ed Defeating terrorism

A series of bomb blasts caused carnage and chaos in Brussels on Tuesday, killing at least 34 people and injuring more than 200 others.

At 8 a.m. two explosions occurred in the departure area of Brussels Airport. About one hour later, another blast rocked the Maelbeek Metro Station in the heart of the city, leaving 20 dead and injuring 100 others ― 10 seriously.

The attacks in Brussels came four months after those in Paris that killed 130 people and left Europe and the rest of the world with heightened fears about terrorism once again.

The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the latest acts of murderous violence. Belgian police are reportedly carrying out raids across the country to capture a man believed to be on the run following the attacks.

Terrorist concerns about Brussels, which is located in the heart of Europe, have been all the more realistic, particularly in the wake of the arrest of key Paris attack suspect Saleh Abdeslam last week. A number of Belgians have travelled to the Middle East to join the IS, also known as ISIS, and other terrorist groups.

Terrorism against innocent civilians can’t be justified whatever the reason may be. We condemn the deadly terrorist attacks in Brussels in the name of humankind.

In recent years, the international community has made all-out efforts to fight terrorism, but to no avail. Rather, terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists have increased.

Turkey is a case in point. A string of suicide bombings, including a car bomb blast on March 13, killed more than 200 people there in the last eight months as the conflict between the state and Kurdish militants in the southeast has escalated.

IS has spearheaded most of the recent high-profile terrorist attacks or stood behind them at least. However, all these have occurred while the United States and its allies have been bombing IS.

So it is rational to say that other ways should be sought to eradicate terrorism. Even now, the international community must negotiate fundamental anti-terrorist measures.

Korea has been relatively safe when it comes to terrorism. But this is no time for complacency. More recently, IS published information on 20 Koreans, including 11 government officials, on YouTube, urging its followers to ``kill them wherever you find them.’’

The anti-terrorism bill managed to pass the National Assembly earlier this month, but it’s unclear how instrumental this law will be in defeating terrorism. We always should be on alert over possible terrorist attacks.