Terrorist explosions at Zaventem Airport in Brussels (2016/03/22)

[AnimeFan188]

Brussels Bombers May Have Plotted Kidnapping
To Get Nuclear Material For Dirty Bomb:

"Just as word has come that two Americans were killed in the attacks
on Brussels, multiple reports state that brothers and suicide bombers
Khalid and Ibrahim El Bakraoui plotted to get their hands on nuclear
material for a dirty bomb—and they set their eyes on a top Belgian
nuclear researcher to do it.

NBC News and other outlets report the brothers were actively spying
on the researcher, going as far as planting cameras in the bushes
outside their house and recording their daily life patterns.

The scientist the brothers had targeted is supposedly one of the
top-ranking researchers at the SCKCEN nuclear center in Mol, located
about an hour’s drive from Brussels. The facility is one of the world’s
largest suppliers of radioactive isotopes for commercial and research
purposes, just the type of material that would be useful in constructing
a dirty bomb."


"According to Belgian officials, it is suspected that the brothers were
likely plotting to either abduct the scientist outright or take their
family members hostage and make them provide the nuclear material
in exchange for the lives of their loved ones."

See:

http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/bru...nuc-1767022770

[Yu Ominae]

Update.

Abdeslam insists that he played the role of the chauffeur during the Paris attacks. He said that the PN should investigate his brother instead.

I don't know if he now wants to save his own butt.

[KiraYamatoFan]

Originally Posted by Yu Ominae

I don't know if he now wants to save his own butt.

He can go screw himself if he thinks he can get away with that. I just want authorities to cook his butt to oblivion.

[monir]

Originally Posted by KiraYamatoFan

He can go screw himself if he thinks he can get away with that. I just want authorities to cook his butt to oblivion.

Belgium/French law probably wouldn't allow any cooking what-so-ever, but can he at least be waterboarded? He can be sent straight to one of the Trump Towers if those pacifist European nation is squeamish about slow drowning a man. We can even lend Chaney for a day if the wonderful people in Belgium likes.

Either way, Belgium will transform in the coming years. The funny thing is US has been saying it for years how the defense budget for a lot of these European countries were steadily in decline. That obviously will change.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Yu Ominae

Update.

Abdeslam insists that he played the role of the chauffeur during the Paris attacks. He said that the PN should investigate his brother instead.

I don't know if he now wants to save his own butt.

Talking heads say those people are coached to confuse interrogators. If nothing else, it frustrates the good citizens, so it's all good for them.

Originally Posted by monir

Belgium/French law probably wouldn't allow any cooking what-so-ever, but can he at least be waterboarded? He can be sent straight to one of the Trump Towers if those pacifist European nation is squeamish about slow drowning a man. We can even lend Chaney for a day if the wonderful people in Belgium likes.

Either way, Belgium will transform in the coming years. The funny thing is US has been saying it for years how the defense budget for a lot of these European countries were steadily in decline. That obviously will change.

If it's any consolation, French prisons are notoriously crowded and uncomfortable. I think it landed us in trouble with the HRW or something.

[Der Langrisser]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Talking heads say those people are coached to be confuse interrogators. If nothing else, it frustrates the good citizens, so it's all good for them.



If it's any consolation, French prisons are notoriously crowded and uncomfortable. I think it landed us in trouble with the HRW or something.

I agree, the prison a few hundred meters from my home, is known to be amongst the most crowded in the country (it was also there than an inmate eat a bit of his cellmate lung a few years ago iirc...).

[justinstrife]

Originally Posted by monir

Belgium/French law probably wouldn't allow any cooking what-so-ever, but can he at least be waterboarded? He can be sent straight to one of the Trump Towers if those pacifist European nation is squeamish about slow drowning a man. We can even lend Chaney for a day if the wonderful people in Belgium likes.

Either way, Belgium will transform in the coming years. The funny thing is US has been saying it for years how the defense budget for a lot of these European countries were steadily in decline. That obviously will change.

The last figures I had read, were America was responsible for 25% of the U.N.'s budget/spending. It's easy for these other countries to spend more on their social welfare programs, when they dont have to have a high defense budget to worry about.

Just food for thought.

[monir]

Belgium Frees Man Charged With Terrorism, Renewing Search for Airport Attacker. That's embarrassing!

[Bri]

Originally Posted by monir

Either way, Belgium will transform in the coming years. The funny thing is US has been saying it for years how the defense budget for a lot of these European countries were steadily in decline. That obviously will change.

Its not really a matter of budget, Europe spends roughly the same amount on defense as Russia and China combined. There are two real issues.

1) Europe's military doctrine is still centered around it's NATO role: stopping a massive conventional force from the east on home soil. Overseas power projection has not been important since the colonial era and until recently actively discouraged by the US. Basically it is all defense and very little offense.

2) Lots of duplication and inefficiency due to 28 nations having to work together. Europe isn't getting a lot of bang for the buck and national agendas tend to conflict.

Washington is very much aware of these problems and the current situation suits them. Europe is safe from military attack from Russia but cant get in the way of US foreign politics on a global stage. The complaints about the lack of defense spending in Europe should be seen in light of defense industry exports. Buying US military hardware is a sort of NATO membership fee.

[Renegade334]

FFS, I was afraid this would happen.

This weekend, the police announced they had arrested 12 people for activities linked to terrorism...and this morning I wake up to learn that they might -it's still officially unconfirmed- have arrested someone wearing a suicide belt in Rue Neuve (note: news article in French) -one of the major commercial arteries in Brussels- outside the City 2 mall (a place I go to rather regularly).

Worst is, if the event is accurate as reported, there's a good chance there are at least one or two more groups out there, up to no good and biding their time. Metro lines are still running, though, so the city is not going into lockdown yet.

The pattern appears to be established now:
Police arrests a terrorism suspect or someone known to have gone to Syria ---> 1->3 days later, attempt(s) at terrorist attack


I've got a feeling this week is going to suck harder than a black hole.

EDIT: rather curious, though: this guy started waiting in front of City 2 at 5:30AM, though the shops only open at ~9:30AM (peak hour is at midday and later)...

[Brother Coa]

It could be diversion from much sinister plot.

Anyway, glad that they were able to bust and arrest the bastards.

[Renegade334]

Second weird fact just confirmed: the guy arrested actually warned the authorities by phone that he was driving through Brussels with a suicide belt.

The more I read the latest developments, the more it feels like this guy is just a crackpot (and an armed crackpot, possibly) and not bona fide ISIS.

EDIT: The suicide belt is confirmed to be a fake. This guy is still going to have one hell of a bad time in a prison cell...

[Renegade334]

Aaaaaand here we go again:

Belgian troops shoot person at Brussels station after blast - police

BRUSSELS, June 20 (Reuters) - Belgian troops patrolling Brussels Central Station "neutralized" a person after a small explosion on Tuesday, a police spokesman said, adding that there were no other casualties and the situation was under control.

He could not confirm media reports that the person had been wearing an explosive vest and it was not clear whether the person shot was still alive. Prime Minister Charles Michel urged people via Twitter to follow instructions from the authorities.

The station and adjacent historic downtown area, including the baroque Grand Place city square were packed with tourists and locals on a hot summer evening, were evacuated as police set up a security cordon, witnesses told Belgian media.

Het Laatste Nieuws tabloid newspaper quoted what it said were witnesses saying a man shouted "Allahu Akbar" in Arabic before a small explosion. Soldiers ran toward the spot, saw wires protruding from the man's clothes, and shot him. That account could not be independently confirmed.

The city has been on high alert for more than 18 months since Brussels-based Islamic State militants carried out attacks in Paris that killed 130 people there in November 2015 and later bombed Brussels airport and the city's metro in March last year. Those bombings killed 32 people.

The police spokesman said: "There was an incident at Central Station. There was an explosion around a person. That person was neutralized by the soldiers that were on the scene.

"At the moment, the police are in numbers at the station and everything is under control."
Prime Minister Michel and the interior minister were in the national crisis center monitoring developments.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/...cid=spartanntp


It's a bit weird that the bomber would strike at such a late hour (8pm), when the number of travelers has already well declined from the afternoon rush hour (4pm) levels. During the Maalbeek bombing, ISIS went for the morning rush hour (well, an hour later or so), so I'm wondering whether this is only an ISIS fan or a bomb mule that got caught by the military patrolling inside the subway stations and opted for martyrdom rather than capture. There's also the (remote) possibility of a rather flashy suicide-by-cop scheme (there's a twitter pic that shows a rather small explosion, which makes me wonder what exactly was the explosive device the man was carrying because that's a very small blast), too.