Brussels attackers "searched net for PM"

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AFP

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The office of PM Charles Michel is a 10-minute walk from Maelbeek station, targeted by one of the bombers

Jihadist bombers who attacked Brussels airport and metro last week also searched the internet for information about Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel’s office and home, reports say.

Details were found on a computer dumped in a rubbish bin after the attacks.

Unconfirmed reports suggest it may have contained files with building plans as well as photos of the prime minister’s office from the street.

The computer also included a final message from one of the bombers.

In the confused message, one of the airport bombers, Brahim el-Bakraoui, complained of being hunted and not feeling safe any more.

Belgian authorities announced late on Tuesday that they had identified all 32 victims murdered in the twin attacks.

Seventeen were Belgian, and the other 15 from around the world. Another 94 people are still in hospital, and dozens of them are in intensive care.

The first funeral has taken place, for Raghavendran Ganeshan, whose body was returned to the Indian city of Chennai on Tuesday.

The discovery of the computer emerged the day after the Brussels attacks. It had been abandoned in a bin in Max Roos street in the Brussels area of Schaerbeek.

Media captionBelgian police have released CCTV footage of a man wanted for the attack on Zaventem airport

The three suspects captured on airport CCTV had left a house on the same street by taxi and the driver had later guided police to the address, where explosive materials were found.

Quoting reliable sources, De Tijd newspaper said that files on the computer contained details and photos of the prime minister’s building and office at 16 Rue de la Loi (Wetstraat in Dutch) as well as details of his official residence in Lambermont street.

The office is on the same street as Maelbeek station, where Brahim el-Bakraoui’s brother blew himself up little over an hour after the airport attack.

De Standaard newspaper said that Mr Michel’s offices had only been the focus of internet searches by the attackers. “But they Googled hundreds of other things besides,” its security sources pointed out.

The computer has become a vital source for Belgian investigators searching for the third airport suspect, who is thought to have fled the airport when his suitcase did not explode.

They have sent the FBI copies of laptop hard drives linked to suspects in the Brussels attacks, according to reports from the US.

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Reuters

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Damage to the departure hall is so bad it will take months to repair

Brussels airport remained closed for flights on Wednesday, after a test involving hundreds of staff.

A temporary check-in area has been installed along with enhanced security measures. But officials say they will only resume flights when they are able to operate at 20% capacity,

Chief executive Arnaud Feist has said it will take months to reopen fully, as the departures hall will have to be rebuilt “from the air conditioning to the check-in desks”.

Several airlines have diverted flights to Liege, Antwerp Ostend and Charleroi. However, Brussels Airlines is running only 40% of its flights and says it is losing €5m a day because of the closure of Brussels airport.

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Brussels attackers "searched net for PM"
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