FBI warned Dutch about El Bakraoui brothers week before Brussels attacks

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

World | Tue Mar 29, 2016 2:40pm EDT

FBI warned Dutch about El Bakraoui brothers week before Brussels attacks

AMSTERDAM

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) told Dutch police that two brothers were being sought by Belgian authorities a week before the pair blew themselves up in suicide attacks in Brussels, the Dutch interior minister said on Tuesday.

Ard van der Steur was responding by letter to questions from Dutch legislators about Belgian brothers Ibrahim ('Brahim') and Khalid El Bakraoui, who prosecutors say took part in the March 22 attacks which killed 35 people, excluding the attackers.

A series of missteps and blunders by Belgium's security and intelligence agencies have come to light since the attacks, as well weaknesses in communication between intelligence agencies across Europe.

Ibrahim was deported to the Netherlands from Turkey in July 2015, a month after being picked up by Turkish police near the Syrian border. The Netherlands said that when he arrived, his name did not appear on any blacklists so he was not detained. Why he was not deported to Belgium is not clear.

"On March 16, the FBI informed Dutch police over the fact that both brothers were sought by Belgian authorities," the minister wrote.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-belgium-blast-netherlands-idUSKCN0WV1ZY

[Wilms]

1. Well, gee folks.

Ibrahim was deported to the Netherlands from Turkey in July 2015, a month after being picked up by Turkish police near the Syrian border. The Netherlands said that when he arrived, his name did not appear on any blacklists so he was not detained. Why he was not deported to Belgium is not clear.