Belgium Arrests Key Suspects in Brussels Attacks Mohamed Abrini has been one of Europe’s most-wanted terrorist suspects since Paris attacks in November By Julian E. Barnes, Laurence Norman and Gabriele Steinhauser
http://www.wsj.com/articles/belgian-authorities-arrest-suspected-third-brussels-airport-attacks-officials-say-1460129257
BRUSSELS—Belgian police on Friday arrested Mohamed Abrini, one of Europe’s most-wanted terrorist suspects, and prosecutors said they were working to determine whether he was the third attacker at the Brussels airport in March.
According to two officials, Belgian authorities suspect Mr. Abrini was the sole surviving attacker who escaped from the national airport during the March 22 attacks, wearing a dark hat and a light-colored jacket. Thirty-two people were killed that day by suicide bombers at the airport and the Maelbeek subway station in central Brussels.
In all, five people were arrested on Friday, including a man Belgian officials detained in connection with the subway station attack, confirming for the first time that investigators believe a second person was involved at that site.
“The investigators are verifying whether Abrini can be positively identified as being the third person present during the attacks in Brussels National Airport, the so-called man with the hat,” said Eric Van Der Sypt, the spokesman for the prosecutors.
Prosecutors spoke with caution Friday night, a likely reflection of the fact that a man previously arrested on suspicion of being the third attacker, Faycal Cheffou, was later released after it was established he wasn’t at the airport on March 22.
The Belgian government’s security council met Friday evening to discuss the arrests and progress in the case. Belgium’s terror level was kept at one notch below its highest level.
If Belgian authorities can confirm that Mr. Abrini is the “man in the hat”—the focus of an intense search since then—and confirm the capture of the second alleged Maelbeek attacker, they will have resolved key remaining questions about the attacks. CONTINUE AT SITE
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