Brussels Suicide Attacks Kill At Least 10, Injure Dozens

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel's chilling words said it all: "What we feared has happened. We were hit by blind attacks."

Two explosions ripped through Brussels airport Tuesday morning as hundreds of passengers were trying to check in, according to The Associated Press. An hour later, an explosion hit Maelbeek metro station, close to the EU institutions.

"Belgian broadcaster VRT said that in addition to 13 deaths at the airport, at least 35 people were severely injured," said BBC. "The Belga news agency reports that shots were fired and shouts in Arabic were heard before the two explosions at the airport. Some reports say it was a suicide attack."

Bloomberg said the explosion[s] "killed 15 and injured 55, the metro operator STIB reported."

French President Francois Hollande held an emergency meeting following the explosions. The blasts came days after the arrest of the top suspect in last year's Paris attacks in Brussels. The AP reported France's top security official said the country is reinforcing security at airports, train stations and metros.

Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL released a statement Tuesday morning:

"Local leaders have confirmed the safety of all crew members and ground employees. The airport team is in the process of confirming the safety of all customers. Delta's flight DL80 from Atlanta to Brussels has landed safely at the airport and is parked remotely, with the local team working on plans to safely deplane passengers to a secure holding area. Delta's flight DL42 from New York to Brussels has been diverted to Amsterdam."

American Airlines Group Inc AAL was trading down 1 percent in Tuesday's pre-market session, while other airliners were little changed.

Travel stocks such as Expedia Inc EXPE (down 1.7 percent) and Priceline Group Inc PCLN (down 2 percent) were also lower.

Image credit: PROTilemahos Efthimiadis, Flickr