Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Muslims were not reporting “suspicious activity” enough and “must do more” to help prevent attacks like the one in Brussels, Belgium, on Tuesday, which killed at least 35 people. The real estate magnate called Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam’s arrest in Brussels – days before multiple explosions hit the city – a “disgrace” because he was apprehended in the area where he lived. “He was in his neighbourhood where he grew up, and nobody even turned him in, and supposedly this is retribution for that,” he said.

The Republican front-runner often makes headlines for his controversial statements – in December last year, he had called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. In the interview broadcast on Britain’s ITV television, he also alleged that there were signs that the San Bernardino attacks in California last December, which in 14 people were killed, could have been stopped, Reuters reported. “It’s like they’re protecting each other, but they’re really doing very bad damage. They have to open up to society; they have to report the bad ones,” he said.

Echoing Trump’s earlier remarks, Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz said the US should disallow refugees coming in from countries with Islamic State clout, Associated Press reported. The terror outfit claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attacks at the Brussels airport and a metro station. Cruz said in a statement, “We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighbourhoods before they become radicalised.” Trump also told CNN that he supported Cruz’s plan to increase surveillance of Muslim neighbourhoods, and called for harsher interrogation techniques to be used to prevent such terror strikes.