The Boston Globe reports:
On Tuesday morning, after a series of coordinated attacks killed more than 30 people, Brussels joined the grim and growing list of places struck by the Islamic State or terrorism inspired by the Islamic State. Worldwide, more than 20 countries have suffered such attacks, with murderous consequences ranging from the November assault in Paris to the December shooting in San Bernardino, Calif.
Belgium is no stranger to terrorist violence. Just last week, a leading terrorist fugitive was found hiding in a notorious area of Brussels known as Molenbeek. More broadly, the city has ties to nearly every major plot of the last decade.
After the Paris attacks, the prime minister of Belgium conceded that his country has become a terrorist hub. “Almost every time,” he said, “there’s a link with Molenbeek.”
There's more:
The group behind the 2004 Madrid train bombings had ties to Molenbeek, as did the killers at the Brussels Jewish Museum; Molenbeek was also the source of weapons for the Charlie Hebdo massacre and the foiled Amsterdam-Paris train attack.
What is more, Molenbeek has sent more residents to fight in Syria and Iraq than any other place in Europe, relative to its size. And the devastation in Paris last fall showed when happens when these fighters return to Europe, better trained and tightly knotted to groups like the Islamic State.
Just a reminder of who you don't want in your country.
