BREAKING: As Main Suspect ‘Arrested’, Here’s The Latest On Brussels Attacks

The main surviving suspect behind the Brussels attacks has been arrested, Belgian media say, quoting judicial sources.

Najim Laachraoui, who was thought to be the man on the right in a CCTV image taken before the Zaventem airport attack, has been detained in the Anderlecht area Dernière Heure reports.

Other media outlets in Belgium have since independently reported the arrest of Laachraoui, with Flemish speaking journalist Michael Sephilha reporting that he was arrested in a pizza restaurant, but this has not yet been officially confirmed.

Newspaper La Derniere Heure said Laachraoui was detained by the police’s counter-terrorism unit.

However, there has been no official confirmation of the latest arrest or the identity of any of the attackers.

Two of the other attackers were named in Belgian media as brothers Khalid and Brahim el-Bakraoui. RTBF said the brothers were known to police and had criminal records.

Khalid el-Bakraoui is on the Interpol website and it says he is being sought for terrorist activities.

RTBF said Khalid was jailed for five years in 2011 for car-jacking while Brahim, 30, was sentenced in October 2010 for firing at police.

Analysts say Laachraoui is believed to be a key bomb maker and French media believe he may have played a major role in the terrorist attacks in Paris in November which killed 130 people.

This comes after his DNA was found on suicide belts used in the Bataclan Theatre and the Stade de France.

Belgian federal prosecutors say a house search in the Brussels neighbourhood of Schaerbeek ‘led to the discovery of an explosive device containing among other things nails.’ Investigators also found chemical products and an Islamic State flag.

Twin explosions at Zaventem airport and another at Maelbeek metro station on Tuesday left at least 34 dead and 250 wounded.

Twitter/Simon Hartley-Jones

Reports say that four Britons were injured in the attacks and one man is still missing. Friends of computer programmer, David Dixon, from Nottingham, are desperate to find him as he usually commutes on the Belgian capital’s metro – but did not arrive at work yesterday.

The first of the victims to be named is Peruvian Adelma Tapia Ruiz, 37. She had been at Zaventem airport with her Belgian husband and twin four-year-old daughters, who were unharmed, her brother told Peruvian radio.

ISIS have since claimed it was behind the attacks and warned that more would follow.

Getty

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said Tuesday was ‘a day of tragedy, a black day’, as he announced that Belgium will observe three days of national mourning.

The country has since raised its terrorism alert to the highest level.

UNILAD