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Brother of Brussels bomber wins taekwondo title

Belgian taekwondo athlete Mourad Laachraoui gives a press conference in Brussels on March 24, 2016. Photo: AFP

Belgian Mourad Laachraoui, the younger brother of one of the Brussels airport bombers has won a gold medal at the European Taekwondo Championships.

Mourad Laachraoui, brother of Najim Laachraoui, beat Spaniard Jesus Tortosa 6-3 in the -54kg final in Montreux, Switzerland on Thursday evening.

Read: Belgium confirms brothers were suicide bombers

A silver medallist at the Summer Universiades in 2015, the 21-year-old has qualified for the Rio Olympics in August.

Najim Laachraoui, 24, was one of two suicide bombers who struck Brussels airport on March 22, while a third attacker blew himself up at on a metro train, with the two attacks killing 32 people.

Also read: Belgium mourns after carnage

Prosecutors have also linked Najim Laachraoui to November's attacks in Paris in which 130 people died, saying his DNA was found on a suicide vest and a piece of cloth at the Bataclan concert hall where 90 people were killed.

Read: Paris attacks: Key suspect Abrini arrested in Brussels

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Brother of Brussels bomber wins taekwondo title

Belgian taekwondo athlete Mourad Laachraoui gives a press conference in Brussels on March 24, 2016. Photo: AFP

Belgian Mourad Laachraoui, the younger brother of one of the Brussels airport bombers has won a gold medal at the European Taekwondo Championships.

Mourad Laachraoui, brother of Najim Laachraoui, beat Spaniard Jesus Tortosa 6-3 in the -54kg final in Montreux, Switzerland on Thursday evening.

Read: Belgium confirms brothers were suicide bombers

A silver medallist at the Summer Universiades in 2015, the 21-year-old has qualified for the Rio Olympics in August.

Najim Laachraoui, 24, was one of two suicide bombers who struck Brussels airport on March 22, while a third attacker blew himself up at on a metro train, with the two attacks killing 32 people.

Also read: Belgium mourns after carnage

Prosecutors have also linked Najim Laachraoui to November's attacks in Paris in which 130 people died, saying his DNA was found on a suicide vest and a piece of cloth at the Bataclan concert hall where 90 people were killed.

Read: Paris attacks: Key suspect Abrini arrested in Brussels

Comments