It has been confirmed that there is a web of connections linking the terrorists involved in the Brussels attacks and the Paris massacre last year.
The suspected jihadists behind the terror bombings in Brussels have been shown to have strong links with the Paris attackers.
Below are the chief Brussels suspects and their connections with the perpetrators of last November’s atrocities in Paris:
Khalid el Bakraoui, 27, Belgian
:: Blew himself up on a metro train at Maalbeek station on Tuesday, prosecutors say.
:: Sentenced to five years for car-jacking in 2011.
:: Reportedly used fake ID to rent the apartment in the Forest district of Brussels where police hunting the prime surviving suspect of the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, killed a gunman in a raid last week.
Ibrahim el Bakraoui, 29, Belgian
:: Blew himself up at Brussels airport on Tuesday, prosecutors say.
:: Caught on CCTV with two others at the airport – one of the others, named in reports as Najim Laachraoui, also blew himself up at the airport and the third man is being hunted.
:: Sentenced to nine years in prison in 2010 for shooting at police officers during an attempted robbery. Had been on the run since breaching parole terms last year.
:: Bakraoui brothers may have fled last week’s shoot-out at the flat in Forest. Inside, investigators found an Islamic State flag, an assault rifle, detonators and a fingerprint of Abdeslam, who was arrested three days later.
Najim Laachraoui, 25, Belgian
:: Remains at large despite initial reports of his arrest.
:: Prosecutors say Laachraoui’s DNA was found in houses used by the Paris attackers last year.
:: Left Brussels for Syria in February 2013 and is suspected of having made the suicide bombs used in Paris and possibly those detonated in Brussels.
:: Travelling under the false name Soufiane Kayal, he was documented driving from Hungary into Austria in September in a car driven by Abdeslam, who was detained in Brussels last Friday.
Salah Abdeslam, 26, French
:: Now in prison awaiting trial in Belgium after a four-month manhunt when he was Europe’s most wanted fugitive.
:: French citizen, born and raised in Belgium to Moroccan-born parents
:: Told a magistrate he planned to blow himself up at a sports stadium in Paris on 13 November but backed out at the last minute. It is not clear if he helped with Tuesday’s attacks.
:: Fingerprints were found in the Forest apartment, enabling police to track him down.
:: Investigators say he arranged logistics for the Paris attacks.
Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 28, Belgian
:: Suspected Paris attacks ringleader killed by French police in a shoot-out in the Paris suburb of St Denis on 18 November.
:: Fought in Syria as Abu Omar al-Beljiki (The Belgian) and avoided capture in a Belgian police raid in Verviers on 16 January, 2015 in which two fellow Belgians were killed.
:: Boasted of travelling easily between Syria and Europe and was believed to have promoted the Thalys train attack last August.
Brahim Abdeslam, 31, French
:: Brother of Salah – blew himself up at a Paris cafe on 13 November.
:: Owned a bar that his brother ran in the neighbourhood of Molenbeek, home to many of those with suspected ties to Islamic State.
Mohamed Abrini, 30, Belgian
:: Directly linked to Salah Abdeslam and is on Europol’s top 50 most-wanted list.
:: Seen on CCTV with Salah Abdeslam on 11 November driving a car used in the Paris attacks. Has not been seen since the massacre.
:: Known to have fought in Syria and like the Abdeslam brothers grew up in Molenbeek.
Mohamed Belkaid, 35, Algerian
:: Killed last week by a police sniper at the flat in Forest.
:: Was believed to be in Belgium illegally and was only known to police for petty crimes committed in 2014.
:: Using the fake identity of Samir Bouzid, he was documented in the car with Abdeslam and Laachraoui in Hungary in September.
:: Also with Laachraoui, he was caught on CCTV on 17 November wiring cash to a cousin of Abaaoud who was killed the next day in the St Denis shoot-out.
Amine Choukri or Monir Ahmed Alaaj, both false identities
:: Arrested with Salah Abdeslam, hiding with a family in a house in Molenbeek.
:: Spotted by German police near Ulm in a car with Abdeslam in October.
:: Like Abdeslam, has been charged with “terrorist murder” over the Paris attacks.
Mehdi Nemmouche, French
:: Killed four people in an attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels on 24 May, 2014 after spending 2013 fighting in Syria.
:: Caught in Marseilles and extradited, he is now in Bruges high-security prison, along with Salah Abdeslam, who is fighting extradition to France over the Paris attacks.
You must log in to post a comment.