Belgium charges suspect linked to Brussels attacks

The newspaper said Faycal C. was identified by a taxi driver who drove the attackers to the Brussels airport [EPA]

A suspect detained in connection with the Brussels attacks has been charged with terrorist murder, attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group, prosecutors said.

Authorities identified the suspect on Saturday as Faycal C., although Belgian media reported his full name as Faycal Cheffou. 

The newspaper Le Soir reported that he is believed to be the third attacker at the Brussels airport, who has been on the run.

The newspaper said Faycal C. was identified by a taxi driver who drove the attackers to the airport.  

State broadcaster RTDF reported that police were waiting for DNA analyses to confirm this information.

Faycal C. was one of those detained by authorities following raids on Thursday evening in the Schaerbeek and Jette neighbourhoods of Brussels.

An arrest was also made in France on Thursday, while separate raids were carried out on Friday in Schaerbeek, Forest and Saint-Gilles areas of Brussels.

Prosecutors said the home of Faycal C. was searched by investigators, but no weapons or explosives were found.

Prosecutors said they have also charged two other people with participation in the activities of a terrorist group but do not establish a direct link between them and the Brussels attacks.

In total, nine people have been arrested since Thursday in Belgium and two in Germany.

'Nail bombs'

Prosecutors said the main suspects of the Brussels attacks evaded authorities by using an empty building under renovation to assemble the "home-made nail bombs".

Officials said there were no nearby neighbours to notice the suspects taking in large quantities of strong-smelling household chemicals, as well as a suitcase of nails, to concot an unstable white explosive powder known as TATP, or triacetone triperoxide.   

Meanwhile, Brussels airport officials said flights would not resume before Tuesday as they assess the damage caused by twin explosions in the terminal earlier this week.

Authorities have wrapped up their investigation of the crime scene at the airport, and will allow engineers into the building to check its structural safety and information technology systems — and whether any damage can be repaired quickly.

The Brussels Airport Company said Saturday it is "currently studying a temporary solution to partially resume passenger flights, taking into account the new security measures" decided by the federal government.

Brussels Airport handles 23.5 million passengers annually. It links Brussels with 226 destinations worldwide and is served by 77 different airlines.

Suicide bombers hit the Brussels airport and a metro train on March 22, killing 31 people and wounding at least 270 in the worst such attack in Belgian history.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, which claimed responsibility for the Brussels bombings, also took credit for coordinated attacks in Paris in November which killed 130 people.