Eiffel Tower to be lit up with Belgian flag colours 'in solidarity' with Brussels, says Paris

The mayor of Paris has said 'we are united'

The Eiffel Tower as it was lit up following the Paris attacks in November 2015 (@Anne_Hidalgo/Twitter)

The Eiffel Tower will be lit up in black, yellow and red in solidarity with Belgium following the bomb attacks in Brussels.

Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, has tweeted that the famous landmark of France's capital will be illuminated in the colours of its neighbour after blasts in which at least 26 people were killed.

Ms Hidalgo said: "In solidarity with the people of Brussels, Paris will light up the Eiffel Tower in the colours of the Belgian flag tonight. #Weareunited."

The airport blasts struck at just after 8am local time, reportedly close to the American Airlines section of the terminal.

Another explosion then hit Maalbeek Metro station, located near EU institutions, one hour later.

Charles Michel, the prime minister of Belgium, has tweeted his condemnation of the attacks on his country.

At least 132 people were killed during a series of attacks across the French capital in November 2015, the deadliest act of terror Europe since the Madrid train bombings of 2004.

Several of the attackers in Paris had links with Brussels, and French and Belgian police have since worked together to establish the events leading up to the attacks.

Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris (Rex Features)

Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected ringleader who attacked bars and restaurants, was a Belgian national who was killed in northern Paris a few days after the shootings.

Salah Abdeslam, meanwhile, was a French national born in Brussels who had been hunted by police since fleeing the scene on November 13.

Abdeslam was captured in Brussels while brandishing a handgun and was reportedly shot in the knee before being taken away by police on Friday.

Questions have since been raised as to how police in France and Belgium allowed him to pass back through after checks, and why with a history of petty crime Belgian police had not flagged him up sooner.

One district in Brussels, Molenbeek, has become a particular focus of investigations following the Paris attacks, with commentators noting unemployment and disengagement have allowed radical preachers promoting violent jihadi doctrine to gain a foothold.

When the Paris shootings happened, many countries around the world also showed their solidarity with France by lighting their monuments in the Tricolor colours.