Belgium: Attacks in Brussels Airport || Attacks in Brussels renew call for tougher border security
- 8 years ago
On the morning of 22 March 2016, three explosions occurred in Belgium:
two at Brussels Airport in Zaventem and one at Maelbeek metro station in Brussels.
In these attacks, 33 people were killed, including two suicide bombers, and 250 others were injured, resulting in three days of national mourning in Belgium. An assault rifle and a third bomb were found during a search of the airport. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attacks.[3] It is the deadliest act of terrorism to occur on Belgian soil.
Security remained high in Brussels, Wednesday, as police continued to search for at least two suspects who fled during Tuesday's anti-terror operation in the Forest suburb of the Belgian capital.
The terror threat level has been set to level 3, the second highest level, with soldiers guarding several government buildings and European institutions throughout the city.
On Tuesday, police shot and killed one suspect after gunmen opened fire on officers, injuring four, during an anti-terror raid connected to November’s Paris attacks. Both Belgian and French special units were involved in the operation and at least one French officer was wounded.
https://youtu.be/PCiH8UU5nZw
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5aeU5hk31cLzq_sAExLVWg
Belgium: Security remains high in Brussels following raids linked to Paris attacks
Belgium is an active participant in the ongoing military intervention against ISIL in Iraq.[4] Belgium also has the highest number per capita of foreign fighters in Syria, with nearly 500 having left for Syria and Iraq as of 2016.[5] The fighters are mostly the descendants of immigrants. Belgium has been called a "hotbed of jihadist ideology",[5] and a "jihadist-recruiting hub".[6]
Before the bombings, several Islamist terrorist attacks had originated from Belgium, and a number of counter-terrorist operations had been carried out there. In May 2014, a gunman with ties to the war in Syria attacked the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels, killing four.[7][8][9][10] In January 2015, anti-terrorist operations, conducted against a group thought to be planning a second Charlie Hebdo shooting, included actions in Brussels and Zaventem. The operation resulted in the deaths of two suspects.[11][12] In August 2015, a suspected terrorist committed a shooting and stabbing attack aboard a Thalys train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris via Brussels, before he was subdued by passengers.[13]
The assailants involved in the Islamist November 2015 Paris attacks were based in Molenbeek, and the city of Brussels was locked down for five days to search for suspects. On 18 March 2016, Salah Abdeslam, a suspected accomplice in the aforementioned Paris attacks, was captured in two anti-terrorist raids in Molenbeek that killed another suspect and injured two others. At least one other suspect remains at large.
two at Brussels Airport in Zaventem and one at Maelbeek metro station in Brussels.
In these attacks, 33 people were killed, including two suicide bombers, and 250 others were injured, resulting in three days of national mourning in Belgium. An assault rifle and a third bomb were found during a search of the airport. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attacks.[3] It is the deadliest act of terrorism to occur on Belgian soil.
Security remained high in Brussels, Wednesday, as police continued to search for at least two suspects who fled during Tuesday's anti-terror operation in the Forest suburb of the Belgian capital.
The terror threat level has been set to level 3, the second highest level, with soldiers guarding several government buildings and European institutions throughout the city.
On Tuesday, police shot and killed one suspect after gunmen opened fire on officers, injuring four, during an anti-terror raid connected to November’s Paris attacks. Both Belgian and French special units were involved in the operation and at least one French officer was wounded.
https://youtu.be/PCiH8UU5nZw
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5aeU5hk31cLzq_sAExLVWg
Belgium: Security remains high in Brussels following raids linked to Paris attacks
Belgium is an active participant in the ongoing military intervention against ISIL in Iraq.[4] Belgium also has the highest number per capita of foreign fighters in Syria, with nearly 500 having left for Syria and Iraq as of 2016.[5] The fighters are mostly the descendants of immigrants. Belgium has been called a "hotbed of jihadist ideology",[5] and a "jihadist-recruiting hub".[6]
Before the bombings, several Islamist terrorist attacks had originated from Belgium, and a number of counter-terrorist operations had been carried out there. In May 2014, a gunman with ties to the war in Syria attacked the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels, killing four.[7][8][9][10] In January 2015, anti-terrorist operations, conducted against a group thought to be planning a second Charlie Hebdo shooting, included actions in Brussels and Zaventem. The operation resulted in the deaths of two suspects.[11][12] In August 2015, a suspected terrorist committed a shooting and stabbing attack aboard a Thalys train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris via Brussels, before he was subdued by passengers.[13]
The assailants involved in the Islamist November 2015 Paris attacks were based in Molenbeek, and the city of Brussels was locked down for five days to search for suspects. On 18 March 2016, Salah Abdeslam, a suspected accomplice in the aforementioned Paris attacks, was captured in two anti-terrorist raids in Molenbeek that killed another suspect and injured two others. At least one other suspect remains at large.