Brussels attacks: ISIS ‘claims’ responsibility

The ISIS jihadist group has reportedly claimed the deadly terrorist blasts at Brussels international airport and a city metro station on Tuesday and pledged to stage other similar attacks in Europe.

ISIS’ Amaq news agency took responsibility for the Brussels attacks, praising their “planning, rapid execution and dynamism” on the Telegram messaging application, Egyptian daily El-Watan reported.

The message also vowed “further similar operations in Europe” according to El-Watan.

At least one of the explosions was caused by a suicide bomber, Belgium’s federal prosecutor was quoted as saying, without specifying which of the blasts.

The explosions at Zaventem airport are believed to have occurred at the entrance to the departures hall, near the American Airlines check-in desk.

The police said they found a Kalashnikov assault rifle next to dead attacker at the airport.

Supporters of ISIS praised the blasts in Brussels on social media on Tuesday.

“The state will force you to re-evaluate your ways a thousand times before you are emboldened to kill Muslims again, and know that Muslims now have a state to defend them,” said one supporter of the group on Twitter. Al-Azhar: Attacks a violation of Islam Sunni Islam's leading seat of learning, Al-Azhar, said Tuesday’s attacks in Brussels “violate the tolerant teachings of Islam,” and urged the international community to confront the “epidemic” of terrorism.

“Al-Azhar strongly condemns these terrorist attacks. These heinous crimes violate the tolerant teachings of Islam,” the Cairo-based Al-Azhar said in a statement.

“If the international community does not unite to confront this epidemic, the corrupt will not stop from committing heinous crimes against the innocent,” the statement said.

The Egyptian foreign ministry also condemned the attacks that left at least 26 people dead and dozens wounded in Brussels.

“The time has come for the world to make a final stand to deal with the phenomenon of international terrorism,” Egyptian foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement issued in English.

He called for steps to tackle it at the “financing and ideological levels... and to prevent the recruitment of more individuals by criminal terrorist groups”.