Brussels Attack: 26 Die at 2 Explosion Sites

• By Sydny Shepard
• Mar 22, 2016

Three explosions ripped through the Belgian capital of Brussels on March 22, killing at least 26 people and wounding 130 more, according to Belgian media.

One of the explosions happened at a subway station in the Brussels district of Maalbeek, near the European quarter, where much of the European Union is based, while the other two explosions, at least one of them a suicide bomber, occurred at the Brussels Airport. 15 died in the subway blast and 11 more died at the airport.

The blast at the airport happened just outside the security checkpoints for ticketed passengers and near the airline check-in counters, an airline official said.

Belgian authorities bolstered security after Tuesday’s attacks, including shutting down all Brussels metro stations and evacuating the city airport. In addition to the airport, Belgium’s Royal Palace was evacuated after the attacks and Belgium broadcaster RTBF reported the National Pensions Officer in Brussels had also been cleared after two suspicious packages were found inside.

This comes as the terror threat level in Belgium went up to four, its highest level. That step up means that army soldiers can be sent into the streets to meet security needs.

In the United States, authorities in New York, Washington and Chicago are taking special precautions like increased K9 sweeps of subways and additional police patrols.

This is a developing story, it will be updated with new information periodically.