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Belgian Police Charge 3 more Suspects

Notorious man in the white hat arrested

Belgian police have announced that they have charged three men for terrorist offenses Saturday, including a man notorious as the "man in the hat" shown on surveillance video at Brussels Airport minutes before Tuesday's attacks.

Belgian prosecutors confirmed that they have charged a man identified as "Faycal C." for "involvement in a terrorist group, terrorist murder and attempted terrorist murder."

Belgian state TV and the newspaper Le Soir ("The Evening"), identified the suspect as Faisal Cheffou, a Belgian freelance filmmaker and journalist.

They say he was identified by a cab driver who picked up three men on Tuesday, including two of the suicide bombers who blew themselves up at the airport in the terror attacks that killed at least 31 people.

Prosecutors say they will wait for DNA evidence before making any official statement on whether they believe they have the third terrorist in custody, said RTBF, Belgian state TV. Prosecutors did say that they have searched the latest suspect's home and turned up no weapons or explosives.

In a statement Friday, the prosecutor's office said "Faycal C" was one of 3 men police detained near the federal prosecutor's office. Eric Van Der Sypt, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office, said the three were picked up while standing "outside our door." It's unclear why the 3 men were standing outside the door of a prosecutor's office

On the surveillance video, the third terrorist, wearing a hat and light-colored clothing on the right, is seen walking beside the two other terrorists. Authorities said the man was pushing a cart with luggage containing a 35-pound bomb that did not detonate. The man fled and has been the main target of a manhunt since last weeks bombings. Police later detonated the bomb in a controlled explosion.

Prosecutors say two other suspects arrested Thursday and identified as Rabah N. and Aboubakar A. have been charged with "involvement in the activities of a terrorist group," according to the Associated Press

A fourth man, taken into custody Friday after he was shot by police at a Brussels tram stop, is being held for at least 24 hours longer.

 

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