Zaventem airport remains closed while police continue to
investigate. A Twitter account managed by the airport said it was
unclear when it would reopen.
Commission vice-President Kristalina Georgieva confirmed that the
officials were among the victims of the attacks, but did not provide
details about the circumstances or the extent of their injuries.
“The commission’s staff is ready to contribute to the fight in Europe
against what has become so frequently an enormous stress for our
people,” said Georgieva, who handles human resources and administration
for the EU’s executive body.
Reuters has a few more details from the press conference held by the federal prosecutor, Frederic van Leeuw. Two brothers carried out suicide bombings at Brussels airport and
on the metro on Tuesday, adding that airport bomber Ibrahim El Bakraoui
had left a will on a computer. His brother Khalid blew himself up on a carriage of the Brussels
metro at Maelbeek station, Van Leeuw said. Two other men captured on
CCTV at the airport with Ibrahim had yet to be identified, he said. The first bomb at the airport went off near desk 11 at 7.58am
(6.58am GMT) and the second followed 9 seconds later near desk 2 of the
departure hall, Van Leeuw said. The prosecutor quoted Ibrahim’s will as saying: “Always on the
run, not knowing what to do any more, being looked for everywhere, not
being safe any longer and that if he waits around any longer he risks
ending up next to the person in a cell.” The second airport suicide bomber has not been identified, while
a third man, who left the airport before the explosions, is still being
hunted, Van Leeuw said. At a raid in the Brussels district of Schaerbeek on Tuesday
night police found 15kg of explosives, 150 litres of acetone, 30 litres
of oxygenated water, detonators, a suitcase filled with screws and nails
as well as materials, such as plastic boxes, needed to pack up the
explosives.
The bells of Belgium’s oldest university rang out to the tune of John Lennon’s Imagine last night, writes Oliver Milne.
“Hope must survive”, tweeted the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven,
sharing a short video of its library bells playing the anthem for peace.
Saint-Louis University in Brussels says one of its students, Leopold Hecht, 20, was a victim of the attacks, writes Haroon Siddique. In a Facebook post,
the university said the law student was “one of the unfortunate victims
of the barbarous acts perpetrated on Tuesday 22 March at the Maelbeek
metro station”, adding: “There are no words to describe our dismay at
the news. All our thoughts are with his family and relatives.”
Frederick Van Leeuw. Photograph: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP
Here’s a summary of the main points from the press conference given
by the Belgian federal prosecutor, Frederic Van Leeuw, writes Oliver Milne.
The prosecutor confirmed Ibrahim el-Bakraoui was responsible for the first explosion at Zaventem airport yesterday morning.
The second suspect, responsible for a second suicide bombing at the airport, has not been identified.
The explosion at Maelbeek occurred while part of the train was in the station. The bomber has been identified as Khalid el-Bakraoui. Both the el-Bakraoui brothers had “very heavy police files” unconnected with the attacks, Leeuw said.
The third suspect, seen on the right of the CCTV photograph dressed
in white, was not identified by the prosecutor, despite media
organisations naming him as Najim Laachraoui. He is the subject of an active manhunt.
Van Leeuw confirmed the attackers had travelled to the airport by taxi from the Brussels commune of Schaerbeek.
During the search of an apartment in Schaerbeek, police found a laptop containing a note written by Ibrahim el-Bakraoui.
In the statement, Ibrahim wrote that he suspected the police were
searching for him, and that he did not want to end up in a cell.
One person was bought in for questioning in Schaerbeek last night
and is being investigated by the police. Another person has been freed
after a thorough interrogation, he said.
Leeuw said 31 people were confirmed dead in the attacks and a further 270 injured.
— UJReview (@UJReview) March 23, 2016
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