We wanted to target Europe! (Shift)
(B2) Make no mistake... The attacks in Brussels on March 22 had one objective: to target Europe by targeting its main transit points where travelers and European expatriates pass, starting with Zaventem airport and Maelbeck metro station. The nationality as the profile of the victims should demonstrate it (1).
Maelbeck station, center of European power
Located halfway between Schuman station, the center of European power, and Arts-Lois station, the traffic hub for the various metros, a few minutes' walk from Berlaymont (the headquarters of the European Commission), on rue de La Loi (the main artery of Belgian-European power), the Maelbeck station is a "small station", probably less supervised than that of Schuman. However, it is located just a few hundred meters from the Berlaymont, the headquarters of the European Commission (3-4 minutes on foot). It borders the Lex (the Council building which houses the legal and translation services and often serves as a meeting room for the Eurogroup), the Charlemagne (the building of DG Trade). And it directly serves several buildings of the European Commission (DG Agriculture, DG Competition, DG Humanitarian Aid / Civil Protection, etc.) as well as several embassies (in particular the Permanent Representations to the European Union of Belgium, Hungary or of Finland) and the European Parliament.
Time of the explosion: 9:11 a.m.
The time of the explosion - a few minutes after 9 a.m. - is not quite a detail. At that time, all the students are already at school. Belgian civil servants and workers have already made their daily journey to reach their office (we hire in Brussels between 6 am and 30 am). It is therefore the others, especially the 'Europeans' who pass through the metro at that time. Civil servants going to work, diplomats, journalists or lobbyists coming to cover or attend a meeting, but also cleaning agents who return home at the end of the morning meet there.
A precursor: the Bamako attack
The attack the day before on the headquarters of the EUTM Mali mission by several "terrorists" with small arms went relatively unnoticed. This attack was foiled by the security forces present on site (Read: EUTM Mali HQ attacked in Bamako). It is thus observed that, generally, attacks on the European continent are often preceded by an attack in a country close to the French-speaking area (Lebanon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Tunisia). The attack in Beirut had shortly preceded that of Paris on November 13. A point that it is probably too early to analyze which may emerge from simple chance but could also reflect a modus operandi more organized. Kind of like a trigger...
(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)
(1) Maj 26.3 - The victims come from 40 nationalities reported Didier Reynders. In the detailed list (read: Victims of 40 nationalities. A first list), we note among the deceased 14 nationalities, including an employee of the European Commission, a young communication officer for a rail lobby, a former Belgian diplomat (who has dual French nationality). Among the injured, Polish customs officers, an agent of the Hungarian Permanent Representation, etc.
