Suspect in Belgium and France Terrorist Attack Arrested

     On Friday, April 8, Paris and Belgium terrorist suspect, Mohamed Abrini, was arrested at the Pétillon Metro Station in Brussels, and is suspected of being the “man in the hat” in the footage of the Brussels attack. He has been linked to the crime through both fingerprints and DNA, and has confessed to being part of the attack as well. He was already one of Europe’s most wanted before the attack, and was considered armed and dangerous. Aside from his involvement in the Brussels attack, it is also suspected that he drove the terrorists in Paris. Abrini also confessed that the original target for the Belgian terrorist attack was the Euro 2016 football championships, but the plans were changed after the capture of Salah Abdeslam. Salah Abdeslam was a suspect in the Paris terrorist attacks late last year, and was captured in a shootout in Belgium. According to Abrini, he and other fellow jihadists were surprised and worried by the speed of the ongoing Paris investigation, so they pulled off their attack early.

Another suspect of the Belgian attack who has been arrested is Osama Krayem, a Syrian from Sweden who had been fighting in Syria. Krayem took the “migrant route” through Greece and Turkey along with Monir Ahmed Alaaj, who was arrested along with Salah Abdeslam in the raid in Molenbeek, Belgium. Krayem was arrested in the April 8 raids as well. He is believed to have played an operational role in the attack in Belgium.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/08/europe/brussels-attack-arrests/http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/18/world/paris-attack-salah-abdeslam-fingerprints-capture/http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/2016/04/11/belgian-raids-finally-lead-to-capture-of-suspected-man-in-the-hat-terrorist/