Brussels Terror Attack Live Updates: Death Toll Rises In Belgian Airport And Metro Bombings

UPDATE: 11:42 p.m. EDT – The first victim of the Brussels attacks has been identified as Adelma Marina Tapia Ruiz by the foreign ministry, the Guardian reported, citing Agence France-Presse. The 37-year-old woman from Peru was killed during the bombings at the Brussels Airport in Zaventem, while one of her twin daughters was injured by flying debris. Ruiz had been living in Brussels for six years and was at the airport with her husband, Christophe Delcambe, and twin daughters, her brother, Fernando Tapia, told a Peruvian radio station, according to the Guardian. Ruiz was reportedly catching a flight to New York when the attacks happened.

UPDATE: 10:49 p.m. EDT — A spokesman for the New York Police Department on Tuesday slammed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's call to "patrol and secure" Muslim neighborhoods. "Are our nearly 1,000 Muslim officers a 'threat' too? It's hard to imagine a more incendiary, foolish statement," wrote J. Peter Donald.

UPDATE: 10:35 p.m. EDT — Britain’s Foreign Office warned Britons traveling to Brussels to be "alert and vigilant" Tuesday after attacks carried out by the Islamic State group. The Foreign Office said embassy staff were "providing consular assistance to two injured Britons and are ready to support any further British nationals that have been affected.” They urged British citizens to stay away from crowded places, the BBC reported.

UPDATE: 10:05 p.m. EDT — The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a resolution Wednesday that would declare the Islamic State group a global security threat. The resolution put forward by Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, will declare that the Islamic State "poses a fundamental threat to the universal value of freedom in all countries.”

UPDATE: 9:55 p.m. EDT — Several key suspects allegedly involved with the Paris attacks in November could be part of the investigation in Brussels, according to the Guardian. The suspects on the run include: Najim Laachraoui, 24, whose DNA had been found at an apartment used by the attackers in Belgium; Mohamed Abrini, 31, a Belgian of Moroccan origin, who disappeared after allegedly playing a key part in overseeing the logistics of the attacks; and two other brothers, Khalid and Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, who are suspected of hiring properties as hideouts.

UPDATE: 9:30 p.m. EDT — Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson met with the Belgian ambassador to the U.S. on Tuesday and offered the agency's full support. Meanwhile, the Empire State Building in New York City went dark Tuesday night in sympathy for victims in Brussels.

UPDATE: 8:50 p.m. EDT — Some airlines are implementing flight changes and refund policies for passengers after Tuesday's Brussels attacks. United Airlines extended its travel waiver to allow customers ticketed on United flights to and from Brussels to reschedule or change their itineraries. American Airlines canceled all flights to and from Brussels for Wednesday and Thursday.

UPDATE: 8:16 p.m. EDT — The U.S. government has issued a Europe travel alert for its citizens after the Brussels attacks. The State Department urged citizens to monitor local media and follow Twitter accounts @TravelGov and @usembbrussels for updates. "Terrorist groups continue to plan near-term attacks throughout Europe, targeting sporting events, tourist sites, restaurants, and transportation," said the advisory.

UPDATE: 7:16 p.m. EDT — Some of the victims in Tuesday's attack have been named. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in a statement that Mason Wells, 19, Richard Norby, 66, and Joseph Empey, 20, all Mormon missionaries from Utah, were seriously wounded in the blasts at the airport.

UPDATE: 7:01 p.m. EDT — The League of Imams in Belgium called the attacks "criminal and unspeakable acts … which took the lives of tens of our citizens and injured countless others," The Guardian reported. Other Muslim groups also condemned the attacks Tuesday.

UPDATE: 6:36 p.m. EDT — The death toll in Belgium was up to 34 victims, the Associated Press reported Tuesday night. Belgium's interior minister said officials suspected an attack was being prepared in Europe but they were unprepared for what happened Tuesday in Brussels.

"It was always possible that more attacks could happen but we never could have imagined something of this scale," Interior Minister Jan Jambon said, the BBC reported.

UPDATE: 6:25 p.m. EDT — The Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned terrorist attacks in Brussels on Tuesday carried out by the Islamic State group. Iyad Ameen Madani, secretary general of the 57-member state government body, offered condolences to the families of the victims and people of Belgium.

"The Secretary General also called upon all governments across the world, international organizations and civil society institutions to engage in a concerted joint firm action to combat the scourge of terrorism which represents a serious threat to international peace and security ," a statement read.

UPDATE: 5:51 p.m. EDT — German officers arrested three suspects in a Belgian car near the Austria border before Tuesday's airport and metro bombings. Officials are investigating whether they had planned to carry out an attack, Reuters reported.

UPDATE: 5:20 p.m. EDT — "Unofficial travel" to Brussels has been temporarily declared off limits for U.S. armed forces members, the U.S. European Command said Tuesday. With no end in sight, the military moratorium on traveling to Belgium's capital will last "until further notice," Politico reported. An unidentified U.S. military member was injured in the explosions at a Brussels airport.

Meanwhile, law enforcement in Brussels continued to launch a series of raids across the city in search of a person who has been named as a suspect in the investigation into Tuesday's terror attacks there.

Update from #Schaerbeek pic.twitter.com/HA5ZcgmW6l

— anna holligan (@annaholligan) March 22, 2016

UPDATE: 4:42 p.m. EDT — The mayor of the Belgium town where the airport that experienced the morning terror attack Tuesday said the assailants were carrying explosives "in their bag," reported Agence France-Presse.

“They came in a taxi with their suitcases, their bombs were in their bags,” said Zaventem Mayor Francis Vermeiren said. “They put their suitcases on trolleys, the first two bombs exploded. The third also put his on a trolley but he must have panicked, it didn’t explode.”

Vermeiren's disclosure, while not immediately independently confirmed, comes on the heels of President Barack Obama ordering all U.S. flags to be lowered to half-staff through the weekend, the White House said. American flags will remain in that position until Saturday.

UPDATE: 4:18 p.m. EDT — The conductor of the train that was bombed in Brussels Tuesday spoke with Belgian media, saying that he thought the initial explosion was something wrong with the train’s mechanics. He said when the train immediately came to a stop, he knew it wasn’t a mechanical problem.

The conductor, Christian Delhasse, didn’t have any physical wounds but apparently was suffering from psychological shock. “I did what I had to do,” Delhasse told Belgian media. “I didn’t have anything happen to me, not a single wound.” “Seeing on the bodies, that marks you,” he went onto say.

UPDATE: 3:55 p.m. EDT — U.S. President Barack Obama defended his attending a baseball game during his historic visit to Cuba on Tuesday after the terror attacks in Brussels. "The whole premise of terrorism is to try to disrupt people’s ordinary lives,” Obama said, according to a reporter from the Los Angeles Times.

UPDATE: 3:45 p.m. EDT — Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Tuesday the Transportation Security Administration was beefing up security at major metropolitan airports in the U.S., as well as at various rail and other transit stations. However, he was not more specific and said other security measures were being put in place that couldn’t be made public. Johnson said there was "no specific, credible intelligence" of a plot to carry out terror attacks in the U.S.

UPDATE: 3:38 p.m. EDT — Some U.S. cell phone service providers are waiving fees for calls and texts to Belgium and out of the country after Brussels suffered a terror attack that killed more than two dozen, Fortune reported.

AT&T waived fees until March 28, Sprint waived until March 31, and Verizon is crediting customers Tuesday and Wednesday. Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile have also waived fees.

UPDATE: 3:28 p.m. EDT — As news slowly comes in over who was killed or injured in Tuesday’s Brussels terror attacks, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at least eight of those injured were French. Three of those eight were wounded severely.

At least two British nationals were also wounded in the Brussels attacks. An American member of the armed forces was also injured, but the status of that person’s injuries wasn't made public, the New York Times reported.

UPDATE: 3:21 p.m. EDT — Tuesday’s terror attacks at transit hubs in Brussels prompted some Senate Democrats to push for a package that would tighten airport security measures, Politico reported. Some of the measures in the package included tougher vetting processes for aviation workers and improved screening for Transportation Security Administration officers.

“We’re going to learn more about what happened in the coming days,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, who announced the measures, said. “When we do, it’s going to be critically important that we look again at the safety and security of our transit systems to ensure this type of attack doesn’t occur on American soil.”

UPDATE: 3:05 p.m. EDT — One World Trade Center, the New York skyscraper designed to replace the twin towers destroyed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, will be displayed in black, red and yellow — the colors of the Belgian flag — Tuesday night in solidarity with the country, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

“Once again, our world has endured another senseless tragedy due to the cowardly acts of truly evil people, but the global community remains united,” Cuomo said in a statement. “New York stands shoulder to shoulder with the people of Belgium and the rest of the world in rejecting the hate and extremism behind this violence.”

UPDATE: 2:55 p.m. EDT — Belgian federal prosecutor Frédéric Van Leeuw said Tuesday it is too early to make a definitive link between the Brussels terror attacks and those in Paris in November, Agence France-Presse reported. The Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, claimed responsibility for both attacks.

UPDATE: 2:41 p.m. EDT — Belgian King Philippe said Tuesday the terror attacks in Brussels that left at least 31 people dead and many more wounded will make the day infamous. “Our country is in deep mourning. For each of us, March 22 will never be a day like any other,” Philippe said on national television.

UPDATE: 2:30 p.m. EDT — While searching a home during an investigation into the Brussels terror attack Tuesday, Belgian police said they found a flag of the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, as well as a bomb and chemical products, media outlets reported. Authorities said a bomb made with nails was found in the search.

UPDATE: 2:16 p.m. EDT — Facebook is offering a Belgian flag overlay for users’ profile pictures, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday. The feature is similar to the one offered after the Paris terror attacks in November where people could use the French flag as an overlay.

UPDATE: 2:05 p.m. EDT — Salah Abdeslam, the suspect arrested in Brussels last week in connection with the Paris terror attacks in November, was a part of the plot to bomb Brussels on Tuesday, according to Politico. He was reportedly supposed to take part in Tuesday’s bomb attacks, and his fingerprints were found in an apartment last week in Brussels where officials discovered detonators that were likely the type used in the Tuesday attacks at Brussels' airport and metro station.

UPDATE: 1:57 p.m. EDT — Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said after Tuesday’s terror attacks in Brussels that his country will remain “unified and mobilized” in spite of the attacks, Belgian media reported. He also said it is important to return to life as normal.

UPDATE: 1:49 p.m. EDT — Hours after deadly terror attacks in Brussels killed at least 30 people and left scores more wounded, about 14 hospitals were still receiving injured people, Belgian Health Minister Maggie De Block told the New York Times. She said the hospitals were prepared for the number of people coming in, and that there was enough capacity.

UPDATE: 1:40 p.m. EDT — Europol, the European Union’s policing agency, condemned the deadly terror attack in Belgium on Tuesday and offered to assist Belgian authorities in the investigation. The agency said it will offer Belgium its intelligence tools and databases to combat terrorism.

“These attacks are a further reminder of the volatile terrorist threat faced in Europe today,” Europol Director Rob Wainwright said in a statement. “Working with its security partners in the EU and beyond, Europol is determined to fight terrorism in all its aspects and all its manifestations.”

UPDATE: 1:35 p.m. EDT — A moment of silence is scheduled to be held in Paris in front of the Hôtel de Ville, which houses the city’s town hall, at about 7 p.m. local time in support of the Belgian people in light of the terror attacks that occurred Tuesday. In November, Paris suffered its own terror attack, leaving about 130 people dead.

UPDATE: 1:22 p.m. EDT — After the deadly terror attacks in Brussels on Tuesday, authorities in the German state that borders Belgium announced tighter border controls, the New York Times reported. Ralf Jäger, interior minister of the North Rhine-Westphalia state, said he is surprised a terrorist could have lived in Belgium for years and that something should have been done earlier.

“It’s not a question of individual actors organizing themselves — on the contrary, the mode of action was structured and agreed,” Jäger told reporters. “That presumes the formation of a cell.”

UPDATE: 1:16 p.m. EDT — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday the deadly terror attacks in Brussels are an example of why the world needs to pool together global efforts to fight terrorism, the Associated Press reported. He also offered condolences, as many politicians have, to the families of the victims.

‘‘We have repeatedly discussed the issues related to the fight against terrorism, and it’s possible to efficiently combat it only by united efforts,” Putin said.

UPDATE: 1:08 p.m. EDT — Police in Belgium have begun searching the Schaerbeek district in Brussels for suspects who may be responsible for Tuesday’s terror attacks in the city, the BBC reported. Schaerbeek Square was evacuated for hours, with many being evacuated and bussed out of the area, a woman on the ground said on Twitter.

UPDATE: 12:55 p.m. EDT — The Brussels airport will be closed at least through Wednesday after bombs tore through its departure hall, airport CEO Arnaud Feist said. He said the airport has to assess the damage and may be closed for more time.

“Brussels airport has been shot in the heart today,” he told CNN. The “terrorists were suicide bombers, and these bombs [exploded] at a check-in area where there is free access.”

UPDATE: 12:50 p.m. EDT — As Brussels reeled from deadly terror attacks Tuesday, witnesses described chaos in the areas where the explosions occurred. One woman who was at Brussels’ airport saw pools of blood on the gound.

“Everywhere there were bodies with no head. There was a woman screaming while she was holding her baby, and she screamed ‘Where is my baby?’ I told her she was holding her child, but she said she had one other that she couldn’t find,” witness Yassine Amrani told Politico.

Other horrors described at the scene included a man left with no legs and whose chest was completely blown open. One person who was in the metro during the explosion said nobody knew if the loud noises they heard were guns or bombs.

“A man across the road had hands covered in blood. Then I realized that next to me a man and women had dust all in their hair and faces covered in blood,” Ruby Livings Waterworth, who was walking near the metro explosion, told France24.

UPDATE: 12:28 p.m. EDT — Amin Awad, the United Nations’ official in charge of coordinating the placement of refugees fleeing areas of the Middle East, said Tuesday that those angry over the terror attacks in Brussels shouldn’t direct that anger at Syrian refugees, the Associated Press reported. Europe has been flooded with refugees trying to escape the violence that has been brought on by civil war and the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS.

“To lump everybody together and say refugees are posing a security risk, that is not true,” Awad said. “Any sort of hostilities [toward refugees] because of Brussels attack or Paris attack is misplaced.”

UPDATE: 12:16 p.m. EDT — U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Tuesday condemned the deadly terror attacks in Brussels and said they were an assault on Belgium as well as the European Union. She said the U.S. Justice Department has contacted its counterpart in Belgium and offered assistance.

“If the intent of this attack's perpetrators was to sow conflict and discord — to stoke mistrust and spread fear — they have failed,” Lynch said in a statement. “Today and every day, the people of the United States are joined with our friends in Belgium and around the world in love, compassion and resolve. The words on Belgium’s coat of arms speak for us all: L’Union Fait La Force. Unity Makes Strength.”

UPDATE: 12:06 p.m. EDT — The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to hold a moment of silence for the victims of Tuesday’s terror attacks in Brussels, a reporter with the National Journal tweeted. The moment of silence is scheduled to occur at about 2:45 p.m. EDT.

UPDATE: 11:59 a.m. EDT — The Belgian Monarchy said on Twitter it will make a statement Tuesday at about 7 p.m. local time on the deadly terror attacks in Brussels. The tweet did not say who exactly will be appearing on television.

UPDATE: 11:46 a.m. EDT — U.S. Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders offered his condolences to the families of those killed or injured in Tuesday’s terror attack in Brussels. He said he stands with the United States’ allies in Europe to offer assistance.

“Today's attack is a brutal reminder that the international community must come together to destroy ISIS,” Sanders said in a statement, referring to the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility. "This type of barbarism cannot be allowed to continue.”

UPDATE: 11:41 a.m. EDT — Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders to tell him the U.S. will stand with Belgium as it copes with the aftermath of Tuesday’s terror attacks in Brussels, and expressed his condolences for the deaths and violence, according to a statement.

“Both ministers agreed that that the perpetrators must be brought to justice and that attacks such as these underscored the need for a continued and concerted push by all nations to counter violent extremism. They also agreed to stay in touch as the investigation proceeds,” the statement read.

UPDATE: 11:34 a.m. EDT — The Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, has claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s terror attacks in Brussels through its news agency, the BBC reported. The Amaq news agency said ISIS fighters carried out the attacks with explosive belts.

UPDATE: 11:27 a.m. EDT — People began sharing photos of the fictional Belgian comic character Tintin crying Tuesday after Brussels' two deadly terror attacks.

UPDATE: 11:20 a.m. EDT — U.S. presidential candidate and Republican front-runner Donald Trump said on the "Today Show" Tuesday that to deter future terror attacks like the ones that occurred in Brussels, law enforcement should perform the controversial tactics of waterboarding and more.

“You could expand the laws more than waterboarding to get the information from these people,” Trump said. “If it was up to me and if we changed the laws or have the laws, waterboarding would be fine and if they want to, as long as its, you know, we work within the laws. They don't work within the laws.”

He later weighed in on U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech in Cuba on Tuesday, tweeting that he looked “ridiculous” in light of Tuesday’s attack in Brussels.

UPDATE: 11:08 a.m. EDT — Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday the U.S. embassy in Brussels is in the process of accounting for U.S. citizens in the city. He said the U.S. is prepared to give the Belgian government whatever support that may be required.

“Today’s abhorrent attacks in Brussels are an assault against the Belgian people and the very heart of Europe,” his statement read. “Our thoughts are with all those in Brussels, including the injured and the loved ones of those who were killed, and with the first responders and security personnel who are working tirelessly to keep Brussels safe.”

UPDATE: 11:01 a.m. EDT — Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon said the next three days will be national days of mourning stemming from Tuesday’s terror attacks in Brussels, a reporter in Belgium tweeted.

Brussels fire officials say 212 people were wounded in the deadly attacks at an airport and subway station. About 30 were critically burned or wounded, 96 seriously injured and 86 moderately and lightly injured, NBC News reported.

UPDATE: 10:50 a.m. EDT — United Nations General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft of Denmark said in a statement Tuesday he was horrified by the attacks in Brussels and said they must be condemned. He also said his thoughts are with the victims and that he extends his condolences to their families.

“Acts of terrorism are unjustifiable regardless of their motivation, and terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security,” the statement read. “Acts of terrorism have no place in the modern world, and only serve to strengthen the resolve of governments the world over to find and prosecute the individuals responsible.”

UPDATE: 10:45 a.m. EDT — A Belgian media outlet released a photo of the possible suspects in the Brussels airport bombing. The photo appears to show two men with beards pushing luggage carts.

UPDATE: 10:35 a.m. EDT — U.S. President Barack Obama made his first public comments on the Brussels terror attacks at a press conference in Cuba during his visit to the country. In his remarks, he called Tuesday for world harmony.

“This is another reminder the world must unite,” Obama said. “We must be together, regardless of nationality or race or faith, in fighting the scourge of terrorism”

UPDATE: 10:28 a.m. EDT — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there is a string of violence that links Tuesday’s attacks in Brussels to other deadly attacks in Israel, Turkey and San Bernardino, California, the Hill reported. In these cases, Netanyahu said at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the terrorists don’t have grievances that can be resolved.

“It’s not as though we could offer them Brussels or Istanbul or California or even the West Bank. That won’t satisfy their grievances, because what they seek is our utter destruction and their total domination,” Netanyahu said. “Their basic demand is that we should simply disappear. Well, my friends, that’s not going to happen.”

UPDATE: 10:20 a.m. EDT — Of those injured in Tuesday’s terror attacks in Brussels, three were Mormon missionaries from Utah taking a fourth missionary to the airport where one of the attacks occurred, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints said in a statement. Elders Richard Norby, Joseph Empey and Mason Wells were all hospitalized after the attack.

“With much of the world, we awoke this morning to the heartbreaking news of the bombings in Belgium. Our prayers are with the families of the deceased and injured, including three of our missionaries who were injured and hospitalized,” the church said in a statement. “We also pray for the people of Belgium and France as they continue to deal with the uncertainty and devastation caused by the recent terrorist attacks”

UPDATE: 10:16 a.m. EDT — Following Tuesday’s deadly attacks in Brussels, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a statement saying law enforcement agencies across the state were informed to step up security. Some of these increased security measures include having increased State Police presence at Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal, as well as the Queens Midtown Tunnel and the George Washington Bridge.

“The senseless attacks that struck the people of Belgium earlier today have left us all stunned and heartbroken. These were acts of pure evil that have claimed the lives of people who were doing nothing more than going about their days,” Cuomo said in a statement. “My heart grieves for all those who have been impacted, and as we learn more about these attacks, New York will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the international community against terrorism — as the world has done for us in the past. And as we have seen time and again, when we are united, terror has never prevailed and never will. On behalf of all New Yorkers, I offer my thoughts and prayers to the people of Belgium on this tragic day.”

UPDATE: 10:11 a.m. EDT — Brussels stations were set to reopen Tuesday at 4 p.m. local time, with increased security, Jacqueline Galant, a Belgian transportation minister, tweeted. Roughly 500 soldiers will guard the metro system.

UPDATE: 10:02 a.m. EDT — U.S. presidential candidate and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that terrorists' “campaign of hate and fear” in Europe won’t win out in the end.

“The people of Brussels, of Europe and of the world will not be intimidated by these vicious killers. Today Americans stand in solidarity with our European allies,” Clinton said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those killed and wounded, and all the people of Belgium. These terrorists seek to undermine the democratic values that are the foundation of our alliance and our way of life, but they will never succeed. Today's attacks will only strengthen our resolve to stand together as allies and defeat terrorism and radical jihadism around the world.”

UPDATE: 9:55 a.m. EDT — Attackers in Belguim used nail bombs Tuesday to maximize pain and destruction, officials said. Marc Decramer, a spokesman for the University Hospital Gasthuisberg in Leuven, told reporters: “The bomb contained nails to create more victims. Some victims have nails in their bodies.”

Meanwhile, in New York, flights to Brussels were canceled.

UPDATE: 9:42 a.m. EDT — The U.S. State Department offered its help to Belgium Tuesday after the deadly terrorism attacks. "The United States stands with people of Belgium. We are ready to support the investigation as appropriate," it said in a statement.

Yvan Mayeur, the Brussels mayor, has confirmed that 20 people were killed and 106 wounded in the subway attack.

Charlotte Van Driessche, who was on the metro during the attack, told public broadcaster VRT: "We heard a loud bang …there was chaos immediately, as everyone suspected the attack was linked to the blast in Zaventem. …There was a huge amount of panic. ... There was a terrible smell, a real smell of burning."

UPDATE: 9:30 a.m. EDT — Belgium's Tihange nuclear power plant, about 50 miles west of Brussels airport, has been evacuated as the region remains on high alert. Meanwhile, the U.K. planned to raise the Belgian flag in London to honor the victims of the attack Tuesday.

UPDATE: 9:20 a.m. EDT — Donald Trump and other presidential candidates are citing the Brussels attacks as cause for the U.S. to step up security. Trump has promised to wipe out the Islamic State group and embrace torture to stop terrorism.

Democrats Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton had not yet tweeted a response to the attacks.

UPDATE: 9:09 a.m. EDT — Police conducted a controlled explosion to detonate the non-exploded suicide vest at the Zaventem airport, local journalists reported on Twitter. The death toll in attacks on the airport and a metro station had risen to at least 26 people, with 11 killed in the airport and 15 at the subway station, Agence-France Presse reported.

UPDATE: 9:01 a.m. EDT — Belgian police discovered at least one non-exploded suicide vest in the Zaventem airport following two blasts in the airport and one explosion in a metro station, local news outlets reported. The terror threat remained at level four as Belgian authorities encouraged residents to stay inside until further notice.

UPDATE: 8:19 a.m. EDT — One of the bombs that exploded at the international airport in Brussels Tuesday did not take place at the American Airlines ticket counter, the U.S. airline confirmed in a statement posted to Twitter. The carrier expressed its sympathies to all those affected by the attacks.

The statement from American Airlines came as people and companies throughout the city expressed solidarity with the victims, with taxis giving free rides to anyone who needed to go home and strangers offering shelter victims in their houses and apartments by sharing the hashtag #PorteOuverte, meaning "open door," on Twitter.

Original story:

At least 21 people are dead and dozens more wounded after several explosions rocked Brussels at its international airport and at a busy metro station Tuesday, according to firefighters on the scene, Agence France-Presse reported. Belgian federal prosecutor Frédéric Van Leeuw said he suspected the explosions at the airport was caused by a suicide bombs.

Two blasts struck the main terminal of the airport around 8 a.m. local time, accompanied a short time later by a third blast at a subway station in the heart of Brussels during rush hour. Shots were fired in the Belgian airport, and witnesses reported hearing shouts in Arabic, local Belgian news outlets reported.

"The metro was leaving Maelbeek station when there was a really loud explosion. It was panic everywhere,” one witness told Associated Press, adding: “There were a lot of people in the metro."

Brussels raised its terror alert to its highest level, and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel called the attacks "blind, violent and cowardly," saying they were a "tragic moment in our country's history," the BBC reported. "I would like to call on everyone to show calmness and solidarity," he added.

The assaults, which Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw called "terrorist attacks," come just days after the capture in Belgium of Salah Abdeslam, who is believed to be the last remaining terrorist who took part in a series of deadly attacks in Paris Nov. 13, 2015, that left 130 dead. Abdeslam evaded capture for four months before being apprehended Friday.

Neighboring France, which remains under a state of emergency order following the November attacks, bolstered its own security shortly after news of the attacks in Brussels, adding 1,600 extra police to patrol its border with Belgium.

"We are at war," French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said after an emergency meeting called by French President François Hollande, the AP reported, adding: "We have been subjected for the last few months in Europe to acts of war."