Countrywide, the terror threat has been raised to the highest “fourth” level, while European Union institutions have been put on an “Orange” level alert.
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President Obama addressed the tragedy while on a trip to Cuba, saying the American people “stand in solidarity” with Belgian people and that the US will “do whatever is necessary to support our friend and ally Belgium in bringing to justice those responsible”. Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir said it would abide by this call and stop reporting on any information about the ongoing operations. A federal prosecutor said at least one of the explosions came from a suicide bomber’s explosive vest. It’s unclear if Tuesday’s attacks are related to Abdeslam’s arrest. There was also dust and smoke as well, ‘ he said. We’ll warn you: the video contains a profanity and may be stressful to watch.
France has stepped up security, and the cabinet has held an emergency meeting.
The attack began after a burst of gunfire and yelling in Arabic, according to Belgian media outlets.
The subway station blast happened in the Brussels suburb of Maalbeek, near the European quarter, where much of the European Union is based, according to CNN affiliate RTL.
The station is about 7 miles from the airport. Terrified passengers had to evacuate through darkened tunnels to safety.
USA airlines including Delta, United and American canceled flights on Tuesday after two deadly blasts in a packed departure area of the Brussels Airport at Zaventem. Another explosion was reported on the city’s subway network.
“Parts of the ceiling fell down”.
“People were crying, shouting, children”.
Two people were arrested by armed police at the city’s Noord railway station hours later – as officials said they feared “people are still at large”.
“I saw people lying on the ground covered in blood who were not moving”.
There were two explosions in the departure hall at Brussels airport, located in the town of Zaventem, according to Prime Minister Charles Michel. The city’s transport system was shut down.
The airport has been evacuated and all flights have been diverted. The high-speed railway service Eurostar also cancelled all trains to and from Brussels, it added.
Security officials in France and Germany are increasing their vigilance in the wake of the attacks.
The attacks come just four days after Salah Abdeslam, the main fugitive in the Paris attacks, was seized in Brussels.
Richard Medic, who arrived at the metro station shortly after that explosion, wasn’t surprised by the carnage after all that Europe has gone through recently, including November’s massacre in Paris that ISIS claimed responsibility for.
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He has since urged all citizens to stay where they are.
