Explosions at Brussels' Zaventem airport and Maelbeek metro station

[Ken]

Guess this should have it's own thread.

Two explosions have taken place at the airport. Reports have any where from 1 to 17 people dead and many more injured. At least one explosion allegedly to place at the American Airlines departure desk. This comes only four days after the incident where suspected ISIS member, Salah Abdeslam, linked with the Paris attacks was apprehended.

Edit:

Belgian news agency Belga is reporting that shots were fired and Arabic was shouted before the two explosions at Brussels airport.

Also, Belgium has risen their terror level to its highest.

Edit 2:

Reports are coming out of explosions at the Maelbeek Metro station.

 

[TenEightyOne]

As @Soundtrack reported in the Paris thread (good idea to make a new one though, @Ken), an explosion has been heard on the metro with smoke seen rising to the street.

Reports from the airport say that "shots were fired and Arabic shouting was heard". It's unclear whether this was a deliberate attack on the "soft" area of the airport or a foiled attempt to reach/board an aeroplane. Given the subsequent apparent metro attack I'd say it was an attack on the soft area.

 

[Ken]

Two bomb packages went off in the departure hall of Brussels airport, Het Laatste Nieuws reports.

One was close to the SN Brussels Airlines desk and another near the American Airlines desk, it says.

From BBC news live report.

 

[Brend]

Bloody hell, scary times. Condolences for all those involved.

 

[Ken]

Belgium broadcaster VRT are reporting that there are 13 confirmed dead.

Same source as before.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Now we're hearing much the usual rhetoric about making the first part of airports more secure, maybe even searching anybody who enters. I didn't hear suggestions that football fans be searched after the Paris attacks, or suggestions that concert-goers be searched for that matter.

 

[Bram Turismo]

I was supposed to bring my mother to the airport thursday...

 

[kikie]

Guess this should have it's own thread.

...... suspected ISIS member, Salah Abdullah Abdeslam, linked with the Paris attacks was apprehended.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salah_Abdeslam

 

[Ken]

@kikie, fixed. Thank you.

 

[ToyGTone]

I don't feel safe anymore...

 

[Ken]

Confirmed as a terrorist attack.

Belgian broadcaster RTBF says the federal prosecutor in the case has confirmed that the airport explosion was a suicide attack.

 

[Dennisch]

All those arrests, safety measures and what not, and still it's possible to carry out an attack.

Let's keep pretending that there are only a few of those retards willing to act like this.

 

[Ibonibo]

^I think it's a really bad sign that on Abdeslam's arrest, people were "boo"ing at the police....

Molenbeek, Verviers, Charleroi,...

Belgium has quite a few "hotspots"

My condolences to all involved in todays attack.

 

[Dennisch]

^I think it's a really bad sign that on Abdeslam's arrest, people were "boo"ing at the police....

Molenbeek, Verviers, Charleroi,...

Belgium has quite a few "hotspots"

My condolences to all involved in todays attack.

That's exactly what I meant. Only a fool doesn't see what's going on.

 

[ECGadget]

My thoughts are will all the families of those involved. This is really bad. Probably an attack in response to the arrest of the moron?

 

[Liquid]

My thoughts are will all the families of those involved. This is really bad. Probably an attack in response to the arrest of the moron?

I would speculate that this is a planned attack brought forward due to the arrest of Salah Abdelsam. But I stress that that is my own speculation.

Belgium this week, Turkey last week. It's awful, awful, awful news.

 

[ECGadget]

I would speculate that this is a planned attack brought forward due to the arrest of Salah Abdelsam. But I stress that that is my own speculation.

Belgium this week, Turkey last week. It's awful, awful, awful news.

This may sound childish from me, but how can people do things like this and be so... Evil? Like military fighting is one thing. But bombing transport hubs with the intention of killing as many people who have NOTHING to do with anything? What kind of mind must these bombers have?

 

[Liquid]

But bombing transport hubs with the intention of killing as many people who have NOTHING to do with anything? What kind of mind must these bombers have?

Bloodthirsty minds hungry for power and hungry for control. Seemingly brainwashed by others.

It's despicable, I agree.

 

[ECGadget]

Bloodthirsty minds hungry for power and hungry for control. Seemingly brainwashed by others.

It's despicable, I agree.

It is sad and scary, that in this era, which is meant to be the most peaceful era of the human race so far, that we have incidents like these; organised and brutal. I heard there are Daesh supportive accounts on twitter praising the attack. Sickening.

 

[HKS racer]

Eurpean politicians destroyed safety in EU. Europe is no longer a safe place.
These fools think giving Turkey 3 billions € will solve the problem, not a chance.

 

[TenEightyOne]

That's exactly what I meant. Only a fool doesn't see what's going on.

You think something's causing a wave of religious attacks in the UK and Belgium? Not the same religion or even the same ethnic origins, so what could it be?

Elsewhere, American Airlines confirm that they're in a completely separate zone from either of the airport explosions. It seems they weren't a target despite some news outlets continuing to report that they were.

 

[Liquid]

Eurpean politicians destroyed safety in EU. Europe is no longer a safe place.
These fools think giving Turkey 3 billions € will solve the problem, not a chance.

Rubbish. Specifically blaming the EU for ruining a previous harmony is complete bull:censored:. I'm not here to praise the EU but before the EU Europe went through its worst military destruction in the whole of its history; WW2. And before that? We've done the number of wars in Europe before. France vs Germany. England vs France. Russia vs Germany. Hungary vs Slovakia. Turkey vs Hungary. Austria vs Germany. Sweden vs Czechia. Russia vs Poland. Poland vs Germany. Turkey vs Greece. And so on...

And what about the homegrown terrorist cells within Europe such as ETA, the IRA, UVF, UDA and RAF? Some of those predate the EU by many decades.

You can speculate and champion your Islamaphobia or Xenophobia, whatever it is specifically, all you want but you can't talk as though Europe was a safe place before the rise of Islamic theocratic fascism. It never was and it's a constant issue whether it has been through war or diplomacy. This is the latest development on a problem which has plagued Europe, and the whole damn world, since time immemorial. It isn't new.

 

[HKS racer]

It is sad and scary, that in this era, which is meant to be the most peaceful era of the human race so far, that we have incidents like these; organised and brutal. I heard there are Daesh supportive accounts on twitter praising the attack. Sickening.

It's not like if WE consider this era a peaceful one others will do the same.

Our politicians and mass media did a great job brainwashing all of us making us thinking we are basically in 1968 but with an iPhone, iPad, Facebook and Twitter. It's not like that.

Isis will use every resource possible, they have no conventional army. They will keep doing terrorists attacks.

 

[Dotini]

BBC is now reporting scores dead, and that jihadist websites are gloating. But BBC also cautioned that under no account are you to blame or be angry with Muslims, because this is exactly what the jihadists want.

 

[ECGadget]

It's not like if WE consider this era a peaceful one others will do the same.

Our politicians and mass media did a great job brainwashing all of us making us thinking we are basically in 1968 but with an iPhone, iPad, Facebook and Twitter. It's not like that.

Isis will use every resource possible, they have no conventional army. They will keep doing terrorists attacks.

I meant statistically. I don't agree with your second paragraph, but I do agree largely with your third. However, the idea of the rest of us standing together and refusing to let our differences of religion, profession, race or anything break us apart is what I feel will ultimately defeat the likes of Daesh (and, if this attack was not them, whoever carried this out).

 

[TS050]

This is awful...

 

[Dennisch]

You think something's causing a wave of religious attacks in the UK and Belgium? Not the same religion or even the same ethnic origins, so what could it be?

No, I meant that there are a lot more sympathisers out there than people are willing to admit. The guy in Molenbeek could stay hidden there because you have a community willing to protect him.

 

[HKS racer]

Rubbish. Specifically blaming the EU for ruining a previous harmony is complete bull:censored:. I'm not here to praise the EU but before the EU Europe went through its worst military destruction in the whole of its history; WW2. And before that? We've done the number of wars in Europe before. France vs Germany. England vs France. Russia vs Germany. Hungary vs Slovakia. Turkey vs Hungary. Austria vs Germany. Sweden vs Czechia. Russia vs Poland. Poland vs Germany. Turkey vs Greece. And so on...

And what about the homegrown terrorist cells within Europe such as ETA, the IRA, UVF, UDA and RAF? Some of those predate the EU by many decades.

You can speculate and champion your Islamaphobia or Xenophobia, whatever it is specifically, all you want but you can't talk as though Europe was a safe place before the rise of Islamic theocratic fascism. It never was and it's a constant issue whether it has been through war or diplomacy. This is the latest development on a problem which has plagued Europe, and the whole damn world, since time immemorial. It isn't new.

How many people have to day before you realize this is a serious threat? You are repeating like a parrot what our politicians said in the last few years, but what's changed? Did they solve the problem?

Either EU step up and finally do something or we can keep fooling us until the next terrorist attack, over and over again until we will reach an Israel vs. Palestine situation with almost daily terrorist attacks for decades.

 

[Liquid]

How many people have to day before you realize this is a serious threat? You are repeating like a parrot what our politicians said in the last few years, but what's changed? Did they solve the problem?

Please point out instances where I have said that this isn't a problem.

 

[Denur]

Probably an attack in response to the arrest of the moron?

I doubt it. An attack like this takes a lot of planning. What I do expect is that Abdeslam and his friends were expected to play a role in today's attacks, a la Paris, by shooting at people. Last week the police found a lot of guns at his previous hiding place.