Islamic State claims responsibility for Brussels attack that killed dozens
Kim Hjelmgaard, Delphine Reuter and John Bacon, USA TODAY
3:51 a.m. EDT March 23, 2016
VIDEO: Dramatic raw videos show people fleeing from Brussels airport and a metro station after several deadly explosions rocked the city. USA TODAY
BRUSSELS — The Islamic State claimed responsibility for brutal attacks that brought blood and chaos to this capital city's airport and downtown metro station Tuesday, killing dozens of people, wounding more than 150 and heightening terror alerts around the world.
As of Tuesday evening, the death toll was 34, the Associated Press said a Belgian security official indicated.
Authorities blamed suicide bombers for the attacks, but embarked on manhunt for at least one suspected surviving attacker.
However, a federal law enforcement official said Tuesday there was no immediate reason to doubt the Islamic State’s claim of responsibility.
The official who is not authorized to comment publicly said that based on the coordinated nature of the attacks it was likely that the assaults had been long planned but were accelerated following last week’s arrest of the Paris suspect Salah Abdeslam. The official discounted the notion that the attacks were a form of retaliation. Rather, the official said, it appeared that they may have been accelerated out of concern that the plots might be compromised if Abdeslam was cooperating with Belgian investigators.
It was earlier Tuesday that two deadly explosions tore through the departures hall at Brussels Airport in nearby Zaventem, Belgium's federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said.
A short time later, a third blast brought mayhem and death to the Maelbeek metro station, near European Union institutions in central Brussels, he said. "We were fearing terrorist attacks and that has now happened," Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said. Federal health officials said the airport attack killed at least 11 people and injured 81. Brussels Mayor Yvan Majeur put the subway death toll at 20, with more than 100 wounded there.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement to the Amaq news agency.
"Islamic State fighters opened fire inside Zaventem airport before several of them detonated their explosive belts," the statement said. A "martyrdom bomber detonated his explosive belt in the Maelbeek metro station," it added
People gather to leave tributes at the Place de la Bourse following attacks on March 22, 2016, in Brussels. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels Airport and a subway station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo: Carl Court, Getty Images)
The attack came four days after the arrest of Salah Abdeslam, a suspect in November's Paris attacks who was apprehended in Brussels after a four-month manhunt. After the arrest, authorities said Abdeslam had planned to commit another attack, and had a large network of associates. Still, authorities said it was too soon in the investigation to tie Tuesday's horror to the Paris terror strike.
Belgium raised the terror threat to its maximum level as security teams swept neighborhoods for collaborators. The prosecutor's office released a photo taken from an airport security camera showing possible suspects before the blasts.
Police found an explosive device containing nails, "chemical products" and an Islamic State flag during a house search in the Brussels neighborhood of Shaerbeek, the Associated Press reported.
Authorities shut down public transportation, closed the airport and warned residents to stay home. Non-essential staff were evacuated from Belgium's power plants in Doel and Tihange as a precaution, the plants' French operator, Engie, told Reuters news service.
By late Tuesday, some trains stations reopened to long lines as people began emerging from their homes. Authorities said the airport would remain closed through Wednesday.
President Obama, speaking in Havana on the third day of a Latin American tour, said the U.S. stands with Belgium and that the attack is "yet another reminder that the world must unite, we must be together regardless of nationality or race or faith, in fighting against the scourge of terrorism." Later, he ordered all American flags in the U.S. to be flown at half-staff through Saturday.
Authorities in Los Angeles, New York, Washington, Boston and elsewhere across the nation tightened security at transit hubs and tourist sites. There were no indications of specific threats against U.S. targets, authorities said.
READ MORE: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/03/22/explosions-rock-brussels-airport/82107254/
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