Belgian prosecutors reportedly looking for 2nd possible Brussels metro bomber

Belgian security forces check bags oustide a metro stop

(Image credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

published 24 March 2016

Prosecutors in Belgium have only identified two of the suspected bombers in Tuesday's terrorist attacks in Brussels, saying Khalid El Bakraoui blew himself up on the Brussels metro while his brother, Ibrahim El Bakraoui, was one of three attackers at the Brussels airport. European security officials have named Najim Laachraoui, believed to have helped make the bombs for the Nov. 13 attacks on Paris, as one of the other suicide bombers at the airport, and Belgian authorities say that a third would-be suicide bomber fled when his suitcase bomb didn't explode.

Now, prosecutors say that a second suspect may be on the run, identifying in CCTV footage a man carrying a large bag next to Khalid El Bakraoui in the metro, French and Belgian media reports. Prosecutors reportedly are not sure if the fifth suspect died in the attack or escaped the blast.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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