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People light candles at a makeshift memorial at Brussels' Place de la Bourse.
People light candles at a makeshift memorial at Brussels' Place de la Bourse.

Live Blog: Brussels Attacks

Latest News

-- Belgian authorities have identified the bombers. Federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw has said that Ibrahim El Bakraoui blew himself up at the airport. His brother Khalid blew himself up in a subway car at Maalbeek station in central Brussels.

-- The two men shown pushing baggage carts with Ibrahim El Bakraoui in security-camera footage have yet to be identified.

-- Belgian media, which earlier reported the arrest of a prime suspect in the attacks, said the person detained was not, in fact, Najim Laachraoui.

-- Belgium is observing three days of mourning after bomb blasts in Brussels killed at least 34 people and wounded more than 200.

From Bloomberg:

Belgian news site www.dhnet.be said the suspect captured by police early Wednesday is not Najim Laachraoui, the presumed mastermind of the Brussels bombings.

The news site and other Belgian media earlier quoted unnamed police officials as saying that Laachraoui had been arrested in the Brussels district of Anderlecht.

Minute's silence

In Brian Whitmore's Daily Vertical today, he talks about how Russia is shamelessly exploiting the Brussels tragedy.

The Daily Vertical: Shamelessly Exploiting A Tragedy
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BREAKING NOW

Belgium confirms brothers were suicide bombers

BRUSSELS, March 23 (Reuters) - Two brothers carried out suicide bombings at Brussels airport and on the metro on Tuesday, the federal prosecutor confirmed on Wednesday, adding that airport bomber Ibrahim El Bakraoui had left a will on a computer that was found.

His brother Khalid blew himself up on a carriage of the Brussels metro at Maelbeek station, Frederic Van Leeuw told a news conference. Two other men captured on CCTV at the airport with Ibrahim had yet to be identified, he said. (Reporting by Alastair Macdonald; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)

People around Belgium have been sharing their photos on Twitter of the minute's silence.

The latest short wrap from our news desk:

Belgium is observing three days of mourning after bomb blasts in Brussels killed at least 31 people and wounded 270.

Twin explosions at Zaventem airport and another at a metro station on March 22 were claimed by the Islamic State extremist group.

The federal prosecutor said on March 23 that two brothers -- Khalid and Brahim el-Bakraoui -- carried out the suicide bombings at the airport and on the subway. One of them has left a will on a computer that was found.

Prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said two other suspects captured on CCTV at the airport had yet to be identified.

The Brussels attacks came days after the chief surviving suspect in the November Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was arrested in Brussels last week.

Based on reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters

And here is our latest round-up from our news desk:

Brussels residents struggled to regain a semblance of normal life, while Belgian authorities said two brothers had carried out suicide bombings in the attacks that killed at least 31 people at the city’s main airport and the metro.

Federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said that airport bomber Ibrahim El Bakraoui had left a will on a computer before the March 22 attacks, which stunned Europe and were claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.

El Bakraoui’s bother Khalid blew himself up in a subway car at Maalbeek station in central Brussels, Van Leeuw told a news conference. He said two other men captured by surveillance cameras at the airport with Ibrahim had yet to be identified.

"The [subway] suicide bomber was identified by his fingerprints. He is Khalid El Bakraoui, Ibrahim's brother, born in Brussels on January 12, 1989, a Belgian national," Van Leeuw said. “The two dead terrorists had a heavy criminal record not linked to terrorism."

The Brussels subway, the scene of carnage during the morning rush hour a day earlier, was partially running again on March 23. Security was tight, with soldiers checking passengers' bags at station entrances.

The district hosting the European Union institutions reopened to vehicles but Zaventem airport is scheduled to remain shut at least until March 25.

The terrorism alert level throughout Belgium remains at its maximum level following the attacks, which an Islamic State website said were conducted by its "soldiers of the caliphate."

Van Leeuw said the attacks killed at least 31 people and wounded 270. Authorities said the death toll could rise because some of the victims of the subway bombing were blown to pieces.

Photos and videos posted on the Internet showed gruesome scenes of destruction at both sites.

Belgium is observing three days of mourning for victims of the worst extremist attack ever in Brussels, which hosts the EU and NATO headquarters.

As they tried to resume their daily lives, shocked residents still grappled with the horror of the attacks.

"This is going to make me rethink a lot of things," Michelle Sinn, a European Commission employee, told Reuters. She said the threat of terrorism "is clearly here" and it would now be difficult for Brussels residents to ignore it.

Defiance

Linda Van Den Bossche called the attacks a "horrible" experience but said she was determined to continue enjoying life in her home city.

"Terrorism is coming close in a scary way," she said. "But still, Brussels is a beautiful city. We are not going to let our lives be dictated by the terrorists."

Speaking late on March 22, Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon said he shared these emotions but called on Belgians not to give in to fear.

"I think we have to give a place for these emotions," he said. "On the other hand, in our daily life we have to -- after some days of sadness -- we have to continue our life; because what [terrorists] want is to destabilize our society."

The attacks have sparked an international outpouring of sympathy, with leaders across the world extending their solidarity with Belgium.

U.S. President Barack Obama condemned the "outrageous attacks against innocent people, and EU leaders expressed anger over what Sweden's prime minister called an "attack against democratic Europe."

The attacks also prompted calls for tougher counterterrorism measures.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls urged the EU parliament to authorize a passenger name record that would cover the whole of Europe.

"There is an urgent need to strengthen the external borders of the European Union," he told French radio.

He said Islamic State has "stolen a large number of passports in Syria" and that heightened vigilance was required to prevent people from crossing into Europe with false passports.

Belgium has been in the spotlight since militants living there helped carry out coordinated attacks that killed 130 people in Paris on November 13.

The Brussels blasts came four days after Salah Abdeslam, the chief surviving suspect in the Paris attacks, was captured following after a shoot-out in Brussels. Belgian security forces had been on alert for any reprisal action.

Media reports said one of the brothers suspected of carrying out the bombings used a false name to rent a flat in a Brussels where police killed a gunman last week.

During that operation, police found fingerprints of Abdeslam. He was arrested last week in Brussels and is awaiting trial. The first hearings have reportedly been postponed for a day to March 25 due to security concerns in the Belgian capital.

Just a reminder of yesterday's events. A series of videos showing the immediate aftermath of the attacks.

Vox has a video explainer on why ISIS attacked Brussels.

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