Brussels Attacks Condemned; NH Officials Monitoring Situation

CONCORD, NH - The governor of New Hampshire has issued a statement in the wake of the terrorist attack in Brussels, Belgium, that has killed at least 31 and injured hundreds saying that state officials are working with local and federal officials to monitor the situation closely.

Bombs exploded in a transportation hub in Brussels on March 22, 2016, just four days after officials captured, in a nearby neighborhood, one of the most wanted terrorists involved in the November 2015 attacks in Paris. The explosion was near the American Airlines terminal, according to reports.

“As we join the people of Belgium in grief and mourning following these horrific acts of terror, we stand united in the knowledge that those who seek to sow fear and hate will always fail to defeat our collective resolve to rid the world of violent extremism,” Gov. Maggie Hassan, D-NH, said in a statement. “The cowardly and twisted ideology that drives such heinous terrorist attacks can never match our strength and can never slow the steady march of freedom and progress across the globe.”

Hassan added that while there is no known or immediate threat to the people in the Granite State, “New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management is working with federal and local public safety officials to exercise extra vigilance, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely.”

U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, also offered thoughts and prayers for the people of Belgium following the horrific attacks and called on the Obama Administration to “immediately lead an effort convening NATO members to provide Belgium all assistance possible and work together to defeat radical Islamist terrorists.”

She added, “These attacks represent not just an attack on our NATO ally and every member of the alliance, but also an attack on every nation and individual who stands opposed to the depravity, oppression, and violence of Islamist extremism.”

One of Ayotte’s colleagues on the other side of the Congress, U.S. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, D-NH, added that the act was “pure evil, and we must not allow the perpetrators of such senseless violence to go unpunished.” She stated that officials in Congress would work with the nation’s allies in Europe to bring those responsible for today’s attacks to justice, and to stop these heartless individuals from continuing to terrorize our communities around the world.

“My deepest thoughts and prayers are with the Belgian people today, and my heart goes out to all the victims injured and killed in today’s attacks and their families,” she added.

U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta, R-NH, also issued a statement saying that his heart went out to the victims of the attacks and stated that ISIS claiming credit for the attacks showed the "jihad against Western democracy continues, perhaps stronger than ever," according to a statement.

Guinta added, "The perpetrators are cowardly but well organized and require a forceful collective response. The United States must lead other nations in the fight – not from behind. The world’s most powerful democracy must not hide behind its borders, where weak oversight may encourage our enemies. As a member of Congress, I will do everything possible to secure our country and to help our allies."

First Congressional District Republican candidate Pamela Tucker, a state Rep. from Greenland, also offered prayers and thoughts while also calling on the president and Congress to take action.

“Today’s tragic events are a grim reminder that radical Islamic terrorism is an ongoing threat to the safety of all free people across the globe and to the American way of life,” she stated. “President Obama and Congress must act to properly identify this threat for what it is, radical Islamic terrorism, and develop a strategic plan to defeat this growing threat.”

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jim Rubens called the attacks "depraved barbarism" and stated that the latest incident required the country to create "a working strategy to protect Americans and American allies" adding that it was "imperative that we reject Hillary Clinton’s failed strategy of endless nation-building wars."

Clinton, he said, "led the charge on military intervention in Libya and funding, training, and arming the rebel groups that became ISIS in Syria and Iraq. This failed strategy resulted in ISIS now being operational in eight countries and has increased chaos throughout the Middle East. This strategy is a direct cause of this morning’s horror in Belgium."

Flights into the country from the international hubs in the United States have been cancelled, according to officials. Five Northeastern University in Boston students in the country have been confirmed to be OK.

Patrick Cornelissen, the Honorary Consul of Belgium for New England and the general manager of Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, MA, is currently in Belgium for a funeral. He told Patch in an email, "My first thoughts go out to the many casualties and their families. It is likely that there will be people from many nationalities among the victims; however, at this point in time there seems to be no indication that any of the casualties are from the New England area."