Once again, Europe finds itself reacting to another terrorist attack – this time in Brussels where simultaneous suicide bombers, all who appear to have been known to Belgian authorities, were responsible for the murder of at least 30 people, with at least 100 hundred wounded, some critically.
Brussels has a tortured history of inadvertently harbouring terrorism cells, stretching back to the 2007 Madrid bombings. Its suburban neighbourhoods, such as Molenbeek, provided the command and control hinterland for the Paris attacks. Safe houses, logistics planning, weapons, escape routes and other resources were distributed and coordinated from Molenbeek via a web of support networks. The lion’s share of Belgium’s 600-700 foreign fighters have roots in Molenbeek.
