Conflicting Reports on Whereabouts of Brussels Bomber Najim Laachraoui

In the aftermath of the suicide bombings at Zaventem Airport, three suspects were spotted on CCTV monitors pushing luggage carts one of which had been long sought after by Belgian and French authorities.  The suspect was identified as Najim Laachraoui (AKA Soufiane Kayal) who has long been suspected of being connected to the Paris attacks and is one of the Islamic States (IS) top European commanders.

Early reports indicated that Laachraoui has been captured in Anderlicht section of Brussels  by counter terrorism forces, but reports now indicated he is still at large.

His two accomplices Khalid and Bahrim El Bakraoui were  killed along with civilians 31 and injuring 270 when they detonated their explosives hidden at the airport and metro system. They rented the apartment in Forest where authorities engaged in a shootout while looking for suspected jihadist groups.

Laachouri is a 24-year old who grew up in Schaerbeek, and was believed to have set up his first bomb factory in the area weeks prior to the Paris attacks. Laachraoui’s background indicated he had studied electromechanical engineering at the Institut de la Sainte-Famille de’Hemlet, a catholic high school in Schaerbeek.  He  traveled to Syria in February 2013, and returned to Belgium last year without detection by police.

Laachraoui’s  used the alias  Soufiane Kayal when he traveled with Salah Abdeslam, chief logistical planner for the Paris attacks and Mohammad Belkaid while passing checkpoints in Austria and Hungary on September 9, 2015. He also used his alias rented a home in Auvelais, about 30 miles south of Brussels which was subject to a raid on November 26.

Laachouri’s DNA was found by authorities at the home in Auvelais and at another safe house on Rue Henri Berge in the Schaerbeek section of Brussels that was searched on December 10, 2015.

Laachraoui along with Mohommad Belkaid were believed to have been in contact with the Paris terrorists on the night of the attack. Belkaid received a text message, “we’re off, we’re starting” seconds before the attack on the Bataclan Concert Hall.

Authorities found traces of tricatone triperoxide (TATP) in the house in Rue Henri Berge. TATP can be easily made with bleach and nail polish remover and has increasingly become the terror group’s explosive of choice. When authorities raided the apartment in Schaerbeek they found 35 pounds of TATP explosives, 40 gallons of acetone, 30 liters of oxygenated water, a suitcase full of bolts and nails and other bomb making equipment.

Iraqi intelligence agency suggested the Islamic State (IS) has been planning an attack on an airport and subway for about three months but Brussels was not the original target. Authorities believe Laachraoui and his associates used TATP bombs to target Brussels in retaliation for the arrest of Salah Abdeslam.

Reports late Wednesday from NBC News stated that Belgian authorities believe Laachraoui was killed in the explosion attack at the airport, but other media have yet to confirm this report.

If Najim Laachraoui was killed it leaves little for Belgians and westerners to celebrate as the IS has groomed another commander to take his place. Intelligence gaps and lack of resources by law enforcement to combat the growing jihadist threat to Belgium remain a large problem, and if Belgium cannot resolve these issues the next attack will be even worse.