Condolences and Solidarity with Brussels, Belgium and Europe

ISIS claimed responsibility for attacks on the Brussels airport and a rush-hour metro train at a station near a European Union administrative complex in the Belgian capital on Tuesday morning. The attacks killed 34. More than 200 were injured, some with severe burns and leg injuries. Brussels remains on the highest terror alert level, in near lockdown status. All public transportation is shut down. Employees at the EU complex were told to stay home. The Brussels airport will remain closed at least through Wednesday. The US Belgian Embassy has advised Americans in Brussels to stay indoors. Belgian authorities asked citizens not to use overloaded telephone networks. Extra troops are deployed in Brussels. The Belgian Crisis Centre, worried about another incident, appealed to people : "Stay where you are." Non-essential staff at Belgian nuclear plants Doel and Tihange were sent home at the request of Belgian authorities. A spokesman told Reuters key staff remain on site to operate the facilities. For the foreseeable future, Belgium's nuclear plants will operate at weekend-like staff levels to ensure that no unauthorized personnel gain access to the plants. Security has been heightened at all Belgium nuclear sites, including an increased military presence. ~~~~~ A witness said he heard shouts in Arabic and shots shortly before thevtwo blasts hit a crowded Brussels airport departure lounge. Federal prosecutors said one explosion was probably triggered by a suicide bomber. The AMAQ news agency -- part of the ISIS propaganda machine -- announced responsibility : "Islamic State fighters carried out a series of bombings with explosive belts and devices on Tuesday, targeting an airport and a central metro station in the center of the Belgian capital Brussels." An airport security camera photo of three black-haired young men pushing laden luggage trolleys has been circulated by police, who suspect they are the attackers. They say two may have detonated suicide bombs. Police are hunting the third. An unused explosive belt was also found in the area, according to Belgian public media. ~~~~~ US President Barack Obama phoned to support Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel. Obama told a news conference in Cuba : "We must be together regardless of nationality or race or faith in fighting against the scourge of terrorism." Michel told a Brussels news briefing Tuesday was a "black moment" for Belgium : "What we had feared has come to pass," he said, referring to the fact that the blasts occurred four days after the arrest in Brussels of a suspected participant in the November Paris jihadist attacks that killed 130 people. Belgian police and combat troops on the streets had been on alert for reprisals but the attacks took place in crowded areas where people and luggage were everywhere. Public broadcaster VRT said police found a Kalashnikov assault rifle next to the body of an airport attacker. Kalashnikovs have become a trademark of ISIS attacks in Europe, especially in Belgium and France. ~~~~~ The coordinated assault triggered security alerts across Europe, where security services have been on high alert, fearing militant attacks backed by ISIS, which claimed responsibility for the Paris attack. Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Greece and Finland, alert for spillover from the Syrian civil war, were among countries announcing extra security measures. The main international rail stations in Brussels are closed. Train service on the channel tunnel from London to Brussels is suspended. Security is tightened at the Dutch-Belgium border. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said : “We are at war and we have been subjected to acts of war in Europe for the last many months." French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has deployed 1,600 additional police and gendarmes across France, as well as 400 more in Paris. ~~~~~ Dear readers, Europe's open borderless society is under seige. The EU is in ISIS' crosshairs. All fairytales must end. But, our hearts and prayers go out to the Brussels victims, their families, Belgium and Europe.