Two Americans confirmed dead in Brussels attacks
At least two Americans were killed in the Brussels attacks, multiple media outlets reported Friday.
The development came as Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Brussels to hold counterterrorism talks with the Belgian government and European Union officials.
He also paid his respects to the 31 people who were killed and the dozens wounded in Tuesday's attacks. He said the assault "struck at the very heart of Europe."
Kerry said the “United States is praying and grieving with you for the loved ones of those cruelly taken from us, including Americans, and for the many who were injured in these despicable attacks.”
He did not specify how many Americans were killed. The Associated Press and NBC News reported two had died. No further details were provided.
Family members said Friday that two siblings living in New York, Alexander Pinczowski and his sister, Sascha, were killed at Brussels Airport, CBS News, Fox News and The Daily News reported.
The siblings, who were Dutch citizens, were on the phone speaking to their mother before boarding a flight to JFK airport when the phone went dead at the time of bombing.
“The family would like to express their gratitude for all the compassion and they now need time to grieve," Fans Van Herteren, a family friend, said in a statement Friday confirming the two deaths, The Daily News reported.
British officials say David Dixon, a computer programmer and U.K. citizen living in Brussels, died in the bombing on the Brussels subway. The Chinese embassy reported the death of a Chinese national identified only by his surname — Deng.
Kerry arrived in Brussels amid pressure on Belgian authorities for lapses in security services.
Belgium’s interior and justice ministers offered to resign after it was revealed Turkey deported one of the suicide bombers over concerns he was a militant but that Belgium failed to act on the warning. Prime Minister Michel refused to accept the resignations.
Complaints grow that Belgium bungled security before attacks
The country also bungled a counterterrorism raid and appeared to miss other signs of an imminent attack.
The Brussels bombings and the attacks in Paris that left 130 dead have been linked by investigators, who now believe both incidents were carried out by the same Belgium-based Islamic State cell.