Skip to main content

(CNN)Authorities have identified the two suicide bombers involved in the attack at the Brussels airport on Tuesday, a senior Belgian security source told CNN.
They are brothers Khalid and Brahim El Bakraoui, both of whom were known to police, but for organized crime, not for acts of terrorism, state broadcaster RTBF reported.
Khalid El Bakraoui rented an apartment in Brussels that was raided last week and both are suspected of having ties to the Paris attack, the source said.
While Belgian officials say both brothers were suicide bombers, a U.S. official briefed earlier on preliminary evidence from the investigation says authorities are looking at the possibility that one of the airport explosions may have been caused by a bomb inside a suitcase and the other was a suicide bombing.
Now, the hunt is on for a third remaining suspect -- a man in light-colored clothing who appeared next to the El Bakraoui brothers at the airport in security footage.
Brothers Khalid and Brahim El Bakraoui.

Three suspects, two explosions and a taxi driver

One of the first major breaks in the investigation appears to have come from a taxi driver.
Just hours after the explosions, Belgian authorities released a photo from airport security that showed three men -- two in black and one in lighter clothes, wearing a hat.
The three men who are suspected of taking part in the attacks at Belgium's Zaventem Airport.
Video shows the men exiting a taxi and moving through the airport, according to two U.S. officials.
The two in darker clothes are believed to be suicide bombers who died in the explosions in the airport's departure lounge, according to Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw.
But investigators believe the man in light-colored clothing planted a bomb at the airport, then left -- a move that appeared to be planned, the two U.S. officials said.
Authorities are calling him a wanted man and asked for the public's help tracking him down.
"It's Salah Abdeslam all over again," Dirk Coosemans, a reporter at Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, told CNN. "This one was there to be a suicide terrorist, and he didn't do it."
Belgian media also reported a Kalashnikov assault rifle was found in the departure hall of the Zaventem airport.
Fortunately, a taxi driver called police shortly after the photo was released and said he believed that he drove the trio to the airport.
The driver told authorities that his passengers would not allow him to unload the suitcases from the cab. He also led investigators to the location where he picked the three of them up.

Schaerbeek

That information prompted authorities to raid a residence after the attacks, the officials said.
Investigators found a nail bomb, chemical products and an ISIS flag during a house search in the northeast Brussels neighborhood of Schaerbeek, Belgium's federal prosecutor said in a statement.
Forensic teams are now scouring an apartment building in that neighborhood and have been seen carrying out bags of evidence, according to CNN's Frederik Pleitgen, who was reporting from just outside the building.
Their work continued into the night.

Putting the pieces back together

Determining what type of explosives were used will be crucial, according to CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen.
French prosecutors have said that the bombs used in the November Paris attacks were made from triacetone triperoxide, or TATP.
If the same type of bombs were used in Paris and Brussels, that would be a key clue linking the two attacks.
"Such bombs have been a signature of jihadist terrorists in the West for more than a decade because the materials are so easy to acquire, unlike military-grade explosives, which are tightly controlled in much of the West," Bergen said.
TATP-based bombs require technical know-how and bulk purchases of hydrogen peroxide or hair bleach. That helps authorities winnow down potential bomb-making suspects, because making the explosives can sometimes bleach hair. So authorities can identify bomb-makers in part by recognizing unusually-bleached hair or asking sellers to report any suspiciously large purchases of hydrogen peroxide.

Dearth of Maelbeek information

While authorities have been able to move quickly on intelligence from the airport attacks, very little has been publicly revealed about the bombing at the Maelbeek metro station.
Coosemans, the Het Nieuwsblad reporter, says that's because there isn't as much surveillance there compared to the airport.
"We just know less about the Maelbeek attack because we don't have pictures there," he told CNN. "The police know less about Maelbeek."

Unraveling the network

Two senior U.S. officials told CNN they believe the Belgium attack is tied to the same network as terror suspect Salah Abdeslam (ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack.)
And the "working assumption" in Belgium is that the attackers came from the network behind the Paris attack, Belgian security sources said. However, they cautioned it is very early in the latest investigation.
The identities of the three airport suspects aren't clear to U.S. authorities, either because Belgian authorities haven't completed identification or haven't shared that information with counterterrorism officials in the U.S., the officials said.
Going forward, intelligence sharing will be very important, says Steve Moore, a CNN law enforcement contributor.
"They obviously have some information. They don't know if they're looking at one cell or a series of cells. And so now it's time to get all around at the same table and exchange information," he said. "If you can get them all to use the same currency, I cannot believe that you can't get them all to share intelligence."

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Game

Rapper threatens IG troll for calling his daughter a whore The Game didn’t fail to respond to the harsh comment as he told the IG troll that he will find him and shoot him in the head.    American rapper, The Game has made it known several times, he would not take insults and trolling concerning his daughter and 'apple of his eye', California Dream Taylor . American rapper, The game in new sexy photos (lindaikejisblog) But, it seems like people never relent as this Instagram troll just proves. Over the weekend, the rapper and his daughter celebrated Easter by hanging out with fellow musician, P.diddy and his daughters at his residence. The Game shared photos from their outing on his Instagram page and one of the photos showed his daughter hanging out by the poolside with Diddy’s daughters. The girls can be seen lounging on pool chairs in different playful positions and a troll decided to hop on the photo. ...

"Me Before You"

“Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke and “Hunger Games'” Sam Clafin find love in the emotional new trailer of "Me Before You."   A trailer for an upcoming American romantic drama film "Me Before You,"  which is based on the 2012 novel of same name by Jojo Moyes , is here. The film stars "Game of Thrones" star Emilia Clarke, "Hunger Games" star Sam Claflin, Jenna Coleman, Charles Dance, Matthew Lewis, Ben Lloyd-Hughes and Janet McTeer.   The emotional trailer features Clarke as Louisa Clark , a small-town girl who gets a job caring for a paralyzed banker named William Traynor . She forms an unlikely bond with the recently-paralyzed Traynor. Directed by Thea Sharrock and written by Jojo Moyes, the film debuts in theaters June 3, 2016. Watch new trailer below.

"Scandal"

Top 4 steamiest Olivia and Fitz scenes from show If there's one thing we love Shonda Rhimes for, it's those steamy and emotional moments that come with her shows. Watch our favourite steamy scenes from "Scandal."   You can't be a fan of Shonda Rhimes' political drama "Scandal," and not be familiar with the sexy scenes that come with the show. The  ABC political drama "Scandal" features Goldwyn as Fitzgerald Grant,  the President of the United States of America, who was married to  Mellie Grant  and having an affair with the White House aide,  Olivia Pope. The show returned for the second half of it's fifth season with Mellie campaigning for president.   If there's one thing we love Rhimes for, it's those steamy and emotional moments that make viewers choose Fitz and Olivia over and over. Check out five of our favourite Olivia and Fitz moment. Here we go; 1. Olivia and Fitz' 1st time on campaign ...