Caribbean Times 75th issue - Wednesday 23rd March 2016

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2 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g Wednesday 23rd March 2016 cont’d from pg 1 and that the third – dressed in a light-coloured coat, black hat and glasses – was at large. They urged the public to contact them if they recognized him. The two men believed to be the suicide attackers apparently were wearing dark gloves on their left hands. In police raids across Brussels, authorities later found a nail-filled bomb, chemical products and an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant flag in a house in the Schaerbeek neighbourhood, Editor’s Note Dear readers, advertisers, and well-wishers, As has been previously stated, Caribbean Times is on a thrust to improve every facet of its operations. A number of changes have already been implemented. Caribbean Times believes that it is only fair we keep you our clients abreast of important developments and contact information. There are specific departments and teams now allocated to ensuring that when you advertise with, or buy, Caribbean Times it is exactly the most informative, reliable, and enriching experience available. To this end we ask you to send: Pertinent news items to news@caribbeantimes.ag. Advertisement inquiries to ads@caribbeantimes.ag. Letters to the editor to editor@caribbeantimes.ag the state prosecutors’ office said in a statement. In its claim of responsibility, ISIL said its members detonated suicide vests both at the airport and in the subway, where many passengers fled to safety down dark tunnels filled with hazy smoke from the explosion in a train pulling away from the platform. European security officials have been bracing for a major attack for weeks and warned that IS was actively preparing to strike. The arrest Friday of Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, heightened those fears, as investigators said many more people were involved than originally thought and that some are still on the loose. “In this time of tragedy, this black moment for our country, I appeal to everyone to remain calm but also to show solidarity,” said Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, who announced three days of mourning in his country’s deadliest terror strike. “Last year it was Paris. Today it is Brussels. It’s the same attacks,” said French President Francois Hollande. Belgium raised its terror alert to the highest level, shut the airport through Wednesday and ordered a city-wide lockdown, deploying about 500 soldiers onto Brussels’ largely empty streets to bolster police checkpoints. France and Belgium both reinforced border security. Medical officials treating the wounded said some victims lost limbs, while others suffered burns or deep gashes from shattered glass or suspected nails packed in with explosives. Among the most seriously wounded were several children. The bombings came barely four months after suicide attackers based in Brussels’ Molenbeek district slaughtered 130 people at Paris nightspots, and intelligence agencies had warned for months a follow-up strike was inevitable. Those fears increased following Abdeslam’s arrest in Molenbeek, along with police admissions that others suspected of links to the Paris attacks were at large. A high-level Belgian judicial official said a connection by Abdeslam to Tuesday’s attacks is “a lead to pursue.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing. Officials at the airport in the Brussels suburb of Zaventem said police had discovered a Kalashnikov assault rifle and an explosives-packed vest abandoned at the facility, offering one potential lead for forensic evidence. Bomb disposal experts safely dismantled that explosive device. Shockwaves from the attacks crossed the Atlantic, where city and airport officials at several U.S. cities increased security force deployments and raised security levels. A U.S. administration official said American intelligence officers were working with European counterparts to try to identify the apparently skilled bomb-maker or makers involved in the Brussels attacks and to identify any links to bombs used in Paris. The official, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on the investigations and demanded anonymity, told cont’d on pg 3 Caribbean Times is printed and published at Woods Estate / Friars Hill Road. The Editor is Dr. George Brathwaite. Contact: Caribbean Times, P.O Box W2099, Wood Estate / Friars Hill Road, St. John’s, Antigua. Tel: (268) 562-8688, Fax: (268) 562-8685. Website: www.caribbeantimes.ag
Wednesday 23rd March 2016 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 3 cont’d from pg 2 The Associated Press that at least one of the bombs at the airport was suspected to have been packed into a suitcase left in the departures hall. Three intelligence officials in Iraq told the AP that they had warned European colleagues last month of IS plans to attack airports and trains, although Belgium wasn’t specified as a likely target. The officials, who monitor activities in the IS stronghold of Raqqa, said Brussels may have become a target because of the arrest of Abdeslam. One of the officials – all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about their knowledge of IS operations – said Iraqi intelligence officials believe that three other IS activists remain at large in Brussels and are plotting other suicide-bomb attacks. European leaders already struggling to cope with a wave of migration from the war-torn Middle East said they must rely on better anti-terrorist intelligence work to identify an enemy that wears no uniform and seeks the softest of targets. They emphasized that Europe must remain tolerant to Muslims as they seek to identify the ISIL needles in that ever-growing haystack. (National Post).
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Caribbean Times 75th issue - Wednesday 23rd March 2016

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