Turkey has accused Belgium of ignoring the threat posed by one of the Brussels suicide bombers.
Ibrahim El Bakraoui, one of the two brothers identified by Belgian authorities from security footage and fingerprints, was deported from Turkey last year on suspicion of being a militant.
The brothers are also linked to last year’s Paris attack which killed 129 people.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that El Bakraoui had been deported to the Netherlands, and was later released after no links to terrorism were found.
“One of the attackers in Brussels is an individual we detained in Gaziantep [southern Turkey] in June 2015 and deported,” Mr Erdogan said. “Belgium ignored our warning that this person is a foreign fighter.”
The Dutch government responded to Erdoğan’s claims, saying they were being carefully looked into, but could not confirm if they were true.
Belgian officials said that without evidence of a crime, they are unable to pursue people who are deported from Turkey.
ISIS have claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attacks, which killed at least 31 people when bombs exploded in the Belgian capital’s international airport and a subway station.
Authorities are still searching for a third suspect, who remains unidentified. – Ben Rochlin
Photo of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan from Brooking Institution’s Flickr photostream.
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