Brussels bomber charged over Paris attacks

Samson Toromade 14:10 - 30 January 2017

Mohamed Abrini was dubbed the "man in the hat" after this CCTV image showed him moments before the Brussels airport bombing in March 2016

Belgium handed Abrini over to French authorities on Monday for a day so that he could face charges.

Mohamed Abrini, the "man in the hat" bombing suspect caught on camera during the Brussels airport attack, has been charged in France over the November 2015 jihadist massacres in Paris, his lawyers said Monday.

Belgium handed Abrini over to the French authorities on Monday for a day so that he could face charges related to the deaths of 130 people in the French capital.

Abrini was captured in Brussels in April over his suspected involvement in the March 22 Brussels attacks and the Paris killings, both of which were claimed by the Islamic State group.

Belgian investigators have said the Brussels airport and metro bombers who killed a total of 32 people were part of the same Brussels-based cell that orchestrated the Paris attacks.

The main suspect in the Paris attacks is Salah Abdeslam, a Belgian-born French national believed to be the only survivor of the jihadist team behind the carnage.