Three explosions rocked Belgium’s capital on March 22. Two blasts hit the international Zaventem airport; another struck Maelbeek metro station. The attacks took place a little more than an hour apart and were apparently coordinated. More than 30 people were dead and more than 200 wounded after the explosions struck Brussels during the Tuesday morning rush hour. The U.S. State Department confirmed that four U.S. citizens were killed in the attacks. Belgium issued a Level 4 alert, denoting “serious and imminent attack.”

Recent raids have revealed a web of connections between the suspects in the Brussels attacks and those who helped carry out the November attacks in Paris. Brothers Khalid and Ibrahim el-Bakraoui have been identified as suicide bombers at the metro stations and airport. The two Belgians were already being sought by police due to suspected links to the Paris attacks. Belgian media later named bomb maker Najim Laachraoui as another one of the airport attackers.

The Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel stated, “What we feared has happened – we were hit by blind attacks.” At a later news conference, Michel reassured that Belgium will defend its liberty and values, and he stressed the importance of returning to normal life in Brussels as fast as possible. He said Belgium would have three days of national mourning. In order to show support for Brussels, both the Eiffel Tower and the Brandenburg Gate were lit in the black, yellow, and red colors of Belgium’s flag. In London, the Belgian flag was raised and is flying at half-staff. This miserable event had a drastic global response.

According to CNN, the first passenger jet departed the Brussels Airport twelve days after the terrorist attacks – a symbolic step toward normalcy in the Belgian capital. Two other Brussels Airlines passenger flights were scheduled to depart as the airport slowly began resuming regular operations in the wake of the March 22 bombings. “These flights are the first hopeful sign from an airport that is standing up straight after a cowardly attack,” airport CEO Arnaud Feist said Saturday. It is time that a united effort is made to prevent terrorism. It is time to save innocent lives. It is time to make a change.