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Abaaoud Confirmed Dead; Authorities Search for 8th Suspect; Honduras Expected to Charge Five Syrian Men Detained for Traveling with Fake Greek Passports. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired November 20, 2015 - 03:00   ET

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


[03:0:01] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL NEWSROOM HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell. You're watching our special CNN coverage of the Paris terror attacks. Police confirmed the man who organized Friday's attacks is dead. Abdelhamid Abaaoud was killed in a massive pre-dawn raid in Saint-Denis on Wednesday. Meanwhile, authorities are searching for Salah Abdeslam. He is the French national, often called the eighth suspect, possibly the only one who survived Friday's attacks. Jim Sciutto has that story.

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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An urgent manhunt is under way across Europe. Police continue to search for at least one suspected attacker still at large and still dangerous. Salah Abdeslam briefly stopped by French police hours after the attacks but then let go before authorities knew of his role in Friday's deadly rampage. Six new raids in Belgium overnight and hundreds more here in France in recent days have failed to catch him.

BERNARD CAZENEUVE, FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER: The republic is doing everything to destroy terrorism.

SCIUTTO: French security services have netted their most dangerous suspect, Abedelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged mastermind, confirmed killed in a furious gun battle with police Wednesday.

CAZENEUVE: In the operation in Saint-Denis, there was a target and it was reached.

SCIUTTO: Tonight, we're seeing chilling new video of the Saint-Denis raid just moments before police killed Abaaoud. France is now working feverishly to prevent scenes like this one captured on CCTV at the height of Friday's attacks, obtained by Dailymail.com. One woman saved here in front of the restaurant only because the terrorists' assault rifle appears to jam. Today, French lawmakers voted nearly unanimously to extend the country's state of emergency, giving police broad new powers to obtain suspects.

FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE: We are at war and for us to remain ourselves, because that is what is in question, France must not lose itself to win this war.

SCIUTTO: France must respond to hatred with fraternity. France will to fanaticism with the hope of life itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: That was CNN's Jim Sciutto reporting. Now, I want to show you some disturbing security video. It shows in agonizing detail one of the attacks as a gunman riddled a cafe with bullets. Our Anderson Cooper has the story.

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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANDERSON COOPER 360 HOST: It's just after 10:34 p.m., bullets fired into a cafe in the 11th district in Paris. Three angles of the cafe's security cameras capture the mayhem. This video was obtained by Dailymail.com. Patrons scramble as bullets riddle the small restaurant. A woman dashes in and takes refuge behind the bar. Another dives for the floor. Others huddle under tables.

Behind the bar, two works dodge bullets as glass shatters down around them. One runs downstairs. The other stays put. Another patron from outside soon joins her and both stays close to the floor as possible. Within seconds, one terrorist is visible. He's seen on the upper left side of the screen. He approaches the cafe, continuing to fire. Small whisks of smoke seen coming off his rifle. But, it's this moment that stands out. The gunman runs toward the cafe seemingly ready to enter, then stops, looks down to his right. It's obvious that something has caught his eye.

He points his rifle straight down. But, the gun doesn't fire. Maybe it jams. Maybe he is out of ammunition. He then moves away off camera. Seconds later, we learn what he was aiming at. He was aiming at a woman. She was miraculously spared. She stands up and then runs. Her would-be shooter is, still, somewhere nearby. Then, another patron, another likely victim stands and runs as well. The attack ends as quickly as it began. All told the video lasts less than a minute. Anderson Cooper, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: The attacks in Paris have only further complicated the refugee crisis that is engulfing Europe. On Thursday, the French prime minister spoke about the terrorists using the crisis to slip into France. Listen.

[03:05:12] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANUEL VALLS, FRENCH PRIME MINISTER: I think these individuals took advantage of the refugee crisis, notably of this chaos, maybe for some of them to slide through. Others were already in Belgium. Others, I remind you, were in France. They organized this.

HOWELL: The prime minister also had very strong words for other European countries as well, saying they must do better and take more responsibility when it comes to protecting their own borders. In the United States, some lawmakers have successfully put a pause on more Syrian refugees entering this country. The House of Representatives says no refugee may enter without certification by Homeland Security. And now, that bill heads to the senate.

Meanwhile, U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, he is weighing in, suggesting that a database be used to keep track of Muslim immigrants in the United States. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think there should be a database to keep track of Muslims in this country?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE-REPUBLICAN: There should be a lot of systems, beyond databases. We should have a lot of systems and today you can do it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this something you would do if you were in the White House?

TRUMP: Oh, I would certainly implement that. Absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Specifically, how do you actually get them registered?

TRUMP: It would just be good management. What you have to do is good management procedures and we can do that. That's nice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you go to a mosque and sign people up?

TRUMP: For different places, you sign them up different. But, it's all about management.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Donald Trump there talking about management.

Migration from South America is also fueling some fears and concerns in the U.S. Honduras is expected to charge five Syrian men detained for traveling with fake Greek passports. But, the men have not been linked to terrorism. CNN's Rosa Flores has this story.

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ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Five Syrian men thrusting a small Central American country into the international spotlight when their Greek passports didn't pass the smell test. The men arrived here at the Toncontin airport in Honduras' capital. Authorities say that Interpol alerted them about a group of Syrians traveling with false documents. And sure enough, the Syrian five flew in Tuesday night.

Arriving with the stolen and altered Greek passports say officials, The pictures updated with their personal photographs and used to hop from Syria to Lebanon, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina and Costa Rica, before arriving to Honduras. The finding, alarming. Given intelligence that one of the Paris attackers had a doctored Greek passport belonging to a Syrian refugee. The worry is nexus to terrorism.

The destination of the five Syrians, officials say, the United States. This human rights worker says at least two of them wanted to go to Guatemala. Regardless, the journey would require crossing territories belonging to the ruthless MS13 gang and the vicious Mexican cartels. And that's a risk these men were probably ready to take. Right now, they're being held in this small jail cell by national police. But, hear this. Immigration authorities say they found no nexus to terrorism, but instead, these men were simply fleeing persecution.

Two of the Syrians are fairly sick, vomiting and with fever. The other three are depressed with the news associating them with terror, says human rights officials. They told you we have been trying to escape ISIS, the violence, they're trying to get away from that. That's why they're here. A Honduran immigration official says they're not linked to terror and four were students. And while Syria is thousands of miles away from Latin America, their case is not an isolated one, according to authorities.

In Paraguay, one Syrian national was arrested with a fake Greek passport last week. And others were arrest in St. Maarten this week. And in Loreto, Texas, two Syrian families turned themselves into immigration authorities. Turning the spotlight of the war they're escaping a world away to the front steps of the United States. Rosa Flores, CNN, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Now, back to the situation in Paris, where there's a great deal of reaction after the raid that took place in Saint-Denis. Let's bring in our own Fred Pleitgen who joins us now live on the streets of the French capital. Fred, so what more do we know about this raid that took place?

[03:10:08] FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's certainly a lot of new information coming out. A lot of it, George, has to do with the intelligence that actually led to this raid. One of the interesting things of course was that the U.S. Intelligence services but also the French which is more important, thought that actually Abdelhamid Abaaoud who was of course the ringleader of apparently what took place here last Friday. He was also one of the ones who was killed in Saint-Denis. They believe that he was either in Syria or Iraq. But, it turns out, of course, that he was very much inside France. He was in Saint-Denis, inside that apartment. Now, the intelligence that led to that came from apparently the Moroccan intelligence service who have been tracking Abaaoud. They are the ones who tipped the French. The French found out that he was indeed in France, in Paris, and he was in that northern suburb of Paris, Saint-Denis, around November 16th. So, three days after the actual attack happened.

We have been reporting since the raid, that the apartment these terrorists were in was under surveillance for about 24 hours. That's a pretty short time for them to actually make a move. But, that is of course because they feared the police that an attack, a second attack could be imminent by this terrorist cell and they say they believe they got there in just in time. The raid itself, of course, George, as we have been seeing, a very violent affair with that female suicide bomber who allegedly was the cousin of Abaaoud, blowing herself up before police moved in with pretty heavy ordnance. George.

HOWELL: And in that video, you hear her before that explosion. It is disturbing video. No doubt. Fred, what is the reaction among people there in Paris, among French citizens, about the fact that this raid took place?

PLEITGEN: Well, first of all, they're shocked at the intensity of the raid. I was down in Saint-Denis in the past couple of days, assessing the situation there. And you could really feel the folks there on the ground, it's a working class neighborhood. But, a rough neighborhood in some places. But, of course, most people there are absolutely shocked they would have terrorists in their midst. You would have had an operation going on that was as violent as the one we saw there. You heard on that video from the scene her saying, you know, he's not my boyfriend and blowing herself up and that massive firefight occurring after that happened.

That is something that has shocked many people here on the ground. But, then of course, you also have the debates that are going on afterwards. People are very relieved that the ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud has been killed in that raid. Of course, there's the questions, could there have been more that could have been done in the way of terrorism that this man was here? Remember there's a lot of cross border activity that has happened between France and Belgium. Many asking is that something that we could have stopped. Of course, there's the reaction as far as the legislative branch is concerned.

And today, a very key day, as the French upper house of parliament will vote on a measure that could put in place these emergency measures for another three months. Everybody believes that that is indeed what is going to happen. That's something that is really going to change the game for a lot of the security services here in this country. It will make it easier for them to detain people. It'll make it easier for them to conduct wiretapping and those emergency measures, of course, in the past couple of days have already led to well over 100 raids in this country and have led to the police and the security forces getting their hands on everything from drugs to weapons to even a rocket launcher in one place. And those measures, most people here believe, will be extended and that is certainly is something that of course is to be seen in the wider context in those attacks that happened exactly one week ago here in Paris. George.

HOWELL: Our Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen live in Paris, France. Fred, thank you so much for your reporting there.

Now, let's turn to Belgium where authorities have been conducting multiple raids around Brussels. They are searching for more information about Bilal Hadfi, one of the suicide bombers who blew himself up outside the Stade de France. CNN International Correspondent Ivan Watson joins us from Brussels. And Ivan, what more do we know about these raids?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they took place throughout the day on Thursday. We haven't gotten updates since then and since at least nine people were detained for questioning. What's happening right now in Brussels, the capital of the European Union is an extraordinary session of interior and justice ministers in response to the Paris attacks. Discuss strengthening security measures. Let's give you an example that's right near us.

One of the measures that Belgium has taken, George, is deploying soldiers in the streets of the capital. And in some cities, it's a measure they adopted in the past. Last January, when another ISIS plot was foiled by Belgian security forces that was linked to Belgium's most notorious ISIS militant and extremist, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who of course was killed in the raid in Saint-Denis on the outskirts of Paris.

Now, the ministers of interior and justice are gathering a number of things on the table, trying to improve communication between European governments and trying to strengthen Europe's external borders and pushing forward this plan for a passenger name record which would help, presumably, to get identities checked as people fly and travel on trains within the internal borders of the European union. One of the interior ministers of Belgium complaining to journalists just moments ago, this measure has been blocked in the European parliament in the past and of course, opening up the debate about personal civil liberties versus security within the European Union. George.

[03:16:17] HOWELL: Talk to us just a bit more if you could about this EU meeting that's happening of the ministers talking about tightening border security. Do you get a sense that will be the main topic that is discussed and what are the reactions to that?

WATSON: Well, of course, because, as Belgium investigators have explained to me, there were a number of people they were searching for of Belgian origin, suspects in the Paris attacks, who they had international arrest warrants for, but they were believed to have traveled to Syria. And they only discovered that these suspects were back in the European Union after the Paris attacks took place. The raids that took place on Thursday here, one of the suspects, Bilal Hadfi, he blew himself up in the Paris attacks. He's been wanted by Belgian authorities since the beginning of 2015. They didn't know he was in the European Union.

That means he smuggled himself across a European Union border and then, presumably, was able to move around within the European Union without having to submit his passport. He was able to evade detection. Until, he was part of this deadly conspiracy that killed so many. So, one of these discussion points, how do you protect within the European Union and how do you strengthen borders that tens of thousands of people have been flowing across over past months? That's a real discussion point here.

Meanwhile, it's important to know that, George, there are mixed opinions, particularly in some of the communities where some of the militants they were recruited from. A Brussels neighborhood, even though we're here in the capital of the European Union, there were some voices that came out after the death of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, saying they were sad of his death. And it shows you some of the pools are coming from and recruitment. Others came out and condemning him. Take a listen to some of these differing opinions.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Leave Islam alone. Leave the prophet alone. Each with his own religion. Muslims have their own religion. Stop killing people in the Middle East. There won't be any terrorists anymore. If you keep going, the terrorists won't stop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't have any feeling about his death. I think it was the kind of person who looks for these things, terrible things, and that's it. I'm not going to cry about his death, that's for sure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I grew up in Islam. I don't recall ever seeing a single verse in Koran saying you can blow yourself up in front of innocent people and kill them like that. We were all shocked. I hope this doesn't happen again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Belgium a small country and still struggling with radicalization. With the fact that it has more volunteers per capita joining the ranks of groups like ISIS in Syria than any other western country. George.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ivan Watson, live for us. Ivan, thank you so much for your reporting there.

HOWELL: You're watching special coverage here on CNN of the terrorist attacks. We'll be right back after the break.

[03:19:47] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE RILEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kate Riley with your CNN World Sports headlines. The English premier league will mark the Paris terror tragedy by playing the French national anthem before every match this weekend. Football Chief Executive Richard Scudamore said the act was that of solidarity and remembrance after the Paris attacks where 129 people died. There are 72 natives of France currently playing in the premier league.

Elsewhere, top seed Novak Djokovic beat Tomas Berdych at the ATP world tour finals in London. Meanwhile, Roger Federer survived a scare against Kei Nishikori to win his group at the same competition at the English capital. The Swiss looked to be in control winning the first set and leading 4-1 in the second set. Ultimately, he needed every ounce of concentration to grind out the victory.

And in interim coach JB Bickerstaff for the Houston Rockets against Portland. The Rockets nearly dropped their fifth straight. But an acrobatic 3 by Corey Brewer with one second left, forced overtime. In the first game since head coach Kevin McHale was fired, the Rockets took charge in overtime, led by James Harden who scored 9 points, half his game. Houston wins, 108-103. I'm Kate Riley and those were your CNN World Sport headlines.

HOWELL: Welcome back. Italy is ramping up security after a new propaganda video from ISIS threatened to quote, the conquest of Rome. ISIS says it will have a crusade against the holy city. It started thousands of years ago. Senior International Correspondent Ben Wedeman has this report.

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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Guns imposes outside the Vatican. Extra police have been brought in to guard the holy city now in the crosshairs of ISIS' unholy war. A recently released online ISIS video titled Paris before Rome, features an unidentified speaker making the conquest of Rome Italy. St. Peters square with a bit of photo shopping was featured on the cover of Dabiq, ISIS' online magazine.

Security has been beefed up across Italy. But, since ISIS has made so many threats across Italy, not just against Rome, but against the Vatican itself, this is where much of the security attention is being focused. The level of alert has been upgraded. Police are now in one rapid response mode, 1,000 members of the Italian army have been deployed around the country. Leaving the Vatican, these tourists aren't at all concerned. But, they're from Northern Ireland.

[03:25:05] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What can you do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have to keep faith.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't hide under a stone. You just have to get on with it.

WEDEMAN: While others from Scotland notice a difference.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just keep security at the airport. Coming here was so strict.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think everywhere they're really tightening up, you know, on what they're doing. Even seeing the policemen with guns everywhere.

WEDEMAN: The Italian police were already preparing for a busy year. Beginning December 8, Rome will host millions of additional tourists, taking part in a jubilee declared by Pope Francis. Giovanni Battista Scali runs the police operations room. During the jubilee, we'll be very busy he says the most important events, the army and other security agencies will also be here so we have a maximum synergy in case of an emergency. U.S. Embassy has warned that the St. Peter's Bsilica has been identified as a potential terrorist target. And has advised Americans to remain vigilant. Then again, to steal a line, you can't just hide under a stone. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Rome.

HOWELL: You're watching CNN Newsroom and we're following new developments in the Paris terror investigation, still ahead, we take a look at how authorities managed to track down the man who organized last Friday's attacks. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:10] HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. You're watching our special coverage of the Paris terror attacks. I'm George Howell at CNN Center in Atlanta. The Belgian man who planned the Friday's massacre in the French capital may be dead. But authorities say there is still a great work to be done. We're just learning that police have surveillance video showing Abdelhamid Abaaoud on the Paris metro on the night of the attacks.

Meanwhile, investigators are still hunting for Salah Abdelsam, a French national often called the eighth suspect in this. The source says the search for Abdelsam is expanding to the Netherlands. Dutch media reports that justice ministry denies that. French policed stopped him on his way to Belgium after Friday's attacks, but they let him go because they hadn't connected him to the terror plot. Sources tell CNN the woman who blew herself up during Wednesday's raid in Saint-Denis has been identified. You can hear police confront her just seconds before she blew herself up.

POLICE: Where is your boyfriend?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's not my boyfriend.

HOWELL: Neighbors say police have taken the woman's mother and brother in for questioning and they are searching the mother's home in a northern Paris suburb. The French prosecutor says fingerprints helped identify Abdelhamid Abaaoud killed in Wednesday's raid. CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson has more on how police found him.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's 4:20 a.m. On Wednesday, an elite French police unit closes in on an apartment building in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, intelligence, wiretaps bank transfers have led them to this low-income neighborhood. Their target this man. Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected ringleader in a string of terror plots. Police make their way to the third floor but an explosive charge fails to open the security door. A ferocious gun battle erupts and continues for an hour. Three people are quickly arrested. But two, three people inside, including a woman. They throw grenades. Police fire 5,000 rounds into the apartment. After the scene quiets down, police send in an attack dog, named Diesel, to check for signs of life. Diesel is shot dead.

A police sniper shoots one of the terrorists inside. Injured he continues to fire back. A police officer shouts to the woman -- where is your boyfriend? She yells back, he's not my boyfriend. Then, a loud explosion. Police say the woman detonated a suicide vest. Several more hours before police can enter the building where they find a scene of carnage. Two men are detained. But there are the remains of two, three bodies inside. French forensic experts race to discover whether Abaaoud is one of them. But amid the carnage have to move slowly. More than 24 hours past before the prosecutor's office in a two-line statement says the bullet-riddled body is Abaaoud's.

CAZENEUVE: Among the six attacks that have been avoided or foiled since Spring of this year, Abaaoud seems to have been involved in four of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: A victory against terrorism but many questions remain. The French had no idea that Abaaoud was back in Europe, that he'd slipped across the borders undetected. It was a tip from Moroccan Intelligence that led French intelligence to believe that he had left Syria back to France to begin a campaign of terror. The question now for this continent, are there any more like Abaaoud, are there that have slipped through undetected into Europe. Nic Roberston, CNN, Paris.

HOWELL: And we are learning much more about the ringleader of last Friday's Paris attacks. As we reported, Abdelhamid Abaaoud was killed in that dramatic raid in Saint-Denis on Wednesday. And now we are hearing about his family relationships. CNN's Erin Burnett spoke with Nathalie Gallant, the attorney representing Abaaoud's father. According to the father and to Gallant, Omar Abaaoud believes his son was a psychopath and is now relieved his son is dead.

[03:34:55] NATHALIE GALLANT, ATTORNEY FOR OMAR ABAAOUD: Yes, he was relieved because he knew already in the last month that his son was linked to all the terrorism acts which happened in Europe. He was afraid to learn that his son Abdelhami had maybe again committed something horrible.

HOWELL: France is now vowing to defeat ISIS and is sending additional military assets into the Middle East to make good on that promise. CNN's Ian Lee joins us live from Cairo, Egypt. The latest on these air strikes, Ian that have been hitting the city Raqqa the defacto capital of ISIS as they call it. Talk to us about these increased air strikes.

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Definitely. They have been having an impact on the city, on ISIS there, George. We're hearing from the Syrian observatory for human rights. Essentially, t's hard to find ISIS on the street because of this intensive bombardment of this city. They're laying low. The family members of the senior leadership has been moved to Mosul, in neighboring Iraq. That's what we're hearing from the observatory. Any civilians that want to get out of Raqqa or flee, the only place they're allowed to go is Mosul.

The release of other civilians allowing them to go to Mosul, covering anyone to make their way to Mosul. It's showing that there's quite the impact, although, seven civilians have been killed according to Raqqa, is being slaughtered silently, these attacks while they are going after ISIS headquarters, is weapons depot, is training facilities, civilians have also been caught up in it.

HOWELL: I read an article talking about that. It described about being under is control on the ground and having these air strikes daily. Just a hellish situation for civilians that are caught in the middle of this. Ian, can you talk about the situation here from Europe, even in the United States, the debate about how to take in, how to handle the migrant situation, the refugees who are looking to leave Syria and questions whether other Arab countries, people are asking, why aren't they seeing more Arab countries step into this effort?

LEE: You really got to break it into two groups, George. You have on one hand the Arab countries that are really shouldering a lot of the refugees here. Like Lebanon, Jordan and here in Egypt, a lot of ones that have come here to Egypt are ones that are more well-off, ones that can afford to set up a new life. The ones we see in Lebanon and Jordan have fled at a moment's notice. The other group, the people in the Gulf States, where they haven't taken in any refugees, they have given money to the refugee situation. They have given money to help the refugees in other countries, but they have been reluctant to take them.

Gulf countries have said, they do have some refugees in their countries but these are people who were there working before this war started. They're allowed to remain there and continue to work. But we haven't seen them bring in the massive influx of refugees where we have seen hundreds of thousands of refugees going there. We have seen from the gulf side at least very reluctant to open their doors. Criticism of Saudi Arabia, have the facilities to house people. There has been criticism of why Saudi Arabia hasn't opened its doors and bring in refugees there.

HOWELL: Ian, thank you so much for your reporting there.

So far, China has been noncommittal on how it would assist in the global fight against ISIS. We'll see if that changes now, now that is has murdered its first Chinese hostage. Beijing is now vowing to bring ISIS to justice. CNN's Matt Rivers reports.

[03:40:05] MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's the first Chinese citizen captured and killed by ISIS.

Fan Jinghui is the first Chinese citizen captured and killed by ISIS. As the terror group now says it has executed the Chinese. He was first captured when this picture was published in Dabiq, the English language magazine produced by ISIS. His picture was posted along with a photo of Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad, a Norwegian citizen. They said both men were for sale, demanding ransoms for either's release. Both had been abandoned by their States. The Norwegian government condemned the attack.

According to state-run media, President Xi Jinping quote, strongly condemn the Islamic State for the death of the Chinese hostage. China opposes any form of terrorism. The government has also promised a crackdown on terrorism and justice for this victim. Despite the death, though, experts say it's highly unlikely that China will join the anti-ISIS coalition led by the U.S. & Russia.

As for the victim, Fan lived in this building in a section of Beijing. Though neighbors say they hadn't seen him in a long time. In a radio interview back in 2001, the former advertising executive described himself as a drifter, eager to explore the world. But, how did he get captured by ISIS and how was he killed? Neither ISIS nor the Chinese government has said as information surrounding Fan's abduction and supposed execution remains a mystery. Matt Rivers, CNN, Beijing.

HOWELL: You're watching CNN special coverage of the terror attacks in Paris. We'll be right back after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:45:05] HOWELL: We're back with our special coverage of the Paris terror attacks. I'm George Howell at the CNN Center in Atlanta. These attacks left 129 people dead, one week ago. Most of the people died at the Bataclan concert hall. Survivors were held hostage for hours until a S.W.A.T. team rescued them. Lester Holt, from the American News Agency and NBC news, talked to the man that led that raid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We took position at the entrance of the theater and then we discovered like a hell on earth. I mean, more than maybe 7,000, 8,000 people were laying on the floor. Laying on the floor. Tons of blood everywhere. Nobody was screaming. The last door, we approached the door, suddenly one of the terrorists on the stage, asked us to go backwards. So, I try to speak with them and he told me that he wanted to negotiate. So, I said give me a phone number. As soon as we opened the door, the terrorists -- one of the terrorists shot like between 25 to 30 rounds of ak-47 bullets.

LESTER HOLT, NBC NEWS HOST: And these are these little holes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Immediately, the guy in the middle of the group, he got hit in the hand so he fell down because of the pain and --

HOLT: One of your officers was hit?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, yeah, in the middle of the group. First thing, we saw that guy shooting, and a lot of, maybe 20 hostages between the shooter and us, so, we cannot shoot at this time, because it was too risky for the hostages. At the end we found the two terrorists. It was like a dead end for them. And the first one blew himself, his explosive jacket and the second one tried to do the same but he was shot by two of the officers. Blood everywhere. For us, it was so intense, the assault, the bullets the explosion, all that stuff, we were still very focused on what we did, to be honest, maybe half an hour after, we saw the environment and it was very, very tough. We stood together. We came back to the office and spoke together until maybe 7:00 in the morning and maybe it's going to be some trouble for some of us in the next weeks or something. But for now, so far, it's still okay.

HOLT: But you saved a lot of lives?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Despite that raid in Saint-Denis and these feel attacks that happened a week ago. Christmas markets are opening in France in defiance of the attacks. Amid the candy canes and the toy soldiers, you find armed security guards, armed security forces on patrol in the city. Our Senior International Correspondent Atika Shubert. We visited the city shopping markets to gauge the mood there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Life is returning not so quite normal here in Paris. We're on the Champs-Elysees, this is Paris' favorite shopping avenue. There are armed police patrolling, looking for any threats. Even Disney has its own private security, checking even the smallest customers coming inside.

Security doesn't bother me at all, this father told us. I came here with my little girl. Seeing the police around has really comforted her. Extra security to assure Parisians they're on high alert. Police also on patrol. Cars promoting the new wine with bottles and glasses in hand. Toy soldiers, real soldiers and wine, Paris remains defiant. Atika Shubert, CNN, Paris.

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[03:50:42] DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good day. I'm CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam with a quick look at your Friday weather watch. An area of high pressure really having a firm grip in the United States, bringing weather to the Montreal region as well as Atlanta. Lots of sunshine overhead. Chicago, you will stay dry today, daytime high of around seven degrees. But look at what is developing just to your west. There is an area of low pressure currently over the Rockies and into the plain States. That is going to form into a formidable snowstorm as we go through the next 48 hours.

In fact, anywhere from Des Moines and Sioux Falls, Madison, Chicago. Perhaps, Grand Rapids, Michigan, expecting snowfall up to 10 to 20 centimeters. And heavy snowfall expected along the northern portions of Iowa. And along with this system, is a shot of cold air, as well. We'll start to see a late autumn weather pattern settling in across the upper mid-west and New England coastline, for the first half of the workweek so, if you're located in Boston and the east, expect the thermometer to take a dive. In the west, temperatures quieter. Nassau just shy of 30 degrees. Few afternoon thunderstorms expected.

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HOWELL: The Eiffel tower there. To remember the dead and to mark this terrible tragedy in France. Welcome back to our continuing coverage here on CNN. I'm George Howell at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. We'll go live to Paris shortly, but first there are so many developments in the investigation. It's easy to forget these attacks happened just seven days ago and it's important to shift the focus back to the victims. The 129 people that have lost their lives, they were loved and their families and friends are trying to keep the world aware of that. CNN's Lynda Kinkade has this story.

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She was from Mexico, and studied tourism and had been living in Paris for about five years. In the city of love, the 27-year-old became engaged. Her fiance making the announcement just last month on Facebook. But, on Friday night, she was gunned down while working at the restaurant, Le Bell Equipe. Again, her fiance took to Facebook saying, I love you, my love, rest in peace. Her hometown is now in mourning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the worst thing that can happen to parents is to lose a child. And losing a child so abruptly like her in the prime of her life.

KINKADE: At just 22 years of age, Matias was a talented BMX rider. The French engineer and his girlfriend, who worked in public relations, were both killed at the Bataclan Theater. They were celebrating their fifth anniversary. He was a four-time BMX champion. They paid homage on Instagram, BMX lost a great one, rest in peace, Mathias, rest in peace, Mary.

Valeria Milani worked at a fashion design house in Paris and was attending a friend's birthday party at the Belle Equipe restaurant. She died in her ex-husband's arms. She was from Venice, Italy, and had had been living in Paris eight years. She was a PHD student at the Sorbonne. She was at the Bataclan theater with her boyfriend, his sister and a friend. As they tried to escape, Valeria was shot dead. Her parents flew to Paris to bring their daughter's body home.

[03:55:52] LUCIANA MILANI, MOTHER OF VICTIM: Our daughter, in her being daughter, person, citizen, scholar, I could go on about a thousand facets she had. She was a wonderful person. We will miss her so much and she will be missed I would say even by her country. People like her are important people.

KINKADE: Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

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HOWELL: With that, we thank you for watching this hour of special coverage of the Paris terror attacks. I'm George Howell. Next we go live to Paris with my colleagues Hala Gorani and John Berman standing by with the very latest from the French capital. You're watching CNN.