2016 Brussels Bombings

Overview

The 2016 Brussels Bombings were two explosions detonated at the Brussels Airport and the Maelbeek metro station in Brussels, Belgium in late March 2016. The bombings claimed the lives of 35 people, including three perpetrators of the attacks, and injured over 300. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility immediately after the attack.

Background

On March 22nd, 2016, two nail bombs were detonated by suicide bombers around 8:00 a.m. local time near flight check-in desks and a Starbucks coffee store at the Brussels Airport. Eye witnesses reported hearing firearms discharged and shouting in Arabic during the attack. After the bombing, 13 people were found dead on the scene, as well as an AK-47 rifle and additional explosive device. One hour later, a suicide bomber detonated a nail bomb at the Maelbeek metro station near the European Commission headquarters in downtown Brussels, killing 20 people.

Notable Developments

Investigation

Investigators identified borthers Khalid and Brahim el-Bakraoui (shown below) as the two suicide bombers at the airport and Najim Laachraoui as the lone bomber at the metro station. Officials revealed the men were also linked to the terrorists responsible for the 2015 Paris attacks. Authorities conducted searches and raids across Belgium, and temporary border controls were launched along major crossings between Belgium and France.

Online Reaction

On Reddit, several threads about the attack reached the front page of various subreddits, including /r/worldnews,^[1] /r/news,^[2] /r/pics^[3] and /r/europe.^[4] On Twitter, the @RT_com feed posted a video showing a crowd fleeing the airport immediately after the two explosions (shown below).

Meanwhile, Twitter users in Brussels posted the hashtags #OpenDoor and #PorteOuverte to announce safe locations, and others posts the hashtags #JeSuisBruxelles, #PrayforBrussels and #PrayForPeace to express support for the families of victims and survivors of the attack. Additionally, many shared illustrations of the Belgian comic book character Tintin crying in reaction to the attack on Instagram (shown below).

On YouTube, the euronews channel posted video footage from inside the smoke-filled airport, in which people are show laying on the ground among the rubble (shown below).

Various celebrities expressed sympathies for victims on their social media feeds, including George Takei and Miley Cyrus (shown below).^[6][7]

Search Interest

External References