Belgium Failed To Prevent Brussels Attack, Claims Turkey

By Peter R - 24 Mar '16 16:33PM
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Two days after terrorists blew themselves up in Brussels, killing 31 and injuring hundreds, the identity of the victims and three terror suspects was revealed.

Al Jazeera reported that two attackers Ibrahim and Khalid el-Bakraoui were brothers. While Ibrahim along with Najim Laachraoui targeted Brussels Zaventem Airport, Khalid denoted his explosives at Maelbeek. A fourth suspect who failed to explode at the airport is on the run; the suspect at large was a man wearing a white coat and hat, security camera images revealed. Najim and Khalid are believed to have been involved in last year's Paris attacks.

In their searches following the blasts, police recovered large cache of chemicals and shrapnel to make explosives similar to those used in Brussels attack. Investigators also claimed to have found a will written by Ibrahim el-Bakraoui on an abandoned computer. In the will, el-Bakraoui expressed desperation and fears of going to prison.

"in a rush ... I don't know what to do, hunted everywhere, no longer safe" and "I don't want to end up in a cell next to him" the will reads, referring to Salah Abdeslam, who was captured last week in connection with Paris terror attack.

Belgium announced three-day mourning for victims of the attack. On Thursday thousands of Belgians paid respects to the victims and mourned in silence on the last day of mourning.

The country's intelligence and security mechanism came under criticism for reportedly failure to prevent Tuesday's carnage. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan claimed that Belgium ignored his country's warnings that Ibrahim el- Bakraoui was a terrorist who was detained and deported from near the Syrian border in June 2015.

The brothers Khalid and Ibrahim el- Bakraoui were identified through DNA fingerprints on explosives and later tied to Paris attacks. Both brothers were born and raised in Belgium. They were arrested earlier on non-terror related charges but were released.

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