The brother of suspected Brussels suicide bomber Najim Laachraoui has spoken out about the sibling he knew before radicalisation took hold.<br /><br />At least 31 people were killed and 260 injured in Tuesday’s explosions in Brussels, at the airport and a metro station.<br /><br />Najim Najim Laachraoui, a 25-year-old Belgian brought up in Brussels, was one of the bombers at the airport, according to security sources.<br /><br />In a statement, Najim’s brother, former Belgian Taekwondo champion Mourad Laachraoui said he “firmly condemns” the actions of his brother.<br /><br />Mourad Laachroui, 20, also held a news conference in Brussels on Thursday, during which he described the sibling he remembered.<br /><br />“He (Najim Laachraoui) was a nice guy, and most of all intelligent. There you are, that’s how I will remember him.<br /><br />A veteran Islamist fighter in Syria, Najim Laachraoui is also suspected of making explosive belts for the Paris attacks in November, in which 130 people were killed.<br /><br />“After the Paris attacks, our house was searched, nothing more,” Mourad told the Brussels news conference.<br /><br />“It’s over, I try to turn the page. I don’t need to understand. What’s done is done.”<br /><br />Mourad said no-one in his family saw any change in Najim before he called them in 2013 to say he had left for Syria – and subsequently broke off contact with them.<br /><br />subscribe to see more<br />
