Major development in Brussels terror attack probe
BRUSSELS -- Belgian authorities have carried out another search and arrest in the investigation into the suicide bombings that killed 32 at Brussels Airport and the city's subway in March.
The Federal Prosecutor's Office on Friday said an apartment in the Schaerbeek area of Brussels was searched the previous day and a man detained and charged with participation in the activities of a terrorist group, terrorist murder and attempted terrorist murder.
The 31-year-old Belgian national was identified only as Ali E.H.A.
The bombers who attacked the airport took a taxi to their target from Schaerbeek, with their bombs hidden in suitcases.
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Reports in the Belgian press suggested the man was suspected of helping to arrange transport for the attackers, and could have played a more prominent role, but the prosecutors said no further information would be divulged so as not to hamper the investigation.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) cell that claimed responsibility for the March 22 attacks has been linked to individuals involved in the Nov. 13, 2015 terror attacks on Paris.
Many of the perpetrators of that attack had links to the Schaerbeek and Molenbeek neighborhoods in Brussels -- areas with large populations of unemployed young men who are either from north Africa and the Middle East, or whose parents were.