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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Terror Raids and Manhunt in France; Terror Investigation in Belgium; France's Major Bombardment Against ISIS; Paris Suspect Headed to Belgium; Obama at G-20 Summit in Turkey; Paris Suicide Bomber Embedded with Refugees. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired November 16, 2015 - 04:29   ET

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


[04:31:06] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning. More than 150 terror raids overnight across France. New information on who was behind the Paris attacks.

A new terrorist identified just minutes ago. A manhunt is on for another dangerous suspect right now as French jets bomb ISIS in Syria.

We've got live team coverage right now.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans here in New York.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman live in Paris this morning. Thirty minutes past the hour. I want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm standing in the Plaza de la Republique which has been the gathering point for Parisians to come light candles and leave flowers. There are more people on the streets today. Some people going to work, although there is still a state of emergency in this country.

And at this hour we do have breaking news. Overnight, police conducted raids. More than 150 terror raids across France and they made arrests. This as the manhunt is under way right now searching for Salah Abdeslam. He is one of three brothers suspected of involvement in the series of terror attacks that killed at least 129 people. Attacks that the French President Francois Hollande blames on ISIS. ISIS claims responsibility.

Officials say seven terrorists died launching those attacks. Now CNN has confirmed the names of three of them. Bilal Hadfi, Ismael Omar Mostefai, and the Paris prosecutor has just confirmed a new name. Listen to this because this is new. His name is Samy Amimour.

For the latest now, we want to go to the home of Samy Amimour's parents in a Paris suburb right now. Our senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen is there.

Fred, more than 100 raids conducted overnight. A lot of the activity including outside this home where you're standing right now.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. I'm speaking to neighbors, John, and they're telling us that the police showed up here yesterday, talking to the neighbors, also showing them pictures of Samy Amimour, asking them whether they know anything about this man. And then late last night, they say that the police came back this time with a separate unit and they asked people to close their shutters and they raided the house and took family members of Samy into custody, questioning but we delved deeper with the French authorities and the Paris prosecutor and they're saying that Samy Amimour was not unknown to them.

They say that he's been on their radar since 2012 and their anti- terrorism operations. That he attempted to go to Yemen in 2012, was stopped, was put under surveillance, violated the terms of that surveillance and then there was an international arrest warrant for him. So certainly not someone who's unknown. He is 24 years old. And he is the fourth attacker who was inside the Bataclan theater where there were of course so many people who were killed -- John.

BERMAN: Yes. Samy Amimour known to French authorities. That is so crucial. At least the second of these terrorists who had been on the radar to some extent over the last several years. This one because he had been wanting to go to Yemen. Others we known to travel to and from Syria.

Obviously so hard for the French authorities to monitor all the possible problems, all the possible militants that exist in this country.

Also, we have information about those raids overnight. We are told French media reporting based on police sources that a rocket launcher, a rocket launcher, was recovered in the city of Lyon. This goes to show how many arms, how much weaponry exists right now, and the level of concern that they still have in this country.

But it is not just this country. Across the border in Belgium, there have been raids going on. Many of the terror leads that they're following right now lead to a Brussels suburb called Molenbeek.

[04:35:09] Molenbeek has been in the radar for well over a year. There were raids there after the "Charlie Hebdo" attacks. This is where a fugitive wanted in connection with the attacks. Salah Abdeslam, that is where the man on the run right now lived. Officials say it was the home of at least two attackers whose bodies have been identified so far. And it is where police conducted raids detaining seven people.

Joining us now from Brussels, senior international correspondent Ivan Watson.

Ivan, these operations have been going on overnight. Looking for more leads. One lead we do know is that this man was at one point stopped. Salah Abdeslam stopped in France heading toward Belgium within hours after the attacks here on Friday.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And not only that, but one of his brothers was an apparent suicide bomber in the Paris attacks. And another one of his brothers was detained here by Belgian authorities over the course of the weekend. One of at least seven people who was detained here in Brussels. A lot of the detentions and the focus again on that neighborhood that

you mentioned. The neighborhood of Molenbeek which has a large immigrant, large Muslim community, and which has been the focus of previous counterterrorism investigations and police sweeps and raids in months and years past, which has actually led the Interior minister of this country to say, why is it that this neighborhood keeps coming up as a nexus in these suspected terrorist investigations, and he personally has declared that he's going to try to fix this problem in that neighborhood.

But as you mentioned, at least two of the Paris attackers are believed to have been from that neighborhood and in a sign of perhaps how comfortable people felt operating there, two of them are French citizens in this Belgium city, in that suburb of Brussels.

The Belgian authorities also say that at least two cars that were believed to have been involved in the attacks in Paris were actually from Belgium, rented from here in the course of the last week, and there's a third car that the person who's suspected of renting the two suspect vehicles then showed up after the attacks back in Molenbeek. So there is a clear direct link between that neighborhood and the attacks that took place in Paris.

And we're waiting for an update from the Belgian authorities on what further they've learned over the course of the arrests that they've made, the interrogations and further investigation -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Ivan Watson, check back in with us after that news conference. Ivan Watson in Brussels right now.

And again it is worth noting that very little distinction effectively between Brussels and Paris. You can move back and forth, to and from, across the border at will. Much like you can across state borders in the U.S.

Now there were other major news overnight. France retaliating against ISIS. What they are calling a major bombardment against the effective capital of the ISIS caliphate Raqqa. French fighter jets launched airstrikes in that city. ISIS claims they had no effect, missed their targets there but obviously we're waiting for confirmation of our own from Western intelligence sources.

It all comes just two days. The raids, two days after the attacks here in Paris. Officials say that the targets included weapons compounds, ammunition dump, command center. Again, French authorities say that those targets were destroyed, ISIS says no. Hopefully the truth of that will come out in the next few days.

Now our senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh has been embedded with Kurdish Peshmerga forces, fighting ISIS inside Iraq to give you a sense of the battle against ISIS right now. Nick has the very latest on the bombing from Irbil.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is hard to define exactly what has been hit inside Raqqa simply because we're dependent upon information of activists mostly known as Raqqa is Slaughtered Silently. They risk their lives simply to tell us information from inside ISIS controlled areas. But it does appear that according to first reports what's known as the clinical hospital, the stadiums, the political building in the (INAUDIBLE) area, they have been hit.

Now those are names given to buildings that are now really been taken over by ISIS and used completely different purposes and basically, according to a source from inside the town we're talking to, these are really headquarters and jails used by ISIS.

Now you have to look at this targeting with a degree of skepticism, frankly, because it has happened so fast and it's so hot on the heels of what's happened in Paris. Clearly these targets may well have been known for the United States for a period of time. They've had jets in the skies over Raqqa for months now so the fact that so many are suddenly available to the French air force, the bomb, well, that may simply be too much an opportunity to be entirely credible.

[04:40:10] But still, what this does do is provide the French public and Francois Hollande that sense of visceral reaction to the callous bloodshed on the streets of Paris. We have no idea what level of destruction, effectiveness it's had against ISIS as a military machine but it does give a very clear message the French is now -- France's now military so much more in the game than it has been before.

Other key questions are, of course, is this the beginning of a lengthier campaign by an increased French military presence? Is there potentially a ground element to follow? What does this mean in terms of the ability for ISIS to resist a coalition campaign against it? Much to be answered, much we'll still learn about what precisely was hit inside Raqqa, but a symbolic move here by France which may well have had some impact against ISIS.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Our thanks to Nick Paton Walsh in Irbil covering the bombings overnight and raids in Raqqa. French fighter jets hitting ISIS targets in Raqqa.

We're getting word we can get a news conference any second from the French Interior minister with new word, new information on the raids and the investigation overnight here in Paris. And while that's going on, President Obama is meeting with world leaders in Turkey. The G-20 Summit right now. The discussion was about a number of issues, but now very much focused on battling ISIS. Our live team coverage continues next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:45:46] BERMAN: All right. Welcome back. John Berman live in Paris. The eyes of the world on this city. The thoughts of the world dealing with ISIS right now. How to defeat the terror group. President Obama meeting with world leaders at the G-20 Summit in Turkey this morning. President Obama vows to accelerate the U.S. efforts to battle ISIS and try to prevent future attacks like the one that hit here, but how?

The president has already ordered U.S. intelligence services to share -- share what they know with the French for their new round of airstrikes in Syria. He's also calling on Russian leader Vladimir Putin to focus his attention, his military action, on battling ISIS alone.

I want to go live to Antalya, Turkey right now, the site of the G-20 Summit, bring in CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski.

Michelle, ISIS now the very center of these discussions.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right. I mean, this is a key opportunity. While these leaders are here, I mean, they didn't come here for that reason, but what better time now than to really focus on this issue. And it was interesting what we heard from the president's deputy national security adviser yesterday, talking about how the Paris attacks do indeed demand, in his words, more urgency and more resources from the international community on ISIS.

Because we all know the U.S. has done the lion's share of the airstrikes now. I mean, there are more than 60 countries now in the coalition. But the U.S. is talking about -- they're using two key words. Redoubling and intensifying the efforts against ISIS. Not just on the part of the U.S., but obviously France is doing that right now in Raqqa. But the U.S. from the start has wanted everyone in the coalition to really contribute more. And it seems like now is going to be the time.

So what does that mean for the U.S. response? Well, what we've been told by the administration is expect to see in coming days more airstrikes. We don't know exactly what the scope of that will be, but also more targeting of leadership. We have seen the administration do that in the last few weeks. A few key leaders killed on the battle field. But they emphasize the importance of that because those are the people who have the capability to direct attacks outside of Syria and Iraq, similar of course to what we just saw in Paris.

But today is the day that the president will do his first press conference while he is here. The first opportunity that he will take questions from the press. So we expect to hear some detail. Doesn't sound like the strategy overall is changing, at least from what the administration has told us thus far. But when we raised that point, that it seems like OK, well, an intensification or a redoubling of efforts means more of the same, is that right?

They didn't rule out changes to the strategy and in fact they pointed out, well, the strategy has been tweaked as events have warranted over the last year -- John.

BERMAN: An important news conference coming up. I know people here in Paris, in France, will be listening very carefully. Very curious they are on what the United States will do about ISIS.

Michelle Kosinski at the G-20 Summit in Antalya, in Turkey. Thanks so much. Immigration. One of the key issues around these attacks. One of the

three suicide bombers linked to the attack at the soccer stadium in Paris made it to France by embedding himself in the wave of Syrian refugees. According to a French official, this guy was carrying some kind of a fake or doctored Syrian passport. He arrived on the Greek island of Leros, declaring himself to be a Syrian migrant.

He allowed to enter Greece at the very beginning of October. Issued new papers there. This of course sparks the debate on how Europe is handling this worst refugee crisis since World War II.

I want to bring in CNN's senior international correspondent Arwa Damon. She is live on that island where that terrorist transited through. Good morning, Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And this is just one of the many Greek islands that these various different migrants and refugees do go through. And with or without documentation, they are getting registered. That is the standard procedure that is in place. And that is at this stage really the only way to deal with the problem and the registration means telling people what your name is, if you have any form of identification, that's great. The process goes a lot faster. Either way, people get finger printed.

[04:50:16] BERMAN: All right. We've lost Arwa. Arwa, on the Greek island of Leros. Again one of these terrorists did transit through there, arriving, claiming to be a Syrian migrant. Was given new papers there and followed the immigrant corridor up through the Balkans into western Europe. But think of that, arrived in Greece just over a month ago and then about five weeks after that, part of the wave of terror attacks in Paris that left 129 people dead.

The attacks here dominating the conversation in the United States as well. Now part of the race for president. Almost all of the candidates weighed in. Hear what they had to say next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:55:22] ROMANS: Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

Two days after the deadly attacks in Paris, terrorism is the only topic on the campaign trail here in the U.S. Candidates from both parties weighing in on the national security debate and the appropriate U.S. response to the tragedy. Now there's plenty of finger-pointing at the president and at each other.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It cannot be an American fight. And I think what the president has consistently said, which I agree with, is that we will support those who take the fight to ISIS.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton last night said that it's not our fight. It is our fight. And without our leadership in building a coalition to destroy ISIS, it won't happen.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This was clearly an act of war, an attack on one of our NATO allies. And we should invoke Article 5 of the NATO agreement and bring everyone together to put together a coalition that confront this challenge.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Nobody had guns but the bad guys. Nobody. Nobody had guns. And they were just shooting them one by one. But if they had guns, if our people had guns, if they were allowed to carry.

DR. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As I've said all along, you know, bringing people into this country from that area of the world, I think is a huge mistake because why wouldn't they infiltrate them with people who are ideologically opposed to us?

SEN. RAND PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I wouldn't invite the Syrian refugees here. I will oppose them coming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: You know, the Paris attacks prompting questions about the Obama administration's plan to allow more Syrian refugees into the United States.

Overnight, Alabama governor Robert Bentley taking a stand against it. He released this statement saying, quote, "After full consideration of this weekend's attacks, the terror on innocent citizens in Paris, I will oppose any attempt to relocate Syrian refugees to Alabama through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. As your governor, I will not stand complicit to a policy that places the citizens of Alabama in harm's way."

A grieving Paris is returning to business today under very tight security measures. The country's stock exchange opened this morning, just a couple of hours ago giving investors the first chance to react to Friday's tragic events. As expected European stocks sold off when open but are recovering now.

Travel and tourism stocks, though, are getting hit particularly hard this morning. Air France and British Airways, Lufthansa all tumbling. The French capitol will stand still in about an hour at noon holding a minute silence for the victims.

Public events have been canceled. National monuments are beginning to open back up, including the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower after being closed all weekend. Schools, universities are open, so are most shops, other businesses is likely to be slower than usual. Economists say the attacks will be a significant blow to the Paris economy at least in the short term.

One hundred, fifty terror raids throughout France overnight. Another terrorist has been identified just in the past few moments. And we're awaiting a press conference from the French interior minister. That could happen at any moment.

"NEW DAY" picks up our coverage right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had huge gunshots. Lots of glass coming through the window.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think 20 to 25 bodies lying on the floor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Across this country, police carried out a series of anti-terror raids.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: An arrest warrant for a man whose brother was one of the dead terrorists.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had indeed been stopped by French police. They let him go.

BERMAN: They believe that these attacks were planned in Syria.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: French fighter planes revving up their engines. Their targets? ISIS outposts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This fight is getting closer and closer to the homeland.

ROBERT BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I have been told flat out that they are here.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: This is a nation in mourning once again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not scared. I'm just shocked.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We should go out and keep living.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to keep going. We have to be strong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. You are watching a special edition of NEW DAY. And we have a new reality here in France. There's news of new bombings in Iraq and Syria by the French. New anti-terror raids, some 150 of them, here and around Paris revealing shocking discoveries.

There's also more information about who the attackers were killed in that deadly set of violence here in Paris. But also who is involved outside of Paris.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: This as the European manhunt intensifies for a Brussels born French national. Salah Abdeslam is one of three brothers believed to have carried out these attacks. France's prime minister now saying the Paris massacre was planned in Syria.