* Brussels airport bomber left will in a trash can * Several people linked to attacks still at large
Brussels — Belgians observed a minute of silence on Wednesday in memory of the victims of the Brussels airport and metro bombings as authorities confirmed two brothers carried out suicide attacks and said that several people possibly linked to attacks were still at large. Defiant applause broke out after the symbolic display of solidarity from a large crowd at the central Place de la Bourse, where mourners have been holding a vigil since Tuesday evening following the attacks that left around 34 people dead and 270 injured. The mood was somber at the headquarters of the European Union where Belgium's King Philippe and his wife joined officials led by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls stood alongside the king and leading EU officials who joined Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel to remember the dead. On the Place de la Bourse, crammed with people and decked out with flags and flowers left by mourners, the crowd chanted: "Long live Belgium," followed by "Brussels above all." "We are showing our compassion," said Brussels mayor Yvan Mayeur. "We need to reach out today to all those who were hurt." Belgium's federal prosecutor confirmed on Wednesday that two brothers carried out suicide attacks at Brussels airport and on a metro train. Ibrahim El Bakraoui blew himself up in the check-in hall of Zaventem airport while Khalid El Bakraoui attacked a metro train at Maalbeek station near the EU headquarters, Frederic van Leeuw told a news conference. Ibrahim El Bakraoui left a rushed will in a trash can saying he did not know what to do after police were hunting for him, the federal prosecutor said. Bakraoui's will said he was "in a rush," I don't know what to do, hunted everywhere, no longer safe" and "I don't want to end up in a cell next to him," Frederic van Leeuw said. That appeared to be a reference to Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam, who is reportedly linked to Bakraoui, and who is in custody in Belgium after being captured last week. Investigators raided the Brussels neighborhood of Schaerbeek after the attacks and found a computer in a trash can on the street including a note from Ibrahim. A third man filmed with two suicide bombers at Brussels airport who fled the scene without detonating his device, remains on the run, the federal prosecutor said Wednesday. "The third man is on the run; he left his bag with the biggest bomb in it which exploded later because it was so unstable," Frederic Van Leeuw said, referring to the man in a hat and white coat in the CCTV images. "This third person remains unidentified and is still being looked for," he said, adding that another man — seen in black on the left of the footage — was also unknown. The one in the middle was Ibrahim El Bakraoui, whose brother Khalid blew himself up on the Brussels metro, he said. The prosecutor also said one person detained in one of the raids remains in custody Wednesday and is under questioning. Police investigating the Brussels attacks found 15 kilograms (33 pounds) of TATP high explosives and a mass of bomb-making material during searches in the Schaerbeek district of the Belgian capital. Frederic van Leeuw said police also found 150 liters (40 US gallons) of acetone, detonators, bags filled with nails plus other equipment used to make bombs of the type used in the attacks which killed 31 people and wounded another 270. The Belgian football federation has called off an international soccer friendly match against Portugal next week because of Tuesday's attacks in Brussels. Brussels airport has announced that it will remain closed to passenger flights for at least another day, right up to the start of the busy Easter weekend. Airport officials said they would have to cancel some 600 flights each on Wednesday and Thursday. It means that since the attack on the airport Tuesday morning, the flights of some 180,000 passengers will be disrupted.
