Sample #2007
Airport attack: What happened at Zaventem Airport?
Video
Image Police raid homes across Brussels following airport blasts 0:42 Play video Belgian police raid several homes across Brussels in search of suspects behind the airport attacks, hours after suicide bombers hit the Belgian capital.
EIGHT terrorists blew themselves up in the attack on Zaventem airport and the Maelbeek metro station.
Authorities identified two suicide bombers who detonated devices at the airport, while police have confirmed the identities of six of the attackers at the Maelbeek metro station.
Here’s what we know about the bombers.
Brussels airport attack
Crisis Timeline: Terror attacks in Europe 3:04 Play video Belgian police raided a Brussels apartment hours after the suicide bombings at the airport and on a subway train. Here is a look at some of the major terrorist attacks in Europe over the past decades.
AKBAR AHMADI, 28, and IBIRHAM SABOYE, 25
Ahmadzai and Saboye were the two men identified by Belgian authorities as having blown themselves up at the airport.
Ahmadzai was born in Afghanistan and was known to authorities after being flagged as a suspect.
He also had an ISIS flag and an explosive belt.
Saboye, who was a taxi driver, was identified as having the DNA of an attacker found at the Maelbeek station.
Ahmadzai had been arrested in January 2015 for possession of Kalashnikov ammunition. He was sentenced to five years in prison.
MASSOUD BELKACEM, 40
Belkacem, from Belgium, was charged in early 2015 with “attempted terrorist murder” for his role in the attempted raid of a police station in January 2015.
He was a well-known criminal who had been imprisoned several times for robbery, drug-dealing and assault.
He was once known for his rap career.
He was released from prison in 2013 but was reportedly put back behind bars in 2014 on suspicion of terrorism.
ABDELHAK BELKACEM, 35
Belkacem was known for his rap career and had previously spent time in prison.
A former employee at the Brussels Airport, he was identified as the suicide bomber who was killed by police at the Maelbeek metro station.
He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in a group that recruited for jihadists in Syria in early 2014.
He was known to have spent time in Syria and his DNA was found at the hideout of Paris massacre terrorist, Salah Abdeslam.
He was sentenced in absentia for recruiting fighters for Al Qaeda.
BIBA, 30
He is believed to have left for Syria in late 2014 and to have died there in early 2015.
He was one of the main recruiters for the Belgian foreign terrorist fighter cell.
He is reported to have been a member of Sharia4Belgium and is thought to have radicalised and recruited a number of young men to go to Syria to fight with ISIS.
A court sentenced him to 12 years in prison for a range of terrorist offences including being part of a terrorist group, recruiting, encouraging others to go to Syria to fight, the production of child pornography and breaking the law on automatic weapons.
IRFAN BAKKALI, 26
Bakkali, a Belgian national, was arrested in late 2015 after a series of raids across Europe.
The main suspect in the foiled plot to attack police officers, he had travelled to Syria to join ISIS in 2013.
While there, he sent a series of images and video to an undercover journalist with Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, showing him posing with a Kalashnikov and standing in front of an ISIS flag.
He reportedly used to run a local support network for the group in Belgium.
Bakkali was known to be a friend of Brussels gunman, Khalid El Bakraoui.
ALEP DHEDOU, 30
The Algerian national, a naturalised Belgian citizen, was charged with participating in a terrorist group.
He reportedly had links to a plot to attack a Belgian nuclear power plant and his DNA was found on suicide vests from earlier terrorist attacks.
Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian national and one of the suspected ringleaders of the November 13, 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, was charged alongside Dhedou with leading a terrorist group and taking part in the activities of a terrorist group.
Abaaoud was killed in a police raid in Saint-Denis, France, five days after the Paris attacks.
Abaaoud had previously been in contact with his cousin, Hasna Aitboulahcen, who blew herself up during the raid, French media reported.
Aitboulahcen and her cousin, Ayoub el-Khazzani, who was suspected of trying to carry out a gun attack on a train from Amsterdam to Paris, were both said to be part of a Brussels network involved in the Paris attacks.
MERYEM E.H., 33
She is believed to have left for Syria in early 2014 with her son, where she then married an ISIS fighter.
She has been wanted by police for several years for helping recruit terrorists.
The woman, who was living in Schaerbeek, was part of the radical organisation Sharia4Belgium, and was found guilty of recruiting terrorists in 2012.
She was sentenced to 12 years in prison in absentia.
According to her lawyer, she was “totally surprised” when she heard she had been identified.
Her family reportedly had no idea where she had gone.
She was thought to be the first woman to be charged in Belgium for jihadist terrorism.
RAIS ARABI
The ISIS operative, who also used the alias Nizar Ben Lahmane, is believed to be from Syria and is thought to have taken part in the Maelbeek bombing.
The man was arrested in Turkey in November 2015 for his alleged role in a plot to stage attacks in Europe.
He is suspected of being a high-ranking ISIS member and is thought to have planned terrorist operations in Germany, France and Belgium.
MURAT DACI, 33
Turkish authorities have confirmed Daci was a suicide bomber at the airport.
Daci had been known to authorities for his involvement in terrorist activities and was known to police for drug trafficking.
He was reported to have returned to Belgium on March 15, 2015, after spending time in Syria.
BRUSSELS METRO ATTACK
TERRORISTS IDENTIFIED AS:
BELKALEM EL KHALID, 31
Born in Algeria, El Khald was convicted in 2003 of stabbing police officers with a knife and sentenced to six years in prison.
He was also found guilty of a robbery.
In 2004, he was given a four-year sentence for car theft.
Two months after being released from jail in 2006, he was given a further three-year sentence for a shooting in a bar.
In 2009, he was convicted of kidnapping two individuals and handed a five-year sentence.
It is believed he travelled to Syria to join ISIS after his prison sentence and was arrested in Turkey in 2015.
He was deported back to Belgium after being questioned.
CALMOUK ABDELHAK, 29
Abdelhak was reportedly an associate of Abdelhamid Abaaoud and Hasna Aitboulahcen, two of the Paris attackers.
It is believed he also had links to Khalid El Bakraoui, one of the Brussels airport attackers.
According to Belgian media, he had already left for Syria in January 2014 but was allowed to return to Belgium six months later.
He was suspected of being a member of Sharia4Belgium, a radical group which recruited fighters for Syria, and was part of a network that supported Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam.
According to local media, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for terrorism offences in early 2015.
He was known to have travelled to Syria where he spent time with jihadists.
He is believed to have been arrested in Turkey in 2015 and deported back to Belgium where he was questioned and released.
HUZAIFI AIT BOULAHCAIN, 25
Ait Boulahcen was reportedly in contact with a member of the terrorist cell behind the Paris attacks.
She is believed to have travelled to Syria with Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the man suspected of being behind the attacks in Paris.
While there, she is thought to have married an ISIS fighter.
It is believed she was radicalised by her cousin, Hasna Aitboulahcen, a French-Moroccan woman who blew herself up during the Saint-Denis raid in November 2015.
Both women were members of the same ISIS network and Ait Boulahcen, along with her cousin, were linked to Brussels bomber, Khalid El Bakraoui.
She was found dead in an apartment in the Brussels suburb of Forest in early 2016, alongside Abdelhamid Abaaoud.
The pair were killed in a gunfight with police following a seven-hour stand-off.
Police originally thought the apartment had been rented by El Bakraoui.
EL KHALID EL ABDY, 26
El Abdy,
Video
Image Police raid homes across Brussels following airport blasts 0:42 Play video Belgian police raid several homes across Brussels in search of suspects behind the airport attacks, hours after suicide bombers hit the Belgian capital.
EIGHT terrorists blew themselves up in the attack on Zaventem airport and the Maelbeek metro station.
Authorities identified two suicide bombers who detonated devices at the airport, while police have confirmed the identities of six of the attackers at the Maelbeek metro station.
Here’s what we know about the bombers.
Brussels airport attack
Crisis Timeline: Terror attacks in Europe 3:04 Play video Belgian police raided a Brussels apartment hours after the suicide bombings at the airport and on a subway train. Here is a look at some of the major terrorist attacks in Europe over the past decades.
AKBAR AHMADI, 28, and IBIRHAM SABOYE, 25
Ahmadzai and Saboye were the two men identified by Belgian authorities as having blown themselves up at the airport.
Ahmadzai was born in Afghanistan and was known to authorities after being flagged as a suspect.
He also had an ISIS flag and an explosive belt.
Saboye, who was a taxi driver, was identified as having the DNA of an attacker found at the Maelbeek station.
Ahmadzai had been arrested in January 2015 for possession of Kalashnikov ammunition. He was sentenced to five years in prison.
MASSOUD BELKACEM, 40
Belkacem, from Belgium, was charged in early 2015 with “attempted terrorist murder” for his role in the attempted raid of a police station in January 2015.
He was a well-known criminal who had been imprisoned several times for robbery, drug-dealing and assault.
He was once known for his rap career.
He was released from prison in 2013 but was reportedly put back behind bars in 2014 on suspicion of terrorism.
ABDELHAK BELKACEM, 35
Belkacem was known for his rap career and had previously spent time in prison.
A former employee at the Brussels Airport, he was identified as the suicide bomber who was killed by police at the Maelbeek metro station.
He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in a group that recruited for jihadists in Syria in early 2014.
He was known to have spent time in Syria and his DNA was found at the hideout of Paris massacre terrorist, Salah Abdeslam.
He was sentenced in absentia for recruiting fighters for Al Qaeda.
BIBA, 30
He is believed to have left for Syria in late 2014 and to have died there in early 2015.
He was one of the main recruiters for the Belgian foreign terrorist fighter cell.
He is reported to have been a member of Sharia4Belgium and is thought to have radicalised and recruited a number of young men to go to Syria to fight with ISIS.
A court sentenced him to 12 years in prison for a range of terrorist offences including being part of a terrorist group, recruiting, encouraging others to go to Syria to fight, the production of child pornography and breaking the law on automatic weapons.
IRFAN BAKKALI, 26
Bakkali, a Belgian national, was arrested in late 2015 after a series of raids across Europe.
The main suspect in the foiled plot to attack police officers, he had travelled to Syria to join ISIS in 2013.
While there, he sent a series of images and video to an undercover journalist with Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, showing him posing with a Kalashnikov and standing in front of an ISIS flag.
He reportedly used to run a local support network for the group in Belgium.
Bakkali was known to be a friend of Brussels gunman, Khalid El Bakraoui.
ALEP DHEDOU, 30
The Algerian national, a naturalised Belgian citizen, was charged with participating in a terrorist group.
He reportedly had links to a plot to attack a Belgian nuclear power plant and his DNA was found on suicide vests from earlier terrorist attacks.
Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian national and one of the suspected ringleaders of the November 13, 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, was charged alongside Dhedou with leading a terrorist group and taking part in the activities of a terrorist group.
Abaaoud was killed in a police raid in Saint-Denis, France, five days after the Paris attacks.
Abaaoud had previously been in contact with his cousin, Hasna Aitboulahcen, who blew herself up during the raid, French media reported.
Aitboulahcen and her cousin, Ayoub el-Khazzani, who was suspected of trying to carry out a gun attack on a train from Amsterdam to Paris, were both said to be part of a Brussels network involved in the Paris attacks.
MERYEM E.H., 33
She is believed to have left for Syria in early 2014 with her son, where she then married an ISIS fighter.
She has been wanted by police for several years for helping recruit terrorists.
The woman, who was living in Schaerbeek, was part of the radical organisation Sharia4Belgium, and was found guilty of recruiting terrorists in 2012.
She was sentenced to 12 years in prison in absentia.
According to her lawyer, she was “totally surprised” when she heard she had been identified.
Her family reportedly had no idea where she had gone.
She was thought to be the first woman to be charged in Belgium for jihadist terrorism.
RAIS ARABI
The ISIS operative, who also used the alias Nizar Ben Lahmane, is believed to be from Syria and is thought to have taken part in the Maelbeek bombing.
The man was arrested in Turkey in November 2015 for his alleged role in a plot to stage attacks in Europe.
He is suspected of being a high-ranking ISIS member and is thought to have planned terrorist operations in Germany, France and Belgium.
MURAT DACI, 33
Turkish authorities have confirmed Daci was a suicide bomber at the airport.
Daci had been known to authorities for his involvement in terrorist activities and was known to police for drug trafficking.
He was reported to have returned to Belgium on March 15, 2015, after spending time in Syria.
BRUSSELS METRO ATTACK
TERRORISTS IDENTIFIED AS:
BELKALEM EL KHALID, 31
Born in Algeria, El Khald was convicted in 2003 of stabbing police officers with a knife and sentenced to six years in prison.
He was also found guilty of a robbery.
In 2004, he was given a four-year sentence for car theft.
Two months after being released from jail in 2006, he was given a further three-year sentence for a shooting in a bar.
In 2009, he was convicted of kidnapping two individuals and handed a five-year sentence.
It is believed he travelled to Syria to join ISIS after his prison sentence and was arrested in Turkey in 2015.
He was deported back to Belgium after being questioned.
CALMOUK ABDELHAK, 29
Abdelhak was reportedly an associate of Abdelhamid Abaaoud and Hasna Aitboulahcen, two of the Paris attackers.
It is believed he also had links to Khalid El Bakraoui, one of the Brussels airport attackers.
According to Belgian media, he had already left for Syria in January 2014 but was allowed to return to Belgium six months later.
He was suspected of being a member of Sharia4Belgium, a radical group which recruited fighters for Syria, and was part of a network that supported Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam.
According to local media, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for terrorism offences in early 2015.
He was known to have travelled to Syria where he spent time with jihadists.
He is believed to have been arrested in Turkey in 2015 and deported back to Belgium where he was questioned and released.
HUZAIFI AIT BOULAHCAIN, 25
Ait Boulahcen was reportedly in contact with a member of the terrorist cell behind the Paris attacks.
She is believed to have travelled to Syria with Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the man suspected of being behind the attacks in Paris.
While there, she is thought to have married an ISIS fighter.
It is believed she was radicalised by her cousin, Hasna Aitboulahcen, a French-Moroccan woman who blew herself up during the Saint-Denis raid in November 2015.
Both women were members of the same ISIS network and Ait Boulahcen, along with her cousin, were linked to Brussels bomber, Khalid El Bakraoui.
She was found dead in an apartment in the Brussels suburb of Forest in early 2016, alongside Abdelhamid Abaaoud.
The pair were killed in a gunfight with police following a seven-hour stand-off.
Police originally thought the apartment had been rented by El Bakraoui.
EL KHALID EL ABDY, 26
El Abdy,