Brussels Pair Charged With 'Terrorist Murders'

Mohamed Abrini, a Paris attacks suspect who was arrested in Belgium on Friday, is among four people charged in Brussels with "terrorist murders".

However, prosecutors have said they are still trying to confirm whether the 31-year-old was involved in last month's attacks in the Belgian capital.

Police believe he could be the "man in the hat" who escaped after being pictured on CCTV with two suicide bombers in Zaventem Airport, moments before their deadly explosions.

Abrini's DNA has been found in the Schaerbeek flat where the attackers had stayed before they detonated their bombs.

Another person who was among six people arrested in Belgium on Friday, Osama Kraiem, has also been charged with "terrorist murders" over the Brussels attacks - but it is not yet clear what his role in the terrorist atrocity was.

:: Who Are Abrini And Kraeim?

The Swedish national, who like Abrini is thought to have fought in Syria, was filmed on CCTV at the shopping mall where the suitcases used by the airport bombers were purchased.

The pair and two others - Herve BM and Bilal EM - have all been charged with participating in "terrorist murders" and the "activities of a terrorist group".

The arrests could help detectives connect the dots between the attacks and Islamic State, and follow widespread criticism of the Belgian authorities for their handling of the investigation.

Meanwhile, Belgian police have raided an apartment complex in the central Brussels district of Etterbeek - evacuating the building's residents as forensic experts went inside.

Although snipers were deployed during the operation, no further suspects were arrested there.

Europol said Abrini was filmed two days before the Paris atrocities in November at a petrol station with another suspect, Salah Abdeslam, on the road to the French capital.

He later disappeared and was described by Europol as armed and dangerous.

Abdeslam was detained last month, a few days before the Brussels attacks, and is now awaiting extradition to France.

His lawyer said he had intended to blow himself up in Paris but backed out at the last minute.