Second suspect reportedly sought in Brussels subway bombing

Authorities are searching for a second possible suspect in Tuesday morning's suicide bombing of a subway in central Brussels, Belgian and French media reported Thursday.
The French newspaper Le Monde and the Belgian public broadcaster RBTF reported that a man carrying a large bag was seen on CCTV walking with Khalid El Bakraoui, whom authorities believe blew himself up on a train at the Maelbeek station, killing at least 20 people.
It was not immediately clear whether the unidentified man survived the blast. Neither media outlet published the CCTV images in their initial reports and Belgian prosecutors had no immediate comment.
The report came as Paris terror suspect Salah Abdeslam was due to appear in court to face magistrates after his arrest last week in the same Brussels neighborhood where he grew up. France is seeking his extradition to face potential terrorism charges for his involvement in the Nov. 13 attacks that killed 130 people in Paris. A judge is to decide whether Abdeslam should be held in custody another month.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks in Brussels and Paris, which have laid bare European security failings and prompted calls for better intelligence cooperation.
Belgian police were already searching for a man seen at Brussels Zaventem airport with two other suicide bombers, identified as Ibrahim El Bakraoui, Khalid's older brother, and Najim Laachraoui, who was already suspected of constructing the bombs used in the Paris attacks.
RTBF also reported Thursday that a message found on Ibrahim El Bakraoui's computer Tuesday night does not name Abdeslam, as had previously been suspected.
According to the broadcaster, El Bakraoui referenced Mohammed Bakkali, who was arrested last November following the Paris attacks and is suspected of renting out two hideouts to the ISIS cell in Belgium. He is also accused of spying on a top Belgian nuclear official.
"I don't know what to do, I'm in a hurry, people are looking for me everywhere," chief prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw quoted the message as saying. "If I give myself up I'll end up in a cell next to him."
The message points to a rising sense of panic among the three suicide bombers.
Police were drawn to the brothers' apartment Tuesday night thanks to a tip from a taxi driver who had unwittingly delivered them to the airport, Van Leeuw said. Inside the northeast Brussels residence they found an apparent bomb-making factory, including 33 pounds of homemade explosives and nails for use as shrapnel.
Neighbors told The Associated Press they had no idea of the brothers' activities and barely saw them until the taxi collected them and their visibly heavy bags Tuesday morning.
One neighbor, who was willing to give only his first name of Erdine, said he was about to drive his son to school when he saw the two men carrying their bags out of the building.
"The taxi driver tried to get the luggage. And the other guy reached for it like he was saying: No, I'll take it," the neighbor said.