


Belgium charges trio with terror offenses

At a news conference in Brussels, officials confirmed 24 of the 31 people killed in the attacks Tuesday had been identified.
The dead included Justin Shults, 30, a native of Gatlinburg, Tenn., and his wife, Stephanie, originally from Lexington, Ky. They were dropping Stephanie's mother off at the airport and were watching her walk through security when the bombs went off, family said.
Two other Americans, Dutch siblings living in New York, were confirmed dead Friday.
Authorities said the death toll is likely to rise as some body parts have not been identified.
Brussels prosecutor Ine Van Wymersch said 11 of the 24 victims identified were foreigners. One was a former Belgian ambassador to the United States, Andre Adam.
Federal prosecutors said a man identified as Faycal C., who was arrested Thursday, has been charged with “involvement in a terrorist group, terrorist murder and attempted terrorist murder.”
Belgian media say he is Faycal Cheffou — the man in the light vest and hat pictured on security video with two men who blew themselves up at the airport. Cheffou is described as a local activist known to police for trying to rally asylum seekers and homeless people to radical Islam.
Prosecutors would not confirm the Belgian media reports.
Two other suspects detained Thursday and identified as Raba N. and Aboubakar A. were charged with “involvement in the activities of a terrorist group.”
In addition, a man named as Abderamane A., who was taken into custody Friday after he was shot by police at a Brussels tram stop, is being held for at least 24 more hours.
Also Saturday, Italian police arrested an Algerian man wanted in Belgium on suspicion of supplying fake documents used by three of the terrorists behind the attacks in Paris and Brussels, Italian media reported. The suspect, Djamal Eddine Ouali, was apprehended in Bellizzi in southern Italy.
Meanwhile, Dr. Serge Jennes, who had served in Afghanistan, said he and his colleagues were shocked by the burns suffered by some of the 270 people wounded in the Brussels attacks.
“I've never seen this before in my 20 years at the center for burns,” Jennes said.
The Brussels airport said it would be Tuesday at the earliest before flights resume.
Authorities believe the Brussels attacks and the Nov. 13 ones in Paris that killed 130 people were plotted from Belgium.