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New Anti-Terror Raids across France; Paris Attacks Dominate Start of G20 Summit; Former ISIS Captive Speaks Out; Remembering the Paris Attack Victims. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired November 16, 2015 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[00:00:00] BLITZER: For all the breaking news on the Paris terror attacks. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Thanks very much for joining us.

AMARA WALKER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us. We begin with breaking news out of France, a predawn anti-terror raid. Police swooping in on multiple cities across the country and all of this unfolding in just the last few hours.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And in a show of might by French authorities and the military, warplanes have also taken the fight back to ISIS in Syria. Those planes striking militant stronghold in Raqqa in northern Syria earlier on Sunday. Back in Europe authorities trying to find at least one terror attack suspect who remains on the loose as well as others who may have been involved in the Paris attacks.

WALKER: And in Paris, a moment of panic at a memorial. People began running amid rumors of gunfire. Authorities say there was no evidence of any shots fired and right now, as you'd imagine, fear and sorrow runs deep in Paris.

Let's bring in Fred Pleitgen now from Paris and he has the very latest on those anti-terror raids and tell us what you know about these raids. We understand they're not connected to the Paris attacks?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that is what the authorities are saying, Amara. However, of course, we do have to keep in mind that one of the reasons why these raids are taking place, at least according to many French media outlets, there is that -- there is a state of emergency that has been in place since the attacks happened here on Friday. And of course, that state of emergency is going to remain in place for a couple of months to come as the French government has said. So while it's not directly linked to this, it certainly is within the wider realm of these attacks having taken place.

Now the raids are taking place in four different cities that we know of at this point in time. The main one would be in Toulouse which is in the south of the country and the latest information that we have there, Amara, is that three people have been arrested in those raids in a district of Toulouse called Mirail which is known for people who have been radicalized and have tried to make their way to Syria in the past. It was also the home of Mohammed Mera, who was a gunman in that area in 2012 who died in a shootout with the police. He was also someone who was radicalized there as well.

Now the other raids are taking place really in various parts of France. You have one in Bobigny which is just to the north of Paris. You have one in Grenoble and then you have one in Calais in the north of France. And again, it's not clear if -- or the authorities here are saying they're not connected directly to the attacks that happened here in Paris on Friday. However, of course, within the wider realm of the security situation here in this country, with that -- those emergency measures in place, this is something that where we believe that the authorities, they are trying to show that they have the situation under control, and of course, are also trying to make sure that nothing else happens here in this country -- Amara.

HOLMES: And, Fred, we have, of course, seen lone wolf attacks in recent times, but this attack -- these attacks bear the hallmarks of organization we have not seen in the West for a very long time. Do authorities know exactly how many people they are looking for because those attackers must have had a support network.

PLEITGEN: Well, they certainly do that they -- believe that they had a support network but at this point in time, Michael, it really is unclear what that support network might have been. It's unclear how many people might have been in that support network. However, of the course, we know that there is an arrest warrant out, a Europe-wide arrest warrant for one more individual who appears to be at large, Salah Abdeslam, whom the authorities are looking for. He apparently got away after the attacks on Friday.

And the interesting thing that we found out is that he was questioned by police hours after that attack took place as he appeared to be on his way towards Belgium. Now he was in custody. He was questioned. And then he was released again. But you're absolutely right. The attacks here certainly in many ways bear the hallmarks of sophisticated organization. We know that at least three of the attackers had traveled to Syria.

It appears as though at least one of the attackers made it back to Europe via the refugee route that so many people are taking via Greece. There are fingerprints from the Greek authorities, but then you just have the entire weaponry that these people have. The fact that they all of them had AK-47s, the fact that all of them or most of them seem to have suicide vests, that all of which were of the exact same make so it did require a certain degree of sophistication and there are very few people, Michael, who believe that these people would have acted on their own.

HOLMES: Yes, indeed. And the making of those suicide vests, it does take a degree of talent. So there is somebody out there with that capability in Europe.

[00:05:02] Fred Pleitgen there, thanks.

WALKER: Thank you, Fred.

Well, the investigation into the Paris attacks has led investigators to Belgium and authorities have issued an international warrant for this man, as Frederik Pleitgen was just mentioning, Salah Abdeslam, and a source close to the investigation tells CNN French police questioned Abdeslam a few hours after the attacks but again they let him go as you just heard.

HOLMES: And now they suspect he was, as Fred was reporting there, involved in the terror plot.

Our senior international correspondent Ivan Watson is in Brussels following that line of inquiry and it's been a concern, hasn't it, just how many extremists have been operating in Brussels.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, Belgium has the dubious distinction of per capita being the largest exporter of recruits to jihad movements in the Middle East, per capita, the largest contributor to that in western Europe with estimates of more than 440 citizens of this country who have gone to the Middle East to fight. Dozens of them have died on the battle fields there in Syria.

And the links to the Paris attacks in Belgium and in Brussels are very, very strong. The Federal Prosecutor's Office here says at least two of the Paris attackers were residents of Brussels, in particular residents of the neighborhood of Molenbeek, and that is where Belgium authorities arrested at least seven people over the course of the weekend believed to be linked someway to the attacks. We don't have further details on that.

We also know that at least two of the cars that were believed to have been used implicated in the Paris attacks were actually rented last week here in the Brussels area and the person who is believed to have rented them was intercepted en route to Belgium from France on Sunday, later released, and that car that the person was traveling in was later found again in this Brussels suburb of Molenbeek.

That neighborhood comes up again and again and not just in this anti- terror investigation. Last January we were here in -- looking at an investigation of a couple of suspected jihads who died in a firefight in the part of Belgium hailing also from the Molenbeek neighborhood. It's an area with a large immigrant population with more than 40 percent youth unemployment and top government officials here are saying we really now have to do something, something has gotten out of control in that neighborhood -- Michael.

WALKER: Yes, and because of this link, Ivan, how much intelligence sharing has there been between French and Belgium authorities considering the fact that, you know, after the "Charlie Hebdo" attacks in January, we saw, as you mentioned, those series of raids carried out also in Belgium that also resulted in several arrests.

WATSON: Well, they say there is communication. There have been announcements in the wake of the Friday attacks that the French and the Belgian authorities are working together. The Belgians have said they've stepped up security on their frontier with France, but some of the names that have come up, such as Salah Abdeslam, the man who has this international arrest warrant, who is born here in Belgium, his name from what I understand was not known to the French authorities. He was not on a watch list in France.

So there are going to be questions now about coordination, about intelligence sharing in the wake of this. And again, coming back to Belgium's very difficult history with jihadism, with Islamist fundamentalist terrorism, it has been a reoccurring problem here. There was a Jewish cultural center target of a deadly attack in 2014. There's a group grown up here called Sharia for Belgium. It was declared a terrorist organization by a court here in Belgium last February. That is believed to have been a recruiting organization for other jihadis from Belgium in the past.

Belgian authorities are going to have to take a deep hard look at why again and again citizens of their country have come up when it comes to militants coming from here, trying to go to the Middle East and also some of these homegrown plots that have proven to be so deadly in the French capital -- Amara.

WALKER: Yes, a lot of questions to ask. You know, were there intelligence failures and of course, what the public wants to know is if and how many attackers remain at large at this point.

Ivan Watson with a view from Brussels, appreciate that, Ivan. Thank you.

HOLMES: Thanks, Ivan.

Well, the first suicide bomber who detonated explosives, that was at the Stade de France, was carrying a counterfeit Syrian passport. That from a French senator who was briefed by the Interior Ministry.

[00:10:10] WALKER: The senator added that the bomber was also carrying a document registering him for refugee status. Now European officials suspect terrorists may be blending into large groups of migrants along the route you see here and using the crisis to enter and attack areas targeted by their organizations.

CNN's Arwa Damon explains how this particular attacker made it to France.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Syrian passport found on the scene that is believed to have been doctored or faked was traced back to an individual who crossed through this very island, the island of Leros, one of the many transit points for migrants and refugees making that very dangerous crossing from Turkey to Greece and then onwards to Europe.

According to Greek authorities, this individual crossed through here on October 3rd, with around 200 other individuals. He was then also traced back to having transited through Serbia on October 7th. Of course a lot of questions are being raised a little bit about the process. When refugees and migrants arrived at these various different locations in Greece, they are processed and this means that they are fingerprinted and whether or not they have identification, this registration process will take place. If they don't have any sort of identification, they are interrogated.

They do have someone who asks them questions so that they can vet as best to their ability that this person's identity, that they are who in fact they claim to be. But if their fingerprints are not located in a preexisting database, there is no way to have any sort of red flag be raised at this stage in the process and this is, of course, why so many have been and continue to be so concerned about the fact that ISIS, ISIS sympathizers, other extremists might be exploiting and capitalizing on this refugee route to try to reach Europe.

Refugees we have been speaking to have really been expressing their horror and their dismay on what happened in Paris. They say that they do not, absolutely do not support this kind of violence. In fact, it's this kind of violence that drove the vast majority of them from their homes and there is of course an understandable amount of anxiety amongst them because they do realize that they have a long journey ahead of them and they do realize that the blowback from this kind of violence could mean that Europe will also turn against them potentially not be as welcoming toward refugees, making the whole integration process even harder. And if that rift grows even wider than it already is, that can play straight into ISIS' hands.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Arwa Damon there reporting from Leros, in Greece.

And as we mentioned, French warplanes bombing targets in the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria.

WALKER: And the airstrikes were launched out of the United Arab Emirates and Jordan Sunday, just two days after the Paris terror attacks and ISIS media wing says the fights were abandoned before the strikes and that no one had been killed.

For insight and analysis of the French airstrikes, CNN military analyst, retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, joining us now from Orlando, Florida.

Great to see you. So we can start with these, you know, airstrikes, I mean, the fact that ISIS evacuated their key facilities, anticipating these retaliatory strikes, and now ISIS is saying that, you know, no one was killed in this, I mean, what does France's airstrikes in effect achieve, if any, on the battle field or is this something that's more symbolic?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Right. It's certainly symbolic, Amara. But I wouldn't quite believe that they have completely abandoned all of those facilities. There were some pretty good targets that's there. But you also have to remember, too, is this was a handover of a target set more than likely from the what's called the ATO, the air tasking order. So when France came in and said they wanted to conduct these attacks, these target packages were already in folders as they're called and I'm sure the central command handed them over to the French fighters to attack for the symbolism of France being back in the fight. But there's much more to it than that. This is a strategically

symbolic attack. Bring in another coalition member in this fight even though France has already hit targets in Syria as recently as the 10th of November but it shows an uptick potentially in more people wanting -- more nations wanting to contribute to this fight.

HOLMES: In terms of the battlefield, Mark, you know, you got ISIS under pressure in Ramadi, in Sinjar, the Kurds aren't all that far from Raqqa itself, do you see this as an expansion of what happened in Paris, a deliberate expansion of the battle field, if you like, which actually does tie in with their notion of a caliphate to take the fight to countries not yet Muslim ruled?

[00:15:00] HERTLING: Well, it was an easy thing to do truthfully, Michael. When I first heard that this was a reaction by the French Air Force I said OK, that is exactly one of the things that they need to do but there are several other things that need to be happening. You know, the president -- our president said the other day that the fight was now contained in Syria and Iraq with ISIS and those of us in the military understood what that meant.

That meant that they have not had the freedom of movement that they did have earlier in the year, that the maneuver forces have seemed to be contained a little bit and constrained from offensive maneuver and they've gone more on the defensive but the very fact that -- that ISIS is conducting operations in Lebanon, in Sinai and in France now gives an indication that they might be shifting some of their focus on external targets as well as trying to establish the caliphate within Syria and Iraq.

WALKER: Yes. And the timing of it was interesting, too. Those comments by President Obama that, you know, ISIS had been, quote- unquote, "contained." I mean, that was on Thursday and then Friday you see these mass terror attacks in Paris. And, I mean, do you think the president underestimated the threat of ISIS considering the fact that it is having a growing reach now outside its borders of Syria and Iraq?

HERTLING: Well, I think what he was really pointing out and it was perhaps one could judge it now as an unfortunate timing of his words when he said they were contained and it's generated a lot of debate certainly. But what he was saying, I think, was we are seeing less and less capability within Syria of this group and within Iraq of this group and they have been hindered. Make no mistake about it.

In fact, it surprised me watching Nick Paton Walsh this week in Sinjar, I thought for sure there would be much more of a fight by ISIS in that town. The very fact that the Peshmerga were able to go in there so easily and didn't have a fight after they occupied the town told me that ISIS is suffering in Iraq and Syria. They have reached a point where it is becoming more and more difficult to fight.

So I think that's what the president meant but, unfortunately, the timing of those remarks right before these other attacks was just really unfortunate. HOLMES: And on an intel level when it comes to Paris, Mark, are you

concerned about the lack of chatter, the French are very good at picking up on such things and have broken up cells. You know, do you think that ISIS, they know all about Edward Snowden, they know about WikiLeaks, they know how to keep it on the dark side now?

HERTLING: You know what I think it is, Michael, truthfully, and I was talking with some of my friends in Europe earlier this week, and when I was commanding U.S. Army in Europe, we kind of raided the transnational intelligence sharing from the countries in Europe somewhere around the B plus -- I'm sorry, C plus, B minus range. There was a lot of things that were being passed, it wasn't quite to the level that we saw our intelligence capabilities in the United States being shared after 9/11. But it was improving.

The problem is, the national intelligence sharing is not all that good yet and what I mean by that is local police, internal to the various countries, they're are not sharing -- they're not sharing the intelligence transnationally as perhaps they should just yet. This may turn that around a little bit. You have the small little police stations or the local governments not passing the intelligence perhaps as they should.

And you're seeing these raids throughout France right now as an indicator that they are now cracking down on some cells based on some information they have to try and disrupt future attacks as well as the raids in Belgium and other places.

WALKER: It has to be concerning, though, that these fighters and terrorists are going dark and using encrypted communications because they are able to bypass surveillance from intelligence officials. Yes.

Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, great having you, as always. Thank you.

HERTLING: Thank you, Amara. Thank you, Michael.

HOLMES: All right. Coming up here on the program, French police officers surround a Paris memorial after fears of an attack on Sunday.

WALKER: We'll have those details right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:22:25] HOLMES: Welcome back. Right now of course Paris, the city on edge with that manhunt on with one or more perpetrators at large and of course, emotions incredibly fragile and raw.

WALKER: And sadly fireworks were enough to strike fear into Parisians on Sunday. Chaos erupted at the Place de la Republique Memorial as mourners mistook the cracks for gunshots.

HOLMES: And our senior international correspondent Clarissa Ward was there on the spot. Here's her report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: People were gathering here. It was a beautiful moment, it was somber, it was quiet. There were candles. People saying prayers, paying their respects and remembering their dead. And then suddenly in a flash, there was chaos. Women started screaming. The crowd just started pushing down the street, running, abject panic and horror on their faces.

We saw women clutching their children, crying, another woman pushing a stroller with a baby desperately running for what she thought was her life. Somebody has said that they had heard gunshots and police suddenly fanned out across the area. They were heavily armed, they were shouting at people to take cover, and get inside. And it was very clear from watching this whole thing play out, that they were also incredibly nervous, that they didn't know exactly what the situation was, that they are fully experiencing this sense of panic and fear much in the same way as all Parisians are.

And it was such a juxtaposition as well from earlier conversations that I've had with Parisians who were telling me, you know what, Friday was a night of shock, Saturday was a day of mourning but on Sunday we felt determined today to come out, to take our lives back, to take our culture back, to go to cafes, to enjoy a concert, to go to the theater. But very quickly you see just how fragile that spirit of defiance is because it is tinged with a really serious sense, a deeply palpable sense of fear.

Attackers possibly still on the loose. And there's a very real impression amongst people that you talk to that as much as they want to get on with their ordinary lives, people understand that life here in Paris has changed. And it's not clear yet when and how it will return to normal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: Yes, that sense of fear obviously still palpable and understandable. And for the soccer fans who never made it into the stadium Friday night, instead witnessing the explosion and carnage outside the venue firsthand.

Our Atika Shubert has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[00:25:10] ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Stade de France has shut its gates but there are still grizzly reminders of the terror that struck here. Sidewalks stained with blood, shattered windows, deep puck marks in the wall.

The first suicide bomber struck 15 minutes to the first half of the Germany-France exhibition match. The second and third detonated minutes later.

Investigators are looking at the sequence of the events. According to the security guards at area that we spoke with one of the bombers tried to enter the stadium but was stopped by security.

(On camera): Now this is where we believe the second suicide bomber detonated. It's right in front of the entrance. Now I want you to take a look at this, as well. We've been finding these all around the site. These are bolts and as you can see this one is particularly mangled but according to the public prosecutor, these were packed into the suicide vest to cause maximum carnage.

(Voice-over): It did not turn out the way the bombers wanted. One person who was walking by was killed, several others were injured. Otherwise, the only others that were killed were the bombers themselves. According to the Paris prosecutor, the explosives they used were poor quality but enough to scattered the bloody remains of the bombers dozens of meters away.

Yves Buck lives around the corner.

YVES BUCK, RESIDENT: I just learned that this blood was the kamikaze -- the kamikaze's blood.

SHUBERT (on camera): The suicide bomber.

BUCK: So I was feeling a little sad, now I'm feeling less sad.

SHUBERT (voice-over): While forensics teams have swept the area, there are still remnants of the attack. Onlookers have come to the scene not knowing that they are walking over small pieces of the bomber's remains.

Others cannot forget what they saw.

"We saw body parts there," he tells us. "I didn't want my son to see any of this. We were right in front of the stadium and we didn't think, we had no idea what was happening."

Kevin Tulga still has his tickets but one of the bombs went off before he and his son could make it into the stadium. He says his son cannot sleep and Kevin who came to France as a Kurdish refugee seeking safety from war says he may never take his son to another match.

He tells us, "When my son realized the extent of what happened, he told me don't ever bring me to a game again. So no, I don't think we can go."

The blood can be washed away. But the fear that this may happen again cannot.

Atika Shubert, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Terrifying for those people. Well, we've been reporting on this series of raids across France and also French airstrikes in Syria.

WALKER: Ahead, the swift and heavy response to the deadly attacks in Paris.

Also, Obama and Putin, two adversaries meeting under a cloud of terrorism on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

WALKER: Welcome back, everyone. The hunt continues for suspected terrorists in France in the aftermath of Friday's deadly attacks. French police have carried out at least three nighttime raids.

HOLMES: Local media reports one raid in a suburb of Toulouse in Southern France, another near Grenoble and then a third raid in Calais. The investigation into the Paris attacks has led investigators also to Belgium.

WALKER: Authorities have issued an international warrant for this man, Salah Abdeslam. A source close to the investigation tells CNN French police questioned him a few hours after the attacks but they let him go and now they suspect he was involved in the terror plot.

France is also going after ISIS in Syria. Fighter jets attack sites in Raqqa Sunday.

HOLMES: ISIS claims Raqqa, of course, as the capital of its so-called caliphate. The targets there included an ISIS command base, a recruitment center and, the French say, a training camp, the planes launching their missions from bases in Jordan and the UAE.

WALKER: The French defense ministry saying all of the targets were destroyed. The G20 summit opens Sunday in the shadow of the bloodshed and terror attacks are dominating the agenda at this economic meeting of world leaders.

HOLMES: The U.S. President Barack Obama and the Russian President Vladimir Putin -- have a look at this extraordinary video -- talking on the sidelines; really does look like a deep and serious conversation. Senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a moment of silence before a rare display of unity on the world stage that now is the time to stamp out ISIS.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The skies have been darkened by the horrific attacks that took place in Paris.

ACOSTA (voice-over): With his G20 summit sounding more like a war council than an economic conference, President Obama and other world leaders vowed to intensify the battle against the terrorist army.

OBAMA: We will redouble our efforts working with other members of the coalition to bring about a peaceful transition in Syria.

ACOSTA (voice-over): The Paris attacks may also be bringing together long-time adversaries. During an intense 35-minute meeting in front of the cameras, President Obama and Russian president Vladimir Putin agreed to a political transition process in Syria, where ISIS has exploited a bloody civil war.

After weeks of accusing Russia of acting in Syria on behalf of its leader, Bashar al-Assad, the White House praised Moscow strikes against ISIS. The soft and diplomatic language comes after Putin said in a message to the French people, "For effectively fighting this evil, the entire international community should unite efforts."

The White House is eager to show Mr. Obama on the move against ISIS after the president said days before the Paris attacks that the terror group had been contained, an assessment the administration defends.

BEN RHODES, DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: What we've been able to do is stop that advance and reclaim territory, going on the offense with our partners on the ground.

ACOSTA (voice-over): There are also new questions about the Syrian refugee crisis after French officials determined one of the Paris bombers posed as a migrant fleeing the war-torn country. The Obama --

[00:35:00]

ACOSTA (voice-over): -- administration says those refugees must still be vetted and welcomed.

RHODES: We cannot close our doors to these people.

ACOSTA: While the White House is promising to intensify the battle against ISIS, there appears to be no major strategy shakeup underway. The Obama administration says it's still not considering expanding its ground game in Iraq and Syria, saying U.S. forces are not the solution to the problem there -- Jim Acosta, CNN, traveling with the president in Antalya, Turkey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: And make sure to be tuned into CNN. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will speak at the G20 summit in about two hours from now and we'll have it for you live when it happens.

HOLMES: For more on all of this, we're joined by Jill Dougherty. She's with the International Center for Defense and Security and, of course, former long-time CNN Moscow bureau chief.

Jill, interested in your thoughts on the body language there, it certainly was very intense.

But do you see any room for commonality?

At the end of the day, Putin wants Bashar al-Assad to stay and the U.S., on paper, wants him to go. JILL DOUGHERTY, INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR DEFENSE AND SECURITY: It's, I think, a fascinating photograph. I looked at it very carefully and it really does show two people leaning into each other as if they are kind of comrades or at least there's a certain intensity about it.

And then also I looked very carefully at the statement by one U.S. official after that meeting and I think that was important. They said Obama noted the importance of Russia's military efforts in Syria focusing on ISIS. That is different. That is softer. It's praising the activities of the Russians in Syria.

And I think that's very significant and also that U.S. officials said that, you know, they agreed on three things, that the U.N. should negotiate some sort of talks between the government of Syria and the opposition; there should be a cease-fire and also a Syrian-led, Syrian-owned political transition.

But, you know, when you look at the Russian side, it's a slightly different take. They said that the strategic objectives are the same but the tactics are slightly different. And one final thing, Michael, in terms of the differences, look at what Sergey Lavrov, who is the foreign minister, said.

He said it doesn't matter whether you're for Assad or you're against Assad, it's -- if you are the enemy of ISIS, you're the enemy of ISIS and Assad really doesn't make any difference. And that gets back to the Russian point, which is they do want Assad to stick around as the elected leader of Syria; whereas the United States wants him to go eventually.

WALKER: So some fundamental differences at play here although it seems like there was a little progress made in terms of talking about a political transition.

But, Jill, let's say if there were an election, I mean, how would that even play out in a country that's been ravaged by civil war for several years now?

Half the population has either left the country or has been internally displaced.

I mean, how would that play out and who would fill that vacuum?

DOUGHERTY: That's an enormous question because, after all, just think of how many people, you know, half the country has been displaced.

So how could you do that?

Well, remember the Russian idea that was floated last week said it would take about 18 months. I'm sure it would take a lot longer to rebuild and to bring people back. That is one of the problems here.

If you could even get the opposition to come up with some type of agreement with the government about who could run the country and that's where you get the difference between the Russians and the Americans and others. But even if you could get that, how could you possibly get to some type of realistic election?

It just seems unthinkable. But the only thing is, you know, you have to set these goals and if it is going to be some type of democratic, Syrian-owned, Syrian-led solution, it has to be Syrians who do it.

HOLMES: Exactly. I mean, I've got to agree with Amara. I don't know how you hold an election in Syria and have it carry any validity, at least as things stand.

The other thing you mentioned, the Russian strikes, the Russians have always said we're striking ISIS and most other observers say, well, maybe a little bit but really they are not. They are striking opposition to Assad.

And how do you -- I don't know how the U.S. and the Russians come together on that because a lot of those people are supported by the U.S.

DOUGHERTY: Exactly. I've been looking at some of the Russian commentary. One person said you could divvy it up, that you would divide the jobs and maybe that's what the Russians have in mind.

These are the real sticking points. I mean, Russia is, of course, not opposed to hitting is where it has to. There have been places --

[00:40:00]

DOUGHERTY: -- as you know, where they actually have done the air supports and that the Syrians could come in and move against ISIS. But it's few and far between and that's one of the huge differences with the United States.

WALKER: Yes, a lot of differences. Jill Dougherty, appreciate your insight. Thank you so much.

HOLMES: As the dust settles on the attacks in Paris, CNN spoke to a former ISIS captive on what France must do now.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

WALKER: Welcome back, everyone. At home and abroad, France is reacting with force to the bombings and shootings in Paris that killed 129 people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (voice-over): As we've been reporting, French warplanes attacking the city of Raqqa in Northern Syria Sunday, that city an ISIS stronghold and also what they consider to be the capital of the so-called Islamic State. WALKER (voice-over): Warplanes you see there, taking off from Jordan and the UAE, targeted an ISIS command center and ammunition depot and a training camp.

Also inside France, police carried out at least three pre-dawn anti- terror raids in three different cities.

HOLMES (voice-over): French media reporting one raid in a suburb of Toulouse, another near Grenoble and a third outside of Calais.

One man who knows ISIS all too well is Didier Francois, a French journalist held captive by the group for more than 10 months in Syria.

WALKER: And earlier he told our Christiane Amanpour and Anderson Cooper his outlook after the attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Do you think people here, citizens here, are ready for the long war?

DIDIER FRANCOIS, JOURNALIST AND ISIS CAPTIVE: Well, there's no choice. I mean, they do impose war on us. And they decided to take hostages before we even decided to strike them or attack them.

And people who think that just by putting their head in the sand the threat will pass and eventually those guys are going to be nice with us and take tea with us are strongly mistaken.

And we have to deal with them.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN HOST: So to follow up on what Anderson was asking, your president addressed the people twice here. And yesterday he said that the war that's been declared on this country and that by an army, an army of jihadi terrorists.

So that actually has an implication. He said we will strike back ruthlessly and mercilessly. And we -- the prime minister said we will destroy our enemy.

FRANCOIS: At the end of the day, war is a matter of will. It's not just a matter of means. They do have the will to destroy us. And there's no (INAUDIBLE). This country has been created in 2004 and people have -- generation have been fighting to build France --

[00:45:00]

FRANCOIS: -- to build democracy in this country, to live a good life and I'm not going to accept that a bunch of cute guys is going to destroy this.

So yes, of course, but we already are fighting them. The French army has been really active a lot in Africa, in the Sahara, in Mali and in Niger with -- together with the African army, the (INAUDIBLE) army. The work has been done. And that's a reason why they're striking us. We are a threat for them as much as they are a threat for us. So that's what it means by a war. It's not a war like the Second World War. It's an imbalanced war. But that's the way it is.

AMANPOUR: But you say it's not a war like the Second World War. But yet Vladimir Putin (INAUDIBLE) the U.N. in September, when he announced that he was going to join the fight against ISIS, then started bombing.

He said at the U.N., we, the allies, need to form a coalition against this extremism just as the Allies formed the coalition against Hitler and Nazism during the Second World War.

Didier, that has not happened. There is no such determined coalition now. And I guess my question is, how many deaths will be enough to form that real coalition?

How much more can your president and other leaders take of this kind of bloodshed in their cities before they get serious about fighting the war in Syria?

FRANCOIS: I understand your question. I don't have the answers. I think that everybody has the answer inside himself. Everybody has to resist to these attacks where it is, where he is or she is. That's our duty of every one of us, living in a democracy, should support the fact that we are not going to surrender to what they want us to do. We're not going to surrender to barbarism. We're not going to surrender to the fact that they are going to threaten people who don't have the same beliefs, who are trying to live their lives.

There's no way we're going to surrender to this. Now how far countries, governments take, are going to get together and go beyond their differences and political issues and interests, I have no idea.

What I know is my country, we won't surrender. That's what we know.

COOPER: How desperate -- if I could ask a personal question -- how did you not give in to fear when you were being held?

How did you not despair.

FRANCOIS: I had fear.

(LAUGHTER)

COOPER: I mean, how did you get through each day?

(CROSSTALK)

AMANPOUR: -- what Jihadi John did to you.

FRANCOIS: Well, it was not very nice. But again, I think -- I have strong conviction and belief. I love my country. I love democracy. And they hated I love it. I mean we -- I never lied to them. I never tried to tell them I like what they were doing or whatever. I hate it. Democracy has a lot of mistakes and things but it's the best way of living. And really -- and it's not for -- again, people, and we have been at peace for 70 years. Great. And, again, it's -- but it's not for -- we have to defend and each of us sitting, deep inside yourself, why should we give in?

Again, generation before us, we know where we are coming from. So if we want to go somewhere, it's always better to know where we come from. And everything we did, our grandfather or forefather built it, son by son, and also with blood. So we didn't have to pay the price of blood for years. We have to do it now. It's a pity.

Again, I understand the price for families, for everybody who is suffering today. But if it's the price to pay, I mean, we are ready to pay for it.

COOPER: Didier, thank you very much.

FRANCOIS: You're welcome.

AMANPOUR: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: Wow. And through all of this, we must not forget and we must take a moment to remember those innocent lives that were lost, that were taken too soon during Friday's terror attacks.

HOLMES: Their stories coming up next, right here on CNN.

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HOLMES (voice-over): Conflicting sounds as bells of mourning ring over Paris, though the sirens you can hear there, too, in the distance. A special mass held at Notre Dame on Sunday as the city bands together to remember the 129 people who lost their lives in Friday night's attacks.

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WALKER: The victims included lawyers, writers, students and music industry professionals, each with their own special story. CNN's Nick Valencia highlights just a few of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An architect and a teacher, a engineer and an athlete, a trio of music industry colleagues. These are just a few of those who lost their lives during the Paris attacks.

ROSA YBARRA, GONZALEZ FAMILY FRIEND: I mean, she was a gift, a gift of life.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Cal State Long Beach student Nohemi Gonzalez was 23. She moved to Paris as a foreign exchange student. Her mother's friend says she hopes Nohemi is remembered.

YBARRA: For her spirit, life, fun, a joy.

VALENCIA (voice-over): With so many killed, it's difficult to bring meaning to the numbers. Each victim with his or her own life story. Valentin Ribet was a parisian lawyer. He graduated from the prestigious London School of Economics. The Paris bar tweeting this about his death, "A talented young lawyer murdered yesterday, #bataclan, #lawyers."

Around the world, expressions of unity and solidarity. The life of victims like Guillaume Decherf celebrated. Just last month Decherf wrote a review about Eagles of Death Metal. The California band was on stage at the Bataclan at the time of its attack.

News technician Mathieu Hoche and student Valeria Solesin were there as well, two more of those who were killed at the Bataclan.

VALENCIA: Some of the names have been made public but still there are friends and family of other victims that are desperately waiting for answers -- Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.

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WALKER: And as Parisians begin the process of healing, small glimmers of hope are already evident in the capital city.

HOLMES: We'll leave you now with a look at the sights and sounds from Paris on Sunday.

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