Many questions about the most devastating attacks in the history of Belgium still remain unresolved. Huffingtonpost.de listed the five biggest mysteries the investigators are currently facing.
1. Is there any connection between the attacks and the recent arrest of Salah Abdeslam?
In an interview with the newspaper Bild, terrorism expert Peter Neumann said: "The planning of these kinds of attacks takes a few weeks or months, so I do not believe that the plan was worked out after the arrest on Friday. But perhaps that is why the terrorist attack was carried out earlier."
2. Were the Brussels attacks carried out by a terrorist cell of Salah Abdeslam?
Abdeslam, the key suspect in the Paris attacks that took place in September 2015 and left 130 people dead, was arrested during a police raid in Brussels last Friday. It still remains unclear whether the attacks were carried out by his terrorist cell.
Belgian authorities identified brothers Khalid and Ibrahim Bakraoui as perpetrators of the Brussels blasts. However, it remains unknown whether they or the third suspect depicted on the airport video recordings had any links to Abdeslam.
"At the moment it is impossible to establish a formal connection with the attacks in Paris," Belgian Federal Prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said Tuesday during a press conference.
3. Why didn't the third suicide bomber blow himself up at the airport?
The third man wore no gloves, but covered his face with a hat and sunglasses. Instead of blowing himself up, he left the bomb in the hall and left the airport.
Did he get scared and go back on his task? Or was it a part of the plan providing that he was not supposed to die but rather prepare the following acts of terrorism? There are also assumptions that his bomb might have been equipped with a clockwork mechanism. This explains why he was not wearing gloves and was able to leave the scene earlier.
4. Was the blast on the Maelbeek metro station an attack by a suicide bomber?
The explosion took place on Tuesday morning, right after the two blasts in the Zantem Airport. It is known that the attack killed at least 20 people and injured 130, but it still remains unclear how the blast actually took place.
Was it a suicide bombing? Or was a bomb detonated remotely? All these questions investigators still have to clear up.
5. Were terrorists planning an attack on a nuclear power plant?
The Tihange nuclear plant, a likely target of the plot, was evacuated following the Tuesday bombings in Brussels, and is presently guarded by the national army. The move took place after investigators found pictures and recordings of several nuclear power plants and their employees in Abdeslam's mobile.
"I do not believe that ISIL is able to blow up the reactor. However, I suppose, a conventional attack on nuclear power could be possible, which would have a huge psychological effect on the population," Peter Neumann said.
