Brussels district linked to Islamist attacks

Molenbeek, a poor and diverse neighbourhood of Brussels with a reputation as a haven for jihadists, has been linked with a string
of Islamist attacks across Europe and elsewhere since at least 2001
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Sep 9, 2001: Anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud killed in Afghanistan just two days before 9/11 terror attacks. Al Qaeda assassins known to have stayed in Molenbeek

Mar 11, 2004: Series of coordinated bomb attacks on four commuter trains in Madrid, Spain, kill 192 people. Jailed mastermind,
Moroccan-born Hassan El Haski, lived for a while in Molenbeek

May 24, 2014: Mehdi Nemmouche, French national of Algerian origin, opens fire at Jewish Museum in Brussels, killing four. Nemmouche, who spent one year in Syria, lived in Molenbeek at time of attack

Jan 8-9, 2015: French-born Amedy Coulibaly kills policewoman and four hostages at kosher supermarket in Paris in wake of attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine. Coulibaly acquired weapons from local arms trader in Molenbeek

Jan 14: Alleged plot to attack Belgian police foiled by raids – two men killed in Verviers. Men had connections to Molenbeek

BRUSSELS Molenbeek Brussels Paris Verviers 5km 3 miles

Aug 23: Ayoub El Kahzzani, of Moroccan origin, opens fire in Paris- bound train from Amsterdam before being overpowered by passengers. El Kahzzani stayed in Molenbeek with sister before boarding train in Brussels

Nov 13: Multiple attacks in Paris kill 129 people and injure over 300. Abdelhamid Abaaoud (below left) – suspected mastermind currently fighting alongside Islamic State in Syria – and Salah Abdeslam (right), key suspect on run, both lived in Molenbeek
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Pictures: Getty Images, AP
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