Brussels attacks

Brussels attacks: police reportedly detain person – live updates

LIVE Updated 
CCTV surveillance image shows three men identified as suspects in the the Brussels attacks.
 CCTV surveillance image shows three men identified as suspects in the Brussels attacks. Photograph: Reuters
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Ewen MacAskill 
Michael Fallon
 Michael Fallon Photograph: Mark Thomas/REX/Shutterstock
Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon, said Britain intelligence services are concerned about the prospect of Islamic State militants acquiring nuclear weapons, writes Ewen MacAskill.
Fallon was asked if there is a danger of IS acquiring nuclear weapons.
He said: “Yes, this is a new and emerging threat.” He said it is obviously a concern that a non-state actor with finance and know-how could acquire nuclear weapons.
Fallon made the remarks after giving a speech on Trident at the Policy Exchange thinktank. 
Asked about the UK response to the attack on Belgium, he said: “We have to immediately double-check our own security arrangements and, of course, offer as much help to the country affected, Belgium.” 
Ways to help Belgium had been discussed at Cobra yesterday and again this morning, he added. 
Home secretary Theresa May is due to make a Commons statement on UK security at 12.30pm.
Fallon added: “We made it very clear to the Belgian authorities that we are ready to offer any technical assistance they need. It is a small country.” 
The UK government argues that data collected by the surveillance agency GCHQ might be able to help. 
The UK also reformed the way it conducts anti-terrorism after the the 2005 London bombings and could use that experience to help the Belgian intelligence agencies, who have repeatedly complained about being understaffed and underfunded.
Belgium’s football match against Portugal has been cancelled for security reasons. Tickets will be refunded in April, the Belgian FA has announced.
Updated 

Laachroui 'not arrested'

Belgian media are now rowing back on earlier reports that Najim Laachraoui was arrested.
La Libre Belgique newspaper said another person had been arrested in Anderlecht.
DH, which first reported the story, also said the man detained in the Anderlecht district had been misidentified, Reuters reports.
Police and prosecutors have been declining all comment but will hold a news conference at noon GMT.
Apologies for the confusion. Laachraoui’s arrest had been reported in multiple Brussels media outlets, citing police sources.
Updated 
Police in balaclavas have been photographed outside an apartment in Anderlecht.
It is not thought to be connected with the reported arrest of the suspect Najim Laachraoui.
BBC Newsnight producer Warwick Harrington said witnesses reported seeing two women being taken away.
— warwick harrington (@warwickhs)March 23, 2016
Brussels attacks: Witness to Anderlecht raid reports two women being taken away by police.
Earlier he tweeted these images.
— warwick harrington (@warwickhs)March 23, 2016
Police may have Brussels attacker Najim Laachraoui. Apartment in Anderlecht raided, police removing a vehicle. pic.twitter.com/kOXS8LMm5m
— warwick harrington (@warwickhs)March 23, 2016
Brussels attacks: police remove 2 vehicles from outside apartment in Busselenbergstraat, Anderlecht. pic.twitter.com/nsVMSs6s1Y
Updated 
Our latest news story wraps up this morning’s main developments on the reports of the arrest of the key suspect and the naming of the suspected suicide bombers.
The city of Brussels has asked the Royal Belgian Football Association to cancel a forthcoming friendly against Portugal.
The match was due to be played at the King Baudouin stadium in the city centre on 29 March.
The football association has said it will consult the federal government, police and security services before making a decision.
— Sudpresse Sports (@sudpressesports)March 23, 2016
La ville de Bruxelles demande l'annulation de Belgique-Portugal @BelRedDevilshttps://t.co/s5QL1q0Iiipic.twitter.com/HMpgwKPMP2
The Belgium national team did not train for a second day after the attacks.
Updated 
The minute’s silence was impeccably observed and ended with sustained applause by those who had gathered at the Place de la Bourse. Someone shouted “long live the Belgians”,
Updated 

Minute's silence

Institutions and the public in Brussels are about to observe a minute’s silence in honour of the victims of Tuesday’s attacks.
— European Commission (@EU_Commission)March 23, 2016
12:00 CET Minute of silence for the victims of yesterday's #BrusselsAttacks. Live: https://t.co/P0BIU0PzXApic.twitter.com/5p1hnMxO09
— ZPZ PolBru (@zpz_polbru)March 23, 2016
A partir de 12h un périmètre de sécurité sera mis en place suite à une minute de silence du Roi, Reine et premier pic.twitter.com/cGHp69sRJx
— Denise Bauer (@AmbassadorBauer)March 23, 2016
Will observe minute of silence today at noon to honor the victims of #Brussels
attacks. #UnitedAgainstTerrorism w/ #Belgium@CharlesMichel
Updated 

One Briton missing, four injured

Downing Street says it is concerned about a British national who has been missing in Brussels following the attacks.
It said four Britons had been injured, three of whom were in hospital.
David Dixon, a former British Airways employee from Hartlepool, is believed to have been on a metro train at the time of the attack on Maelbeek station.
No 10 did not mention Dixon in its statement, which said:
“We are concerned about one missing British national and we are in close contact with the Belgian authorities. We are aware of four British nationals who were injured in the attacks – three are being treated in hospital, one has already been discharged. Our embassy staff are working to assist all British nationals affected.
“In terms of travel advice, we continue to advise people to follow the advice of the Belgian authorities. Therefore we are no longer advising against travel to Brussels.British nationals in Belgium should remain alert and vigilant, stay away from crowded places, and follow the instructions of the Belgian authorities.
“Here in the UK, we stepped up the security presence at a number of locations across the country yesterday and we will maintain this in the coming days. The national threat level remains at SEVERE (an attack is highly likely) and the public are advised to be ‘alert but not alarmed’.
“Government departments will be observing a minutes silence at 11am UK time. The prime minister will update MPs at the start of PMQs, followed by an oral statement from the home secretary later this afternoon setting out the government’s response to the attacks.”
Updated 
Other media outlets in Belgium are independently reporting the arrest of Najim Laachraoui in Anderlecht, Oliver Milne reports.
Flemish-speaking journalist Michael Sephilha reported the added detail that the suspect had been arrested in a pizza restaurant.
— Michael Sephiha (@sephke)March 23, 2016
Laachraoui gevat in pizzeria, Abdeslam na grte pizza-bestelling. IS-terroristen zijn blijkbaar pizza-liefhebbers #BrusselsAttacks #junkfood
L’Echo is also reporting Laachraoui’s arrest, along with radio stations RTL and Nieuws+.
— L'Echo (@lecho)March 23, 2016
BREAKING Najim #Laachraoui arrested in #anderlecht CONFIRMED https://t.co/3Hui8ehtlNpic.twitter.com/otRnekbqvy
The state broadcaster RTBF said there had been an arrest in Anderlecht in connection with the attacks, but it could not confirm whether Laachraoui was the suspect.
 Anderlecht map
Updated 
A minute’s silence will be held in Brussels at noon (1100 GMT) as a tribute to the victims.
— STIB-MIVB (@STIBMIVB)March 23, 2016
We’ll observe a minute of silence at noon today to honour the victimes of yeterday’s attacks. #BrusselsAttacks pic.twitter.com/NT9kfhOFJ6
Updated 

'Suspect arrested'

The main surviving suspect in the attacks, Najim Laachraoui, has been arrested in the south-west Brussels suburb of Anderlecht, according to Belgian media.
— DH.be (@ladh)March 23, 2016
#NajimLaachraoui arrêté à Anderlecht ! https://t.co/Q805GZ4cjf #BrusselsAttackspic.twitter.com/2tYK0x7W9I
So far only Dernière Heure is reporting the arrest. The DH magazine is considered the closest thing Belgian has to a tabloid newspaper.
Updated 
Angelique Chrisafis in Brussels and Jon Henley in London have more on Khalid and Ibrahim el-Bakraoui. 
Citing sources close to the investigation, the broadcaster RTBF said in an unconfirmed report that Ibrahim el-Bakraoui detonated one of two devices that killed himself and at least 11 others at Zaventem airport close to the Belgian capital. More than 90 other people were injured.
RTBF says Khalid el-Bakraoui was responsible for a third explosion in a metro carriage at Maelbeek station on the rue de la Loi, about 250 metres from the offices of the European commission. At least 14 people died in that attack, and more than 130 were wounded.
On Tuesday Belgian police appealed for information about three men captured on CCTV camera wheeling loaded baggage trolleys through Zaventem airport. Initial reports on Wednesday morning identified two of the men, dressed in black, as the el-Bakraoui brothers, and the third as 24-year-old Najim Laachraoui.
However, the latest RTBF report only places Ibrahim el-Bakraoui at the airport, raising questions about the identity of a possible fourth attackers.
The two el-Bakraoui brothers, both Belgian nationals, were well-known to police as longstanding criminals in the Belgian capital. More recently, it emerged that they had clear links to the Paris attacks last November that killed 130 people.

Updated 
A senior British counter-terrorism police officer has condemned Donald Trump’s claim that British Muslims are not reporting extremists in their communities to police.
The deputy assistant commissioner, Neil Basu, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Trump’s comments were wrong and could spark hate crimes.
He said: “If we demonise one section of the community, that is the worst thing we can do. We are absolutely playing into the terrorists’ hands of making people feel hate.”
Basu admitted British police had to do more to encourage Muslims and other Britons to report suspicious activity.
Updated 
Arthur Neslen 
The health minister, Maggie De Block, said on VRT radio this morning that the death toll for both attacks was at least 31 but that figure was likely to rise.
At least 20 people were killed in the attack on the metro; 11 were killed at the airport.
Associated Press is reporting 34 dead on the basis of a source in the crisis centre.
Updated 
The Belgium broadcaster RTBF says one of the el-Bakraoui brothers is suspected of carrying out the suicide bombing at Maelbeek metro station, and not the airport bombing as previously reported. 
It said Ibrahim el-Bakraoui is suspected of carrying out a suicide attack at the airport, but his brother Khalid carried out the metro attack.
If confirmed this would complicate things. If one of the airport suspects was Ibrahim el-Bakraoui and another was Najim Laachraou, who was the third bomber identified in the CCTV footage?
It is conceivable that Khalid el-Bakraoui was involved in the attack at the airport, which occurred around 8am, and then travelled to Maelbeek station, which was attacked at 9.11am.
Federal prosecutors are due to provide further information this morning.
Updated 
French PM Manuel Valls.
 French PM Manuel Valls. Photograph: Reuters
The French prime minister has said the Brussels attacks underline the need for the European parliament to approve a passenger name record (PNR).
Associated Press quoted Manuel Valls as saying: “It is urgent to adopt the European PNR. The European parliament has waited too long to adopt this text. It must examine and adopt it in April, it is time.”
Valls is going to Brussels today and says he will express his “full solidarity” with Belgium’s people.
He is due to give a press conference at 2pm local time with the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker.
Updated 
David Cameron has finished chairing a second meeting of the government’s emergency committee. He will update the Commons during prime minister’s questions.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron)March 23, 2016
I have just chaired another COBRA meeting on the Brussels terror attacks. I will update the House of Commons at noon.
Updated 
Eurostar train services to Brussels have resumed.
— Eurostar (@Eurostar)March 23, 2016
We're running a normal service on our Brussels route. If you're travelling today, please allow extra time to check in.
Meanwhile, life in Brussels is “getting back to normal”, according to the UK’s EU commissioner, Lord Hill of Oareford, PA reports.
He was speaking before a meeting of European commissioners to discuss the response to the terrorist attacks. 
Interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he played down suggestions that the attacks would lead to changes to the EU’s Schengen system of borderless travel. 
But he conceded that there were questions about how the Schengen system was operating. Hill said: “What we need to have first of all is co-operation between member states on this.” 
He said the first he heard of the bomb only hundreds of yards from his office was via news reports. Fellow workers, who were already digesting the news of the earlier attack on the airport, went to the office windows to see “a plume of smoke” rising from Maalbeek station, he said. 
There was “initially shock and then the realisation that this was a serious attack also became clear”, he added. 
Hill said he walked home at the end of the day, rather than using a car, as “my own kind of probably meaningless gesture” of solidarity, and was already able to see signs of life returning to normal. 
“There were people sitting out having a drink and the bars were full of young people and I took that as an actually rather encouraging sign. There were lots of people walking because the public transport wasn’t working,” he said.
“It’s back working this morning, trams are running, there are buses running, there’s Metro running and train stations are opening, so there are signs of life getting back to normal after that initial shock.” 
Updated 
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