HAVANA (AP) — President Barack Obama is pledging that the U.S. will “do whatever is necessary” to help Belgium bring to justice the perpetrators of terrorist attacks that killed more than two dozen people at the airport and a subway station.
He says the U.S. stands “in solidarity” with Belgium in condemning “these outrageous attacks against innocent people.”
Belgian officials say 31 people were killed Tuesday and 187 wounded in two explosions at the Belgium airport and one at a city subway station.
Obama says the attacks are another reminder that “the world must unite” against the “scourge of terrorism.”
BRUSSELS (AP) — The Latest on explosions at Brussels airport and metro station (all times local):
3 p.m.
A Belgian TV station is reporting that at least one of the bombs at the Brussels airport contained nails.
Flemish language broadcaster VTM interviewed Marc Decramer of the Gasthuisberg hospital in Leuven, who says the hospital is treating 11 people with serious injuries, three of them in critical condition. Decramer says the wounded have fractures and deep cuts caused by flying glass and nails.
Belgian officials say 31 people were killed Tuesday and 187 wounded in two explosions at the Belgium airport and one at a city subway station.
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Thank you God for keeping me safe during these attacks in Belgium missed the explosions by minutes#brusselslockdown pic.twitter.com/YuPRyIk0Cf
— Brad Waldow (@bradwaldow) March 22, 2016
2:45 p.m.
Passenger Cedric Vanderswalm says a late train and a full elevator at Brussels airport probably saved his life.
The 20-year-old from the coastal Belgian town of Knokke was at the Brussels airport on Tuesday planning to fly to London for his job as an animator.
He says was heading to the airport’s departures level but the elevator was full “so I didn’t get in. I waited and I was about to step into the elevator when there was a big explosion.” He says people started running, dropping their luggage.
He says “if I had taken the previous elevator, I would have been right in the explosion. My train also had a 5 minute delay, so I was lucky.”
The explosion coated the left side of his face with soot and dust.
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2:30 p.m.
The mayor of Brussels is raising the toll of dead and injured from a subway bombing.
Mayor Yvan Majeur now says at least 20 people have died and 106 people were injured in the attack on the Maelbeek subway station, which is close to the European Union headquarters.
Earlier, another top Belgian official said 11 people were killed and 81 have wounded in twin explosions at the Brussels airport.
So in all, 31 people have been killed and 187 wounded in the three blasts.
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2:25 p.m.
A minute of silence has been held outside the Spanish parliament and Madrid’s town hall at noon in memory of the victims in Brussels.
The Spanish government says the attacks Tuesday in Brussels show “the most brutal and inhumane side of those who know only the language of violence and terror.”
Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo linked the attacks to the Islamic State armed group. He says previous attacks in Paris claimed by IS militants had shown the assailants acting “like well-coordinated and militarily well-structured commandos” instead of lone wolves.
Top Spanish officials were meeting later on the situation but the Interior Ministry said for now Spain is keeping its national security alert at one step below the maximum.
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2:10 p.m.
A European security official in contact with Belgian police says least one and possibly two Kalashnikov rifles have been found in the departure lounge at the Brussels airport after the attacks.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the ongoing investigation.
Shiraz Maher, a senior researcher at The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence in London, calls the presence of guns in these attacks “quite significant.”
Maher says this “presents an incredible challenge to continental Europe, where guns are much more freely available as opposed to here in the United Kingdom.”
Maher says guns make it “much more difficult to secure soft targets like transport sites.”
—Paisley Dodds, Europe correspondent
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2 p.m.
London police are appealing for images and video footage from Britons who may have witnessed the attacks in Belgium.
The Metropolitan Police say they have “activated an online platform where images and videos can be uploaded which could provide important information for the investigating authorities.”
Earlier, British police stepped up security across the country, including transport hubs like London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
London Mayor Boris Johnson says the increased police is to reassure the public “rather than because of any intelligence of an attack.”
Scotland Yard Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley says his agency is working closely with Belgium authorities on anti-terror efforts.
Britain’s threat level remains at “severe,” which means an attack is highly likely. It has been at that level since 2014.
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1:50 p.m.
Police in the Netherlands say they have halted an international train from Brussels to Amsterdam at a station just one stop from the Dutch capital’s busy Schiphol Airport as a precaution and are searching the train and its passengers.
Local police said on Twitter that Hoofddorp station had been evacuated and will stay closed until the investigation is completed. Passengers were being put up in nearby hotels.
There was no immediate word of any arrests and police did not say what prompted them to stop the train. The incident came just hours after deadly attacks on the Brussels airport and a city subway station.
Photos spread on social media are showing armed police patrolling the Dutch train station.
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1:35 p.m.
Hundreds of stranded passengers, some wheeling luggage carts from the Brussels airport, have gathered at a municipal sports hall in nearby town of Zaventem.
Henry Dewespelaere, a 22-year-old butcher, was one of the local volunteers in fluorescent yellow vests compiling lists of the passengers’ names and nationalities.
He says the travelers would have the option of being taken to a hotel in Leuven by train. If people elect to stay in Zaventem, he says “we don’t know yet what will happen, we’re waiting for further instructions.”
The Brussels airport was shut down Tuesday after it was hit by two explosions. Another explosion hit a city subway station. In all, 26 people have been killed and over 130 have been wounded in the attacks.
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1:25 p.m.
Belgian officials say the casualty toll from three explosions in the capital on Tuesday morning is 26 dead and at least 136 wounded.
Belgian Health Minister Maggie de Block says 11 people are dead and 81 have been injured in twin explosions at the Brussels airport.
A Brussels subway spokesman says 15 people have been killed and 55 were injured in an explosion at the Maelbeek train station.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which come after a top suspect in the deadly Nov. 13 attacks in Paris was arrested Friday in a massive police raid in Brussels.
1:15 p.m.
The U.S. Embassy in Brussels is recommending that Americans in Belgium stay where they are and avoid public transportation.
The embassy noted Tuesday that with the threat rating in Brussels at its highest alert, attacks can take place with little or no notice. It urged U.S. citizens to monitor media reports, follow instructions from the authorities, and “take the appropriate steps to bolster your personal security.”
1:10 p.m.
More than 200 flights to Brussels have been diverted or canceled after three explosions that authorities are calling terror attacks, according to the flight tracking service Flightradar24.
Scores of people are dead after two explosions hit Brussels airport Tuesday morning and a third hit the city’s Maelbeek metro station.
The Brussels airport has been shut down and airport security has been tightened across Europe.
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1 p.m.
The European Union’s top official says he’s appalled by the attacks on Brussels’ main airport and a metro near the EU’s institutions and has offered Europe’s support.
EU Council President Donald Tusk says Tuesday “these attacks mark another low by the terrorists in the service of hatred and violence.”
He says the EU “will fulfill its role to help Brussels, Belgium and Europe as a whole counter the terror threat which we are all facing.”
Staff at the EU institutions near the Maelbeek metro station — where at least 15 people have been killed by a blast — been warned to stay in their offices or at home.
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12:45 p.m.
French officials are condemning the Brussels attacks in the strongest terms.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls, speaking after a crisis meeting called by the French president, says “we are at war. We have been subjected for the last few months in Europe to acts of war.”
President Francois Hollande says “terrorists struck Brussels but it was Europe that was targeted — and all the world that is concerned.”
Hollande also warned that “this war will be long” so sang froid and lucidity are needed.
Paris says it will light the Eiffel Tower in the colors of the Belgian flag. The city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, described it in a tweet as a measure of “solidarity with Brussels.”
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12:35 p.m.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff has called for solidarity with Belgium following the Brussels attacks that left scores dead.
Peter Altmaier tweeted Tuesday: “Terrorists will never win.”
He added: “Our European values much stronger than hate, violence, terror!”
12:30 p.m.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says the West’s politics of “double standards” have led to terrorist attacks and that frozen diplomatic relations between NATO and Russia have slowed the fight with terrorism.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, has offered its condolences to Belgium and expressed solidarity after the attacks Tuesday that left scores dead.
While Russia and the United States have brokered a fragile peace agreement in Syria, the two countries still disagree on how to tackle terrorist threats posed by the Islamic State group.
Prominent Russian lawmaker Alexei Pushkov also had a jab at Europe and NATO following the Brussels attacks. Pushkov later offered his condolences, but said “it’s time for Europe to understand where the genuine threat is coming from and join efforts with Russia.”
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12:20 p.m.
Facebook has activated its “safety check” system to help people check on friends and loved ones in the aftermath of the attacks in Brussels.
The company says Tuesday the system was put in use within hours of the three explosions at the Brussels airport and a metro station.
It says the system can provide an easy way for people to mark themselves as “safe” after a major disaster or crisis so that people searching for them will know they are unharmed.
The system has been used recently to help people communicate after major floods and earthquakes as well as terrorist attacks.
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12:15 p.m.
A Belgian subway official says there are 15 dead, 55 injured in the subway station attack.
Spokesman Guy Sablon gave the toll to The Associated Press after two explosions hit the Brussels airport on Tuesday morning and a third hit the city’s Maelbeek metro station.
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12:05 p.m.
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, fighting back tears, has stopped short a news conference in Jordan after saying that “today is a difficult day,” in reference to the Brussels attacks.
Mogherini was wrapping up her opening statement Tuesday at a joint news conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh when she was overcome by emotion. When Judeh resumed speaking, she walked over to him, said “sorry” and briefly embraced him. The two then walked off the stage.
Mogherini and Judeh had been speaking for about 16 minutes when the news conference ended abruptly. In her opening remarks, she had talked about the importance of her visit to Jordan, praising the kingdom’s stance against militant Islam.
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11:55 a.m.
Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw is calling all three explosions in Brussels “terrorist attacks.”
Two of the explosions on Tuesday morning hit Brussels’ Zavantem airport and the third struck in the city’s Maelbeek metro station. Belgian media report that at least 13 are dead, and authorities are saying there are dead at both sites.
Van Leeuw says “one attack was probably done by a suicide bomber.”
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11:50 a.m.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel says “what we feared has happened” and says authorities are worried there will be more attacks.
Speaking a news conference in Brussels, Michel says “there are many dead, many injured” from the attacks earlier Tuesday at the airport and a subway station. He says border controls have been reinforced.
Michel says “we realize we face a tragic moment. We have to be calm and show solidarity.”
11:30 a.m.
Brussels police spokesman Christian De Coninck says there were deaths at the Maelbeek police station near European Union headquarters.
He says: “There are victims, serious injury, people have died. I have no idea yet on the numbers of injured or dead.”