Brussels' 'Man in the Hat' Surfaces in New Video

It shows him in Schaerbeek neighborhood after the attacks
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 7, 2016 11:37 AM CDT

Almost two weeks after admitting they arrested the wrong man, Belgian authorities say the real "man in the hat" has surfaced in surveillance video from after the Brussels attacks. The footage shows the alleged terrorist—wearing a hat, glasses, and a light-colored jacket—leaving the Brussels Airport near Zaventem at 7:58am on March 22 and passing a Sheraton hotel, reports the Chicago Tribune. He's then spotted at an intersection in Zaventem around 8:50am wearing a bright blue shirt, having discarded his jacket, per the New York Times. He's captured on video again at Meiser Square in northeastern Brussels at 9:42am but disappears in the Schaerbeek neighborhood eight minutes later.

"The jacket he left behind is bright with a hood which is dark inside. Should this jacket be found, this might give invaluable information to the investigators," an official says. Authorities are also asking people who may have seen or photographed the man—including tourists who've returned home—to come forward, per USA Today. The "man in the hat" first sparked interest when he was spotted on the morning of the attacks alongside Najim Laachraoui and Ibrahim El Bakraoui, who later blew themselves up; Bakraoui's brother, Khalid, attacked the Brussels subway, per NBC News. Authorities now say he was pushing luggage containing a 35-pound bomb that failed to explode. (More Brussels attack stories.)

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