Small but painful sacrifices needed to deal with growing terror threat

THE devastating attacks in Brussels on Tuesday morning served yet another painful reminder to the rest of the world of the serious and ongoing threat of terrorism.

The death toll from three coordinated bombings in the Belgian capital is at least 34, with more than 250 others injured so far. The Islamic State (IS) militant group claimed responsibility for the attacks, the worst act of terrorism to ever strike Belgium.

This latest incident further drives home the point that Singapore Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam made in a major speech last Friday, when he stressed that IS posed "a far graver threat that Al-Qaeda and its affiliates ever were". As things stand, the terror group is looking to establish a caliphate in South-east Asia that includes Singapore.