CEP Releases New Resources on ISIS Attackers and Extremism in Belgium Following Brussels Bombings

(New York, NY) -- The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) today released new resources on ISIS terrorists as well as extremism and counter-extremism in Belgium in the aftermath of the March 22 bombings that killed 31 people in attacks at Zaventem airport and Maelbeek metro station.

The Brussels attackers included alleged bomb-maker Najim Laachraoui, who purportedly also assembled the bombs used in the November Paris attacks; Ibrahim el-Bakraoui; his brother Khalid el-Bakraoui; and at least one other unidentified bomber.

Four bombs were planned to explode at Zaventem airport at about 8 a.m. local time, but two failed to detonate. At least 11 people died in the airport attack, including Laachraoui and Ibrahim el-Bakraoui. An hour later, at least one other terrorist—Khalid el-Bakraoui—set off a suicide bomb on the city’s metro system, killing at least 20 at the Maelbeek station.
The attacks came four days Belgian authorities captured “Europe’s most wanted man,” Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving terrorist who participated directly in the ISIS attacks in Paris that killed 130 people. Abdeslam was captured near his family home in the Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek.
CEP Brussels Director Roberta Bonazzi provided insights on extremism and problems with radicalization and recruitment in Brussels in an interview with CBSN News following the attacks. The CEP Brussels office is a short walk from the Maelbeek metro station.

Please click here to read the report on Extremism and Counter-Extremism in Belgium
Please click here to read the report on ISIS terrorist Najim Laachraoui.
Please click here to read the report on ISIS terrorist Salah Abdeslam.
Please click here to read the March 22 CEP statement following the attacks.
Learn more about extremist group leaders, propagandists, and terror financiers by exploring CEP’s Global Extremist Registry.

About The Counter Extremism Project (CEP)
The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) is a not-for-profit, non-partisan, international policy organization formed to combat the growing threat from extremist ideology. Led by a renowned group of former world leaders and former diplomats, CEP combats extremism by pressuring financial support networks, countering the narrative of extremists and their online recruitment, and advocating for strong laws, policies and regulations.