Brussels Bombers Were Actually Supposed to Be in Prison
The El-Bakraoui brothers who were identified by authorities as suicide bombers in the Brussels attack Tuesday were both supposed to be serving jail sentences.
Ibrahim El-Bakraoui, 30, was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2010 for a shoot out with police officers. He was released early but subsequently violated his parole and was supposed to be back in prison.
The younger brother Khalid, 27, got five years in jail in 2011 after a series of car thefts. It is unclear when and why he was released, but he was renting an apartment in Paris used in preparation for the attacks Nov. 13.
One of the brothers left behind a suicide note, written in the form of a poem. The note states that the brothers were tired of being on the run from police.
“I don’t know what to do, I’m in a hurry,” a translated excerpt of the suicide note reads. “I’m on the run. People are looking for me everywhere. And if I give myself up then I’ll end up in a cell.”
Khalid El-Bakraoui was the renter of the same apartment police raided last Tuesday, following a tip that Paris attack suspect Salah Abdeslam was hiding there.
They knew the manhunt for them intensified Friday following the arrest of Abdeslam, so they accelerated plans to blow themselves up to avoid going back to prison.
Belgian media reports authorities are under the assumption that the attack was meant for a later occasion but desperation made them act right away.
“The terrorists may have been worried Abdeslam would talk and an attack could be foiled,” television reporter Inge Vrancken said. “It’s speculation but I can sense that this is what the security services are investigating.”
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