The attackers
- Brothers Khalid and Ibrahim el-Bakraoui have been identified as suicide bombers at the metro station and airport respectively.
- The two Belgians were already being sought by police due to suspected links to the November terror attacks in Paris.
- Belgian media retracted an earlier report that a third suspect, Najim Laachraoui, had been arrested in the Brussels suburb of Anderlecht after a major manhunt.
- Three suspects were captured on CCTV at the airport, two wearing black gloves on their left hands thought to have concealed detonators.
The victims
- The latest official death toll stands at 31. Up to 270 people were injured.
- Two blasts took place at Zaventem airport, to the north-east of the city centre, at about 8am local time; at least 11 people died here.
- A third bomb went off at Maelbeek metro station on the rue de la Loi, close to the European Union headquarters, about an hour later. Twenty people died in this attack.
- Adelma Tapia Ruiz was the first victim of the attacks to be named. The Peruvian woman was killed at the airport, where she was reported to be catching a flight with her Belgian husband, Christophe Delcambe, and their twin four-year-old daughters, Maureen and Alondra, who survived.
- A wounded Jet Airways crew member pictured in the immediate aftermath of the explosion in her torn and bloodied yellow uniform has been named as Nidhi Chaphekar.
The investigation
- An explosive device containing nails, “chemical products” and an Isis flag were discovered in a raid in Schaerbeek, a northern suburb of Brussels, on Tuesday evening.
- Anti-terror police raided a flat in Brussels suburb of Anderlecht on Wednesday, making one arrest.
- Islamic State claimed responsibility for the terror attacks, saying its operatives had carried out “a series of bombings with explosive belts and devices”. A later statement promised further attacks, saying “what is coming is worse and more bitter”.
The global response
- The Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, described it as a “black day” for Belgium, saying: “What we feared has happened.” He said Belgium would have three days of national mourning.
- The League of Imams in Belgium condemned “firmly the criminal and unspeakable acts … which took the lives of tens of our citizens and injured countless others”.
- Vigils have taken place across Belgium and around the world, including at Brussels’ Place de la Bourse.
The practicalities
- Brussels airport will remain closed on Wednesday, and the metro will be running a reduced service. But schools have opened as normal following Tuesday’s city lockdown.
- The US State Department has issued a fresh warning to Americans in Europe advising them to be vigilant in public places or when using public transport, and to avoid crowded places.
- Belgium has asked EU ministers to meet to discuss the attacks; this could take place on Thursday morning.
