Blasts rocked Brussels’ Zaventem Airport and the city's Maalbeek Metro station, killing at least 31 people and injuring over 250. Belgian media have identified the Brussels airport suicide bombers as brothers Khalid and Brahim El Bakraoui, while the third suspect, Najim Laachraoui, is still at large.
29 March 2016
The number of people killed in the Brussels terror attacks has gone down from 35 to 32 after three victims with dual citizenship were found to have been counted twice, the Belgian prosecutor’s office reported, according to Reuters.
The National Security Council refused to reopen all metro stations in Brussels on Wednesday as had been planned, local media reported.
28 March 2016
The man detained on charges of “terrorist murder” on Saturday has been freed as there is no evidence to justify holding him, Belgium's federal prosecutor's office added.
A man connected to the airport attacks investigation, named as Faycal C by Belgian police, has been released from custody due to lack of evidence, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office reported, according to Reuters.
Belgium’s federal police have released CCTV camera footage showing a man at Brussels airport believed to be linked to the two other terrorists that blew themselves up in the check-in area last Tuesday.
The man on the footage suspected of leaving the case with explosives and running from the terminal has been identified by Belgian media as self-styled freelance journalist Faycal Cheffou.
The police may have difficulties with officially establishing the identity of the man, since he is wearing a hat and sunglasses on the video, a source close to the investigation told Reuters.
The footage was provided with a police appeal for information.
Brussels prosecutors have charged three more people with being part of a terrorist group, at the same time releasing a fourth person who had earlier been detained for questioning. In a statement, the federal prosecutors named the three suspects as Yassine A., Mohamed B. and Aboubaker O., and said they could not give further information at this stage, as quoted by Reuters.
The number of dead from last week’s bombings at Brussels Zaventem Airport and the blast at a city Metro station has risen to 35, according to the Belgian health minister, Maggie De Block. "Four patients deceased in hospital. Medical teams did all possible. Total victims: 35. Courage to all the families,” the minister said in a tweet. Three suicide bombers are among the 35 victims.
27 March 2016
Police carried out 13 new raids in various districts in and around the capital Sunday morning as part of the ongoing investigations following the Brussels attacks, prosecutors said, according to RTL. A total of nine people were questioned "in the context of a terrorism file," Reuters reported. Five were later released. “No further details regarding the raids can be given at the moment,” the federal prosecutor's office said in a statement, however.
Brussels prosecutors have charged another man with participation in a terrorist group, Belga reported. Prosecutors told the news agency that the suspect, identified as A. Abderrahmane, was being detained for a further 24 hours after being shot in the leg during a raid in the Brussels district of Schaerbeek.
26 March 2016
Organizers of the “March Against Fear” called off the event.
“We totally agree with the authorities’ request to delay this plan for a later date. We in turn ask citizens not to come to Brussels this Sunday,” said march organizer Emmanuel Foulon, as quoted by Reuters.
The Belgian authorities have urged the postponement of the Brussels attacks solidarity march scheduled for Sunday for security reasons, RTBF reported, citing the Brussels mayor and the interior minister.
There are no specific threats against the event, but the officials explained that police shouldn’t be distracted from providing security in the country, which has been placed on the third level of security alert after the suicide bombings in the capital on Tuesday.
The Belgian prosecutor’s office has charged a man identified only as “Faycal C,” seen in security footage in Brussels’ Zaventem Airport, with participation in terrorist groups, terrorist killings and attempted terrorist killings.
A man identified as “Aboubakar A” has also been charged with terrorist activities.
A suspicious package has prompted evacuation in Schaerbeek area of Brussels, Belgian media reported.
“Someone threw a backpack inside the tram …and fled,” police told RTL Belgium, adding that trams in the area were halted.
A helicopter has been seen patrolling above the area.
The third man who was seen standing next to Khalid El Bakraoui in security footage in Brussels’ Zaventem Airport prior to the attacks was identified as Faycal Cheffou by Belgian media. According to Le Soir newspaper, he was working as taxi driver. Other reports say he was a journalist.
A detailed plan of Brussels’ Zaventem Airport was found in Athens, Greece, on a computer and a USB stick in the apartment of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the mastermind behind Paris attacks in November, Greek media said, citing police sources.
The website of Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel was temporarily brought down on Saturday by Down Sec Belgium hacktivists.
“The website of the Prime Minister is down!" the group wrote on Twitter, using the hashtag #MichelDown and calling on him to quit his post.
At least three powerful firecracker explosions have left one person injured in the Belgian city of Liege, 100 km east of Brussels, local media reported. The alleged attacker was arrested by police.
25 March 2016
Brahim El Bakraoui, one of the Brussels suicide bombers, is said to have been on a US counterterrorism watch list before the November Paris attacks took place, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. His brother Khalid made it onto the list shortly after the attacks. Reuters reported earlier that both suicide bombers had been familiar to US authorities before the arrest of the key suspect Salah Abdeslam on March 18.
Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in the Paris attacks, has “invoked his right to silence,” not uttering a word to investigators since the day after his arrest, Belgium’s federal prosecutor said. When the investigators met with Abdeslam on Tuesday, the same day the attacks took place, he “refused to make the slightest declaration,” AFP reported.
German police are trying to find out whether a Moroccan asylum seeker, who is said to have been in possession of non-matching identification documents on returning from Brussels, was involved in the bombings. The mobile phone of the suspect is currently being analyzed, prosecutors in Giessen said. Der Spiegel reported earlier that police had found messages containing the word “fin” (“end” in French) and the name of Khalid El Bakraoui inside the phone of a man who was arrested there.
Days before the attacks in Brussels, police failed to press Salah Abdeslam, the main suspect behind the Paris terror acts, on whether he knew the Brussels bombers. When he was shown pictures of the El Bakraoui brothers, he replied “I don’t know them,” Le Monde reported, adding that police simply dropped the subject. According to the report, the interrogations mainly focused on the November attacks in Paris, rather than on assaults planned for the future.
People from more than 40 countries were either injured or killed in the blasts, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel has said. Nine foreigners have been identified so far, according to a foreign ministry spokesman. “This is a preliminary number, the identification process is still going on and may take some time. We have one Peruvian, two Americans, one Briton, three Dutch, one Chinese and one French,” spokesman Didier Vanderhasselt said.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has laid a wreath at Brussels International Airport to pay tribute to the victims.
US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Brussels earlier on Friday.
"The United States is praying and grieving with you for the loved ones of those cruelly taken from us, including Americans, and for the many who were injured in these despicable attacks," Kerry said after meeting Prime Minister Charles Michel.
Kerry went on to express his solidarity by saying the phrase “I am Brussels” in both French and Dutch.
A person familiar with the police investigation said that one of the people arrested in Brussels on Friday was believed to be a suspected accomplice caught on security camera footage with the metro station bomber.
"We have strong indications that this is the suspect who was hunted for the last couple of days. The identification is still ongoing," the source said, as quoted by Reuters.
Witnesses told local media that the man arrested with explosives in Brussels was shot by police after he failed to respond to their orders. One witness told RTBF the man had a girl of about eight with him.
"I heard two explosions, they were shooting. I opened the window and saw a man lying near the tram stop. The police ordered him to show his hands, remove his jacket. They said that if he did not comply, they would use their weapons," a witness who lives nearby told La Libre newspaper.
Video from the scene showed the man lying on his side among shattered glass from the tram shelter. A bomb squad robot approached the man, checking for explosives.
French President Francois Hollande said on Friday that the Islamist militant network behind the attacks in Paris and Brussels is being destroyed, but that other terror cells will continue to pose a threat.
"We know that there are other networks. Even if the one behind the attacks in Paris and Brussels is in the process of being wiped out, a threat continues to remain," Hollande said ahead of a meeting with former Israeli President Shimon Peres.
A major operation has taken place in the Brussels district of Schaerbeek, with four people arrested. One man carrying explosives in a suitcase was shot in the leg by police.
The French Foreign Ministry has confirmed that one French citizen was killed and 12 injured in the Brussels attacks.
Two suspects linked to the Brussels attacks have been arrested in Germany, Der Spiegel magazine reported.
One of the suspects who was arrested near Frankfurt on Wednesday had received two phone messages shortly before the Brussels attacks. The messages included the name of Khalid El Bakraoui, who was one of the suicide bombers at a Brussels Metro station.
At least seven people have been detained during overnight raids in Belgium, the federal prosecutor's office said, as cited by RTBF.
According to the prosecutor, six people were arrested searches in Schaerbeek and Jette areas of Brussels, as well as in the center of the Belgian capital.
The seventh suspect was arrested in the Forest borough of Brussels early on Friday.
A Chinese citizen is among those killed in Brussels attacks, Chinese Xinhua news agency said.
A suspicious package has been found in railway station in the Paris suburb of Torcy, the Autonomous Operator of Parisian Transports (RART) tweeted. The company added that police and special forces have arrived at the station.
Reports on Twitter said that the station has been evacuated.
The anti-terrorist operation in the Paris suburb of Argenteuil is still ongoing, police said.
Explosives, along with several Kalashnikovs and handguns, were found during the raid in Paris suburb of Argenteuil, police said, as cited by France info.
Brussels attackers Ibrahim and Khalid El Bakraoui were listed as potential terrorists in US databases, NBC reported, citing sources.
It is not yet known on which of the many US terror lists the brothers were included.
Police have arrested a “man wearing a hat” who is seen standing next to Khalid El Bakraoui in security footage in Zaventem Airport prior to the attacks, De Standaard newspaper said.
Investigators have released the name of a new suspect in the Brussels terror attacks, Belgium’s De Morgen newspaper reported.
Naim al-Hamed, 28, from Syria, is reportedly suspected of helping the extremists carry out the attacks in Brussels. He was also allegedly involved in the Paris attacks in November.
24 March 2016
Two brothers who carried out suicide bombings in Brussels this week were known to U.S. government agencies before the attacks, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The sources said that Khalid El Bakraoui and Brahim El Bakraoui were both on US government counter-terrorism watch lists before the attacks.
Belgian prosecutors have identified Brahim El Bakraoui as one of two suicide bombers who attacked Brussels' Zaventem Airport, while they say Khalid El Bakraoui was the man who carried out a suicide bombing at Brussels' Maelbeek Metro station, near European Union headquarters. (Reuters)
The Brussels casualty toll has been upped to 316, according to the health ministry.
Belgium has lowered its security alert level one notch down from four, the highest level, to three, two days after Brussels bombings killed 31 people, the Belgian crisis centre said on Thursday. The body grouping top ministers, police and justice officials did not say what that would mean in terms of security measures. (Reuters)
The earlier photo composite of the third suspect posted by DH.be is of a different man, suspected in an unrelated criminal offense, officials have told Russia's RIA news agency.
Islamic State have released a new video on social media to commemorate the attacks. It features footage of the Paris bombers training at one of its camps, and calls for a continuation of the jihad, following the Brussels terrorist acts.
The main suspect in the November 2015 Paris terror attacks, Salah Abdeslam, is refusing to answer interrogators' questions, broadcaster RTBF reported Thursday, citing his lawyer, Sven Mary. Abdeslam was arrested last week in Brussels during a massive police operation in the predominantly immigrant district of Molenbeek. He had been on the run since the November 13 terror attacks in Paris that took the lives of 130 people.
Prosecutors have released a police composite of the second suspect in Maalbeek Metro station bombing, Belgian media said. The man was reportedly with Khalid El Bakraoui, who blew himself up in the station.
The second attacker was caught on cameras of Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company.
The train station in the town of Leuven, 25 km from Brussels, has been evacuated due to a suspicious package, local media reported.
Later Marc Vranckx, a police spokesman, told Flemish press that it was a false alarm.
23 March 2016
European Union experts will meet next week to discuss ways to tighten security in Europe’s airports, an official told Reuters.
At least 10 people were killed by two bombs at Brussels Airport. The attackers entered the facility without passing security checks, which usually only take place after check-in in Europe.
The number of people known to have been injured in the terror attacks in Brussels has risen to about 300, of which some 150 have been hospitalized, according to an initial report from the Belgian Health Ministry cited by RIA. The death toll currently stands at 31.
In addition, up to 800 travelers remain in shelters due to the suspension of all flights from Brussels imposed by Belgian authorities following the terror attacks, the Ministry says.
One of the Brussels attackers was caught in Turkey in June 2015 and deported to the Netherlands by request, Reuters cited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying. Erdogan said the deportation was reported to Dutch and Belgian authorities, but that Brussels “ignored” Turkey's warning that the attacker was a militant.
Crisis Center Belgium has tweeted that the Brussels Metro will be closing early tonight, at 7pm local time (18:00 GMT).
An American couple who live in Brussels are still missing following the Tuesday attacks. Justin and Stephanie Shults had just dropped Stephanie's mother off at Brussels Airport when the attack occurred. Her mother has been confirmed as safe.
The bells of Belgium’s oldest university, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, rang out to the tune of John Lennon's 'Imagine' last night. The university tweeted that "hope must survive."
A third victim has been named as Olivier Delespesse, who died in the attack at Maalbeek station.
“Our thoughts go out to his family,” his employer, The Federation of Wallonia-Brussels, said in a Facebook announcement.
Two other victims have been named as Belgian law student Leopold Hecht and Peruvian Adelma Tapia Ruiz.
A wall collapsed during the authorities’ ongoing investigation at Brussels’ Zaventem Airport, Belga news agency reported, citing sources.
The death toll from the Brussels attacks has reached 32, Belgian media reported. The latest victim’s body was found under the wreckage at Zaventem Airport.
German citizens were injured in the Brussels attacks, a Foreign Ministry official said, as cited by Reuters. The official said he couldn’t yet confirm if German citizens are among the dead.
Police found about 15kg of explosives during anti-terrorist raids in Brussels, the Belgian prosecutor said.
In Bourse Square, people continue to lay flowers and express their solidarity with the victims of the Tuesday attacks.
Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said the death toll in the Brussels attacks remains 31, adding that the number of injured has risen to 271.
Ibrahim El Bakraoui’s will was found in a trash can on Max Roos Street in Brussels, where a search was taking place, the Belgian prosecutor said, as cited by Le Monde newspaper. In his will, El Bakraoui said he was “in a hurry, doesn’t know what to do.”
Belgium’s federal prosecutor has identified the second suicide bomber as Ibrahim El Bakraoui, Khalid’s brother. He added that Ibrahim, who blew himself up at the airport, left a will on a computer that was found.
Khalid blew himself up at the Maelbeek Metro station, while two other men are yet to be identified.
The Belgian federal prosecutor has confirmed the name of one suicide bomber at a press conference, Reuters reported. He identified the man as Khalid El Bakraoui.
Belgian media said that a suspect who has been arrested in connection with Brussels attacks is not Najim Laachraoui.
People in Brussels gathered for a minute of silence to commemorate the victims of Tuesday’s attacks.
The third suspect in the Brussels airport attack, Najim Laachraoui, has reportedly been arrested in Anderlecht municipality of the Belgian capital, Derniere Heure newspaper reported, citing sources.
Laachraoui, who was born May 18, 1991, is a native of Schaerbeek, a municipality located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.
A computer reportedly containing information about Islamic State has been found by Bruxelles Propreté cleaning team, Dernier Heure newspaper reported. Police are currently investigating the computer.
The latest number of casualties in Brussels attacks is 31 dead and 260 injured, Belgian Minister of Public Health Maggie De Block told VRT channel.
“Some people were kept in an artificial coma, while others are in intensive care and have serious injuries,” she said.
De Block added that the number of victims Brussels’ Zaventem Airport has risen to 16.
The first victims of Brussels attacks have been identified, Belgian media reported. Peruvian authorities confirmed the death of a female citizen. Morocco also issued a statement that female citizens were killed in the attacks.
Those killed and injured in the Brussels attacks came from 40 different countries, Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders told RTBF broadcaster.
The Brussels airport suicide bombers have been identified as brothers Khalid and Brahim El Bakraoui, Belgian RTBF public broadcaster said. Both brothers were known to police for organized crime, but not for terrorism.
Khalid reportedly entered Belgium under a false identity.
The third suspect behind the Brussels airport attack is Najim Laachraoui, 25, Belgian newspaper DH said. Laachraoui’ s DNA has been found in buildings that were used by Paris attackers in 2015. He reportedly traveled to Hungary in September 2015 together with the prime suspect behind the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam.
The threat of terrorism to Europe today is “probably higher” than before the November attacks in Paris, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told Europe 1 radio.
The two suicide bombers who attacked the Brussels airport were identified as the El Bakraoui brothers, public broadcaster RTBF reported.
Khalid and Brahim El Bakraoui were Brussels residents, RTBF said, citing an unnamed source. Both had a criminal record, but the authorities were not aware of any ties to terrorism.
Last week, the police raided an apartment in the Forest borough of Brussels and killed a gunman there. Khalid El Bakraoui had rented the apartment under a false name, the report said.
The US State Department has advised its citizens against traveling to Europe in light of the Brussels attacks, citing the threat of “near-term attacks.” The statement, issued Tuesday, instructed Americans already in Europe to remain aware and alert, especially on mass transit and at large public gatherings. The agency also sought to reassure travelers that the US is taking steps to keep Europe secure, stating: “We work closely with our allies and will continue to share information with our European partners that will help identify and counter terrorist threats.”
22 March 2016
As US citizens are among the injured, the FBI and New York police officers are sending a team to Brussels to investigate the explosions, said John Miller, New York deputy police commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism.
“Because there are Americans among the casualties and US persons in the attack in Belgium, there will be an FBI investigation coming out of the New York City Joint Terrorism Task Force,” Miller told the media. “We expect agents and New York City detectives, or Task Force officers, to be gearing up to leave for that investigation overseas as early as tonight or tomorrow.”
Nine American were injured in Brussels’ attacks, ABC News reported, citing government and church officials.
Among the wounded were three Utah Mormon missionaries and an Air Force member and his family.
Hundreds of people have spontaneously gathered in the center of Brussels to pay tribute to the victims of Tuesday’s attacks. People were seen arriving with candles, flowers, and Belgium flags, with some writing condolences in chalk on Bourse Square in French, Dutch, English, and Arabic.
The terrorists that carried out the attacks in Brussels’ airport and metro had explosive devices in their luggage bags, local authorities report.
President Barack Obama ordered flags in the US to be flown at half-staff through Saturday “as a mark of respect of the victims of the senseless acts of violence” in Brussels.
Minimum-wage workers at Ronald Reagan National Airport outside Washington, DC, have decided to postpone a planned strike in the aftermath of terror attacks in Brussels. The 24-hour work stoppage was supposed to begin Tuesday evening.
“We stand in solidarity with the Brussels Airport workers and our thoughts and prayers are with the families that lost loved ones in this senseless tragedy,” said Legesse Woldearegay, one of the labor organizers, who works two jobs at the airport to make ends meet. “We must all work together to make our airports as safe as they can possibly be.”
Some of the airport workers make as little as $3.77 an hour without tips. The strike was intended to call for a minimum hourly wage of $15.
There is no word if the scheduled strikes in Seattle, Washington; Chicago, Illinois; Boston, Massachusetts; New York City; Newark, New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Fort Lauderdale, Florida have been postponed as well.
A link between the capture of Paris terror suspect Salah Abdeslam and today’s blasts in Brussels hasn’t been established so far, according to Belgium’s Foreign Ministry.
Switzerland has taken additional security measures in response to the Brussels attacks, the Swiss intelligence agency reported, adding that the situation is being constantly monitored due to the “high terror threat level.”
“It is possible that same-style attacks could take place in Switzerland, though there is no direct evidence,” the agency spokesperson told ATS.
Warner Bros. said it has canceled the red carpet premiere of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in London because of the Brussels terror attacks, though the premiere of the film at London’s cinema heartland at Leicester Square will proceed as scheduled, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
“Our hearts go out to the victims of recent terrorist attacks, their families and the communities impacted around the world. Rather than yield to terror, we’ve decided to join the film’s fans and move forward with the London premiere of Batman v. Superman this evening,” Warner Bros. said in a statement.
Former basketball star Dikembe Mutombo was at the Brussels airport when the bombs struck, he posted on Facebook.
“God is good,” he said. “I am in Brussels Airport with this craziness. I am fine.”
The UN Security Council has condemned the attacks, saying that those responsible must be brought to justice. In a joint the statement, the members called for stepping up international efforts to fight terrorism.
A fourth Mormon missionary injured in the Brussels airport attack is a French national, 20-year-old Sister Fanny Rachel Clain, the Deseret News reported.
None of the missionaries’ injuries are life-threatening, according to family, friends and a church spokesman.
Dutch police have fired shots during a chase and subsequent arrest of several suspects in Amsterdam city center, local press reported citing social media users who witnessed the scene. It is unclear whether the arrests were in any way related to the Brussels terror attacks on Tuesday, after which European authorities have heightened security.
Raids are happening across Belgium following this morning’s terror attacks, AP cited Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw as saying. The official added that the possible connection between the Brussels blasts and the Paris attacks is still being investigated.
The world's tallest building, the 829.8 meter (2,722ft) Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai, has been lit up in the colors of both the Belgian and the EU flag, with the UAE expressing solidarity with those who have suffered from the terror attacks.
Police have issued a wanted notice for a man seen at Brussels Airport before the blasts. The authorities say the man captured by CCTV at the airport wearing a hat is suspected of involvement in the Tuesday attacks.
Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) has promised that those fighting against the group will be repaid with so-called “black days.” The message was released via its official Telegram account.
The Pentagon has confirmed that at least one member of the US military and his family were injured during the Brussels bombings, and urged the more than 60,000 troops stationed in Europe to avoid traveling to the Belgian capital.
"We are aware of one US service member and his family who were caught up in this tragedy. Due to privacy concerns, we are not releasing the status of their injuries at this time," Navy Lieutenant Cheryl Collins, spokeswoman for the US European Command (EUCOM), told the Military Times.
Eurostar is running a limited service on the Brussels/Lille route, and expects to resume normal service tomorrow, March 23.
The US is working to account for all its civilians and military personnel in Belgium, following the fatal terror attacks in Brussels Tuesday morning, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told the House Armed Services Committee.
“Brussels is an international city, and it has been host to NATO and the European Union for decades,” Carter said. “Together, we must and we will continue to do everything that we can to protect our homelands and defeat terrorists wherever they threaten us.”
The three Mormon missionaries injured in Tuesday’s Brussels attacks were identified by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as 66-year-old Richard Norby, 20-year-old Joseph Empey, and 19-year-old Mason Wells.
Citing unnamed US officials, CBS News reported that more Americans could “possibly” be among the injured or even killed.
NATO’s headquarters in Mons, about 40 miles (65 km) southwest of Brussels, has been put on high alert.
“We all stand together with our Ally Belgium on this dark day,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement. “This is a cowardly attack. An attack on our values and on our open societies. Terrorism will not defeat democracy and take away our freedoms.”
The British Foreign Office has warned UK citizens against all but essential travel to Brussels. Officials, police, and intelligence agencies are meeting later on Tuesday to discuss the further response to the attacks.
Belgium has also accepted the UK's offer of police help with the investigation into the attacks, the Guardian reported.
Brabant Flanders’ regional governor has confirmed that a third bomb was found at the airport and destroyed by security services, Reuters reported.
The CEO of Brussels Airport Company, Arnaud Feist, has confirmed to reporters that the airport will remain closed on Wednesday.
Brussels Airport has canceled all arriving and departing flights for tomorrow, March 23.
The Belgian Interior Ministry's Crisis Center has reported that around 230 people were injured in the attacks, but stressed that those figures are not final.
Belgium’s Royal Palace has confirmed that King Philippe will address the country in a live TV broadcast at 7 p.m. local time (1800 GMT).
US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said the “international community must come together to destroy ISIS.”
In a joint statement, EU leaders have said the terrorist attacks in Brussels call for a strengthening in the resolve to defend European values, Reuters reports.
Police are increasing their presence in US cities including Washington DC, Los Angeles, and New York.
Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) has claimed responsibility for the Brussels attacks, according to AMAQ agency, which is affiliated with the militant group.
Amin Awad, the UN's Middle East and North Africa bureau and regional refugee coordinator for Syria, argued that blame should not be placed on refugees fleeing war and violence.
"To lump everybody together and say refugees are posing a security risk, that is not true," he said, as quoted by AP. "Any sort of hostilities [toward refugees] because of [the] Brussels attack[s] or Paris attack[s] is misplaced."
Kinepolis, a large multiplex cinema in Antwerp, has been evacuated by Belgian police at the request of the national crisis center, the HLN.be news outlet said. There has been no explanation of why the evacuation was ordered so far.
Security officials believe at least one suitcase bomb was detonated at Brussels Airport, a US official told AP on condition on anonymity.
The airport authorities have extended their warmest condolences to the families and friends of the victims in a statement published after the attacks. Calling the bombings “cowardly and heinous acts,” they said that this day is the “blackest day” in the history of the airport.
All flights and operations have been canceled for Tuesday, the statement added.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has tweeted that his government is increasing police presence at airports, ports, London Tube stations and international railway stations.
Belgium’s interior minister, Jan Jambon, has announced three days of national mourning.
Three American Mormon missionaries were among those injured at Brussels Airport, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in a statement.
Rudi Vervoort, minister-president of the Brussels-Capital region, said that “as a Brussels citizen, I feel a horror that cannot be named.”
“I would like to express my support to the victims of the attacks of this morning, at the Brussels Airport in Zaventem and in the Maalbeek metro station. My thoughts are also directed to their families and closest [ones].
“This attack, without any precedent in Belgium, targeted strong symbols of its capital: its airport and its public transportation network. As a Brussels citizen, I feel a horror that cannot be named.
“My greatest recognition goes to all members of the security and emergency services that have been heavily mobilized to assist the victims.
“I want to address our determination. We will let no one cowardly attack the values of democracy. Barbarism will be fought continuously. Brussels will overcome obscurantism.
“Today, Brussels is showing its true nature: an exemplary solidarity through massive blood donations, free taxi rides and the numerous citizens who are opening their homes to host strangers in need on social networks,” the Guardian quoted him as saying.
The first picture of the possible suspects behind the Brussels Airport blasts has emerged online. Two men with black hair wearing black jumpers can be seen, both with airport trolleys.
The image allegedly comes from airport surveillance cameras.
US President Barack Obama has offered his condolences in a phone call to Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, and vowed his support against the “scourge of terrorism.”
“The president reaffirmed the steadfast support of the United States for Belgium, and offered any assistance necessary in investigating these attacks and bringing those responsible to justice. The president reiterated that the United States stands together with the people of Belgium, as well as NATO and the European Union, and once again pledged the full cooperation and support of the United States in our shared commitment to defeat the scourge of terrorism,” a White House statement reads.
The EU Commission HQ in Brussels is being evacuated, Belga news reported, citing the police.
The Belgian Taxi Drivers Union has urged its members to offer free rides to those stranded after the attacks.
US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says the attacks “strengthen our resolve to stand together to fight terrorism.”
Bourse Square in Brussels has been transformed into a space for messages of solidarity following the attacks, with people expressing their condolences with sidewalk chalk. One message reads "F**k Terror."
In a telegram to the archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, Pope Francis has expressed his “deepest sympathy to the injured and their families, and all those who contribute to relief efforts, asking the Lord to bring them comfort and consolation in this ordeal.
The Holy Father again condemns the blind violence which causes so much suffering and imploring from God the gift of peace, he entrusts on the bereaved families and the Belgians the benefit of divine blessings.”
At least one of the bombs used at the airport contained nails in order to take more victims, VTM has reported.
"Some victims have nails in their bodies, thing that seems to indicate that offenders had additional metal attached to their bomb,” Marc Decramer of University Hospital Gasthuisberg told reporters.
Brussels Metro stations will reopen at 4pm local time, Belgium's Transport Minister has confirmed, according to Le Libre. Five-hundred soldiers have been deployed to ensure security.
Dutch police have conducted a special operation to detain a passenger traveling from Brussels to Amsterdam, TASS reported citing the Dutch Broadcasting Corporation. The train was reportedly stopped at the Hoofddorp station, one stop prior to Schiphol Airport, with all passengers evacuated to a nearby hotel. Eyewitnesses claim to have seen armed police removing one individual from the train.
Belgian bomb squad DOVO has performed a controlled explosion at the premises of the Vrije University in Brussels, after a suspicious object was found at the campus, the university tweeted. The unidentified object was blown as a precaution measure. All students and staff were evacuated.
Police are searching for a bomb at the Saint Pierre hospital in Brussels, Belga reported.
At least 20 people were killed in the metro station explosion, the mayor of Brussels said at a news conference.
"There are some 20 people dead and 106 people injured. Seventeen people are severely injured," Yvan Mayeur said.
“I was very nearby when the bomb went off at the Maalbeek Metro station, which is located just a few hundred meters away from the European institutions here in Brussels,” Simon Marks, a freelance journalist, told RT. The Metro attack occurred about half an hour after two blasts went off in the departure lounge of Brussels’ Zaventem Airport Tuesday morning. One of the explosions was likely caused by a suicide bomber.
“I was arriving near the European Council building, where heads of states often hold meetings. You could see smoke coming out of the entrance of the Metro station. There were many people who were injured pouring out onto the street. Soon afterwards there was many paramedics, police, soldiers arriving on the scene to treat the wounded. Soon after the streets in the surrounding area were cordoned off... The country is obviously in shock.”
Police sources say that a third man who tried to blow himself up at the airport is still on the run, Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad reports.
Belgium's Tihange nuclear power plant has been evacuated for security reasons, public broadcaster VTM reports. "The police have evacuated the Tihange nuclear station," VTM said, citing police sources.
Security at all nuclear sites in Belgium is being stepped up, a spokesperson for the Belgian Federal Agency for Nuclear Control told Sputnik news agency. "The vigilance has already been increased since the attacks in Paris last year. But these attacks of course [will] lead to new security measures at all the nuclear sites in Belgium. We cannot disclose any details regarding the nature of these security measures, but we can confirm that security is being reinforced," the spokesperson said.
Those behind the Brussels attacks could still be at large, Belgian Federal Prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said.
"The court investigator is engaged in the probe into the events in Zaventem in order to do everything possible to determine the perpetrators and find out whether they remain at large," he said at a press conference.
This GRAPHIC VIDEO shows the moments following the attacks at Brussels Airport.
US President Barack Obama was briefed on the Brussels attacks this morning, and will be giving a televised address from Havana at 10:10am local time (14:10 GMT), AP reported.
In a few minutes, an explosives team from the Belgian Army will neutralize a suspicious package found at Brussels Airport, Crisis Center Belgium has reported.
An undetonated suicide belt has been found at Brussels airport, Flemish TV channel VTM reports. Authorities believe it may have belonged to third terrorist who managed to flee the scene.
Syria has expressed its strong condemnation of the Brussels attacks and sent its condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims, a foreign ministry source was quoted as saying by the SANA state news agency.
The source said the attacks were the "inevitable result of wrong policies and a tolerance for terrorism" and called upon the international community to unite and confront it.
This footage reportedly shows armed police walking on the roof of a building in Brussels.
Journalist Arnaud Etcheverry has tweeted that a suspicious package was found at Gare du Nord station in Brussels, and that people have been evacuated.
The FBI has begun coordinating with its Belgian counterparts and other US agencies following the attacks in Brussels, according to US officials cited by Reuters.
This footage shows a heavy police and military presence on the streets of Brussels following the attacks.
In this video of the aftermath at Brussels airport, people can be heard shouting “It's OK, it's OK,” amid screams and panic. Someone else can be heard saying “Where are the fu**ing soldiers?”
Reports have emerged that Belgium has closed its embassy and consulate in Turkey following the attacks in Brussels. According to CNN Turk, all interviews, visa issuances and other activities have been canceled for today and tomorrow. However, Didier Vanderhasselt, spokesman for Belgium's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, did not confirm the information in an interview with RT, saying that both the embassy and consulate currently remain open.
Mail Online is reporting that two suspects have been arrested just 1 mile (1.6km) from Maalbeek Metro station.
Belgian public broadcaster VRT has raised the Brussels death toll to 34. It says that 20 people were killed on the Metro and 14 at the airport.
London Mayor Boris Johnson has suggested there may be one British “casualty,” though it is unclear whether he is referring to someone who was killed or injured.
Belgian authorities are asking people to give blood, as many people were seriously injured in the attacks, CNN reported.
London Mayor Boris Johnson says he is "shocked" and "saddened" by this morning's attacks in Brussels.
Journalist Matthew Keys has tweeted audio of a pilot being told of the attacks as his plane approached Brussels Airport.
Belgium's emergency service has stated that 10 to 15 people were killed, 24 severely burnt, and 11 seriously injured in the Maalbeek Metro explosion, Sputnik reported.
US presidential candidate Donald Trump has reacted to the attacks, stating that Brussels is no longer a “beautiful” or “safe” place.
House searches are ongoing in the Brussels region following the Tuesday morning attacks, RTBF reported.
Reacting to the attacks, Lebanon's Hezbollah said that Europe is being burned by the same fire lit in Syria and the Middle East “by some regimes.”
This footage shows the immediate aftermath of the attacks at Brussels Airport.
US presidential candidate John Kasich has released a statement on the Brussels attacks.
Islamic State (formerly ISIS/ISIL) has claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attacks in Brussels. The group’s statement was published by IS-linked Amaq News Agency, according to Egyptian media.
A Kalashnikov rifle has been found in the departure hall at Zaventem Airport, Belgian news channel RTBF reported.
A Slovenian diplomat was among those injured in the Brussels attacks, Slovenian Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec told reporters.
He said the diplomat is currently in hospital, but that his life is not in danger.
"We stand together, united against terror and in full solidarity with the people of Brussels," the European Commission's chief spokesperson, Margaritis Schinas, said during a press conference.
Belgium's public health minister, Maggie de Block, has said that 11 people were killed and 81 injured in the twin blasts at Brussels Airport, Belga news agency reported.
In response to the attacks, the flags at the European Commission offices in Brussels have been lowered.
French President Francois Hollande has expressed his solidarity with the Belgian people, saying that the whole of Europe has felt the attacks.
In solidarity with the people of Brussels, Paris will illuminate the Eiffel Tower in the colors of the Belgian flag on Tuesday night.
This video shows passengers fleeing a Metro train following the bombing at Maelbeek station.
Public transport operator STIB has said that 15 people were killed and 55 others injured in the Metro attack at Maalbeek station.
EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker held emergency phone calls with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande following the Brussels attacks, according to a Commission spokesman.
The federal prosecutor of Belgium, Frédéric Van Leo, said that three explosions rocked Brussels this morning. Two blasts took place in the departure lounge of the airport, one of which was likely by a suicide bomber. Half an hour later, the Metro attack occurred.
The European Commission says it has no information about casualties among its staff in Brussels.
Metro operator La Stib tweeted that 15 people were killed in the Maelbeek Metro attack, and posted a photo of the carnage.
This video shows the scene outside Maelbeek station following the attack.
German federal police say they have stepped up security checks at the country's borders with Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Belgium’s prime minister, Charles Michel, said the terrorists had committed mass murder at the airport and metro stations, adding that military reinforcement have been deployed.
In a televised press conference, Michel confirmed the attack at the airport was carried out by a suicide bomber, and called for “calm and solidarity” after what he described as a “tragic moment.”
“I want to tell the Belgian people, and not only them, as there could be citizens of other countries who have died or suffered in these terrorists attacks, that we support them at this time. We have suffered a lot from terrorist attacks through all these years, and this is our common pain. We should defeat international terrorism no matter what, this should be our common goal. This is the time for us to unite in the struggle against international terrorism. We should join all our efforts, we should stand against this evil together to do everything we can to stop the spread of international terrorism not only in Europe, but all over the world,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, told RT.
At least 15 people have been killed in the Metro terror attacks in Brussels, according to Belgian broadcaster RTBF. Ten more people have been reportedly injured. Earlier, the death toll from the Metro attacks and two airport blasts was estimated as at least 23 people.
A suspicious package has been discovered near Brussels Royal Palace, RTBF reported.
European Council President Donald Tusk has called the Brussels attacks “another low by terrorists.”
“I am appalled by the bombings this morning at Zavantem Airport and the European district in Brussels which have cost several innocent lives and injured many others.
I extend my sincerest sympathies to the relatives and friends of the victims. These attacks mark another low by the terrorists in the service of hatred and violence...” he said in a statement.
A blast has been heard on a street where the Institutions of the European Union are located, potentially due to bomb technicians operating in the area.
Extra police will be deployed at key locations across the UK, according to Assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley.
“As a precaution forces across the UK have increased policing presence at key locations, including transport hubs, to protect the public and provide reassurance. This is not in relation to any specific information or intelligence,” he said in a statement.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said that Europe is in a state of war, and that the terror threat is being constantly raised.
France will deploy an extra 1,600 police at its borders, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has announced.
“It is essential to maintain vigilance,” he said in a televised address.
Dutch authorities are conducting an emergency meeting following the terrorist attacks in Brussels, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Sputnik.
"An emergency meeting is currently taking place in the Netherlands," the spokesman said, adding that the ministry is likely to issue a warning about risks of traveling to Brussels.
Belgium's Federal Agency for Nuclear Control says it expects a raising of security levels at nuclear sites, adding that it has the tools to control the situation.
The Brussels attacks stress the need for a coordinated effort from the international community in fighting the terror threat, the head of the Russian government, Dmitry Medvedev, said.
The Russian PM condemned the barbaric attacks targeting the civilian population and offered condolences to the relatives of the victims.
"Don't call. Use texting or social media. Network is getting saturated," the Crisis Center Belgium asks, telling people not to make phone calls using mobile phones due to overloaded cellular networks. People are encouraged to use social networks via Wi-Fi to communicate.
Belgium’s federal prosecutor has confirmed that the explosions at Brussels Airport were carried out by a suicide bomber, VTM and RTBF reported.
The Belgian Army has stepped up security in the building of the European Commission in Brussels as members of staff are urged to leave the premises and go home.
Spain has canceled all 67 return flights to Brussels for today. The statement came from the AENA, the Spanish public body that owns and operates the majority of airports.
London’s main airports have stepped up security after a series of explosions at the Belgian capital’s airport and the city's subway system.
The EU has canceled all meetings in Brussels on Tuesday, the union’s press-service reports.
A spokesperson for American Airlines has said that all of its employees and contractors at Brussels Airport are “accounted for with no reported injuries.”
Belgium’s parliament and the PM’s secretariat have been evacuated after the terrorist attacks, reports TASS.
NATO has introduced special security measures at its headquarters in Brussels following the attacks on civilian installations, a representative of the alliance reports.
Brussels Airport will remain closed until 6am on Wednesday.
Public buildings are closing in Brussels, with people being evacuated from museums en masse. The Belgian prime minister has requested that the local population and tourists stay where they are.
Crisis Center Belgium has urged people to communicate via text or social media, as the telephone network is overloaded.
President Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences to King Philippe of Belgium over the deaths of civilians in the terror attacks in Brussels. The Russian leader condemned the barbaric acts, stressing that terrorism knows no borders and threatens all people of the world.
“The fight against this evil implies most active international cooperation,” Putin said.
Putin expressed confidence that the murderers and their accomplices will be punished.
Dutch police have enhanced vigilance towards trains arriving from and departing for Brussels.
Netherlands’ politicians have called to augment security measures.
“The security of the Netherlands comes before everything else,” Geert Wilders, the founder and leader of the Party for Freedom, said.
High-speed railway service Eurostar has announced that no trains are running to or from Brussels station.
Israel has banned the arrival of all flights from Europe until midnight over the terror attacks in Brussels, its national airport administration informs, specifying that 24 flights have been postponed.
British Prime Minister David Cameron will chair a meeting of the government's emergency committee, COBRA, in the wake of the Brussels attacks.
The Belgian Prosecutor General’s office has confirmed the deaths of at least 13 people at Brussels’ Zaventem Airport.
Crisis Center Belgium has reported that all public transport in Brussels is closed. It advises people to remain where they are.
Paris airports have strengthened security measures after reports of terror acts in Brussels, the French capital’s transport office press service reports.
The southern railroad station in Brussels is being evacuated due to the terrorist acts in the city, reports RIA Novosti’s correspondent.
The STIB, operator of public transport in Brussels, has discontinued operation of buses, trams and Metro lines.
Greece’s Aegean Airlines announced all flights to Brussels are canceled until further notice, with all morning flights to the Belgian capital diverted to Dusseldorf, Germany, Reuters reports.
The Dutch military has boosted security at its airports and borders.
Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz is shocked by the terror acts in Brussels, and ordered a hotline be opened for Austrian citizens visiting Belgium.
One of the blasts in the Brussels airport was enacted by a suicide bomber, Belgian TV reports.
Belgian police have found three unused suicide belts at Zaventem Airport, TASS cites Belgian TV.
The blast at Meelbeek station claimed the lives of 10 passengers, police source informed.
The station is next to the headquarters of the European Commission and the European Council.
Another blast has occurred at the Brussels Metro’s Schuman station.
A journalist from the Georgian national TV station was present at Brussels airport at the time of the explosions, and claims one of the blasts was caused by the explosion of a personal bag.
“We’re being warned that the danger is not over and we should be ready for a new explosion at any time,” Interfax cites the journalist as saying.
The Brussels Transport Authority says all subway stations in the Belgian capital are being closed, Reuters reports.
Live pictures from Brussels Zaventem Airport
Belgian intelligence has been aware of a terror attack being prepared, but didn't know the precise location or timing, RIA Novosti reports.
Belgian authorities have raised the security alert to the highest level following blasts at the Zaventem Airport and Maalbeek Metro station.
There has reportedly been an explosion at Maalbeek Metro station. Artsloi station has been evacuated.
The American embassy in Brussels is unable to confirm that one of the blasts at Zaventem Airport took place near American Airlines’ stand.
“At the moment, we have no information regarding this and the blasts. It still hasn’t been confirmed if an explosion took place near American Airlines, so we’re waiting for the confirmation,” an embassy spokesperson told Sputnik agency.
Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon has confirmed that two blasts rocked Zaventem Airport, as cited by RTBF broadcaster.
No planes are landing at Brussels airport, which is in lockdown, with planes being diverted to Antwerp. Planes are circling over the city of Liege.
Passengers have been evacuated from the terminal of Zaventem.
One of the explosions reportedly took place near the American Airlines check-in desk.