This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/two-explosions-detonated-at-brussels-airport/2016/03/22/7ef77dec-f001-11e5-a61f-e9c95c06edca_story.html

The article has changed 29 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 23 Version 24
Islamic State claims responsibility for the Brussels attacks Islamic State claims responsibility for the Brussels attacks
(about 3 hours later)
BRUSSELS —Islamic State suicide bombers brought terror, chaos and bloodshed to the city at the heart of European unity on Tuesday, detonating their nail-spewing bombs at an airport departures hall and on a subway train in attacks that left at least 31 people dead and prompted authorities to launch an intensive manhunt for at least one accomplice who remains at large. BRUSSELS —Islamic State suicide bombers brought terror, chaos and bloodshed to the city at the heart of European unity on Tuesday, detonating their nail-spewing bombs at an airport departures hall and on a subway train in attacks that left at least 31 people dead and prompted authorities to launch an intensive manhunt for at least one suspected accomplice.
The killings add this city to an ignominious but growing list of European capitals that have been struck in the past year by deadly attacks either perpetrated or inspired by the Islamic State, including Paris and Copenhagen. The wanted man accompanied two of the bombers to the airport, along with luggage heaving with explosives. Authorities were also hunting a suspected Belgian bombmaker who trained in Syria with the Islamic State and who later sneaked back into Europe.
But even after the terrorist group has repeatedly threatened to take direct aim at Europe, Belgian authorities seemed caught off-guard by the extent of the damage inflicted Tuesday. The day’s violence represented the worst on Belgian soil since World War II. Tuesday’s mass killings add this city to an ignominious but growing list of European capitals that have been struck in the past year by deadly attacks either perpetrated or inspired by the Islamic State, including Paris and Copenhagen.
Authorities had been bracing for an attack in Belgium for months as the country has struggled to stem a tide of homegrown extremism and as the Islamic State has repeatedly threatened to hit Europe in its core.
But when the attacks finally came, the magnitude was stunning. The day’s violence represented the worst on Belgian soil since World War II.
“What we had feared has happened,” said Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel. “This is a black moment for our country.”“What we had feared has happened,” said Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel. “This is a black moment for our country.”
The targets appeared to be chosen for their symbolic value, and for their ease of access. [‘People who died weren’t whole anymore. They were in pieces.’]
The attackers first struck at an airport departures hall where early-morning travelers were preparing to board flights linking Brussels to cities across the continent and around the world. An hour later, a subway car transiting directly beneath the modernist glass-and-steel high-rises that house the European Union burst with smoke and flame. The apparently coordinated explosions created a renewed sense of threat that spilled far beyond Brussels, as authorities boosted police patrols in cities such as Paris, London and Washington.
The targets appeared to have been chosen for their symbolic value, and for their ease of access.
The attackers first struck with twin bombings at the international airport, where early-morning travelers were preparing to board flights linking Brussels to cities across the continent and around the world. An hour later, a subway car transiting directly beneath the modernist glass-and-steel high-rises that house the European Union burst with smoke and flame.
In addition to the dead, some 250 people were injured, Belgian officials said.In addition to the dead, some 250 people were injured, Belgian officials said.
Many of the injured lost limbs as shrapnel from the blasts radiated through packed crowds. Cellphone video recorded in the minutes after the airport blasts showed children cowering on a bloody floor amid the maimed and the dead. Footage from the subway revealed desperate scenes as people dressed for a day’s work stumbled from the mangled wreckage into a smoke-drenched tunnel.
Authorities acknowledged they had been readying for an attack. But nothing like this, they said.
“We never could have imagined something of this scale,” Interior Minister Jan Jambon told Belgian television station RTL TV.“We never could have imagined something of this scale,” Interior Minister Jan Jambon told Belgian television station RTL TV.
[LIVE updates on the death toll, attack scenes and reactions around the world] And even as the country tried to recover from the trauma of Tuesday’s strikes, there was evidence that more could be on the way.
The attacks came only four days after Belgian counterterrorism authorities claimed a major success, nabbing the last known direct participant in last November’s Paris attacks, who had eluded them for four months. [How the Brussels attacks could force Obama to betray his policy instincts]
The man being sought by police accompanied two of the bombers to the airport, according to a senior Belgian official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details of the case. The taxi driver who transported them said they were hauling particularly heavy luggage that investigators believe was packed with explosives.
At an apartment in the Schaerbeek area of Brussels, investigators later found explosive devices loaded with nails and chemicals, along with an Islamic State flag, the Belgian federal prosecutors’ office said in a statement.
“It was exactly the same type of bomb as at the airport,” the senior official said.
Belgian police released surveillance images of three men pushing luggage carts at the Brussels airport. The prosecutor’s office said that two of them -- dressed in black with black gloves on their left hands, likely to conceal detonators -- had blown themselves up. But the third, dressed in white, was on the loose. His identity was unknown, and despite a nationwide hunt -- with heavily armed officers combing the streets and checkpoints at Belgian borders snarling traffic for miles -- the suspect remained at large Tuesday night.
Across the continent, authorities were also hunting 24-year-old Najim Laachraoui, a suspected Islamic State bombmaker, according to two European security officials.
Laachraoui, a Belgian who was born in Morocco and raised in the Schaerbeeek neighborhood, is believed to have trained in Syria and then returned to Europe. His DNA was found on one of the explosive belts from last November’s Paris attacks, and he is believed to have traveled at one point with Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving suspect believed to have played a direct role in the Paris massacre.
Tuesday’s attacks came only four days after Belgian counterterrorism authorities cheered the arrest of Abdeslam, 26, who was the most wanted man in Europe for the past four months. Abdeslam was discovered hiding in a Brussels apartment building in the Molenbeek neighborhood near the center of the city. After the raid, officials said they had uncovered a web of suspects much broader than they had previously imagined.
Within hours of Tuesday’s assault, the Islamic State asserted responsibility for the attacks, according to a statement posted on the Amaq Agency, a website believed to be close to the extremist group. The message said Belgium was targeted for its participation in an international coalition battling the group in Syria and Iraq. U.S. and European security officials said they believed the claim to be credible.Within hours of Tuesday’s assault, the Islamic State asserted responsibility for the attacks, according to a statement posted on the Amaq Agency, a website believed to be close to the extremist group. The message said Belgium was targeted for its participation in an international coalition battling the group in Syria and Iraq. U.S. and European security officials said they believed the claim to be credible.
The Brussels attack marks another deadly strike less than a week after a suicide blast in Istanbul that killed five people, two of them with dual American-Israeli citizenship.
Belgian police released surveillance images of three men pushing luggage carts at the Brussels airport. They asked for help in identifying one man dressed in white, who they said was on the loose. Local reports said police believe that the other two men died in the explosions.
The apparently coordinated explosions in Brussels — including at least one by a suicide bomber at the airport — created a renewed sense of threat that spilled far beyond Brussels, as authorities boosted police patrols in cities such as Paris, London and Washington.
The latest bloodshed made clear that European capitals remain perilously vulnerable despite attempts to dismantle the militant network that perpetrated the worst terrorist attack in Paris in generations last November.The latest bloodshed made clear that European capitals remain perilously vulnerable despite attempts to dismantle the militant network that perpetrated the worst terrorist attack in Paris in generations last November.
In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby said U.S. citizens are among the injured, but he would not say how many. So far, no Americans are known to have died in the attacks, although that information may change, he said. In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby said U.S. citizens were among the injured, but he would not say how many. No Americans are known to have died in the attacks, although that information may change, he said.
Among the Americans wounded were a service member and his family, who “were caught up in this tragedy,” the U.S. European Command said. In a House hearing on Capitol Hill, Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R.-N.J.) said six Americans were injured in the attacks, including military family members. Europe has struggled mightily with spillover from the churning conflict in Syria. Thousands of European citizens have traveled there to fight in a war that has become a focal point for jihadists around the world. Many have returned to Europe radicalized. Europe has vowed to confront them.
The bloodshed also raised fears of further reprisal attacks for the arrest last week of the fugitive suspect whom authorities have linked to a Brussels-based cell accused of masterminding the Paris attacks.
Europe has struggled with apparent spillover from the churning conflict in Syria. Thousands of European citizens have traveled there to fight in a war that has become a focal point for jihadists around the world. Some have returned to Europe radicalized.
[Why is Brussels under attack?][Why is Brussels under attack?]
Even before the purported claim of responsibility by the Islamic State, other European leaders wasted no time in referencing other attacks by Islamist militants. “We are at war,” French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said. “We are at war,” said French Prime Minister Manuel Valls. “We have been subjected for the last few months in Europe to acts of war."
“We have been subjected for the last few months in Europe to acts of war,” he added.
Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said that multiple raids were taking place around the country and that a number of people werebeing questioned. Several other explosions heard around the Belgian capital, he explained, were the product of bomb disposal squads “making safe” suspicious packages.
Van Leeuw said Belgian authorities were aware of and investigating the Islamic State’s claim of responsibility. But, he added, “it is too soon to already make a link with the attacks that took place in Paris.”
Hours earlier, Van Leeuw said the city had come under “terrorist attacks.” At least one of the airport blasts was carried out by a suicide bomber, he said.
In Havana, at the end of a landmark trip, President Obama urged “the world to unite” to fight terrorism, and he pledged to “do whatever is necessary” to aid the investigation in Belgium.In Havana, at the end of a landmark trip, President Obama urged “the world to unite” to fight terrorism, and he pledged to “do whatever is necessary” to aid the investigation in Belgium.
Belgian leaders warned that the Brussels perpetrators may still be at large, and Brussels was largely shut down for most of the day. The assaults brought Brussels to a virtual standstill. The subway and airport were both closed -- the latter will remain so on Wednesday -- and Belgian leaders warned residents to stay indoors. Foreign governments, including Britain, issued travel advisories warning against travel to the Belgian capital.
[At NATO headquarters, alert status raised just miles from attacks] In France -- where 130 people died last Nov. 13 in attacks on a stadium, music club and restaurants -- Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that an additional 1,600 people were deployed and that security was boosted at border posts and major transportation hubs.
Feeding fears that the danger has not subsided, Belgian media reported that security forces conducted raids around the capital but then said that law enforcement agencies had asked them to stop reporting on the raids to avoid tipping off suspects. On social media, an image soon appeared: a figure draped in the colors of the French flag embracing another tearful figure in the black, yellow and red of Belgium’s banner.
The attacks started just before 8 a.m. Brussels time, when one blast ripped through the departure hall of the Brussels Airport, followed shortly by another one near the other end of the terminal, where people had already started to run for cover.
The blasts collapsed ceilings in the departure hall, sent passengers fleeing and left pools of blood amid splintered signs and abandoned luggage.
On an outside walkway, people ran for cover: men swinging briefcases, travelers lugging backpacks, a woman cradling an infant. Later, airport spokeswoman Florence Muls said a third bomb was deactivated, the Associated Press reported.
Just over an hour after the airport blasts, another explosion tore open a subway car at the bustling Maelbeek metro station, where E.U. diplomats, government employees and other international workers routinely crisscross on their way to work. The explosion happened near the end of the morning rush hour, when many subway trains are packed with commuters.
The station was clogged with smoke as panicked people streamed onto the streets and rescue workers raced toward the mayhem.
The attacks came just four days after French and Belgian leaders celebrated the capture of Salah Abdeslam, 26, believed to be the lone fugitive participant in the Paris attacks. Abdeslam was discovered hiding in a Brussels apartment building in the Molenbeek neighborhood near the center of the city.
Amateur video taken immediately after the airport attack showed streams of panicked passengers running out of the airport. Large clouds of smoke billowed from the blown-out windows of the main terminal building.
“We saw a few people injured. We saw the glass front of the building had exploded, glass flying around,” said Daniela Schwarzer, head of the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, who was leaving Brussels after a weekend conference and was in a taxi approaching the terminal when the explosions occurred.
The Brussels Airport said it would remain closed at least through Wednesday. Airport officials said that a third bomb had been located and detonated at the airport in the afternoon.
The fallout immediately spread across Europe and beyond, displaying the increased worries and security cooperation since November’s Paris attacks that killed 130 people.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that an additional 1,600 people were deployed in France and that security was boosted at border posts and major transportation hubs.
“Through the attacks in Brussels, all of Europe is hit,” French President François Hollande wrote on Twitter. On social media, an image soon appeared: a figure draped in the colors of the French flag embracing another tearful figure in the black, yellow and red of Belgium’s banner.
London and other cities, including New York and Washington, also put additional police on the streets. The FBI and other U.S. agencies opened channels with Belgian officials to assist in the investigation.
At a news conference in Jordan, the E.U.’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, choked back tears after learning of the Brussels attacks.At a news conference in Jordan, the E.U.’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, choked back tears after learning of the Brussels attacks.
Amid the crisis, some basic Belgian utilities appeared to be under stress. Belgium’s official crisis center called on Brussels residents to avoid streaming video and music to keep from taxing the Internet. It also asked people to communicate by text message or social network rather than voice calls so as not to overload phone lines. Belgium, a nation riven by ethnic rivalries among French, Dutch and German speakers, has struggled to address radicalization in its cities. A complex patchwork of security and police agencies is responsible for keeping an eye on potential threats. Many of them view each other as rivals rather than as colleagues.
One Belgian leader said that Tuesday was the grimmest day for Belgium in more than 70 years. Still, security analysts said attacks on unsecured, high-traffic targets such as subway stations are extremely hard to defend against — even when authorities are focused on foiling such plots.
“We are experiencing the darkest day in the history of our country since the Second World War,” said Bart De Wever, mayor of Antwerp and the leader of Belgium’s largest political party, the Flemish nationalist Vlaams Belang.
[Pentagon chief: U.S. working to account for civilians, service members after Brussels attacks]
Belgian leaders may come in for criticism that they did not adequately position themselves for attacks after Abdeslam’s capture Friday. At the time, they left the security threat unchanged. Only after the attacks did Belgian leaders immediately raise the threat level to its highest, which calls for increased deployments of police and military across the country.
Belgium, a nation riven by ethnic rivalries among French, Dutch and German speakers, has struggled particularly hard to address radicalization in its cities. A complex patchwork of security and police agencies is responsible for keeping an eye on potential threats. Many of them view each other as rivals rather than as colleagues.
Still, security analysts said that attacks on unsecured, high-traffic targets such as subway stations are extremely hard to defend against — even when authorities are focused on foiling such plots.
“This is a kind of scenario every capital in Europe feared since the November attacks last year. A mixture of foreign fighters coming back with experience, local sympathizers on the other hand,” said Rik Coolsaet, a terrorism expert at Ghent University who has advised the Belgian government on how to fight radicalization. “You have such a large number of soft targets, and you cannot secure all of them.”“This is a kind of scenario every capital in Europe feared since the November attacks last year. A mixture of foreign fighters coming back with experience, local sympathizers on the other hand,” said Rik Coolsaet, a terrorism expert at Ghent University who has advised the Belgian government on how to fight radicalization. “You have such a large number of soft targets, and you cannot secure all of them.”
Birnbaum reported from Moscow . Souad Mekhennet in Düsseldorf, Germany, Daniela Deane and Karla Adam in London, Anthony Faiola in Brussels and Brian Murphy, Carol Morello and Matt Zapotosky in Washington contributed to this report. Birnbaum reported from Moscow. James McAuley in Brussels, Daniela Deane and Karla Adam in London, Anthony Faiola in Brussels and Brian Murphy, Carol Morello and Matt Zapotosky in Washington contributed to this report.
Read more:Read more:
Live updates on the death toll, attack scenes and reactions around the worldLive updates on the death toll, attack scenes and reactions around the world
Why is Brussels under attack?Why is Brussels under attack?
At NATO headquarters, alert status raised just miles from attacksAt NATO headquarters, alert status raised just miles from attacks
Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the worldToday’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world