Najim Laachraoui is a bomb-maker for the Islamic State - and this alleged skill-set may have put him at the center of two of Europe's biggest terror plots in recent memory
There were reports Wednesday that Laachraoui had been arrested by Belgian authorities
but officials later told The Washington Post that this was a mistake and that
although a suspect had been arrested in connection with the Brussels bombings
the alleged Islamic State bomb-maker remained at large
was born in Morocco but raised in the Schaerbeek neighborhood of Brussels and holds a Belgian passport
He is believed to have studied electromechanical engineering at a local Catholic high school
the Institut de la Sainte-Famille d'Helmet
The Belgian prosecutor's office says he traveled to Syria in February 2013
where he appears to have learned the skills necessary to make explosive devices
Laachraoui is alleged to have been stopped by Hungarian authorities while traveling with key Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam in September
just weeks before the attack in which Abdeslam and others are alleged to have killed 130 people
The men were stopped in a car going through a checkpoint between Hungary and Austria
and Laachraoui presented a fake document with the name Soufiane Kayal
a man using the name Soufiane Kayal later rented a safe house in the small town of Auvelais
which was raided shortly after the attacks in Paris
Belgian police announced that they had found Laachraoui's DNA in the Auvelais house and in another house in Schaerbeek
where traces of TATP explosives were also found
An unnamed French official also told the Associated Press that Laachraoui's DNA had been found on the suicide vests used in the Paris attacks
Abdeslam was apprehended by Belgian authorities
Belgian prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw told reporters on Monday that authorities were hoping to find Laachraoui
adding that he was "someone who must explain himself."
just a day after Belgian authorities announced they were looking for Laachraoui
a series of explosions ripped through Brussels airport and the metro system
killing at least 31 people and injuring many more
Reports suggest that the explosions may have been caused by bombs created using TATP explosives
Belgian officials have confirmed that two brothers
were behind two of the blasts as suicide bombers and that they are seeking Laachraoui as a person of interest in the attacks
The Belgian Federal Police has released an image from CCTV footage taken before the explosions at Brussels airport that appears to show the suspected suicide bombers
Authorities haven't publicly announced who they think the third man
but there is widespread suspicion in the Belgian press that he is Najim Laachraoui
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took the initiative of celebrating the first religious service for a dog that we know of
He opened his church for the burial religious and preached a homily during the ceremony
A white crib placed in front of the altar had the cremated remains of a Chihuahua called “Miss Chiwa,” which had been a model for dog “clothes” in magazines and TV advertisements
During the ceremony a woman identified as the “mother” of the dog – actually its owner – delivered a speech recalling the “great deeds” of the dog
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ABC NewsParis attacks: New accomplice identified as Najim Laachraoui
Belgian prosecutors sayShare Paris attacks: New accomplice identified as Najim Laachraoui
Belgian prosecutors sayTopic:Terrorism
A fake identity document bearing the name Soufiane Kayal
Link copiedShareShare articlePolice have found the DNA of a newly-identified suspect on explosives used in last year's deadly Paris attacks
but Belgium's prosecutor has admitted they are "far from solving the puzzle" of the massacre
Prosecutors identified the new accomplice as 24-year-old Najim Laachraoui
until now known by his false name of Soufiane Kayal
"The investigation showed that Soufiane Kayal can be identified as Najim Laachraoui
1991 and who travelled to Syria in February 2013," prosecutors said in a statement
Prosecutors said Laachraoui's DNA was found at an apartment used by the Paris attackers in Auvelais
He used the same false name at the border between Austria and Hungary on September 9 when he was travelling with Salah Abdeslam and Mohamed Belkaid
The announcement follows the capture of Abdeslam
who is believed to be the last surviving member of the jihadist team that carried out the attacks
Abdeslam, a 26-year-old French national of Moroccan origin, was arrested after being wounded in a dramatic raid in central Brussels last Friday
was shot dead two days earlier in a police raid in the Forest district of Brussels
The three men had posed as tourists heading to Vienna on holiday and did not raise suspicions when they were stopped by police
"Laachraoui's DNA was found at the Auvelais home and at a house in Schaarbeek [in Brussels] which were used by the terrorist group," the prosecutors said in the statement
They appealed to the public to contact police with any information about Laachraoui or his whereabouts
Investigators suspect that both Laachraoui and Belkaid spoke to some of the jihadists by phone on the evening of the attacks targeting the Bataclan concert venue
Abdeslam is currently being held in a high security jail on charges of "terrorist murder" for his role in the November 13 gun and suicide attacks on the French capital, which killed 130 people.
"We have not a bad amount of pieces of the puzzle and in the last few days several pieces have found their place," Belgian prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw told a news conference in Brussels, flanked by Paris prosecutor Francois Molins.
"But... we are still, far from solving the puzzle."
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