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Brussels suicide bomber reportedly lived under the false identity of former Inter player Ibrahim Maaroufi
Belgian citizen of Moroccan descendent, Maaroufi collected six appearances with the Nerazzurri in the 2006-07 campaign making his Serie A debut under Roberto Mancini against Livorno.
Maaroufi, a central midfielder who is currently playing for Brussels-based football team FC Schaerbeek (the same district of the Belgian capital where authorities raided a number of properties and arrested one suspect after the airport and metro bombings), had also played for Vincenza and Paganese in Italy.
According to Belgian authorities Khalid El Bakraoui traveled to Italy under the false name of Ibrahim Maaroufi in 2015, before moving to Greece and Belgium again, renting a flat (still under false identity) where a terrorist cell is believed to have planned last November’s Paris attacks.
No evidence suggesting links between Khalid El Bakraoui and Ibrahim Maaroufi has emerged. An Algerian man suspected of making fake identity documents for the Paris and Brussels attackers was captured in Italy last Saturday.
Lorenzo Bettoni @lorebetto