Erdogan: Belgium should account for intelligence failuresAnkara, 25 March 2916 (MIA) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused the Belgian authorities on Friday of being soft on militant groups and said they should account for intelligence failures in the run-up to Islamic State suicide bombings in Brussels, Reuters reports.
Erdogan said European authorities had shown themselves "incapable" after Turkey deported one of the Brussels attackers last July but he was subsequently released.
"They (the Belgians) are allowing members of the separatist terrorist organisation to set up tents right next to the European Council, they allow pictures of terrorists to be displayed, they let their flags fly there," Erdogan said.
"So, what happened? What happened, just two days later?," he went on, before condemning European authorities for releasing Ibrahim El Bakraoui, one of two brothers named by Belgium as responsible for Tuesday's attacks in Brussels, following his deportation from Turkey.
"Such incapable governments ... We detained this guy in Gaziantep, we deported him, sent him back. Those gentlemen didn't do what was necessary and released the terrorist," Erdogan said in a speech in the central Turkish town of Sorgun.
"My brothers, terrorism is not the problem of a single country, it's the whole world's problem. God willing they'll understand that," he said.
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