Najim Laachraoui
| Najim Laachraoui | |
|---|---|
Still from CCTV footage showing Najim Laachraoui (left), Ibrahim El Bakraoui (centre), and Mohamed Abrini (right)
|
|
| Born |
18 May 1991 Ajdir, Morocco |
| Status | Deceased |
| Died | 22 March 2016 (aged 24) Zaventem, Belgium |
| Known for | Alleged involvement in the November 2015 Paris attacks and the 2016 Brussels bombings |
Najm al-‘Ashrāwī (18 May 1991 – 22 March 2016), also known as Abū Idrīs al-Baljīkī or Soufiane Kayal, was a Belgian-Moroccan Islamic militant loyal to the Islamic State and was one of two suicide bombers at the Brussels Airport in the 2016 Brussels bombings. The Islamic State confirmed that he was responsible for making all the explosives used in the November 2015 Paris attacks.
Laachraoui was born in Ajdir, Morocco but raised in the Schaerbeek neighbourhood of Brussels, where he attended a Catholic high school. Laachraoui studied engineering at the Université libre de Bruxelles from 2009 to 2010, but did not complete his degree. He then studied electromechanics at the Université catholique de Louvain from 2010 to 2011.
Laachraoui worked at the Brussels Airport for five years until the end of 2012.
Laachraoui reportedly traveled to Syria in February 2013, where his family lost contact with him. The Islamic State confirmed in Dabiq magazine that he traveled to IS in 2013. He was part of Majlis Shura al-Mujahideen, a group led by Abu Atheer al-Absi. He is described as one of the first to have pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi after the dispute between IS and Jabhat al-Nusra. He participated in several battles against the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
He suffered a bullet wound to his leg in battles against Jabhat al-Nusra in the city of Deir Ezzor. It was several months after this wound healed that he began to train to carry out the attack in Brussels. The Islamic State confirmed that he was responsible for preparing all of the explosives used during the November 2015 Paris attacks and the 2016 Brussels bombings.
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Wikipedia