Clashes erupt in Brussels, more arrests made in police raids

Capital Clashes

Tensions boiled over in central Brussels Sunday evening as riot police were called to disperse hundreds of self-described fascists who rallied around a temporary shrine made to honor the victims of Tuesday’s deadly terror attacks.

At a Brussels square, police had broken up crowds who officials said were throwing chairs, trash cans and other objects during the protests.

Hundreds of people were remembering the 31 victims killed last week when dozens of men dressed in masks barged into the center of Place de la Bourse and mounted the steps of the stock exchange building.

“We had 340 hooligans from different football clubs who came to Brussels and we knew for sure that they would create some trouble,” said Police Commissioner Christian De Coninck.

Riot Police backed by water cannons surrounded the group, who members held a banner denouncing the Islamic State group that claimed responsibility for the bombings, and forced them toward a nearby train station.

De Coninck said around 10 people were arrested and that two police officers were injured.

Raids across Europe

Amid the unrest at the capital, police across Belgium carried out 13 house searches Sunday and detained four people for unspecified terrorism incidents, according to the country’s federal prosecutor’s office.

At least four others so far were being held on terrorism-related charges in Belgium.

A terror suspect was also detained in the Netherlands yesterday after a request from French authorities, a spokesman in Rotterdam said. A local prosecutor’s spokesman told ABC News that France made the request to the Netherlands Friday to detain a suspect accused of being “involved in planning a terror attack” in France.

Police in Italy and Germany were also investigating suspects for their possible links to the Brussels attacks.

As anti-terrorism operations continued across Europe, Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon acknowledged decades of neglect had hurt the country’s ability to respond to violent extremism despite the government’s recent spending on security services.

Despite investing 600 million euros ($670 million) the last two years on anti-terror mechanisms, Jambon admitted those investments needed time. “It is also not because you put the money in now that tomorrow all this is visible on the ground,” he said.

31 Killed, Four Americans Confirmed Dead

According to Belgium’s Crisis Center, 31 people were killed and hundreds more were injured in the bombings Tuesday at the Brussels airport and metro station. So far, 28 of the victims have been identified.

Among the deceased, State Department confirmed four U.S. citizens died while at least a dozen Americans were injured in Tuesday’s attacks in Brussels.

Two individuals were spouses of American government employees who were living in Europe. Their identities are being withheld out of respect for the families.

Earlier Sunday, the White House said that President Obama had called the parents of Justin and Stephanie Shults, two Americans killed in Brussels, to express his deepest condolences and those of the nation.

Justin Shults was originally from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and his wife, Stephanie, was a native of Lexington, Kentucky. A family member says they were dropping Stephanie’s mother off at the Brussels airport and were watching her walk through security when the bombs went off.

Other victim’s nationalities include Belgium, American, Dutch, Swedish, German, French, Chinese, Italian and British.

Brussels Airport to Reopen Soon

Brussels Airport said over the weekend that they did not expect to reopen before Tuesday.

However, an examination of the main building housing the departure hall wrecked by two suicide bombers showed the structure is stable and will now see if temporary check-in desks can be installed.