It is another day, and another city is under attack: this time, Brussels. At lunchtime, reports suggest numerous casualties following explosions at Brussels airport and Maelbeek / Maalbeek metro station. It will take time for a clear picture to emerge, but it does seem to be the case that the attackers intended to cause as much harm as possible.
Airports before security and public transport systems are publicly and easily accessible and as such they are vulnerable ‘soft’ targets, and anyone living in a big city will understand the anger and fear that these attacks cause. Being reasonably familiar with Brussels, and as I have taken the metro that stops at Maelbeek / Maalbeek a number of times, these dreadful events evoke the kind of anguish in me that I had felt after the 7/7 attacks in London, as I used to take (and still take) the same tube lines and bus routes regularly that were targeted.
It will take some time before a semblance of normality returns to the city.