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Images of Belgian Premier’s Office Found on Laptop Linked to Brussels Attacks Images of Belgian Premier’s Office Found on Laptop Linked to Brussels Attacks
(35 minutes later)
BRUSSELS — A file with the floor plan and photographs of the office of the Belgian prime minister was found on a laptop computer discarded in a garbage can last week by one of the terrorists linked to the Brussels attacks, a government official said on Wednesday.BRUSSELS — A file with the floor plan and photographs of the office of the Belgian prime minister was found on a laptop computer discarded in a garbage can last week by one of the terrorists linked to the Brussels attacks, a government official said on Wednesday.
The computer was found during a raid on Rue Max Roos in the Schaerbeek neighborhood of Brussels several hours after the attacks on March 22.The computer was found during a raid on Rue Max Roos in the Schaerbeek neighborhood of Brussels several hours after the attacks on March 22.
The toll from the attacks at Brussels Airport and the Maelbeek subway station was revised downward on Tuesday, to 32 from 35, as the authorities finished identifying the victims. Several Belgian newspapers, including L’Écho, De Tijd and De Morgen, reported that the information about the prime minister’s office, on Rue de la Loi, the site of regular meetings by cabinet ministers, had been found on the laptop.
Several Belgian newspapers, including L’Écho, De Tijd and De Morgen, reported on Wednesday that the information about the office of Prime Minister Charles Michel, on Rue de la Loi, the site of regular meetings by cabinet ministers, had been found on the laptop.
A Belgian official familiar with the investigation confirmed those reports on Wednesday, but spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the case.A Belgian official familiar with the investigation confirmed those reports on Wednesday, but spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the case.
On the same computer, investigators found a statement — described by the authorities as a will — by Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, one of three suicide bombers who carried out the attacks. On the same computer, investigators found a statement — described by the authorities as a will — by Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, one of three suicide bombers who carried out the attacks. In that statement, Mr. Bakraoui described himself as increasingly desperate and fearful of ending up in prison.
In that statement, Mr. Bakraoui described himself as increasingly desperate and fearful of ending up in prison.
Mr. Bakraoui and another man, Najim Laachraoui, blew themselves up at Brussels Airport, and Mr. Bakraoui’s younger brother, Khalid, detonated a suicide bomb at the Maelbeek station.Mr. Bakraoui and another man, Najim Laachraoui, blew themselves up at Brussels Airport, and Mr. Bakraoui’s younger brother, Khalid, detonated a suicide bomb at the Maelbeek station.
The authorities are seeking a third airport attacker, a man seen on surveillance footage wearing a white jacket. They are also, according to Belgian news reports, looking for another person involved in the subway blast.The authorities are seeking a third airport attacker, a man seen on surveillance footage wearing a white jacket. They are also, according to Belgian news reports, looking for another person involved in the subway blast.
Local news reports said the computer also contained precise information about the prime minister’s residence, which is known as the Lambermont and is steps from the United States Embassy. Secretary of State John Kerry met Mr. Michel at the residence on Friday. The toll from the attacks at Brussels Airport and the Maelbeek subway station was revised downward on Tuesday, to 32 from 35, as the authorities finished identifying the victims.
Local news reports said the discarded computer also contained precise information about the prime minister’s residence, which is known as the Lambermont and is steps from the United States Embassy. Secretary of State John Kerry met Prime Minister Charles Michel at the residence on Friday.
L’Écho reported that Mr. Michel had been informed about the findings, that security around the office had been reinforced, and that the United States had been asked to help analyze and decrypt information on the computer.L’Écho reported that Mr. Michel had been informed about the findings, that security around the office had been reinforced, and that the United States had been asked to help analyze and decrypt information on the computer.
On Wednesday, the Dutch minister of security and justice, Ard van der Steur, said that the intelligence division of the New York Police Department had warned the Dutch government, via the embassy in Washington, on March 16 that the Bakraoui brothers had links to terrorism.On Wednesday, the Dutch minister of security and justice, Ard van der Steur, said that the intelligence division of the New York Police Department had warned the Dutch government, via the embassy in Washington, on March 16 that the Bakraoui brothers had links to terrorism.
Mr. van der Steur had said that the warning had come from the F.B.I., but in a statement on Wednesday, he acknowledged that he had erred in testimony before the Dutch Parliament.Mr. van der Steur had said that the warning had come from the F.B.I., but in a statement on Wednesday, he acknowledged that he had erred in testimony before the Dutch Parliament.
It was not clear how the police in New York had become aware of the Bakraoui brothers, or why they had relayed the information to the Dutch authorities.It was not clear how the police in New York had become aware of the Bakraoui brothers, or why they had relayed the information to the Dutch authorities.
News outlets in the Netherlands have reported that the government there passed the warning on to the Belgians on March 17, one day after receiving it.News outlets in the Netherlands have reported that the government there passed the warning on to the Belgians on March 17, one day after receiving it.
The Turkish government arrested Ibrahim el-Bakraoui near the Turkish border with Syria in June. Officials there alerted the Belgian government, and then deported him to the Netherlands at his request.The Turkish government arrested Ibrahim el-Bakraoui near the Turkish border with Syria in June. Officials there alerted the Belgian government, and then deported him to the Netherlands at his request.
Whether the Dutch and Belgian authorities sufficiently appreciated the gravity of the threat posed by Mr. Bakraoui and his brother is one of many strands that lawmakers and intelligence agencies are reviewing in the aftermath of the attacks, the worst violence on Belgian soil in decades. The Bakraoui brothers had extensive criminal records. Ibrahim received parole in October 2014 from a nine-year prison sentence for attempted murder; Khalid had a history of carjackings.
Ibrahim el-Bakraoui had an extensive criminal record, and had received parole in October 2014 from a nine-year prison sentence for attempted murder. Whether the Dutch and Belgian authorities sufficiently appreciated the gravity of the threat posed by the Bakraoui brothers is one of many strands that lawmakers and intelligence agencies are reviewing in the aftermath of the attacks, the worst violence on Belgian soil in decades.
Also on Wednesday, a court in Liège, Belgium, extended by one month the detention of a man known only as Abu Bakr A., who was arrested on March 24 and charged with terrorist activities. Separately, a court in Brussels postponed to April 7 proceedings against two Algerians who were arrested on Friday, at the request of their lawyers. One of the most significant strands involves Reda Kriket, who was arrested last week in France and accused of plotting a new terrorist attack.
The two Algerian men have been identified only as Abderrahmane A., 38, and Rabah M., 34 (who has previously been identified by the authorities as Rabah N. and Salah A.). They were arrested in connection with an investigation in France into Reda Kriket, who was accused last week of plotting a terrorist attack. Mr. Kriket, according to court records, raised money for a network of militants in 2012 and 2013 and traveled to Syria in late 2014. Mr. Kriket was well known to the security services in both France and Belgium, and last year he was named in a court proceeding with Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the on-the-ground chief planner of the attacks that killed 130 people in and around Paris on Nov. 15.
On Wednesday, an investigative judge in Paris who focuses on counterterrorism is expected to place Mr. Kriket under formal investigation, and hand up preliminary charges. At midday, Mr. Kriket was transferred from the headquarters of France’s domestic intelligence agency, in a northwestern suburb of Paris, to the Palais de Justice, the main courthouse in the heart of the capital.
The proceedings are closed to the public, but François Molins, the Paris prosecutor, is expected to speak at a news conference at 7:30 p.m. on Mr. Kriket and the charges against him.
In Belgium on Wednesday, a court in Liège extended by one month the detention of a man known only as Abu Bakr A., who was arrested on March 24 and charged with terrorist activities, while a court in Brussels postponed to April 7 proceedings against two Algerians who were arrested on Friday in connection with the French case against Mr. Kriket.
The two Algerian men have been identified only as Abderrahmane A., 38, and Rabah M., 34 (who has previously been identified by the authorities as Rabah N. and Salah A.).
Abderrahmane A., who was shot in the leg during a police raid in Schaerbeek on Friday, has been identified in French news reports as Abderahmane Ameroud.Abderrahmane A., who was shot in the leg during a police raid in Schaerbeek on Friday, has been identified in French news reports as Abderahmane Ameroud.
According to French court records, Mr. Ameroud was accused of providing logistical support to two Tunisian suicide bombers who assassinated Ahmed Shah Massoud, the Afghan opposition leader who was killed two days before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.According to French court records, Mr. Ameroud was accused of providing logistical support to two Tunisian suicide bombers who assassinated Ahmed Shah Massoud, the Afghan opposition leader who was killed two days before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Mr. Ameroud was convicted of complicity in the murder in 2005. He was also linked to an Afghan and Pakistani network that was suspected of training would-be jihadists in a forest close to Fontainebleau, near Paris, and in the French Alps.Mr. Ameroud was convicted of complicity in the murder in 2005. He was also linked to an Afghan and Pakistani network that was suspected of training would-be jihadists in a forest close to Fontainebleau, near Paris, and in the French Alps.
In 2007, Mr. Ameroud, an illegal Algerian immigrant, was also convicted of being part of a terrorist enterprise. He was believed to have been deported after serving his sentence. In 2007, Mr. Ameroud, an illegal immigrant from Algeria, was also convicted of being part of a terrorist enterprise. He was believed to have been deported after serving his sentence.