Brussels attack as it happened: Third Zaventem attacker still at large as Isis suicide bombers identified

This concludes IBTimes UK's live coverage of the Islamic State attack on the Belgian capital which killed at least 31 people.

For further updates click here.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and his French counterpart Manuel Valls were among those who attended a wreath-laying ceremony at Maelbeek metro station on March 23.

A body has been retrieved from Zaventem airport after rescue workers were able to gain access to an area blocked by a fallen wall.

The international airport has remained closed today (23 March) following the twin explosion in the departure hall that killed at least 15 people. The discovery of the body would appear to increase the death toll at Zaventem to 16.

Reuters reported that the Pope, in a general audience at the Vatican, urged the world to unite in denouncing the Brussels attacks. Pope Francis said those responsible had been blinded by ''cruel fundamentalism''.

French media is reporting that police have uncovered identity cards belonging to two individuals connected to the Brussels terror cell during a raid in Anderlecht.

Another victim of the Maalbeek suicide bomb attack has been identified as Olivier Delespesse. The Federation of Wallonie-Brussels, for which Delespesse worked as an agent, confirmed his death in an online statement and offered condolences to his family.

The University of Saint-Louis in Brussels has confirmed the death of one of its students in the explosion at Maalbeek Station. Leopold Hecht, who studied law was killed at the metro station when a bomb was detonated yesterday (22 March).

"I am very sad to inform you of the death of Leopold Hecht ... There are no words to describe our dismay at the news. All our thoughts are with his family and relatives," Saint-Louis said in a statement.

A cancelled friendly football match between Portugal and Belgium, due to be held in Brussels on Tuesday 29 March, will go ahead but in Leirira.

The Belgian Football association has said on its website that: "The Board of Directors of the Belgian FA has, in agreement with the national coach and coaching staff, decided to accept the proposal of the Portuguese Football Federation to play this match in Leiria, on the same day and at the same time."

In a press conference on the attacks, Belgian Federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw confirmed at confirmed the El Bakraoui brothers have been identified as the two suicide bombers - Ibrahim allegedly blew himself at Zaventem airport, while his brother Khalid is reported to have activated a bomb at a metro station. Van Leeuw has so far avoided speaking about Najim Laachraoui - considered to be a third suspect.

Referring to a surveillance picture of a group of men described as being involved in the terror attack on Brussels airport released yesterday, he prosecutor said that the man "in the middle of the photo" was Ibrahim El Bakraoui, but that the man on his left "has not yet been identified".

The third man pictured, seen wearing a hat in the picture, "is on the run", the prosecutor said, adding the man had dropped off a large bag and left the vicinity before the blasts. The bag, which contained the largest explosive charge, "exploded just after the arrival of trained deminers".

Two arrested in raids, will found

The prosecutor also confirmed that "a person was detained" after a fourth raid "and is currently being heard by the investigators". Another person was arrested after a fifth raid carried out by Belgian security forces, but was "released after thorough hearing", Van Leeuw said.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor also revealed that police found Ibrahim El Bakraoui's "will " contained in a laptop that was thrown in a bin on a street in the Schaerbeek district, in one of the five raids carried out since the bombings.

In the audio testament, Ibrahim declared "being in a rush, sought everywhere", and "not being safe". "If this drags on, I'll end up in a (prison) cell".

During the Schaerbeek raid, police discovered 20 kg of TATP (triacetone triperoxide, a high explosive used by terrorists in the 13 November Paris attacks) and 100 litres of acetone. Detonators and nails were also found.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has held a joint conference with his Belgian homologue Charles Michel, during which he said: "We must turn the page of otherworldliness and a form of recklessness that our societies have known."

Valls urged European nations to show solidarity and unite, telling the media "the answer must be European".

"It is Europe that has been attacked - its capital" Valls said. "Basically, we are brother countries, cousins. Our destiny is more than ever common," he said, highlighting the joint work between France and Belgium would be "intensified".

10 French citizens have been injured "of which four seriously", according to Valls.

Families and friends of those who may have been caught up in the Brussels attacks have been frantically searching through social media for news of their loved ones. With one individual identified as having been killed and fears for one Briton unaccounted for here is a list of those missing and confirmed dead in the terror attacks:

Brussels attack: Full list of identified victims killed, injured or missing

There also a number of official bodies with emergency phone lines open for those hoping to find lost loved ones in the aftermath of the Brussels attacks:

Phone numbers and websites to check if loved ones are safe in Belgian capital

The Belgian government has announced the cancellation of a scheduled football friendly between Belgium and Portugal on Tuesday 29 March over security concerns.

Images have emerged on social media apparently of the raid in Anderlecht in which Najim Laachraoui was not arrested.

The Belgian media has U-turned on it s previous story that Najim Laachraoui, the third airport bomber, was arrested in Brussels.

"Contrary to what we announced, the man arrested in Anderlecht was not Najim Laachraoui" DH reported.

There appears to be confusion over the arrest of Najim Laachraoui. Politio EU has quoted an unnamed government source as saying the suspected airport bomber is not in custody.

Dozens of workers from Brussels' transport authority have gathered and laid flowers and soft toys at the entrance of Maalbeek park.

20 were killed and 106 wounded a the nearby metro station in Yesterday's attacks.

"This is a spontaneous action of staff in tribute to our colleagues and especially to the victims," ​​said one of metro drivers told the Belgian newspaper DH. "We are aware that it could happen to all of us and it is something to which we believe more and more taking the bus," he added.

Twenty four hours after the attacks, Maalbeek station, in the heart remains inaccessible, hidden by high police barriers.

The three Belgian national channels will observe a minute of silence for the victims of yesterday's attacks. The Belgian government has announced a three day period of mourning following the deadly bombings.

Following an emergency COBR meeting this morning to deal with the ongoing threat in the wake of the Brussels attacks, the British government has said it is concerned about one missing British National. Reports have emerged over night of missing Briton David Dixon, an IT programmer from Nottingham who was in Brussels at the time of the bombings.

The government has also said four UK citizens were injured in yesterday's attacks. Three are receiving treatment in hospital with one already discharged.

The national threat level in the UK has remained at severe, meaning the public are advised to be alert but not alarmed. British nationals in Belgium are being advised to stay away from crowded places and to be vigilant.

Across government departments a one minute's silence will be observed at 11 am - midday Brussels time.

Speaking to Good Morning Britain, Donald Trump has lashed out at British Muslims over the Brussels attacks. He told Piers Morgan that British Muslims are "absolutely not reporting" suspected terrorists.

Adele and her fans stood in unity against terrorists following the attacks on Brussels during the Hello singer's latest tour show. Halfway through the sold-out show, Adele dedicated her 2008 ballad Make You Feel My Love to those affected by the attacks, telling the audience: "This is Make You Feel My Love and this is for Brussels tonight, I want you to all sing it with me alright so they hear us."

Brothers Khalid and Ibrahim El Bakraoui, who were identified as the two suicide bombers of Tuesday's attacks, were known to Belgian law enforcement - one for terrorism, the other to serve a sentence.

Both were sought by police in relation to their links with a terrorist network implicated in the 13 November attacks in Paris.

Khalid, 27, was suspected of having rented, under a false identity, an apartment in a suburban side street in Forest in the south of the Belgian capital, linked to investigations into November's extremist attacks in Paris. The property was raided by police on 16 March and a suspect armed with an assault rifle was killed.
Belgian newspaper La Derniere Heure has emitted the hypothesis the El Bakraoui could have been the two persons who escaped the property when police raided the flat. Belgian police has been actively hunting down these two people for a week.

Ibrahim, 30, was sentenced by Brussels criminal court in October 2010 to nine years in prison for having fired at policemen with a kalashnikov on two separate occasions on 30 January in Brussels and Laeken after a failed hold-up at a currency exchange service. One officer was injured in the firefight.

In February 2011, meanwhile, Khalid was sentenced to five years in prison without probation for car-jackings. Along with his accomplices, Khalid was arrested in possession of kalashnikovs.

The Belgian daily newspaper DH reported that Laachraoui was arrested in the Paris district of Anderlecht, close to the Forest where Paris Bomber Salah Abdeslam was arrested on 18 March.

Belgian media is reporting that the third airport bomb suspect Najim Laachraoui has been arrested in Brussels.

Thousands have pledged to take part in a mourning march, described as PrayForBelgium # March Against Terrorism, on Saturday 26 March in Brussels.

Organised on Facebook, the march will start at 14:00 local time (13:00 GMT).

After the tragedy that befell on the country, organisators explained they "choose not to live in fear" but instead said they wished to unite and march against terrorism, "because united we will stand, and divided we will fall".

Belgian media have highlighted the role played by the taxi driver who drove a number of the suicide bombers to Brussels airport in Zaventem on Tuesday, after information he gave investigators allowed for the police to conduct raids on a property in Schaerbeek - a neighbourhood of Brussels.

According to la Dernière Heure, the taxi driver contacted the investigators several hours after the attacks after making the connection between the attackers and customers he picked up and drove to the airport the same morning aboard his traditional taxi.

While media released a surveillance picture of a group of men they claimed were involved in the terror attack on the airport - three men pushing three bags on trolleys - the taxi driver told the authorities he remembered the men were carrying more than three pieces of luggage when he dropped them off.

This information prompted new searched within the airport vicinity, which led investigators to find a third bomb that had not exploded. Demining personnel were able to safely neutralise the device.

The testimony was essential in tracing the attackers back to a property in Schaerbeek, after the taxi driver told investigators where he had picked up the suspected bombers after refusing to board several more bags due to lack of space in his car - an act media say may have save lives.

During a search at the property, police reportedly found chemicals and a bomb containing nails.

Amid stepped up security in the Belgian capital Green MEP Molly Scott Cato has tweeted that soldiers have been deployed in Brussels with long queues for they city's central station.

An international manhunt has been launched for fugitive Brussels airport bombing suspect Najim Laachraoui, who was previously named as being responsible for making the bombs used in the Paris attacks in November. Laachraoui has been named as the third suspect in the double bombing at Zaventem airport which killed at least 11 people along with the two suspected suicide bombers, brothers Khalid and Brahim el-Bakraoui.

Two Belgian nationals, the brothers Khalid and Brahim el-Bakraoui, have been identified by Belgian police as the two suicide bombers who killed 11 at Zaventem arirport in attacks claimed by Islamic State.

The Belgian broadcaster RTBF reported that the pair were known to Belgian police for criminal activities but were not suspected on the grounds of terrorism.

The brothers have also been linked to Salah Abdeslam. Authorities had warned that Abdeslam had been planning further terror attacks in Europe after he was arrested following a police raid Rue de Quatre Vents in Molenbeek.