Brussels And Paris 2015-2016 Bombings

Running head: BRUSSELS AND PARIS 2015-2016 BOMBINGS 1

Brussels and Paris 2015-2016 Bombings

Name

Institution

BRUSSELS AND PARIS 2015-2016 BOMBINGS 2

On March 22

2016, Brussels was hit by two terrorist bombings which claimed about

31 lives. The attacks in the city were carried out by three terrorists. In the first attack, two

suicide bombers detonated an explosive bomb at the city airport and the second attack was

made by the third terrorist at Molenbeek subway station. The attacks were perpetrated by

Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) who claimed to be responsible for the atrocities

(Berkowitz, 2017). The events shocked the entire community of the European Union and the

rest of the world. Similar attacks were carried out in Paris on November 13

2015. The

terrorists attacked a major stadium, theatre, taverns, and eateries. The assaults were done at

the same time and killed at least 130 persons (Lequesne, 2016).

The police and intelligence agencies’ response to the Brussels and Paris attacks were

immediate and intense. The law enforcement agencies conducted several raids and arrests in

efforts to disrupt other terrorist attacks. Following a forensic investigation, a DNA of an old

hand Belgian rebel and explosives maker with ISIL traced on two of the explosive belts used

in the Paris attacks was established. The DNA revealed that the explosive belts belonged to

one of the attackers in the Brussels bombings. The evidence of DNA confirmed that Najim

Laachraoui was one the terrorists who blew themselves at Brussels Airport claiming 11 lives.

This confirms that there are the direct links between the two attacks (Lequesne, 2016).

Another DNA evidence of Najim was also found in an apartment that was shared by

the terrorists, and the authorities believe it was where the bombs were built. Khalid El-

Bakraoui, another suspect of the attacks, had rented the Brussels apartment raided by the

police in relationship to the Paris bombings. The authorities found the fingerprint and DNA

of Salah Abdeslam a top suspect in Paris attacks in the apartment. Additionally, his

fingerprints were at the scene of one of the Paris bombings. This confirmed that the Paris

attacks were partly planned in Brussels (Bigo, Carrera, Guild, & Mitsilegas, 2017).

BRUSSELS AND PARIS 2015-2016 BOMBINGS 3

Oussama Atar was identified as the suspect who coordinated both attacks according to

French intelligence. He is the cousin to El Bakraoui brothers who blew themselves up in

Brussels. Oussama was responsible for radicalizing at least one of the brothers online. The

authorities proved that Oussama was connected to the two attacks through the evidence that

was found in a computer of one of the brothers. Mohamed Abrini was identified through a

surveillance footage and DNA at Brussels airport alongside other attackers (Faleg, 2016).

Abdeslam and Abrini were also identified in surveillance footage at a gas station in France

just two days before the Paris bombings. The explosives were constructed at the Brussels

apartment rented under a false name, materials that are used to build bombs and traces of

triacetone triperoxide (TATP) were found in the house. It was alleged that friends drove

Abdeslam from Paris to Brussels passing through the police checkpoints. The handmade belts

were used to transport explosives from Brussels to Paris (Berkowitz, 2017).

The Brussels and Paris attacks were strategically staged as the assaults were executed

at places that had a lot of persons. These areas included a football stadium, airport, subway

station and Concert Theater. The attacks were staged at Zaventem airport in the venue of the

international character to cause a multiplier effect directed at capturing global media

attention. TATP is a highly unstable explosive chemical that can explode unintentionally; this

compound was used in the attacks between 2015 and 2016. The chemical is easy to prepare

and difficult to trace using some of the standard explosive screening techniques. The desired

impact of TATP is higher and stronger than military analogs. Other materials which were

used include ammonium nitrate, nails, and metal bolts (Bigo et al., 2017).

In my opinion, the attacks were carried out in the two cities because the Muslim

groups feel marginalized. Additionally, the cities are home to millions of inhabitants, and

therefore, the terrorists saw attacking the cities would capture the world attention. In case

BRUSSELS AND PARIS 2015-2016 BOMBINGS 4

anything went wrong, the attackers would have committed suicide to protect the ISIL secrets

from leaking to authorities.

BRUSSELS AND PARIS 2015-2016 BOMBINGS 5

References

Berkowitz, D. (2017). Solidarity Through the Visual: Healing Images in the Brussels

Terrorism Attacks. Mass Communication And Society, 1-23.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2017.1306748

Bigo, D., Carrera, S., Guild, E., & Mitsilegas, V. (2017). The EU and the 2016 terrorist

attacks in Brussels: better instead of more information sharing (1st ed.). Brussels:

Nostalgia Editions.

Faleg, G. (2016). European security after the Paris attacks (1st ed.). London: Olympia

Publishers.

Lequesne, C. (2016). French foreign and security challenges after the Paris terrorist attacks.

Contemporary Security Policy, 37(2), 306-318.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13523260.2016.1193976

Place new order. It's free, fast and safe

Paper type

Deadline

Page count

550 words

Total price: $ 15.00

Our customers say

Jeff Curtis

USA, Student

"I'm fully satisfied with the essay I've just received. When I read it, I felt like it was exactly what I wanted to say, but couldn’t find the necessary words. Thank you!"

Ian McGregor

UK, Student

"I don’t know what I would do without your assistance! With your help, I met my deadline just in time and the work was very professional. I will be back in several days with another assignment!"

Shannon Williams

Canada, Student

"It was the perfect experience! I enjoyed working with my writer, he delivered my work on time and followed all the guidelines about the referencing and contents."