BRUSSELS — There was a growing sense of fatalism among many here even before the first bomb went off, the first of three explosions detonated by suspected Islamic State suicide bombers at this city’s main airport and central subway stop in less than an hour that left at least 34 dead and nearly 200 more — including at least nine Americans — wounded.
“I had the feeling that it was bound to happen,” said Brussels resident Marcus Rooman. “It was a little bizarre that Brussels had escaped such attacks up till now.”
Despite elevated alert levels and the capture of one of Europe’s most-wanted terrorists just days earlier, deadly attacks struck once again Tuesday in the heart of one of the Continent’s great capitals. The country declared a three-day period of mourning as police raided sites in a large, mostly Muslim neighborhood in Brussels where Salah Abdeslam, a mastermind of the deadly Paris attacks in November, was finally captured in a shootout late last week.
The Islamic State quickly issued a statement on its allied news service Amaq claiming responsibility for the attack. U.S. and private analysts said the claim appeared credible.
“Islamic State fighters carried out a series of bombings with explosive belts and devices on Tuesday, targeting an airport and a central [subway] station in the center of the Belgian capital, Brussels,” the brief statement said in part.
President Obama spoke by telephone with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and issued a statement condemning the attacks from Cuba, where the second day of his milestone visit to the island was largely overshadowed by the grim news from Brussels.
PHOTOS: Brussels terror attacks confirm Belgium's fears after Salah Abdeslam arrest
Ordering that all American flags in the U.S. be flown at half-staff through Saturday, Mr. Obama said, “We will do whatever it takes, working with nations and peoples around the world, to bring the perpetrators of these attacks to justice, and to go after terrorists who threaten our people.”
The bombings also prompted swift condemnations from European leaders, with French Prime Minister Francois Hollande declaring that “we are at war” and British Prime Minister David Cameron asserting that “we will never let these terrorists win.”
The Eiffel Tower and Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate were bathed Tuesday night in red, yellow and black lights — the national colors of their stricken neighbor.
Two explosions, at least one of which was likely caused by a suicide bomber, hit two gates of the departures area of the Belgian capital’s main international airport during the busy morning rush, collapsing the ceiling and sending panicked travelers rushing for cover.
A third blast, roughly an hour later, went off in the car of a subway train as it was traveling through a tunnel beneath the city, not far from the main complex of EU office buildings. Brussels has long served as the home for both the European Union and NATO, making it a tempting target for jihadis.
Amid fears that more attacks could be on the way, Belgian authorities raised the nation’s terrorism alert to the highest level, diverting planes and trains and ordering people to stay where they were. Airports across Europe immediately tightened security.
Belgian police later Tuesday released a surveillance photo of three men, prime suspects in the bombings, pushing luggage carts at the airport. At least one of the men is thought to have fled the scene, where a Kalashnikov rifle and an undetonated suicide vest were found.
A Belgian taxi driver later told police that he transported the three men to the airport that morning and led police to the apartment where he picked them up. Police found an Islamic State flag and bomb material during a raid of the apartment.
At least nine Americans were wounded in the attack, some seriously. The victims include an American serviceman, members of his family, and three Mormon missionaries from Utah who were seeing off a colleague who was flying to the U.S.
Scene of carnage
Authorities said at least 11 people were killed and 81 injured at the Brussels’ Zaventem airport, where witnesses described a scene of horrific carnage, with water from ruptured pipes mixing with victims’ blood on the floor.
Belgian parliamentarian George Dallemagne dropped off his wife at the airport shortly before the explosions.
“She called me to say there had been explosions around 7:58,” he told Le Soir newspaper. “She ran immediately, shocked, toward the Sheraton Hotel, then she went back to get her luggage after she realized that there was no danger where she stood. That’s where she saw the victims of the shattered glass leaving the airport, older people put on stretchers and the rescue teams arriving.”
Ralph Usbeck, 55, an electronics technician from Berlin, was checking in his baggage for an American Airlines flight to Florida when the first bomb exploded.
“I assumed it was training, but some litter was in the air, so I was not sure if it was a terrorist act,” he told The Associated Press. “Seconds later, a much more heavy, heavy detonation happened, some more distance [away] but much more heavy. This was the moment I realized this was a terrorist act.”
At least 20 people were killed and 55 injured by the explosion that rocked Brussels’ Maelbeek subway stop an hour later, unleashing a wave of panic over the city about further attacks.
Amateur video broadcast on France’s i-Tele television showed passengers, including a child with a backpack, dashing out of the airport terminal in different directions as they lugged suitcases. Another image showed a security officer patrolling inside a hall with blown-out paneling and what appeared to be ceiling insulation covering the floor.
One man described how he tried to give his coat to an injured woman, before he broke down in tears. Soon afterward, a passer-by put a towel around his shoulders to stop his shaking. Another man described how people in nearby buildings raced outside and tried to help.
“We ran outside, tried to get people out, but the smoke stopped us,” said the man, who identified himself only as Robert. “People were burned, disheveled, covered with dust. We just tried to comfort them.”
At the nearby Thon Hotel, the lobby was cleared of guests and transformed into a de facto emergency room. Some 15 ambulances arrived, and several patients were dispatched to hospitals.
Across town, cellphone signals were jammed as people tried to contact loved ones. Streets were deserted except for police patrols as authorities told residents to stay where they were and avoid the roads.
Panicked parents arrived at schools, where officials were advised to keep children inside.
Many in Brussels had trouble getting anywhere — including home — because much of the public transportation was shut down.
Eva Deckers went to pick up her son from school in the southern part of the city, departing from a metro station three stops away from Maelbeek. She said she was just trying to stay calm.
“We don’t know if we should be scared or not. We don’t know how to react,” the 34-year-old mother said. “I don’t think we should be panicking. If we panic, we have nothing left.”
’Black moment’
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel told reporters, “What we feared has happened. In this time of tragedy, this black moment for our country, I appeal to everyone to remain calm but also to show solidarity.”
Government officials said Tuesday that they knew Islamic State operatives were preparing some kind of extremist act in Europe, but that they were still surprised by the scope and sophistication of the attacks in Brussels.
Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon told reporters that “it was always possible that more attacks could happen but we never could have imagined something of this scale.”
Airport security was boosted across Europe, including in Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway, The Associated Press reported.
Officials in Washington and New York said they were stepping up security measures but had not received any specific threats of an attack on the U.S. homeland.
European security officials had been bracing for a major attack for weeks and warned that the Islamic State group was preparing to strike. There was early speculation that the arrest of Abdeslam may have triggered the Tuesday attacks, with jihadi cells fearful that their plots would be exposed.
Mr. Michel said there was no immediate evidence linking Abdeslam to the Brussels bombings. After his arrest Friday, Abdeslam told authorities he had created a network and was planning attacks.
• Guy Taylor reported from Washington. This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Guy Taylor can be reached at gtaylor@washingtontimes.com.
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