bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

The Maalbeek metro station in Brussels hit by a suicide attack last month that killed 16 people reopened to passengers on Monday.
Suicide bomber Khalid El-Bakraoui blew himself up at the station on March 22, an hour after two other bombers killed 16 other people at Brussels airport.
A total of 32 people lost their lives in the bombings on Europe’s symbolic capital that were claimed by the Islamic State group, and 300 injured.
“I’m thinking of everything that happened here, I’m thinking of the flowers that were laid out upstairs,” said Piero, a retired translator from the European Commission, the EU executive arm whose headquarters are a few hundred metres away.
The early morning commuters declined to give their last names, given the sensitivity of the events that took place a month ago.
Along the platform, hand-written notes on the station wall expressed condolences for those killed on March 22.

“Let’s cherish the life that surrounds us,” said a note signed Patricia.
Families of the victims were allowed special access to the station on Saturday to mourn the victims, before the official reopening to commuters.
The scene at the heart of rush hour on Monday was calm, with commuters expressing patience over the month-long closure, despite criticism of Belgium’s handling of the aftermath of the attacks.
The closure “was for the right reasons”, said French-national Liliana, a nuclear engineer who lives in Brussels.
“I can understand that there was a need to analyse all the damage, I can understand all that,” she said.
Monday was the first day since the tragedy that the entire Brussels metro network was running normally.
Since March 22, many stations remained shut and operating hours were reduced because of a lack of security staff.
Brussels airport meanwhile is only set to resume full operations in June after it was completely closed to passengers for 12 days following the attack.


In the line of fire: how terrorism links the world in the internet age

Islamic State attacks in France and Belgium may have been part of one larger, coordinated plot, prosecutor says

Man shot dead in Brussels after attacking soldiers with a knife while screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’

Hong Kong police step up anti-terror training amid increased worldwide bomb threats

‪‪Brussels attacks

Brussels metro station reopens one month after deadly suicide attack

Security agents stand at the Maelbeek metro station in brussels. Photo: AFP

A Belgian serviceman stands guard as a train arrives at the Maelbeek - Maalbeek metro station on its re-opening day on April 25, 2016 in Brussels, after being closed since the 22 March attacks in the Belgian capital. Maelbeek - Maalbeek metro station was hit by one of the three Islamic State suicide bombers who struck Brussels airport and metro on March 22, killing 32 people and injuring hundreds. / AFP PHOTO / BELGA / THIERRY ROGE

News

World

Europe

Along the platform at Maalbeek metro station, hand-written notes on the station wall expressed condolences for those killed on March 22.
