the work of another active terrorist cell.
From a security perspective, that could mitigate the current threat, he suggested.
Brussels Airport said it would be closed at least through Thursday.
Areas like the Brussels Airport departure hall are particularly vulnerable because, like at most Western airports, bags are not searched until after check-in. That allows a bomb to be packed into a suitcase that could have far more space than an explosive vest and therefore be far more lethal.
In terrorism-plagued countries like Afghanistan and Iraq, and across the Middle East, bags are put through scanners when travelers enter the airport.In terrorism-plagued countries like Afghanistan and Iraq, and across the Middle East, bags are put through scanners when travelers enter the airport.
At least one of the bombs at Brussels Airport did far more damage and appears to have been far more powerful than those used in Paris, blowing out many of the windows in the large departure hall and shaking nearby buildings.