Questions Grow About Why Authorities Couldn’t Stop Attacks

Questions Grow About Why Authorities Couldn’t Stop Attacks
People gathered to observe a minute of silence and mourn for the victims of the bombings at the Place de la Bourse in the center of Brussels, Belgium, Thursday, March 24, 2016. AP Photo/Peter Dejong
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BRUSSELS—Belgium’s interior minister and justice minister tried to resign Thursday ahead of an emergency meeting of European security chiefs held amid growing questions about why authorities couldn’t prevent deadly Islamic extremist attacks on Brussels despite increasing signs of a threat.

Prosecutors announced a direct connection between the Brussels bombings that killed 31 people and injured 270 others and last year’s attacks on Paris, which appear to have been carried out by the same Islamic State network. The attacks have laid bare European security failings and prompted calls for better intelligence cooperation.

Interior Minister Jan Jambon said after a government meeting Thursday that “If you put all things in a row, you can ask yourself major questions” about the government’s handling of the threat from Islamic extremists.

Belgium's Interior Minister Jan Jambon, left, and Justice Minister Koen Geens hold a moment of silence during an extraordinary meeting of EU interior and justice ministers at the EU Council building in Brussels, Belgium, Thursday, March 24, 2016. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Belgium's Interior Minister Jan Jambon, left, and Justice Minister Koen Geens hold a moment of silence during an extraordinary meeting of EU interior and justice ministers at the EU Council building in Brussels, Belgium, Thursday, March 24, 2016. AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert