Three bomb attacks claimed by ISIS rocked an airport and a metro station in the Belgian capital on Tuesday, leaving 31 dead and some 300 others injured. Two Americans were killed as a result and 16 more were injured.

In his weekly address from the White House on Saturday, Obama expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, noting that the US is working to prevent similar attacks against America and its allies in the future.

"We have ramped up our intelligence cooperation so that we can root out ISIS’s operations. And we constantly review our homeland security posture to remain vigilant against any efforts to target the United States," Obama said.

Speaking about his upcoming meeting with foreign leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping during a Washington nuclear summit on Thursday and Friday, the president said he would use the opportunity to review international efforts against ISIS.

He also blasted Republican presidential hopefuls’ rhetoric against Muslim communities in the US.

"We have to reject any attempt to stigmatize Muslim-Americans, and their enormous contributions to our country and our way of life," he explained.

New York businessman and leading GOP nomination candidate Donald Trump has called for a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the US, while proposing special IDs and a national database to track them.

His closest challenger, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, has also called on the US police to step up scrutinizing largely-Muslim neighborhoods.

Obama made the remarks shortly after returning from a historic trip to Latin America on Friday, where he took criticism for attending a baseball game in Cuba and for dancing the tango in Argentina in the aftermath of the attacks.

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