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WORLD NEWSWednesday 23 March 2016
Islamic State claims deadly bombings in Brussels
RAF CASERT People holding a banner reading “I am Brussels” behind flowers and candles to mourn for the people around him in Brus-
RAPHAEL SATTER victims at Place de la Bourse in the center of Brussels, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Bombs exploded sels.”
Associated Press at the Brussels airport and one of the city’s metro stations Tuesday, killing and wounding scores of While they knew that some
BRUSSELS (AP) — Islamic people, as a European capital was again locked down amid heightened security threats. kind of extremist act was
extremists struck Tuesday being prepared in Europe,
in the heart of Europe, kill- Associated Press they were surprised by the
ing at least 31 people and size of Tuesday’s attacks,
wounding scores of others subway, where many pas- “Last year it was Paris. To- at Paris nightspots, and in- said Belgian Interior Minis-
in back-to-back bomb- sengers fled to safety down day it is Brussels. It’s the telligence agencies had ter Jan Jambon.
ings of the Brussels airport dark tunnels filled with hazy same attacks,” said French warned for months a fol- “It was always possible that
and subway that again smoke from the explosion President Francois Hol- low-up strike was inevita- more attacks could hap-
laid bare the continent’s in a train pulling away from lande. ble. Those fears increased pen, but we never could
vulnerability to suicide the platform. Belgium raised its terror following Abdeslam’s arrest have imagined something
squads. European security officials alert to the highest level, in Molenbeek, along with of this scale,” he said.
Bloodied and dazed trav- have been bracing for a shut the airport through police admissions that oth- Officials at the airport in
elers staggered from the major attack for weeks Wednesday and ordered ers suspected of links to the the Brussels suburb of Za-
airport after two explosions and warned that IS was a city-wide lockdown, de- Paris attacks were at large. ventem said police had
— at least one blamed on actively preparing to strike. ploying about 500 soldiers A high-level Belgian judi- discovered a Kalashnikov
a suicide attacker and an- The arrest Friday of Salah onto Brussels’ largely emp- cial official said a connec- assault rifle and an explo-
other reportedly on a suit- Abdeslam, a key suspect ty streets to bolster police tion by Abdeslam to Tues- sives-packed vest aban-
case bomb — tore through in the Nov. 13 attacks in checkpoints. France and day’s attacks is “a lead to doned at the facility, offer-
crowds checking in for Paris, heightened those Belgium both reinforced pursue.” The official spoke ing one potential lead for
morning flights. About 40 fears, as investigators said border security. on condition of anonymity forensic evidence. Bomb
minutes later, another blast many more people were Medical officials treating because the investigation disposal experts safely dis-
struck subway commuters involved than originally the wounded said some was ongoing. mantled that explosive
in central Brussels near the thought and that some are victims lost limbs, while oth- Abdeslam has told investi- device. Shockwaves from
Maelbeek station, which still on the loose. ers suffered burns or deep gators he was planning to the attacks crossed the
sits amid the European “In this time of tragedy, gashes from shattered glass “restart something” from Atlantic, where city and
Commission headquarters. this black moment for our or suspected nails packed Brussels, said Belgian For- airport officials at several
Authorities released a country, I appeal to ev- in with explosives. Among eign Minister Didier Reyn- U.S. cities increased secu-
photo taken from closed- eryone to remain calm but the most seriously wound- ders. He said Sunday that rity force deployments and
circuit TV footage of three also to show solidarity,” ed were several children. authorities took the claim raised security levels. A U.S.
men pushing luggage said Belgian Prime Minis- The bombings came barely seriously because “we administration official said
carts, saying two of them ter Charles Michel, who four months after suicide found a lot of weapons, American intelligence of-
apparently were the sui- announced three days of attackers based in Brus- heavy weapons in the first ficers were working with
cide bombers and that mourning in his country’s sels’ Molenbeek district investigations and we have European counterparts to
the third — dressed in a deadliest terror strike. slaughtered 130 people seen a new network of try to identify the appar-
light-colored coat, black ently skilled bomb-maker
hat and glasses — was at or makers involved in the
large. They urged the pub- Brussels attacks and to
lic to contact them if they identify any links to bombs
recognized him. The two used in Paris.
men believed to be the sui- The official, who wasn’t au-
cide attackers apparently thorized to speak publicly
were wearing dark gloves on the investigations and
on their left hands. demanded anonymity,
In police raids across Brus- told The Associated Press
sels, authorities later found that at least one of the
a nail-filled bomb, chemi- bombs at the airport was
cal products and an Islam- suspected to have been
ic State flag in a house in packed into a suitcase left
the Schaerbeek neighbor- in the departures hall.
hood, the state prosecu- Three intelligence officials
tors’ office said in a state- in Iraq told the AP that they
ment. had warned European
In its claim of responsibil- colleagues last month of
ity, the Islamic State group IS plans to attack airports
said its members deto- and trains, although Bel-
nated suicide vests both gium wasn’t specified as a
at the airport and in the likely target.
