Two explosions are said to have hit Brussels airport in Belgium, in what is suspected to be a terror attack, today(Tuesday) just as another blast is also reported on the Brussels metro.
According to NAIJI an online medium, no fewer than Twenty-eight people are said to have been killed in the attacks, while one hundred and thirty others are reported injured.
The explosions are coming days after Salah Abdeslam, the main suspect in the Paris attacks last year November, was captured.
Two of the blasts occurred in the departures area of Zaventem airport, and one on a metro train in apparently coordinated attacks at the height of rush hour on Tuesday morning, March 22. The third explosion reportedly hit Maalbeek metro station, close to EU institutions.
According to reports, both the metro system and airport have been closed, and all public transport in the city suspended.
The Belgian government has confirmed casualties at the airport and Maalbeek metro station, however, there are conflicting reports regarding the tolls. Media reports place the figures at 28 dead and 130 wounded. According to the casualty reports, Brussels transport officials say 15 died at Maalbeek and media say up to 13 died at the airport. Meanwhile, the mayor of Brussels says 20 people have died and 106 were injured in the blast on the metro train. Yvan Mayeur told a news conference that 17 people were severely injured. Public broadcaster VRT says at least 34 people were killed in total, at the metro and the airport. It remains uncertain what the true cause of the explosions is; however, authorities say it was a suicide attack. The whole metro system has been closed. Belgium has now raised its terror threat to its highest level.
one of the blasts in the Brussels airport was caused by a suicide bomber. At the time of filing this report, Belgian police say they have found three unused suicide belts at Zaventem airport. Belgium’s interior minister, Jan Jambon, had said on Monday the country was aware of the risk of a possible revenge attack following the capture of 26-year-old Abdeslam. “We know that stopping one cell can … push others into action. We are aware of it in this case,” he told public radio. The attacks come four days after Salah Abdeslam, the main suspect in the Paris attacks, was captured in Brussels.
David Cameron had said he was “shocked and concerned” after at least 23 people were killed by a series of explosions in Brussels. The Prime Minister said the UK “will do everything we can to help” Belgium, as security was stepped up at airports including Heathrow and Gatwick in response to the blasts. Mr Cameron confirmed he would be chairing a meeting of the Government’s COBRA emergency committee later this morning to discuss events in Brussels.
Meanwhile, following the explosions in Brussels, Turkey’s national flagship carrier on Tuesday cancelled scheduled flights to Brussels until Friday, March 25. Daily Sabah reports that reciprocal flights between Turkey and Brussels’ Zaventem Airport have been cancelled until Friday, Turkish Airlines (THY) announced.
Source: NAIJI
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