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Brussels
Two brothers reportedly behind Brussels suicide bombings
They were known to police but in connection with organised crime – not for acts of terrorism.
BELGIAN MEDIA HAVE named the two suicide bombers who attacked Brussels Airport yesterday morning as brothers Khalid and Brahim el-Bakraoui.
National broadcaster RTBF reports the men, seen in images released yesterday, have been identified by police. They were known to police but in connection with organised crime – not for acts of terrorism.
RTBF also reports Khalid had rented, under a false name, accommodation that had been raided by police last week in an operation that led police to Paris attack suspect Salah Adbeslam.
The news comes as police continue to hunt a third man, dressed in a light coloured jacket and wearing a dark hat, who was shown with the two others in CCTV footage.
Belgian police have issued an appeal for information about the three men, posting several tweets with photos:
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The death toll in the airport blast and another on the Brussels metro system shortly afterwards was put at more than 30 dead but officials said Wednesday they still could not give a final figure.
“We do not have a definitive total; for the moment it remains at what we gave yesterday, some 30 dead and about 250 injured,” a spokesman for the anti-terror Crisis Centre said.
- With reporting by AFP.
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