Brussels on hunt for suspects, as ISIL sends texts to recruit Belgian Muslims

BRUSSELS —  Brussels struggled to return to normal one week after suicide bombings, amid concerns that suspects remain at large and the Islamic State is recruiting young Belgian Muslims with text messages.

"My brothers, why not join us in the fight against the Westerners, make good choices in your life," says a French-language message posted on Twitter reportedly sent to young peoples' phones after the terror attacks at the Brussels airport and a busy subway station.

Jamal Ikazban, a regional lawmaker from the troubled Molenbeek neighborhood, alerted police to the phone messages Monday and posted it to Twitter.

"Our young people are victims of propaganda texts, we have to act to put these recruiters out of action," he tweeted.

In another example of recruiting young Muslims in largely immigrant neighborhoods like Molenbeek, French radio ran an interview with a 15-year-old boy who said he'd been tempted to join the Islamic State by a man who approached him in a Brussels mosque.

"He showed me a video with people who said they died as martyrs, actually they went to their deaths laughing, smiling," the boy told Europe 1 radio. "He told me, 'if you die, you'll have paradise.' "

The boy, whom the station did not name, said his mother eventually persuaded him not to follow the recruiter to Syria.

A Europe 1 reporter said he saw the teen with mourners paying homage to the bombing victims at the flower-covered shrine that has grown on the steps of the old Stock Exchange building in downtown Brussels.

Some analysts are not surprised by these recruitment efforts.

"We have an issue with radicalization here," said John Duhig, a Brussels-based expert on extremist recruitment at the European Foundation for Democracy. "This is about young people who are preyed upon by radicals, but it's not just an issue within Belgium, it's an issue in cities right across Europe."

He said Belgian efforts to counter radicalization were hindered by the country's "complicated and bureaucratic system."

Examples of continued Islamic State recruitment added to the unease in the Belgian capital as police pressed ahead to track down suspects linked to last week's bombings.

Belgian authorities are coming under increasing criticism after revelations of apparent blunders before, during and after the attacks. Turkey had warned about one of the airport bombers. And a suspected prime suspect was set free Monday because of a lack of evidence, despite being charged last week with terrorist killings.

Local media named the man as Fayçal Cheffou and said he was believed to be the "man in the hat" caught on video accompanying two suicide bombers minutes before they blew themselves up at the Brussels Airport. After the man was released, authorities said they were still looking for the man in the video wearing the hat and asked for the public's help to identify him.

Responding to criticism from the European Union and others of lax security, the country's parliament debated proposals to boost police powers, including lifting a ban on nighttime property searches.

The first funerals for those slain in the blasts are planned for this week, including those of Mélanie Defize, 29, a record company production assistant, and Patricia Rizzo, 48, an Italian who worked at the European Union headquarters, which is close to the Maelbeek subway station targeted last week.

The Belgian prosecutor’s office on Tuesday revised the death toll to 32, saying that should be the final number unless any of those wounded die from their injuries. The previous tally of 35 included three people twice, spokesman Ine Van Wymersch said.

Residents continue to leave flowers, candles and chalked messages at the Maelbeek stop and the Place de la Bourse square in front of the Stock Exchange. City authorities said they were photographing messages and cards placed there to keep a permanent digital record of the tributes.

The mood across the city was sober Tuesday, as residents returned to work after the Easter Monday holiday. Many people avoided public transport, and crowds were thinner than usual on downtown streets. The Brussels metro operated a limited service, shutting down at 7 p.m.

"There's no such thing as 'normal' anymore," Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur said during a visit to Paris. "That's a concept we have to revisit."

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