2016 Brussels bombings

2016 Brussels bombings
Part of Wave of Terror in Europe (the spillover of the Syrian Civil War)
Map of the bombings in relation to each other (1) 07:58 : Departure hall of Brussels Airport (2) 09:11 : Maalbeek metro station
Location	Brussels Airport in Zaventem and Maalbeek metro station in Brussels, Belgium
Coordinates	Airport: 50°54′05″N 4°29′04″E / 50.90139°N 4.48444°E / 50.90139; 4.48444 (Brussels Airport) Metro station: 50°50′38″N 4°22′36″E / 50.84389°N 4.37667°E / 50.84389; 4.37667 (Maalbeek metro station)
Date	22 March 2016 7:58 – 9:11 (UTC+1)
Target	Civilians (possibly Americans and Jews), transport hubs
Attack type	Suicide bombings, nail bombing, mass murder
Weapons	TATP explosives
Deaths	35 (32 victims, 3 perpetrators)
Non-fatal injuries	340 (62 critical)
Perpetrator	Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Assailants	Airport:  • Ibrahim El Bakraoui (deceased)  • Najim Laachraoui (deceased)  • Mohamed Abrini Metro station:  • Khalid El Bakraoui (deceased)  • Osama Krayem

On the morning of March 22, 2016, three coordinated suicide bombings occurred in Belgium: two at Brussels Airport in Zaventem, and one at Maalbeek metro station in central Brussels. Thirty-two civilians and three perpetrators were killed, and more than 300 people were injured. Another bomb was found during a search of the airport. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attacks.

The perpetrators belonged to a terrorist cell which had been involved in the November 2015 Paris attacks. The Brussels bombings happened shortly after a series of police raids targeting the group.

The bombings were the deadliest act of terrorism in Belgium's history. The Belgian government declared three days of national mourning.

Belgium is a participant in the ongoing military intervention against ISIL, during the Iraqi Civil War. On 5 October 2014, a Belgian F-16 dropped its first bomb on an ISIL target, east of Baghdad. On 12 November 2015, Iraq warned members of the coalition that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIL, had ordered retaliatory attacks on countries involved in the coalition against ISIL.

Belgium has more nationals fighting for jihadist forces as a proportion of its population than any other Western European country, with an estimated 440 Belgians having left for Syria and Iraq as of January 2015. Due to Belgium's weak security apparatus and competing intelligence agencies, it has become a hub of jihadist-recruiting and terrorist activity.