01:24Turkey: Erdogan claims Belgium was warned about Brussels attacker
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey had warned Belgium about one of the Brussels attackers during a press conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in Ankara, Wednesday.
"One of the attackers in Brussels is an individual who has been captured in Gaziantep and deported in June 2015," Erdogan said.
"We have reported the deportation procedure to the Belgian embassy on the 14th of July 2015," he continued, noting that "the Belgian authorities set this individual free."
"Despite our warnings that this person was a foreign terrorist fighter, the Belgian authorities could not identify a link to terrorism," he added.
At least 31 people were killed and more than 250 injured in bomb attacks carried out on Brussels international airport and the Maelbeek metro station. The attacks occurred just four days after Salah Abdeslam, a suspect in November's Paris attacks, was captured by Belgian police in Brussels. The so-called Islamic State (IS; formerly ISIS, ISIL) has claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attacks.
01:24Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey had warned Belgium about one of the Brussels attackers during a press conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in Ankara, Wednesday.
"One of the attackers in Brussels is an individual who has been captured in Gaziantep and deported in June 2015," Erdogan said.
"We have reported the deportation procedure to the Belgian embassy on the 14th of July 2015," he continued, noting that "the Belgian authorities set this individual free."
"Despite our warnings that this person was a foreign terrorist fighter, the Belgian authorities could not identify a link to terrorism," he added.
At least 31 people were killed and more than 250 injured in bomb attacks carried out on Brussels international airport and the Maelbeek metro station. The attacks occurred just four days after Salah Abdeslam, a suspect in November's Paris attacks, was captured by Belgian police in Brussels. The so-called Islamic State (IS; formerly ISIS, ISIL) has claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attacks.