Brussels attacks: What we know

Two suicide bombers attacked a departure terminal in Brussels airport around 8:30 am on Tuesday 22nd March. At least 11 people died and dozens more were injured. Another blast ripped through a metro train in the heart of the city’s EU quarter about an hour afterwards. 20 people are thought to have died and more than 100 injured. Police say they have identified two of the bombers as brothers Khalid and Brahim El Bakraoui, both Belgians with criminal records. Brahim was deported from Turkey last year because of his links to terrorist groups. Reports suggest the third bomber was wanted jihadist Najim Laachraoui. A fourth man, pictured in a hat and light coat at the airport before the bombing escaped without detonating his explosives. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));Three men suspected of involvement in the Brussels Airport attack. The two on the left are thought to have died as…Posted by euronews on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 Raids took place across the country after the attacks and police said they found a bomb and an ISIL flag at an address in Brussels ISIL, via its ‘Amaq news agency claimed responsibility for the attack. The bombings came four days after Beligian authorities captured Saleh Abdeslam, wanted for his part in the ISIL attack on Paris in November Reactions A joint statement from EU leaders said: “We will be united and firm in the fight against hatred, violent extremism and terrorism.” Belgium’s PM Charles Michel said it was a “black day” for his country. “What we had feared is come to pass. Our country has been struck by attacks which are blind, violent and cowardly”. The country’s king, Philippe said he shared the nation’s pain after the “cowardly and odious attacks.”Other European leaders stressed that the attack on international transport networks were targeted not just against Belgium. The Lebonese Hezbollah group issued a statement saying Europe was being burnt by the same flames that some countries have lit in Syria. Supporters of ISIL praised the bombings on Twitter. The Egyptian-based Sunni group Al-Azhar condemned the “hateful crime against the teachings of Islam” and urged the international community to unite against the perpetrators. Donald Trump said authorities in western countries had been “foolish and lax” not to shut their borders. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));[Call for contributions] Europe is united behind Belgium. You can leave your thoughts and messages herePosted by euronews on Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Brussels attacks: What we know

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