- Daily & Weekly newsletters
- Buy & download The Bulletin
- Comment on our articles
Rail traffic restored following failed terrorist attack
A suicide bombing at Brussels Central Station at around 20.30 on Tuesday saw several local train stations evacuated and shut down.
While a minor explosion was successful, a larger bomb failed to detonate. Military present at the station shot the terrorist suspect dead, and no one else was injured.
The identity of the suspect has not yet been released, though he was known to police, according to a source speaking to De Standaard.
According to a witness who works for SNCB, the man pushed a suitcase on a trolley cart under a stairwell in the station and then “began to shout and scream. The suitcase blew up immediately. There were four people in the vicinity, all train passengers. Luckily, none of them was injured.”
According to VRT, that small explosion was an ignition attempt to explode a much larger device. Bomb squad Dovo was called in and found further explosives on the body of the suspect, according to the news outlet, which were exploded under controlled circumstances.
Interior affairs minister Jan Jambon praised the quick reaction of the military, who have been patrolling Brussels major rail stations since the terrorist attacks of March 2016, and their activities in the hours following the incident.
“The military operate according to a protocol that exists between them and the police,” he said. “They were called in to monitor the situation and guarantee the security of travellers. I think we can say that they have performed adequately and that resources were correctly deployed.”
In the meantime, all rail traffic has been restored, and Central Station has re-opened to passengers. There are no significant remaining delays or cancellations.
Twee luide ontploffingen in Brussel Cebtraal. Voor mijn neus. Dan snelle knallen na elkaar. pic.twitter.com/FDqVAjgGYg
— Rémy Bonnaffé (@remybonnaffe) 20 June 2017
Comments
If you can read French, here's a more detailed report: http://www.lalibre.be/actu/belgique/attaque-terroriste-a-bruxelles-le-su...
ps: National Railway Company of Belgium
SNCB/NMBS is the national railway company of Belgium. The company formally styles itself using the Dutch and French abbreviations NMBS/SNCB, however it is commonly referred to in English and internationally using just the French abbreviation SNCB.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Railway_Company_of_Belgium