Brussels and Westminster attacks
On 22nd March 2016, 3 bombs went off in the Belgian capital of Brussels.Two bombs detonated at Brussels Airport at 7:58AM and one at the Maalbeek metro station in the central part of Brussels at 9:11AM, killing 35 people (all 3 perpetrators included) and injuring more than 300 people. The attack came months after a similar attack in Paris, France in November 2015.The perpetrators attacked Brussels because terror group ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) had lost a lot of territory in the Middle East (a place where Belgium never had any colonies) and European based fighters of ISIS were
bringing their battle hardened skills with them.
In the aftermath of the attack, iconic comic book character Tintin (a Belgian reporter created by Hergé in 1929) became an emblem of solidarity in Brussels, usually depicted mourning the innocent people who had died in the attacks.
2017 Westminster attack
A year after the Brussels attack, London came under attack at 14:40PM on 22nd March 2017 when Khalid Masood, a 52-year-old Briton drove a 4x4 car in a zig-zag motion into unsuspecting pedestrians along Westminster Bride's south side's footpath before crashing his car into the north perimeter fence of Palace of Westminster (where the British Parliament is housed). Masood then
stabbed an unarmed police officer named PC Keith Palmer to death before he was shot dead by an armed police officer. Why did he do it? The common reason why any terrorist attack happens in Western Europe, to get revenge for western military action in the Middle East. 6 people (Masood, Palmer and 4 pedestrians) died that day while 49 people were injured. Sadly, England would face further terror attacks that same year including Manchester Arena attack in May, London Bridge attack in June and Parson Green bombing in September.
