Presidential candidate Donald Trump has said the US should be “extremely careful about people from the Middle East coming into our country” after the terrorist attacks in Brussels by Daesh.

The Republican frontrunner, who in December called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” said on US television this morning: “Frankly, we’re having problems with the Muslims.

“I'd be extremely careful about people from the Middle East coming into our country. We should be vigilant at our borders."

The Middle East is made up of more than 370 million people of varied ethnicities, including more than 20 million non-Muslims.

Speaking on the Fox Business Network, he also told host Maria Bartiromo that American Muslims should be regularly watched.

“These attacks are not done by Swedish people, that I can tell you. We need surveillance. You need to deal with the mosques, whether you like it or not. We have to be smart, we have to be vigilant.”

In contrast, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton said on NBC’s Today programme that the US must be “absolutely smart and strong and steady” in its response to the attacks, which killed at least 34 people.

“It's unrealistic to say we're going to completely shut down our borders to everyone,” Mrs Clinton added.