Reports: 'Man in hat' in Brussels video arrested, charged
Belgian prosecutors charged three men for terrorist offenses Saturday, including a man identified by Belgian media as the "man in the hat" shown on surveillance video at Brussels Airport minutes before Tuesday's attacks.
While prosecutors have not officially identified a suspect as the man in the video, they confirmed they have charged a man identified as "Faycal C." for “involvement in a terrorist group, terrorist murder and attempted terrorist murder.”
Belgian state TV and the newspaper Le Soir, using a different spelling, identified the suspect as Faisal Cheffou, a Belgian freelance filmmaker and journalist.
They say he was fingered by a taxi driver who picked up three men on Tuesday, including two of the suicide bombers who blew themselves up at the airport in the terror attacks that killed at least 31 people.
Prosecutors are awaiting DNA evidence before making an official statement on whether they believe they have the third terrorist in custody, RTBF, Belgian state TV, reported. Prosecutors did say that they have searched the latest suspect's home and turned up no weapons or explosives.
In a statement Friday, the prosecutor's office said "Faycal C" was one of three men police detained near the federal prosecutor's office. Eric Van Der Sypt, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office, said the three were picked up while standing "outside our door."
On the surveillance video, the third terrorist, wearing a hat and light-colored clothing on the right, is shown walking beside the two other terrorists. Authorities said the man was pushing a cart with luggage containing a 35-pound bomb that did not detonate. The man fled and has been the main target of a manhunt since the attacks. The bomb was later set off in a controlled explosion.
Prosecutors say two other suspects arrested Thursday and identified as Rabah N. and Aboubakar A. have been charged with “involvement in the activities of a terrorist group,” according to the Associated Press
A fourth man, taken into custody Friday after he was shot by police at a Brussels tram stop, is being held for at least 24 hours longer.
The other two men in the airport surveillance video have been identified as Ibrahim El Bakraoui, 29, seen walking in the middle, and Najim Laachraoui, a bombmaker linked by DNA to the Paris terror attacks in November that killed 130 people. Also identified in the Brussels attacks is Khalid El Bakraoui, 27, Ibrahim's brother, who blew himself up in a subway car at a metro station.
Meanwhile, organizers postponed plans for a march Sunday from the Place de la Bourse in Brussels to the city’s Gare du Nord that was intended as a show of solidarity for the victims of the terror attacks, Belgian state TV reported.
The cancellation followed an appeal by Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon, who said police are too stretched with the investigation into the attacks to provide proper security.
In addition, Brussels Airport officials say flights won’t resume before Tuesday as they assess the damage caused by twin explosions in the terminal. Brussels Airport handles 23.5 million passengers annually. It links Brussels with 226 destinations worldwide and is served by 77 different airlines.
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