Attempted attack in Brussels

An attack at Brussels Central Station failed on Tuesday evening. A man set off a bomb but the explosion was so weak that no one was hurt. The suspect, said to come from the Molenbeek district, was shot dead by security forces. The incident is further proof of how difficult it is to fight terror, Belgium's press comments.

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De Standaard (BE) /

Sadly not surprising

De Standaard examines what action Belgium will take after the attack:

“The perpetrator Oussama Z. fits the profile of the lone wolf who is radicalised within a very short period. This observation confronts us with the reality that this attack occurred despite the millions invested in intelligence services and the military. But that's no surprise. There is no such thing as absolute security, and there never will be. There's always a limit to what can be done, a point where money no longer has any noticeable impact. We must not allow our society to be completely dominated by the terrorist threat. Will this insight prompt us to simply accept this or will we continue to seek ways to track down such losers before they strike?”

La Libre Belgique (BE) /

Danger lurks behind many doors

What we know so far about the failed attack in Brussels shows how complicated the fight against terror has become, La Libre Belgique explains:

“In all likelihood [the attacker] acted alone, building his bomb in utmost secrecy. That's both good news and bad. Good because the theory that he was part of a network can be ruled out, but bad because it shows that danger lurks behind many doors in our neighbourhoods. Doors it would be difficult to monitor, no matter how many police and soldiers we deploy. Unless we increase the number of people and resources at the disposal of those whose job it is to keep our city safe. According to assessments by the Counter-Terrorism Commission, these services are too poorly equipped to do their job effectively.”