Belgian Police Free Attacks Suspect; Seek Information on Man From Airport Footage

The judge found there was no evidence to justify holding Faycal C., the Belgian Federal Prosecutor's Office said in a statement Monday

A man detained by Belgian authorities in connection with the Brussels attacks has been released by a judge.

The judge found there was no evidence to justify holding Faycal C., the Belgian Federal Prosecutor's Office said in a statement Monday.

Prosecutors had reported earlier that Fayal C. was facing preliminary charges of "involvement in a terrorist group, terrorist murder and attempted terrorist murder."

Belgian media had claimed the man — who they identified as Fayal Cheffou — had been seen on video with the suicide bombers at the airport on Tuesday morning before the attacks.

But police on Monday released airport surveillance video of a man with the two airport suicide bombers and asked for the public's help in establishing his identity.

The website of Belgium's Federal Police on Monday began carrying a 32-second video of the mysterious man in a hat.

"The police are seeking to identify this man," the site says.

The implication is that the suspected accomplice of the two airport suicide bombers could still be at large. The video shows the man, wearing glasses and a white jacket, wheeling a baggage cart through the airport along with the two men identified by Belgian authorities as the bombers.

Police did not say why they had released the video.

Meanwhile, the Belgian health minister said four of those wounded in the suicide bombings died in the hospital, bringing the number of victims of the bombings to 35, though that number would be lowered later on. 

The minister, Maggie De Block, made the announcement on her Twitter account Monday morning. But Belgian officials on Tuesday said the death toll was at 32. 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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