Second suspect involved in Brussels subway bombing may still be at large

Belgian state broadcaster RTBF and France’s Le Monde reported Thursday that a second attacker is suspected of taking part in the bombing this week of a Brussels subway train and may be at large.

The media, citing unnamed sources, said Thursday the suspect was filmed by surveillance cameras in the Brussels metro on Tuesday carrying a large bag alongside Khalid El Bakraoui, whom prosecutors have identified as a suicide bomber who blew himself up at the site.

RTBF said it is not clear whether the second suspect was killed in the attack.

El Bakraoui’s brother was identified as one of two suicide bombers who targeted the Brussels airport the same day in attacks that killed at least 31 people and injured more than 200.

Prosecutors did not immediately respond to the reports.

Three suicide bombers who struck Brussels airport and a metro train in attacks claimed by the Islamic State were identified Wednesday, as the manhunt for a fourth suspect whose suitcase bomb failed to detonate intensified.

Prosecutors confirmed brothers Ibrahim and Khalid El Bakraoui had carried out attacks at Zaventem airport and Maalbeek metro station, while bomb-making expert Najim Laachraoui was identified by police sources as the second airport bomber.

Authorities stepped up the manhunt for a third airport attacker, seen wearing a hat and white jacket on CCTV footage from Zaventem departure hall, whose explosive-packed suitcase failed to go off with the two other suicide bombers.

The three identified suspects behind the twin assaults have been linked to the Paris attacks last November, underscoring the threat European nations face from the jihadist group.

Turkey said it had detained Ibrahim El Bakraoui near the Syrian border in June 2015 and deported him as a “foreign terrorist fighter,” piling more pressure on Belgian authorities who have faced criticism for failing to tackle the extremist menace.

Salah Abdeslam, a terrorist involved in the November 13 Paris attacks and who has been linked to the El Bakraoui brothers and Laachraoui, is scheduled to face magistrates Thursday morning after his arrest last week in the same Brussels neighborhood where he grew up.

France is seeking his extradition to face potential terrorism charges for his involvement in the attacks on a Paris rock concert, stadium and cafes, which killed 130 people. Several attackers were also killed.

A car accompanied by police left the prison in Bruges where Abdeslam has been held on Thursday morning.