gate is also illuminated. let's head on over to bill. >> continuing coverage now on the terror attack in belgium and the bomb that ripped through an airport and train station, killing and injuring so many innocent people. this while the islamic state terrorists proudly claim responsibility for yet another unspeakable act. in a moment, we'll take you through the attacks from the first agonizing moments after detonation, to where things stand at this hour. hear what investigators are working on at this moment and what we've learned already about those responsible. plus, what we know about the american missionaries and at least one member of our military who are reported among the casualties. also, why our own judge napolitano argues european investigators made one enormous

mistake before the attack. that's all ahead in this hour of "shepard smith reporting." i'm bill hemmer in for shepard smith today. massive police raids now under way in brussels. a desperate manhunt to find a terrorist who's believed to be still on the run. here is what we know now just after 8:00 at night belgium time. the islamic state claims it is behind the series of bombings that rocked brussels this morning. 30 people dead, nearly 200 injured. we're told nine americans are among the wounded, including a member of the u.s. military. some of them said to have critical injuries. belgian authorities released this surveillance picture from the airport in brussels. prosecutors saying they're still hunting for the man on the far right. the other two apparently blew themselves up. the first bomb exploding in the check-in area of the brussels airport. many witnesses say they did not know what it was. some say they just heard a thud. then a massive explosion blew

out the windows, ripped through walls, and caved in the ceiling above. cameras caught the confusion seconds after the first blast. [ screaming ] that couple you see not running away, likely fearing another bomb. one airport worker says he jumped into a luggage chute to escape. victims covered in blood and soot, clothes torn apart, even their hair torched. a belgian tv station reports at least one of the bombs filled with nails, deadly projectiles that ripped into victims like a hail of bullets. survivors who could run stampeded to safety outside. >> lots of people with blood. i just run out of the airport. >> everybody was running,

running, running. we heard evacuate, evacuate. >> you can notice even in that confusion and panic, people still hauled away their luggage as they scrambled for safety. this while emergency responders raced to the airport and tended to the wounded. terrorists in the heart of brussels were getting ready for another attack. just about an hour after the bombings at the airport, another blast, this one at a subway station near the headquarters of the eu, the european union. [ sirens ] witnesses there saying the bomb was in a crowded subway car. the force of that explosion tearing through the metal, leaving the seats charred and twisted. that scene so gruesome, we have parts of this picture blurred. those who survived describe the confusion as everything went dark underground. they file the out into the tunnel in an eerie calm with only the cries of a baby in the

background. the severity of the attacks would not be clear until they came aboveground and into the light of the morning hour. one haunting picture came from this chaos. a few survivors hugging each other, a bloody victim help elseless on the ground only a few feet away. terror in belgium and the urgent manhunt at this hour is our fox top story. we begin with greg live at the airport in brussels. greg, these raids are under way right now. >> reporter: absolutely, bill. the airport behind us is quiet, deadly quiet. terror has shut the place down with two explosions that rattled through the departure hall there. we haven't seen any flights going in and out. it is closed, as is the metro station about three miles from where we're standing, where terrorists also hit. investigators are going through the rubble here at this airport

and at this subway to try to come up with more information about this deadly, deadly attack by terrorists believed to be the isis organization. and yes, they're looking at that picture, surveillance video, a surveillance snapshot in the airport showing a man in white clothing. he is believed to be a key suspect. was he the string puller? was he the organizer? what was his role? we don't know. what we do know, though s that there were two men beside him, two men in black. we believe that they were suicide bombers, and at least one was killed. the search goes on through the brussels, door to door, searching apartment, searching the places where the terrorists have hid, where suspects could be hiding. we understand, we just learned this in the past hour, in one apartment another bomb, as you describe, with nails inside and an isis flag found. no suspects there, but the

implements of terror were found. the search continues, bill. >> greg, there was a significant arrest just four days ago. what more do we know about the role that arrest may have played in today's carnage, if at all? >> reporter: this is a very interesting question, bill. the prime minister of belgium just an hour ago says he still was not able to make a connection between that arrest and this terror, but you got to believe that there was a connection. four days ago, the prime suspect, remaining suspect in the paris terror attacks arrested. he told prosecutors over the weekend that he was planning another attack on brussels, that he had created another network. what were these attacks all about? were they simply revenge attacks for the arrest, or as others are speculating, were the terrorists going out and committing the attacks that had been planned before abdeslam revealed the attack? that's the big question. one of many police are looking at right now as they try to sort out yet another scene of terror

and carnage right in the heart of europe. back to you, bill. >> thank you, greg. good work. the feds here at home say there is no evidence of any specific threat to the u.s., but they are keeping an eye out for the possibility of a copycat. team fox coverage continues now. our chief intelligence correspondent is live in d.c. you've been working your sources all day. what are you finding in terms of where the focus for investigators is right now, katherine? >> thank you, bill. sources tell fox news the highest priority is identifying the suicide bombers, likely through dna to determine when the men have ties inside the united states by running their names against watch lists for known terrorism suspects. a former senior intelligence official said the weaponry, including suicide belts and multiple locations, could not be done on the fly. >> these parts look fairly sophisticated. these are not the kind of things that are cooked up over the weekend. just based upon how they were done. the weaponry that was used, the fact that it was multiple

locations and happened sequentially tells me a lot of work had gone into this. >> counterterrorism sources say the plot was in the pipeline in friday's arrest as the paris suspect, salah abdeslam, ax accelerated the timeline. officials have been receiving regular intelligence updates. at the same time, security has been increased at airports with armed police at dulles international in suburban washington, as well as bomb-sniffing dogs. similar steps are being taken in large subway stations across the country. >> we were on the air three hours ago together. the security footage released since then. it has given investigators clues of the suspects. we'll put it on screen, and you to look at. >> as soon as this picture was released by the belgian authority, fox news was told by two former senior fbi agents as well as a former intelligence officer to draw our attention to the suspects there on the left

in the tan and the black who wore that single black glove holding the luggage cart. it was described to us as evidence of a possible detonator, what's known as a dead man switch. one scenario is once the pressure on the handle is broken, for example if the suspect was shot dead, the bomb would still be trigger. ed. these switches are used in the event a suicide bomber is taken out so the vest or belt will still explode because that contact is broken. let's take a closer look at the guy on the right. the video is not great. he does appear to be wearing a kind of disguise. the coloring between his face and nose appear too uneven. then there's the hat and what appears to be glasses as well. a former military intelligence officer said in this particular case, it's entirely feasible that the guy in the white was acting like an escort. that is pretty common with female suicide bombers. we don't seem to be dealing with women in this case.

but the point of an escort is to keep the two individuals, the two bombers on track mentally so that nothing interferes with the detonation of those devices. most typically, to take them to a target that has already been surveilled by the escort. so this individual played a very important role just based on the photo and the disguise and the fact that the two guys -- i don't know if we can see that picture again. there on the left in the black and tan, khakis are the uniform of americans. they are not the uniform of europeans. this to me says very clearly that they were trying to present themselves as much as possible as western nationals traveling overseas. >> fascinating stuff. katherine, thank you. when you get more, bring it back. i want top bring in a former cia terror analyst. that last point katherine was talking about, it's almost like they have a spotter on site.

abdelslam seemed to be that man in paris when he either chickened out, or he was never designed to die in the first place. what's your view on that? >> well, absolutely. right now from the video, there are some things we know, some things we don't know. you might have had somebody involved with the attack who scoped out the scene before hand. you might have had individuals who were responsible for carrying out the suicide bombing themselves as evidence has shown it is believed that's what occurred here. you might have also had somebody not at the scene, not on the videotape coordinating logistics from some other location. that's what officials are worried about right now, trying to put these pieces together. this also comes on the heels of the raid and capture of a very well-known terrorist himself, and that undoubtedly had to do with the timing of this attack. they may have been very worried that intelligence officials were on their trail, and they may have been forced to carry this out sooner than they had planned. >> tara, one thing we know, they're adapting. they're learning quickly. and they know the terrain. they're using disposable phones.

they've got these places scoped out. they are staying ahead of law enforcement, and that is obvious after today. >> i agree. i mean, terrorist groups are notorious for evolving, for taking tactics from previous attacks and applying them to new attacks. what we see now is their ability to exploit and use new technologies. whether that's social media for recruitment purposes, whether that's social media for propaganda value and to get media attention on their attacks, or whether that's encrypted communication applications on their phones and devices, which may or may not have helped them to evade law enforcement. it's too early to say. i don't want to jump to any conclusions. >> that's a very, very important point. we have been focused on encryption in this country for the past year, right. now we know they've been using disposable phones that perhaps were used one time. that is a very difficult thing to stay ahead of. >> exactly. and it's really important to note a lot of people say now 20/20 hindsight. u.s. officials were aware there was a high threat level.

individuals have been saying belgian targets might be at risk. there are a lot of soft targets. airports, transportation hubs. these are known to be terrorist targets. but that's overarching strategic intelligence. what law enforcement need is the tactical, nitty-gritty, in the weeds intelligence. the reports, the phone calls, the e-mails that are going to show when and where and who. without that type of intelligence, the signals intelligence, the communications between the individuals, you can have all the general threat assessments you want, but that's not going to help you thwart a specific attack at a specific location at a specific time. >> and we are behind on that point. tara, thank you. tara miller there in washington, d.c. great analysis there. >> thank you. >> you bet. continuing coverage after the brussels attack, including the effort to track down anymore suspects. are they out there? and if so, where? we'll talk to a reporter on the ground. constipated? trust number one doctor recommended dulcolax use dulcolax tablets for gentle overnight relief

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we are now seeing some of the americans wounded in today's attack in belgium. these men are missionaries with the mormon church. we're told they were near one of the bombs that ripped through the brussels airport. they were on a mission in paris. a former oakland university basketball player out of brazil was among the injured as well. his dad telling cbs news he was bleeding on the airport floor for an hour and that he'd lost a lot of blood. we do not know the name of the u.s. military member wounded in the attacks along with five

family members. pentagon sources indicate some of them are in critical condition. i want to bring in jake simons, who is outside of the apartment of one of the terrorists now. jake, what do you have for us there? >> well, a little bit of speculation surrounds the role of salah abdeslam. he was the alleged mastermind of the paris bombings. he was arrested just a few days ago just a few hundred meters from where i am right now. now, there's a lot of speculation about him because it seems as if the attacks today are in some way linked to his arrest. initially, earlier in the day, people thought that perhaps the people who carried out these attacks were worried that once salah was being questioned by police, he might give away the details of their attack. they also thought that maybe this attack was a revenge on his arrest, but the latest news

given from an anonymous source within the belgium police is they think salah abdeslam was going to be involved in the current attack today and that he would have actually been playing a key role in the attacks if he hadn't been arrested a few days ago. that official has been saying that salah abdeslam has been forming a new network in brussels around him following the paris attacks, and he was intending to carry out this attack today as well. >> jake, they were living in plain sight in that neighborhood. perhaps some of them never even left the neighborhood. how is that possible when you know there's been a manhunt throughout the continent, and especially concentrated in that very area for the past four months plus? >> well, it's absolutely astonishing. right outside where i'm parked now is the apartment where salah abdeslam lived. his brother was in there today. i had a very quick conversation with him. a few doors down is the house of

where another terrorist accomplice who drove -- allegedly drove salah abdeslam to paris to carry out the attacks lives. he's now on the run. then just a few couple hundred meters down the road is where salah abdeslam was hiding out and was arrested. it's absolutely astonishing that, you know, within less than a square mile all of these sort of landmarks of terror exist in such close proximity. when i spoke to salah abdeslam's brother earlier today, he said, and i quote, i can't tell you if he was involved because if i told you i knew, i'd be in very big trouble right now. so there's a sense that, you know, all of this was happening right here in close proximity and nobody is talking. >> that's his brother? and the brother has not been questioned? >> the brother was questioned in connection with the paris attacks and was then released. he's been making a big show of the fact that he had nothing to do with the attacks. he condemned the attacks and came across quite well in the media. we did learn a few months back

that he had a bit of a shaky past. he was found to be robbing corpses when working for the ambulance service. so he isn't as squeaky clean as he appeared. >> thank you, jake simons. you wonder in that country that's been on edge for more than four months when they realized yet again that they are living among them. in a moment, remember investigators last week caught that terror suspect linked to the paris attacks in paris. the judge argues they made a big mistake by revealing that suspect salah abdeslam has been talking. he'll make his case next. growing up, we were german. we danced in a german dance group. i wore lederhosen. when i first got on ancestry i was really surprised that i wasn't finding all of these germans in my tree.

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so the top terror suspect in november's deadly paris attack told investigators he was planning more attacks. that's according to the foreign minister in belgium. authorities friday captured salah abdeslam during a raid in brussels. the foreign minister saying he claimed he was ready to, quote, restart something. meanwhile, his lawyer says the french prosecutor violated the confidentiality of the investigation by telling the public too much about the case. my next guest argues the information investigators released may have played a role in what we saw today. fox news senior judicial analyst judge anna north ameriapolitano explain. >> it is all reading between the lines. it is highly unusual for investigators to be revealing what they're hearing in realtime to the press and public. this guy is being interrogated.

salah abdeslam is being interrogated in belgium by belgian prosecutors, belgian ma jes traits. you have four different teams interrogating. some of them are speaking to the press. they are giving the press such detail about what they're learning in realtime as they're learning it. all of this is getting out to his confederate, who obviously perpetrated today. who knows if this provoked them. who knows if this was a dog whistle to them. >> you're suggesting it's possible. >> yes, i'm suggesting it's possible that he used his investigators to deliver information that only the confederates would know what it meant. >> i've been telling everybody for the past 48 hours about a fascinating article on sunday, "new york times." it's a long one. but it has information in there that is mind blowing about what happened in paris and what they

learned. >> right. >> one of the things they talk about is that at least 90 terrorists moved among the migrants in europe out of syria, into europe, into western europe, and used the migration path to infiltrate belgium, perhaps paris, and other parts in between. what you are surmising, what you're suggesting, rather, is that if that information goes out and they've got a safe house and their cover has been blown, they're going to act. >> correct. this may very well have been as much an attack on the western way of life as a diversion, a diversion of law enforcement and intelligence resources to the metro, to the airport while these people escaped. it's going to have a tremendous effect on the eu and on the movement of people across eu borders. but if an american fbi agent was telling the press what he or she was hearing in realtime during

the interrogatio would be fired and perhaps even prosecuted for obstructing justice. >> a big point here is security in europe has failed. >> absolutely. absolutely. the belgian police and belgian intelligence resources were ignorant of this guy hiding for four weeks because he was in a neighborhood that the police did not regularly visit. in this country, the police would have on-the-ground human intelligence resources and know who's coming and going in these neighborhoods where the bad guys are likely to live. >> you're suggesting they've learned a lesson after this today. >> a hard way. >> but this is a really, really tough way to go. >> absolutely. it's a horrible lesson to learn. look, they even revealed that salah abdeslam was going to sue them for revealing what he was saying. that's the level of detail that these investigators reported to the press. far more than the press had the right to know. nothing should have been revealed until the interrogation was completed, which is the way it's done in the u.s. >> things change now?

>> i would hope so. i would hope, so bill. >> too late for the victims. thank you, judge. >> you're welcome. >> much more ahead on the deadly trough attack in brussels. we're look at what security officials are doing here to step up security in major airports. plus, why some say brussels has become the, quote, jihadi capital of europe. that's coming up inside the fox news desk. living with chronic migraine feels like each day is a game of chance. i wanted to put the odds in my favor. so my doctor told me about botox®, an fda-approved treatment that significantly reduces headache days for adults with chronic migraine, 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting 4 hours or more. it's shown to prevent headaches and migraines before they start. and it's injected by my doctor once every 12 weeks. effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness

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more now on the attacks today in brussels. here at home, the presidential candidates now reacting to the terrorism. donald trump calling if for a stop in the visa waiver program. ted cruz calls for serious scrutiny of that same program. he also says the u.s. should stop accepting muslim refugees

from syria. hillary clinton says the u.s. has to do more to coordinate intelligence with our european allies. bernie sanders, for his part, calling on the world to come together to, quote, destroy isis, end quote. today republicans voting in arizona where the winner gets all 58 delegates. that's winner take all. they caucus in utah. democrats, meanwhile, voting in the same two states, and they caucus in idaho. they hand out all the delegates proportionally. the news continues right after this.

there is a manhunt under way at this hour after today's deadly terror attacks in belgium. the witnesses spotted at least one possible running away from airport. that suspect on the screen to your far right. officials say that more than 30 people are dead and almost 200 injured, including americans. it started at 8:00 a.m. local time when two explosions went off close to the check-in desk

at a brussels airport. about an hour later, another blast at a metro station near the headquarters of the european union. the islamic state so far claiming responsibility for the bombings, only days after the arrest of a key suspect in last year's paris attack. salah abdeslam, now in custody after a police raid, also in brussels. shannon breem live in washington on that part of the story. why has brussels become such a hot spot for terrorism? >> well, bill, experts say everything from open borders and mass migration to a segregate d society where political correctness sometimes keeps authorities from pursuing specific threats. it's all creating a perfect storm. here's tom rogan of national review online. >> i think law enforcement has done a stellar job in belgium, as much as they can, but there's been huge political pressure on them not to pursue lines of inquiry, not to pursue investigations aggressively. >> belgium also has the highest

per capita number of foreign fighters, men who are leafing the country, joining terror groups on the battlefield, and returning to plan attacks much closer to home. >> seems law enforcement is struggling, struggling to keep up, shannon. >> yeah, counterterrorism and law enforcement officials in belgium are apparently having a very difficult time because they're trying to manage hundreds of investigations and tracking operations. the former head of the country's domestic intelligence agency says today he's been warning about this for years. he said he pushed and pushed for more resources and personnel, only to be told that budget cuts would make it impossible. there are is also the very sensitive issue of the reality of life . either way, it makes the job much tougher. >> shannon, thank you. there was no intelligence pointing to a specific or credible threat against the u.s. after the deadly terror attack

today. that's the word from homeland security secretary jeh johnson. still, officials say they have stepped up security in major cities as a precaution. police with heavy weapons and bomb-sniffing dogs stationed at subways and train stations throughout new york city. we'll have more on the security situation there in a moment. meanwhile in los angeles, officials say they have increased the visibility of police officers at l.a.x. and across the city's transit system there. transit officials in washington say they have also increased police patrols. greg is on that story. what other security measures are they taking as of now? >> reporter: hi there, bill. good afternoon. behind me you can see the beautiful u.s. capitol. the house speaker paul ryan earlier today was very stern when he said there are no credible threats here in washington. however, there are certainly precautions taking place right now all over our nation's capital. we're start here with the capitol behind me, where capitol police, we are told, are not

making any sort of security posture changes, but we're told there will be a, quote, movement of assets. that's the way it is being put. also here in d.c., we have this major metro system, subway like, both rail and buses. 1.2 million boardings every day, servicing not only d.c., but virginia and maryland as well. that organization tweeted out earlier this morning there will be additional canine sweeps, also additional patrols throughout the upcoming days. i could tell you i was at union station just behind me camera a little while ago and didn't really notice anything extraordinary in terms of security. however, there's always the caveat, bill that, there could be plain clothed officers as well. on the local level, d.c. police tell us they are adding more officers to the streets. they wouldn't get into exact details, but the message we're getting from many of these agencies here is what we've heard for years. if you see something, say something. >> a couple of big airports as well. what can you say about airport security either in washington or elsewhere?

>> two major ones here in washington. reagan just a couple miles that way. dulles about 20, 25 miles away as well. we got a statement from them earlier. they wouldn't get us any of the details, just to stress that not only are there public measures in place but also things behind the scenes that air travelers will not see. a law enforcement source also tells fox, speaking of air travelers, that they will notice increased behavior detection and canines in nonsterile airport zones. we're told that's not just for the major airports, bill, across the country, but also local, smaller airports as well. >> thank you, blake. blake burman working that story in washington, d.c. thank you, sir. the airport in brussels will stay closed tomorrow and perhaps longer than that. that's the word from the airport ceo who says crews still need to evaluate the damage in the terminal. that is affecting hundreds of flights and thousands of passengers. u.s. airlines, including delta, united, and american, among those cancelling or rerouting

flights. all of them released statements saying the safety of customers and employees is their top priority. adding to the chaos, lots of people are having trouble getting in touch with friends and relatives. networks can get jammed when so many people try to use the phones at the same time. officials with local wireless carriers are telling everyone to use text messages and social media if their calls cannot go through. our coverage continues in a moment. the bombing in brussels and what's next. we'll talk to a former u.s. ambassador to belgium who says the terrorists today are sending a message. what is that message and how do we read it? before i had the shooting, burning, pins-and-needles of diabetic nerve pain, these feet played shortstop in high school, learned the horn from my dad and played gigs from new york to miami. but i couldn't bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. so i talked to my doctor and he prescribed lyrica. nerve damage from diabetes causes diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is fda approved to treat this pain,

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president obama right now is at a baseball game in cuba while the investigation and manhunt continues in brussels. a bit earlier today, the president made a quick statement about the attack, saying the u.s. stands in solidarity with its friend and ally belgium. he vowed to do whatever is

necessary to bring the terrorists to justice. >> this is yet another reminder that the world must unite. we must be together, regardless of nationality or race or faith in fighting against the scourge of terrorists. >> president obama made the comments during a speech to cubans in havana. as i mentioned, we're hearing at least nine americans got hurt in today's attacks. the state department says it is still trying to account for people and cannot confirm that number. the former u.s. ambassador to belgium is live in brussels. thank you for your time. very interested to get your perspective now. you were the ambassador there from 2009 to 2013. we have heard a lot about this neighborhood just west of downtown brussels. this is where many jihadists live and have clearly been in transit. you have been there often. what do you want to tell us about it? >> let me first tell you about

maalbeek and say, i think this may not be a problem today as opposed to paris attack. and it may not be a belgium problem. but it's a community of largely muslims. the parents came to be day laborers in belgium. there's high youth unemployment, as is true throughout europe. then a significant sector went originally to syria to fight assad after he used chemical weapons. so they went for good causes to defend innocent sunnis, but they came back having fought in syria. having said that, i think a lot of people are jumping to the conclusion this is more of the same. this is just the neighborhood problems. this one strikes me as vastly different. i believe that people were

dispatched because if these were the young people from maalbeek, the odds of picking them the airport and the eu, it's not their style. they would have taken kalashnikovs and started shooting. this is someone who planned an attack just like you would the t pentagon or the capitol. this is people who were planning to hit the core of europe, where the message would reverberate far and wide. >> and we're waiting on investigators to clear that up. we'll figure out what we learned in time. however, it is quite obvious that if these people were living in plain sight, which is clear, i believe, everybody can include that, at least the paris attackers were -- and we'll wait for the identity of those based on the surveillance picture, but they could have cased the joint months ago. >> yeah, so we'll see if the attackers today have been long-term residents and as well for abdeslam, he came back from france, but he moved around just the way osama bin laden first

moved around. so he wasn't sitting there the whole time. i think he got squashed out by the raid the week before. so this was one person, and i'm sure being rather closely held there. but again, it can be a dangerous community. it is a dangerous community. i mean, there are dangerous elements in that community. but i was a high school graduation speaker at that muslim high school. there are a lot of people who live in that community who work for law firms and u.s. companies. it is a function that there are radicalized people from europe who return from syria, and that's a problem with how you have security and build a society. >> give me a sense of what the people in brussels feel at the moment. you know they've been on edge for more than four months. then this happens. and for the people at the airport and train station, you know the instant that happened, they knew they were under attack yet again. so what is the feeling tonight about how they find a way to

stop what seems to be a very violent future. >> for the people in belgium, we were supposed to have dinner with friends, and their children are too upset and won't come out tonight. for the people in belgium, this was their 9/11. this is different than paris. this wasn't a couple people who went to do something elsewhere. this is -- they were under attack. they were trying to get to work. the streets were turned into a war zone. i live right on the corner near the parliament, 100 feet from the u.s. embassy. we had army trucks up and down. the security guys were carrying uzis. they used to guard me and carry guns under jackets. they found their society really hit today, and the closest and only thing i've ever seen to it is how washington felt when we were panicking in 9/11. how we stop it is a different problem. this is a world problem. this isn't a belgium problem. there was an intelligence

failure today, and they're going to keep hitting targets. it could be the eiffel tower. it could be the eu. once they get into europe, you can drive anywhere you want in europe. an hour from where the attacks were today in any direction, and you're out of belgium. you're in germany, the netherlands, or france. they can blow those up just as easily without ever seeing security. >> when you think about the eiffel tower, now lit in the colors of the belgian flag, and we're showing that to our viewers as we speak to you, when you talk about an intelligence failure, how do they correct this? because you know the neighborhood. you've described it to us very well. you spent a lot of time there. but they knew where these guys came from after paris. and yet, they were able to evade capture or evade arrest or evade detection for that amount of time when the focus of the continent was on that area. how is that possible? >> i think the intelligence failure here wasn't belgian intelligence. we'll wait and see. i suspect it's an intelligence failure coming out of syria. i suspect this was a dispatch to

pull this off today. they may have entered belgium a day ago with nobody particularly knowing, and we'll have to see. that's a world intelligence failure. we used to get, you know, listening to the lines and air waves, we would get chatter that made you think there could be something happening, and i would immediately tell the belgian interior minister and put out a warning, stay away from the airport and trains. we did that twice in my four years. we weren't picking that up this time. so the organizers are going better and going black and going underground. >> just to be clear, you're not excusing the intelligence failure here. i want to be clear on that, correct? >> i am condemning it but saying it's far broader than a belgian failure. there was an intelligence failure that someone planned this. i can't imagine this was planned in some store front. this was planned and dispatched. we'll see if i'm right. if it was, that's a german intelligence failure, a u.s. intelligence failure, a japanese

intelligence failure just as much as a belgian intelligence failure. >> thank you for your time. i'm out of time now. former ambassador to belgium. thank you, sir. live there in brussels. as we await more answers on, this the world is on alert, as you can imagine, following the deadly bombings. we go live to times square to find out what new york city is doing to prevent a similar attack. that's next live from the fox news desk. this is sheldon whose long day setting up the news starts with minor arthritis pain and a choice. take tylenol or take aleve,

the #1 recommended pain reliever by orthopedic doctors. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. back to the news.

city stands ready to fight terrorism in every way. this after the attack in brussels. this from new york. >> what the torerists want is to change our ways. they want to undermine our democracy, undermine our values, see us in panic and we refuse to

be afraid, respond to their efforts to create chaos by showing our society, our city functioning. >> no specific threat against new york, but officials have deployed additional police to key sites across the city, especially the subway system. rick, the nypd in force today, you have seen that clearly. >> reporter: with good reason, bill. there have been 20 foiled terror plots against the city since 9/11, a top target for terrorists, the most of any police department in any of america. when they learned about the attacks in brussels this morning, the hercules team, they pass through to and from work every single day. state and transit groups, heavy

weapons and long guns, explosion detectors and canine teams, also, they stepped up already on law enforcement's radar. >> behind the uniform presence is a unrivalled gathering and analysis capability, threatened by the extraordinarily close working relationship with with our federal colleagues. >> this isn't something we started thinking about between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m., this is something we think about every minute of everyday. >> and the increased police presence, especially subway and train stations will last for at least several more days. >> what about the airports, rick? what have you learned? >> reporter: in charge of security at the three major new york airports, and i'm told that they are out in force, on heightened alert in all hands on deck. source tells me again, no action able intelligence, plots against

the airports, but they needed to direct all of the resources and there is an overall heightened level of security. every uniform that's possible in sight for reassurance and deterrence. they're also getting help from national guard troops and other agencies. bill, no one suggests there may be an attack, but as you heard earlier this hour, they're on guard just in case. >> thank you, rick, just down the street from us. thank you, rick, we'll be right back.

european solidarity already. 9:00 local time in europe. there is the eiffel tower lit up in paris, also from berlin. the brandenberg gait. rome lit the same way. back to where it all began in

brussels, this is the scene outside the stock exchange in brussels, belgium, tonight. what a day it has been. we will update you on any updates we get here throughout the evening. i'm bill for shepherd smith. all the major airports, or at least the most popular ones are on heightened alerts right now. if you are flying any where tonight, or know someone who is, plan on waiting. plan on them waiting. plan on it taking a while. we are all over the brussels attacks. what authorities are looking for, and maybe what they are fearing that could spread way beyond just brussels. welcome, everybody. we'll be talking to rudy giuliani security measures should take place, and then senator john mccain, the cues we're missing