Terror thwarted

A man entered the central train station in Brussels, Belgium and detonated a bomb setting off a small explosion. But a little bit of luck, as well as the quick response from the law enforcement, helped prevent this attack from escalating into something catastrophic as not only was the suspect apprehended and killed but there were no civilian injuries as a result of the explosion.

The suspect, a 36-year-old Moroccan whose name is yet to be released by the authorities reportedly entered the station carrying a bag that contained a large bomb with nails within it. However, the bomb when detonated did not go off completely only set off a minor explosion. Soldiers who were present at the station were at hand to immediately neutralize the situation at hand and also clear the station. Within hours the Belgian authorities had announced that the threat had been successfully countered and that the suspect had been shot dead.

A war zone

While today Belgium is viewed as a Western European democracy with liberal values and a robust economy, historically Belgium has been a battleground for multiple wars over the centuries.

In 1830 the Belgian Revolution led to the secession of the southern provinces from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Thus the independent Kingdom of Belgium was established. The country was then occupied by Germany during both World War I and World War II with tens of thousands of causalities.

Despite being one of the smaller countries in the region, it exerts a lot of influence is one of the six founding countries of the European Union. Brussels is the headquarters for both the European Union as well as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato), hence it plays host to a number of diplomats and foreign dignitaries through the year. 

Terror attack in 2016

On March 22, 2016, the city of Brussels found itself under terrorist attack with three coordinated bombings that led to the death of 32 civilians. The perpetrators who were part of the Brussels ISIL terror cell had also been behind the November 2015 Paris attacks. The city was rattled when two explosions took place at Brussels Airport in Zaventem, and one took place in Maalbeek metro station in central Brussels.

One of the reasons why Brussels has seen an uptick in terror activities is because it is part of the coalition of countries that are currently fighting ISIL forces both in Iraq and in Syria. In fact, Belgium has more armed forces fighting in Syria and Iraq than any of the other countries from the Western European region. This has made it a direct target for ISIL forces.

The attacks devastated the region leaving nearly 300 injured with being critical injuries.

Analysis

The latest failed attack sports certain similarities to the attacks that took place in March of 2016. For instance, the perpetrator had been carrying nail bombs similar to the ones used in the previous attack. The unnamed attacker was from a region in the city called Molenbeek. It must be noted that several of men involved in the Paris and the 2016 Brussels attacks come from that region – an area that attracts a large number of immigrants.

Assessment

While the 2016 attacks saw dire consequences of a large-scale coordinated terror attack, the region has since aggressively worked to counter any future attacks. For instance, since March of 2016, it has been on high alert. Once the explosion took place on June 20, 2017, the city quickly beefed up its security measures even more and deployed armed personnel to rail facilities in order to secure the region. Our assessment is that there is a valuable lesson in the importance of vigilance and foresight that can be learnt from the positive actions of the Belgian authorities.