Two of the men who carried out attacks in Brussels on Tuesday have been named by Belgian media as the brothers Khalid and Brahim el-Bakraoui.
Broadcaster RBTF quoted a police source as saying Brahim was a suicide bomber at Zaventem airport. Twin explosions there killed about 14 people.
NOTE: Suicide bomber Brahim has been confirmed by DNA evidence found at the scene. The second suicide bomber has not been identified.
It said Khalid was the suicide bomber at the Maelbeek metro station, where about 20 people died.
Belgium is observing three days of national mourning.
The nation held a minute’s silence at midday (11:00 GMT) on Wednesday.
So-called Islamic State (IS) has said it was behind the attacks and warned that more would follow.
What we know:
- More than 30 people were killed and 250 injured in explosions at Brussels airport and a metro station on Tuesday.
- Twin blasts struck the main terminal of Zaventem international airport, in the north-east of the city.
- Another explosion hit the Maelbeek metro station in the city centre, close to several European Union institutions.
- The so-called Islamic State group said it was behind the attacks.
- They came four days after the capture in Brussels of Salah Abdeslam, the main suspect in the jihadist attacks in Paris on 13 November 2015.
The airport attack
Two explosions, moments apart, tore through the check-in area of Zaventem airport at about 08:00 local time (07:00 GMT) on Tuesday.
An eyewitness reported hearing gunshots and shouts in Arabic just before the explosions.
The Belgian federal prosecutor said one of the blasts was “likely” to have been a suicide bomb.
One witness said people ran from the site of the first blast, only to be caught in the second, near the main entrance.
The metro station attack
Just over an hour later, a further blast happened at the Maelbeek metro station in the city centre, close to several EU institutions.
A three-carriage train was just leaving the station in the direction of Arts-Loi, the next stop a short distance away, when the blast happened, according to Brussels transport operator STIB.
The bomb was apparently detonated in the middle carriage, which was running along the platform at the time. The driver immediately halted the train and evacuated the first and last carriages.
More than 30 people have died in the three explosions but the total death toll remains unconfirmed.
The Belgian health minister said 11 were killed and 81 injured in the airport blasts.
The metro explosion killed at least 20 people, the Brussels mayor told local media.
Up to 250 people are thought to have been injured in both attacks, some of them seriously.
The third suspect is still on the run, after the suitcase bomb he carried at the airport failed to detonate. That bomb contained the largest charge.
UPDATE:
According to Belgian media, a suspect in Tuesday’s Brussels bombings has been identified as Najim Laachraoui. It was previously reported that Laachraoui was arrested Wednesday, but have now said that the man they arrested was misidentified.
Laachraoui was the man in the hat and white coat pictured in a CCTV image at the Brussels airport.
Stella's Place 
Note how the people fleeing from the first blast were met by a secobd blast seemingly placed so that those being herded towards the exit woul be hit. Classic AQ technique taken from older tried and true terr practices. Usually the follow-on bomb is set to target 1st responders. I’d like to know where the unexploded suitcase was found but I’m betting it was also set to target fleeing passengers.
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Just reading a Wash Post bit on why Brussels was targeted. They threw in a piece that ‘a growing right-wing political movement in Belgium has led to feelings of division in the country’ and ‘some Muslims saya 2012 ban on Islamic veils in public spaces is a sign of their community’s alienation from the Catholic mainstream.’
Well now, let’s do away with those pesky right-wingers and Catholics, a Ba’athist tilt should do us all fine in honoring Moslem diversity (yes, an oxymoron). While we’re at it we can just ignore the Moslem demands that we adapt to and adopt their religious-based cultural customs when we visit their countries should be understood and accommodated while when they enter our culture we should what? I’m a bit lost here. It’s OK for the Saudi religious police to beat the #%€* out of foreigners who violate Wahabist religious doctrine but a primarily Christian culture can’t ban new immigrants from wearing veils in public spaces?
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Bravo. It doesn’t help that so many European citizens are committing cultural suicide.
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Like cattle to the Eid-al-Adha slaughter
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WaPo Summary: It’s the Right’s fault that they did this.
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Roger that, just practicing their sniveling for when they have to explain mass Moslem murder here…
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So the ever special Shepard just reported that the two guys were not brothers but one was bomb maker Najim Laachraoui (far left) and is confirmed dead at the airport after blowing himself up while maiming and killing innocents.
Man in the light coat is apparently still a mystery or possibly the man that they took into custody.
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I wonder if they even know (the reporters). There have been so many different accounts of the same crimes.
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Just recall the first two days of reporting from Sandy Hook Elementary School, and realize that every single report you see is likely complete bull-cookies.
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Lady: I’m the principal!
2 hrs. later
Lady: Oh, wait, I mean, no, I’m not.
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Jayna Davis knows exactly what you’re talking about.
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McVeigh, Nichols, and (mfff!! pthffff! MMFFF!!)
I hope by the end of 2016, “You can’t say that!” is the only phrase you’re not allowed to say.
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The way things are going, I’m gonna get my wish.
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