Terrorists strike in Brussels: at least 34 dead, multiple attacks

Posted by | March 22, 2016 05:52 | Filed under: Top Stories War & Peace

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  • Authorities confirm double suicide attack at Brussels Zaventem Airport
  • DHS: explosions in Brussels Metro system
  • At least 21 people have been killed according to Brussels authorities
  • Airport, public transport shut down in Brussels; Eurostar trains to Brussels canceled
  • New York City, London on alert

UPDATE , 9:24am EDT: Daily Mail reports 34 dead, footage of terrified passengers cowering under desks and running for their lives.

UPDATE , 8:20amEDT: RTBF via the BBC reports that Belgian police are carrying out house-to-house searches for suspects. Also, RTBF via CNN reports that suspicious packages two suspicious packages were found at the National Pensions Office in Brussels. Via the Guardian, “American Airlines has said the explosions at Brussels airport did not occur near its check-in desk, as some reports suggested.”

UPDATE , 7:25amEDT: NBC’s Pete Williams reports that New York law enforcement is stepping up security, the Washington DC Metro has taken steps to increase vigilance, and local airport authorities will decide individually on security measures.

UPDATE , 7:15amEDT: Appearing on MSNBC a few moments ago, NBC’s chief international correspondent Richard Engel spelled out the analysis of what appears to have happened — when a Daesh [ISIS] terrorist cell is compromised, as appears to have happened with the arrest of Salah Abdesalam, the cell will opt to strike immediately, stepping up coordinated planning in place, instead of going underground or fleeing.

UPDATE , 7:10amEDT: CNN’s Nick Thompson: “The death toll at Maelbeek metro station is now at 15, according to Belgian media reports.” Brussels metro operator STIB-MIVB confirms 15 people were killed, 55 injured in the blast[s?] at Maelbeek station.

UPDATE , 7:00amEDT: NBC News, BBC report sporadic cell service in Brussels, possibly due to law enforcement interdiction. MSNBC’s Tara Palmeri has unconfirmed report that death toll has risen to 30. BBC reports that “[t]he Belgian federal prosecutor Fredere Van Leeuw has confirmed that the [sic] three explosions this morning – two at Brussels Airport and one in the subway station Maelbeek – were terror attacks.”

UPDATE , 6:45amEDT: MSNBC reports on air that a Department of Homeland Security source has told them that three Brussels Metro stations were attacked. A separate source tells NBC News tat one of the airport bombings took place at the American Airlines check-in counter.

UPDATE , 6:31amEDT: BBC quites Pierre Meys, spokesperson for Brussels’ fire brigade, puts the official death toll at 21.

UPDATE , 6:21amEDT: Conflicting reports about the death toll at the Maelbeek Metro station; the explosion occurred as a train was departing.

UPDATE , 6:11amEDT: Putin condemns “barbaric” attack.

UPDATE , 6:01amEDT: The Guardian reports, “Belgium’s federal prosecutor has confirmed that the explosions at Brussels airport were carried out by a suicide bomber, according to broadcasters VTM and RTBF.”

UPDATE , 5:57amEDT: An observation from The Guardian‘s Jason Burke, “The ‘major blow’ struck on Friday, as senior policymakers called it, now looks less major. [T]errorists and those trying to stop them seek to keep the initiative. This has a practical and a psychological aspect. For counter-terrorist agencies, the aim is to get information fast enough to mount raids and sweep up suspects before they even have time to work out who among them has been picked up and who might have talked, let alone plan a new strike. Networks quickly fall apart under such relentless pressure, as was shown in Iraq in the middle of the last decade.”

For the terrorists, the aim is to show they can still terrorise, mobilise and polarise with violence. This is not so much about revenge, but simply demonstrating a continued capability. They may be down but, they are saying, they are not out.”

UPDATE , 5:54amEDT: MSNBC’s Steve Clemons reported on air that he had arrived at Brussels Airport minutes after the attack had occured; he observed smoke in the departure hall, first responders at the scene, and the arrival of military units swarming in prior to his departure for Amsterdam.

UPDATE , 5:45amEDT: CNN’s Nic Robertson reports: “If ISIS networks were going to have a reaction, it would be put into effect quickly, with immediate effect in Belgium, and other countries are concerned about knock-on attacks. … The fact that the metro system has come under attack will not be a surprise. Al Qaeda plotted an attack about a decade ago.” The BBC reports that Eurostar train service between Brussels and Paris has been suspended.

Multiple news sources report that Brussels, Belgium — capitol of the European Union — has been hit by a series of bomb attacks at around 8am (3amEDT), virtually shutting down the city. Two explosions have been reported at the city’s Zaventem airport, with RTBF (Belgian public radio & television) reporting 10 people dead and 30 injured. A separate explosion was reported at the Metro (subway) station in the suburb of Maelbeek, where the European Union is headquartered.

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Copyright 2016 Liberaland
By: dave-dr-gonzo

David Hirsch, a.k.a. Dave "Doctor" Gonzo*, is a renegade record producer, video producer, writer, reformed corporate shill, and still-registered lobbyist for non-one-percenter performing artists and musicians. He lives in a heavily fortified compound in one of Manhattan's less trendy neighborhoods.

* Hirsch is the third person to use the pseudonym, a not-so-veiled tribute to journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, with the permission of his predecessors Gene Gaudette of American Politics Journal (currently webmaster and chief bottlewasher at Liberaland) and Stephen Meese at Smashmouth Politics.

31 responses to Terrorists strike in Brussels: at least 34 dead, multiple attacks

  1. rg9rts March 22nd, 2016 at 05:51

    RIP….the price for a free society

    • bpollen March 22nd, 2016 at 07:42

      Well, them Belgians did ruin many a meal with their damnable Brussel Spouts.

      • rg9rts March 22nd, 2016 at 08:38

        I love them…babies that have been frozen…increases the sugar content….with bread crumb sauce

        • Hirightnow March 22nd, 2016 at 09:58

          Cut in half, then sautéed in olive oil with some garlic (not a lot…just a clove or so)

          • tracey marie March 22nd, 2016 at 12:00

            and pancetta, yum.

          • rg9rts March 22nd, 2016 at 12:26

            I pick mine about the size of a grape

        • bpollen March 22nd, 2016 at 17:14

          I hated vegetables (cooked ones) when I was young. I have learned to like many, but Brussel Sprouts ain’t one. (Still prefer most vegies raw tho)

          • rg9rts March 22nd, 2016 at 17:37

            For some it is a genetic thing that makes them taste bitter

      • William March 22nd, 2016 at 12:44

        The fundamental difference between Brussel spouts and boogers is this.
        Kids won’t eat Brussel sprouts.
        I am inclined to give Belgium a pass because of waffles.

        • Gina Bousquet March 22nd, 2016 at 14:31

          :)

        • bpollen March 22nd, 2016 at 16:55

          I am inclined to give Belgium a pass because of waffles.

          You make a valid point. Not very often am I a waffle consumer, but Belgian be some mighty fine waffles.

      • fahvel March 23rd, 2016 at 04:52

        that’s why we have a mostly westerly wind so as to blow the odeur of the sprouts away from us. yucky

  2. Budda March 22nd, 2016 at 07:52

    The European immigration issue just got a bit hotter.

  3. M.C.A. March 22nd, 2016 at 08:10

    Gotta love those refugee’s, such nice people.

  4. Obewon March 22nd, 2016 at 09:22

    Belgian domestic terrorists kill 21 people according to Brussels authorities. RIP.

    Meanwhile every day in the USA an average of 289 are shot by guns.
    Eighty-six of them die: 30 are murdered. 53 kill themselves, two die accidentally, and one is shot in a police intervention, the Brady Campaign reports. Each year 33,000 are killed by guns in the USA with 100,000 shot annually. http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/16/16547690-just-the-facts-gun-violence-in-america?lite White guys remain most likely to shoot themselves.

    2/3 of all American homicides are committed by the plummeting 22% of U.S. gun owners. A record low 22% in America own guns, ‘costing taxpayers at least $229 Billion annually in gun violence costs.’ U.S. Gun Ownership Declines http://www.newsweek.com/us-gun-ownership-declines-312822

  5. mistlesuede March 22nd, 2016 at 10:14

    Thanks President Obama for keeping us safe. My sympathies to the Belgian people.

  6. amersham46 March 22nd, 2016 at 12:00

    Terrorist , they have no religion

    • whatthe46 March 22nd, 2016 at 12:05

      you just described the GOPissers.

  7. Larry Schmitt March 22nd, 2016 at 15:24

    That Limbaugh wannabe Alex Jones is calling this a “false flag” like he does with every attack of this kind. If you want to torture yourself you can read it at Media Matters.

    • bpollen March 22nd, 2016 at 21:34

      So, it would seem that Alex Jones doesn’t believe in actual terrorists. Terrorism is a liberal plot to… something something Obama.

  8. fahvel March 23rd, 2016 at 04:50

    putain idiot!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • M.C.A. March 23rd, 2016 at 05:06

      Love those refugee’s….”BOOM’ and those that raise the red flag on Muslim Immigrants are racists “BOOM” France, still has the toughest gun laws in the world “BOOM”, Brussels and next Fahvel goes West…. “BOOM’.

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