WATCH: How Belgium Became A Hotbed For Terrorism

Mere hours after two deadly terrorist attacks rocked Belgium's capital, Brussels, the country's government and security branches faced harsh questions over whether they had done everything in their power to prevent the tragedy. 

The investigations into the Nov. 2015 attacks in Paris and last week's assaults in Brussels put the country in the spotlight as an important hub in the European jihadist network, and a recruitment centre for the self-described Islamic State. In terms of proportion to its population, Belgium now ranks at the top of the list of European nations whose citizens have gone to fight alongside ISIS. 

Belgium's counterterrorism efforts are hampered by the country's complicated institutional makeup, linguistic barriers, discontent in some impoverished immigrant neighborhoods and conflicts among different branches of the security apparatus. 

To learn more about the various factors that came into play ahead of the Brussels attack, watch the video above.