Suspected terrorists admit being at Brussels airport during attack

Suspected jihadists with links to the Brussels airport bombings have been arrested in Spain following a major anti-terrorism operation

Two men arrested in Spain during a joint investigation between Spanish and Belgian police, admitted being at Brussels airport at the time of a deadly 2016 attack
Two men arrested in Spain during a joint investigation between Spanish and Belgian police, admitted being at Brussels airport at the time of a deadly 2016 attack

Two suspected jihadists arrested in Spain have admitted to being in Brussels airport at the time of the deadly March 2016 attack but deny involvement, a court spokesman said on Thursday.

Mohamed Lamsalak and Youssef Ben Hammou were arrested earlier in the week as part of a joint investigation between Spanish and Belgian police. Officers seized firearms, drugs and cash in raids connected to the operation.

The two men "have admitted that they were at the airport when the bombs went off. They deny involvement in the attacks," a spokesman for the National Court, which specialises in terrorism cases, said.

The men detained are aged between 31 and 39 and have lived in Catalonia for some time, although they are understood to have moved around Europe.

Three weapons and €35,600 cash are believed to have been seized during the operation against radical Islamic terrorism and drug trafficking.

The spokesman said an inquiry had established that the men were in Brussels from 16 to 23 March.

"They say that they went to Brussels to buy a car," he said. "Investigators are working to determine if the money (intended for the purchase) was used to finance the attack or for any other motive".

The men, who are charged with belonging to a terrorist organisation, admitted that while in Brussels they visited the cousin of the two brothers who blew themselves up in the coordinated attack.

Investigators were looking into a document found on Hammou, a Google Maps print-out which showed the route from Germany to Brussels taken by Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the jihadist group behind attacks in Paris last year which left 130 dead.

Belgium has been on high alert since 22 March last year when suicide bombers attacked Zaventem airport and the Maalbeek metro station, killing 32 people and leaving more than 320 wounded.

The Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Hammou and Lamsalak both deny any connection to the Paris attacks.

The two suspects were among a group of nine people taken in for questioning in Barcelona and the north-eastern region of Catalonia.

Four of those have been released on probation while three others remain in custody, but on charges not relating to terrorism.