Thousands also posted tweets using the #StopIslam handle to express their anger against Muslims after the attacks, although others rejected it as Islamophobic and racist.
US President Barack Obama vowed to stand with Belgium in the face of the “outrageous” attacks, while the FBI and New York police said they would send investigators to help.
Hundreds of flights and trains were cancelled as Europe tightened security, while the US warned citizens about the “potential risks” of travelling in Europe and New York and Washington stepped up security.
– ‘Bombs in their bags’ –
Pierre Meys, spokesman for the Brussels fire brigade, told AFP at least 14 people had been killed at the airport, while Brussels mayor Yvan Mayeur said “around 20” died in the metro.
The first to be identified was Adelma Marina Tapia Ruiz, a Peruvian woman who had been living in Brussels for six years and was with her family in the airport when the blast went off, according to the foreign ministry.
More than 200 people were wounded in the two attacks, including four Mormon missionaries — three Americans and one French — two Britons, two Colombians and an Ecuadorian. France said eight of its nationals were hurt, though it was unclear if this included the Mormon.
Anaysts said the attacks pointed to a sophisticated jihadist network operating in Europe, and Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Europe had “allowed security to slip”, as he questioned the EU’s Schengen passport-free zone.
Belgian authorities published surveillance images showing the three male suspects of the airport attack. Two had dark hair and were wearing a glove on only one hand, and a third wearing a hat and a white coat.
“They came in a taxi with their suitcases, their bombs were in their bags,” Zaventem mayor Francis Vermeiren said.
“They put their suitcases on trolleys, the first two bombs exploded. The third also put his on a trolley but he must have panicked, it didn’t explode.”
Belgian authorities had been on alert after Abdeslam, Europe’s most wanted man, told investigators he had been planning an attack on Brussels.
He was caught on Friday after evading capture for four months including, officers believe, escaping a shootout that saw a Kalashnikov-wielding man killed and four police officers wounded.
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