By Bronte Price, PoliticKING
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said “many are dead, many injured” following two explosions at Brussels Airport and a third explosion at Maelbeek metro station on Tuesday. "We were fearing terrorist attacks," Michel told reporters. "And that has now happened."
#BREAKING: Two loud explosions at #Zaventem airport in #Brusselspic.twitter.com/h6PDWelWp6@AAhronheim
— Ora Politics (@OraPolitics) March 22, 2016
Islamic State militants issued a statement, in Arabic and in French, claiming responsibility for the attacks,according to the BBC. This comes after an earlier report from the IS-affiliated A'maq news agency claiming responsibility on behalf of the Islamic State. The statement, which was issued through IS's social media accounts, warns of worse attacks in the future for "Crusader states allied against the Islamic State." The targets in Brussels were "carefully selected," according to the statement.
According to the Belgian health minister, at least 11 people were killed in the airport explosions, which are believed to have been caused by suicide bombers. Additionally, Brussels' mayor said that at least 20 people were killed in a subway station attack, which happened concurrently.
#ISIS released the claim for #BrusselsAttacks in Arabic and French pic.twitter.com/iS47AVHt4w
— Rita Katz (@Rita_Katz) March 22, 2016
NATO, which is based in Brussels, increased its alert level and expressed solidarity with Belgium. "This is a cowardly attack, an attack on our values and on our open societies," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement. "Terrorism will not defeat democracy and take away our freedoms."
Horrible news out of #Brussels. Simply horrible. I'll never understand such hatred.
— Larry King (@kingsthings) March 22, 2016
Here’s what Rep. Steve Russell has to say about the ongoing threat of ISIS:
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ora Media, LLC, its affiliates, or its employees.
