At least two American citizens were killed in Tuesday’s terrorist attacks in Brussels, a U.S. official confirmed Friday, as Secretary of State John Kerry visited the Belgian capital to offer his condolences.
Sascha and Alexander Pinczowski, a brother and sister, both Dutch citizens who had been living in New York City, were killed in the attacks.
“We received confirmation this morning from Belgian Authorities and the Dutch Embassy of the positive identification of the remains of Alexander and Sascha. We are grateful to have closure on this tragic situation, and are thankful for the thoughts and prayers from all. The family is in the process of making arrangements,” a statement on behalf of the family provided to CBS News reads.
The two siblings were at the airport preparing to fly home to New York and on the phone with their mother when she heard an explosion and the call disconnected.
“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,” Kerry said following a meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, according to the Associated Press, thought it wasn’t immediately clear which Americans Kerry was referring to.
“We — all of us representing countless nationalities — have a message for those who inspired or carried out the attacks here or in Paris, or Ankara, or Tunis, or San Bernardino, or elsewhere: We will not be intimidated,” Kerry said directly to terror groups and their sympathizers and supporters. “We will not be deterred. We will come back with greater resolve — with greater strength — and we will not rest until we have eliminated your nihilistic beliefs and cowardice from the face of the Earth.”
Tuesday’s attacks at Brussels Airport in Zaventem and at Maalbeek metro station in Brussels — both by suicide bombers — left 31 dead and roughly 200 more people injured.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The three bombers — two brothers, Khalid and Ibrahim el-Bakraoui and Najim Laachraoui — have been linked to the same terrorist cell that plotted the November 2015 Paris attacks.
