Federal
prosecutors in Brussels charged a suspect in the March 22 suicide
bombings that left more than 30 people dead as counter-terrorism
investigations in several European countries advanced amid fears of
further assaults.
The suspect, identified as Faycal C. and apprehended
Thursday evening in the Belgian capital, was charged with terrorist
murder and being part of a terrorist group, federal prosecutors said on
Saturday. Two other suspects also were charged with terrorism offenses,
they said.
Faycal C. may have been the man in a cream-colored jacket
seen on security cameras at the Brussels airport at the time of the
Tuesday bombing that killed 11 people in the departures hall, according
to Le Soir newspaper. He was one of three suspects taken into custody
outside the prosecutor’s office on Thursday.
As the city tried to get back to normal after the worst
terrorist attack in Belgium’s history, the airport said on Saturday that
it won’t reopen before Tuesday as investigators continue to assess the
damage from the bombings at its departure hall, which collapsed the
ceiling, shattered windows and destroyed the Brussels Airlines check-in
area. The Maelbeek subway station, scene of the other suicide blast,
remains closed to commuters but trains are able to pass through without
stopping.
Airport authorities said Saturday that a preliminary
investigation showed the main building and the connector building, where
hand luggage and passengers are checked in, are structurally “stable”
and that the airport may install temporary check-in desks. A
statement from the airport said passengers can retrieve their
luggage and vehicles through Sunday, and about 4,000 cars of the 6,000
left behind have been collected so far.
Twin Blasts
A total of 31 people died in the twin blasts at the airport
and the subway and 340 people were injured, authorities confirmed on
Saturday. Four of the dead haven’t yet been identified and 101 of the
injured remain hospitalized, according to VTM. Belgium’s Foreign
Ministry said one of the victims was former Belgian ambassador to the
U.S. Andre Adam, according to the Associated Press.
NBC News
reported on its website Saturday that an American living in
Brussels, Justin Shults, 30, was among the victims of the attack. His
employer, Clarcor, confirmed that he was killed at the airport and that
his wife, Stephanie Shults, 29, is still unaccounted for.
Organizers canceled a commemoration service planned for
Sunday in central Brussels at the request of Belgian Interior Minister
Jan Jambon and Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur. “Seeing that the priority is
to let the police do their work in the best possible circumstances, we
ask citizens not to demonstrate tomorrow,” Jambon said.
A man whom special police forces shot and apprehended on
Friday in the Schaerbeek district of Brussels was identified as
Abderamane A., according to the prosecutor. He iwas being held for 24
hours without charges being specified. Schaerbeek Mayor Bernard Clerfayt
told RTBF that the suspect was linked to the March 22 attacks.
German police earlier arrested two men in connection with
the Brussels attacks, in the Giessen and Dusseldorf regions, Spiegel
reported.
Terrorist Activities
Another suspect, identified as Rabah N., was charged with
participating in terrorist activities in the investigation linked to the
arrest this week of Reda Kriket in Argenteuil, France, according to the
prosecutor. A third suspect, identified as Abubakar A., also was
charged with terrorist activities.
Amid warnings that Islamic State, which claimed
responsibility for the Brussels atrocities, is poised to strike again in
European cities, singer Mariah Carey canceled a concert planned for
Sunday in Brussels. Carey was scheduled to perform at an arena in the
borough of Forest, where a gunman was killed in a counter-terrorism raid
on March 15.
French President Francois Hollande warned late Friday that
even if the terrorism network behind the attacks in Paris and Brussels
“is being wiped out, there’s still a threat weighing on us.”
Post a Comment