US says two more Americans dead in Brussels attacks, total now four

Brussels: Workers of Brussels public transport company STIB-MIVB gather to pay a tribute in the square outside the stock exchange in Brussels on March 27, 2016 an area which has become an unofficial shrine to victims of the March 22, terror attacks claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group in which 31 people were killed and over 300 injured. Police fired water a cannon at far-right football hooligans who invaded a square in the Belgian capital that has become a memorial to the victims of the Brussels attacks, an AFP journalist said. Police took action after about 200 black-clad hooligans shouting nationalist and anti-immigrant slogans moved in on the Place de la Bourse where people were gathering in a show of solidarity with the victims. AFP/Belga/Nicolas Maeterlinck

March 28, 2016
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US State Department on Sunday confirmed the deaths of two more Americans in the Brussels suicide attacks, bringing the total number to four.

"We can confirm the deaths of two additional US citizens in Brussels, and we express our deepest condolences to their loved ones," a State Department official told AFP.

The department had reported Friday that two Americans were killed and that additional US citizens were missing.

"We have no further information to share out of respect for the families during this difficult time," the official said Sunday.

An American couple that had been reported missing, Justin and Stephanie Shults, were confirmed dead by an employer and family on Saturday. It was unclear whether they were among the four reported dead by the State Department.

Tuesday's attacks on the Brussels airport and metro system, claimed by the Islamic State group, killed 31 people and wounded 340.

The State Department official said the US embassy in Brussels was providing consular assistance.