ben: breaking news out of brussels, belgium, a couple explosions tore through the brussels airport, departure hall and metro station killing several people, injuring dozens more. robert moses is following the situation in the newsroom. >> reporter: bad news to tell you about. the death toll has risen according to belgian media. 13 people have been killed, 35 severely wounded. that is the word from belgian media. i want to look at sky news. this shows you the scenes, on the left at 8:00 this morning local time, two explosions ripped through the brussels airport, specifically the departures hall by the american hundreds of people were checking in for their flights. there are reports that shots were fired and there was yelling in arabic immediately preceding airport. people could be seen walking away from there, dazed with blood covering their body. an hour after those explosions at the airport which you are seeing now, and our after those explosions, there was another explosion in downtown brussels at the train station, several people are believed to have been injured in that explosion. that st

headquarters in brussels. francine: friday is the day that in belgium because it is the day salaam was arrested. are they linked? any firm do not have evidence, but the prosecutors in brussels say that is their main thing that they are investigating now, is what the connection is between the two attacks and if there is any some, and theh withrk -- any connection sol the slum. they have shut down the metro and the main train stations here, so we are headed back toward the lockdown situation here in brussels. want to do a quick correction. i mentioned delta 42. that is what the headline said. that is wrong. that is a puerto rico flight. leftis delta 43, which brussels and was diverted to jfk over from amsterdam. jones hayden, i look at what this will do and forever change brussels. what have you learned, as our bureau chief, since november of last year and the paris bombings? jones: i have learned that we are going to have to live with presence on the streets. that is not going to go away. when they first starte

brussels time. this is the scene outside the airport. the brussels international airport. you can see smoke pouring out of the building and people running in panic. some clutching their luggage. an airport spokesperson says many were instructed to go to the tarmac area where first aid teams met them there and treated them. inside the airport, let's go to these pictures, really shows a gruesome scene. we've blurred out what appears to be several victims lying on the ground there. structures are toppled over, heavy rubble and debris strewn everywhere. we're told this happened in the airport's departure area around 8:00 a.m. brussels time. soon after this happened there was an explosion reported at a brussels train station. we're hearing the city's entire metro system has shut down. we're getting into the newsroom pictures of passengers rushing out of the metro station through the dark and smoky train tunnels. we're also getting new video of patients being treated outside of one of the metro stations t

>> reporter: yes, we are seeing pictures from brussels showing subway buildings close to central brussels. at the moment, we don't know what is causing that or indeed authorities themselves unable to confirm that. that is what french media central brussels close to subway situations. as kelly was mentioned, a foreign minister did say art arrest of abdeslam the other day that there was evidence from that terror cell that he was to be hanging with was planning to restart something, that was their expression. and possibly, that may conclude what turns out to be the suspected attack today. a large amount of weapons were raids. there were kalashnikovs at a previous raid and isis flag found as well. so, clearly, authorities were aware that this terror cell has managed to accumulate a large amount of weapons and prepared to mount an attack that do place across several areas possibly as attack. there's no indication that the attack on the brussels airport included any kind of warning or coordinated. local time. that's about 3:00 a.m. eastern in the check-in area of the airport. the unsecured zone

through brussels. we are talking about a major coming major problem. lauren: walid ,-com,-com ma would you make of the reports that the two blasts happened at the american airlines ticket desk, that counter. does that suggest the u.s. could've been additional target as well? >> we need to get information from the multiple agencies. the searches made by pronouncing the name of american airlines, this is the target. this is where it took place. my question would be going further, with the operation aimed at that location because they wanted to gain in some explosions in the airport which i doubt because there's layers of security. if the name of american airlines was likely could have been a target. >> what would you expect to hear from some authorities? this has been going on now for roughly an hour or so. this comes on the heels of the capture of the later in the paris attack from november 13, hearing about obviously the airport with the roadway. went to the authorities stepped up and try and bring a s

flights into brussels. delta 80 atlanta to brussels is on the ramp and holding in brussels. they don't want to deplane these passengers because of the chaos and the security scene on the ground. so, those passengers who have been on the ground for several hours are staying on the ground. new york 42 new york to brussels has been departed to amsterdam. d.c. to brussels continued and landed at 7:01. that is a concern. that would suggest that those passengers may have been in the terminal that time of the explosion. you're looking at a shot there of flight aware. live air traffic control look at the traffic in and around brussels and the brussels airport being shut down. what you're seeing there are planes going over the top of brussels, but certainly not landing in brussels. united 999 newark to brussels has been, we are told rerouted to a remote location. i don't know if that's on the ramp in brussels or if that is another airport. a military airport or something. i simply don't know. that's united 999 safe and on the ground at this hour. one other point i would tell you that

in brussel. so that tells you how sufficient fused europe is with this kind of network. >> the apartment he was located was located within eye shot and you could see the apartment where they eventually captured him. also we know his family lived there. his family was less than a football field away the family home from the apartment where he was eventually captured. h his brother also worked and he brew himself up in the paris attack. that haved just around the corner. he was there in plain sight and they insisted on hiding them. this cell would involve more people than we know. >> they were logistically looking at them in a manner of ways to maintain these people in the heart of europe without being detected by the intelligence district or local police. isis has more than 6,000 westerners who have been recruited to fight for the new caliphate. those individuals weare perfect fodder to be reintegrated in europe adds under ground sweepers and it looks as if this is what they are doing. >> this com

the brussels airport. another report of a possible explosion at a train station. all this is developing, we will have live coverage in a moment. ben: the nypd taking on the stabbings, we have the latest on that. juliet: donald trump, ted cruz and john kasich getting ready to go at it in the battle for the state's primary. ben: busy tuesday morning, i am ben simoneau. juliet: i am juliet huddy. we walked in here and all of a sudden everything started going crazy on the wires. always fluid. ben: at least one flight from brussels. we will determine where that plane will end it because morning. let's check the weather and get back to this and more in a moment. >> meteorologist: we managed plenty of sunshine in the afternoon, made it to 50 , 53 at newark, much cooler start this morning dropping into the 30s, 36 in central park and newark, 35 in bridgeport, winds from the west northwest at 5 to 10 mph, 14 in islip, feeling more like early spring which is what we have with a mainly clear sky, nothing going on as

back to brussels. alex marquardt on the scene and, alex, now getting some report from the brussels transport that at least 15 people were killed, 55 injured just in the metro attack this morning. that means the death toll is likely to climb. >> reporter: it looked like the death toll now is closer to 30, george, waiting for final numbers but what we do know is that there were around 13 killed here at the airport which is just behind me, you can see a stream of people still coming out. now this is almost three hours since these explosions happened and these are still travelers who are either landing or leaving still coming out. you can see it's very orderly. not much chaos but if you look at their faces, very drawn, concerned. a lot of confusion about to go. a police presence there. this is as close as we can get. everybody has been pushed away from the airport. in fact, no traffic coming into the airport so the police are trying to direct people away from the airport and then put them on buses or at le

before the first pitch, a moment of silence for brussels. president obama said he never thought of not going. >> you want to be respectful and understand the gravity of the situation, but the whole premise of terrorism is to try to disrupt people's ordinary lives. >> reporter: at the game, obama and castro, despite their differences, just two fans sharing a national pastime. almost catching a wave. in the stands, a lineup of big hitters. dave win field, dear eck jeter, plus key players on the national security roster, a starkly different setting this morning at the u.s. ambassador's residence, a secure call to belgian's prime minister. >> this is another reminder that the world must unite. >> and this from the first lady. >> we are outraged and heart broken over the horrific attacks today in belgium. >> reporter: tonight raul castro saw the obamas off at the airport. the president sticking to his next stop, a state visit in argentina. andrea mitchell, nbc news, havana. >> reporter: i'm hallie jackson. the images from brussels, like paris and

brussels at this hour. of course, we haven't con firmed that but would go toward the sort of attacks that we've had before with these coordinated terror attacks in paris. >> reporter: it looks like it's bigger than that. i'm looking at reporting from rtf, the belgian public television station. it's like the bbc and they are confirming three explosions at three different subway stations in brussels so that would be in addition to the two at the airport this morning bring it up to a total of five at four different locations, the three subway stations in brussels, they are call maalbeek and schuman which is near the seat of the european union. if these are confirmed then i remind you this is coming from the belgian public tv broadcaster so fairly reliable source that there are -- that would be four different locations. where these locations are throughout the city. give us a sense of the geography. >> reporter: brussels is not large. certainly a lot more concentrated than the paris attacks in november which fr

brussels airport. that flights out of brussels have been canceled. it's still in the process of being evacuated from the departures hall where that took place. there were thousands of people taking flights this morning, leaving from the departure so the airport spokeswoman has said there were wounded. they have not put a number on that wounded and the federal police here have confirmed that at least one person has been killed. death toll but thus far nothing more is confirmed. we're on our way to the airport right now and understand the highways heading there, this is about ten miles outside of brussels are or have been blocked so the authorities have set up a perimeter around the airport and police on the scene and know that the fire services have also been evacuated. the photos that we've seen coming from the airport show dark plumes of smoke rising from that terminal, so right now it's unclear exactly what happened in terms of motive, cause of these explosions but it comes at an extremely sensitive

blasts rock the brussels airport. several people dead and others wounded. >>> and just in, reports of several people injured in an explosion in a brussels metro station near the eshlgs u headquarters. we'll bring you all the latest. >>> plus, the global market impact. stocks are moving on these terrorist blasts. pressure on other asset classes, showing a rush to safe haven assets like the japanese yen. it is tuesday, march 22nd, 2016. "worldwide exchange" begins right now. >>> good morning and welcome to "worldwide exchange" on cnbc. i'm sara eisen. >> and i'm wilfred frost. >> we're following breaking news out of europe. just within the last hour or so, explosions at the main airport in brussels leaving several people dead and an unknown number of people hurt. airport officials say two explosions occurred and passengers are being advised to stay away. the facility has been closed. the blasts come four days after the capture of salah abdeslam, a suspect in last year's paris attack. dow jones is quoting a u.s. official

is going on in brussels. what is this going to do to brussels? you now have the airport shut down, the met rostation ro stations have been shut down. is this going to effect london possibly an air traffic control strike, potential, going on in france which is obviously going to be another issue in terms of airlines. right now, the planes are being diverted from belgium. they are not allowed to land, obviously, these planes had been on the ground when these passengers were released. people are being told do not go to the airports. but with these unconfirmed reports of potential subway station explosions, this is shaking out into more than just the airport explosions and i know we tapped on potentially this isn't a terrorist attack because you never want to jump into that before it's been con confirmed but this has all the hallmarks of being a terrorist of sala-abdeselaw . and obviously, this is now coming out through other parts of the city. what does this do to feel of brussels? security? what does this do to brussels right now? >> well, fortunat

in brussels. and to bring everybody up to date there have been multiple explosions rocking the heart of the european capital this morning. most significantly at the airport there. in the departure lounge. around 8:00 local time time this morning. at least one explosion. when you look at the damage in the terminal, it seems to be quite extensive. the associated press reporting at least 13 dead. we fear a death toll that may go higher. and then in close proximity to that, in terms of timing there was an explosion at a subway station there. this subway station also close to the center there in brussels, belgium in the recent months has been the kind of focus for counterterrorism officials and the focus one of the paris attackers. light of what's going none syria, this district in brussels is just a hot bed of islamic radicalism in an area well-known to authorities. this city has been under a great deal of tension over these last few months. and now it seems some of the worst fears have come to pass.

local media say brussels metro is being completely closed down. earlier two explosions went off at the capitol airport. local media says one was inside the departure area and the other was outside the terminal building. according to local television at least 13 people are dead and 35 injured. another witness at the airport has described what happened. >> translator: we were having lunch on the fourth floor of the departure lounge when we heard the first explosion and there was screaming and people started to leave then a second large explosion and the windows shattered and the injured were lying by the check out desks on the ground. >> we are live in the studio with mohamed and the picture next to you is of the brussels metro and all of the stations have been evacuated in the city after the explosion went off in an hour or so and who i was talking to steve clemmons who was in the area port when the bombs went off says what this really throws up is how identity is effected or being questioned at the moment. >> this is a huge problem. i mean this al

nicole: now for the latest on the brussels terror attack we bring in john huddy live in brussels. what are you learning? >> reporter: there are reports that a belgian news network are reporting there may have been a second metro subway bomber along with another suicide attacker. those reports are unconfirmed. we are reaching out to the federal prosecutor's office, prosecutors have not commented as of yet. security and the terror threat remain at the highest in brussels. we showed you at the top of the hour we are standing outside one of the main train terminals in brussels. people are being screened by soldiers as they enter the terminal. there is a high police presence in the wake of tuesday's attack. this as we are getting a clearer picture about the suspect involved. surveillance video from the airport shows those three bombers, initially it was believed that one of them, najim laachraoui, was wearing a light coat. officials rick confirmed he was wearing the dark coat and carried out one of the suicide bombings. the man in the middle carried out the second one. the one in the w

noon in brussels. i'm taking over from jane dutton as we continue our rolling coverage of the attacks in brussels. this is what we know so far. belgium's prosecutor says a blast at brussels airport was a suicide attack. two explosions went off at the airport and there has been one explosion on the brussels metro network. according to the civil defense, at least 21 people have been killed, many more injured. the threat level has been raised to 4. that's the highest level. the capital is in lock down and people are told to stay where they are. neighboring countries and the european commission, which is based in brussels, have stepped up their security. 1600 extra police officers have been deployed to the french borders. our correspondent imran khan reports now on the morning's explosions in brussels. >> reporter: this was taken just a few moments after the explosions at brussels at the airport. eyewitnesses say they felt the blasts at the airport. [[indistinct]] >> reporter: it took place just under 7 g.

bbc news, brussels. katty: city, country, and continent in shock. thebwnoins me from f brussels. ple around the world i'd be asking, after everything belgium had been through in connection with the paris attacks, how could this happen under the noses of the security forces? of other european security agencies have said off of the record that they think belgium is a weak link. the belgian police and counter terrorism services are a weakling. it is interesting the attacks were outside the international , where two bombs went off at 8:00 a.m., and an hour later one outside the metro .tation at maelbeek it is interesting that these attacks come four days after the pariss of one of the key terror suspects, salah abdelslam . there is speculation that today's attacks were some sort of revenge for that arrest operation by his accomplices, or they were aware that salah abdelslam, who is now being interrogated, that he them and given away future operations. so they thought they should bring forward whatever erations they had planned. that is whthey carried out operations today. katty: what

i'm lester holt. >>> brussels terror attacks. this is "nbc nugget holt. >>> good evening, with our special breaking news of the terror attacks in brussels. dozens killed and including americans. scenes of carnage from the airport and the stunned the world. the suspected bombers caught on camera, and at this hour a massive manhunt is under way for the one suspect who apparently survived and remains on the loose. there have been raids going on across

in brussels. belgium is at high alert. the prime minister calling it a violent assault. market: stocks in europe following the most in a week. u.s. stocks are also lower. travel and leisure shares lead the decline. we will have the latest on how all the markets are reacting to the tragedy. president obama is expected to address the situation from brussels -- in brussels when he speaks from cuba. we will bring you the remarks live as soon as they begin. belgium, at its highest terror alert right now. at two locations in its first round, 8 a.m. local time at the brussels airport. the second attack at a metro station in abdeslam -- in brexit -- in maelbeek. aftertacks occurred belgian police apprehended one of the only surviving members of the france attacks last year. we will be covering the president's speech in just a few moments. let's get the latest on the aftermath in brussels. jones, tell us what the latest is right now that we know about these attacks. jones: we just heard from the mayor in a

brussels wille canceled. the prime minister was on french radio this morning saying they have never faced this kind of a threat before. europe has never faced this kind of threat before. he's off to brussels this morning. he will meet with his counterpart, the prime minister of belgium. and the president of the european commission. security will be at the top of the list. one thing the french have suggested, and they've been suggesting for years is that europe install this passenger name recognition system that has already existed in the united states, where every passenger flying, their names, destination, passport details and so on are recorded. this doesn't exist in europe as it does in the united states. it's been in the united states since after 9/11. it's the kind of thing that europeans could do better to tighten security operation. that's one of the questions after the attacks yesterday. >> see if this spurs changes. change, is that appear necessary to say the least. >>> all right. lots of breaking de

max foster, cnn, brussels. >> i'm michael holmes live in brussels. i'll be back with cnn special coverage of the belgium terror tax. stay with us. >>> hello and welcome to viewers in the united states and all around the world. i'm michael holmes as we continue our coverage of the terror attacks that hit our city earlier this week. police here may have the identity of a possible suspect. the french police shows naim al hamed, 28-year-old syrian, thought to be at the heart of the isis attacks here and also in paris. investigators are unsure of his whereabouts during the bombings, but french media are reporting french police found his dna inside the apartment that the airport attackers used. this comes as officials make at least ten arrests in brussels, belgium, in france and also in germany in connection with the blasts at the airport and the metro station in brussels. police continue scouring belgium and beyond for suspected terrorists as people here in the capital get back to some sort of normalcy. brian todd has the latest in the investigation. >> r

also, eurostar, the train line from europe to brussels. that is closed at brussels. that will cause problems as well. if this was a terror attack, they want to cause disruption and they have it today. >> max, we are showing the live pictures of the maalbeek station where the explosion occurred. also this morning, during the rush hour in brussels. very close to eu institutions. >> right downtown brussels and about 20 minutes from the airport. from what we know as reports are coming in, two explosions, possibly one a suicide bomb at the brussels airport. happened at 8:00 a.m. one of the busiest times for the airport. as many as 13 people killed so far. 35 severely wounded according to local media in brussels at the moment. about an hour and a half later at the maalbeek subway station, another explosion occurred. clearly this is a city that is wrestling with a possible multiple coordinated attacks this morning. the crisis center in the country telling people to stay where they. they have heightened security to the highest degree they can so they can bring in the militar

now, just before i lost the about the mood in brussels and whether it's brussels or france or other european capitals, everyone is keenly aware of the fact that the next attack is coming but they do try to go about their normal lives. there is a sense of people being on edge and nervousness and inevitability but people do continue to try resiliently their normal lives but if you're in paris or brussels, you will see large numbers of police, security forces have been stepped up by the thousands since those attacks in november at the main tourist sites and sensitive targets like jewish facilities, jewish schools, jewish museums you will see the army out in the street so even if you're a tourist and having fun and taking pictures lurking in the background there is a heightened security presence that does remind you that this is -- these are countries, this is a continent that is still reeling from those nova tacks >> you know, as we speak there is a manhunt f f a suspect linked to that terrorist attack. can you tell uss a little about that and about just kind of what the sense is of where thing

do to brussels right now? >> reporter: well, fortunately for brussels, the city has had a lot of experience with this. they've been on lockdown very recently over the christmas and new year period. remember, authorities feared they would be another terror attack carried out on the metro. and they warned people not to use it. the system was shut down. the streets were empty. soldiers were on the streets. and an eerie silence came about the place, no attacks and people slowly returned to normal. so the city has in many ways almost been expecting this. and has had security services have had a lot of time to prepare for the potential of an attack in, a possible attack in more than one place. and we're hearing that some of these subway stations, including shoeman, which is next door to the european union buildings could be involved in these other reported explosions on the metro. of course this happened absolutely in the middle of rush hour, busiest time in the city center, and also one of the busiest times of day

i know brussels well. brussels is a total mess. brussels is a -- i'm not talking about the attack today -- i'm talking about generally speaking, it's a city that used to be one of the finest, most beautiful and one of the safest cities in the world. now, it's a catastrophic, very dangerous city where the police have little control. >> let me take you back to my question. >> it's too bad. >> what would you have done first as president of the united states if you got this call? >> well, as president, i would do probably wha time that i was president. i would be very, very tough on the borders. i would be not allowing certain people to come into this country without absolute perfect documentation. we're allowing thousands of people already to come into our country. they don't have proper documentation. we don't know where they're coming from. they happen to come from, perhaps, syria, but nobody really knows. they have no idea of telling because they don't have the documentation. >> which people would you exclude? on what basis? how wo

is going on in brussels. brussels? you now have the airport shut ro stations have been shut down. and france and you mentioned a possibly an air traffic control strike, potential, going on in france which is obviously going to be another issue in terms of airlines. right now, the planes are being diverted from belgium. they are not allowed to land, obviously, these planes had been on the ground when these passengers were released. people are being told do not go to the airports. but with these unconfirmed reports of potential subway station explosions, this is shaking out into more than just the airport explosions and i know we tapped on potentially this isn't a terrorist attack because you never want to jump into that before it's been con confirmed but this has all the hallmarks of being a terrorist of sala-abdeselaw . and obviously, this is now coming out through other parts of the city. what does this do to feel of brussels? security? what does this do to brussels right now? >> well, fortunately for brussels, the ci

we live about an hour from brussels. reporter: the owner of taste of belgium, jean-francois flechet has a network of family and friends who are hurting back home in belgium. >> i talked to a few people, those i know seem to be fine, but they have not released the list of who got injured and who is deceased, so i don' t know really. reporter: after visiting brussels last month for 5 days jean-francois noticed a few changes to the city, in light of the recent paris attacks and >> there were more measures of security, the belgium military was present in brussels when i was there. that was the first time there was a military presence in the city, so that was a little strange. reporter: according to jean francois, brussels is country that embraces many cultures, and he hopes that continues there -- that continues. >> there are people from all over the place but really there is not much tension at the personal level. and i just hope that it remains that way. reporter: the casual and welcoming demeanor he describes in brussels,

massacre in the brussels' metro. a bomb has just exploded, dozens flee through the darkness. it's terrifying. they left behind a mangled train car, at least 20 dead, horror on the morning commute. many of those on the train and at the station here have been reading about the first attack at the airport on their phones when the bomb here went off. an american on the next train felt the impact. >> we felt a little gust of wind. my ears popped and we heard thuding. >> reporter: belgium's prime minister called this a dark day and all day president obama has been kept briefed. more than 200 injured, many by shrapnel. this nail is in a men's chest. at least four americans wounded, the hospitals with sclap hrapnel wounds and burns. >> the attacks came just four days after the attacks in brussels. right now, the belgium prosecutor's office says they have not yet found evidence linking him or his group. and an american couple still missing. justin and stephanie shults were dropping off stephanie's mother that airport when it

we've spent the buyer day here in brussels. here after what has been an incredibly chaotic day when it came to the evacuation and the movement of the injured bomb, the bomb sites, the hospitals, and now this quiet stillness that is the same on the airport as the investigators go about their work. there is an atmosphere somewhat of the reflection here. there are few police milling around where we are, where the press are? the edge of the airport. occasionally we still see the arrival of police advance, police trucks. a short while ago we saw a convoy of military vehicles arriving. we assume that they're shoring up security at the airport and maybe switching ships. this remains, as i said, a crime scene. it remains an absolute imperative, an absolute importance to the authorities that it remain uncontaminated as they continue the difficult work of assembling the detailed understanding of what happened here. >> neave joining us from brussels international airport, thank you. >>> well, the people of belgium have looked on at the fo

at the brussels airport. there have been two explosions injuring several people at the airport. one is confirmed dead. there may be reports of others others -- other casualties as a result of the two blasts that erupted this morning during the height of their rush hour around 8:00 a.m. hundreds packed into that airport at brussels to actually depart for flights and this blast is happening in the departure area. it is not confirmed as a terrorist action yet, but obviously as people continue to watch this it has all of the telltale signs that it is a possible terrorist attack. it comes four days after the arrest of terrorists. he had been involved in the terrorist attacks. the raid that took him captive happened four days ago and now this is happening. planes have been grounded and there are no flights coming in. rail service to and from the airport has been stopped. there was a bomb and we are getting reports from our sister station sky news and alex who has been on the ground indicating it was a bomb blast as

a delta flight from atlanta to brussels landed this morning and parked in a remote area of the brussels airport so passengers could safely deplane. now, we also know an american airlines flight from philadelphia to brussels landed safely about an hour before the airport attack there this morning. at least one of the explosions happened in an unsecure area of the airport, much like what you're looking at here where the ticketing counters are where anyone can walk off the street. >> it makes you think if, you know, there's obviously plenty of security to get into the terminal once you have your ticket and everything, but before that there's really not much doing. >> reporter: and a spokesperson for american airlines tells me that all of their employees have been accounted for. they are safe. i'm still waiting to get that information back from delta. reporting live at philadelphia international, katy zachry, nbc 10 news. >> katy, thank you. meanwhile, police in brussels say the threat of more attacks is still real. the philadelphia police department is taking the threat seriously as well.

now i'm seeing official word from the brussels metro, the brussels bway system they are shutting down the whole system. all metro stations are closing across brussels. that follows reports of three explosions at three different memeo stations in the heart of the capital. very symbolic areasext to the seat of the european union and of the belgian government. >> a big deal, everybody. we're getting these reports of additional explosions. local media reporting them at several metro stations within the city of brussels this coming took place at the airport roughly about 8:00, i'd say, local time there in brussels. brussels is five hours ahead of us right now because of daylight saving time normally it would be six. so, alex at this point they've shut down the airport. they have shut down the metro station. i cocod just imagine this is a city that is just in the throes of a lot of angst right now. >> reporter: well, absolutely imagine in the u.s. in d.c. or philadelphia or new york shutting down the main airport and shutting down the subway station. thatat would absolutely wreak havoc. i r

brussels on alert tonight. the headquarters of nato and the european union still reeling after a brazen terror attack on that city. least one packed with nails, killing dozens. injuring hundreds at transportation hubs at the height of rush hour. here at home the u.s. stepping up security and issuing travel warnings for europe. millions on edge bracing for what might come next. abc's chief foreign correspondent terry moran is in belgium for us tonight. >> it's okay. >> reporter: a routine morning became the scene of carnage. >> stay down. stay down. >> reporter: as brussels, known as the capital of europe, became the target of two separate terrorist attacks. >> what it was, a truck or bus. it was a terrorist. >> reporter: twin blasts hit brussels international airport, filling the terminal with smoke and shattered glass. >> big bang. everybody cried and came along here. >> reporter: and then an hour later another explosion at the maalbeek metro station. isis has claimed responsibility for the deadly terror attac

brussels time. brussels, six hours ahead right now. so you're talking about a real rush hour commute. when the news of the homicide bombings in brussels broke, the world began watching, worrying and wondering, and that included those down at the new york stock exchange. take a look at what one trader immediately wrote in a morning note: so sad that the mindless mass murder of innocents is losing its shock value. what did he mean by that? joining us now is our friend, steven guilfoyle, joining us live from the floor of the new york stock exchange who also serves in our u.s. military. steve, great to see you. thank you, sarge. you know, it's almost as if we're inoured to this when you -- inured to this when you talk about the market reaction. is that what you meant? >> well, yes, but i also meant how people feel. unfortunately, people are becoming calloused over to the mass loss of life, the mass innocent loss of life because of these murderous guys that go about this every few months it seems like somewhere. somebody gets hit. liz: yeah

brussels is that. attacking the general public and lifestyle situations and focus right now is will there be more attacks after this? what will be ringing clearly in everybody's minds is salah abdeslam, the paris attacker on the run, caught on friday, there was a suggestion he was planning more attacks. was this linked to that? so many strands to pull together. hopefully they are more organized after paris. they learned lessons from it. >> max, vrt, as miguel said, 13 people killed and 35 severely injured. the positive of multiple attacks, and possibly the event at the metro station. local media reporting an explosion at the metro station. that is the new pattern post paris, right? the one-two punch multiple explosions to really cripple a city. >> reporter: military style operations like paris, attackers working together with a plan. one went along with the attacks as it was unfolding. could this be one of those? up until paris, they were looking at lone wolf attacks like sydney with someone radicalize

euro star, super fast train service between london, brussels and paris, it's been suspended into brussels. the dutch prime minister now advising people against trav traveling to belgium and france, reinforcing security as well. it is a terror attack this is really i think fair to say a continuation of the ongoing terror attacks that we've seen since the pair recent attacks. the disruption of the terror that has really gripped belgium over the last four months. and i can tell you, i know, matt, you have family netanyahu are laherlands and i n belgium and they have been living with this fear afraid at times to go to area where is there might be a lot of people gathering. concerned about going to concerts, concerned about where the kids are at any given moment and where whether they will be train ride or bus ride. so this has been a polarizing series of events for the last four months and now the entire country of about 11 million people on lockdown. >> not only relatives in amsterdam and holland, but in belgium, as well. high sist my sister this in law and brother-in-law planning to travel

abc's terry moran is in brussels. >> reporter: the hunt for across brussels. guns drawn, a drone overhead, police move in using a camera on a stick to peer into an upper floor apartment. these people evacuated through a window. residents gathered to watch. they did not allow me to go inside or even outside, this man said. the people living there cannot go out. the sweep lasting deep into the night. the raids have targeted this neighborhood just a mile or so from downtown. this whole block has been cordoned off and they have found yet another explosive device packed with nails, chemical products and an isis flag. authorities are investigating whether the carnage was triggered by this raid four days ago, the one that took down salah abdeslam the most wanted man in europe all the while hiding right under the noses of belgian authorities. authorities say in custody, abdeslam even admitted planning other attacks all while hiding in maalbeek, a neighborhood known as being a hot bed of this country sends more foreign fighters per capita to iraq and syria than any oth

brussels is in lock down now. rail stations, the airport, rams, buses, all shutting down for fear of a further attack around just aftft 8:00 a.m. local time. we first heard reports o some kind of an explosion at the airport and then we began to get the pictures of windows blown out and debris around. it was becoming clear quickly not killed and we now believe 13 have been killed at the airport. reports then began to emerge that there were perhaps two explosions at the airport and quickly followed by reports of anotherxplosion at a metro station not far away from the european union building. bronchusels is the capital of europe. it's thelace where european government business is conducted. that metro station was in the place where many of the paris attackers came from back in november last year. so concerns very quickly raised, savannah, that this was not an accident. that this was another attack in the heart of europe and a substantial one. one that appeared t have been coordinated. >> let's put this in perspectiv

we have continuing coverage of the explosions that have up had in brussels at the brussels airport. we have confirmation, media is saying that there were two explosion at the airport in brussels and unconfirmed reports there's explosions in the subway stations in brussels. the thousands of people have been evacuated from the airport. this happened roughly a little after 8:00 a.m. local time on a tuesday morning in brussels as people were checking in to the international departure area, departure hall 1 of the brussels airport. we did have eyewitness accounts of what had happened. apparently the explosions went off, glass was flying in the front area. it was a lot of panic as the people did not know what was going on. obviously with two explosions emergency crews are on the scene. fire department are on the scene. and the thousands of people have been taken outside of the airport. they have been evacuated. the airport has been shut down. the metro has also been shut down through brussels and the ministry has elevated the alert level to four which is the highest, the maximum alert lev

why brussels? why is that city suddenly a hot bed for jihadists? let's bring in dr. zuhdi jasser, a former u.s. navy lieutenant and commander and by the way a practicing muslim. why brussels? >> well, because it's sort of a clinic in what happens in the west when you leave populations alone, you allow the separatist groups like shari'ah for belgium, it had multiple members convicted in the past. but yet those organizations continue. you have radical groups, ideologues not only terror cells but supporting communities. you're not a terrorist who's on the lam and goes back to his own neighborhood and hides for four months like he did without a supporting neighborhood that does that. molenbeek is a prime example. they had over 130 jihadists go to syria from molenbeek alone, let alone the 600 from brussels itself. so they have a deep problem, it's called jihadi central and nobody is treating the ideology of islam, so you'll continue see this whack a mole. >> do we treat it? we know some of the richest p

half hour from brussels. alex, you told us at 6:30, the city largely shut down tonight. what do we know about the subway systems there, and the airport, of course, which had been locked down today for quite some time. >> reporter: david, the belgian authorities are trying as hard as they can to get the public transportation system back up and running. the metro system tonight still shut down. the airport tomorrow will still be shut down. as will schools all across brussels. parents keeping their kids at home. david? >> alex marquardt leading off this half hour, as well. alex, thank you. >>> as we reported earlier, the terror attacks in brussels may have been triggered by the capture of the most wanted man in europe. we showed you heavily-armed it police nabbing the final suspect in the paris terror attacks, wounding him in the raid, and then interrogating him. abc's chief foreign correspondent terry moran showing us this half hour how easy it is to get through the city. he didn't find much security and was ab