A jihadist wanted for the terror attacks in Paris and believed to be the third Brussels airport attacker – the so-called “man in the hat” – was caught in Belgium Friday along with at least one other suspect, officials said.
Mohamed Abrini, 31, was “more than likely” the man seen in surveillance video at the Brussels airport on March 22 walking with suicide bombers Ibrahim el-Bakraoui and Najim Laachraoui, VRT and RTBF reported.
If true, that would mean Abrini had a key role in both attacks by militants from an ISIS cell who killed a total of 162 people — 130 in Paris and 32 in Brussels.
The Belgian petty criminal was arrested at the Petillon Metro station in the Anderlecht district of Brussels near Molenbeek, a hotbed of Islamic extremism.
Also arrested was a man identified by officials as Osama K., who was in contact with at least one of the Brussels suicide bombers, Khalid El Bakraoui, officials said. VRT reported Osama’s last name as Kraiem.
Osama is believed to have been caught on surveillance video with Khalid, who blew himself up at the Maalbeek subway station, killing 16 people.
Federal prosecutors in Brussels confirmed they had made arrests but released no further information.
“The federal prosecutors office confirms that there were several arrests during the day in connection with the attacks at the national airport (Zaventem) and Brussels (Maelbeek metro),” the statement said.
Abrini had been sought by Belgian and French authorities after he was caught on video with Salah Abdeslam at a gas station on the road to Paris two days before the Nov. 13 attacks there.
Belgian broadcaster RTBF reported that he is believed to have bought bags used to carry the Brussels bombs.
Abrini also had ties to Abdelhamid Abbaoud, the ringleader of the Paris attacks who died in a police standoff on Nov. 18.
Abrini, who is of Moroccan origin, had been placed on Europe’s most-wanted list.
He was described on his international arrest warrant four months ago as “dangerous and probably armed,” the Daily Mail reported.
Abrini gave up training as a welder at age 18 as he gravitated to Islamic extremism. He has a rap sheet that includes several convictions in Belgium for robbery and violence, the Telegraph reported.
He is believed to have traveled to Syria, where his younger brother Souleymane, 20, died while fighting in an Islamist group headed by Abaaoud.
Last year, he also went several times to Birmingham, England, where he met with several men suspected of terrorist activity, a European security official has told The AP.
The death toll from the Brussels attacks has reached 32 people in addition to the death of three suicide bombers.
Belgian authorities on Thursday released new images of the suspected third airport attacker, who was seen wearing a light jacket and hat as he pushed luggage carts next to the other attackers.
Abdeslam fled back to Brussels instead of blowing himself up and was arrested March 18, just days before the Brussels bombings. His older brother, Brahim, blew himself up in the Paris attacks
He is being held in a high-security prison in the northern Belgian city of Bruges while awaiting his extradition to France.
See Video Footage of the Elusive ‘Man in the Hat’
With Post wires