Multiple explosions rocked the metro and airport in Brussels around 8 a.m. local time Tuesday, killing 30 and injuring 200 in what initial reports indicate were terrorist attacks, according to Belgian public broadcaster RTBF. Brussels has “virtually shut down,” The New York Times reports.
Gunshots and shouting in Arabic were heard shortly before the explosions at the Brussels Zaventem International Airport, which has since been closed. Another attack at the Maelbeek Metro Station shut down the metro in the entire city. The Eurostar high-speed train that connects Brussels to London has also been cancelled.
Radio Free Europe tweeted a map of the attack locations:
Location of blasts at #Brussels‘ Zaventem airport. Follow our live blog for the latest: https://t.co/3EglGcdmCz pic.twitter.com/oxmdNjmEGJ
— RFE/RL (@RFERL) March 22, 2016
Reporter for Georgia, Ketevan Kardava, appears to be on the scene and has been posting images of the aftermath [WARNING: Graphic].
Posted by Ketevan Kardava on Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Another reporter, Anna Ahronheim, posted this Twitter video of people running from the airport:
#BREAKING: Two loud explosions at #Zaventem airport in #Brussels pic.twitter.com/JFw9RGLjnh
— Anna Ahronheim (@AAhronheim) March 22, 2016
Here’s unconfirmed video from what appears to be the metro station:
Эвакуация пассажиров метро в Брюсселе по рельсам
pic.twitter.com/rixULGqVW3— Дмитрий Смирнов (@dimsmirnov175) March 22, 2016
The attacks come just days since the Friday arrest of terrorist Salah Abdeslam, who was the last surviving member of the ISIS terror cell responsible for the November Paris attacks that killed 130 people. Abdeslam was found by Belgian authorities after several terror raids in the Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek which, in the wake of the Paris attacks, has become known as a hotbed for terrorist recruiting in Europe.
The country’s interior minister, the head of homeland security, has raised Belgium’s terror alert to Level Four — which is the highest level of alert. The last time the country was at Level Four was in the immediate aftermath of the Paris attacks when authorities were looking for Abdeslam in Brussels. Brussels is home to the European Parliament as well as the European Commission and is considered to be the capital of the European Union.
Video of people fleeing the Brussels Zaventem International Airport after the explosions has already been posted on the Internet:
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