The Brussels bombings killed 15 men and 17 women from almost a dozen countries -- many of whom lived in the city which is home to European Union institutions and NATO. The accused men will have a last opportunity to speak before the jury has to answer more than 300 questions and will go into full isolation for about two weeks, unprecedented in Belgium. Six of the accused were found guilty in June 2022 of involvement in terror attacks in Paris in November 2015, which killed 130 people. One of the group is presumed to have been killed in Syria and is being tried in absentia. ($1 = 0.9217 euros)Reporting by Marine Strauss, Bart Biesemans, editing by Alexandra HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Persons: Salah Abdeslam, Sebastien Delhez, Marine Strauss, Bart Biesemans, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: State, Islamic State, European Union, NATO, Life, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Paris, BRUSSELS, Belgium, Syria