Brussels bombers may have plotted to kidnap a nuclear scientist to build a 'dirty bomb'

Belgium attackers planned on kidnapping scientist to build 'dirty bomb'.
(Image credit: YORICK JANSENS/AFP/Getty Images)

Brussels bombing brothers Khalid and Ibrahim el-Bakraoui had ambitions to kidnap or blackmail a nuclear researcher and build a "dirty bomb," experts in the case have told various news sources. The brothers were reportedly responsible for putting a camera in a bush outside the scientist's house to record his comings and goings, racking up over 10 hours of footage.

"If terrorists are filming one of the top guys in the research center then it is very serious. It means they are planning to do something afterwards with that information... I don't think they are going to make a family movie," Belgium's Federal Agency for Nuclear Control spokesman Lodewijk van Bladel told NBC News.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.