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Do not fill this in! {{Short description|Islamic State suicide bombings in Belgium}} {{about|the 2016 terrorist attack|the 1979 terrorist attack|1979 Brussels bombing|the event in the Nine Years' War|Bombardment of Brussels}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} {{Infobox civilian attack | title = 2016 Brussels bombings | partof = [[Islamic terrorism in Europe]] (the [[spillover of the Syrian Civil War]]) | image = 2016-Brussels-Bombings-OpenStreetMap.png | image_size = 300 | caption = {{Unbulleted list | Map of the bombings in relation to each other | '''(1)''' 07:58: Departure hall of Brussels Airport | '''(2)''' 09:11: Maelbeek/Maalbeek metro station }} | location = [[Brussels Airport]] in [[Zaventem]] and [[Maelbeek metro station|Maelbeek/Maalbeek metro station]] in [[Brussels]], [[Belgium]] | target = Civilians and transport hubs | coordinates = {{Unbulleted list | Airport: | {{Coord|50|54|05|N|4|29|04|E|type:airport_region:BE|name=Brussels Airport}} | Metro station: | {{Coord|50|50|38|N|4|22|36|E|type:landmark_region:BE|name=Maalbeek metro station}} }} | date = {{Start date and age|2016|03|22|df=yes}} | time = 07:58 am {{ndash}} 09:11 am | timezone = [[UTC+1]] | type = [[Suicide bombing]]s, [[nail bomb]]ing, [[mass murder]], [[Islamic terrorism]] | fatalities = 35 (32 victims,{{efn|Revised to 35 in 2023, with two survivors dying of suicide, and one survivor dying from cancer after his treatment was paused due to treatment for injuries from the attack.}} 3 perpetrators)<ref name="BBC35869985">{{cite news|title=Brussels explosions: What we know about airport and metro attacks|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35869985|work=BBC News|date=9 April 2016|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-date=2 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180602225244/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35869985|url-status=live}}</ref> | injuries = 340<ref name="BBC35869985"/> | motive = [[Islamic extremism]] | perps = {{flag|Islamic State}} ([[Brussels Islamic State terror cell|Brussels cell]]) | assailants = {{Unbulleted list | Airport: | {{*}} [[Ibrahim El Bakraoui]] {{small|(deceased)}}<ref name="BBC35869985"/> | {{*}} [[Najim Laachraoui]] {{small|(deceased)}}<ref name="BBC35869985"/> | {{*}} [[Mohamed Abrini]]<ref name="BBC35869985"/> | Metro station: | {{*}} [[Khalid El Bakraoui]] {{small|(deceased)}}<ref name="BBC35869985"/> | {{*}} [[Osama Krayem]]<ref name="BBC35869985"/> }} | weapons = [[TATP]] explosives }} On 22 March 2016, two coordinated terrorist attacks in and close to [[Brussels]], [[Belgium]], were carried out by the [[Islamic State]] (IS). Two [[suicide attack|suicide bombers]] detonated bombs at [[Brussels Airport]] in [[Zaventem]] just outside Brussels, and one detonated a bomb on a train leaving [[Maelbeek metro station|Maelbeek/Maalbeek metro station]] in the [[Brussels and the European Union#European Quarter|European Quarter of Brussels]]. Thirty-two people were killed and more than 300 were injured. Three perpetrators also died. A third airport attacker fled the scene without detonating his bomb, which was later found in a search of the airport. A second metro attacker also fled, taking his bomb with him. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks. The perpetrators belonged to [[Brussels ISIL terror cell|a terrorist cell]] that had been involved in the [[November 2015 Paris attacks]] and the attacks happened shortly after a [[2016 Brussels police raids|series of police raids]] targeting the group. The [[Federal Government of Belgium|Belgian Government]] declared three days of [[national mourning]] after the bombings, which were the deadliest attacks on Belgium since [[World War II]]. In December 2022, ten men accused of involvement in the attacks went on trial in Brussels. Six were convicted of terrorist-related murder and attempted murder, while two were convicted of terrorist activities. == Background == Belgium was a participant in the [[War against the Islamic State|military intervention against the Islamic State]] during the [[War in Iraq (2013–2017)|War in Iraq]]. In September 2014, the Belgian [[Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)|Chamber of Representatives]] voted to send six [[General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon|F-16s]] for one month to support the US-led coalition.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/iraq-danes-send-attack-planes-30619237.html|title=Iraq: Danes send attack planes|author=Nigel Morris|date=27 September 2014|newspaper=Belfasttelegraph.co.uk|access-date=22 March 2016|archive-date=4 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404185045/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/iraq-danes-send-attack-planes-30619237.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Belgium had more nationals fighting for [[Jihadism|jihadist]] forces as a proportion of its population than any other [[Western Europe]]an country, with an estimated 440 Belgians having left for [[Syria]] and [[Iraq]] as of January 2015.<ref name="cnn hotbed">{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/21/europe/belgium-terror-fight-molenbeek/|title=Belgium: Europe's front line in the war on terror|author=Nina Elbagir|author2=Bharati Nailk|author3=Laila Ben Allal|date=22 March 2016|website=CNN|access-date=22 March 2016|archive-date=3 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403213845/http://www.edition.cnn.com/2016/03/21/europe/belgium-terror-fight-molenbeek/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Neumann">{{cite web|last1=Neumann|first1=Peter|title=Foreign fighter total in Syria/Iraq now exceeds 20,000; surpasses Afghanistan conflict in the 1980s|url=http://icsr.info/2015/01/foreign-fighter-total-syriairaq-now-exceeds-20000-surpasses-afghanistan-conflict-1980s/|publisher=ICSR|access-date=23 March 2016|date=26 January 2015|archive-date=29 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329074323/http://icsr.info/2015/01/foreign-fighter-total-syriairaq-now-exceeds-20000-surpasses-afghanistan-conflict-1980s/|url-status=live}}</ref> Estimates suggested that Belgium had supplied the highest per capita number of fighters to Syria of any European nation, with 350 to 550 fighters, out of a total population of 11 million that includes fewer than 500,000 Muslims.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/16/how-belgium-became-breeding-ground-international-terrorists|title=How Belgium became a breeding ground for international terrorists|last=Burke|first=Jason|date=16 November 2015|work=The Guardian|access-date=26 July 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=1 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801034106/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/16/how-belgium-became-breeding-ground-international-terrorists|url-status=live}}</ref> Some reports have claimed Belgium's weak security apparatus and competing intelligence agencies made it a hub of jihadist-recruiting and terrorist activity,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-belgium-became-a-jihadist-recruiting-hub-1411958283|title=How Belgium Became a Jihadist-Recruiting Hub|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=22 March 2016|date=29 September 2014|archive-date=20 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190620234832/https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-belgium-became-a-jihadist-recruiting-hub-1411958283|url-status=live}}</ref> while others assert that Belgium faces the same problems as many European countries in this regard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lasoen |first1=Kenneth |title=Plan B(ruxelles): Belgian Intelligence and the Terror Attacks of 2015–16 |journal=Terrorism and Political Violence |pages=1–19 |date=2018 |doi=10.1080/09546553.2018.1464445 |s2cid=149729772 }}</ref> According to Kenneth Lasoen, security expert at Ghent University, the attacks happened more as a result of policy failure rather than intelligence failure.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lasoen|first1=Kenneth|title=Indications and warning in Belgium. Brussels is not Delphi|journal=Journal of Strategic Studies|date=2017|volume=40|issue=7|pages=927–962 |doi=10.1080/01402390.2017.1288111|s2cid=157685300}}</ref> === Terrorist cells in Brussels === Before the bombings, several [[Islamic terrorism|Islamist terrorist]] attacks had originated from Belgium, and a number of [[Counter-terrorism|counter-terrorist]] operations had been carried out there.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lasoen |first1=Kenneth |title=Plan B(ruxelles): Belgian Intelligence and the Terror Attacks of 2015–16 |journal=Terrorism and Political Violence |pages=1–19 |date=2018 |doi=10.1080/09546553.2018.1464445 |s2cid=149729772 }}</ref> Between 2014 and 2015, the number of wiretapping and surveillance operations directed at suspected terrorists by Belgian intelligence almost doubled.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Belgian Intelligence SIGINT Operations|journal=International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence|volume=32|pages=1–29|author=Kenneth Lasoen|publisher=International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence 32 (2019), p. 8|doi=10.1080/08850607.2018.1488501|year=2019|s2cid=158963928}}</ref> In May 2014, a French gunman who had spent over a year in Syria, attacked the [[Jewish Museum of Belgium]] in Brussels, [[Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting|killing four people]].<ref name="BBC suspect">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27654505|title=Brussels Jewish Museum killings: Man held in Marseille|date=1 June 2014|work=BBC News|access-date=1 June 2014|archive-date=4 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104195857/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27654505|url-status=live}}</ref> In January 2015, [[January 2015 anti-terrorism operations in Belgium|anti-terrorist operations]] against a group thought to be planning an imminent attack had left two suspects dead in the town of [[Verviers]], with raids in Brussels and Zaventem also being carried out.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30840160|title=Belgian anti-terror raid in Verviers 'leaves two dead'|work=BBC News|date=15 January 2015|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-date=28 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828014359/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30840160|url-status=live}}</ref> In August 2015, a terrorist [[2015 Thalys train attack|shot and injured a passenger]] aboard a high-speed train on its way from [[Amsterdam]] to [[Paris]] via Brussels, before he was subdued by other passengers.<ref name="BBC34023361">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34023361|title=France train shooting: Three hurt and man arrested|work=BBC News|date=22 August 2015|access-date=21 August 2015|archive-date=21 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150821201516/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34023361|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[November 2015 Paris attacks]] were co-ordinated from Belgium and Brussels was [[Brussels lockdown|locked down for five days]] to allow the police to search for suspects with the aid of the military.<ref>{{cite journal|title=War of Nerves. The Domestic Terror Threat and the Belgian Army|journal=Studies in Conflict & Terrorism|volume=42|issue=11|pages=953–971|author=Kenneth Lasoen|publisher=Studies in Conflict & Terrorism (2018)|doi=10.1080/1057610X.2018.1431270|year=2019|s2cid=116180694}}</ref> On 18 March 2016, four days before the Brussels bombings, [[Salah Abdeslam]] and another suspect in the Paris attacks were captured after [[2016 Brussels police raids|two anti-terrorist raids in Brussels]]. A third suspect was killed during one of the raids.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35860157|title=Paris attacks: Salah Abdeslam 'worth his weight in gold'|work=BBC News|date=21 March 2016|access-date=21 March 2016|archive-date=25 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190825024739/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35860157|url-status=live}}</ref> During questioning the day after his arrest, Abdeslam claimed not to know the El Bakroui brothers or to recognize them from photographs.<ref name=Trail>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/world/europe/in-brussels-bombing-plot-a-trail-of-dots-not-connected.html|title=In Brussels Bombing Plot, a Trail of Dots Not Connected|date=27 March 2016|website=The New York Times|access-date=28 March 2016|archive-date=27 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327233935/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/world/europe/in-brussels-bombing-plot-a-trail-of-dots-not-connected.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Belgian investigators believed that Abdeslam's arrest may have hastened the Brussels bombings.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20170817-belgium-orders-trial-terror-suspect-abdeslam-over-shootout-0|title=Belgium orders trial for terror suspect Abdeslam over shootout|date=17 August 2017|work=France 24|access-date=10 March 2023|archive-date=10 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310223629/https://www.france24.com/en/20170817-belgium-orders-trial-terror-suspect-abdeslam-over-shootout-0|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the [[Minister of the Interior (Belgium)|Belgian Interior Minister]], [[Jan Jambon]], who spoke after the bombings, authorities knew of preparations for an extremist act in Europe, but they underestimated the scale of the attack.<ref name="LawlerBoyle">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/12201611/Brussels-bombings-terrorist-attack-on-Belgium-airport-and-Metro-live.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/12201611/Brussels-bombings-terrorist-attack-on-Belgium-airport-and-Metro-live.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Brussels attacks: suicide bomber was known militant deported from Turkey to Europe, president says – live|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=22 March 2016|access-date=22 March 2016|author=David Lawler|author2=Danny Boyle|author3=James Rothwell}}{{cbignore}}</ref> == Attacks == {{Quote box | title = Timeline of attacks | align = right | width = 25% | quote = {{bulleted list |'''7:33''' – The three attackers arrive at [[Brussels Airport]] in a taxi.<ref>{{cite news|title=Procès des attentats de Bruxelles : taxi, fausses pistes, perquisitions… le récit de l'enquête se poursuit|url=https://bx1.be/dossiers/attentats-de-bruxelles/proces-des-attentats-le-chauffeur-de-taxi-decrit-son-trajet-vers-brussels-airport-avec-les-terroristes/|work=BX1|date=11 January 2023|access-date=9 March 2023|archive-date=9 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309133842/https://bx1.be/dossiers/attentats-de-bruxelles/proces-des-attentats-le-chauffeur-de-taxi-decrit-son-trajet-vers-brussels-airport-avec-les-terroristes/|url-status=live}}</ref>}} * '''7:58''' – Two explosions occur in the airport's check-in area, 9 seconds apart.<ref name="GuardianTimeline">{{cite news|title=Timeline of the Brussels attacks|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2016/mar/22/where-the-brussels-attackers-struck|website=The Guardian|date=22 March 2016|access-date=16 December 2016|archive-date=15 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215123630/https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2016/mar/22/where-the-brussels-attackers-struck|url-status=live}}</ref> * '''9:04''' – Belgium raises the terror threat level to its highest level.<ref>{{cite web|title=Beslissing om metro te sluiten viel 21 minuten voor explosie in station Maalbeek|url=http://www.demorgen.be/binnenland/beslissing-om-metro-te-sluiten-viel-21-minuten-voor-explosie-in-station-maalbeek-b05172d3/|website=De Morgen|date=25 March 2016|access-date=26 March 2016|archive-date=28 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328015726/http://www.demorgen.be/binnenland/beslissing-om-metro-te-sluiten-viel-21-minuten-voor-explosie-in-station-maalbeek-b05172d3|url-status=live}}</ref> * '''9:11''' – An explosion occurs in Brussels [[Maelbeek metro station|Maelbeek/Maalbeek metro station]].<ref name="GuardianTimeline"/> * '''9:27''' – All public transport is suspended in the city.<ref name="independent">{{cite news|last1=Dearden|first1=Lizzie|title=Brussels attacks timeline: How bombings unfolded at airport and Metro station|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/brussels-attacks-timeline-how-bombings-unfolded-at-airport-and-metro-station-a6945781.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/brussels-attacks-timeline-how-bombings-unfolded-at-airport-and-metro-station-a6945781.html |archive-date=1 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=22 March 2016|newspaper=The Independent|date=22 March 2016}}</ref> * '''11:15''' – [[Eurostar]] rail journeys between London and Brussels are cancelled until further notice.<ref name="rte">{{cite journal|title=Timeline: Brussels attacks|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0322/776700-timeline-brussels-attacks/|journal=RTÉ News|access-date=22 March 2016|date=22 March 2016|archive-date=24 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324093459/http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0322/776700-timeline-brussels-attacks/|url-status=live}}</ref> * '''13:57''' – [[Bomb disposal]] officers detonate a third bomb at Brussels Airport.<ref>{{cite news|title=Le "chaos total" à l'aéroport de Zaventem|work=La Libre|date=21 December 2022|url=https://www.lalibre.be/belgique/judiciaire/2022/12/21/le-chaos-total-a-laeroport-de-zaventem-FKZSRZXBC5HXFP6AWOBAM5DBKI/|access-date=9 March 2023|archive-date=9 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309215644/https://www.lalibre.be/belgique/judiciaire/2022/12/21/le-chaos-total-a-laeroport-de-zaventem-FKZSRZXBC5HXFP6AWOBAM5DBKI/|url-status=live}}</ref> {{align|right|{{small|All times are [[Central European Time|CET]] (UTC+1).}}}} }} There were two coordinated attacks: two attackers exploded [[nail bomb]]s at Brussels Airport, and one attacker exploded a bomb at Maelbeek metro station.<ref name="independent" /> === Brussels Airport === Two suicide bombers, carrying explosives in large suitcases, attacked the departure hall at Brussels Airport in [[Zaventem]]. The first explosion occurred at 07:58 in check-in row 11; the second explosion occurred about nine seconds later in check-in row 2. The suicide bombers were visible in [[CCTV]] footage.<ref name="BBC35869985"/> Some witnesses said that before the first explosion occurred, there were shouts in [[Arabic language|Arabic]].<ref name="BBC35869985"/> Some also reported hearing gunfire but investigators established that no shots were fired, although both suicide bombers were carrying handguns which had detonated due to the explosions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bx1.be/dossiers/attentats-de-bruxelles/proces-des-attentats-le-chauffeur-de-taxi-decrit-son-trajet-vers-brussels-airport-avec-les-terroristes/|title=Procès des attentats de Bruxelles : taxi, fausses pistes, perquisitions… le récit de l'enquête se poursuit|date=11 January 2023|website=BX!|access-date=9 March 2023|archive-date=9 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309133842/https://bx1.be/dossiers/attentats-de-bruxelles/proces-des-attentats-le-chauffeur-de-taxi-decrit-son-trajet-vers-brussels-airport-avec-les-terroristes/|url-status=live}}</ref> A third suicide bomber left the airport without detonating his bomb, which was later found in a search of the airport and destroyed by a controlled explosion.<ref name="GuardianTimeline"/> === Maelbeek metro station === Just over an hour later, at 9:11, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb in a rucksack in the middle carriage of a three-carriage train at Maelbeek metro station, located near the [[European Commission]] headquarters in the [[Brussels and the European Union#European Quarter|European Quarter]] of Brussels, {{convert|10|km|0}} from Brussels Airport.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/22/brussels-airport-explosions-heard|title=Islamic State claims attacks at Brussels airport and metro station|date=22 March 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=11 March 2023|archive-date=7 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407163721/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/22/brussels-airport-explosions-heard|url-status=live}}</ref> The train was travelling on [[Brussels Metro line 5|line 5]] towards the city centre, and was pulling out of Maelbeek metro station when the bomb exploded.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.lesoir.be/489570/article/2023-01-18/proces-des-attentats-de-bruxelles-kalhid-el-bakraoui-pris-le-metro-dans-le-sens|title=Procès des attentats de Bruxelles: Kalhid El Bakraoui a pris le métro dans le sens opposé à Maelbeek avant de se faire exploser|date=18 January 2023|work=Le Soir|access-date=11 March 2023|archive-date=11 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311130207/https://www.lesoir.be/489570/article/2023-01-18/proces-des-attentats-de-bruxelles-kalhid-el-bakraoui-pris-le-metro-dans-le-sens|url-status=live}}</ref> The driver immediately stopped the train and helped to evacuate the passengers.<ref name="RTBF">{{cite news|title=Le conducteur du métro attaqué à Maelbeek: "J'ai fait ce que j'avais à faire"|url=https://www.rtbf.be/info/societe/detail_christian-delhasse-le-conducteur-du-metro-attaque-a-maelbeek-j-ai-fait-ce-que-j-avais-a-faire?id=9248958|website=[[RTBF]]|date=22 March 2016|access-date=31 March 2016|archive-date=4 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404013604/http://www.rtbf.be/info/societe/detail_christian-delhasse-le-conducteur-du-metro-attaque-a-maelbeek-j-ai-fait-ce-que-j-avais-a-faire?id=9248958|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Brussels Metro]] was subsequently shut down at 09:27.<ref name="independent" /> A second suicide bomber carrying a bomb in a rucksack left the metro without detonating his bomb, instead taking it back to a hideout in [[Etterbeek]], an eastern municipality of Brussels, where he dismantled it.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2016/04/29/second_maalbeek_bombflusheddownthetoilet-1-2642486/|title=Second Maalbeek bomb flushed down the toilet?|date=29 April 2016|work=VRT|access-date=11 March 2023|archive-date=11 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311130213/https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2016/04/29/second_maalbeek_bombflusheddownthetoilet-1-2642486/|url-status=live}}</ref> == Victims == {| class="wikitable sortable floatright" style="font-size:88%; margin:0 0 1.5em 1.5em; width:30%" |+ Deaths by citizenship<ref name=BBC35880119/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2022/12/05/the-faces-of-victims-of-the-brussels-terror-attacks/ |title=The faces of victims of the Brussels terror attacks |date=5 December 2022 |access-date=23 March 2023 |work=VRT |archive-date=7 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407164656/https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2022/12/05/the-faces-of-victims-of-the-brussels-terror-attacks/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |- ! style="text-align:left;" | Citizenship ! style="text-align:left;" | Deaths |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{Flagu|Belgium}} | 14 |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{Flagu|United States}} | 4 |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{Flagu|Netherlands}} | 3 |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{Flagu|Sweden}} | 2 |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{Flagu|Democratic Republic of Congo}}{{efn|A Congolese-Belgian man}} | 1 |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{Flagu|China}} | 1 |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{Flagu|India}} | 1 |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{Flagu|Italy}}{{efn|An Italian-Belgian woman}} | 1 |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{Flagu|Morocco}}{{efn|A Moroccan-Belgian woman}} | 1 |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{Flagu|Germany}} | 1 |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{Flagu|Peru}} | 1 |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{Flagu|Poland}} | 1 |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{Flagu|United Kingdom}} | 1 |- class="sortbottom" | '''Total''' | 32 |- class="sortbottom" |} Thirty-two people, excluding the three suicide bombers, were killed in the attacks and over 300 were injured. Sixteen died in the airport attack and sixteen in the metro attack.<ref name="BBC35869985"/> The bombings were the deadliest attack on Belgium since [[World War II]].<ref name=Guardian220317/> Seventeen of the victims were Belgian (including three with dual nationality) and the rest were foreign nationals.<ref name="BBC35869985"/> Foreign victims came from different countries including the US, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom, Poland, China, India and Peru. They ranged in age from 20 years to 79 years.<ref name=BBC35880119>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35880119|title=Victims of the Brussels attacks|date=15 April 2016|work=BBC News|access-date=12 March 2023|archive-date=12 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312131723/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35880119|url-status=live}}</ref> Among the fatalities at the airport was retired diplomat [[André Adam (politician)|André Adam]], who had served as Belgian Permanent Representative to the [[United Nations]] and as Ambassador to the United States.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/belgian-ambassador-us-dead-terror-attacks/story?id=37934278 |title=Former Belgian Ambassador to US Among Dead in Terror Attacks |work=[[ABC News]] |date=25 March 2016 |first=Gillian |last=Mohney |access-date=28 May 2019 |publisher=[[Abc.go.com]] |archive-date=4 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404022043/https://abcnews.go.com/Health/belgian-ambassador-us-dead-terror-attacks/story?id=37934278 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 25 July 2023, a Brussels court ruled that three people who had died in the years following the attacks should be recognised as victims and the official number of victims was revised from 32 to 35. One woman died by euthanasia due to psychological suffering, one man died by suicide and one man died of cancer, his treatment having been interrupted due to the injuries he sustained in the metro bombing.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rtbf.be/article/proces-des-attentats-de-bruxelles-le-bilan-officiel-du-nombre-de-victimes-revu-a-la-hausse-11232684|title=Procès des attentats de Bruxelles : le bilan officiel du nombre de victimes revu à la hausse|date=25 July 2023|work=RTBF}}</ref> == Perpetrators == [[File:Brussels suspects CCTV.jpg|thumb|Still from [[Closed-circuit television|CCTV]] footage showing Najim Laachraoui (left), [[Ibrahim El Bakraoui]] (centre), and [[Mohamed Abrini]] (right).<ref name="BBC35869985"/>]] {{see also|Brussels ISIL terror cell}} === Profiles === A total of five attackers took bombs into the airport and metro, with three of them dying in suicide bombings and the remaining two, who left without detonating their bombs, arrested sixteen days later. All five had also been involved in the planning and organization of the [[November 2015 Paris attacks]]. They were identified and named as: * [[Ibrahim El Bakraoui]], aged 29, was one of the suicide bombers at Brussels Airport. In 2010, he had shot and injured a police officer during an attempted robbery at a [[Bureau de change|currency exchange]] office. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison but was released early. In June 2015 he was arrested in Turkey near the Syrian border and deported. He was wanted in connection with the Paris attacks.<ref name=Guardian240316>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/23/brussels-attacks-schaerbeek-flat-coordinated-atrocities-plotted-el-bakraoui|title=The men in the top floor flat who sowed terror in Brussels|date=24 March 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=12 March 2023|archive-date=12 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312203911/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/23/brussels-attacks-schaerbeek-flat-coordinated-atrocities-plotted-el-bakraoui|url-status=live}}</ref> * [[Najim Laachraoui]], aged 24, was one of the suicide bombers at Brussels Airport. He had travelled to [[Syria]] in 2013. He is believed to have made the bombs used in the Paris attacks.<ref name=Guardian240316/> * [[Khalid El Bakraoui]]: aged 27, the younger brother of Ibrahim El Bakraoui, carried out the suicide bombing at Maelbeek metro station. In 2012 he received a prison sentence for a violent car-jacking. He was wanted for breaching his parole conditions and also in connection with the Paris attacks.<ref name=Guardian240316/> * [[Mohamed Abrini]], born 27 December 1984, fled Brussels Airport without detonating his bomb. He was arrested on 8 April 2016. He was a childhood friend of brothers [[Salah Abdeslam]] and Brahim Adbeslam, who were both involved in the Paris attacks. On 29 June 2022 at a [[Paris attacks trial|court in Paris]], Abrini was convicted of involvement in the attacks and received a sentence of life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years.<ref name=BBC>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61989354 |title=Paris trial: Salah Abdeslam guilty as historic trial ends |work=BBC |date=30 June 2022 |access-date=8 December 2022 |archive-date=9 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209182729/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61989354 |url-status=live }}</ref> * [[Osama Krayem]]: born 16 August 1992, accompanied Khalid El Bakraoui to the metro but fled without detonating his explosives. He was arrested on 8 April 2016.<ref name="BBC35869985"/> Having grown up in Sweden, he went to Syria in 2015 and joined the IS group.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/20/brussels-bombings-osama-krayem-suspect-charged-role-paris-attacks|title=Brussels bombings suspect charged with role in Paris attacks|date=20 April 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=12 March 2023|archive-date=12 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312203911/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/20/brussels-bombings-osama-krayem-suspect-charged-role-paris-attacks|url-status=live}}</ref> On 29 June 2022 at the Paris attacks trial, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.<ref name=BBC/> === Investigation === The airport attackers had ordered a taxi from an address on the Rue Max Roos/Max Roosstraat in [[Schaerbeek]], a northern municipality of Brussels, on 22 March 2016. Within half an hour of the airport attack, the taxi driver had contacted police. On hearing of the attacks on the radio, he became suspicious of his previous passengers who had refused his offer of help with loading and unloading their heavy suitcases, and had left a chemical smell in the taxi. He went to a police station and was able to recognise the three men from [[closed-circuit television|security camera]] video of Brussels Airport which showed the attackers pushing the suitcases containing bombs on luggage trolleys in the departure hall.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://bx1.be/dossiers/attentats-de-bruxelles/proces-des-attentats-le-chauffeur-de-taxi-decrit-son-trajet-vers-brussels-airport-avec-les-terroristes/|title=Procès des attentats de Bruxelles : taxi, fausses pistes, perquisitions… le récit de l'enquête se poursuit|date=11 January 2023|work=BX1|access-date=9 March 2023|archive-date=9 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309133842/https://bx1.be/dossiers/attentats-de-bruxelles/proces-des-attentats-le-chauffeur-de-taxi-decrit-son-trajet-vers-brussels-airport-avec-les-terroristes/|url-status=live}}</ref> This early lead allowed the police to search the apartment on the Rue Max Roos the same day. They found a suitcase bomb that had been left behind because it would not fit into the taxi, and also bomb making material and equipment and an [[Jihadist black flag|IS flag]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.lalibre.be/belgique/judiciaire/2023/01/16/attentats-de-bruxelles-max-roos-une-planque-dediee-a-la-fabrication-des-explosifs-utilises-a-zaventem-et-maelbeek-IT4GTUJR3JGGTDM3EXWE4FS2CE/ |title=Attentats de Bruxelles : Max Roos, une planque dédiée à la fabrication des explosifs utilisés à Zaventem et Maelbeek |date=16 January 2023 |work=La Libre |access-date=13 March 2023 |archive-date=13 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313132317/https://www.lalibre.be/belgique/judiciaire/2023/01/16/attentats-de-bruxelles-max-roos-une-planque-dediee-a-la-fabrication-des-explosifs-utilises-a-zaventem-et-maelbeek-IT4GTUJR3JGGTDM3EXWE4FS2CE/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Earlier in the morning of 22 March 2016, municipal workers clearing rubbish in rue Max Roos had retrieved a laptop from a bin. When they realized that it contained IS-related material they handed it to the police. Analysis of the laptop revealed numerous files relating to IS, the Paris attacks, potential targets (including the [[Prime Minister of Belgium|Belgian Prime Minister]] [[Charles Michel]]), as well as messages, texts, wills and photographs created by the Brussels attackers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35924363|title=Brussels bombers may have targeted Belgian PM Michel|date=30 March 2016|work=BBC News|access-date=13 March 2023|archive-date=13 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313132317/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35924363|url-status=live}}</ref> On 24 and 25 March 2016 police arrested twelve people in raids in Belgium, France and Germany. One man was identified as the third airport attacker, the "man in the hat" seen on CCTV with the two suicide bombers at the airport on the day of the attacks. He was charged with terrorist offences.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35903368|title=Brussels attacks: Man charged with terrorist offences|work=BBC News|date=26 March 2016|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-date=1 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401025042/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35903368|url-status=live}}</ref> It turned out to be a case of mistaken identity and the man was released after providing an alibi. Abrini later admitted to being the "man in the hat".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/brussels-terror-attacks-wrong-man-in-the-hat-faycal-cheffou-i-am-a-broken-man-airport/ |title=Wrong 'man in the hat' Fayçal Cheffou: 'I am a broken man' |date=13 May 2016 |work=Politico |access-date=13 March 2023 |archive-date=13 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313132317/https://www.politico.eu/article/brussels-terror-attacks-wrong-man-in-the-hat-faycal-cheffou-i-am-a-broken-man-airport/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]]'s [[Next Generation Identification|Next Gen Identification System]] [[facial recognition software]] helped confirm the identification of the "man with the hat" on CCTV footage as Abrini.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rtl.be/info/belgique/faits-divers/attentats-a-bruxelles-mohamed-abrini-identifie-comme-etant-l-homme-au-chapeau-grace-au-fbi-810388.aspx|title=Attentats à Bruxelles: Mohamed Abrini identifié comme étant "l'homme au chapeau" grâce au FBI|work=[[RTL (French radio)]]|date=15 April 2016|access-date=8 January 2019|language=fr|archive-date=9 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109013331/https://www.rtl.be/info/belgique/faits-divers/attentats-a-bruxelles-mohamed-abrini-identifie-comme-etant-l-homme-au-chapeau-grace-au-fbi-810388.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> While the airport attackers were using the hideout in the Rue Max Roos in Schaerbeek, the metro attackers were using a hideout in the municipality of [[Etterbeek]] in the south-east of Brussels. Analysis of phone records had located them in the area on the morning of the attacks, but it was only after the arrest of Krayem on 8 April 2016 that police were given the address of a studio apartment in the avenue des Casernes. A search of the studio revealed little, as it had in the meantime been cleaned, but CCTV recording from the entrance hall of the block allowed investigators to track the movements of members of the Brussels cell who had stayed at or visited the address.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rtbf.be/article/proces-des-attentats-de-bruxelles-les-nombreux-allers-retours-des-accuses-dans-lappartement-de-la-rue-des-casernes-11137267|title=Procès des attentats de Bruxelles : les nombreux allers-retours des accusés dans l'appartement de la rue des Casernes|date=19 January 2023|work=RTBF|access-date=13 March 2023|archive-date=13 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313132317/https://www.rtbf.be/article/proces-des-attentats-de-bruxelles-les-nombreux-allers-retours-des-accuses-dans-lappartement-de-la-rue-des-casernes-11137267|url-status=live}}</ref> == Aftermath == The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks later on the same day, saying that Belgium had been attacked as "a country participating in the international coalition against the Islamic State".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/isis-claims-responsibility-for-brussels-attacks-explosions-bombings-at-airport-and-maalbeek-maelbeek-metro-station-a6946136.html |title=Isis claims responsibility for Brussels attacks 'in revenge for Belgium's role fighting militants in Syria and Iraq' |work=Independent |date=22 March 2016 |access-date=7 December 2022 |archive-date=7 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207113240/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/isis-claims-responsibility-for-brussels-attacks-explosions-bombings-at-airport-and-maalbeek-maelbeek-metro-station-a6946136.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Raids and searches were made across Belgium, while security was heightened in a number of countries as a result of the attacks.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35876809|title=Brussels attacks: Police hunt Zaventem bombings suspect|website=BBC News|date=22 March 2016|access-date=22 March 2016|archive-date=22 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322191446/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35876809|url-status=live}}</ref> === Belgium === [[File:Bruxelles 22 mars 2016 - panneau recommandations.jpg|thumb|[[Digital billboard]] in Brussels. It reads, in French, "Stay where you are, avoid all movement, prioritise communications by text message or social media."]] [[File:Bruxelles est (re)belle - 22 mars 2016.jpg|thumb|People gathering, chalk drawings and flowers for the victims. The largest message says (translated from French), ''Brussels is beautiful'', with further inscriptions of ''Stop violence'', ''Stop war'', ''Unity'', and ''Humanity''.]] Air traffic to Brussels Airport was halted after the attacks and passenger flights did not resume until twelve days later, on 3 April 2016, with three [[Brussels Airlines]] flights leaving for Faro, Turin and Athens.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35951454|title=Brussels attacks: Flights resume at Zaventem airport|date=3 April 2016|work=BBC News|access-date=20 March 2023|archive-date=23 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423034238/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35951454|url-status=live}}</ref> The re-built departure hall partially re-opened on 1 May 2016 with heightened security causing long queues.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36187021|title=Brussels Airport departure hall reopens amid long queues|date=2 May 2016|work=BBC|access-date=20 March 2023|archive-date=20 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320223204/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36187021|url-status=live}}</ref> All public transport in Brussels was shut down following the attacks, with major railway stations also closed and [[Eurostar]] and [[Thalys]] journeys cancelled.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20160322-brussels-shuts-down-belgium-terror-attacks|title=Brussels shuts down after terror attacks|date=22 March 2016|work=France 24|access-date=20 March 2023|archive-date=20 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320223201/https://www.france24.com/en/20160322-brussels-shuts-down-belgium-terror-attacks|url-status=live}}</ref> Maelbeek metro station re-opened on 25 April 2016.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20160425-brussels-metro-station-maelbeek-reopen-one-month-after-terrorist-attacks|title=Brussels' Maelbeek metro station reopens one month after terrorist attacks|date=25 April 2016|work=France 24|access-date=20 March 2023|archive-date=20 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320223210/https://www.france24.com/en/20160425-brussels-metro-station-maelbeek-reopen-one-month-after-terrorist-attacks|url-status=live}}</ref> After the attacks, enhanced security measures were introduced at Brussels Airport and in the metro.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/a-year-after-brussels-attacks-whats-fixed-and-still-broken/|title=A year after Brussels attacks, what's fixed and still broken|date=21 March 2017|work=[[Politico Europe]]|access-date=20 March 2023|archive-date=20 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320223202/https://www.politico.eu/article/a-year-after-brussels-attacks-whats-fixed-and-still-broken/|url-status=live}}</ref> Following the attacks Belgium raised its terror threat to the highest level of four, lowering it again to three on 24 March 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lesoir.be/32405/article/2016-03-24/locam-baisse-le-niveau-de-menace-terroriste-3-voici-les-nouvelles-mesures |title=L'Ocam baisse le niveau de menace terroriste à 3: voici les nouvelles mesures |date=24 March 2016 |work=Le Soir |access-date=16 April 2023 |archive-date=16 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416103904/https://www.lesoir.be/32405/article/2016-03-24/locam-baisse-le-niveau-de-menace-terroriste-3-voici-les-nouvelles-mesures |url-status=live }}</ref> The government expanded the military protection of potential targets, that had been in place since January 2015, to include more soft targets and public places ([[Operation Vigilant Guardian]]).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lasoen|first1=Kenneth|title=War of Nerves. The Domestic Terror Threat and the Belgian Army|journal=Studies in Conflict & Terrorism|volume=42|issue=11|pages=953–971|doi=10.1080/1057610X.2018.1431270|year=2019|s2cid=116180694}}</ref> Temporary border checks were implemented by Belgian and French authorities at some major crossings on the France-Belgium border.<ref>{{cite news|author1=Julien Absalon|title=Attentats à Bruxelles: des contrôles renforcés à la frontière franco-belge|url=http://www.rtl.fr/actu/societe-faits-divers/attentats-a-bruxelles-des-controles-renforces-a-la-frontiere-franco-belge-7782490459|access-date=22 March 2016|publisher=RTL|date=22 March 2016|archive-date=26 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326091645/http://www.rtl.fr/actu/societe-faits-divers/attentats-a-bruxelles-des-controles-renforces-a-la-frontiere-franco-belge-7782490459|url-status=live}}</ref> The country's two [[nuclear power plant]]s – [[Tihange Nuclear Power Station|Tihange]] and [[Doel Nuclear Power Station|Doel]] – were partially evacuated as a precaution.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/25/belgium-steps-up-security-at-nuclear-sites-in-wake-of-attacks|title=Belgium steps up security at nuclear sites in wake of attacks|date=25 March 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=20 March 2023|archive-date=17 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417155633/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/25/belgium-steps-up-security-at-nuclear-sites-in-wake-of-attacks|url-status=live}}</ref> The federal government announced three days of national mourning, lasting from Tuesday 22 March until Thursday 24 March, and flags were flown at [[half-mast]] on public buildings.<ref name="nationalmourning">{{cite news|title=Belgium to Begin 3 Days of National Mourning|url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/brussels-airport-explosions-live-coverage/belgium-to-begin-3-days-of-national-mourning/|access-date=22 March 2016|newspaper=The New York Times|date=22 March 2016|archive-date=23 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323183008/http://www.nytimes.com/live/brussels-airport-explosions-live-coverage/belgium-to-begin-3-days-of-national-mourning/|url-status=live}}</ref> There was also a one-minute silence held at noon local time on 23 March, which ended with spontaneous applause and chants of "Vive la Belgique" at the [[Place de la Bourse, Brussels|Place de la Bourse/Beursplein]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Krol |first1=Charlotte |title=Brussels attacks: Hundreds gather for one minute silence to remember victims |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/12202124/Brussels-attacks-Hundreds-gather-for-one-minute-silence-to-remember-victims.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323125902/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/12202124/Brussels-attacks-Hundreds-gather-for-one-minute-silence-to-remember-victims.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 March 2016 |access-date=31 May 2018 |agency=The Telegraph |date=23 March 2016}}</ref> Five days after the attacks, disturbances broke out at the makeshift memorial in the Place de la Bourse resulting in riot police using water cannons to disperse right-wing demonstrators.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35907469|title=Brussels attacks: Police move against 'hooligan' protesters|date=27 March 2016|work=BBC News|access-date=10 March 2023|archive-date=10 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310000229/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35907469|url-status=live}}</ref> There was immediate condemnation of the attacks from Belgian Muslim groups such as the League of Imams in Belgium and Executive of the Muslims in Belgium, who publicly condemned the bombings and expressed their condolences to the victims and their families.<ref>{{cite web|title=Les leaders de la communauté musulmane de Belgique condamnent les attentats de Bruxelles|url=http://www.rtbf.be/info/societe/detail_les-leaders-de-la-communaute-musulmane-de-belgique-condamnent-les-attentats-de-bruxelles?id=9248809|work=[[RTBF]]|date=22 March 2016|access-date=23 March 2016|archive-date=4 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404004334/http://www.rtbf.be/info/societe/detail_les-leaders-de-la-communaute-musulmane-de-belgique-condamnent-les-attentats-de-bruxelles?id=9248809|url-status=live}}</ref> On 1 April, religious leaders in Brussels gathered together for a memorial to the victims of the bombings. They expressed their desire to spread a religious message of unity throughout Belgium, and to combat extremism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.euronews.com/2016/04/01/religious-leaders-in-unity-pledge-after-brussels-bombings/|title=Religious leaders in unity pledge after Brussels bombings|website=Euronews|date=1 April 2016|access-date=1 April 2016|archive-date=5 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405185427/http://www.euronews.com/2016/04/01/religious-leaders-in-unity-pledge-after-brussels-bombings/|url-status=live}}</ref> The mayor of [[Molenbeek-Saint-Jean|Molenbeek]], to which several of the terrorists involved in the Brussels and Paris attacks had connections, commenced a clean-up operation with the help of national authorities. Some mosques were closed for using incendiary language and an investigation mounted into nonprofit organizations in the area with links to illegal activities or religious radicalism.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/brussels-terror-attacks-one-year-anniversary-belgium-capital-bomb-airport-maelbeek-subway-station-a7645406.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/brussels-terror-attacks-one-year-anniversary-belgium-capital-bomb-airport-maelbeek-subway-station-a7645406.html |archive-date=1 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Brussels terror attacks: Scars heal but pain lingers as Belgium marks one-year anniversary|date=23 March 2017|work=The Independent|access-date=26 July 2017|language=en-GB}}{{cbignore}}</ref> It was found that of 1,600 nonprofit organisations registered in the district, 102 had links to criminal activities, including 51 with links to religious radicalism or terrorism.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.politico.eu/article/belgiums-molenbeek-home-to-51-groups-with-terror-links-report/|title=Belgium's Molenbeek home to 51 groups with terror links: report|date=20 March 2017|work=Politico Europe|access-date=26 July 2017|language=en-US|archive-date=21 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170621121426/http://www.politico.eu/article/belgiums-molenbeek-home-to-51-groups-with-terror-links-report/|url-status=live}}</ref> After the attacks two non-profit organisations, Life4Brussels and V-Europe, were set up to help victims.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.life4brussels.org/ |title=Life4Brussels |website=Life4Brussels |access-date=22 March 2023 |archive-date=22 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322215625/https://www.life4brussels.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://v-europe.org/en_GB/ |title=V-Europe |website=V-Europe |access-date=22 March 2023 |archive-date=22 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322215625/https://v-europe.org/en_GB/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On 29 March 2016, it was revealed that Ibrahim and Khalid El Bakraoui were released early from prison (in 2015 and 2013 respectively) due to a law introduced in 1888 known as ''Lejeune'', which allows inmates to be released after serving a third of their sentence. [[Minister of the Interior (Belgium)|Belgian Interior Minister]] [[Jan Jambon]] stated that the government had agreed to update the law in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/03/29/19th-century-belgian-law-allowed-bombing-suspects-go-free/82391856/|title=19th-century Belgian law allowed bombing suspects to go free|newspaper=USA Today|date=29 March 2016|access-date=1 April 2016|archive-date=1 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401052842/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/03/29/19th-century-belgian-law-allowed-bombing-suspects-go-free/82391856/|url-status=live}}</ref> A report commissioned by the government suggested that Belgium had lost nearly €1 billion as a result of the attacks with the hospitality and retail industries being especially hard hit.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/brussels-terror-attacks-cost-belgian-economy-almost-e1-billion-report/|title=Brussels terror attacks cost Belgian economy almost €1 billion: report|date=26 July 2016|work=Politico Europe|access-date=20 March 2023|archive-date=20 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320223201/https://www.politico.eu/article/brussels-terror-attacks-cost-belgian-economy-almost-e1-billion-report/|url-status=live}}</ref> On 3 January 2019, a hard disk containing [[autopsy]] reports of victims of the Brussels attacks was amongst items stolen from a [[medical examiner]]'s office in the ''Portalis'' court building in Brussels. A man who had previously been convicted of terrorist offences was charged with the theft.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rtl.be/actu/vol-des-rapports-dautopsie-la-chambre-du-conseil-confirme-le-mandat-darret-du/2019-01-09/article/177299|title=Vol des rapports d'autopsie: la chambre du conseil confirme le mandat d'arrêt du suspect|date=9 January 2019|work=RTL|access-date=20 March 2023|archive-date=20 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320224706/https://www.rtl.be/actu/vol-des-rapports-dautopsie-la-chambre-du-conseil-confirme-le-mandat-darret-du/2019-01-09/article/177299|url-status=live}}</ref> === Other countries === In the aftermath of the attacks, security was tightened at airports, railway stations and other key sites in Europe and across the world.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/brussels-bombing-europe-security-1.3501903 |title=Brussels bombings: European airports, train stations, metros tighten security |date=22 March 2016 |work=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] |access-date=20 March 2023 |archive-date=20 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320223207/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/brussels-bombing-europe-security-1.3501903 |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, Israel stopped flights from Europe for the rest of the day.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/israel-bans-incoming-flights-from-europe-temporarily/2016/03/22/ | title=Israel Bans Incoming Flights from Europe (Temporarily) | website=The Jewish Press | date=22 March 2016 | access-date=22 March 2016 | archive-date=26 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326073931/http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/israel-bans-incoming-flights-from-europe-temporarily/2016/03/22/ | url-status=live }}</ref> == Reactions == {{Main|Reactions to the 2016 Brussels bombings}} [[File:Flight in Mind (1).jpg|thumb|The sculpture ''Flight in Mind'' by the artist [[Olivier Strebelle]] was damaged in the attacks. After some months of restoration, the sculpture was relocated to an outdoor area of the airport. It is seen here on the 1st anniversary of the attacks.]] On the evening of 22 March 2016, [[Philippe of Belgium|King Philippe]] gave a televised address to the nation. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.europe1.fr/international/plusieurs-explosions-a-laeroport-de-zaventem-de-bruxelles-2699089|title=Journée de terreur à Bruxelles|date=23 March 2016|work=[[Europe 1]]|access-date=20 March 2023|archive-date=20 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320223201/https://www.europe1.fr/international/plusieurs-explosions-a-laeroport-de-zaventem-de-bruxelles-2699089|url-status=live}}</ref> The following day, he and [[Queen Mathilde of Belgium|Queen Mathilde]] visited the airport, as well as some of the injured in hospital.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35879141|title=Brussels attacks: Two brothers behind Belgium bombings|date=23 March 2016|work=BBC News|access-date=20 March 2023|archive-date=20 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320223201/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35879141|url-status=live}}</ref> Following the attacks, a number of structures around the world were illuminated in the colours of the [[Flag of Belgium|Belgian flag]], including the [[Brandenburg Gate]] in Berlin, the [[Burj Khalifa]] in Dubai, the [[Eiffel Tower]] in Paris, the [[National Gallery]] in London's [[Trafalgar Square]], the [[Royal Palace of Amsterdam|Royal Palace]] in Amsterdam, and the [[Trevi Fountain]] in Rome.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ruiz|first=Ulises|title=Cities lit up in tribute to Brussels victims - in pictures|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2016/mar/23/brussels-victims-cities-lit-up-tribute-in-pictures|access-date=23 March 2016|work=The Guardian|date=23 March 2016|archive-date=23 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323081501/http://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2016/mar/23/brussels-victims-cities-lit-up-tribute-in-pictures|url-status=live}}</ref> In New York City, the [[One World Trade Center]] was lit up, while the [[spire]] of the [[Empire State Building]] went dark.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/One-World-Trade-Center-to-Display-Belgian-Colors-373111321.html|title=One World Trade Center to Display Belgian Colors|publisher=NBCUniversal Media, LLC|date=22 March 2016|access-date=22 March 2016|archive-date=24 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324211631/http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/One-World-Trade-Center-to-Display-Belgian-Colors-373111321.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Hours after the attack, the French-language [[hashtag]] #JeSuisBruxelles (#IamBrussels) and images of the Belgian comic character [[Tintin (character)|Tintin]] crying trended on social media sites.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dw.com/en/jesuisbruxelles-a-picture-of-grief-is-worth-a-thousand-words/a-19134144 |title=#JeSuisBruxelles: A picture is worth a thousand words |date=22 March 2016 |work=[[DW News]] |access-date=20 March 2023 |archive-date=20 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320223200/https://www.dw.com/en/jesuisbruxelles-a-picture-of-grief-is-worth-a-thousand-words/a-19134144 |url-status=live }}</ref> Also, hashtags such as #ikwilhelpen (#Iwanttohelp) and #PorteOuverte (#Opendoor) were used by Brussels residents who wanted to offer shelter and assistance for people who might need help.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brussels-attacks-hashtags-social-media-help/ |title=Hashtags offer help in wake of Brussels attacks |date=22 March 2016 |work=[[CBS News]] |access-date=20 March 2023 |archive-date=20 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320223200/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brussels-attacks-hashtags-social-media-help/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Facebook]] activated its Safety Check feature following the attacks.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kraft|first1=Amy|title=Facebook activates Safety Check after Brussels attacks|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brussels-attacks-facebook-activates-safety-check-feature/|website=CBS News|publisher=CBS Interactive|access-date=25 March 2016|archive-date=25 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325134832/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/brussels-attacks-facebook-activates-safety-check-feature/|url-status=live}}</ref> While there was overwhelming support for Belgium, some used the attacks to support their political views and debate the issue of Islam in Western countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/03/brusselsattacks-islam-social-media-160323032531306.html|title=#BrusselsAttacks: Grief, Islam and double standards|access-date=24 October 2017|archive-date=25 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025073339/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/03/brusselsattacks-islam-social-media-160323032531306.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Some expressed concern over the disproportionate emphasis placed on the attacks in Brussels over similar attacks in other countries, particularly in Turkey, where an [[March 2016 Istanbul bombing|attack]] had occurred just days before.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/turkey-brussels-attacks_us_56f1628ce4b03a640a6bb0d5|title=Turks, Reeling From String of Deadly Terrorist Attacks, React To Brussels Carnage: 'I Share Their Pain'|date=22 March 2016|work=The Huffington Post|access-date=17 April 2020|archive-date=22 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122000405/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/turkey-brussels-attacks_us_56f1628ce4b03a640a6bb0d5|url-status=live}}</ref> ==2014 murder== It is thought that the El-Bakraoui brothers were responsible for the unsolved murder in 2014 of an elderly man who was shot as he walked home from a café in the [[Jette]] area of Brussels. Abrini and Krayem told investigators that the brothers had said that they carried out the murder to see what it was like to kill someone. The victim's widow was told in 2020 that it was almost certain that the El-Bakraoui brothers had killed her husband, although officially the case was closed.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56370508 |title=Brussels bombers 'murdered elderly man as a test' |work=BBC |date=12 March 2021 |access-date=12 December 2022 |archive-date=12 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212113410/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56370508 |url-status=live }}</ref> == Parliamentary inquiry == On 14 April 2016, the [[Belgian Federal Parliament]] established a commission of inquiry into the attacks and the failure of the security forces to prevent them. The commission was also given the task of examining the emergency response to the attacks and assistance to victims, the development of radicalism in Belgium, and the structure of the country's security services.<ref name=Brochure>{{cite web |url=https://www.dekamer.be/kvvcr/pdf_sections/publications/attentats/Brochure_Terrorists_Attacks.pdf |title=Investigation committee Terrorist Attacks 22 March 2016: summary of the activities and recommendations |publisher=The Belgian House of Representatives |date=2018 |access-date=8 August 2019 |archive-date=8 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808102201/https://www.dekamer.be/kvvcr/pdf_sections/publications/attentats/Brochure_Terrorists_Attacks.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|11}} Between August 2016 and October 2017, the commission published four interim reports: "Emergency response"; "Assistance to the victims"; "Security architecture"; "Radicalism".{{r|Brochure|p=12}} The commission identified a number of problems with security forces: government and security forces running in parallel rather than together; faulty communications both within the country and with foreign counterparts of Belgian services; a failure to pay sufficient attention to proactive action and prevention of terrorism and radicalism; the underfunding of various security units; a lack of cooperation between units; a need for improved cooperation with European and international agencies; a proliferation of rules and procedures that threatened to exacerbate a lack of coherence in policy.{{r|Brochure|p=38-9}} The commission identified a need for security forces to strengthen information management and establish an information-sharing culture within and between the security services. Whilst some services had too little information others suffered from information overload.{{r|Brochure|p=43}} The commission's report also addressed a number of criticisms levelled at Belgium by the French parliamentary investigation into the [[November 2015 Paris attacks]].{{r|Brochure|p=59}} == Trial == In December 2022, ten men went on trial in Brussels for their involvement in the bombings. Oussama Atar, thought to have been killed in Syria, was tried in absentia. The nine accused who appeared in court were Mohamed Abrini, Osama Krayem, Salah Abdeslam, Sofien Ayari, Bilal El Makhoukhi, Hervé Bayingana Muhirwa, Ali El Haddad Asufi, Smail Farisi and Ibrahim Farisi. All except Ibrahim Farisi were charged with belonging to a terrorist group and terrorist-related murder and attempted murder. Ibrahim Farisi was charged only with belonging to a terrorist group. Six of the accused (Abrini, Krayem, Abdeslam, Ayari, El Haddad Asufi and Atar) had already been convicted in the [[Paris attacks trial]]. The Farisi brothers were on bail, while the others were all detained. The trial took place with a jury before presiding judge Laurence Massart in the Justitia building (the former headquarters of [[NATO]]) in [[Evere]], Brussels.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://bx1.be/dossiers/attentats-de-bruxelles/proces-des-attentats-de-bruxelles-tout-ce-quil-faut-savoir-pour-suivre-les-audiences/|title=Procès des attentats de Bruxelles : tout ce qu'il faut savoir pour suivre les audiences|work=bx1|date=5 December 2022|access-date=13 December 2022|archive-date=13 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213123945/https://bx1.be/dossiers/attentats-de-bruxelles/proces-des-attentats-de-bruxelles-tout-ce-quil-faut-savoir-pour-suivre-les-audiences/|url-status=live}}</ref> The trial was scheduled to start in October 2022 but was delayed as the defence lawyers objected to the design of the box, which then had to be rebuilt.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20211209-trial-over-2016-brussels-bombings-to-open-in-october-2022|title=Trial over 2016 Brussels bombings to open in October 2022|date=9 December 2021|work=France 24|access-date=29 May 2023|archive-date=9 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209152507/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20211209-trial-over-2016-brussels-bombings-to-open-in-october-2022|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-63834777|title=Brussels attacks: Trial begins over 2016 attacks that killed 32|work=BBC News|date=5 December 2022|access-date=19 January 2023|archive-date=19 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119100915/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-63834777|url-status=live}}</ref> In December and January there were interruptions to the trial as the defendants objected to being strip-searched before their transfer from prison to the courtroom.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64174161|title=Brussels bombings trial held up by suspects' boycott|work=BBC News|date=5 January 2023|access-date=19 January 2023|archive-date=19 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119100855/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64174161|url-status=live}}</ref> The verdicts were announced on 25 July 2023 after the jury had deliberated for eighteen days. Six of the accused, Atar, Abrini, Abdeslam, El Haddad Asufi, El Makhoukhi and Krayem were found guilty of terrorist-related murder and attempted murder. Ayari and Muhirwa were convicted of terrorist activities but cleared of murder and attempted murder while the Farisi brothers were cleared of all charges against them.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66299186|title=Brussels bombers found guilty after long murder trial|date=25 July 2023|work=BBC News}}</ref> After the verdicts, the court took a summer break. The jury and three judges then deliberated for five days over sentences, which were announced on 15 September 2023. Krayem, El Makhoukhi and Atar received life sentences. Abrini was sentenced to 30 years, El Haddad Asufi to 20 years, and Muhirwa to 10 years. Abrini and Ayari did not receive sentences, as the court considered that the 20-year sentences they had been given in 2018 for the [[2016 Brussels police raids|Forest shootout]], were sufficient.<ref>{{cite news |title=Eight men sentenced over 2016 Brussels bombings, ending Belgium's largest-ever criminal trial |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/16/eight-men-sentenced-over-2016-brussels-bombings-ending-belgiums-largest-ever-criminal-trial |work=The Guardian |date=16 September 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rtl.be/actu/belgique/justice/un-verdict-parfois-etonnant-voici-en-detail-les-peines-prononcees-contre-les/2023-09-15/article/588366|title="Un verdict parfois étonnant": voici en détail les peines prononcées contre les huit coupables des attentats de Bruxelles|date=15 September 2023|work=RTL|language=fr}}</ref> ==Memorialization== [[File:Brussels_2016-05-06_15-41-20_ILCE-6300_4098_DxO_(28777118843).jpg|thumb|upright|Wall of messages at Maelbeek metro station]] In the aftermath of the attacks, the population of Brussels created spontaneous memorials as a societal reaction to what was perceived as a collective tragedy. In the hours following the attack, people started gathering at the [[Place de la Bourse, Brussels|Place de la Bourse/Beursplein]]. Mourners wrote chalk messages on the pavement and buildings surrounding the square. Numerous messages and mementos, usually every-day objects such as mugs or hats, were left at the [[Brussels Stock Exchange]] memorial. According to Ana Milosevic, a researcher at [[KU Leuven]], societal tensions and the need for answers about the causes and consequences of the attacks were salient in the first days and weeks after the event. During the two months of its existence, the Brussels Stock Exchange memorial was used as a site of contestation and negotiation of the meanings associated with the terrorist attacks.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Remembering the present: Dealing with the memories of terrorism in Europe|first=Ana|last=Milošević|date=24 May 2017|journal=Contemporary Voices: St Andrews Journal of International Relations|volume=8|issue=2|pages = 44|doi=10.15664/jtr.1269|doi-access=free}}</ref> The [[Archives of the City of Brussels]] were asked by the mayor [[Yvan Mayeur]] and the city council to collect and document the societal reactions to the attacks. Over two months, the archives team documented the process of memorialization, also collecting some of the memorabilia left by the mourners.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13527258.2017.1362574 |title=Milosevic, Ana. 2018. Historicizing the present: Brussels attacks and heritagization of spontaneous memorials. International Journal of Heritage Studies 24(1):53–65 |doi=10.1080/13527258.2017.1362574 |s2cid=149160122 |access-date=24 October 2017 |archive-date=3 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403212511/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13527258.2017.1362574 |url-status=live }}</ref> In November 2016, a sculpture in memory of the victims of the bombings was inaugurated in the Place Communale/Gemeenteplein (Municipal Square) of Molenbeek. The sculpture, called the ''Flame of Hope'', was created by local artist Moustapha Zoufri.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.brusselstimes.com/39958/brussels-attacks-sculpture-inaugurated-today-in-molenbeek-in-memory-of-victims|title=Brussels attacks: sculpture inaugurated today in Molenbeek in memory of victims|work=Brussels Times|date=8 November 2016|access-date=13 December 2022|archive-date=13 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213125831/https://www.brusselstimes.com/39958/brussels-attacks-sculpture-inaugurated-today-in-molenbeek-in-memory-of-victims|url-status=live}}</ref> There is a memorial plaque in the departure hall of Brussels Airport, and, in the nearby Memorial Garden, a plaque listing the 16 people who died in the airport attack was inaugurated on 22 March 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lavenir.net/regions/2018/03/22/une-stele-commemorative-inauguree-au-memorial-garden-pres-de-laeroport-de-zaventem-ZOK2ETUS3FDUHK536CFL7MY23A/|title=Une stèle commémorative inaugurée au Memorial Garden, près de l'aéroport de Zaventem|date=22 March 2018|work=l'avenir|access-date=10 March 2023|archive-date=10 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310120735/https://www.lavenir.net/regions/2018/03/22/une-stele-commemorative-inauguree-au-memorial-garden-pres-de-laeroport-de-zaventem-ZOK2ETUS3FDUHK536CFL7MY23A/|url-status=live}}</ref> Following a public competition, a monument to the victims was unveiled by King Philippe on the first anniversary of the attacks on the pedestrianized section of the [[Rue de la Loi|Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat]], between [[Schuman metro station]] and the [[Cinquantenaire|Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark]]. The monument, by Jean-Henri Compère, is called ''Wounded But Still Standing in Front of the Inconceivable'' and is constructed from two 20-metre (66 foot) long horizontal surfaces rising skywards.<ref name=Guardian220317>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/22/brussels-unveil-terror-victims-memorial-one-year-after-attacks|title=Brussels attacks: 'Let us dare to be tender,' says king on first anniversary|work=The Guardian|date=22 March 2017|access-date=10 March 2023|archive-date=10 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310120735/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/22/brussels-unveil-terror-victims-memorial-one-year-after-attacks|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Brussels-Capital Region]] also memorialized the attacks with a [[Land art|land-art]] work by [[Bas Smets]], who planted 32 birches (one for each victim) in the [[Sonian Forest]] (Drève de l'Infante/Infantedreef) called ''Memorial 22/03''. Smets describes the memorial as "a place of silence and meditation." The birches are connected by a circular structure and separated from the rest of the forest by a small round canal.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.levif.be/actualite/belgique/22-mars-2016-un-memorial-pour-les-victimes-des-attentats-implante-en-foret-de-soignes/article-normal-632565.html|magazine=[[Le Vif/L'Express]]|agency=Belga|language=fr|title=22 mars 2016 : Un mémorial pour les victimes des attentats implanté en Forêt de Soignes|date=22 March 2017|access-date=24 October 2017|archive-date=22 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322143835/http://www.levif.be/actualite/belgique/22-mars-2016-un-memorial-pour-les-victimes-des-attentats-implante-en-foret-de-soignes/article-normal-632565.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In Maelbeek metro station, a commemorative mural called ''The Olive Tree'' was created by [[Benoît van Innis]], who previously designed the metro station, and a list of the sixteen victims was unveiled at the third commemorative anniversary next to the mural.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Namen van slachtoffers vereeuwigd in metrostation Maalbeek |url=https://www.bruzz.be/samenleving/namen-van-slachtoffers-vereeuwigd-metrostation-maalbeek-2019-03-22 |website=bruzz.be |publisher=[[Bruzz]] |date=22 March 2019 |access-date=23 March 2019 |language=nl |archive-date=16 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116163041/https://www.bruzz.be/samenleving/namen-van-slachtoffers-vereeuwigd-metrostation-maalbeek-2019-03-22 |url-status=live }}</ref> <gallery> File:Brussels 2016-05-05 17-57-26 ILCE-6300 3987 DxO (29357024895).jpg|The impromptu memorial at the [[Brussels Stock Exchange]] File:The Flame of Hope.jpg|The ''Flame of Hope'' by [[Mustapha Zoufri]] in Molenbeek, in honour of the victims of the Paris and Brussels attacks File:Memoriel 22 mars 2016, rue de la Loi (3).jpg|''Wounded But Still Standing in Front of the Inconceivable'', [[Rue de la Loi]], [[Brussels]] File:Memoriel 22 mars 2016, Etterbeek.jpg|Memorial to the attacks of 22 Mars 2016, [[Etterbeek]] ([[Jardin Felix Hap]]) File:Mémorial en hommage aux victimes du 22 mars en pleine Forêt de Soignes.jpg|''Memorial 22/03'' by [[Bas Smets]] in the [[Sonian Forest]] File:Gedenkwand Maelbeek.jpg|''The Olive Tree'' by [[Benoît van Innis]] in Maelbeek metro station File:Gedenkliste Maelbeek.jpg|Memorial plaque for the 16 victims in Maelbeek metro station </gallery> ==Further reading== ===Books by academics=== * Paul Ponsaers (2017) ''Jihadi's in België: de route naar Zaventem en Maalbeek''. Antwerp: Maklu Uitgevers {{ISBN|9789046608937}} * Cyrille Fijnaut (2020) ''De samenhang tussen georganiseerde misdaad en terrorisme en de aanslagen in Parijs en Brussel in 2015-2016''. Cambridge and Antwerp: Intersentia {{ISBN|9789400012776}} ===Books by journalists=== * Joanie De Rijke and Tine Gregoor (2021) ''Bommen in Brussel. Vijf jaar na de aanslagen, 22 maart 2016''. Antwerp: Uitgeverij Vrijdag ISBN 946001982X ===Books by victims=== * Caroline S. Leruth (2017) ''Attentat Aéroport Bruxelles: Ce que j'ai vu''. Annecy Le Vieux: Éditions Kawa {{ISBN|9782367781556}} * Mohamed El Bachiri (2017) ''Un jihad de l'amour''. Paris: [[JC Lattès]] {{ISBN|9782709660839}} * Walter Benjamin (2018) ''J'ai vu la mort en face, une vie après l'attentat''. Monaco: [[Éditions du Rocher]] {{ISBN|9782268099217}} * Nidhi Chaphekar (2020) ''Herboren: Hoe ik terugvocht na de terroristische aanslag in Brussel''. Tielt: Lannoo {{ISBN|9789401468992}} * [[Karen Northshield]] (2021) ''Dans le souffle de la bombe''. Loverval: Kennes Éditions {{ISBN|9782380753288}} * Janet Winston-Young (2021) ''Paris-Bruxelles, au coeur des attentats''. Paris: Le Passeur Éditeur {{ISBN|9782368908648}} ==See also== * [[August 2017 Brussels attack]] * [[June 2017 Brussels attack]] * [[Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting]] * [[List of Islamist terrorist attacks]] * [[List of terrorist incidents linked to ISIL]] * [[Terrorism in the European Union]] {{Portal bar|Belgium}} ==Notes== <references group="lower-alpha"/> ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} ==External links== * {{Commons category-inline|2016 Brussels bombings}} * {{Wikinews inline|Explosions at Brussels airport and subway systems}} * {{Wikiquote-inline}} {{Brussels ISIL terror cell}} {{Brussels topics|state=collapsed}} {{Islamic terrorism in Europe}} {{Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Brussels bombings, 2016}} [[Category:2016 Brussels bombings| ]] [[Category:2016 in Brussels]] [[Category:2016 in aviation]] [[Category:2016 in rail transport]] [[Category:2016 murders in Belgium]] [[Category:Brussels Airport]] [[Category:Brussels Metro]] [[Category:City of Brussels]] [[Category:History of Zaventem]] [[Category:ISIL terrorist incidents in Belgium]] [[Category:Islamic terrorism in Belgium]] [[Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in 2016]] [[Category:Machelen]] [[Category:March 2016 crimes in Europe]] [[Category:Mass murder in 2016]] [[Category:Steenokkerzeel]] [[Category:Suicide bombings in Belgium]] [[Category:Terrorist attacks on airports]] [[Category:Terrorist incidents in Belgium in 2016]] [[Category:Terrorist incidents in Brussels]] [[Category:Terrorist incidents on subterranean rapid transit]] [[Category:Building bombings in Europe]] [[Category:Train bombings in Europe]] Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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