UPDATE 17:10 p.m. IST -- Belgian media Wednesday withdrew reports about the arrest of Najim Laachraoui, suspected to be the third terrorist involved in Tuesday's bomb attacks at the Brussels airport and metro, Agence France-Presse reported.
#BREAKING Belgian media withdraw report that attacks suspect Laachraoui arrested
— AFP news agency (@AFP) March 23, 2016
UPDATE 15:40 p.m. IST -- Najim Laachraoui, believed to be the third suspect in the Brussels airport attack has reportedly been arrested, according to Belgium's DH newspaper. The ISIS suspect, who is also linked to the Paris attackers, was arrested in the Anderlecht district in Belgium Wednesday, the Belgian media said.
UPDATE 15:14 p.m. IST -- According to Belgian broadcaster RTBF, one of the El Bakraoui brothers had carried out the suicide bombing at the Maelbek metro station and not the Brussels airport, as reported previously, the Guardian reports.
This would mean one of the three suspects seen on CCTV footage at the Zaventem airport is still to be identified. Earlier, Belgian media said two of the suicide bombers who were killed at the airport were Khalid and Brahim El Bakraoui, while the third person was suspected to be Najim Laachraoui.
UPDATE 13:16 p.m. IST -- The third attacker seen at Brussels airport and believed to have escaped is reportedly Najim Laachraoui, the 24-year-old suspect also being sought in connection with the Paris attacks, according to Belgian newspaper DH. Belgium's federal prosecutors Monday had named him as a suspect and said he was using the alias Soufiane Kayal. Laachraoui had reportedly travelled to Syria in 2013.
UPDATE 12:41 p.m. IST -- Belgian media said Wednesday the suicide bombers who struck Brussels airport Tuesday have been identified as brothers Khalid and Brahim El Bakraoui.
The brothers reportedly have links to the Paris terror attacks as the police were looking for them on suspicion they provided hideouts for the Paris attackers, according to the Guardian.
Original story:
The Belgian police have launched a manhunt for a man believed to be a suspect in the bombings that killed over 30 people in Brussels Tuesday, after he was seen on CCTV at the Zaventem airport walking with two men who died after they blew up their explosives. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the blasts.
The suspect reportedly escaped from the airport after he failed to detonate explosives in his suitcase, according to the Guardian. Belgian police shared images from the CCTV footage of the two men who died, as well as the third suspect who was walking along with them.
"Do you recognize this man?" the police asked on Twitter, while sharing the photograph of the suspect seen wearing a beige jacket, glasses and a black cap.
Anti-terror raids were being conducted across Belgium, according to BBC, and explosive devices and an ISIS flag was found in an apartment in Brussels.
The blasts, two of which went off in the departure lounge of the Brussels airport and one which went off at the Maelbeek metro station, came days after the arrest of Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam in a police raid in Brussels.
One Paris attack suspect, identified Monday as Najim Laachraoui, is still on the run.
The United States has warned its citizens of risks of travelling in Europe following the Brussels blasts. The state department issued a travel alert for Europe till June 20.
"Terrorist groups continue to plan near-term attacks throughout Europe, targeting sporting events, tourist sites, restaurants, and transportation," the U.S. State Department said in a statement.
