(CNN) Three explosions that ripped through the Belgian capital of Brussels on Tuesday killed at least 34 people and wounded about 170 more, according to Belgian media, and raised the reality of terror once again in the heart of Europe. At least three Americans are reported to be among the injured. The trio are reported to be Mormon missionaries from Utah.
“We were fearing terrorist attacks, and that has now happened,” Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel told reporters.
Belgian federal Prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said late Tuesday morning that it was too soon to know exactly how many people died in the bombings. Yet Belgian state broadcaster RTBF, citing emergency services, reported 20 dead at the Maalbeek metro station and 14 more killed at Brussels’ international airport.
After the blasts, Belgian authorities again hit the streets looking for those tied to Tuesday’s carnage and who might launch more attacks.
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes released the following statement in reaction to the attacks in Belgium:
Shortly after the attacks, House Intel Chair Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif) issued the following statement: “We stand with the people of Belgium and will support them in any way possible in the wake of these barbaric attacks. Although we don’t have all the details yet on these bombings, it’s clear that terrorists are exploiting security gaps throughout the Western world to commit mass murder. Thwarting these killers will require vigilance both by governments, which need to track and apprehend terrorists before they have a chance to strike, as well as citizens, who need to report suspicious activity to the authorities. Crucially, the Obama administration needs to adopt a broad, consistent strategy to fight ISIS, al Qaeda, and an array of other terror groups. The periodic outbreak of mass casualty terror attacks cannot be allowed to become the new normal.”
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Citing judicial sources, RTBF reported that raids were underway midday Tuesday around Brussels, targeting people linked to the attacks. And at the international airport, a controlled explosion could be heard after troops zeroed in on a suspicious package, according to the Belgian crisis center.
Belgium is no stranger to terror. Just a few days ago, authorities there captured Europe’s most wanted man, Salah Abdeslam — the latest of many suspected terrorists caught in the small European country. And a U.S. counterterrorism official said, “The Belgians have been sitting on a ticking time bomb,” given all those who have gone to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS, then possibly come back home.
Still, these facts don’t take away the shock and horror of those who lived through Tuesday’s carnage.
“You cannot believe it; you cannot believe it,” said Jef Versele, who was in the airport’s departure hall when bombs exploded there. “It was so insane. Not in my backyard.”
Brussels man: ‘It was a matter of time’
At least one of the two airport explosions was a suicide bombing, Van Leeuw said. A blast happened there outside the security checkpoints for ticketed passengers and near the airline check-in counters, an airline official briefed on the situation said.
The subway station blast happened in the Brussels district of Maalbeek, near the European Quarter, where much of the European Union is based.
Richard Medic, who arrived at the 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.
“I think, after the Paris attacks, we were assuming something like this would happen,” the Brussels resident told CNN. “And it was a matter of time.”
Yet Versele, the airport witness, said that he thinks Belgians should not hole themselves up.
Instead, he said, they should continue to live their lives and travel “to prove that we’re not afraid of those who have done (the attacks).”
Belgian authorities bolstered security after Tuesday’s attacks, including shutting down all Brussels metro stations and evacuating the city’s airport.
This comes as the terror threat level in Belgium went up to four — its highest. That step-up means that army soldiers can be sent onto the streets to meet security needs.
In addition to the airport, broadcaster RTBF reported that the National Pensions Office in Brussels had been cleared after two suspicious packages were found inside.
The ramifications were felt outside the Belgian capital as well.
As far away as the United States, authorities in places like New York, Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles took special precautions like increased K9 sweeps of subways and additional police patrols. This was especially true around airports, subway stops and train stations, with scenes like those in the U.S. capital — where police pulled out and checked travelers at random — not uncommon.
Similar, if not more intense measures were enacted around Europe.
NATO, the military alliance that is headquartered in Brussels, increased its own 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.”
