MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) informed the Dutch authorities about the criminal past of the Bakraoui brothers who carried out the deadly Brussels attacks six days before the blasts shook the Belgian capital, Belgian media reported Tuesday.
The FBI provided Dutch police with information about Ibrahim Bakraoui and his brother Khalid's past links to extremists, the RTBF broadcaster reported, citing Dutch Minister of Security and Justice Ard van der Steur.
The Netherlands passed on the information about the two brothers to the Belgian authorities the day after they received it, the broadcaster reported.
Two blasts ripped through the departures hall of Brussels' Zaventem international airport on March 22. Another explosion went off at the Maelbeek metro station near the headquaters of the European Union institutions.
Ibrahim Bakraoui and another attacker, Najim Laachraoui, detonated their explosives in the airport, while Khalid Bakraoui carried out the attack at the Maelbeek station.
A total of 35 people died in the attacks, while more than 300 were injured. The Islamic State jihadist group, which is outlawed in Russia and many other countries, has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
