Nazi salutes, anti-immigrant chants disrupt Brussels memorial
Story highlights
- Nine people taken in for questioning Sunday after raids, prosecutor's office says
- Police corral several hundred anti-immigrant protesters at memorial site
- With Brussels still on edge after bombings, authorities request rally be postponed
(CNN)Though
organizers postponed a Sunday march in the Belgian capital out of
security fears, those who gathered at Brussels' Place de la Bourse were
confronted by protesters raising their arms in Nazi salutes and shouting
anti-immigrant slogans.
The
gathering, which took place in a commercial district in the capital,
started out peacefully with mourners laying flowers at the foot of the
stairs leading to the Brussels Stock Exchange.
The
mood changed at about 2:45 p.m. when several hundred men -- most of
them dressed in black, a handful of them with their faces totally or
partially obscured, and many of them carrying alcoholic beverages --
arrived on the square.
One
demonstrator sparked a flare, and others lit firecrackers in the square.
One group unfurled a white banner that said "FCK ISIS" and "Casuals
Against Terrorism." It's unclear if the groups are related, but Casuals
United is a British far-right group affiliated with the English Defence
League, which opposes the spread of Islam and Sharia law.
The
nationalist demonstrators chanted "We are at home," and there were
minor scuffles as some people at the site trampled through the flowers,
flags and balloons that make up the memorial for those killed in
Tuesday's terrorist attacks.
Mourners countered the men's chants with their own: "No to hatred" and "We are all the sons of immigrants."
Backed
by two white tactical vehicles with water cannons aimed at the crowd,
phalanxes of riot police responded and methodically formed a horseshoe
around the anti-immigrant demonstrators, corralling them and pushing
them down a nearby boulevard, away from the memorial.
The crowd on the stock exchange's steps cheered as the police briefly unleashed the water cannons on the demonstrators.
With
Brussels still on edge after Tuesday's bombings, authorities had
requested that a peace march planned for Easter be postponed, organizer
Sophie Barthelemi said.
The rally
was set to mark the terror attacks that killed 28 people from various
nations. (Belgian authorities said Saturday that the widely reported
death toll of 31 included the three suicide attackers, putting the
victims' tally at 28.)
Fourteen bodies were recovered at the Brussels Airport and 14 others at the Maelbeek metro station, officials said.
Suspect charged
Authorities continued the complex task of unraveling the plot behind Tuesday's horrific bombings, announcing they had charged one suspect with "terrorist murder."
Belgium's
Federal Prosecutor's Office identified the suspect only as "Faycal C,"
but authorities didn't specify what role the person had in the bombings
at the airport and a subway station.
In
addition to terrorist murder, Faycal C. faces charges of "participation
in terrorist activities" and "attempted terrorist murder," officials
said.
No weapons or explosives were
found in the person's home, which was raided by Belgian authorities
Thursday, the office said. Further details about Faycal C. were not
immediately available.
Police also
carried out 13 raids in and around the Belgian capital on Sunday, taking
nine people in for questioning, according to the Belgian Federal
Prosecutor's office.
Five of those
questioned were later released after "in-depth interviews," according
to a statement. A magistrate will decided whether to keep the remaining
four in custody, the office said.
Arrests
have also taken place in other European countries. On Saturday, an
Algerian national was taken into custody outside the southern Italian
city of Salerno on suspicion of being part of a network producing fake
residency documents linked to the Brussels attacks, the Italian National
Police said.
The Algerian man was
wanted in Belgium for his alleged involvement in clandestine
immigration linked to the Paris attacks, police said via Twitter.
More victims identified
Authorities
said 24 of the 28 deceased victims have been positively identified: 13
were Belgians, and 11 were foreigners from eight nationalities. More
than 300 people were injured.
The death toll also includes Americans Justin and Stephanie Shults, according to Stephanie's mother, Carolyn Moore.
"They are in heaven," Moore said.
22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
A man with blood stains on his sweater leaves the airport.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Passengers leave the airport after the attack.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
A young girl looks out of the window of a bus after airport evacuations.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
People stand near the airport after evacuations.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Passengers gather outside the airport.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Police officers stand guard near the Maelbeek metro station.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
A police helicopter flies above the area near the subway station.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
People embrace outside the Brussels airport.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
People are led away from the airport after the attacks.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
A victim receives first aid near the Maelbeek metro station.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Ambulances arrive at the airport.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
An
injured woman leaves the airport in Brussels, Belgium, after two
explosions rocked the facility on Tuesday, March 22. There was also an
explosion at a subway station in the city.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Windows are blown out after the deadly attack at the airport.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
A police officer directs passengers in a smoke-filled airport terminal.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Two wounded women are seen in the airport.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
This photo from inside the airport was shared by Jef Versele on Facebook.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Subway passengers walk along the tracks following a blast at the Maelbeek metro station.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
A private security guard helps a wounded woman outside the Maelbeek metro station.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Wounded people are treated outside the subway station.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Rescue teams evacuate the subway station.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Police officers guard the area around the subway station.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
People react as they walk away from the Brussels airport.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
A man with blood stains on his sweater leaves the airport.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Passengers leave the airport after the attack.
Hide Caption
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
A young girl looks out of the window of a bus after airport evacuations.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
People stand near the airport after evacuations.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Passengers gather outside the airport.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Police officers stand guard near the Maelbeek metro station.
Hide Caption
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
A police helicopter flies above the area near the subway station.
Hide Caption
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
People embrace outside the Brussels airport.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
People are led away from the airport after the attacks.
Hide Caption
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
A victim receives first aid near the Maelbeek metro station.
Hide Caption
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Ambulances arrive at the airport.
Hide Caption
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
An
injured woman leaves the airport in Brussels, Belgium, after two
explosions rocked the facility on Tuesday, March 22. There was also an
explosion at a subway station in the city.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Windows are blown out after the deadly attack at the airport.
Hide Caption
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
A police officer directs passengers in a smoke-filled airport terminal.
Hide Caption
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Two wounded women are seen in the airport.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
This photo from inside the airport was shared by Jef Versele on Facebook.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Subway passengers walk along the tracks following a blast at the Maelbeek metro station.
Hide Caption
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
A private security guard helps a wounded woman outside the Maelbeek metro station.
Hide Caption
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Wounded people are treated outside the subway station.
Hide Caption
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Rescue teams evacuate the subway station.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
Police officers guard the area around the subway station.
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22 photos: Terror attacks in Brussels
People react as they walk away from the Brussels airport.
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Searching for suspects
Residents of Brussels were trying, against the odds, to return to some sense of normalcy in the wake of the attacks.
But
the task was complicated by the continuing official manhunt, complete
with raids, gunfire, explosions and live news conferences.
Authorities
are searching for a third man seen in surveillance video with two
suicide bombers at the airport shortly before the attacks began. He's
wearing a hat and light-colored clothing, walking alongside ISIS
bomb-maker Najim Laachraoui and Ibrahim El Bakraoui as they rolled
luggage carts.
This individual
allegedly planted a bomb and left, investigators believe. That bomb
didn't go off immediately, though it did detonate later -- by which time
authorities were on site and no one was killed or injured.
Also
being sought is a man who is seen in surveillance footage holding a
large bag at a Brussels metro station before a blast ripped through a
train car near the station, according to Belgian public broadcaster
RTBF. Ibrahim El Bakraoui's brother, Khalid, was confirmed killed in
that explosion, and it's possible the unidentified man also died.
Police work to prevent another attack
Officials
said Saturday that another man, arrested Friday at a subway station in
the Schaerbeek district of Brussels, had not been charged. But a judge
has allowed him to be held for another 24 hours, pending investigation.
And
a person identified only as "Aboubakar A." has been arrested and
charged with participation in activities of a terrorist group, officials
said. They did not say when or where he was arrested.
Investigators know of additional plots in Europe, in various stages of planning, linked to the same networks behind the November attacks in Paris and the latest ones in Brussels, according to U.S. counterterrorism officials.
Those terrorists are tied to ISIS, the Islamist extremist group that has taken over swaths of Syria and Iraq while staging attacks elsewhere around the world.
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