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Two suspects detained in Spain admit they were at scene of Brussels attack

Xinhua, April 28, 2017 Adjust font size:

Two of the nine terrorist suspects detained Tuesday in Spain's Barcelona region have admitted they were at the Brussels airport when a terror attack occurred there last year

The pair, Mohamed Lamsalak and Youssef Ben Hammou, appeared in the Spanish National Court late Thursday. A court spokesman later confirmed that the two had admitted that they were at the airport when the bombs exploded.

Triple blasts at Brussels' Zaventem airport and Maelbeek metro station killed 32 people on March 22, 2016.

The suspects were arrested in a joint investigation by Spanish and Belgian police. The police also seized firearms, drugs and cash during a raid.

Denying involvement in the attacks, Lamsalak and Hammou claimed they were in Brussels to buy a car, and admitted that they did visit the cousin of the El Bakraoui brothers, who blew themselves up in the attacks.

They also denied involvement in the November 2015 attacks in Paris.

Among the rest of the detained, four were released on probation, and the other three remained in custody on charges not related to terrorism. Endi