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Man in the hat in footage of Brussels airport attack arrested

Saturday, 09 April 2016 11:19 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 09 April 2016 11:18 PM ]

CCTV image made available by Belgian Police shows a man that officials believe may be a suspect in the attack which took place at the Brussels international airport of Zaventem in March 2016.

Belgian authorities say they have arrested “the man in the hat” who was captured in CCTV footage along with the two bombers who carried out the recent deadly attacks in Brussels airport.

Mohamed Abrini confessed to being the hat and vest-wearing man present in the widely circulated footage captured at Zaventem airport shortly before the attack, read a statement released by the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office on Saturday.

“After being confronted with the results of the different expert examinations, he confessed his presence at the crime scene,” read the statement. “He explained having thrown away his vest in a garbage bin and having sold his hat afterwards.”

On March 22, three bombings happened in Brussels’ main airport and a metro station. Thirty-two people were killed and over 300 others were wounded in the attacks claimed by the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.

Abrini (pictured below), who was arrested on Friday in Brussels, has also been implicated in the November 13 Paris attacks, which killed around 130 people and injured hundreds more.

“It’s one of the most significant advances in the case,” said Brussels intelligence officer, Claude Moniquet. “Today we can say that all the important members of the Paris cell and Brussels cell are dead or in jail. Potentially it’s the end of this part of the story.”

Earlier in the case, authorities announced that Abrini's fingerprints and DNA were found in two safe houses in Brussels and in a vehicle linked to the Paris attacks.

Along with Abrini, Osama K., Herve B.M. and Bilal E.M. were charged for “terrorist murders” and “participating in terrorist acts,” added the statement.

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