Belgian police hunt airport suspect; victim toll rises to 35

BRUSSELS -- As the number of victims in the Brussels suicide attacks rose to 35, Belgian police on Monday released a video of a mysterious man in a dark hat seen in the company of the bombers who attacked Brussels Airport, indicating he is still at large.

"Police are seeking to identify this man," the Belgian Federal Police's website said.

In the police raids that followed the March 22 attacks, Belgian authorities said a man identified as Faycal C. was among those taken into custody and facing preliminary terror charges.

Belgian media had claimed the man was the mysterious suspect in the white jacket and dark hat spotted with the two bombers at the airport the morning of the attacks.

But Monday, a Belgian magistrate ruled new evidence uncovered by investigators revealed there were no grounds to keep Faycal C. in custody and he was released, the Belgian Federal Prosecutor's Office said.

The Belgian Federal Police's website posted a 32-second video of the still-unidentified suspect as he wheels baggage through the terminal alongside the bombers.

"If you recognize this individual or you have information concerning this attack, please contact investigators," police asked.

Belgian authorities also announced three more people swept up in police raids that followed the attacks on the airport and on a Brussels subway train were being held on charges of participating in terrorist activities.

It was not clear whether the suspects ordered held by an investigating judge were linked to the attacks themselves. The three -- identified by Belgian prosecutors as Yassine A., Mohamed B. and Aboubaker O. -- were detained during 13 police searches Sunday in Brussels and the northern cities of Mechelen and Duffel.

The federal prosecutors' office provided no details of the alleged actions committed by the suspects and released a fourth person without charge.

The bombings, the bloodiest in recent Belgian history, were claimed by the Islamic State extremist group and confirmed Belgium's status as an unwitting rear base from which Muslim extremists can stage attacks in Europe. Many of those responsible for the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds came from Belgium.

Four more people wounded in the Brussels attacks died in the hospital, Belgian Health Minister Maggie De Block announced on her Twitter account Monday.

She posted: "Four patients deceased in hospital. Medical teams did all possible. Total victims: 35. Courage to all the families."

De Block had reported over the weekend 101 of the 270 wounded in the blasts still were being treated in hospitals, including 32 in burn units.

A doctor at one of those burn units who once had served in Afghanistan described patients' wounds as shocking.