22/03/2016

:00:00. > :00:00.Whether they have plotted the attack themselves and this is the

:00:00. > :00:12.responsibility of individuals as in Paris in November, they are directed

:00:13. > :00:17.by Isis, or inspired by Isis, Isis is expected to claim responsibility.

:00:18. > :00:23.Is it people who are part of the network, informal network, that has

:00:24. > :00:29.been investigated around Brussels that was part of the Paris attacks,

:00:30. > :00:36.or somebody else? Individuals with no formal ties?

:00:37. > :00:47.The fifth of the timing, suggests that this has been connected to

:00:48. > :00:55.Salah Abdeslam? It is difficult to say. I think obviously the attacks

:00:56. > :01:00.are synchronised, relatively sophisticated, targeting their

:01:01. > :01:11.airport, one of the most secure Metro stations at Brussels. It shows

:01:12. > :01:21.some sophistication. They decided, to carry out the attacks, whether

:01:22. > :01:30.because they are afraid Salah Abdeslam could give information, or

:01:31. > :01:35.to avenge that the rest. -- arrest. All the other off, possible. What do

:01:36. > :01:42.you make of how the security services and intelligence agencies

:01:43. > :01:49.have been handling things, that they missed this attack, even though they

:01:50. > :01:52.were on high alert? It is open societies, not possible to control

:01:53. > :01:59.everything, every possible target, it is premature to put the blame on

:02:00. > :02:05.those authorities, but at the same time, fair to say Belgian

:02:06. > :02:12.authorities have been overground, with the number of individuals like

:02:13. > :02:19.to Islamic State. It is a tiny law enforcement agency, not coping with

:02:20. > :02:23.the numbers, that the long to Isis, with this ideology, problems with

:02:24. > :02:29.the government, different agencies, problems of coordination with

:02:30. > :02:33.France, and it has been debated over the last few months, that Belgium

:02:34. > :02:41.has a problem. This is one of the manifestations. How many more

:02:42. > :02:47.Jihadis do you think, that have not been identified? It is obviously

:02:48. > :02:56.difficult. Belgian talk about 500, 600, going to Iraq and to fight.

:02:57. > :03:06.About 100 have come back to Belgium. Many people, not known to the

:03:07. > :03:16.authorities, and a number of individuals, simply radicalised, in

:03:17. > :03:23.spite of -- inspired by Isis. We saw from the Paris attacks, that they

:03:24. > :03:27.had some sympathisers, absconding for months. I would not want to

:03:28. > :03:34.exaggerate, but definitely hundreds, if not low thousands, with that

:03:35. > :03:39.ideology. Do you think any of the diva applies each and programmes,

:03:40. > :03:46.these efforts to address why young men are particularly turning to

:03:47. > :03:55.Islamic State, Jihadism, are working? Nobody argues, tools to

:03:56. > :04:03.eliminate the threat. Threat reduction. Working in a certain

:04:04. > :04:09.amount of cases. Last year, Britain intervened 4000 individuals. It

:04:10. > :04:13.works for some cases, and not for others. Some people are so

:04:14. > :04:21.radicalised, you cannot change them back and the radicalised him. At the

:04:22. > :04:28.numbers are so high, even if it worked for 30% of cases, you are

:04:29. > :04:31.eliminating dangerous, a and two zoning on the most important.

:04:32. > :04:35.Law-enforcement is so limited symptoms of what it can do, so we

:04:36. > :04:44.need those tools to be more comprehensive. Thank you. The

:04:45. > :04:50.Belgian Prime Minister was speaking earlier today, condemning what he

:04:51. > :04:52.called his cowardly acts, and he said that he wanted people to come

:04:53. > :05:14.together. TRANSLATION: Our first thoughts

:05:15. > :05:16.are with the victims, their families and those

:05:17. > :05:17.waiting for information Two attacks have

:05:18. > :05:20.happened this morning. One at Zavantem and one

:05:21. > :05:22.at the metro station Maelbeek. Because of the security

:05:23. > :05:24.situation we are trying to stabilise

:05:25. > :05:25.the situation. Our thoughts are

:05:26. > :05:26.coming towards other The first urgent action

:05:27. > :05:29.is to provide treatment for the victims, to

:05:30. > :05:32.evacuate the victims of this attack towards various

:05:33. > :05:37.hospitals, and we know that probably we are talking about scores of dead

:05:38. > :05:47.and injured persons, The authorities are evaluating

:05:48. > :05:57.the threat and have raised it to level four, and additional

:05:58. > :06:00.security measures are being taken Military enforcements

:06:01. > :06:08.being deployed. Enforcement of border

:06:09. > :06:11.control are in action. Especially measures regarding public

:06:12. > :06:14.transport are being put in place I would like to tell

:06:15. > :06:22.you this black moment in our country,

:06:23. > :06:25.I would like to call We are facing

:06:26. > :06:36.a challenging, difficult time and we should face up to this

:06:37. > :06:41.challenge by being united, We will continue to

:06:42. > :06:50.follow the situation minute by minute with different

:06:51. > :06:52.security services, different rescue I would like to thank the security

:06:53. > :07:01.services for the work We are determined to face this

:07:02. > :07:07.situation and manage this situation and to deal with it

:07:08. > :07:26.as best as possible. That was the Belgian Prime Minister.

:07:27. > :07:30.We can get the latest from Brussels. What can you tell us, about the

:07:31. > :07:42.airport? Police discovered an unused airport? Police discovered an unused

:07:43. > :07:46.explosive belt? Yes. It has been reported by Belgian and French

:07:47. > :07:55.media, it was a suicide built. I am 400 metres away. This group of

:07:56. > :08:04.police officers, carried out an arrest, on a group of teenagers. And

:08:05. > :08:14.all that we know, officially, it was a suspicious package, found at the

:08:15. > :08:21.airport. Defusing what appears to be a bomb. But simply, we have said a

:08:22. > :08:25.suspicious package. That eyewitnesses, the testimony,

:08:26. > :08:33.powerful statements from those on the ground for low-level, check in

:08:34. > :08:43.desk six, at the centre of the departure lounge. Heard two

:08:44. > :08:50.explosions. I spoke to one man, telling me that he saw the ceiling

:08:51. > :08:57.cave in. Coaching, blood on his legs and hands. He was talking to the

:08:58. > :09:03.police, shaking, crying. Describing how he went back and forth, to the

:09:04. > :09:13.airport, dragging elderly people out. He said two people died in

:09:14. > :09:20.front of him. His friends were comforting him. And we have also

:09:21. > :09:28.seen three hearses going to the airport. Grim sight. Some people,

:09:29. > :09:33.leaving, and many of them sobbing as they saw that. From the point of

:09:34. > :09:40.view of the police, a lot of confusion, trying to keep the ball

:09:41. > :09:43.calm, people have been wondering when the airport is going to open

:09:44. > :09:52.again. We have been told it will be at least three days. And the issue,

:09:53. > :10:00.off when it is good to BC, people learning about the explosion, at the

:10:01. > :10:03.Metro station, 20 people, according to the local transport people, but

:10:04. > :10:09.no confirmation of how many people have died at the airport. Local

:10:10. > :10:12.media, telling us at least 14 people. The Prime Minister Charles

:10:13. > :10:18.Michel has told us that this attack was violent and cowardly. Scores

:10:19. > :10:27.killed. Across the city, helicopters, constant sirens, police

:10:28. > :10:34.and emergency services. It is clearly the highest level of alert,

:10:35. > :10:39.number four, expecting another attack. This is going back to the

:10:40. > :10:49.Loughton, December, and a lot of people feel nervous around report.

:10:50. > :11:01.-- airport. Thank you. These are live pictures from Brussels. We were

:11:02. > :11:08.just talking about some of the figures. All we want to clarify.

:11:09. > :11:17.More than 30 people killed in Brussels today. The state

:11:18. > :11:21.broadcaster has said that before. The mayor of Brussels has been

:11:22. > :11:35.speaking. 20 people on the Metro, 11 at the airport. 106 people wounded,

:11:36. > :11:45.17 gravely, 23 seriously. Large number of people wounded. Fears that

:11:46. > :11:50.will rise. Obviously, that is fluid. We will keep you across updates. I

:11:51. > :12:00.have been speaking to a woman, who was with her family, this morning.

:12:01. > :12:08.We were just having breakfast, to get my mum, suddenly an explosion on

:12:09. > :12:16.my right. Walls falling off. Everybody started running. So did

:12:17. > :12:24.we. After five, ten seconds, a second blast. And we did not know

:12:25. > :12:34.where to go. We stood in the middle, for about five minutes, but nobody

:12:35. > :12:41.could help. Now guidance, nothing. We could not breathe. And that was

:12:42. > :12:52.the moment that we felt we had to go out. It must have been incredibly

:12:53. > :12:59.frightening? For your mum? It was. I was not just with my mum. My family.

:13:00. > :13:12.And you saw people killed and injured? Yes. We saw people injured.

:13:13. > :13:26.A mum with a baby. A lot of smoke? Glass? Yes. A lot of smoke. We could

:13:27. > :13:31.not see anything. No glass. But a lot of dust. Walls falling down.

:13:32. > :13:42.Hand was anybody offering to help? Actually not. Everybody was just so

:13:43. > :13:50.shocked. Nobody from security. We had to find our own way outside. Do

:13:51. > :14:01.people realise it was a bomb? Yes. In the beginning, we did not. And we

:14:02. > :14:13.knew that it could be more, in the building. Also, a sense of panic,

:14:14. > :14:19.worrying it could be another bomb? Of course. Definitely. People trying

:14:20. > :14:28.to hide. Just trying to find something. One witness, talking

:14:29. > :14:39.earlier today. It is still not clear who was responsible for today, and

:14:40. > :14:49.of course, the suspicion is that this is the so-called Islamic State?

:14:50. > :14:58.But just to recap, no Jihadist crime. Have you seen anything on

:14:59. > :15:01.social media? No crime of responsibility, but those online,

:15:02. > :15:07.certainly treating this as an Islamic attack, in celebration mode,

:15:08. > :15:14.active on social media. Sharing footage. Producing their own

:15:15. > :15:24.posters. Celebrating this attack, the sickly scaremongering. Also,

:15:25. > :15:33.taking pride. Brussels and walked in, all of these security measures,

:15:34. > :15:42.across the European cities, they are proud of these measures. And from

:15:43. > :15:48.what you are saying, do you think Jihadist supporters think this was

:15:49. > :15:55.almost richer vision, for the arrest of Salah Abdeslam? This was one of

:15:56. > :16:00.the key lines. That this was in response to the recent arrest of

:16:01. > :16:04.Salah Abdeslam. Revenge. Others have also said it was Islamic State,

:16:05. > :16:12.taking revenge on the air strikes, US led, across Iraq and Syria. Those

:16:13. > :16:26.of also limited, the attacks at Mosul. In terms of slimy state --

:16:27. > :16:31.Islamic State, the normally delay until operations have been

:16:32. > :16:37.concluded, so that operatives have either been killed or escaped. And

:16:38. > :16:42.as we have learned from the reporting, events still unfolding.

:16:43. > :16:50.What else are you seeing? About these attacks, from Brussels,

:16:51. > :16:58.monitoring sites? One thing that has been standing out, supporters of

:16:59. > :17:07.Al-Qaeda, the rival of Islamic State, have not offered an opinion.

:17:08. > :17:12.They have not if they are pro or against them. Set that is another

:17:13. > :17:17.sign, pointing in the direction of Islamic State. These are dangerous

:17:18. > :17:24.times. We have two dangerous Jihadist groups. Competing over

:17:25. > :17:30.these attacks, who has the most powerful. This is what we have been

:17:31. > :17:36.seeing so far. From previous experience, IS supporters would not

:17:37. > :17:41.have the level of activity, supporting certain attacks, unless

:17:42. > :17:49.they have some kind of intel. That these do belong to Islamic State.

:17:50. > :17:55.Arabic media, and Western media, reporting that Isis had taken

:17:56. > :17:59.responsibility, but this is not genuine, just circulating, we have

:18:00. > :18:07.seen nothing official from Isis. Thank you. The French president

:18:08. > :18:17.Francois Hollande, has condemned the attacks. He said that it had

:18:18. > :18:42.attacked Belgium, but you look -- Europe was the target. I would like

:18:43. > :18:48.the challenge, and for the families, worried, about loved ones, our

:18:49. > :19:07.thoughts are with them. We share pain. Terrorists have struck

:19:08. > :19:15.Belgium, but Europe is the target. The world should be concerned. These

:19:16. > :19:20.attacks have been following others, Paris, particularly targeted last

:19:21. > :19:29.year, January and November, and other continents, felt the same.

:19:30. > :19:41.Especially Africa. But we are facing a global threat. That necessitates

:19:42. > :19:50.and requires a global response, for us and Belgium. We are linked with

:19:51. > :20:00.horror. I have reassured the Belgian government, that we are going to

:20:01. > :20:03.provide all the necessary means. But the war against terrrorists should

:20:04. > :20:11.be carried out across Europe, using all the necessary means, and

:20:12. > :20:14.intelligence information. David Cameron said that the attacks on

:20:15. > :20:23.Brussels underlined the importance of Europe standing together. These

:20:24. > :20:28.are appalling terrorist attacks, I have just spoken to the Belgian

:20:29. > :20:34.Prime Minister, to give condolences, and be absolutely stand with him at

:20:35. > :20:41.this difficult time. These attacks were then Belgium, it could just as

:20:42. > :20:49.easily be Germany, Britain, and we need to stand together, to make sure

:20:50. > :20:54.that these terrorists win. We have also offered every support, to the

:20:55. > :20:59.Belgian security services, as I have chaired a Cobra meeting, two ensure

:21:00. > :21:05.that we are doing everything that we can, increased police presence, at

:21:06. > :21:11.your porch, railway stations, as you would expect, but these are

:21:12. > :21:18.difficult times, appalling terrorists, but we're going to stand

:21:19. > :21:22.together to stop them, and to make sure that all they attack our way of

:21:23. > :21:32.life, and who we are, we will never let them win. David Cameron said

:21:33. > :21:38.this could have been any city. But Brussels, particularly, our target?

:21:39. > :21:42.Belgium has not been singled out, because of the policy, it is a

:21:43. > :21:49.target of opportunity. It is an easy place to operate, and it is clear

:21:50. > :21:57.that Brussels has become the logistics heart for Islamic State

:21:58. > :22:06.across Europe. It has got the highest proportion, per capita of

:22:07. > :22:13.people going to join Islamic State, across Syria and Iraq. It goes back,

:22:14. > :22:21.if you remember 9/11, two days before New York was attacked, two

:22:22. > :22:28.Belgian passport holders went to Afghanistan, assassinating targets,

:22:29. > :22:46.the have had a long history of jihadis, the attack on the train

:22:47. > :22:51.last year. Weapons used against Charlie Hebdo. That was traced back

:22:52. > :23:01.to Brussels. They have got profound problems, with security. Are you

:23:02. > :23:06.surprised, they are carrying these attacks out on their doorstep? I

:23:07. > :23:10.think it is too early to say, exactly who carried these out, but

:23:11. > :23:13.investigators going towards the CD, that these attacks were probably

:23:14. > :23:22.planned in advance, but brought forward, by the capture of Salah

:23:23. > :23:29.Abdeslam, on Friday. He was a key suspect, went to the Batalan

:23:30. > :23:35.attacks, that would probably have spooked them, brought that forward

:23:36. > :23:41.just in case they were captured. Other cells could be out. The

:23:42. > :23:46.original security seems to be good. Problems, with intelligence and

:23:47. > :23:55.accuracy across Europe. The jumpers close to what Britain was, about ten

:23:56. > :24:05.years ago, in terms of MI5. Not sharing everything with police. At

:24:06. > :24:10.Belgium, intelligence agencies do not share and off with police.

:24:11. > :24:14.Speaking different languages. Not on top of the problem. Just playing

:24:15. > :24:20.catch up. And going up against a good enemy. Salah Abdeslam was

:24:21. > :24:25.arrested days ago. What security questions are going to be asked?

:24:26. > :24:38.Prosecutors and investigators want to know what is inside his head. I'm

:24:39. > :24:43.glad Europe does torture. But even if they did, would they get the

:24:44. > :24:48.answers? I am glad that we have moved on from 2001, waterboarding,

:24:49. > :24:58.all that. But he said that he was planning to be one of the suicide

:24:59. > :25:01.bombers, and a vest with his DNA, was found, discareded after Paris

:25:02. > :25:07.attacks. But should they have been ready? Able to prevent this? They

:25:08. > :25:14.probably should have been. Belgium was braced for some sort of impact,

:25:15. > :25:17.backlash. It is surprising that somebody was able to get to the

:25:18. > :25:24.departure lounge, you think they would have had better security. One

:25:25. > :25:31.of the things that Belgium has been lacking, any preventive strategy.

:25:32. > :25:36.Prevent is a dirty world in these communities. It is supposed to stop

:25:37. > :25:42.more people getting radicalised, joining Islamic State, getting drawn

:25:43. > :25:48.to terrorism. It has had successes, but also failures. In Belgium, they

:25:49. > :25:58.do not have this. Bad relations between the police, and inhabitants

:25:59. > :26:02.of Molenbeek. You have talked about some of the things that have made

:26:03. > :26:09.Belgium vulnerable. What lessons for other European cities? Intelligence

:26:10. > :26:17.sharing. And bitter communities, they need to get better

:26:18. > :26:24.intelligence, if you look at last year, a shooting, we have had

:26:25. > :26:29.arrests, at places in Antwerp, they have got to improve the police

:26:30. > :26:34.intelligence, and share things better. David Cameron said that

:26:35. > :26:42.Britain was offering orbital that it could, to Belgium, and Jim needs

:26:43. > :26:49.that. Belgian police, to find out what they need to know, often were

:26:50. > :26:56.not from British counterparts. They learn from MI5. It goes all the way

:26:57. > :26:59.round. Actually, it should be making that directly. This is taken that is

:27:00. > :27:07.being wasted, and they cannot afford that. Thank you for talking to us.

:27:08. > :27:16.We can go to Gatwick Airport. Momentarily. But these are the

:27:17. > :27:23.latest pictures from Zaventem Airport. And you can see the damage,

:27:24. > :27:33.to that section of the building. That second explosion. We can go to

:27:34. > :27:38.Gatwick Airport. Then, with the airport across Europe, ramping up

:27:39. > :27:52.security in response to these attacks? That is correct. Obviously,

:27:53. > :27:57.severe threat level. Non specific. But a desire across all your porch,

:27:58. > :28:08.to reassure the public and increase awareness. We seem police patrols,

:28:09. > :28:17.on the roads, and of course, armed presence. We are likely to see that

:28:18. > :28:24.extended, across the chip network, -- tube network, and we have learned

:28:25. > :28:32.from the border agency, enhanced checks on vehicles. I think it is

:28:33. > :28:38.good to add time to journeys. And European portals have also been

:28:39. > :28:44.taped and as a result of the tragedy, in Belgian, this morning.

:28:45. > :28:51.Awareness is important. Security services now that eyes and ears are

:28:52. > :28:58.valuable. That has been on the link, from the Metropolitan Police, that

:28:59. > :29:02.travellers coming out of Brussels, could have some footage, and that

:29:03. > :29:09.they should get in touch with the Metropolitan Police. That could be

:29:10. > :29:17.important evidence. Two things. Yes, increased awareness, and reassuring

:29:18. > :29:27.as well. Thank you for that. We can bring you date with figures. The

:29:28. > :29:34.mayor of Brussels, has said that 20 people killed on the Metro. And 23

:29:35. > :29:39.seriously injured. And the number from your porch, 11 people at least

:29:40. > :29:46.killed. Those numbers, just coming to us. Different numbers, on the

:29:47. > :29:52.Metro. Ongoing security operation, at the airport. And much of the

:29:53. > :30:01.Belgian capital, unlocked and, following the offence. -- events.

:30:02. > :30:05.World leaders, expressing concern, and offering support. Thank you for

:30:06. > :30:14.being with us. More than 30 people have been killed

:30:15. > :30:19.and dozens injured, many seriously, after a series of bomb attacks on

:30:20. > :30:23.Belgium. This was the scene in the departure

:30:24. > :30:27.hall at Brussels airport moments after the first bombs went off.

:30:28. > :30:30.I heard one shot fired, then someone shouted some words in Arabic

:30:31. > :30:36.followed by a huge explosion and people started to flee towards the

:30:37. > :30:40.lifts and escalators. The blasts were detonated at 8.00 am

:30:41. > :30:44.local time. Authorities believe at least one was a suicide bomb. An

:30:45. > :30:48.hour later, at least 20 people were killed when a bomb exploded on a

:30:49. > :30:55.packed underground train. Survivors were led along a tunnel to safety.

:30:56. > :31:02.I was in the Metro heading to Maelbeek. We received a big blast of

:31:03. > :31:05.air and the train stopped. This is the scene live in Brussels. The

:31:06. > :31:10.threat level across Belgium is now at maximum. The country's Prime

:31:11. > :31:17.Minister has condemned what he calls blind and cowardly attacks. This

:31:18. > :31:21.tragic moment, this black moment in our country never before, I would

:31:22. > :31:26.like to call on everybody to know calmness and solidarity.

:31:27. > :31:28.As the attacks are condemned from leaders around the world we will

:31:29. > :31:44.bring you the latest in this BBC News special.

:31:45. > :31:51.Welcome to BBC News. There have been a series of bomb attacks in Brussels

:31:52. > :31:55.this morning morning that have led more than 30 dead and many more

:31:56. > :31:59.injured. The first attack was at the international airport. Two bombs

:32:00. > :32:04.went off there, at least one was a suicide bomber. Then about an hour

:32:05. > :32:08.later another blast hit central Brussels. This time it was at the

:32:09. > :32:13.Maelbeek Metro station which is just a few hundred metres away from some

:32:14. > :32:18.of the most important buildings of the European Union. At least 20 were

:32:19. > :32:21.killed and more than 100 were injured.

:32:22. > :32:26.The devastating explosions come four days after the arrest in the city of

:32:27. > :32:29.the Paris terror suspect Salah Abdeslam. The Belgian Prime Minister

:32:30. > :32:36.has called the attacks a dark moment for the nation. Belgium is now in

:32:37. > :32:41.virtual lockdown. We will be live in Brussels in a

:32:42. > :32:42.moment: Travellers cower in fear

:32:43. > :32:59.of further attack. Two bombs had ripped

:33:00. > :33:06.through the building. And the police ordered

:33:07. > :33:16.an evacuation. The bombs blew out the windows

:33:17. > :33:20.and they brought down the ceiling. First we thought it was

:33:21. > :33:24.a billboard falling It was 20 centimetres from me,

:33:25. > :33:31.it was a big explosion. And then there were two people

:33:32. > :33:47.working on the airport. They told me to come

:33:48. > :33:51.inside and they locked the door and behind a little gap,

:33:52. > :33:54.I saw a soldier putting away a body, I hope he was not dead

:33:55. > :34:01.and was just hit. Guns at the ready, the army

:34:02. > :34:05.and the police watch over passengers evacuated from the bombed

:34:06. > :34:08.airport as the mayhem of the morning There was one gunshot

:34:09. > :34:18.after the first explosion, And one man was speaking Arabic

:34:19. > :34:21.afterwards and I heard an enormous It was, said Belgian's Prime

:34:22. > :34:34.Minister, a black day. TRANSLATION: Our country

:34:35. > :34:40.and our citizens have been struck And our first thoughts

:34:41. > :34:50.go to the victims, Brussels is on the highest

:34:51. > :34:53.state of alert. The military has

:34:54. > :34:54.sent reinforcements. Public transport has

:34:55. > :34:57.ceased in Europe's capital, flights suspended,

:34:58. > :35:01.Eurostar halted. Europe, says the French Prime

:35:02. > :35:16.Minister, is at war, Our correspondent Gavin Lee is by

:35:17. > :35:20.the airport in Brussels. I am 400 metres away. Police are going in and

:35:21. > :35:24.out. This group of officers here, about ten minutes ago, carried out

:35:25. > :35:28.an arrest of a group of teenagers close to the airport. It's unclear

:35:29. > :35:32.as to what was going on. They were close to media teams. All we know

:35:33. > :35:36.officially from the Government is that a suspicious package has been

:35:37. > :35:40.found in the airport. The bomb disposal team is on the way in

:35:41. > :35:44.trying to defuse what appears to be a bomb. Little confirmation about

:35:45. > :35:50.that at the moment, simply suspicious package they're saying.

:35:51. > :35:53.To rewind back to 8.00am and some eyewitness testimony we have been

:35:54. > :35:58.hearing, really powerful statements from those that were on the ground

:35:59. > :36:02.floor level by the check-in desks, the 6th where American Airlines are

:36:03. > :36:10.and Brussels Airlines in the centre of the departure lounge that heard

:36:11. > :36:14.two explosions, I was speaking to one man who is said he saw the

:36:15. > :36:18.ceiling cave in. He immediately hit the ground. He crouched and saw

:36:19. > :36:22.people in a worse state than he is, he had blood on his legs and hands

:36:23. > :36:25.and he was talking to the police, he was in a state of shock, shaking and

:36:26. > :36:29.crying, he was describing how he went back and forth in and out of

:36:30. > :36:33.the airport dragging people, mostly elderly people out of the exterior

:36:34. > :36:36.which was covered in shattered glass. He said there were two people

:36:37. > :36:45.that died in front of him. He was in a terrible state. His friends were

:36:46. > :36:49.confidenting him. -- comforting him. We have watched three hearses going

:36:50. > :36:53.into the airport. A grim sight and there were people leaving with

:36:54. > :36:57.suitcases going to a reception centre to get information. Many of

:36:58. > :37:01.them sobbing as they saw the sight in front of them, finding it hard to

:37:02. > :37:04.fathom. From the police point of view there is confusion. They're

:37:05. > :37:09.trying to keep people calm despite the little information. People are

:37:10. > :37:12.saying when is the airport going to open again and can they leave? We

:37:13. > :37:15.are being told it's at least three days according to local police

:37:16. > :37:20.officers here. There is also the issue of where is it safe to go?

:37:21. > :37:24.Many people are arriving here and hearing about the explosion in the

:37:25. > :37:27.Tube Station where there's been a confirmed death toll so far of 20

:37:28. > :37:30.people according to the local mayor, and according to the transport

:37:31. > :37:35.network here, still no confirmation of how many people have died here at

:37:36. > :37:40.the airport. Local media saying at least 14 people. With 55 injured.

:37:41. > :37:44.The Prime Minister saying this is an attack which is blind, violent and

:37:45. > :37:47.cowardly and that scores of people have been killed and right across

:37:48. > :37:53.the city helicopters are hovering ahead. There are constantly sounds

:37:54. > :37:57.of sirens with police cars and emergency services and road blocks,

:37:58. > :38:00.we were - clearly the highest state of alert now, level four that they

:38:01. > :38:04.expect another attack. This is going back to the days of the lockdown in

:38:05. > :38:07.December when it was at the highest level of alert and it feels like it

:38:08. > :38:12.at the moment. A lot of people nervous in and around the airport

:38:13. > :38:15.now. Less than an hour after the blasts

:38:16. > :38:18.at the airport a third bomb exploded on the underground Metro in the

:38:19. > :38:21.heart of the city at Maelbeek station. It was close to the

:38:22. > :38:25.European Commission's main building. At least 20 people died and more

:38:26. > :38:32.than 100 injured according to the latest statement from the mayor of

:38:33. > :38:33.Brussels. The entire Metronetwork remains shut. Christian Fraser

:38:34. > :38:40.reports. The screams of a traumatised child

:38:41. > :38:42.emerging from a packed commuter train in the immediate

:38:43. > :38:46.aftermath of an explosion. The other passengers set off on foot

:38:47. > :38:48.into a tunnel filled They follow the lights

:38:49. > :38:53.but they do not know where they are going

:38:54. > :39:02.or what they are walking into. Above them at street

:39:03. > :39:06.level, pandemonium. The metro station is Maelbeek,

:39:07. > :39:09.just 500 metres from The explosions echoed down tunnels,

:39:10. > :39:16.so loud commuters in two neighbouring stations

:39:17. > :39:19.thought they were also There was a loud muffled

:39:20. > :39:24.noise, very audible. There was initial panic

:39:25. > :39:29.but there was so much construction as they build over Brussels

:39:30. > :39:32.all the time it is hard to discern There was a lot of dust

:39:33. > :39:37.and smoke almost immediately I was in the metro

:39:38. > :39:50.heading from Charleroi, We had the normal recording

:39:51. > :39:55.announcements, we have just had an incident, we are trying

:39:56. > :39:58.to resolve the issue, We waited and smoke

:39:59. > :40:06.entered the carriages. The bomb went off in

:40:07. > :40:12.a confined space at the peak of the morning rush-hour,

:40:13. > :40:16.as thousands headed into work As first responders arrived,

:40:17. > :40:20.the smoke was still billowing from the entrance, these

:40:21. > :40:22.were the walking wounded, but inside there were

:40:23. > :40:24.horrific injuries. 15 people are reported

:40:25. > :40:29.killed and 55 wounded. Until this point, the Belgian

:40:30. > :40:36.capital was a hub for jihadis, used for

:40:37. > :40:37.hiding and plotting. It is clear now that Salah Abdeslam

:40:38. > :40:43.was a small cog in a much bigger terrorist industry, still not fully

:40:44. > :40:59.understood and still extremely Let's cross now to Anna Holligan. No

:41:00. > :41:04.trains, no trams, military on the streets. This is lockdown. This is

:41:05. > :41:08.as far as we can go actually. We are right outside the European

:41:09. > :41:11.Commission building. You can see the level of security behind us here.

:41:12. > :41:15.This is literally as far as they're letting us go. There are soldiers in

:41:16. > :41:20.position behind these police vans, not sure if you can see them. The

:41:21. > :41:25.road has been blocked off. You can see the flags, the European flags

:41:26. > :41:28.outside the Commission building are now flying at half-mast. The

:41:29. > :41:34.station, Maelbeek station, that Christian was talking about there,

:41:35. > :41:40.is down this road. The federal prosecutors have confirmed the

:41:41. > :41:48.explosions were terrorist attacks and what we are hearing in the last

:41:49. > :41:52.couple of minutes from Belgian television is Ian unexploded suicide

:41:53. > :41:55.vest was found at the airport, that follows earlier reports that a

:41:56. > :41:59.Kalashnikov was found there too. Everyone from the station has been

:42:00. > :42:02.evacuated. According to reports there was an explosive device in the

:42:03. > :42:08.second carriage of a three-carriage train. The driver stopped the train

:42:09. > :42:13.immediately and allowed everyone who was able to to leave the station.

:42:14. > :42:19.That's all been sealed off now. We have been hearing from the Belgian

:42:20. > :42:22.Prime Minister, he says this this is a tragic moment in our country's

:42:23. > :42:28.history. They're continuing to follow the situation. They're

:42:29. > :42:31.evaluating the threat. They've confirmed that the attack at the

:42:32. > :42:35.airport was carried out, they say, probably by a suicide bomber.

:42:36. > :42:40.They're looking at additional security now. Military

:42:41. > :42:45.reinforcements are being brought in. They've called on everybody to show

:42:46. > :42:49.kindness and solidarity they say during this challenging time. He

:42:50. > :42:54.also says, interestingly, this is what we feared would happen. This,

:42:55. > :42:59.of course, follows the arrest of the prime suspect in the Paris attacks,

:43:00. > :43:06.Salah Abdeslam, who was arrested here in Brussels on Friday.

:43:07. > :43:11.Hindsight is a wonderful thing but security was not increased after

:43:12. > :43:14.that arrest. Well, we were here in Brussels after that arrest. What we

:43:15. > :43:18.found most remarkable was there was no indication of what had happened

:43:19. > :43:25.or the fact that two of these suspects had escaped through the

:43:26. > :43:29.back of an apartment close to the suburb of Molenbeek. We did see

:43:30. > :43:35.sniffer dogs on the streets and some police but indeed the terror threat

:43:36. > :43:42.level stayed at three. Today, it has been raised to four, which is the

:43:43. > :43:47.maximum level. Just looking at what some jihadi experts are saying

:43:48. > :43:51.today, one says that if these attacks, these three explosions,

:43:52. > :43:54.were indeed a response to the anti-terror operation that happened

:43:55. > :43:58.here in Brussels last week, then they were pulled together at

:43:59. > :44:03.remarkable speed and perhaps what's most shocking isn't that these

:44:04. > :44:10.attacks happened, but they seem to have been so well co-ordinated, the

:44:11. > :44:15.two attacks, 8.00am local time this morning, followed by one just over

:44:16. > :44:19.an hour later, just behind us down this road at the Maelbeek Metro

:44:20. > :44:25.station. You can see some people are now being allowed through. They may

:44:26. > :44:29.be workers who have been inside the European buildings. We should say

:44:30. > :44:35.this is right in the heart of the European district of Brussels. They

:44:36. > :44:40.couldn't have struck at a more sensitive place. The police are down

:44:41. > :44:49.there. They've cordoned off this whole area. I will bring you back

:44:50. > :44:53.around here and show you behind here, there are more police. Police

:44:54. > :44:56.cars are coming down this road constantly. Behind there,

:44:57. > :45:01.unsurprisingly perhaps, the television crews from all over the

:45:02. > :45:05.world have gathered because this is an issue that leaders from all over

:45:06. > :45:08.the world have been commenting today. The British Prime Minister,

:45:09. > :45:13.David Cameron, has said his thoughts are with this country. As we

:45:14. > :45:18.understand it, one Briton has been injured in the attacks this morning

:45:19. > :45:23.here in Brussels. We have spoken before about Brussels, in terms of a

:45:24. > :45:28.hub for terrorism, the Paris attacks reportedly planned there, but

:45:29. > :45:33.Brussels is now the target. Indeed. Brussels is very much the target.

:45:34. > :45:39.It's right in the spotlight now. We spent a couple of days in Molenbeek

:45:40. > :45:43.last week, so many of the people involved in the Paris attacks last

:45:44. > :45:51.November had links to Molenbeek. Indeed, the Prime Minister, the man

:45:52. > :45:59.who is thought to be the ringleader, who was featured in gruesome Islamic

:46:00. > :46:03.State videos and died in police raids subsequently in Paris, he was

:46:04. > :46:09.friends, it said, with Salah Abdeslam, one of the few people who

:46:10. > :46:13.survived and was arrested during a dramatic raid outside his home last

:46:14. > :46:19.Friday. He was shot in the leg and taken to hospital. Over the weekend

:46:20. > :46:22.we had very early reports from those initial interrogations in which he

:46:23. > :46:29.said he planned to blow himself up at the Stade de France and changed

:46:30. > :46:33.his mind and he also, according to the Belgian Foreign Minister, said

:46:34. > :46:39.he was planning something else. They didn't specify what else. As the

:46:40. > :46:46.Prime Minister has said today, this is really confirming their worst

:46:47. > :46:52.fears. More sirens now. There is a forensic unit heading in towards the

:46:53. > :46:57.Commission building. Probably down towards the Metro station here. It's

:46:58. > :47:02.a very fast-moving story, as you can imagine. We have had confirmation

:47:03. > :47:07.from a university here in Belgium that the students have been asked to

:47:08. > :47:11.stay inside. Helicopters and soldiers were reported to be at the

:47:12. > :47:15.scene. Also, the Belgian crisis centre has tweeted in the last

:47:16. > :47:20.couple of minutes saying that students at all schools in the

:47:21. > :47:26.country should stay inside until further instructions and that's an

:47:27. > :47:34.order they say from the Ministry of Education. Now once again Belgium

:47:35. > :47:38.has been brought in, they're still searching for people responsible for

:47:39. > :47:42.these apparently co-ordinated attacks, two at Brussels airport

:47:43. > :47:47.this morning and one at the Metro station behind us at Maelbeek. Given

:47:48. > :47:52.the apparent co-ordination of that, the fear has to be there are still

:47:53. > :48:00.terrorists on the loose in Brussels right now? They had little doubt

:48:01. > :48:03.there was still people out there who may have sympathy or violent

:48:04. > :48:08.ambitions certainly. A number of people were arrested along with

:48:09. > :48:11.Salah Abdeslam last week. They had been sheltering him, the police

:48:12. > :48:19.said. Certainly when you go down to Molenbeek and of course it's not

:48:20. > :48:24.just Molenbeek, but this has become the synonymous with this jihadi

:48:25. > :48:27.network because so many of the attackers in Paris had links there.

:48:28. > :48:33.Certainly no further word on the suspects. There are reports of

:48:34. > :48:37.the... We will leave you there. We will go straight to Cuba. President

:48:38. > :48:41.Obama is addressing an audience at the National Theatre and is expected

:48:42. > :48:46.to say something about what's happened in Brussels. Let's join him

:48:47. > :48:54.now. Thank you very much. President

:48:55. > :48:58.Castro, the people of Cuba, thank you so much for the warm welcome

:48:59. > :49:03.that I have received, that my family have received and that our

:49:04. > :49:08.delegation has received. It is an extraordinary honour to be here

:49:09. > :49:13.today. Before I begin, please indulge me, I want to comment on the

:49:14. > :49:18.terrorist attacks that have taken place in Brussels. The thoughts and

:49:19. > :49:24.prayers of the American people are with the people of Belgium and we

:49:25. > :49:27.stand in solidarity with them in condemning these outrageous attacks

:49:28. > :49:33.against innocent people. We will do whatever is necessary to support our

:49:34. > :49:38.friend and ally Belgium in bringing to justice those who are responsible

:49:39. > :49:46.and this is yet another reminder that the world must unite. We must

:49:47. > :49:51.be together, regardless of nationality, or race or faith in

:49:52. > :49:56.fighting against the scourge of terrorism. We can and we will defeat

:49:57. > :50:02.those who theten the safety and security of people around the world.

:50:03. > :50:09.To the Government and the people of Cuba, I want to thank you for the

:50:10. > :50:21.kindness that you have shown to me and Michelle and my daughters and

:50:22. > :50:24.mother-in-law, Marion. STUDIO: President Obama there

:50:25. > :50:28.expressing his condolences, it's a matter of much more sympathy, it's a

:50:29. > :50:34.matter of US intelligence being brought to bear on what's been

:50:35. > :50:38.happening in Brussels. We can speak to Laura in the Cuban capital,

:50:39. > :50:42.Havana. There is always strong co-ordination between the US and its

:50:43. > :50:46.European allies, the NATO headquarters in Brussels too, on a

:50:47. > :50:50.high state of alert. What have you been hearing from the White House

:50:51. > :50:57.officials travelling with the President? Well, that's right. What

:50:58. > :51:02.we have heard is that President Obama was briefed early this morning

:51:03. > :51:07.on those events in Brussels and that US officials are already in contact

:51:08. > :51:12.with Belgian officials about these explosions. The US after the 9/11

:51:13. > :51:15.attacks always ready to offer whatever assistance it can. The

:51:16. > :51:20.President there saying that America will do whatever it can to bring to

:51:21. > :51:25.justice those responsible. He also made the point, this is another

:51:26. > :51:29.reminder, he said, that the world must unite in fighting terrorism.

:51:30. > :51:32.Behind the scenes clearly already US officials in contact with their

:51:33. > :51:39.counterparts in Europe to offer whatever assistance they may be able

:51:40. > :51:42.to. It's inevitable this will also feed into the very feverish American

:51:43. > :51:45.political scene at the moment. I have seen Donald Trump, the

:51:46. > :51:50.republican frontrunner being quoted saying perhaps we should think about

:51:51. > :51:55.closing our borders? Well, that's right. Actually Ted Cruz, another of

:51:56. > :51:59.the presidential candidates, has already called on President Obama to

:52:00. > :52:03.either return to the US or to go to Brussels. President Obama really in

:52:04. > :52:10.his way appealing for calm, saying this is a time to unite. It has been

:52:11. > :52:13.a very divisive presidential election campaign -- campaign, so

:52:14. > :52:18.here he is wanting that message of unity to go out. He has a big

:52:19. > :52:21.delegation travelling with him. I was talking to one of the

:52:22. > :52:27.Congresswomen from Los Angeles, that would be a major target for any

:52:28. > :52:31.terrorists and she told me that it's very important to remain vigilant

:52:32. > :52:38.but also not to undermine any of the basic freedoms that Americans enjoy.

:52:39. > :52:43.Thank you. On the line now is the CEO of St

:52:44. > :52:47.Luke Hospital in Brussels. Thank you for joining us. How many people are

:52:48. > :52:54.you treating as a result of what's happened this morning? Good

:52:55. > :53:00.afternoon. We have admitted certain patients in our emergency service.

:53:01. > :53:07.What sort of injuries are you treating? Different type of problems

:53:08. > :53:16.for the patient but I just would like to say only two of the patients

:53:17. > :53:19.are actually in intensive care unit. Hospitals these days have emergency

:53:20. > :53:25.plans ready, presumably you put those in force this morning?

:53:26. > :53:33.Absolutely. Around 9.00am this morning we were totally ready with

:53:34. > :53:38.our crisis team up and running and with the contingency plan, which was

:53:39. > :53:44.already launched. We freed most of the space in the emergency, most of

:53:45. > :53:50.the operating room has been freed and also we have organised to have

:53:51. > :53:56.enough places in intensive care for both adults and children. When you

:53:57. > :54:02.first heard that news this morning what was your reaction? I think

:54:03. > :54:05.everybody was shocked because even if we knew that it was possible to

:54:06. > :54:10.have this type of attack, it's always a shock to have this type of

:54:11. > :54:16.event in Belgium but at the same time our first mission is to give

:54:17. > :54:23.the best care for the patients and to focus on helping the victims as

:54:24. > :54:26.soon as possible. How was the decision reached, which of those who

:54:27. > :54:32.had been injured went to which hospitals? This is a region decision

:54:33. > :54:38.to decide which hospital the victim is going. It's not our decision. But

:54:39. > :54:43.our team was totally ready and we had up to 100 nurses and doctors

:54:44. > :54:47.ready to take care of all the victims at the emergency care. Given

:54:48. > :54:54.the chaos there must have been this morning how would you assess the

:54:55. > :54:58.mood of people there this afternoon? I mean within my hospital the mood

:54:59. > :55:03.is like everywhere in Belgium around the world, but at the same time our

:55:04. > :55:06.first focus is the people and the health of the people and it's to

:55:07. > :55:13.provide the best care for the patient. This is our priority. Thank

:55:14. > :55:18.you very much for your time. One of our team in Brussels is

:55:19. > :55:22.saying the Government crisis centre in Belgium is calling on schools and

:55:23. > :55:25.businesses to keep everyone inside as the operations continue. That

:55:26. > :55:28.lockdown that we were hearing about from Anna earlier is obviously

:55:29. > :55:31.continuing. In London, the Prime Minister, David

:55:32. > :55:36.Cameron, gave his response to the attacks.

:55:37. > :55:37.These are appalling and savage terrorist

:55:38. > :55:40.attacks and I have just spoken to the Prime Minister of Belgium

:55:41. > :55:43.to give our condolences to the Belgian

:55:44. > :55:46.people and we stand with them at this very difficult time.

:55:47. > :55:48.These were attacks in Belgium and could just

:55:49. > :55:50.as well be attacks in Britain, France,

:55:51. > :55:53.Germany or elsewhere in Europe, and we need to stand together

:55:54. > :55:56.against these appalling terrorists and make

:55:57. > :56:03.I have made sure we can offer every support

:56:04. > :56:11.I have chaired a meeting of Cobra to make

:56:12. > :56:18.sure that we can do everything we can and there will be increased

:56:19. > :56:22.security at stations as you would expect.

:56:23. > :56:24.These are difficult times, appalling terrorists,

:56:25. > :56:28.but we must stand together to do everything we

:56:29. > :56:32.can to stop them and to make sure although they attack our way of life

:56:33. > :56:42.David Cameron referred there to COBRA, the Government's emergency

:56:43. > :56:46.meeting being held this morning. One of the areas affected is security at

:56:47. > :56:51.transport hubs across the UK. We can go now to our correspondent Robert

:56:52. > :57:00.Hall at Gatwick Airport. Is it clear to you that security is intensified?

:57:01. > :57:04.Yes, there are police in evidence on approach roads around the airport

:57:05. > :57:07.and once again within the airport terminals. There is an important

:57:08. > :57:10.word here and that is reassurance. We are still at a severe threat

:57:11. > :57:15.level in this country which means there is no specific threat to a

:57:16. > :57:18.specific target but the efforts both here at transport hubs, in the

:57:19. > :57:22.centre of London, again it was referred to by the Mayor of London

:57:23. > :57:26.Boris Johnson this morning, is to get visible presence out there,

:57:27. > :57:30.particularly in areas which might be vulnerable to reassure the public.

:57:31. > :57:36.That is also true in our ports, Dover have said they will be putting

:57:37. > :57:40.enhanced measures in place, UK Border Agency likewise, perhaps

:57:41. > :57:44.searching cars more coming into the UK, so perhaps some disruption to

:57:45. > :57:48.journeys in and across Europe because their borders will be

:57:49. > :57:53.somewhat tighter after the events in Brussels this morning. The other

:57:54. > :57:56.word I think is awareness. The Metropolitan Police this morning

:57:57. > :58:01.asking for people who might have come back from Brussels or have any

:58:02. > :58:06.video or photographic evidence they took at the airport or in the centre

:58:07. > :58:10.of Brussels, please could they give that, get that into the police

:58:11. > :58:14.because it might be very important evidentially. The security services

:58:15. > :58:18.and the police know clearly that it is eyes and ears on the ground that

:58:19. > :58:22.may provide the breakthrough they need given the warning that they

:58:23. > :58:27.need, that public awareness is crucially important, but reassuring

:58:28. > :58:30.the public equally so. Is security the top priority here,

:58:31. > :58:36.but given Brussels is a hub airport for viewers here in the UK or

:58:37. > :58:39.globally, there is that knock-on effect across Europe. There is.

:58:40. > :58:44.There is a simple message, if you are planning on going to Brussels by

:58:45. > :58:48.air or rail, don't do it at least for the next 24 hours because things

:58:49. > :58:52.are still locked down as you have been hearing. It's very tense. It's

:58:53. > :58:55.nervous. There is likely to be further disruption. If you are going

:58:56. > :59:01.by road, allow more time. That is already the case and has been for

:59:02. > :59:06.the last few months, allow more time for border security checks, but

:59:07. > :59:12.again be aware. Be aware wherever you are. Thank you.

:59:13. > :59:16.You are watching BBC News. This is continuing coverage after a series

:59:17. > :59:19.of bomb attacks in Brussels targeting the main airport and a

:59:20. > :59:22.Metro station in the city centre. More than 30 people are now reported

:59:23. > :59:29.to have been killed with dozens more injured. Two explosions hit the main

:59:30. > :59:30.airport, the first went off in the departures hall at Brussels

:59:31. > :59:34.international airport and as people ran to the exit there was a second

:59:35. > :59:38.bigger explosion. The authorities say that was probably a suicide

:59:39. > :59:41.bomber. At least 11 people were killed there and more than 80 were

:59:42. > :59:45.injured. Local reports said shots were fired

:59:46. > :59:47.and there were shouts in Arabic. About an hour later, there was

:59:48. > :59:51.another attack. This time on the Metro right in the heart of

:59:52. > :59:54.Brussels, close to the European Commission headquarters. 20 people

:59:55. > :59:55.are known to have died in it that attack, more than 100 people were

:59:56. > :00:04.injured. The city is in lockdown with people

:00:05. > :00:08.being told to stay where they are. Hundreds of troops are being

:00:09. > :00:13.deployed. The Prime Minister has said this is a black day for his

:00:14. > :00:20.country. Security has been stepped up and key transport locations in

:00:21. > :00:27.London, Paris and New York have all reacted.

:00:28. > :00:30.The key Paris terror suspect, Salah Abdeslam, the authorities believe

:00:31. > :00:35.last year's attacks in Paris were largely planned in Brussels. Also

:00:36. > :00:38.they knew a number of other suss pecks were on the run and could be

:00:39. > :00:45.ready to carry out further terrorist attacks. Frank Gardner reports.

:00:46. > :00:48.A co-ordinated terror attack in the heart of Europe.

:00:49. > :00:51.Belgium was braced for this but there may still be more to come.

:00:52. > :00:53.The dramatic arrest on Friday of the jihadist Salah Abdeslam,

:00:54. > :00:56.seen here in white, has led investigators to a grim conclusion

:00:57. > :01:00.that are more terrorist cells planning attacks in Europe

:01:01. > :01:07.Najim Laachraoui is one of two known suspects still at large.

:01:08. > :01:11.The Brussels district of Molenbeek has acted as a logistics hub

:01:12. > :01:15.for so-called Islamic State but the group has networks

:01:16. > :01:17.and supporters in every major European country.

:01:18. > :01:20.I think we are facing a severe capacity problem.

:01:21. > :01:25.We do not have the security forces to deal with all these

:01:26. > :01:30.So I think what we need is a full spectrum response,

:01:31. > :01:33.to address terrorism in a more preventative way because we cannot

:01:34. > :01:40.Last year's attack on the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo

:01:41. > :01:44.was a wake-up call to both French and Belgian intelligence agencies.

:01:45. > :01:48.It exposed the huge scale of Islamic State attack planning

:01:49. > :01:52.in Europe, much of it centred on Brussels.

:01:53. > :01:55.Belgian's history of terrorism includes the May 2014 attack

:01:56. > :01:58.on the Jewish Museum which led four dead.

:01:59. > :02:03.In 2015, the weapons used in the Paris attacks

:02:04. > :02:09.The same year, police were fired on in the town of Verviers and now

:02:10. > :02:13.Belgium does has a particular problem concerning security,

:02:14. > :02:18.the intelligence agencies do not share enough information with police

:02:19. > :02:25.meaning attacks like today can be missed.

:02:26. > :02:28.As Belgium puts its security forces on maximum alert today,

:02:29. > :02:32.countries like Britain are offering to help.

:02:33. > :02:36.Belgium's security challenges are simply too big for it to tackle

:02:37. > :02:55.Dr Sally Leivesley is an adviser on public protection. Given the high

:02:56. > :02:58.profile arrest a few days ago of Salah Abdeslam, security wasn't

:02:59. > :03:03.increased and yet within days, we see an attack of this nature. Should

:03:04. > :03:08.we be surprised? We shouldn't be surprised that there was another

:03:09. > :03:12.attack but it may not necessarily be connected to the first network

:03:13. > :03:18.that's been found, so the surprise to the Belgians may be another

:03:19. > :03:20.coherent network that's had a long-term plan because this is

:03:21. > :03:26.coordinated and needs long-term planning. Approaching a US airlines

:03:27. > :03:32.desk in a highly defended airport under the current security situation

:03:33. > :03:36.really takes a lot of determination. They found, according to reports,

:03:37. > :03:41.one suicide belt. They'll be examining that, but how easy is it

:03:42. > :03:44.to arrange something with such apparent speed, given we are talking

:03:45. > :03:48.just a few days? The difficulty for the authorities is that they've

:03:49. > :03:53.found that flats have been rented, they know that bomb centres have

:03:54. > :03:57.been set up and it's really make and bake with some of the explosives. We

:03:58. > :04:03.have had the same sort of explosives with our terror attacks in the UK.

:04:04. > :04:05.It's very difficult to detect that particular type of explosive with

:04:06. > :04:09.airport monitoring as well. I think the warning will go out for

:04:10. > :04:16.aviation, particularly in-bound to the USA from today's activity. Is

:04:17. > :04:19.there potential embarrassment for the Belgian security authorities

:04:20. > :04:26.given they did not increase their security threat? -- security threat

:04:27. > :04:30.at the moment they arrested the Paris suspect? They have been on the

:04:31. > :04:34.old-fashioned basis of when intelligence knows. We now

:04:35. > :04:36.understand, particularly with encrypted telephones that

:04:37. > :04:41.intelligence will not always know, so I think when we get to what might

:04:42. > :04:45.be the second top alert, the public should be on total alert because the

:04:46. > :04:50.Intelligence Services may not know. People in Brussels this afternoon

:04:51. > :04:53.are going to be aware that there could well be some terrorists on the

:04:54. > :04:58.streets this afternoon who were involved this morning? It would be

:04:59. > :05:03.surprising if these attacks had actually stop and it's not only in

:05:04. > :05:07.Brussels and other parts of Belgium, but certainly France will be on very

:05:08. > :05:12.high alert. We have seen how Heathrow and London has increased

:05:13. > :05:19.its alert, as have other countries, because the embedded networks, which

:05:20. > :05:24.are now really being mobilised with central Daesh-potential control,

:05:25. > :05:30.they have weapons and they can do a run at any tile. Given Brussels has

:05:31. > :05:35.been the focus of massive international interest and given the

:05:36. > :05:37.presence of known cells there, are you surprised that the capital of

:05:38. > :05:43.Belgium's now become a target itself?

:05:44. > :05:49.It's perhaps not been seen as such an attractive a target as Paris or

:05:50. > :05:53.London, but because of proximity to the plotters, the apparent ease with

:05:54. > :06:03.which they can carry out attacks and I would think lack of preparedness

:06:04. > :06:08.with the policing. The Paris police are highly prepared for the

:06:09. > :06:10.attackers. The ability to do fast response in Brussels has been

:06:11. > :06:14.lacking and they have admitted that themselves. So what can the public

:06:15. > :06:18.do given that you are saying these attacks are probably still going to

:06:19. > :06:22.continue in Brussels, what can the public do to protect themselves?

:06:23. > :06:26.It's interesting because we all call on the authorities to protect us but

:06:27. > :06:31.when it comes to aviation and transport hubs, it's what you and I

:06:32. > :06:35.see immediately and either alert the authorities or, with very big steps,

:06:36. > :06:38.get behind something solid and get out of the location. Someone who

:06:39. > :06:43.might have something under their shirt or they are fiddling with

:06:44. > :06:49.theired hand lug annal, you have to move yourself and then call for help

:06:50. > :06:54.-- luggage. If you are on a railway carriage and there's nowhere to go,

:06:55. > :07:03.flat on the carriage is the place to be. It's the nature of terrorism

:07:04. > :07:08.that we have a city with no trains, no planes, cars limited to where

:07:09. > :07:16.they can go - that's the nature of terrorism? London ex-expect to -- I

:07:17. > :07:20.would expect to keep going. In London, the intelligence and the way

:07:21. > :07:25.they operate, London would keep moving under a similar situation.

:07:26. > :07:30.Your advice to anyone watching in any European capital is, just stay

:07:31. > :07:32.vigilant? Yes, and you and I are the first countermeasure to the

:07:33. > :07:36.terrorists, the authorities come later, we have got to protect

:07:37. > :07:42.ourselves and our families first. Thank you very much.

:07:43. > :07:45.Reactions coming in from around the world as the numbers of dead and

:07:46. > :07:48.injured continue to rise in Brussels. President Obama sent a

:07:49. > :07:51.message of support to the people of Brussels. He was talking in Havana

:07:52. > :07:56.where he is on the presidential visit to Cuba.

:07:57. > :08:00.Thoughts and prayers of the American people are with the people of

:08:01. > :08:03.Belgium and we stand in solidarity with them in condemning these

:08:04. > :08:08.outrageous attacks against innocent people. We will do whatever is

:08:09. > :08:14.necessary to support our friend and allie Belgium in bringing to justice

:08:15. > :08:18.those who're responsible and this is yet another remind they're the world

:08:19. > :08:26.must unite. We must be together. Regardless of

:08:27. > :08:28.nationality or race or faith, in fighting against the scourge of

:08:29. > :08:33.terrorism. We can and we will defeat those who

:08:34. > :08:39.threaten the safety and security of people all around the world.

:08:40. > :08:43.The Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel spoke about the attacks and

:08:44. > :08:48.condemned what he called blind and cowardly attacks and he called on

:08:49. > :08:55.people to come together. Our first thoughts are with the victims, with

:08:56. > :09:01.their families and those who're waiting for information about their

:09:02. > :09:07.loved ones. Two attacks have happened this morning. One at 7. 10

:09:08. > :09:14.and the other one at the Met row station Maelbeek and, as we speak,

:09:15. > :09:20.the crisis centre and because of the security situation, we are trying to

:09:21. > :09:28.stabilise the situation. Our thoughts are going towards other

:09:29. > :09:34.locations. The first urgent action is to provide treatment for the

:09:35. > :09:42.victims, to evacuate the victims of this attack towards various

:09:43. > :09:48.hospitals and we know that probably we are talking about scores of dead,

:09:49. > :09:52.scores of injured personals and some of them seriously.

:09:53. > :09:59.-- persons. The authorities are in fact raising

:10:00. > :10:04.the threat to level four and additional security measures are

:10:05. > :10:11.being taken as we speak. Military enforcement is being deployed,

:10:12. > :10:14.reinforcement of border controls are in action and especially measures

:10:15. > :10:22.regarding public transport are being put in place now, as we speak.

:10:23. > :10:28.I would like to tell you, this tragic moment, this black moment in

:10:29. > :10:35.our country and never before I would like to call on everybody to show

:10:36. > :10:39.calmness and solidarity. We are facing a challenging time, difficult

:10:40. > :10:48.challenging time and we should face up to this challenge by being united

:10:49. > :10:55.and also coming together. We will continue to follow the situation

:10:56. > :10:59.minute by minute with different Security Services, with different

:11:00. > :11:02.rescue services. I would like to thank the Security Services for the

:11:03. > :11:10.work that they have done so far and I would like to tell you once again

:11:11. > :11:17.how we are determined to face this situation and manage this situation

:11:18. > :11:22.and to deal with it as best as possible. Let's take you out to the

:11:23. > :11:23.streets of Brussels from where our Europe editor Katya Adler sent this

:11:24. > :11:34.report. Brussels is a city on high alert.

:11:35. > :11:37.Throw expositions have been confirmed as terrorist attacks, two

:11:38. > :11:41.in the bustling airport of Zaventem and one right in the heart of the

:11:42. > :11:45.European Union here, the headquarters, at a Metro station

:11:46. > :11:48.just around the corner from here. Helicopters are circling overhead,

:11:49. > :11:52.ambulances keep rushing to the scene, at least one carriage we have

:11:53. > :11:56.heard exploded completely, the number of casualties has not yet

:11:57. > :12:01.been confirmed officially. This is a huge worry for the people

:12:02. > :12:05.of Belgium and an embarrassment for the Belgian authorities. To four

:12:06. > :12:07.days ago they were celebrating, they'd finally captured the most

:12:08. > :12:12.wanted man linked to the Paris attacks. He told the authorities

:12:13. > :12:15.he'd been planning attacks in Belgium, no-one guessed they would

:12:16. > :12:17.happen today and at rush hour where they could strike the most people

:12:18. > :12:23.possible. Hundreds of travellers were in the

:12:24. > :12:28.vicinity when the bombs went off at the airport this morning. This is

:12:29. > :12:32.what some were able to tell us. I just moved away like for one minute,

:12:33. > :12:39.away from where the explosion happened. I was buying some grub and

:12:40. > :12:46.bunch of stuff for my kids. I heard the first explosion. You felt the

:12:47. > :12:51.explosion? I feel, yes and I saw the glass in my sight. I was having my

:12:52. > :12:55.break, I was inside the building. We heard a loud bang, everything was

:12:56. > :13:01.shaking. We looks out of the window, there was smoke coming out of the

:13:02. > :13:07.departure hull. We ran away, we were running very quickly. My colleague

:13:08. > :13:13.jumped into the carousel behind the check-in desk. After one second, the

:13:14. > :13:19.second one exploded and this one was really, really loud. I thought I was

:13:20. > :13:24.hurt, I was hit. And then there were two people who were working at the

:13:25. > :13:28.airport, they told me just to come inside, they locked the door. People

:13:29. > :13:36.started panicking, running. The only thing I could think was just dash,

:13:37. > :13:41.people running to save their lives. There was there was an announcement

:13:42. > :13:45.that something had gone wrong. The woman's voice was shaken on the

:13:46. > :13:51.intercrop and that's when I know that we should move -- intercom.

:13:52. > :13:54.Did you see or hear the explosion? No, but I noticed all the glass, the

:13:55. > :13:59.smoke, the water dripping from the ceiling. We had to walk through

:14:00. > :14:03.puddles and we were evacuated. I was waiting for my suitcase and then

:14:04. > :14:10.somebody said, it's because this is an evacuation. I had my luggage, I

:14:11. > :14:18.had to leave it and try to run, but the first thing I did, I had to stop

:14:19. > :14:22.because you don't know where something is, you don't know if

:14:23. > :14:25.somebody is going to be shooting. When I saw people running, I thought

:14:26. > :14:31.yes, that's when I realised it was serious. The French Potts, Francois

:14:32. > :14:35.Hollande, has condemned the attacks, saying the terrorists struck Belgium

:14:36. > :14:42.but it's Europe that's been targeted and the whole world should be

:14:43. > :14:48.concerned -- the French Prime Minister.

:14:49. > :15:02.There have been dozens injured and a number dead.

:15:03. > :15:09.For the families who are worried about their loved ones, our thoughts

:15:10. > :15:14.are with them and we share their pain. The terrorists have struck

:15:15. > :15:22.Belgium but it is Europe which has been targeted. It is the whole world

:15:23. > :15:28.which is concerned with this. We should take conscience of the

:15:29. > :15:38.magnitude and the gravity of the threat, terrorist threat. These

:15:39. > :15:46.attacks follow others. Paris was particularly targeted last year,

:15:47. > :15:52.last January, and in November. Other continents felt the same pain,

:15:53. > :15:58.especially in Africa. But we are facing a global threat which

:15:59. > :16:05.necessitates and requires a global response. France and Belgium are

:16:06. > :16:14.linked with horror that we are sharing once again and I have

:16:15. > :16:18.reassured the Belgian Government our support, that we'll provide them

:16:19. > :16:22.with all the necessary means. But the war against the terrorists

:16:23. > :16:28.should be carried out throughout Europe, the whole of Europe, using

:16:29. > :16:33.all the necessary means and especially intelligence information.

:16:34. > :16:36.You are watching BBC News: To bring you up-to-date with events in the

:16:37. > :16:41.last few hours in Brussels. At least 31 people are known to have been

:16:42. > :16:44.killed, many seriously injured in attacks at the Brussels

:16:45. > :16:52.International Airport and at a Metro station in the heart of the city.

:16:53. > :16:57.Twin blasts hits the Zaventem Airport at 7am, killing 11 people

:16:58. > :17:01.and injuring 81, according to Belgium's Health Minister.

:17:02. > :17:06.It was rush hour at the airport and at the airport there were reports of

:17:07. > :17:10.shots being fired and shouts in Arabic beforehand. We have brought

:17:11. > :17:16.you a lot of eyewitness accounts of parts of the ceiling falling down,

:17:17. > :17:19.pipes ruptured, obviously casualties everywhere, blood everywhere,

:17:20. > :17:24.operations now going on across the city.

:17:25. > :17:30.Within hours of that, another explosion at the Mel beak Metro

:17:31. > :17:35.station. -- Maelbeek Metro station. 20 people killed there at least with

:17:36. > :17:40.dozens receiving injuries, some of them serious. Belgium raised its

:17:41. > :17:44.terrorism threat to its highest level response to the threats which

:17:45. > :17:49.came four days after Salah Abdeslam, the main figure in the Paris attacks

:17:50. > :17:53.of last November, was seized in Brussels.

:17:54. > :17:57.The Belgian Prime Minister, Charles Michelle, calling the attacks,

:17:58. > :18:02.blind, violent and cowardly, saying, this is a black day of tragedy, and

:18:03. > :18:06.he called on everyone to show calmness and solidarity. Through the

:18:07. > :18:11.hours, we are bringing you as many eyewitness accounts as we can. We

:18:12. > :18:16.are going live to Brussels now. One member of the European Parliament

:18:17. > :18:19.who was there was Ian Duncan, a Scottish Euro MP in the European

:18:20. > :18:25.Parliament building in Brussels this morning when the attacks took place.

:18:26. > :18:30.Certainly this morning when I set off, it quickly became evident

:18:31. > :18:33.something terrible happened at the airport. On my way to works, we were

:18:34. > :18:39.overtaken by emergency vehicles heading out of town to the airport.

:18:40. > :18:43.When I got into the Parliament, quite quickly it was evident that

:18:44. > :18:54.there were expositions around the building. The main Parliament Metro

:18:55. > :18:59.stop, Malbeck, there had been a bomb and so far I understand there are at

:19:00. > :19:07.least ten fatalities. Quick quite quickly after that, a bomb went off

:19:08. > :19:10.at the Schuman roundabout, the busiest Metro station area and that

:19:11. > :19:12.serves the commission building and the UK Government offices and the

:19:13. > :19:16.Scottish Government offices there. One of my assistants was conducting

:19:17. > :19:21.a meeting there and heard the explosion. Then another in one of

:19:22. > :19:25.the other Metro stops. So it quite quickly became necessary to work out

:19:26. > :19:29.where my team were and make sure that they were safe... Have you been

:19:30. > :19:33.able to do that? Yes, my team are indeed safe. I have with me two

:19:34. > :19:39.visitors groups today, a group of students from St Andrews university

:19:40. > :19:42.and a Conservative women's council are with me today. They were

:19:43. > :19:46.sight-seeing at the beginning of the day and we had to find out where

:19:47. > :19:49.they were, get them safe and back to their hotels, they're in their

:19:50. > :19:54.hotels and we'll work to get them home safely. You can immediately

:19:55. > :19:59.appreciate that your first thoughts are with those responsible and then

:20:00. > :20:05.of course I've worked and lived in Brussels for over ten years, I've

:20:06. > :20:09.got lots of friends here and you have to work that out so it's a very

:20:10. > :20:17.difficult time for everyone. Of course. We have heard various

:20:18. > :20:20.comments today saying this is an attack on freedom and democracy and

:20:21. > :20:26.also an attack on the European Union, is that something that

:20:27. > :20:31.ulinged agree with as well? -- that you would agree with as well? The

:20:32. > :20:36.bombs at the airport went off at 8am and the emergency services went

:20:37. > :20:39.there. Orchestrated debt nations took place an hour later when the

:20:40. > :20:46.emergency services were furthest away. These were deliberate attempts

:20:47. > :20:50.to create tragedy. It's an attack on everything that we hold dear. If you

:20:51. > :20:54.travel to an airport and go to the check-in area, you are surrounded by

:20:55. > :20:59.families. If you are on a Metro, you are surrounded by people going to

:21:00. > :21:03.work our tourists. This is the so. Softest of targets you could aim

:21:04. > :21:08.for. These are not Army bases, combatants, these are you, me,

:21:09. > :21:12.people travelling to work, softest targets imaginable.

:21:13. > :21:15.We are witnessing right now what that means. There are issues again

:21:16. > :21:20.about what level of alert the city should have been on. Of course, the

:21:21. > :21:25.terrorist suspect was arrested only a few days ago. Nonetheless, this

:21:26. > :21:30.has been a devastatingly accurate attack on those innocent people.

:21:31. > :21:35.That's intolerable. What more, in your opinion, needs to be done, to

:21:36. > :21:42.protect these soft targets, but to retain some of the freedoms that

:21:43. > :21:46.people enjoy, does the balance need to shift towards much heavier

:21:47. > :21:49.security at least in the short-term? The balance will shift, I don't

:21:50. > :21:53.doubt that. I was travelling back from Turkey last week. In order to

:21:54. > :21:57.enter the airport you had to go to security. Before you went through

:21:58. > :22:03.security to board the plane. I think that is not far off. These are areas

:22:04. > :22:06.where you can enter in with no restriction, no hindrance. You can

:22:07. > :22:11.go in there and that's what happened today. Suicide bombers walked into

:22:12. > :22:14.an airport with bomb belts and set them off, there was no security that

:22:15. > :22:18.could have stopped that because there was no security, so I think

:22:19. > :22:25.there'll be changes there. The way we travel, the way that we engage

:22:26. > :22:28.with transport will change. The people today who boarded the Metro

:22:29. > :22:33.did not anticipate what they suffered. That was not expected.

:22:34. > :22:37.We've lived through that in the UK with the 7/7 attacks, there were the

:22:38. > :22:43.attacks again on Glasgow Airport, all these attacks remind us that we

:22:44. > :22:47.are vulnerable and vigilance is our constant companion now, we've got to

:22:48. > :22:53.be in a situation where we can protect ourselves and we need to be

:22:54. > :22:57.able to do that in a way that gives us confidence that we can do our job

:22:58. > :23:03.and travel to work and we are going to change the way we do things, I

:23:04. > :23:08.don't doubt that. The EU's Foreign Affairs representative has spoken

:23:09. > :23:12.out about the Brussels attack on a stop in Jordan on her tour in the

:23:13. > :23:17.Middle East. She spoke about her grief. Very sad day for Europe, as

:23:18. > :23:24.Europe and its capital are suffering the same pain that this region has

:23:25. > :23:29.known and knows every single day, being it in Syria or elsewhere. We

:23:30. > :23:36.are still waiting for more precise news on the dynamics of the attacks

:23:37. > :23:41.in Brussels though it's quite clear that the route of the pain we are

:23:42. > :23:50.suffering around our region are very much the same and that we are united

:23:51. > :23:54.in, not only suffering our victims, but also reacting to these acts and

:23:55. > :24:00.preventing radicalisation and violence together.

:24:01. > :24:03.We are hearing from Katya Adler, our Europe editor, that the Belgian

:24:04. > :24:09.Transport Minister has just announced the main rail stations

:24:10. > :24:14.will re-open in Brussels at 4 o'clock local time, so in some ten

:24:15. > :24:18.minutes or so. People have got to get home somehow he's been told and

:24:19. > :24:22.that is their decision to re-open stations which were closed in the

:24:23. > :24:26.immediate aftermath of this attack on one of three carriages of this

:24:27. > :24:30.particular tube train. It was the carriage in the middle that was the

:24:31. > :24:35.subject of the bombing. That is going to be very difficult

:24:36. > :24:38.for people in Brussels, some of the stations re-opening that we know

:24:39. > :24:42.that there are house-to-house searching going on, the security

:24:43. > :24:49.operations, there are more troops on the streets who've been drafted into

:24:50. > :24:52.Brussels today. A lot of people from the Members of Parliament, students

:24:53. > :24:56.and shop workers, they have been told to stay inside. So very

:24:57. > :24:59.difficult for them to decide what to do after what happened in their

:25:00. > :25:04.morning rush hour. Concern at the speed at which these

:25:05. > :25:08.attacks were carried out so soon after the arrest of the main suspect

:25:09. > :25:14.of the Paris attacks of November which left 130 people did dead.

:25:15. > :25:23.Salah Abdeslam was arrested at the end of last week and this attack

:25:24. > :25:27.seen as significance of a -- seen as significance that there's still a

:25:28. > :25:31.number of those able to carry out these attacks. Earlier we heard from

:25:32. > :25:39.a Doctor Who is at a hospital where many of the victims have been taken.

:25:40. > :25:43.Here, we admitted 22 patients since this morning. Two were seriously

:25:44. > :25:47.injured and had to go to our operating theatre. Four are in a

:25:48. > :25:51.stable condition without life-threatening injuries but still

:25:52. > :25:55.in need of urgent care. Then there are some more likely wounded

:25:56. > :25:59.patients who're psychologically or physically traumatised. The injuries

:26:00. > :26:05.are mainly burns, they are patients who 're in shock from the explosion

:26:06. > :26:13.too. The Secretary-General of NATO spoke

:26:14. > :26:20.earlier. He said the alert state has been increased at the headquarters.

:26:21. > :26:28.I'm deeply saddened by the attacks here in Brussels this morning. The

:26:29. > :26:33.heavy human toll is tragic. My thoughts are with those who've lost

:26:34. > :26:40.their loved ones. With all those affected and with the people of

:26:41. > :26:47.Belgium. We all stand together with our allie, Belgium, on this dark

:26:48. > :26:55.day. This is an attack on our values and

:26:56. > :27:03.our open societies. Terrorism will not defeat democracy and take away

:27:04. > :27:09.our freedoms. We have decided to increase the alert state at NATO

:27:10. > :27:13.headquarters. We remain vigilant and continue to monitor the situation

:27:14. > :27:19.very closely. More breaking news coming from

:27:20. > :27:21.Brussels and our Europe editor Katya Adler saying three days of official

:27:22. > :27:25.mourning have been declared in Belgium. You are watching BBC News,

:27:26. > :27:29.continuing coverage after a series of bomb attacks in the capital of

:27:30. > :27:33.Brussels targeting the main airport and the Metro station in the city

:27:34. > :27:37.centre. More than 30 people are reported to have been killed with

:27:38. > :27:41.dozens more injured. I think the latest figure we had was 187, two

:27:42. > :27:45.explosions hit the main airport, the first went off in the departures

:27:46. > :27:50.hall at Brussels International Airport and, as people ran towards

:27:51. > :27:54.the exit, apparently only five or so seconds later, there was a second

:27:55. > :27:57.bigger explosion and the authorities say that was probably a suicide

:27:58. > :28:02.bomber. At least 11 people killed and more

:28:03. > :28:07.than 30 people injured. Some of them seriously. Local reports saying

:28:08. > :28:13.shots were fired and there were shouts in Arabic just before the

:28:14. > :28:15.bomb attack took place. Belgium television's said that at

:28:16. > :28:19.least one airport bomb contained nails. A lot of details coming from

:28:20. > :28:23.the scene that we are trying to verify for you. An hour after that

:28:24. > :28:27.attack, there was another. This time on the Metro right in the heart of

:28:28. > :28:32.Brussels and close to the European Commission headquarters. At least 20

:28:33. > :28:36.people are known of died in that attack, more than 100 people were

:28:37. > :28:40.injured, many with serious injuries. The city has, throughout the day,

:28:41. > :28:44.been in lockdown, with everyone being told to stay where they are,

:28:45. > :28:48.although we were just hearing from Katya that the main stations,

:28:49. > :28:53.Brussels' main stations are due to open in a few minutes. Hundreds of

:28:54. > :28:57.troops have been deployed on the streets of the Belgian capital. The

:28:58. > :29:04.Prime Minister condemning the attacks, saying it was a black day

:29:05. > :29:08.for his country. Security stepped up in key transport locations. The US

:29:09. > :29:11.embassy in Brussels is recommending Americans stay where they are and

:29:12. > :29:29.avoid public transportation. US citizens to monitor media reports

:29:30. > :29:34.and follow the instructions from the authorities and take appropriate

:29:35. > :29:39.steps to bolster your personal security. You can always go to the

:29:40. > :29:44.BBC website. We have a live page also bringing you all the latest

:29:45. > :29:48.developments from Brussels, Paris and reaction in London in political

:29:49. > :29:51.and security terms here in the UK. You can keep up-to-date there and

:29:52. > :29:55.we'll have much more for you in the next few hours about the security

:29:56. > :30:01.response and what is happening in Brussels and elsewhere.

:30:02. > :30:06.You are watching a BBC News special on the attacks in Brussels this

:30:07. > :30:15.morning. Hello. You are watching a BBC News

:30:16. > :30:21.special. At least 34 people killed and dozens injured in a series of

:30:22. > :30:23.bomb attacks in Brussels. Confusion and chaos, this was the

:30:24. > :30:27.scene in the departure hall at Brussels airport moments after the

:30:28. > :30:30.first two explosions. I heard one shot fired then someone

:30:31. > :30:33.shouted some words in Arabic followed by a huge explosion and

:30:34. > :30:38.then people started to flee towards the lifts and escalators.

:30:39. > :30:41.The blasts happened at 8.00am local time as passengers were checking in.

:30:42. > :30:45.Authorities believe at least one was a suicide bomb.

:30:46. > :30:49.An hour later, at least 20 people were killed when a third bomb

:30:50. > :30:53.exploded object a packed downground train. Survivors were helded through

:30:54. > :31:00.a tunnel to safety. I was in the Metro heading to

:31:01. > :31:07.Maelbeek. We received a big blast of air. The train stopped. This tragic

:31:08. > :31:11.moment, this black moment in our country, never before, I would like

:31:12. > :31:16.to call on everybody to show calmness and solidarity.

:31:17. > :31:20.This is the scene live in Brussels at the airport. The threat level

:31:21. > :31:24.across Belgium is now at maximum. The country's Prime Minister has

:31:25. > :31:39.condemned what he called blind and cowardly attacks.

:31:40. > :31:45.Welcome to BBC News. There have been a series of bomb attacks in the

:31:46. > :31:49.Belgium capital Brussels which have left at least 34 people dead and

:31:50. > :31:53.more than 100 injured. The first attack was at the

:31:54. > :31:58.international airport around 8.00am local time. The departure hall was

:31:59. > :32:02.full of queuing passengers when there were two explosions. At least

:32:03. > :32:07.one of them was a suicide bomber. At least 14 died there. That's

:32:08. > :32:12.according to the fire service. Then away from the airport in

:32:13. > :32:17.central Brussels another devastating blast around 9.00am local time. This

:32:18. > :32:20.time at one of the busiest locations on the underground transport system

:32:21. > :32:24.at Maelbeek's Metro station. At least 20 more died there and dozens

:32:25. > :32:29.were injured. Maelbeek was just a few hundred

:32:30. > :32:32.metres from some of the most important buildings of the European

:32:33. > :32:39.Union, these devastating explosions come four days after the arrest in a

:32:40. > :32:43.Brussels suburb of the Paris terror suspect Salah Abdeslam. The Belgian

:32:44. > :32:46.Prime Minister has called the attacks a dark moment for the

:32:47. > :32:48.nation. We have heard the transport Minister saying Brussels main

:32:49. > :32:52.stations are to reopen about now. People, he says, have to get home

:32:53. > :32:55.somehow. But it's obviously a very fraught situation.

:32:56. > :32:57.We will go live to Brussels in a moment. First, here is Johnny

:32:58. > :33:03.Diamond on the morning's attacks. A departure lounge

:33:04. > :33:13.becomes a war zones. Travellers cower in fear

:33:14. > :33:21.of further attack. Two bombs had ripped

:33:22. > :33:24.through the building. And the police ordered

:33:25. > :33:37.an evacuation. The bombs blew out the windows

:33:38. > :33:40.and they brought down the ceiling. First we thought it was

:33:41. > :33:47.a billboard falling down. It was 20 centimetres from me,

:33:48. > :33:53.it was a big explosion. I thought I was hurt,

:33:54. > :34:00.I was hit. And then there were two people

:34:01. > :34:06.working on the airport. They told me to come

:34:07. > :34:11.inside and they locked the door and behind a little gap,

:34:12. > :34:16.I saw a soldier putting away a body, I hope he was not dead

:34:17. > :34:19.and was just hit. Guns at the ready, the army

:34:20. > :34:23.and the police watch over passengers evacuated from the bombed

:34:24. > :34:29.airport as the mayhem There was one gunshot

:34:30. > :34:41.after the first explosion. And one man was speaking Arabic

:34:42. > :34:44.afterwards and I heard It was, said Belgian's Prime

:34:45. > :34:50.Minister, a black day. TRANSLATION: Our country

:34:51. > :34:57.and our citizens have been struck by attacks, blind attacks,

:34:58. > :35:02.violent and cowardly. And our first thoughts go

:35:03. > :35:08.to the victims, with their families. Brussels is on the highest

:35:09. > :35:10.state of alert. The military has

:35:11. > :35:15.sent reinforcements. Public transport has ceased

:35:16. > :35:16.in Europe's capital, Europe, says the French Prime

:35:17. > :35:37.Minister, is at war, than an hour after those blasts at

:35:38. > :35:40.the airport a third bomb exploded on the underground Metro in the heart

:35:41. > :35:43.of the city at Maelbeek station close to the European Commission's

:35:44. > :35:46.main building. Obviously the casualty figures are

:35:47. > :35:50.changing all the time. At least 20 people died and more than 100 were

:35:51. > :35:54.injured there. That's according to the latest statement from the mayor

:35:55. > :35:57.of Brussels. The entire Metronetwork has just -

:35:58. > :36:01.is remaining shut but we are hearing the main stations in the capital are

:36:02. > :36:08.reopening to allow people to get home. Here is Christian Fraser.

:36:09. > :36:12.The screams of a traumatised child emerging from a packed commuter

:36:13. > :36:18.train in the immediate aftermath of an explosion.

:36:19. > :36:22.The other passengers set off on foot into a tunnel filled with smoke.

:36:23. > :36:25.They follow the lights but they do not know

:36:26. > :36:36.where they are going or what they are walking into.

:36:37. > :36:39.The bomb had been placed in the middle of a three-carriage train

:36:40. > :36:47.that was leaving the platform below. Above them at street

:36:48. > :36:50.level, pandemonium. The metro station is Maelbeek,

:36:51. > :36:52.just 500 metres from The explosions echoed down tunnels,

:36:53. > :36:59.so loud commuters in two neighbouring stations thought

:37:00. > :37:03.they were also under attack. There was a loud muffled

:37:04. > :37:08.noise, very audible. There was initial panic

:37:09. > :37:10.but there was so much construction as they build over Brussels

:37:11. > :37:14.all the time it is hard to discern There was a lot of dust

:37:15. > :37:17.and smoke almost immediately I was in the metro heading

:37:18. > :37:27.from Charleroi to Maelbeek. We received a big blast of air

:37:28. > :37:30.and the train stopped. We had the normal recording

:37:31. > :37:33.announcements, we have just had an incident, we are trying

:37:34. > :37:35.to resolve the issue, We waited and smoke

:37:36. > :37:44.entered the carriages. The bomb went off in a confined

:37:45. > :37:54.space at the peak of the morning rush-hour, as thousands headed

:37:55. > :37:58.into work in the diplomatic quarter. As first responders arrived,

:37:59. > :38:00.the smoke was still billowing from the entrance, these

:38:01. > :38:02.were the walking wounded, but inside there were horrific

:38:03. > :38:14.injuries. 20 people are reported killed

:38:15. > :38:16.and over 50 wounded. Until this point, the Belgian

:38:17. > :38:19.capital was a hub for jihadis, It is clear now that Salah Abdeslam

:38:20. > :38:25.was a small cog in a much bigger terrorist industry,

:38:26. > :38:40.still not fully understood Let's go to the BBC's Chris Morris

:38:41. > :38:44.outside Maelbeek station. The casualty figures keep going up and

:38:45. > :38:50.an appalling situation there. Yeah, horrible. Obviously, for many people

:38:51. > :38:57.in London, for example, memories of the attacks on 7/7, the thought of a

:38:58. > :39:00.bomb explosion in a packed Metro tram during the morning rush hour,

:39:01. > :39:05.horrific to think about. Similarly, at the airport, I have been to that

:39:06. > :39:08.airport many times and you walk in without security until you go

:39:09. > :39:11.through to the flight side of the airport. You can walk in to the

:39:12. > :39:18.departures lounge with no security. It's that one thing that will have

:39:19. > :39:22.to change here? Perhaps it is. The priority at the moment is on two

:39:23. > :39:26.things. Making sure that anyone wounded is taken to a place of

:39:27. > :39:32.safety. Secondly, trying to ensure that anyone who may still be seeking

:39:33. > :39:35.to do harm is apprehended as soon as possible. The Belgian Foreign

:39:36. > :39:38.Minister has spoken of the possibility of other members of this

:39:39. > :39:43.terrorist cell still being at large. We saw, of course, after the Paris

:39:44. > :39:47.attacks it takes a large team of people to organise logistics, to get

:39:48. > :39:52.hold of weaponry and explosives and so forth. There will still be people

:39:53. > :39:55.out there who the authorities are extremely keen to arrest. One thing

:39:56. > :40:00.that many people are thinking about, was this a direct response to the

:40:01. > :40:04.capture of the Paris terrorism suspect Salah Abdeslam on Friday? If

:40:05. > :40:08.so, then it's been done extraordinarily quickly. What is

:40:09. > :40:12.perhaps more likely is that an attack was clearly in the works, the

:40:13. > :40:16.explosives were there and the weaponry, the people willing to

:40:17. > :40:19.attack civilian spaces were there. Perhaps they brought that attack

:40:20. > :40:24.forward once they knew that Salah Abdeslam had been arrested for fear

:40:25. > :40:28.their cover would be blown. Either way, it shows how many people there

:40:29. > :40:33.are willing to plan these types of attacks in cities like Paris and

:40:34. > :40:37.Brussels and how much of a gap in intelligence still needs to be

:40:38. > :40:41.filled. There's an open question around the figure of Salah Abdeslam

:40:42. > :40:43.himself, about whether he will co-operate with the authorities. As

:40:44. > :40:49.you mentioned there, there might be a fear that he could be about to

:40:50. > :40:55.blow the cover of others. Yeah. That's one of the possibilities why

:40:56. > :41:00.this attack took place today. There was a cell who feared they may be

:41:01. > :41:02.uncovered sooner rather than later. They managed to walk into one of

:41:03. > :41:09.Europe's main international airports. They managed to get on to

:41:10. > :41:12.a Metro station in the capital of the European Union, the heart of the

:41:13. > :41:18.European institutions at rush hour. The threat is there. It's a clear

:41:19. > :41:21.and present danger. That's why the security alert in this city has been

:41:22. > :41:25.raised to its highest level of four where it was for a few days after

:41:26. > :41:28.the Paris attacks. Looking around me there are people walking around,

:41:29. > :41:32.this is not a deserted city. There is a taxi just gone past and other

:41:33. > :41:35.cars moving. But the Belgian Government crisis centre has urged

:41:36. > :41:38.businesses and schools to keep people inside. They've said to

:41:39. > :41:43.people don't go out unless you have to. There is not a sense of panic,

:41:44. > :41:46.people, as is often the case in these situations, are pretty stoic.

:41:47. > :41:50.A lot of people feeling I am not going to disrupt normal life because

:41:51. > :41:53.of these people. Yet, there is an element in which normal life will be

:41:54. > :41:58.disrupted. There will be extra security. There will be a debate

:41:59. > :42:01.about whether there will need to be more intrusive intelligence measures

:42:02. > :42:04.taken to try to combat these terrorist attacks. All of these

:42:05. > :42:07.things have to be discussed and that's one of the things that

:42:08. > :42:11.happens in a democratic society when it comes under attack in this way,

:42:12. > :42:18.how to find the right balance between security and the freedoms

:42:19. > :42:26.people like to enjoy. A reporter at the political website

:42:27. > :42:31.Politico was at the airport this morning. First of all, this morning

:42:32. > :42:39.a grim, a horrible start to the day. Describe what you saw. I got there

:42:40. > :42:45.at approximately 8. 40am, 40 minutes after allegedly the first two bombs

:42:46. > :42:49.were exploded. It was initially difficult to get through because the

:42:50. > :43:01.police weren't allowing reporters to get in. I managed to sneak in. You

:43:02. > :43:06.could see human - some people had been given blankets, some still had

:43:07. > :43:09.a lot of blood on their clothes and hands. I interviewed a couple of

:43:10. > :43:15.people who used to work at the airport and who witnessed the

:43:16. > :43:19.explosion and I have to say the narratives like what they were

:43:20. > :43:26.telling was pretty horrifying. Bodies lying all over with no hands,

:43:27. > :43:33.no legs. One witness I interviewed said he heard a man screaming

:43:34. > :43:40.something in Arabic and then he heard the second explosion and saw a

:43:41. > :43:44.couple in front of him who was withdrawing some cash from -

:43:45. > :43:50.exploding, like the legs of the woman were gone. His hands were full

:43:51. > :43:56.of blood and he was still completely under shock. I was there for a

:43:57. > :44:01.couple of hours. No one really knew what was going on, not even police

:44:02. > :44:08.officers. Then buses started to arrive and they started to bring

:44:09. > :44:16.people back to the city. They even set up a temporary toilet in a

:44:17. > :44:24.storage. It was very confusing. A lot of people who had no idea where

:44:25. > :44:30.to go, what to do. Not much has been confirmed to date, nor from the

:44:31. > :44:35.Belgian authorities or neither from security sources. It's very unclear

:44:36. > :44:40.what happened. A horrifying assignment this morning. Then you

:44:41. > :44:44.went to a Security Council meeting, how would you assess of mood at that

:44:45. > :44:49.meeting? The meeting has been postponed. It was supposed to start

:44:50. > :44:53.at 3.00pm and it's been postponed to 5.00pm. I still haven't been there.

:44:54. > :44:57.The fact that it was postponed by two hours is significant because it

:44:58. > :45:12.means they don't really know what to say or what to announce

:45:13. > :45:35.So not to reveal classified details. I'm going to leave it there, Julia.

:45:36. > :45:40.Thank you very much for your time, talking to us here on BBC News.

:45:41. > :45:45.We are going to keep you up-to-date here on BBC News for our audiences

:45:46. > :45:50.here in the UK and around the world. We have a live page on the BBC News

:45:51. > :45:53.website bringing you the latest updates whether from Brussels,

:45:54. > :45:57.around Europe or international reaction to these attacks in which

:45:58. > :46:09.we believe at least 31 people have died and as many as 187 people have

:46:10. > :46:13.been injured. This is BBC News with a special

:46:14. > :46:16.coverage of the attacks in Brussels in which authorities believe at

:46:17. > :46:21.least 34 people were killed, many dozens more injured.

:46:22. > :46:26.The explosions happened at the International Airport and then at a

:46:27. > :46:35.Metro station in Brussels. This was the aftermath in the packed

:46:36. > :46:38.departure store at the airport. There was a second bigger explosion,

:46:39. > :46:41.authorities say it was probably a suicide bomber, at least ten people

:46:42. > :46:47.were killed here, dozens more injured. About an hour later, there

:46:48. > :46:49.was another attack, this time in the Metro in the heart of Brussels close

:46:50. > :46:55.to the European Commission headquarters. 20 people are known to

:46:56. > :46:58.have died in that attack with more than 100 others injured. The city

:46:59. > :47:03.has been in lockdown with everyone being told to stay where they were.

:47:04. > :47:07.The Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michelle condemned the attacks

:47:08. > :47:23.saying it was a black day for the country -- Charles Michel.

:47:24. > :47:27.You can get the updated news online at www.bbc.co.uk/brusselsattacks.

:47:28. > :47:32.These blasts come just four days after the arrest in Brussels of the

:47:33. > :47:36.Paris terror suspect, Salah Abdeslam. The authorities believe

:47:37. > :47:40.last year's attacks in Paris which killed 130 people were largely

:47:41. > :47:46.planned in Brussels. Also that they knew that a number of other suspects

:47:47. > :47:49.were still on the run and could be ready to carry out further attacks.

:47:50. > :47:52.Frank Gardner reports. A co-ordinated terror attack

:47:53. > :47:54.in the heart of Europe. Belgium was braced for this

:47:55. > :47:57.but there may still be more to come. The dramatic arrest on Friday

:47:58. > :48:00.of the jihadist Salah Abdeslam, seen here in white, has led

:48:01. > :48:03.investigators to a grim conclusion that are more terrorist cells

:48:04. > :48:08.planning attacks in Europe Najim Laachraoui is one of two known

:48:09. > :48:13.suspects still at large. The Brussels district of Molenbeek

:48:14. > :48:16.has acted as a logistics hub for so-called Islamic State

:48:17. > :48:20.but the group has networks and supporters in every

:48:21. > :48:24.major European country. I think we are facing

:48:25. > :48:27.a severe capacity problem. We do not have the security forces

:48:28. > :48:31.to deal with all these So I think what we need

:48:32. > :48:36.is a full spectrum response, to address terrorism in a more

:48:37. > :48:40.preventative way because we cannot Last year's attack on the satirical

:48:41. > :48:49.French magazine Charlie Hebdo was a wake-up call to both French

:48:50. > :48:53.and Belgian intelligence agencies. It exposed the huge scale

:48:54. > :48:56.of Islamic State attack planning in Europe, much of it

:48:57. > :48:59.centred on Brussels. Belgian's history of terrorism

:49:00. > :49:03.includes the May 2014 attack on the Jewish Museum

:49:04. > :49:09.which led four dead. on the Jewish Museum

:49:10. > :49:11.which left four dead. In 2015, the weapons used

:49:12. > :49:13.in the Paris attacks The same year, police were fired

:49:14. > :49:19.on in the town of Verviers and now Belgium does has a particular

:49:20. > :49:23.problem concerning security, the intelligence agencies do not

:49:24. > :49:26.share enough information with police meaning attacks like

:49:27. > :49:34.today can be missed. As Belgium puts its security forces

:49:35. > :49:37.on maximum alert today, countries like Britain

:49:38. > :49:40.are offering to help. Belgium's security challenges

:49:41. > :50:00.are simply too big for it to tackle Anne McElvoy, we have heard so much

:50:01. > :50:02.from David Cameron, the French President, the Belgian President,

:50:03. > :50:08.President Obama, all weighing in, all aghast at what is happening. You

:50:09. > :50:12.get to the point of what leaders do? In the short-term, it is important,

:50:13. > :50:16.you could say these are warm words and you would expect to hear them

:50:17. > :50:21.but it's important I think that the world is seen to stand together on

:50:22. > :50:26.occasions like this and that you get a lot of the usual divisions of

:50:27. > :50:31.politics that are forgotten. I think however coming so soon after the

:50:32. > :50:34.Paris attacks, that sense of simply getting up and saying, as we heard

:50:35. > :50:39.from the French Prime Minister this morning, we are at war against

:50:40. > :50:42.terrorists, as the public is entitled and likely to say we have

:50:43. > :50:47.heard this before and where is it getting us. It's not as easy as it

:50:48. > :50:50.was in some ways. We are almost responding, George Bush's War on

:50:51. > :50:53.Terror, people could be for or against that, some didn't like that

:50:54. > :50:56.approach and thought in the end it was counterproductive to use this

:50:57. > :51:00.language, but more important is really what do you think you can do

:51:01. > :51:05.across borders and I think that is a global issue, of course it's

:51:06. > :51:08.Transatlantic but also involves very heavily the EU's relationship with

:51:09. > :51:12.the outside world and the United States. Often strained in these

:51:13. > :51:16.matters. That will come under scrutiny. That is where you get to

:51:17. > :51:19.the big questions about intelligence and intelligence-sharing and data.

:51:20. > :51:23.How much potential suspects can be tracked and should be tracked in a

:51:24. > :51:28.European system, an EU system. Exactly. Think about it this way, if

:51:29. > :51:33.we look broadly at the EU and the US, under an Obama presidency, a

:51:34. > :51:36.democrat presidency, not under the hawkish George Bush, you still see

:51:37. > :51:40.clear division which has emerged in this time of terror and the terror

:51:41. > :51:48.threat globally about how much data you can gather on sit Zibs. In other

:51:49. > :51:51.words, which of our freedoms means technology can gather more

:51:52. > :51:56.information about us and can legitimately be gathered. It's a

:51:57. > :52:03.civil rights issue still. Take Edward Snowden issues, you are right

:52:04. > :52:06.is to be sheltered from the collectd data. There is another issue which

:52:07. > :52:11.says data not only needs to be gathered but used more. Who crosses

:52:12. > :52:16.borders? Are there irregularities in paperwork? To get to those things

:52:17. > :52:21.does require penetration of data and that's going to put pressure on EU

:52:22. > :52:25.institutions, many of who have been resistant on that point. You have

:52:26. > :52:32.that versus liberty or privacy, I suppose. The issues with the migrant

:52:33. > :52:37.crisis too is borders, and the ease of travel between for example,

:52:38. > :52:40.France and Brussels? Well, it's always unpleasant and if it gets so

:52:41. > :52:45.tangled up with the question about the large and the huge wave of

:52:46. > :52:48.migration because really I think a reasonable person would be wanting

:52:49. > :52:52.to put out there the idea that migrants are in some way responsible

:52:53. > :52:56.for this. We quite often don't know who is behind the attacks... I'm

:52:57. > :53:03.talking about the fact that the conversation... But the question

:53:04. > :53:06.about mobility of the freedom of movement that great pillar of the

:53:07. > :53:09.modern EU and what it's stood for will come into question. It's

:53:10. > :53:14.possible to still want to preserve that but also to want to have more

:53:15. > :53:21.border checks and controls, they are onerous, not what most of us would

:53:22. > :53:28.have wanted and some outside London will be thinking, gosh, it's close

:53:29. > :53:34.to us, I was thinking of popping on the Eurotunnel to go there. They

:53:35. > :53:37.happen to be northern European cities and that changes our view of

:53:38. > :53:41.how much paperwork and general hassle we have to put up with at

:53:42. > :53:45.borders. I expect that will be a lively argument because it's not

:53:46. > :53:49.easy to say, I want to keep that great freedom of movement principle

:53:50. > :53:54.intact but at many stages you could be stopped and checked, on what

:53:55. > :53:59.basis though, Schengen, Schengen plus, UK warrants in Schengen? The

:54:00. > :54:02.question will be the question of how weapons and explosives were able to

:54:03. > :54:06.travel across borders because they probably didn't start out in

:54:07. > :54:10.Belgium. Briefly, David Cameron didn't want to engage understandably

:54:11. > :54:16.at this point with the political angle but we did see almost

:54:17. > :54:18.immediately people saying on social media for example, does then

:54:19. > :54:25.strengthen the case for Britain coming out of the European Union,

:54:26. > :54:29.it's going to add more fuel? It certainly will. I saw people saying

:54:30. > :54:32.this is not the day to think about that. But that probably means they

:54:33. > :54:36.are all thinking about it. I would say you can weigh it up in the

:54:37. > :54:40.perspective of those who want Brexit, they'll say we could seal

:54:41. > :54:47.ourselves off in an unspecific way from what is going on and from this.

:54:48. > :54:50.The other view is that it's powerful and from David Cameron, that this is

:54:51. > :54:57.the time we have to stand together. We have to understand that we may

:54:58. > :55:02.need to sharpen up our act of how we deal with these thingses, but we are

:55:03. > :55:07.better in there making the case than standing aside. I genuinely feel it

:55:08. > :55:11.can be argued either way and you can maximise security and have concerns

:55:12. > :55:13.about security whichever side you are on and that has to be borne in

:55:14. > :55:18.mind. Thank you very much.

:55:19. > :55:22.President Obama sent a message of support to the people of Brussels,

:55:23. > :55:26.speaking in Havana, as part of his presidential visit to Cuba.

:55:27. > :55:31.Thoughts and prayers of the American people are with the people of

:55:32. > :55:38.Belgium. We stand in solidarity with them in condemning these outrageous

:55:39. > :55:42.attacks against innocent people. We'll do whatever is necessary to

:55:43. > :55:47.support our friend and allie Belgium in bring to justice those who're

:55:48. > :55:55.responsible. This is another reminder that the world must unite.

:55:56. > :55:59.We must be together regardless of nationality, race or faith, in

:56:00. > :56:02.fighting against the scourge of terrorism.

:56:03. > :56:07.We can and we will defeat those who threaten the safety and security of

:56:08. > :56:09.people all around the world. Here in London, the Prime Minister

:56:10. > :56:14.David Cameron gave his response to the attacks.

:56:15. > :56:16.These are appalling and savage terrorist

:56:17. > :56:19.attacks and I have just spoken to the Prime Minister of Belgium

:56:20. > :56:21.to give our condolences to the Belgian

:56:22. > :56:23.people and we stand with them at this very difficult time.

:56:24. > :56:26.These were attacks in Belgium and could just

:56:27. > :56:28.as well be attacks in Britain, France,

:56:29. > :56:31.Germany or elsewhere in Europe, and we need to stand together

:56:32. > :56:33.against these appalling terrorists and make

:56:34. > :56:40.I have made sure we can offer every support

:56:41. > :56:46.I have chaired a meeting of Cobra to make

:56:47. > :56:51.sure that we can do everything we can and there will be increased

:56:52. > :56:56.security at stations as you would expect.

:56:57. > :56:59.These are difficult times, appalling terrorists,

:57:00. > :57:02.but we must stand together to do everything we

:57:03. > :57:06.can to stop them and to make sure although they attack our way of life

:57:07. > :57:24.A claim of responsibility is being reported from a news agency that's

:57:25. > :57:26.afilliated with the so-called Islamic state.

:57:27. > :57:31.A claim of responsibility for at least two of the bomb attacks in

:57:32. > :57:35.Brussels. Islamic state fighters carried out a

:57:36. > :57:40.series of bombings with explosive belts and devices tarting an airport

:57:41. > :57:45.and Metro station in the centre. This is an agency, covered by

:57:46. > :57:48.Reuters news agency. Let's talk to a journalist in Brussels who was

:57:49. > :57:53.walking by the Metro station this morning when the explosion happened.

:57:54. > :57:58.Pick up the story from there, Simon, what happened? Hello there, hi. I

:57:59. > :58:02.was on my way into work this morning like a lot of other people, just

:58:03. > :58:08.after 9 o'clock when the explosion took place at the Maelbeek Metro

:58:09. > :58:13.station situated a few hundred metres from the European

:58:14. > :58:18.institutions. Immediately, I dashed down there to the entrance. At that

:58:19. > :58:24.point you could get very close to the entrance. There was no real

:58:25. > :58:27.police presence and you could see the injured pouring out of one of

:58:28. > :58:34.the entrances, there was a lot of smoke in the air, a lot of distress,

:58:35. > :58:39.some people were covered in blood. The paramedics took five, six

:58:40. > :58:45.minutes to arrive and so in that sort of intermediate period, you had

:58:46. > :58:52.members of the public helping. There was a nearby hotel which lent towels

:58:53. > :58:55.and sheets to those who were injured and generally, pretty chaotic scene

:58:56. > :58:59.down there. This was an hour after the attacks

:59:00. > :59:09.on the airport. Was there any doubt in your mind as to what this was?

:59:10. > :59:15.Certainly instantly I realised it was a coordinated attack in some

:59:16. > :59:20.way. I heard about the airport bombings on the bus. My daughter was

:59:21. > :59:24.on her way to creche, I took her there, I instantly jumped off TfL

:59:25. > :59:28.bus thinking it could be a coordinated attack on Brussels. In

:59:29. > :59:33.terms of what's happened in the city in the last few days, was it a huge

:59:34. > :59:37.surprise to hear that the Belgian capital itself was under this sort

:59:38. > :59:45.of attack? Well, yes and no. Obviously, this is

:59:46. > :59:50.happening in the aftermath of Salah Abdeslam's arrest, he was suspected

:59:51. > :59:57.organiser of the terrorist attacks in Paris late last year. Terrorism

:59:58. > :00:05.specialists have said that Belgium, Brussels, is somewhat of a safety

:00:06. > :00:10.zone for people wanting to carry out Jihad to formulate their plans in

:00:11. > :00:16.Europe and so simply thought it would never arrive on their

:00:17. > :00:20.doorstep. However, since the arrest that took place of Salah Abdeslam

:00:21. > :00:27.last week, the government has been saying that the state is on a high

:00:28. > :00:32.terror alert and that they were expecting attacks. As the Prime

:00:33. > :00:37.Minister said earlier in Belgium, what they feared has happened.

:00:38. > :00:45.How would you assess the mood in Brussels this afternoon? Well, the

:00:46. > :00:50.streets, I have been around the European institutions all day, the

:00:51. > :00:56.streets around here are very quiet, all cordoned off. As far as the

:00:57. > :01:00.public go, I mean, I am yet to venture out but I can only imagine

:01:01. > :01:10.that there is clearly a lot of shock. It's a country that is well

:01:11. > :01:14.used to this state of worry around terrorism, ever since the Paris

:01:15. > :01:18.attacks there's been a fugitive the police have been looking for.

:01:19. > :01:24.They've had high terror alerts in the past. This is a culmination of

:01:25. > :01:29.all of that that's resulted in actual death this time. I can only

:01:30. > :01:36.imagine that going out to public places from now on quite simply

:01:37. > :01:40.won't be the same again. I am grateful for your time. We are

:01:41. > :01:43.constantly getting more information about this unfolding story from our

:01:44. > :01:50.correspondents in Belgium and for the latest we can go to the live

:01:51. > :01:54.page on our website. Or it's on the smartphone app and

:01:55. > :01:57.you will find a summary of what's happened so far as well as footage

:01:58. > :02:02.we have of those attacks in Brussels.

:02:03. > :02:07.Joining us now on the phone from Brussels is the founder and

:02:08. > :02:10.chaircome of Sisters against Violent Extremism, a group who helps women

:02:11. > :02:15.whose relatives are drawn to extremism. She can talk to us about

:02:16. > :02:20.that. She was in the lobby of a hotel just 50 metres from the Metro

:02:21. > :02:28.explosion. Thank you for joining us. Tell us did you know immediately

:02:29. > :02:36.what was happening there? We arrived here in Brussels with our Women

:02:37. > :02:42.without Borders team to meet mothers who decided to run the programme

:02:43. > :02:48.against extremism developed and this morning we are off for celebration

:02:49. > :02:57.ceremony. We were just checking out at the lobby and the air was filled

:02:58. > :03:06.with noise, with shots and it was - you freeze in that moment and the

:03:07. > :03:10.smell, you know... The voices, the cries, everything was, you know, an

:03:11. > :03:14.indicator of what was going on. We tried to get to the exits, to the

:03:15. > :03:18.back exits because the front they already tried to seal off the front.

:03:19. > :03:24.Then we decided not to stay in the lobby which filled up with people,

:03:25. > :03:29.the hotel was already locked, we managed to get out and get away from

:03:30. > :03:36.the scene. It was kind of surreal, unreal and at the same time, you

:03:37. > :03:42.know, sad images which seemed to become more and more frequent also

:03:43. > :03:48.across the area. You are making it your life's work to talk to those

:03:49. > :03:51.who are tempted by these terror networks. From Brussels where you

:03:52. > :03:59.are speaking to me, what do you think about the way the security

:04:00. > :04:03.services are handling this? This is difficult to judge but I am really,

:04:04. > :04:08.really sure that I think we have to revisit our security concepts and

:04:09. > :04:13.that we do have to involve those who are closest to the action, those who

:04:14. > :04:17.are at the battlefield, actually at the front line, these are the family

:04:18. > :04:27.members, the mothers, the sisters, the peers of those who are at the

:04:28. > :04:32.brink and finally decide to leave for the caliphate and leave

:04:33. > :04:37.everything behind, children, schools, normalcy and swap our model

:04:38. > :04:45.of our ideals of freedom, democracy, rule of law, for the fantasy of the

:04:46. > :04:57.caliphate. This is a wake-up call for us. What we see now is

:04:58. > :05:01.consequence of our, I say sadly, inaction. We have to bring these

:05:02. > :05:09.people to the forefront. We have to be connected with them. Yesterday

:05:10. > :05:17.afternoon we spent all afternoon - one of the suburbs of Brussels and

:05:18. > :05:20.talked to a group of young Belgians who insisted there are always

:05:21. > :05:26.questions, where are you really from? Oh, Algeria, you are not

:05:27. > :05:32.really one of us. They were upset. They are the friends and peers of

:05:33. > :05:40.those who travel to Syria and they did not go. We must - these are our

:05:41. > :05:45.security allies. It is the case, as you would acknowledge, people like

:05:46. > :05:48.Salah Abdeslam and his colleagues are surviving, are being sheltered

:05:49. > :05:53.by people around them in the heart of Brussels. It is up to those

:05:54. > :05:59.people around them as well to be able to alert the authorities.

:06:00. > :06:08.Absolutely. This is actually our work in these meetings that we work

:06:09. > :06:12.with the mothers to build up the confidence and also the skills that

:06:13. > :06:17.they speak out when they see something is wrong, they relate to

:06:18. > :06:21.children, that there be empathy, they don't already feel they are on

:06:22. > :06:25.their own. No, they have to accompany them and if they witness

:06:26. > :06:32.something that is not quite right that they step up and go out and

:06:33. > :06:38.look for support. But this is a lot of tough building and this is the

:06:39. > :06:43.hard work. That's the difficulty, just finally, we are talking, we

:06:44. > :06:47.hear from leaders talking about being at war, needing to crack down

:06:48. > :06:56.and you are talking about building trust. Yes, absolutely. I think when

:06:57. > :07:00.we say, and we just heard it on the news, this is an ongoing battle. I

:07:01. > :07:04.think we have to start much earlier. This is an ongoing battle out in the

:07:05. > :07:09.streets now in Belgium and sadly we have seen it in Paris, seen it in

:07:10. > :07:13.many places, in London. The battle starts much earlier. We have to push

:07:14. > :07:20.back and we have to bring those on board who are so close to us, to the

:07:21. > :07:30.families we have to go there where they are, to their communities, to

:07:31. > :07:34.their families and actually, even - where he came from he was hiding

:07:35. > :07:39.there, a few hundred metres from his mother's house. We need to remind

:07:40. > :07:48.where they belong to and not give up on them. We need to do that early.

:07:49. > :07:54.The chairwoman of Sisters Against Violent Extremism, thank you for

:07:55. > :07:57.joining us. We can cross to our colleague for an update.

:07:58. > :08:02.Thank you very much. Before we look back over the events

:08:03. > :08:06.of the past few hours let me bring you up to date with potentially

:08:07. > :08:10.significant statement coming from the news agency run by the Islamic

:08:11. > :08:13.State group. This is the BBC breaking Twitter feed telling us

:08:14. > :08:19.that Islamic State claims responsibility for these Brussels

:08:20. > :08:25.attacks in statements issued via Amaq news agency. It's impossible to

:08:26. > :08:28.say one way or the other whether these claims of responsibility are

:08:29. > :08:33.correct, but this Amaq news agency does not have a track record of

:08:34. > :08:36.releasing statements from Islamic State which intelligence then

:08:37. > :08:42.completely undermines. So this certainly is to be taken seriously.

:08:43. > :08:44.The Islamic State group via its Amaq news agency releasing a statement

:08:45. > :08:49.claiming responsibility for the attacks that we have seen in

:08:50. > :08:53.Brussels today. Of course, if that's the case, it does what many were

:08:54. > :08:57.suspecting, it connects what's happening in Brussels with what

:08:58. > :09:00.happened in Paris at the end of last year.

:09:01. > :09:04.Let's bring ourselves up to date with how events unfolded over the

:09:05. > :09:10.past few hours. The first we heard here in the BBC Newsroom came in the

:09:11. > :09:15.form of a short piece of copy from the Reuters news agency quoting

:09:16. > :09:18.local media in Belgium telling us that two explosions had been heard

:09:19. > :09:23.at Brussels airport. The cause was unclear.

:09:24. > :09:26.At the same time, this was coming in to the newsroom, multiple messages

:09:27. > :09:30.posted on social media confirming the same thing.

:09:31. > :09:38.In fact, the explosions had taken place 18 minutes before that copy

:09:39. > :09:41.was filed at 8.00am local time in Belgium. While the emergency

:09:42. > :09:46.services tried to reach those injured, at the airport, in the

:09:47. > :09:50.centre of town, there was another explosion at Maelbeek Metro station

:09:51. > :09:54.in the middle of the city. First of all, let's concentrate on those two

:09:55. > :09:57.explosions that took place at Zaventem Airport. The main airport

:09:58. > :10:03.in Brussels, over 20 million people use it every year. So far, the

:10:04. > :10:08.authorities are saying at least 11 people lost their lives there. 81

:10:09. > :10:12.were wounded. We can look in more detail at where these explosions

:10:13. > :10:15.went off. The first was by the check-in desks. An area which any

:10:16. > :10:21.member of the public would be able to access without going through any

:10:22. > :10:26.security checks. The second explosion took place next to a

:10:27. > :10:29.nearby Starbucks cafe. Ever since those two explosions happened, video

:10:30. > :10:33.and pictures have been coming in to the newsroom as you would expect.

:10:34. > :10:37.Some from news agencies, some posted on social media, some from the BBC's

:10:38. > :10:40.own journalists. For instance, this is a video that was shot in the

:10:41. > :10:46.immediate aftermath at the airport. You can see the smoke, the debris,

:10:47. > :10:50.people running, shouting and crying. Unfortunately, in more graphic parts

:10:51. > :10:55.of that video you can see bodies lying on the floor which aren't

:10:56. > :11:01.moving. These pictures were filmed by a

:11:02. > :11:06.separate person, a man who passed them on to journalists. All these

:11:07. > :11:09.black rectangles on the floor are roofing tiles that were pushed to

:11:10. > :11:15.the floor by the power of the explosion. Again, it gives you an

:11:16. > :11:19.idea of the scale of the destruction that these two devices brought to

:11:20. > :11:22.this part of Brussels airport. Not long after the moments those were

:11:23. > :11:28.taken, this is outside the terminal now. Emergency services arriving all

:11:29. > :11:32.the time. Huge numbers of fire engines and ambulances, as would

:11:33. > :11:34.imagine. In these pictures you can really only see emergency services

:11:35. > :11:38.because they had taken control of this area. These are other pictures

:11:39. > :11:43.showing what you would expect. Hundreds and hundreds of people

:11:44. > :11:47.trying to get away from the terminal as quickly as possible. Being given

:11:48. > :11:50.some information by the authorities, although the situation was

:11:51. > :11:54.incredibly fluid at the beginning and as such many people were left

:11:55. > :11:58.standing and waiting for instruction for sometime before they were able

:11:59. > :12:01.to move on. Some of those who were at the

:12:02. > :12:05.airport, particularly those who weren't sure where they were

:12:06. > :12:11.supposed to go in the minutes that followed, were prepared to speak to

:12:12. > :12:15.local media. I was having my break. I was inside the building. We just

:12:16. > :12:19.heard a loud bang. Everything was shaking. We looked outside the

:12:20. > :12:27.window. There was smoke coming out of the departure hall. I thought I

:12:28. > :12:30.was hurt, I was hit. Then there were two people who were working at the

:12:31. > :12:35.airport. They told me to come inside. They locked the door. People

:12:36. > :12:39.started panicking and running. The only thing I was seeing was dust in

:12:40. > :12:43.the air. People running to save their lives. There were some

:12:44. > :12:50.announcements, clearly something had gone wrong. The woman's voice was

:12:51. > :12:52.like quite shaken on the intercom and that's when I know we should

:12:53. > :12:55.move. That's what was happening at the

:12:56. > :13:00.airport in Brussels. Before we go I want to talk about the Metro

:13:01. > :13:06.station. A significant development in the last few minutes. Islamic

:13:07. > :13:09.State group's own news agency, it's called Amaq, has released a

:13:10. > :13:12.statement by IS claiming responsibility for what's happened

:13:13. > :13:17.in Brussels. We have looked at the airport. Let's

:13:18. > :13:21.look at what played out in Maelbeek Metro station. Much more central,

:13:22. > :13:26.about 11 kilometres away from the airport. A train had just left

:13:27. > :13:29.Maelbeek station when a bomb exploded. We understand at least 20

:13:30. > :13:40.people died, over 100 were injured. This is 350 metres from the European

:13:41. > :13:43.headquarters. We have marked significant buildings, the

:13:44. > :13:47.Commission, the Council of the European Union, the Parliament, all

:13:48. > :13:50.within easy walking distance of where this explosion happened. There

:13:51. > :13:56.were many different stills being shared online. This is one of people

:13:57. > :13:59.working their way down through the tracks in the darkness in aftermath

:14:00. > :14:06.of this explosion happening. There is lots of video. Let's look at some

:14:07. > :14:11.of that. First of all, this was shot from the tracks in the tunnel as

:14:12. > :14:15.people were being helped out of one of the carriages. They're stepping

:14:16. > :14:20.down into the darkness and being led away. In the background people are

:14:21. > :14:24.shouting and crying. That was filmed by one passenger called Evan who

:14:25. > :14:29.shared the pictures. You can probably see it's busy, because this

:14:30. > :14:33.is rush hour. As you would expect, a central Brussels train would be.

:14:34. > :14:37.These pictures show the outside of the station. The scale of the

:14:38. > :14:40.explosion means that the smoke generated worked all the way through

:14:41. > :14:43.the station and out through the entrance and obviously you can see

:14:44. > :14:48.people looking concerned and trying to get information on what was

:14:49. > :14:52.happening. Emergency services were arriving

:14:53. > :14:56.within a few minutes. These are pictures taken outside the station

:14:57. > :14:59.and immediately people were being treated there and then on the

:15:00. > :15:02.pavement and been given urgent medical assistance and the police

:15:03. > :15:07.providing information which in the early stages was please stay away

:15:08. > :15:11.and let us get on with our work. Some people were comforted but

:15:12. > :15:13.really the focus was primarily on getting immediate treatment to the

:15:14. > :15:19.significant number of people who were injured. The last pictures were

:15:20. > :15:22.again people being treated but a problem for the fire engines, they

:15:23. > :15:27.were trying to get to this station but it was a busy time of the

:15:28. > :15:31.morning so it took some a while to get through the traffic and get to

:15:32. > :15:35.where they wanted to be. As you would imagine the BBC's a number of

:15:36. > :15:39.journalists working on this story across the city. You will see them

:15:40. > :15:45.here on BBC television and the news app and you can get them on social

:15:46. > :15:51.media. This is one forensics van going through the police cordon and

:15:52. > :15:55.into the area. Anna is worth following. She's

:15:56. > :15:58.updating as she is reporting. Some caught up in the attack at the Metro

:15:59. > :16:05.station have been describing their experiences.

:16:06. > :16:13.We felt a small blast of air and we heard some thudding in the distance,

:16:14. > :16:16.the Metro immediately stopped and the lights turned off, the engine

:16:17. > :16:20.turned off and a message came over the intercom saying there had been a

:16:21. > :16:24.disturbance on the line, that continued for a few minutes, people

:16:25. > :16:30.were obviously nervous. I think a lot of people like myself had been

:16:31. > :16:35.reading about the explosion of Brussels Airport and they were on

:16:36. > :16:41.their way to work. The woman who worked for the rail service said

:16:42. > :16:47.there had been an explosion and her colleague followed and I asked him

:16:48. > :16:51.where it was and he said Maelbeek. They turned off the electricity on

:16:52. > :16:58.the line, we were evacuated and we walked out the back of the carriage.

:16:59. > :17:03.There have been a broad range of condemnations from word leaders.

:17:04. > :17:05.Let's start by hearing from the Belgian Prime Minister Charles

:17:06. > :17:22.Michel: Belgium and France are brought

:17:23. > :17:25.closer together, so not surprising to hear the French Prime Minister

:17:26. > :17:48.use very strong language. Anna holt began -- I was mentioning

:17:49. > :17:51.Anna Holligan, Chris Morris is our Belgian correspondent, he says a

:17:52. > :17:57.security operation is going on and the fear is there may be further

:17:58. > :18:01.attacks. Simon mentioned a few minutes ago, you can follow this

:18:02. > :18:05.story through any point on the BBC's live page.

:18:06. > :18:10.The news app or website have this. Colleagues in the newsroom pulling

:18:11. > :18:18.together all the latest information on the live pages updating for your.

:18:19. > :18:21.The Belgian Prime Minister spoke a short time ago condemning what he

:18:22. > :18:29.called blind, cowardly attacks and said people need to come together.

:18:30. > :18:35.Our first thoughts are with the victims, with their families and

:18:36. > :18:41.those who're waiting for information about their loved ones.

:18:42. > :18:50.Two attacks have happened this morning, one at 7. 10, the other at

:18:51. > :18:54.the Met row station Maelbeek and, as we speak, the crisis centre because

:18:55. > :19:01.of security situation, we are trying to stabilise the situation -- Metro

:19:02. > :19:08.Centre. Our thoughts are going towards other locations. The first

:19:09. > :19:15.urgent action is to provide treatment for the victims, to

:19:16. > :19:21.evacuate the victims of this attack towards various hospitals and we

:19:22. > :19:27.know that probably we are talking about scores of dead, scores of

:19:28. > :19:33.injured persons and some of them seriously injured.

:19:34. > :19:39.The authorities are evaluating the threat and raised it to the level

:19:40. > :19:43.four and additional security measures are being taken as we

:19:44. > :19:51.speak. Military enforcement is being deployed. Reinforcement of our

:19:52. > :19:54.border controls are in action and especially measures regarding public

:19:55. > :20:00.transport are being put in place now, as we speak.

:20:01. > :20:07.I would like to tell you, this type of tragic moment, this black moment

:20:08. > :20:14.in our country, never before I would like to call on everybody to show

:20:15. > :20:19.calmness and solidarity. We are facing a challenging time, difficult

:20:20. > :20:25.challenging time, and we should face up to this challenge by being

:20:26. > :20:34.united, solitary and also coming together. We'll continue to follow

:20:35. > :20:37.the situation minute by minute with different Security Services, with

:20:38. > :20:41.different rescue services. I would like the thank the Security Services

:20:42. > :20:47.for the work that they have done so far and I would like to tell you

:20:48. > :20:54.once again how we are determined to face this situation and manage this

:20:55. > :21:00.situation and to deal with it as best as possible.

:21:01. > :21:04.The French President, Francois Hollande, has condemned the attacks,

:21:05. > :21:11.saying Belgium has been struck but it's Europe that's been target and

:21:12. > :21:16.the whole world should be concerned. Jay attacks have been perpetrated

:21:17. > :21:31.which left a number of dead and dozens of injured.

:21:32. > :21:41.I would like the families who're worried about their loved ones, our

:21:42. > :21:45.thoughts are with them. The terrorists have struck Belgium,

:21:46. > :21:53.but it's Europe which has been targeted, it's the whole world which

:21:54. > :21:58.is concerned with this. We should take conscience of the magnitude and

:21:59. > :22:09.gravity of the threat, terrorist threat. These attacks follow others.

:22:10. > :22:17.Paris was particularly targeted last year, last January and in November.

:22:18. > :22:26.Other continents suffer the same pain, especially in Africa. But we

:22:27. > :22:31.are facing a global threat which necessitates and requires a global

:22:32. > :22:38.response. France and Belgium are linked with horror that we are

:22:39. > :22:45.sharing once again. I have reassured the Belgian government of our full

:22:46. > :22:50.support that we are providing them with all the necessary means, but

:22:51. > :22:55.the war against the terrorists should be carried out throughout

:22:56. > :23:00.Europe, the whole of Europe using all the necessary means and

:23:01. > :23:06.especially intelligence information. With me now is the managing director

:23:07. > :23:11.of a global security and risk firm for governments and multinationals.

:23:12. > :23:14.Thank you for coming in. I think you flew through Brussels last week.

:23:15. > :23:21.What assessment would you have of the security that was in place?

:23:22. > :23:26.Look, being paranoid as I am, when walking into the terminal, I felt

:23:27. > :23:30.very unsafe and probably a soft target, especially in the light of

:23:31. > :23:35.all the threats that Belgium has weathered. The same goes with the

:23:36. > :23:39.Metro that I was taking, there was no security and we know that the

:23:40. > :23:43.transport system has been time and time again attacked by terrorists.

:23:44. > :23:48.Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Where, which airports in the world,

:23:49. > :23:52.do you suggest have the right sort of security that might have

:23:53. > :23:56.preevened something like this? Look, Moscow and Tel Aviv are two good

:23:57. > :23:59.airports because they have metal detectors even before you get into

:24:00. > :24:08.the terminal. That should be looked at by a lot of airports. Most

:24:09. > :24:12.probably what is telling is the fact that after getting some in test l,

:24:13. > :24:17.the Belgian authorities didn't raise the terror alert after they arrested

:24:18. > :24:21.Salah Abdeslam on Thursday, they should have raised it to level four.

:24:22. > :24:25.We were hearing there's been a claim by Islamic state that they carried

:24:26. > :24:33.out today's attack, to great surprise in that? Not at all. Most

:24:34. > :24:37.likely this attack today was pushed forward because of Salah Abdeslam's

:24:38. > :24:41.arrest. He may have talked to Security Services and they were

:24:42. > :24:47.concerned that they would be on to them, so it's a suggestion that they

:24:48. > :24:51.could have moved up their attacks. And move them very quickly after his

:24:52. > :24:55.arrest. Now, what does that suggest to you in terms of the numbers of

:24:56. > :25:00.terrorists there are who're able to carry out these attacks? You are

:25:01. > :25:08.totally correct. We are talking about potentially 30 Jihadists. 30?

:25:09. > :25:15.Yes, 30, in Brussels that could be targeting and Security Services have

:25:16. > :25:19.warned about the problem and how over extended they are to tackle the

:25:20. > :25:21.threat. We are just hearing and we were just

:25:22. > :25:25.talking about security at the airport, there is a news conference

:25:26. > :25:26.going on with the head of airport security in Belgium, let's hear what

:25:27. > :25:42.he has to say. While we establish the sound with

:25:43. > :25:47.that, Olivier, it's a difficult balance isn't it? Security and yet

:25:48. > :25:54.also making sure people can travel relatively free of hassle? Yes. That

:25:55. > :25:58.has been the problem. But, the way to do it is either you get human

:25:59. > :26:02.intelligence to the level that we should have and that we had ten

:26:03. > :26:06.years ago, 15 years ago, and that we can protect people in the best way,

:26:07. > :26:12.shape or form, or people will have to curtail some of their freedoms

:26:13. > :26:14.and, after the Paris attacks, 80% of the French people were ready to

:26:15. > :26:19.curtail some of their freedoms in the name of security. Are you

:26:20. > :26:23.surprised, given the attention there's been on Brussels recently,

:26:24. > :26:29.after the attacks in Paris, that a city which was seen as a hub, a

:26:30. > :26:34.centre of the very Jihadists who were carrying out these attack, the

:26:35. > :26:39.city has become a target? Yes and no because at some point you have to

:26:40. > :26:42.remember that the first Jihadi attacks from a returning from Iraq

:26:43. > :26:54.and Syria happened in Brussels. I think we can now hear the

:26:55. > :26:58.translator. This morning at 8am, two bombs went

:26:59. > :27:15.off in the departure hall. There were several killed, ten, 11

:27:16. > :27:25.killed and there were others injured. We'd like to thank all

:27:26. > :27:34.those who have worked consistently to help those in need. Particularly

:27:35. > :27:38.helping all those passengers who were there at the time. The airport

:27:39. > :27:57.has been closed since this morning following the attack. All flights

:27:58. > :27:58.have been cancelled. We hope to start off operations the day after

:27:59. > :28:11.tomorrow. We'll allow a few questions, not too

:28:12. > :28:50.many. Some questions being taken there. I

:28:51. > :28:53.want to pick up on that, he's saying the airport will re-open on

:28:54. > :28:58.Thursday. What needs to have changed, in your view, at the

:28:59. > :29:03.airport, by then? Look, obviously they are not going to be able to

:29:04. > :29:09.install metal detectors by Thursday, but there'll have to be a plan to

:29:10. > :29:17.basically make the terminal safe from outside people that do not have

:29:18. > :29:21.a ticket as well. We don't know yet if the perpetrators had tickets too

:29:22. > :29:24.fly somewhere, but that will save a little bit of hassle for the

:29:25. > :29:29.airport. And in terms of the city of Brussels

:29:30. > :29:35.itself, what will we see on the streets now? Hindsight is wonderful,

:29:36. > :29:38.but do things need to change? Look, unfortunately, on the streets,

:29:39. > :29:45.the Belgians have done whatever they could do because you have the Army

:29:46. > :29:49.patrolling all over and it looks like a war zone since December, so

:29:50. > :29:56.there's not much that they can do. What they can do is really implement

:29:57. > :30:03.the train station, the security on the train station that is still lack

:30:04. > :30:11.major basic security. Thank you very much.

:30:12. > :30:18.You are watching a BBC News special. At least 31 people have been killed

:30:19. > :30:22.and dozens injured, many seriously, in a series of bomb attacks in

:30:23. > :30:27.Brussels. There has been panic and confusion

:30:28. > :30:32.in large parts of the Belgian capital. The departure hall at

:30:33. > :30:36.Brussels airport the scene of two explosions at just after oat.00am

:30:37. > :30:38.this morning. That happened -- 8.00am this morning. That happened

:30:39. > :30:42.as passengers were checking in. Authorities believe at least one of

:30:43. > :30:46.the explosion at thes airport was a suicide bomb. We have just heard

:30:47. > :30:49.from the man who is in charge of security at the airport. He said

:30:50. > :30:58.that ten or 11 people have been killed at the airport.

:30:59. > :31:02.You are watching a BBC News special. At least 31 people have been killed

:31:03. > :31:07.and dozens injured, some seriously, in a series of bomb attacks in

:31:08. > :31:11.Brussels. Panic and confusion, this is the

:31:12. > :31:14.scene in the departure hall at Brussels airport moments after the

:31:15. > :31:18.first two explosions. I heard one shot fired and then

:31:19. > :31:22.someone shouted some words in Arabic followed by a huge ex-police station

:31:23. > :31:27.and then people started to flee towards the lifts and escalators. --

:31:28. > :31:30.a huge explosion. The blasts happened as passengers were checking

:31:31. > :31:34.in. They killed ten or 11 people. Authorities believe at least one

:31:35. > :31:38.blast was a suicide bomb. An hour later, 20 people were killed

:31:39. > :31:41.when a third bomb exploded on a packed underground train. Survivors

:31:42. > :31:47.were helped through a tunnel to safety.

:31:48. > :31:57.I was in the Metro heading to Maelbeek. We received a big blast of

:31:58. > :32:00.air and the train stopped. The so-called Islamic State is reported

:32:01. > :32:06.to have claimed responsibility for the blasts. The Belgian Prime

:32:07. > :32:11.Minister has condemned the attacks. This tragic moment, this black

:32:12. > :32:14.moment in our country, I would like to call on everybody to show

:32:15. > :32:34.calmness and and solidarity. Welcome to BBC News. There have been

:32:35. > :32:37.a series of bomb attacks in Brussels which have left at least 31 people

:32:38. > :32:40.dead and more than 100 injured. Within the past hour, a news agency

:32:41. > :32:44.thought to have links with the so-called Islamic State has said the

:32:45. > :32:49.group is claiming responsibility for the attack.

:32:50. > :32:53.The first explosions were at the international airport at around

:32:54. > :32:57.8.00am local time. The hall was full of queuing passengers when there

:32:58. > :33:03.were two blasts at least one of them was a suicide bomber. At least 11

:33:04. > :33:07.people died here. Then, away from the airport, in central Brussels,

:33:08. > :33:13.another blast about 9.00am local time. This time at one of the

:33:14. > :33:16.busiest locations on the underground transport system at Maelbeek Metro

:33:17. > :33:21.station. The city's mayor says 20 more people died there and dozens

:33:22. > :33:23.injured. Maelbeek is just a few hundred metres away from some of the

:33:24. > :33:27.most important buildings of the European Union.

:33:28. > :33:31.The explosions come four days after the arrest in a Brussels suburb of

:33:32. > :33:35.the Paris terror suspect Salah Abdeslam. The Belgian Prime Minister

:33:36. > :33:41.has called the attacks a dark moment for the nation. We can go now to

:33:42. > :33:44.Brussels and to our colleague there. Thank you very much. I have just

:33:45. > :33:49.walked through the centre of Brussels. The heart of the European

:33:50. > :33:54.institutions in what is the sort of administerive capital of the

:33:55. > :33:58.European Union. I can tell you it is the most extraordinary eerie and

:33:59. > :34:02.sombre atmosphere. There are armed troops on the streets, armed police,

:34:03. > :34:06.as well. Not many people and not much traffic. This city has been in

:34:07. > :34:10.virtual lockdown since early this morning. It's just beginning to

:34:11. > :34:17.change. We have heard that two of the Metro lines are about to reopen.

:34:18. > :34:22.Essentially, this is a city that is in full security emergency mode. As

:34:23. > :34:28.you say, it is now known that at least 31 people died in the attacks

:34:29. > :34:32.at the airport and at the Metro station, which just behind these

:34:33. > :34:37.buildings, in the centre of Brussels, that Metro attack took

:34:38. > :34:42.place around 9.00am this morning, the airport attack. Two explosions

:34:43. > :34:48.at the airport. That took place at 8.00am. We can bring you the latest

:34:49. > :34:54.pictures widely shown on Belgian media right now. That's a grainy

:34:55. > :34:59.image of three individuals seen at the airport who are believed to have

:35:00. > :35:03.been the men behind the attack at Zaventem airport. That is not

:35:04. > :35:10.officially confirmed but it's widely reported right now on Belgian media

:35:11. > :35:14.sources. It's been an extraordinary complicated day but in essence the

:35:15. > :35:20.events started with the attack at the airport. We have been following

:35:21. > :35:22.it hour by hour here in Brussels. Our reporter Johnny Diamond has

:35:23. > :35:29.compiled this report piecing together what has happened here.

:35:30. > :35:37.A departure lounge becomes a war zones.

:35:38. > :35:46.Travellers cower in fear of further attack.

:35:47. > :35:50.Two bombs had ripped through the building.

:35:51. > :36:06.The bombs blew out the windows and they brought down the ceiling.

:36:07. > :36:12.First we thought it was a billboard falling down.

:36:13. > :36:17.It was 20 centimetres from me, it was a big explosion.

:36:18. > :36:30.I thought I was hurt, I was hit.

:36:31. > :36:34.And then there were two people working on the airport.

:36:35. > :36:37.They told me to come inside and they locked the door

:36:38. > :36:42.and behind a little gap, I saw a soldier putting away a body,

:36:43. > :36:45.I hope he was not dead and he was just hit.

:36:46. > :36:50.Guns at the ready, the army and the police watch over passengers

:36:51. > :36:53.evacuated from the bombed airport as the mayhem

:36:54. > :37:04.There was one gunshot after the first explosion.

:37:05. > :37:07.And one man was speaking Arabic afterwards and I heard

:37:08. > :37:21.It was, said Belgium's Prime Minister, a black day.

:37:22. > :37:24.TRANSLATION: Our country and our citizens have been struck

:37:25. > :37:33.by attacks, blind attacks, violent and cowardly.

:37:34. > :37:36.And our first thoughts go to the victims, with their families.

:37:37. > :37:38.Brussels is on the highest state of alert.

:37:39. > :37:41.The military has sent reinforcements.

:37:42. > :37:48.Public transport has ceased in Europe's capital,

:37:49. > :37:49.flights suspended, the Eurostar halted.

:37:50. > :37:51.Europe, says the French Prime Minister, is at war,

:37:52. > :38:07.The emergency here is very apparent on the streets. We have just had a

:38:08. > :38:13.motorcade of police ride by us here in the centre of Brussels. In fact,

:38:14. > :38:17.right here this is the building, the headquarters of the European

:38:18. > :38:20.Commission just over there. That's the Council of Europe headquarters.

:38:21. > :38:26.We are really at the heart of Europe. The Metro attack took place

:38:27. > :38:33.a couple of hundred metres down there. So, the terrorists who

:38:34. > :38:36.launched this attack were quite aware they were striking at the very

:38:37. > :38:40.heart of the European Union, as well as, of course, the capital city of

:38:41. > :38:44.Belgium. To give you a little bit more information about what's

:38:45. > :38:48.happening, the airport, of course, Zaventem International Airport,

:38:49. > :38:52.completely closed down right now. We understand there is no way there are

:38:53. > :38:58.going to be any flights in or out of Zaventem Airport until tomorrow

:38:59. > :39:01.morning at the earliest. The trains are completely closed down here in

:39:02. > :39:05.Brussels. There are indications that the Metro system, at least two lines

:39:06. > :39:08.of the Metro are about to open, if they're not running already. There

:39:09. > :39:13.is traffic on the streets. When I was walking about an hour ago there

:39:14. > :39:15.were hardly any cars around but there are cars beginning to use the

:39:16. > :39:21.streets and certainly people are beginning to leave work and many of

:39:22. > :39:26.them are walking because public transport, the public buses are not

:39:27. > :39:30.operating normally, of course. It's a very strange atmosphere here. I

:39:31. > :39:35.suppose for the next report we ought to focus on the attack which appears

:39:36. > :39:40.to have killed the most people, 20 believed to have been killed in the

:39:41. > :39:45.Maelbeek Metro attack. As I keep saying, it's extraordinary just how

:39:46. > :39:50.close to the European institutions the Maelbeek attack was. The events

:39:51. > :39:51.at Maelbeek and the bloody scenes they're reported on now by Christian

:39:52. > :40:00.Fraser. The screams of a traumatised child

:40:01. > :40:03.emerging from a packed commuter train in the immediate

:40:04. > :40:06.aftermath of an explosion. The other passengers set off on foot

:40:07. > :40:12.into a tunnel filled with smoke. They follow the lights

:40:13. > :40:15.but they do not know where they are going

:40:16. > :40:23.or what they are walking into. The bomb had been placed

:40:24. > :40:26.in the middle of a three-carriage train that was leaving

:40:27. > :40:34.the platform below. Above them at street

:40:35. > :40:37.level, pandemonium. The metro station is Maelbeek,

:40:38. > :40:41.just 500 metres from neighbouring stations thought

:40:42. > :40:54.they were also under attack. There was a loud muffled

:40:55. > :40:57.noise, very audible. There was initial panic

:40:58. > :41:01.but there was so much construction as they build over Brussels

:41:02. > :41:04.all the time it is hard to discern There was a lot of dust

:41:05. > :41:07.and smoke almost immediately I was in the metro heading

:41:08. > :41:13.from Charleroi to Maelbeek. We received a big blast of air

:41:14. > :41:17.and the train stopped. We had the normal recording

:41:18. > :41:19.announcements, we have just had an incident, we are trying

:41:20. > :41:25.to resolve the issue, We waited and smoke

:41:26. > :41:28.entered the carriages. The bomb went off in a confined

:41:29. > :41:42.space at the peak of the morning rush-hour, as thousands headed

:41:43. > :41:45.into work in the diplomatic quarter. As first responders arrived,

:41:46. > :41:50.the smoke was still billowing from the entrance, these

:41:51. > :41:52.were the walking wounded, but inside there were

:41:53. > :41:55.horrific injuries. 20 people are reported killed

:41:56. > :42:03.and over 50 wounded. Until this point, the Belgian

:42:04. > :42:05.capital was a hub for jihadis, It is clear now that Salah Abdeslam

:42:06. > :42:12.was a small cog in a much bigger terrorist industry,

:42:13. > :42:30.still not fully understood Let me now bring you the very latest

:42:31. > :42:36.we are getting from the airport. The airport attack which started this

:42:37. > :42:40.episode at 8.00am local time. The authorities have confirmed they

:42:41. > :42:44.found a third explosive device, some sort of a bomb, which they have

:42:45. > :42:49.detonated in a controlled explosion themselves. There was a third bomb

:42:50. > :42:54.at the airport. We have also heard multiple reports suggesting that at

:42:55. > :42:57.least one Kalashnikov automatic rifle was found at the airport. Some

:42:58. > :43:02.reports suggest a suicide belt was also found at the airport. It's

:43:03. > :43:05.clear from reports and from some injuries that have been brought in

:43:06. > :43:11.to Brussels hospitals that nails had been placed in at least one of the

:43:12. > :43:16.two bombs that went off inside the departure hall at the airport. This

:43:17. > :43:22.clearly was an attack which was in terms of the people who launched it

:43:23. > :43:26.very carefully planned to cause maximum casualties, maximum damage.

:43:27. > :43:29.That is the latest on the airport. I am going to bring in our Europe

:43:30. > :43:35.correspondent Chris Morris who has been following this story through

:43:36. > :43:41.the day. I want to mention something that Christian Fraser reported on,

:43:42. > :43:49.that is the degree to which we know Brussels has been a centre of an

:43:50. > :43:52.So-called Isis terror network, I wonder how you see that being linked

:43:53. > :43:56.to today? Across Europe security officials have been bracing

:43:57. > :43:59.themselves for another attack in the last few months. It's always a

:44:00. > :44:04.tremendous unsettling shock when it actually happens. Is it a surprise

:44:05. > :44:08.it's here in Brussels? Probably not. Don't forget it's four days since

:44:09. > :44:11.Salah Abdeslam, the main surviving suspect from the Paris attacks last

:44:12. > :44:15.year, was arrested here in Brussels. A couple of miles away from here.

:44:16. > :44:20.Was this a revenge, if you like, in response to that arrest? A lot of

:44:21. > :44:22.security officials are saying it was probably too soon to organise an

:44:23. > :44:27.attack like this simply in response to that. But there may well have

:44:28. > :44:31.been an attack in the works which was speeded up then by a terrorist

:44:32. > :44:35.cell who feared this arrest could blow their cover. I think either way

:44:36. > :44:37.you look at the fact they had weapons, they had explosives, they

:44:38. > :44:42.had the people in place ready to do this. It shows how much planning had

:44:43. > :44:46.already taken place and how big the intelligence gaps still are in many

:44:47. > :44:49.places, including Brussels, about what confronts them. That phrase

:44:50. > :44:56.intelligence gaps is something that is really in my mind today. We know

:44:57. > :44:59.that both Belgian intelligence and police services and French

:45:00. > :45:03.authorities have been so focussed on Brussels, particularly the nand

:45:04. > :45:07.neighbourhood of Molenbeek where Salah Abdeslam and others had their

:45:08. > :45:11.operational headquarters, it seems extraordinary that there appears to

:45:12. > :45:14.have been so little intelligence penetration of the networks here in

:45:15. > :45:19.Brussels. It's a real problem. It's a problem that was discussed in

:45:20. > :45:21.detail after the Paris attacks, the lack of co-ordination between

:45:22. > :45:25.different levels of security at different levels of Government in

:45:26. > :45:29.Belgium. A key is co-operation between different EU countries. We

:45:30. > :45:34.just had a statement issued by all 28 EU leaders which says,

:45:35. > :45:38.unsurprisingly, this is an attack on our open democratic societies and we

:45:39. > :45:42.will redouble our efforts, this strengthens our resolve to protect

:45:43. > :45:46.those values. They need to make sure that different countries share

:45:47. > :45:48.intelligence in the best way. There are certainly very strong

:45:49. > :45:51.suggestions that didn't happen in advance of the Paris attacks. We

:45:52. > :45:54.don't know yet whether there could have been a way to prevent this.

:45:55. > :45:58.It's difficult. You have been through Brussels airport many times,

:45:59. > :46:03.so have I, I go on the Metro every day. There isn't security at every

:46:04. > :46:08.door and every gate. There isn't. A lot of people are asking is, is

:46:09. > :46:12.Belgium-- and Europe going to have to rethink the way it approaches

:46:13. > :46:15.security around key bits of public infrastructure and buildings like

:46:16. > :46:18.the one behind you, the Commission headquarters here? One of the things

:46:19. > :46:22.people always say after terrorist attacks is we shouldn't let these

:46:23. > :46:27.people change our way of life. In some ways the way of life will have

:46:28. > :46:30.to change, if there have to be more security checks, a debate about

:46:31. > :46:32.perhaps more intrusive means of gathering intelligence. That's been

:46:33. > :46:41.a debate that's already started since the Paris attacks at the end

:46:42. > :46:53.of the year and the attack on Charlie Hebdo. The French said World

:46:54. > :46:56.-- said Europe is in war. You are talking about the military on

:46:57. > :47:01.streets. The camera can't show it but next to us there are two heavily

:47:02. > :47:03.armed soldiers. Is that something we now need to start regarding as

:47:04. > :47:12.normal? It is perhaps the new normal. The

:47:13. > :47:15.police have been around here, around the EU institutions and the main

:47:16. > :47:21.shopping areas for the last few months. When it first happened it

:47:22. > :47:26.was a bit of a shock. There are guys in khaki, members of the full-time

:47:27. > :47:30.military, you get used to it quickly and even today, when I was cycling

:47:31. > :47:35.in because there was no transport to get in on, a sense of stoicism, we

:47:36. > :47:39.are going to get on with things but you can't deny you have to get on

:47:40. > :47:43.with things in the context when some things change. Thank you so much for

:47:44. > :47:46.joining me here in Brussels. S Trying to piece together all of

:47:47. > :47:52.the detail of what's happened through the day. We brought you a

:47:53. > :47:58.report about the subway, the Metro attack which happened around 9am

:47:59. > :48:02.local time this morning, but really this sorry and horrible episode here

:48:03. > :48:06.in Brussels began an hour earlier. That was at Zaventem International

:48:07. > :48:11.Airport where, as people were gathering to make their flights

:48:12. > :48:19.across Europe and the world this morning, they're coming to the

:48:20. > :48:25.departure hall then chaos reined as two blasts rocked that departure

:48:26. > :48:37.hall. Ben Brown has gone to Zaventem and I believe we can join him now.

:48:38. > :48:44.Over to you. We have had a briefing from an airport official saying the

:48:45. > :48:50.death toll from the airport is ten or 11 but also we are hearing that

:48:51. > :48:55.news that a third device was exploded in a controlled explosion

:48:56. > :48:59.by the Security Forces here so there was a third device and also a

:49:00. > :49:13.Kalashnikov assault rifle was found at the scene as well.

:49:14. > :49:18.Many injured as well. We are a few hundred metres from the airport and

:49:19. > :49:23.the death toll is ten or 11. The death toll at the Metro, at least 20

:49:24. > :49:29.there, so more than 30 all together. The Belgian Prime Minister's been

:49:30. > :49:34.talking saying this was a blind, violent and cowardly attack, this is

:49:35. > :49:39.a day of tragedy and a black day, he said, and he called for Belgium

:49:40. > :49:50.citizens across the country to show calmness and solidarity. Let's hear

:49:51. > :49:56.from some eyewitnesses from here and from the Metro. I moved away for one

:49:57. > :50:02.minute, away from the explosion. I was grabbing a bunch of stuff for my

:50:03. > :50:09.kids. I heard the first explosion. You felt the explosion? I feel yes

:50:10. > :50:14.and I put my hands on my face. I was having my break. I was inside. We

:50:15. > :50:20.just heard a loud bang, everything was shaking. We looked outside the

:50:21. > :50:26.window, there was smoke from the departure hall. We ran, ran away, we

:50:27. > :50:32.were running very quickly. My colleague jumped into the carousel

:50:33. > :50:36.behind the check-in desk. Just after the first one, the second one

:50:37. > :50:49.exploded, it was really, really loud. I thought I was hurt, I was

:50:50. > :50:53.hit, and then there were two people working at the airport, they told me

:50:54. > :50:58.to come inside and lock the door. People were running to save their

:50:59. > :51:04.lives. There was some announcement, clearly something had gone wrong.

:51:05. > :51:08.There were men's -- the woman's voice was shaken on the intercom,

:51:09. > :51:15.then that's when I knew we should move. Did you see or hear the

:51:16. > :51:19.explosion? No. But I noticed stuff, smoke, water dripping from the

:51:20. > :51:25.ceiling. We had to walk through puddles and we were evacuated. I was

:51:26. > :51:30.just waiting for my suitcase, then somebody said over a loudspeaker,

:51:31. > :51:33.this is an evacuation. I had to leave my luggage and leave

:51:34. > :51:40.everything and try to run. The first thing I did, I had to stop because

:51:41. > :51:46.you don't know after the explosion if somebody was going to start

:51:47. > :51:56.shooting. When I saw people running, I said yes and realised this is

:51:57. > :51:58.serious. Terrifying accounts there of what

:51:59. > :52:04.happened as the explosion ripped through the airport. We heard if

:52:05. > :52:08.some witnesses here at the airport that when the first explosion went

:52:09. > :52:12.off, they ran and they ran straight in the direction of the second

:52:13. > :52:16.explosion. Now it appears there was a third device as well, so the

:52:17. > :52:22.carnage could have been even greater. The Security Forces managed

:52:23. > :52:26.to find that. More than 30 dead all together from today's attacks, but

:52:27. > :52:31.many more injured as well. Dozens of casualties being taken to a number

:52:32. > :52:42.of hospitals in Brussels. Simon McCoy's been speaking to a doctor

:52:43. > :52:46.from Brussels. Different type of problem for the patient but I would

:52:47. > :52:52.like to say that only two of the patients are actually in the

:52:53. > :52:59.intensive care unit. Around 9am this morning, we were told to be ready

:53:00. > :53:11.with a crisis team up and running and with a contingency plan which

:53:12. > :53:19.was freeing up the operating room and clearing the space. We had

:53:20. > :53:23.enough space in the intensive care for both the people that needed it.

:53:24. > :53:29.We were shocked. Even though we knew it was possible to have these types

:53:30. > :53:33.of attacks, it's always a shock. To have this type of event. At the same

:53:34. > :53:38.time, our first mission is to give the best care for the patient and to

:53:39. > :53:49.focus on the victims as soon as possible.

:53:50. > :53:54.That was at the hospital where many of the casualties have been taken.

:53:55. > :53:58.Belgian media have been showing pictures of three suspects from the

:53:59. > :54:03.airport. I have to say, these pictures are not verified, but

:54:04. > :54:07.according to Belgium media, these are the three suspects own their way

:54:08. > :54:11.to carry out the attacks at the airport here in Brussels and the one

:54:12. > :54:16.on the right, we are hearing from Belgium media, is still missing. The

:54:17. > :54:20.other two, it's believed detonated and were killed. At least one blew

:54:21. > :54:26.himself up it's reported, and the other is dead as well. But another,

:54:27. > :54:29.a third one, still missing. So that's the latest we are hearing

:54:30. > :54:36.from here at the airport. Interesting that all this after the

:54:37. > :54:39.arrest last Friday of Salah Abdeslam, the 26-year-old suspect

:54:40. > :54:45.wanted in connection with the Paris attacks back in November that left

:54:46. > :54:49.130 dead. I covered the arrest of Salah Abdeslam here in Brussels last

:54:50. > :54:54.Friday. There is some speculation that perhaps today's attacks so soon

:54:55. > :55:00.after that arrest were either in revenge for that arrest or it seems

:55:01. > :55:06.possible for fear amongst other terrorists that he, Salah Abdeslam,

:55:07. > :55:10.was about to blow the names of some of his colleagues here in Brussels

:55:11. > :55:15.who were about to embark on other terror attacks. There was some

:55:16. > :55:19.speculation that Salah Abdeslam was going to talk and was already under

:55:20. > :55:23.interrogation, as he awaited extradition back to France in

:55:24. > :55:27.connection with the attacks in Paris, that he was going to talk to

:55:28. > :55:31.his interrogators and perhaps the give the names of some of his

:55:32. > :55:34.accomplices in Brussels. That's all speculation at the moment but

:55:35. > :55:39.clearly the timing of today's attack so soon after his arrest last

:55:40. > :55:42.Friday. It does give you pause to think perhaps there is a connection.

:55:43. > :55:49.That's the latest from here at the airport. Back to you.

:55:50. > :55:53.Thank you very much. What is not speculation is that there is a

:55:54. > :55:58.massive security operation taking place in this city as early evening

:55:59. > :56:03.draws in. Still huge numbers of armed police and soldiers as well on

:56:04. > :56:11.the streets. I think it's fair to say that there will be a great deal

:56:12. > :56:14.of focus upon the Molenbeek neighbourhood where Salah Abdeslam

:56:15. > :56:18.was picked up and where it's known that other followers of so-called

:56:19. > :56:23.Islamic state or Daesh had their base here in the Belgian capital.

:56:24. > :56:29.Intelligence work will be continuing hour-by-hour here in the city as

:56:30. > :56:33.they try desperately to find the network which was behind the person

:56:34. > :56:41.freighters of today's attacks and try their very best to prevent any

:56:42. > :56:45.future attacks -- perpetrators. On that point about European

:56:46. > :56:49.cooperation and fears of future attacks, Angela Merkel, the German

:56:50. > :56:55.Chancellor, she's been talking in the last few minutes, saying her

:56:56. > :57:00.government would work very closely with Belgium, the Belgian

:57:01. > :57:04.authorities to "find and punish those responsible for these attacks"

:57:05. > :57:09.here in Brussels today. So I think we brought you pretty much the

:57:10. > :57:14.latest from the Belgian capital and, for now, back to you in the studio.

:57:15. > :57:18.Thank you very much. A few lines coming out from London.

:57:19. > :57:21.We are hearing from the Home Secretary, Theresa May, who said

:57:22. > :57:26.that, we stand together against terrorists, they will not win, she

:57:27. > :57:31.said, and she reminded us that the UK threat level remains at severe

:57:32. > :57:37.but people should be alert and not alarmed. James Landale, our deputy

:57:38. > :57:42.Political Editor says the Foreign Office is changing, expecting to

:57:43. > :57:44.change travel advice to warn people against all but essential travel to

:57:45. > :57:47.Brussels. Whitehall officials are meeting this afternoon and Number

:57:48. > :57:51.Ten says Belgium has accepted David Cameron's offer of UK police help in

:57:52. > :57:55.investigating these atrocities this morning.

:57:56. > :57:58.On the theme of travel advice, we are hearing the United States is

:57:59. > :58:03.expected to tighten airport security. We are expecting from the

:58:04. > :58:08.Obama administration an announcement later in the day about new measures

:58:09. > :58:12.to tighten security at US airports. That'll obviously have a knock-on

:58:13. > :58:15.effect on flight security, on potential flight delays for all

:58:16. > :58:18.those involved in international travel in the next few days. The

:58:19. > :58:23.blasts come four days after the arrests in Brussels of the Paris

:58:24. > :58:26.suspect Salah Abdeslam. The authorities believe last year's

:58:27. > :58:30.attacks in Paris which killed 130 people were largely planned in

:58:31. > :58:34.Brussels. They also knew a number of other suspects were still on the run

:58:35. > :58:37.and could be ready to carry out further terrorist attacks. Frank

:58:38. > :58:40.Gardner reports. A co-ordinated terror attack

:58:41. > :58:42.in the heart of Europe. Belgium was braced for this

:58:43. > :58:45.but there may still be more to come. The dramatic arrest on Friday

:58:46. > :58:48.of the jihadist Salah Abdeslam, seen here in white, has led

:58:49. > :58:52.investigators to a grim conclusion that there are more terrorist cells

:58:53. > :59:01.planning attacks in Europe Najim Laachraoui is one of two known

:59:02. > :59:05.suspects still at large. The Brussels district of Molenbeek

:59:06. > :59:08.has acted as a logistics hub for so-called Islamic State

:59:09. > :59:10.but the group has networks and supporters in every

:59:11. > :59:13.major European country. I think we are facing

:59:14. > :59:16.a severe capacity problem. We do not have the security forces

:59:17. > :59:20.to deal with all these So I think what we need

:59:21. > :59:24.is a full spectrum response, to address terrorism in a more

:59:25. > :59:30.preventative way because we cannot Last year's attack on the satirical

:59:31. > :59:35.French magazine Charlie Hebdo was a wake-up call to both French

:59:36. > :59:37.and Belgian intelligence agencies. It exposed the huge scale

:59:38. > :59:41.of Islamic State attack planning in Europe, much of it

:59:42. > :59:44.centred on Brussels. Belgium's history of terrorism

:59:45. > :59:50.includes the May 2014 attack on the Jewish Museum

:59:51. > :59:53.which left four dead. In 2015, the weapons used

:59:54. > :59:57.in the Paris attacks The same year, police were fired

:59:58. > :00:04.on in the town of Verviers and now Belgium does have a particular

:00:05. > :00:09.problem concerning security, the intelligence agencies do not

:00:10. > :00:14.share enough information with police meaning attacks like

:00:15. > :00:24.today can be missed. Meaning vital clues like today's one

:00:25. > :00:28.could be missed. As Belgium puts its security forces

:00:29. > :00:31.on maximum alert today, countries like Britain

:00:32. > :00:33.are offering to help. Belgium's security challenges

:00:34. > :00:47.are simply too big for it to tackle The Belgian flag is now flying in

:00:48. > :00:53.Downing Street. We can go to Westminster now to talk to a senior

:00:54. > :00:57.fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at

:00:58. > :01:04.the King's College in London. Your thoughts about what Frank was saying

:01:05. > :01:08.there, how quickly these attacks got under way and were put into action

:01:09. > :01:12.given it's four days since the arrest of Salah Abdeslam? I think it

:01:13. > :01:18.would be incorrect to see these attacks as a direct response to the

:01:19. > :01:23.arrest of Salah Abdeslam on Friday, given the nature of the attack,

:01:24. > :01:26.given the numerous bombs that were involved and the several different

:01:27. > :01:30.sites they took place across, it suggests there was a degree of

:01:31. > :01:33.planning and sophistication to this. So, I think it would be quite

:01:34. > :01:37.incomprehensible for this to have been pulled off from scratch in the

:01:38. > :01:40.last three days and that in a sense is more worrying for the Belgians

:01:41. > :01:44.because it means that there are other cells out there that have

:01:45. > :01:48.clearly been planning their own atrocities and who may have possibly

:01:49. > :01:53.speeded up attacks as a result of the arrest last Friday. We had heard

:01:54. > :01:59.from Belgian security sources fears there might have been as many as 30

:02:00. > :02:03.linked in a network in Brussels with attacks in preparation as he was

:02:04. > :02:08.arrested on Friday. Absolutely. That is what makes it so alarming. It

:02:09. > :02:12.took them something like four months to get to Salah Abdeslam after the

:02:13. > :02:17.Paris attacks. Here he was hiding out in the Belgian capital. In that

:02:18. > :02:21.sense, the Belgian and it's been said by some in the previous

:02:22. > :02:25.packages, that the intelligence services in Belgium need to work

:02:26. > :02:30.more closely with the police but also across Europe as a whole, we

:02:31. > :02:33.need to get better at sharing intelligence and co-operating

:02:34. > :02:36.because this is a threat that faces Europe as a whole, it's a

:02:37. > :02:39.pan-European problem and as a result of that the intelligence agencies

:02:40. > :02:44.will need to be much better in terms of linking up and sharing what they

:02:45. > :02:48.know in order to add to our collective security. We have heard a

:02:49. > :02:51.lot about the need for better intelligence co-ordination. We have

:02:52. > :02:57.also heard a lot about European values and democratic values and you

:02:58. > :03:01.come again to the issue of transport hubs being soft targets in their

:03:02. > :03:06.very nature in these states. These are always going to be attractive

:03:07. > :03:14.targets for terrorists and we have seen that for a number of years now

:03:15. > :03:20.from the post-9/11 climate, we had our own dayings -- wur own attacks

:03:21. > :03:25.in London and in Madrid. Anywhere you have people gathering like this,

:03:26. > :03:27.unfortunately they're going to be targeted precisely because they're

:03:28. > :03:31.difficult to secure when you have tens of thousands of people passing

:03:32. > :03:35.through on a daily basis, it's practically impossible to have a

:03:36. > :03:40.completely effective system that safeguards everyone and so as I come

:03:41. > :03:43.back to the point I was making, these are in many cases individuals

:03:44. > :03:47.who had a known history. This is not as it were clean skins, people who

:03:48. > :03:52.have come out of nowhere. They've tended to have associations with

:03:53. > :03:56.networks, with a radical activism in the past and we need to become

:03:57. > :04:00.better at monitoring these individuals and what they're up to.

:04:01. > :04:05.Perhaps monitoring them especially in Belgium where there are so many

:04:06. > :04:07.youth known to have been radicalised, when you compare

:04:08. > :04:11.Belgium even to other European countries? Absolutely. We have been

:04:12. > :04:17.gathering data on the flow of foreign fighters from Europe going

:04:18. > :04:21.in to the Syrian conflict. There is probably something like now maybe up

:04:22. > :04:25.to about 5,000 individuals who have gone over and when you take those

:04:26. > :04:30.numbers and break them down by country and weight those pms per

:04:31. > :04:33.capita, you see Belgium has the highest number of foreign fighters

:04:34. > :04:37.of any European country. It has more than about 100 people that went from

:04:38. > :04:41.the capital alone and therefore you are looking at a high concentration

:04:42. > :04:45.in a relatively small space and that again makes it something that we

:04:46. > :04:51.need to be very concerned about and have a lot of insight into. Earlier

:04:52. > :04:56.on BBC News I was talking to an economist and she said there is

:04:57. > :04:59.going to be a debate about data-sharing in Europe, about how

:05:00. > :05:03.much data can be mined when you think about people's concerns about

:05:04. > :05:06.privacy, about the security of their devices. There is a similar debate

:05:07. > :05:11.going on in America. Do you think there is going to be that wider

:05:12. > :05:15.debate now about how much security services can get access to in

:05:16. > :05:20.Europe? I think that's a debate that we have seen playing out over the

:05:21. > :05:28.last few years. We have seen it again pointedly in the United States

:05:29. > :05:30.over the San Bernardinho attacks. This is going to come back to public

:05:31. > :05:35.discussion. It's right for the public to have that debate. As a

:05:36. > :05:37.society we need that dialogue with politicians and the intelligence

:05:38. > :05:41.services about how much we are prepared to give up in order to

:05:42. > :05:46.allow them to operate in the way they would like to. These are big

:05:47. > :05:51.societal issues for us as a whole to look into and I would dare say that

:05:52. > :05:56.debate will now be reinvigorated in light of these attacks. Thank you

:05:57. > :06:01.for your time. Let's bring ourselves up to date

:06:02. > :06:05.with the events crossing live to our colleague.

:06:06. > :06:10.Thank you very much indeed. Let's begin with the story that came

:06:11. > :06:13.through over an hour ago. BBC breaking, it's been sharing on

:06:14. > :06:17.Twitter, it concerns who may have carried out this attack in Brussels.

:06:18. > :06:22.The Islamic State group is claiming responsibility via a statement

:06:23. > :06:28.that's been issued through the Amaq news agency. This is Is's own news

:06:29. > :06:32.agency. It has a long track record of being completely correct in the

:06:33. > :06:39.statements that it shares and the reports it carries. It's really part

:06:40. > :06:42.of Islamic State. So a significant development there with the Is news

:06:43. > :06:47.agency carrying a statement claiming responsibility. Let's look at what

:06:48. > :06:51.it's claiming responsibility for. The first details we started to get

:06:52. > :06:57.of something happening came from the airport in Brussels. Reuters carried

:06:58. > :07:00.a short news wire here. Two explosions heard at Brussels

:07:01. > :07:05.airport, cause unclear, quoting local media. Statement as this there

:07:06. > :07:11.were multiple messages posted on social media saying exactly the same

:07:12. > :07:17.thing. It was established that two explosions took place at a few

:07:18. > :07:23.minutes before that news wire, 8.00am local time in Belgium. It was

:07:24. > :07:28.here in Zaventem Airport. Emergency services tried to reach those who

:07:29. > :07:31.were injured. An hour later in the centre of town at Maelbeek Metro

:07:32. > :07:35.station in central Brussels there was another explosion. First of all,

:07:36. > :07:39.let's concentrate on the airport itself. The main airport for

:07:40. > :07:45.Brussels. So far, the authorities are saying that 11 people lost their

:07:46. > :07:49.lives there, 81 were wounded. This diagram will help us understand what

:07:50. > :07:54.happened. The first explosion near the check-in desks and a second

:07:55. > :08:01.close to a Starbucks. In the last few minutes the authorities have

:08:02. > :08:07.released this security camera still which they say constains three men

:08:08. > :08:15.who are considered to be suspects by the police. -- it's not known if

:08:16. > :08:19.they are still alive. A huge amount of information coming in, video and

:08:20. > :08:22.pictures of what was happening. This is one video of the immediate

:08:23. > :08:26.aftermath inside the terminal with smoke and you can hear people

:08:27. > :08:30.shouting and crying. Some people are lying on the floor injured. This is

:08:31. > :08:34.a separate video which was also shared. All of these black tiles on

:08:35. > :08:38.the floor have come from the roof which gives you an idea of the scale

:08:39. > :08:43.of this explosion. Not long afterwards, as you would imagine,

:08:44. > :08:46.emergency services were arriving. Many ambulances and fire engines on

:08:47. > :08:49.the scene. At the same time as that, there were also lots of people

:08:50. > :08:54.trying to get away from the terminal as quickly as possible. Some of them

:08:55. > :08:58.were being directed by the police. Others were left waiting for

:08:59. > :09:02.instruction for a few minutes in the aftermath of the attack. As some of

:09:03. > :09:06.those people were coming out of the airport they spoke to journalists

:09:07. > :09:11.who were gathering. This is what they told them. I was having my

:09:12. > :09:15.break. I was inside the building. We just heard a loud bang, everything

:09:16. > :09:20.was shaking. We looked outside the window. There was smoke coming out

:09:21. > :09:26.of the departure hall. I thought I was hurt, I was hit. Then there were

:09:27. > :09:30.two people who were working at the airport. They told me to come

:09:31. > :09:34.inside, they locked the door. People started panicking and running. The

:09:35. > :09:39.only thing I was seeing was just dust in the air. People running to

:09:40. > :09:44.save their lives. There were some announcements. Clearly, something

:09:45. > :09:50.had gone wrong. The woman's voice was quite shaken on the intercom and

:09:51. > :09:54.that's when I know we should move. While this was happening at the

:09:55. > :09:59.airport, 11 kilometres away in the centre of town another explosion had

:10:00. > :10:04.taken place at Maelbeek Metro. This is right in the centre of Brussels.

:10:05. > :10:07.The train had just left the station when a bomb exploded. We understand

:10:08. > :10:11.at least 20 people lost their lives there. Over 100 were injured. This

:10:12. > :10:16.map gives you an idea of how central this is. Very easy walking distance

:10:17. > :10:22.from the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and

:10:23. > :10:26.the European Parliament. This also happened four kilometres

:10:27. > :10:31.away from the part of Brussels which we were focussing on on Friday. The

:10:32. > :10:36.man that was wanted in connection with the Paris attacks, Salah

:10:37. > :10:40.Abdeslam, was arrested - injured and arrested, in an area called

:10:41. > :10:44.Molenbeek which has long been associated with radical Islam. Let

:10:45. > :10:47.me bring up this image. This is one of the stills shared of the

:10:48. > :10:52.aftermath in the tunnel of that explosion on the Metro. We have also

:10:53. > :10:56.got video of the aftermath of that incident. Very dark, as you would

:10:57. > :11:02.expect, with people helped to step out of the train carriage after the

:11:03. > :11:05.train had come to a standstill. We also have pictures from the outside

:11:06. > :11:08.because this explosion was so large the smoke worked up through the

:11:09. > :11:13.station and started to come out through the front of the station. As

:11:14. > :11:17.you would expect, a lot of people around because it was rush hour.

:11:18. > :11:23.These pictures are from later after the emergency services had arrived.

:11:24. > :11:27.As you can see, people are being treated on the pavement, some given

:11:28. > :11:31.blankets to keep warm. This man is trying to find a way through for the

:11:32. > :11:35.fire engines, as it was rush hour it wasn't easy for the emergency

:11:36. > :11:41.services to get to where they wanted to be as fast as they would have

:11:42. > :11:48.liked. All these pictures were coming in. Some of those people who

:11:49. > :11:55.came out of the station then described what they had seen. We

:11:56. > :11:59.were in between the station and Maelbeek and we felt a small blast

:12:00. > :12:05.of air. We heard some thudding in the distance. The Metro immediately

:12:06. > :12:08.stopped. The lights turned off, the engine turned off and a message came

:12:09. > :12:12.on saying there had been a disturbance on the line, that

:12:13. > :12:16.continued for a few minutes. People were obviously nervous, I think a

:12:17. > :12:19.lot of people, like myself, had been reading about the explosion at

:12:20. > :12:23.Brussels airport as they were on their way to work. The train staff

:12:24. > :12:27.came through and I asked one of them was there an explosion and the woman

:12:28. > :12:30.who worked for the rail service said yes. Then her colleague quickly

:12:31. > :12:37.behind her followed and I asked him where was the explosion? He said,

:12:38. > :12:43.Maelbeek. Then we were evacuated. They turned off the electricity on

:12:44. > :12:48.the line. We walked out the back of the carriage. The stories developing

:12:49. > :12:52.all the time. I can bring you all the copy that's been filed into the

:12:53. > :12:56.BBC newsroom. This comes from the BBC's deputy political editor saying

:12:57. > :13:01.the Prime Minister's office says that the Foreign Office was changing

:13:02. > :13:04.its travel advice to warn people, British people, against all but

:13:05. > :13:08.essential travel to Brussels. A really significant statement there

:13:09. > :13:12.from the UK's Foreign Office. Advice being changed. Warning people

:13:13. > :13:16.against travel to Brussels unless it is absolutely essential.

:13:17. > :13:19.There has been widespread condemnation from the UK Government,

:13:20. > :13:23.from governments around the world to what's been happening. A couple of

:13:24. > :13:26.quotes. Belgium's Prime Minister has said this is a black moment for his

:13:27. > :13:32.country. Now more than ever he said I would like to appeal to all to be

:13:33. > :13:36.calm and to show solidarity. The French Prime Minister has said,

:13:37. > :13:41.we are at war. We have been subjected for the last few months in

:13:42. > :13:44.Europe to acts of war. Very strong language from the

:13:45. > :13:48.French. If you want to follow this story online, whether it's through

:13:49. > :13:51.the news app or the website, the live page is putting together the

:13:52. > :13:57.latest information. Thank you very much.

:13:58. > :14:01.One of the images on the live page is that image of the airport attack

:14:02. > :14:07.suspects. If we bring that up for you now this is an image widely

:14:08. > :14:11.published by Belgian media said to show the three men who are believed

:14:12. > :14:16.to have carried out the attack. The two men on the left, what's being

:14:17. > :14:19.remarked upon is they both appear to be wearing a single black glove on

:14:20. > :14:22.their left hands. Some reports suggesting this could have been in

:14:23. > :14:26.order to conceal detonators. Other reports saying it's believed the man

:14:27. > :14:32.in white got away. It's been announced that there will

:14:33. > :14:37.be three days of national mourning in Belgium following the attacks

:14:38. > :14:42.this morning. Let's speak to the security analyst, the head of

:14:43. > :14:47.research and analysis at the Glennal Centre for Security and joins me now

:14:48. > :14:50.from New York. It was obvious within moments of the attack in Brussels

:14:51. > :14:59.that cities around the world were put on alert. That's right. I think

:15:00. > :15:03.the tension is palpable because the hallmark of these events is they hit

:15:04. > :15:08.soft targets and vulnerable citizens and they're difficult to prevent.

:15:09. > :15:09.Understandably, even the commute to New York City today, there was

:15:10. > :15:17.tension. The focus has been on Brussels in

:15:18. > :15:22.the last few days. Are you surprised Brussels is now a target? It's

:15:23. > :15:27.perhaps not surprising. I mean there's been so much discuss about

:15:28. > :15:32.this being in retaliation for the arrests of Salah Abdeslam, but it's

:15:33. > :15:35.unlikely given the kinds of logistics and planning that this

:15:36. > :15:44.required that this was done on such short notice. Given the number of

:15:45. > :15:46.associations we have seen on previous attacks, it's not

:15:47. > :15:53.surprising there's been quite a lot of talk over the last three, four,

:15:54. > :15:57.five months, you know, about Brussels being a potential entry

:15:58. > :16:00.point. Certainly if we look at the outflow of foreign terrorist

:16:01. > :16:07.fighters for example to Syria and Iraq, we see nearly 400-450 foreign

:16:08. > :16:12.fighters which is high per Capita from Belgium. I don't think it's

:16:13. > :16:18.wholly surprising actually. There's a lot of concern at the speed of

:16:19. > :16:23.this attack only four days after the arrest of Salah Abdeslam and that

:16:24. > :16:27.is, some say, pointing to a much more organised and a larger in

:16:28. > :16:34.number group than had previously been feared? I think that - as I

:16:35. > :16:39.said earlier, while so much of the focus has been on retaliation, I

:16:40. > :16:44.think it's clear that from the logistics to be in place to have

:16:45. > :16:48.people ready to perpetrate these attacks on such short notice, I

:16:49. > :16:51.imagine this was some time in the planning and certainly I think this

:16:52. > :16:56.is the challenge we are facing now where we have people who can have

:16:57. > :16:59.access to training, to logistic support, to plank, and it doesn't

:17:00. > :17:04.really require perhaps as much time as it used to when you have to go to

:17:05. > :17:08.a training camp. There's so much support that's available virtually

:17:09. > :17:13.or by certain specialised actors or trainers and certainly I think a lot

:17:14. > :17:18.of Government will be concerned andth in wanting to know if there

:17:19. > :17:24.are any returnees from Syria or Iraq also involved because that will fuel

:17:25. > :17:27.concern that they'll return with specialised knowledge and they'll be

:17:28. > :17:31.able to speed up the planning and preparation time. Are there the

:17:32. > :17:34.links between the various intelligence agencies to make that

:17:35. > :17:39.possible? There's been criticism in the past about Belgium and French

:17:40. > :17:42.security on that basis? I can't speak to internal

:17:43. > :17:45.intelligence cooperation but I think this is going to be the primary

:17:46. > :17:50.challenge. Sitting here in New York I do a lot of work with the UN, with

:17:51. > :17:55.member states. I think it's clear that the trans-national and

:17:56. > :17:59.dimension of today's terrorism will require greater international

:18:00. > :18:03.cooperation. Intelligence agencies, it's always challenging for them, as

:18:04. > :18:06.you know, in many ways to get certain information exchanged but

:18:07. > :18:10.the need for this is clear. We have seen steps with the immediate

:18:11. > :18:13.sharing of photographs and I think when there have been critical

:18:14. > :18:27.Americans, we have seen intelligence agencies step up to collaborate on

:18:28. > :18:33.specific attacks. In the case of certain attacks individually, also

:18:34. > :18:38.more broadly on prevention, on counterering extreme terrorism. All

:18:39. > :18:42.eyes will be turned on the security risks that require greater deeper

:18:43. > :18:46.cooperation with intelligence agencies and diplomatics on the

:18:47. > :18:51.prevention side that's always going to be critical. As the people of

:18:52. > :18:54.Belgium try to come to terms with what's happens there today, it's the

:18:55. > :18:59.nature of terrorism, whatever world leaders say in terms of we shall not

:19:00. > :19:03.be beaten, that when your trains and trams don't work and your airlines

:19:04. > :19:11.are shut down, the terrorism has won, albeit in the short-term?

:19:12. > :19:18.Certainly. I hate to say it won but I see your point, it's casting a

:19:19. > :19:23.black shadow. The nature of these attacks are vulnerable and open

:19:24. > :19:30.targets. The fact they took place at the check-in counter and not, you

:19:31. > :19:33.know, at the security checkpoints, they are trying to keep some kind of

:19:34. > :19:38.open environment. Certainly I think that's going to be widespread

:19:39. > :19:42.concern. It does cast a dark shadow. My fear though is, of course, that

:19:43. > :19:47.in these moments, we will urge towards a very hard response which

:19:48. > :19:51.of course security responses are necessary but we also need to

:19:52. > :19:57.remember at the same time as I said to underscore the kind of preventive

:19:58. > :20:02.activities that we've all talked about in the context of extremism.

:20:03. > :20:06.The efforts really need to go on and I think that's also important to

:20:07. > :20:12.remember, the perspective. I mean, with the high number per Capita of

:20:13. > :20:16.foreign fighters I mentioned, we are still talking about 40 people per

:20:17. > :20:21.million in. Some ways it's a big number, in some ways it's a small

:20:22. > :20:25.number, we deal with a number of threats day-to-day when we step

:20:26. > :20:30.outside our front door and we do live with a number of risks. While

:20:31. > :20:34.we are going to be concerned, we are going to see public increasingly

:20:35. > :20:38.concerned bewe have to remember we also survived a number of other

:20:39. > :20:43.risks, the risk of gun violence here in the US and the numbers related to

:20:44. > :20:46.that are very high. I think we should try and balance some of the

:20:47. > :20:50.concern but it's a dark day for sure.

:20:51. > :20:53.Belgium has raised its terror threat to its highest level. Are you

:20:54. > :21:03.surprised it's taken this for them to do that? I think raising the

:21:04. > :21:08.terror threat and the kinds of stoppages it brings on in terms of

:21:09. > :21:12.what you mentioned earlier, airport subways, I think it has a

:21:13. > :21:17.significant cause. The urge to do it and see it I think is very strong in

:21:18. > :21:22.the wake of suspicions, but the cost of doing it not only in terms of

:21:23. > :21:27.planning but in terms of actually impeding the flow of life in our

:21:28. > :21:30.very globalised societies, I can imagine that there's a huge cost

:21:31. > :21:34.associated with it and I can understand why there's caution in

:21:35. > :21:40.going to that maximum level. I can see cause for it to be heightened.

:21:41. > :21:45.Personally I could see why there may be those calling for it to have been

:21:46. > :21:50.heightened much earlier and for longer periods of time, but from a

:21:51. > :21:57.day-to-day perspective and I imagine for city and local officials, it's

:21:58. > :22:02.something that is to be done only when absolutely necessary because

:22:03. > :22:06.life goes on, we still need to function and the stoppages are not

:22:07. > :22:09.sustainable for long periods. Thank you very much for your time.

:22:10. > :22:13.Just to say, something just coming through from the UN's Syria envoy,

:22:14. > :22:17.saying the message from the Brussels attack is the need to ex-tenning

:22:18. > :22:21.wish the fire of war in Syria. That just coming through reported by

:22:22. > :22:26.Reuters. Now, here we are bringing you eyewitness accounts throughout

:22:27. > :22:34.the day. Earlier, I spoke to a lady in the lobby of her hotel 50 metres

:22:35. > :22:39.from the Metro explosion. We were just checking out and the air was

:22:40. > :22:44.filled with noise, shots and it was, you know, you freeze in that very

:22:45. > :22:53.moment and you are disorientated, but the smell, you know, of dynamite

:22:54. > :22:58.and everything, it was a clear indicator of what was going on. We

:22:59. > :23:04.tried to get to the exits, to the back exits because the front they

:23:05. > :23:08.already tried to seal off. Then we decided to stay in the lobby which

:23:09. > :23:14.filled up with people and we were locked in and managed to get out and

:23:15. > :23:21.get away from the scene, but it was kind of surreal and at the same time

:23:22. > :23:31.sad images which become more and more frequent also.

:23:32. > :23:36.Earlier we also heard from A man at the airport at the time of the

:23:37. > :23:40.explosion. Miraculously I don't know how we were not physically hurt. We

:23:41. > :23:48.were yew queueing to check in at the row desk eight which is fairly near

:23:49. > :23:53.the Starbucks coffee shop. I actually went towards the Starbucks

:23:54. > :24:00.to go and get a tea for my partner and it was at that moment that the

:24:01. > :24:04.first explosion happened so the idea of getting a tea stopped being a

:24:05. > :24:08.good one and I ran back to my partner and the ceiling was falling

:24:09. > :24:13.in, there was debris falling all around us. General panic I think

:24:14. > :24:20.would be the best way to describe it. I just jumped on top of my

:24:21. > :24:24.partner and covered us with the suitcase so as to protect us from

:24:25. > :24:29.the falling ceiling. We were also talking about it afterwards and also

:24:30. > :24:35.realised we were afraid that there may be shooting, but that didn't

:24:36. > :24:40.happen at all. I didn't hear any shots. People were reporting there

:24:41. > :24:46.was shouting in Arabic. I personally didn't hear any where we were near

:24:47. > :24:54.the baggage, sorry, the check in row eight. So we ran from the edge of

:24:55. > :25:00.row eight towards the exit and we were running over the debris from

:25:01. > :25:04.the ceiling and broken glass from where the windows exploded and there

:25:05. > :25:10.was people's baggage lying on the floor. I think there were one or two

:25:11. > :25:17.people lying injured as well and so at that point we ran out into the

:25:18. > :25:21.area where the cars pull up for the car drop-off points just outside the

:25:22. > :25:26.airport. There was when we really saw lots of people injured, lots of

:25:27. > :25:30.people trying to help people who were injured and just general

:25:31. > :25:35.confusion, everyone on their mobile phones trying to call people, trying

:25:36. > :25:40.to call the emergency services. We ourselves tried to help a woman who

:25:41. > :25:46.had a bad injury on her leg and foot. It looked like it was shrapnel

:25:47. > :25:51.from the explosion that had embedded in her shoe and she was dreaming to

:25:52. > :25:55.take her shoe off. Obviously we were saying no, that's probably what is

:25:56. > :26:01.holding your foot together. Then I was running around trying to find

:26:02. > :26:08.ambulance people or first-aid people. But at that point, probably

:26:09. > :26:12.we are talking ten or 15 minutes or maybe less than that, after the

:26:13. > :26:15.explosion, it just seemed like everyone needed help and there

:26:16. > :26:21.wasn't quite enough emergency service help there at that time. But

:26:22. > :26:27.then after another ten minutes there were fleets of ambulances and fire

:26:28. > :26:31.engines and stuff coming into the airport area and we could see people

:26:32. > :26:35.were getting help they needed. The King of Belgium's said he's been

:26:36. > :26:39.shocked by today's events, he'll speak to the nation in an hour.

:26:40. > :26:42.Meanwhile, the Belgian Prime Minister's condemned what he called

:26:43. > :26:50.blind and cowardly attacks and said people needed to come together.

:26:51. > :26:57.Our first thoughts are with the victims, with their families and

:26:58. > :27:03.those waiting for information about their loved ones. Two attacks have

:27:04. > :27:13.happened this morning, one at 7. 10 and the other one at the Metro

:27:14. > :27:22.station. As we speak, because of security situation, we are trying to

:27:23. > :27:31.stabilise the situation and our thoughts are going towards the

:27:32. > :27:36.providing of treatment for the victims, to evacuate victims of this

:27:37. > :27:45.attack, towards various hospitals and we know that probably we are

:27:46. > :27:52.talking about scores of dead, scores of injured persons, some of them

:27:53. > :27:57.seriously. The authorities are evaluating the

:27:58. > :28:02.threat and raised it to level four and additional security measures are

:28:03. > :28:09.being taken as we speak. Military enforcement is being deployed.

:28:10. > :28:13.Reinforcement of border controls are in action and especially measures

:28:14. > :28:20.regarding public transport are being put in place now, as we speak.

:28:21. > :28:26.I would like to tell you, this type of tragic moment, this black moment

:28:27. > :28:34.in our country, never before I would like to call on everybody to show

:28:35. > :28:38.calmness and solidarity. We are facing a challenging time, difficult

:28:39. > :28:43.challenging time and we should face up to this challenge by being

:28:44. > :28:49.united, solitary and also coming together.

:28:50. > :28:56.We will continue to follow the situation minute by minute with

:28:57. > :28:58.different Security Services, with different rescue services. I would

:28:59. > :29:03.like to thank the Security Services for the work that they have done so

:29:04. > :29:12.far and I would like to tell you once again how we are determined to

:29:13. > :29:15.face this situation and manage this situation and to deal with it as

:29:16. > :29:19.best as possible. That was the Prime Minister of

:29:20. > :29:26.Belgium. Just to bring you up-to-date. The airport CEO has said

:29:27. > :29:30.that the airport will remain closed tomorrow, aiming to re-open on

:29:31. > :29:36.Thursday. At least ten people were killed at the airport this morning

:29:37. > :29:40.and schools, in his words, were injured -- scores were injured. It's

:29:41. > :29:43.too early to assess the damage to the terminal and said it could be

:29:44. > :29:50.longth closed for longer after it's been assessed. We also know at least

:29:51. > :29:53.20 died at the Metro station so at least 31 people have died. Thank you

:29:54. > :29:57.for being with us on this BBC News Special. We'll go to Brussels

:29:58. > :30:01.international airport to join my colleague Ben Brown with the very

:30:02. > :30:07.latest news coming up here on BBC News.

:30:08. > :30:15.Terror strikes at the heart of Europe.

:30:16. > :30:18.At least 31 people are dead and dozens injured after a series

:30:19. > :30:29.Two explosions ripped through the city's airport

:30:30. > :30:37.This was the scene in the departure hall just moments afterwards.

:30:38. > :30:42.TRANSLATION: I heard a gunshot and what sounded like Arabic, then I had

:30:43. > :30:46.an enormous explosion. An hour later at least

:30:47. > :30:59.20 people were killed when a third bomb went off

:31:00. > :31:02.on an underground train Belgian police release this CCTV

:31:03. > :31:07.image of three suspects. The so-called Islamic State

:31:08. > :31:09.claims responsibility, in a statement issued

:31:10. > :31:11.via a news agency. Belgium's Prime Minister says it's

:31:12. > :31:14.a "black day" for his country. President Obama and the Prime

:31:15. > :31:16.Minister are among world leaders They could just as well

:31:17. > :31:22.be attacks in Britain or in France or Germany

:31:23. > :31:27.or elsewhere in Europe.