GETTY Syria, led by president Bashar Assad, has criticised the west amid the Brussels attacks

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A source at the war-ravaged country’s foreign ministry claimed the attacks were the consequence of some countries "describing terrorist groups as moderate”. The comments, coming from a country that has been overrun by extremist Islamist groups including Islamic State (ISIS), who are blamed for the Brussels attack, are likely to spark fury across the Europe. Damascus used the latest massacre in a European capital to call for “international efforts to confront the danger of terrorism”.

But Syria is regarded as the world’s largest incubator for terrorist activity and has drawn thousands of Europeans to fight jihad - hundreds of whom have since returned home. The coordinated explosions prompted Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz to urge Barack Obama to stop his “ill-advised plan to bring in tens of thousand of Syrian refugees” to the United States. His sentiment has long been echoed by Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, who has called for a ban on Muslims entering the country.

Brussels terrorist attacks Wed, March 22, 2017 The Brussels airport and Metro bombings in pictures, including the aftermath of the tragic scenes. Play slideshow AFP/Getty Images 1 of 61 A member of the civil protection holds his face in his hands as he come back from the Maalbeek metro station in Brussels

The war of words suggests sharply differing views on who is to blame for the upsurge in Islamist related terrorist activity in recent years. Despite the unnamed Syrian official’s controversial remarks, several of Syria’s neighbours expressed solidarity with Belgium. Turkey and six Gulf Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, spoke out against the attacks.

GETTY Security was tightened across the jittery continent and transport links paralysed after the bombings

GETTY Alert Level Orange sign is seen on an EU Commission building

GETTY Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz

Both Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and the spokesman of President Tayyip Erdogan strongly condemned the attacks, which came three days after a suspected ISIS member blew himself up in Istanbul, killing four tourists. The secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Abdullatif al-Zayani, said in a statement the GCC offered its support to Belgium. The bloc comprises Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.