The prime suspect in the Brussels airport bombing is not in custody and is still at large, despite media reports saying he had been arrested.
Francophone Belgian newspaper La Dernière Heure was the first media outlet to report that Najim Laachraoui has been arrested. The paper said on its website that 25-year-old Laachraoui was arrested in the city’s Anderlecht district.
Laachraoui has been named by Belgian media as the third man filmed on CCTV at the airport alongside two other bombers, but this has not been confirmed by the authorities.
One of the airport bombers was named as Ibrahim El Bakraoui. His brother, Khalid, is believed to have been the bomber at the Maalbeek metro station.
On Monday, Belgian prosecutors said DNA had identified Laachraoui as a suspected accomplice in last year’s Paris attacks.
Belgian media withdraw report that man identified as possible Brussels attacker, Najim Laachraoui, has been arrested https://t.co/yLxge3eTNV
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) March 23, 2016
#BREAKING Belgian media withdraw report that attacks suspect Laachraoui arrested
— AFP news agency (@AFP) March 23, 2016
Suspected Brussels airport attacker – named as Najim Laachraoui – has been arrested, Belgian media report https://t.co/gP6vKDTDe9
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) March 23, 2016
https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/712580990128893952
Main surviving suspect in #Brussels attacks, Najim Laachraoui, has been arrested, according to Belgian media https://t.co/YAhavxemHp
— Guardian news (@guardiannews) March 23, 2016
