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Belgium's Mousa Dembele rocked by Brussels attacks

Belgium's Mousa Dembele says it has been difficult to comprehend this week's suicide bombings in Brussels.

Tottenham midfielder Dembele, 28, is a Muslim and has been horrified to see terrorists claim that they are acting in the name of his religion.

"What happened is, for everyone, a huge disappointment," La Derniere Heure quoted Dembele as saying at a Belgian team news conference on Thursday. "Also, even more so, for a Muslim.

"What I know is that these terrorists are enemies that cannot be allowed to win. They can't claim to be Muslims and dishonour our religion.

"They've done immense harm to it -- especially since people and even the media do not always present Islam in a good light.

"The jihadists are our enemies and they kill us as well. So don't confuse us with them."

Like Dembele, Napoli winger Dries Mertens, 28, is happy that next week's friendly against Portugal is going ahead, albeit after being moved from Belgium as a result of the bomb blasts.

"I have friends who work for Brussels Airlines," he told reporters when asked about Tuesday's events. "I got in touch with them directly to see how things were. They were in a situation where they saw things that they didn't want to see.

"When I play football, I forget things so I really wanted to play this game. We wanted to play it in Belgium too because for us it's important to play at home and even the fans could forget things a little bit."

Nantes midfielder Guillaume Gillet has also found it difficult to get over the terror attacks.

"I was a bit shocked," the former Anderlecht player said. "You feel under attack -- stunned by this horror. You say to yourself that it could happen to any of us. That freezes the blood a little."

Despite the trauma, Gillet, 32, feels that it is important to get back to playing as quickly as possible.

"It's the best thing in order to forget this tragedy even if football, in these conditions, remains ridiculous," he said. "It would be good to show that Belgium is strong."