(VOVworld) - Three bomb attacks in Brussels this week made tragically real the threat from a new generation of IS (Islamic State) jihadist extremism. The IS has claimed responsibility for the Brussels attacks and warned of “dark days” ahead if the West retaliates. 

Flowers and candles were placed outside the Brussels Stock Exchange at the heart of the city on Tuesday night. (Photo: Martin Meissner/AP)

The world was shocked by the bomb attacks at Brussels’ main airport and the Maelbeek metro station which killed 34 people and injured 230 on the morning of March 22. Belgium, the heart of the European Union and the Headquarters of NATO, has sent fighter jets to the Middle East to participate in air strikes against the IS.

The bomb attacks came 4 days after Belgian federal police arrested Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in the Paris massacre which killed 130 people and injured 300 last November. Belgium’s Interior Minister Jan Jambon said Monday, the day before the attack, that Belgian was on the highest alert level in anticipation of a retaliating attack.

Brussels police are looking for a man who was seen pushing a luggage trolley through the airport. Two other men were arrested a mile from the Maelbeek metro station at 11am, two hours after the deadly blasts which paralyzed the entire Brussels metro system.

The Brussels terror attacks raise the question whether the bombers belong to the Abdeslam network or another jihadist group unknown to intelligence agencies.

According to latest statistics released by France’s Centre for the Analysis of Terrorism 2,030 French, 1,600 British, 800 German and 534 Belgian citizens have left Europe to join Middle East jihadist groups. Terrorist groups are recruiting and training European citizens with the aim of sending them back to their home country to carry out terrorist attacks. These individuals have valid identification papers, are familiar with the language and geography, and are now acquiring weapon skills. Counter-terrorism agencies in Europe have foiled a number of plots, but, they are overloaded with work and many terrorists have surely evaded their attention so far.

Beyond warning the public of terror threats, French analysts say it is essential to understand the root causes of the situation and why Europe has been targeted. They point to the children of Muslim immigrants who are being required by jihadist terrorism.

Romain Caillet, an independent jihadism expert, says Muslim youth in Europe feel they are victims of prejudice and discrimination.

According to an EU survey on ethnic minorities and discrimination, one third of Muslim youths say they have been victims of discrimination. The strongest responses came from those between the ages of 16 and 24. These young people have higher unemployment and lower pay than children of European natives.

This has resulted in widespread poverty. While only 10% of indigenous Belgians are living below the poverty line, Belgians from Turkey and Morocco are at 59% and 56%, respectively. There are 4.7 million Muslims living in France, and many of them are poor. It is estimated that 1,500 French citizens have left for Syria and Iraq, and 11,000 have been identified by French security analysts as Islamic extremists.