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Arrests Made in Belgium After Terror Raids; House Approves Bill Halting Syrian Refugees; French Army Recruitment Spikes After Paris Attacks; Vatican Threatened in ISIS Video; Arrests After Terror Raids in Belgium. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired November 22, 2015 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:12] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour, I'm Poppy Harlow live for you in Paris. Thank you so much for joining me.

We're following breaking news from Belgium where police have made a number of arrests, we are told, during a series of raids across the country in the aftermath of the horrific attacks here in Paris. We are expecting an update shortly from the Belgium federal prosecutor.

This news comes the same day that Brussels has chosen to extend the maximum terror alert level. The prime minister there warning the people of Brussels terrorists may be trying coordinated attempted attacks potentially on malls and on public transportation.

On Monday mornings, schools will be closed, the subway systems will be closed here in Paris. Children will have their bags searched before they go to class, we are told.

French police have also released this photo of one of the suicide bombers who blew himself outside of the Stade de France. They do not know who he is. So, they are putting this picture out there, urging the public to come forward with any information they might have about him.

At the same time, we are learning about a Paris attack suspect is still on the run, the eighth attackers that is Salah Abdeslam. His brother is telling Belgian television tonight he believes his brother may have backed out last minute from the attack and then fled last seen on the road to Belgium.

The brother is now urging Abdeslam to turn himself in. Let's bring in CNN senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir. She is live for us in Brussels tonight.

So, Nima, we just heard about these raids in the last 45 minutes or so. Do we know who they are targeting? Do we know how extensive they are?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they haven't yet released any targets of these raids or any potential arrests. We're expecting to hear from the prosecutor at any moment now. But as you can see behind me on that square down there below, the operations here are continuing. We've seen a very intensive police presence, soldiers fanning out through that square, and this is right in the center of Brussels.

We're also hearing that other towns, other municipalities across the country, that there have been pretty extensive raids, quite a heavy armed presence and some local media reporting that even in the presence of helicopters, it does sound like this has been a night or several days and nights, actually, of sweeps during this raised terror that hit here, Poppy.

HARLOW: And, Nima, it's extraordinary to see any major city around the world on lockdown. The fact that you have this major European hub, Brussels, on lockdown again, I mean, what are people saying and officials about how long they can sustain this?

ELBAGIR: Well, the Belgian officials are saying that this is going to be looked at again and again on a daily basis as new intelligence comes in. The reality is, they are trying to stay ahead of a potential terror threat and that is the key there, a potential threat. They think it's serious. They think it's imminent, but it is also about covering all the bases.

A lot of those we've been speaking to has been saying that the challenge as it faces the Belgian government is not to hand the ISIS propaganda a machinery such a victory where, as you said, a major European capital comes to an almost standstill. But at the same time, in the aftermath of Paris, to risk it again, given what we are hearing from the Belgian prime minister, that this was as far as they see it, a potentially complex Paris-style attack. The risk again, Poppy, is almost unthinkable.

HARLOW: Yes. You're right. Absolutely. They're taking every single precaution that they need to. Nima, thank you very much. We'll get back to you shortly with more live from Brussels.

Let's talk about this over now with Stefan de Vries. He's a journalist here in Paris. He was one of the first on the scene after the "Charlie Hebdo" attack. Also with me from the United States, former assistant secretary of homeland security, Juliette Kayyem.

Thank you both for being here.

Juliette, let me begin with you. They've been on lockdown now for two nights. We know that Salah Abdeslam, the eighth attacker here in Paris was last seen on the road to Belgium -- a number of raids, federal prosecutors speaking in just moments. What are your thoughts?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY, HOMELAND SECURITY: Well, this is a very difficult situation for the country and I have been in situations like this and there is nothing helpful about someone second guessing this. But we are past the stage of imminent attack.

[18:05:00] We are now entering Monday. So, almost two days of a lockdown.

It's not sustainable. And they are going to have to figure out a way, either with a major arrest of who they are looking for or some disruptions or just honesty, that they thought they had him and they didn't, to be able to open that city again. You know, urban cities are going to face terror threats for a long while and closing them completely down is just not sustainable economically or psychologically.

So, I'm very curious what they're going to say today in the next couple of minutes if this lockdown now, or, most importantly, what are the conditions for lifting it in the absence of a major arrest.

HARLOW: That's a good point.

We haven't seen that in Paris, interestingly, right, in the wake of the attacks. We haven't seen the city of lockdown. The taxi driver told me today as we were driving down the Champ Elysee, there are so many fewer people here than would be this time of year.

But, frankly, it's been pretty remarkable how this city is continuing to go on.

STEFAN DE VRIES, AMONG FIRST JOURNALIST ON SCENE AFTER CHARLIE HEBDO ATTACKS: Yes. Of course, it's a much bigger city than Brussels, (INAUDIBLE) million people in the metropolis. It's harder to lock down.

But it is very quiet. A lot of hotels are having a lot of cancellations from tourists, bars and restaurants are much quieter. So, yes, the city is coping, coming to grips with it slowly. The first funerals took place yesterday and probably also tomorrow. So it's still very fresh but I do sense a huge difference in attitude of the Parisians compared to the attacks in January.

HARLOW: Juliette, one of the key things in all of this has been intelligence sharing. And we saw after the Paris attack, we saw the United States opening up for their raw intelligence with France, which is something that they don't usually do outside of the, quote-unquote, "five I's" agreement which does not include France.

How key is this intelligence sharing right now, do you believe, in terms of the focus on Brussels and sharing with the Belgium authorities?

KAYYEM: I think it's absolutely necessary at this stage simply because the number of people who potentially are radicalized and will attack either a European city or try to come to the United States is unknown and that unknown is what is actually a little bit scary.

I will say, for example, any changes to the visa waiver program, there's much discuss sort of, you know, program, in which people from certain countries that can come to the United States without a visa. That definitely needs to be tightened up. I'm at the stage now where I think anyone who has travelled to Syria should automatically be on the no-fly list if they aren't already and a presumption of guilt until they can prove otherwise, and it's that kind of sharing of intelligence which will at least narrow the pool of people that we're looking at, so that there's not all of this background noise. HARLOW: Stefan, to you. There is also in Paris right now a state of

emergency. We've spoken about this. It will go on until February. It's very critical because it gives please these sweeping powers, preventive power, search and seizure without much to go on. You've said to me before that you don't think that's the right call. Why is that?

DE VRIES: Well, there are a couple of reasons. The main reason is, is this really effective? It doesn't change anything. A lot of lawyers and legal specialist think it doesn't. For example, there are already ten laws in place to fight terrorism in France. So, the jurisdiction has a lot of legal instruments to fight terrorism.

There's mainly a problem with the exchange of information. We've talked about that before as well. There's also a problem with how the police is operating with the prosecutors. For instance, there's very little change of information. There are several agencies services in France. They are basically rifles and they're really --

HARLOW: Really?

DE VRIES: Yes.

HARLOW: There's not good collaboration.

DE VRIES: No. This has changed since "Charlie Hebdo" but the culture is very different.

HARLOW: What is it, competitive?

DE VRIES: Yes, you could say that. It's same in the U.S. or in the way of the FBI and CIA, you know? It's very difficult to get them to work together. That was one of the main problems after, in the aftermath after 9/11.

So, this is the case of France as well. But it has changed a little bit since "Charlie Hebdo" but the cultures are still very different and we have a long way to go before the system is really efficient.

HARLOW: Let's hope that change as lot in the wake of the attacks.

Stefan, thank you very much. Stay with me as we wait for the Belgian federal prosecutor to speak on this series of raids across the country at this hour.

Juliette Kayyem, thank you very much.

Quick break. Much more live from Paris, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:12:52] HARLOW: Welcome to our continuing live coverage from Paris. I'm Poppy Harlow.

And we are waiting to hear from the Belgian federal prosecutor who will be speaking, we're told, in just about 15 minutes, speaking about these series of raids going on right now in his country as terror attacks in Paris also continue to raise alert across Europe.

Also, in the wake of the attacks here, a heated debate in the United States and elsewhere over Syrian refugees coming to the United States, and an emotional series of questions about whether or not you let these refugees into the United States right now.

I want to play for you some sound from some of the leading Republican presidential candidates this week talking about the issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Very simply, we can't take them, folks. We can't take them.

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's a rabid dog running around in your neighborhood. You're probably not going to assume something good about that dog. And you're probably going to put your children out of the way.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm concerned about the widows and orphans. The widows and orphans I'm concerned about are the widows and orphans that live in my city, the windows and orphans of September 11th.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right. Joining me now, Ghosoun Alakiali, is with me. She is a Syrian refugee, moved to the United States two years ago, lives in Ohio. Also her beautiful young daughter, Sariana (ph), right there.

Hi there, guys.

GHOSOUN ALAKIALI, SYRIAN ASYLUM SEEKER: Hi. How are you?

HARLOW: I'm well. Thank you very much.

I want to get your sense about the heated political debate that's going on, because you actually said earlier to one of my colleagues that you understand some of the concern.

ALAKIALI: I do understand their concern. But, you know, the refugees run from death. You know, they run from death on both sides, ISIS and Assad's regime, because they don't want, because -- you know, Assad's regime and ISIS will force refugees to serve their agenda and refugees doesn't want this.

[18:15:07] That's why they flee.

HARLOW: You moved to the United States two years ago as a refugee and I'm interested in because there's so much focus on the vetting process and what it takes to get in this country.

Can you tell us what you went through, how you were vetted with your family to come to the United States? ALAKIALI: We went through a process. It's a very strict process. It

starts with fingerprints and then background checks. It takes months. Then again, an interview because, you know, I was lucky to come by, you know, airlines, not by sea. So I went through the process of embassy.

So, it was a very strict process. We wait months to have a clearance, and then after the clearance when we come here, they also interview us and the immigration and then here they interview. So it's a very strict process.

HARLOW: You said you would be dead if you were still in Syria.

ALAKIALI: Yes. I did, because that's the true, you know? Because if you are not -- you know, ISIS killing people and regime is killing people, too. So, it's a disaster there. Imagine yourself, you are sitting in your house and, you know, barrel bombs all over, comes, you know, to your house, children are crying. Guys -- and, by the way, the only reason in 2013, what make me 100 percent sure of my decision to run is that in one day, in Douma, suburb of Damascus, 500 children died in Damascus from gas. So I don't want this to my baby --

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: Of course. I want to you listen to what Republican Congressman Richard Hudson told me last night on this program. He's the one who proposed the House legislation that was passed this week along with 47 Democrats supporting it, putting a hold on allowing Syrian and Iraqi refugees into this country.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RICHARD HUDSON (R), NORTH CAROLINA: You can't check with third parties in Syria because on a normal background check, you'd knock on the neighbor's door, you go talk to people that knew them, you go check with former employers. What he said was we can't do that in Syria, because, you know, that neighborhood has been bombed out. That former business doesn't exist.

And so, because of the FBI director's concern, all the House of Representatives is saying in a bipartisan way, is let's pause until we can put a process in place so the American people can feel assured that we know who these folks are that are coming in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So, Ghosoun, what he also told me is we want the process to still keep going, this authorization process but not to let them into the country right now. What do you say to him?

ALAKIALI: I'm telling him, there are children, orphans, they are less than 5 years old. Bring them. Bring the children.

There is, you know, in Jordan or in Turkey, there are camps for refugees full the children who lost their parents. Go and bring there, less than five years. I don't think you need to kill us for five years, you know -- that's sad. That is sad, you know, because refugees are not terrorists. They have to distinguish this.

Refugees love life. That's why they run. Children refugees love to live. That's why they run.

HARLOW: And, Ghosoun, if you bring the children, do you separate families? I mean, are they allowed to come, then, are you saying, with their mothers? What about their father? What would you do with that very, very difficult choice if you had to face it?

ALAKIALI: A lot of women, they lost their husbands. A lot. There is a lot of women lost their husbands and they are staying in the camps with their babies. A lot. So, at least do this, as a human gesture. So you don't want to bring young men, despite the fact that there's not terrorists among the Syrian refugees.

Probably, yes, somebody is taking, you know, passports of Syrian and pretend to be Syrian and he, you know, pops up as a terrorist. But that's not, you know, that's security breach, that's not, you know, Syrian refugees' fault. But if he wants to be on the safe side, OK, just take children with their moms, at least at this stage. And she will work, believe me.

I'm studying right now.

[18:20:02] I went to school, I went back to school despite the fact that I have years of experience as an executive (INAUDIBLE) and I have three languages. I went to school back again. We are hard worker people. We are good people.

HARLOW: Ghosoun, thank you very much for joining me.

ALAKIALI: Thank you.

HARLOW: Sariana, thank you very much for being with us.

ALAKIALI: Say thank you, baby. Thank you.

HARLOW: We appreciate your time. Thank you very much.

Also, I want you to take a look at this. Perhaps the biggest target of the recent airstrikes in Syria has been Raqqa, ISIS's self-declared capital. In a CNN explosive our senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh gets as close as he possibly can to the ISIS headquarters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Airstrikes can repeatedly pound Raqqa, but it's here that any ground offensive by the Kurds towards the capital of ISIS, the self-declared caliphate, would have to begin.

And still, a sense of stalemate. The ultimate goal of Raqqa, visible on a good day, and the far distance and the space of times in the past few days hit by ISIS mortars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Do not miss Nick's full report exclusive from inside of Syria. That is tomorrow morning on NEW DAY, starting at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

We will have much more live here from Paris after a quick break, including the latest on those raids and arrests across Belgium. A live press conference and the federal prosecutor ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:23] HARLOW: Welcome back to our continuing live coverage from Paris. I'm Poppy Harlow, joining you this evening.

You're looking at imaging out of Brussels, Belgium. There's a press conference about to get under way. The Belgian federal prosecutor set to speak, Frederic Van Leeuw. This follow a series of raids across Brussels and other locations in Belgium. Of course the tie here to the Paris terror attacks is that they were orchestrated in Belgium.

We know the Molenbeek suburb of Belgium has been a hot spot for jihadism, for also some of the terrorists to plot together. We know that the eighth attacker here in Paris, Salah Abdeslam, was last seen nine days ago early Saturday morning, the night after -- the day after the attacks on the way from Paris into Brussels. We will monitor this for you and as soon as it begins, we will bring it to you live.

Meantime, President Obama ended his overseas trip with very tough rhetoric against ISIS before leaving Malaysia. The president said the global coalition formed to destroy ISIS will not accept the idea that attacks on theaters and restaurants, quote, "are the new normal or that we are powerless to stop them."

The president's language today, much stronger, after he was criticized by some by calling the Paris attacks a setback in the war against ISIS. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They are a bunch of killers with good social media. And they are dangerous and they've caused great hardship to people. The most powerful tool we have to fight ISIL is to say that we're not afraid, to not elevate it, to somehow buy in to their fantasy that they are doing something important. They are a bunch of killers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: As the president argues, we should not be timid here, and be aggressive. Young men in France are showing that same determination to bring the fight to ISIS.

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson shows us how they are lining up to join the military in the wake of the attacks here in Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: At a French army recruitment center, young men are signing up.

"I wanted to join already," 19-year-old Xavier Sophie tells me. "When I heard about the attacks, it motivated me even more."

A few miles from last Friday's attack, men and women lining up to find out if they've got what it takes.

Recruiters are busier than ever.

"Today, I've received three times a number of completed forms than I would normally have by this time Friday," the recruiter tells me.

The writing on the wall here, France's people need protection.

The president says the country's at war. Its citizens are listening.

"The number of people who have contacted us," he tells me, have gone up dramatically since last Friday's attacks.

(on camera): Officials here say this spike in recruitment has already exceeded those that came to sign up following the "Charlie Hebdo" attacks in January and they add that all of those that volunteered then stayed the course.

(voice-over): My question for the commanding officer is simple.

(on camera): Can the army -- can the French army defeat Daesh?

(voice-over): "Of course," he says.

(on camera): That simple?

(voice-over): "The French soldier," he continues, "has a mission to fill. He will fulfill his mission. He will put all of his energy into fulfilling his mission" -- a mission that will have more fire power, if needed, in the wake of last week's barbaric attack.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Nic, thank you very much for that.

Again, we're monitoring a press conference out of Brussels, Belgium. We're expecting to hear from the prosecutor after a series of raids tonight across Belgium has just wrapped up. A number of arrests have been made. We'll bring the press conference to you live as soon it begins. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

HARLOW: Welcome back to our continuing live coverage from Paris. I'm Poppy Harlow.

We are monitoring a press conference in Belgium right now about to get under way in Brussels, the capital there. We're waiting to hear from the federal prosecutor. This comes in the wake of a series of raids and arrests across Belgium.

What I can tell you is that we have also learned that some of these raids were in the suburb of Brussels, known as Molenbeek, a place you've heard a lot about in the last nine days because that is where the eighth attacker, who is still on the run, Salah Abdeslam, that is where he is from, that is where he lived. And we do know that one of the raids was there tonight. Can't make any more connections than that. That is all we know at this hour. We will monitor this and bring it to you live as soon as it does begin.

Meantime, the U.S. embassy in Rome is warning Americans visiting Italy to be vigilant, saying the St. Peter's Basilica in particular could potentially be a terrorist target. We know that ISIS has released this video on Thursday threatening new attacks, threatening them in France, in the United States, in Italy. One fighter mentioning the conquest of Rome in that propaganda video. ISIS even featured the Vatican on the cover of one of its most recent propaganda magazines.

But the Pope came out this week and said the church of all places cannot be locked up. Must remain open for all people. Also this comes just as tens and thousands of pilgrims are about to descend on Rome for the Jubilee Year which hasn't happened in 15 years.

Let's talk about it with CNN contributor Barbie Nadeau. She is also the Italy bureau chief for the "Daily Beast."

Thank you for being here. This could not have come at a worse timing for Rome ahead of the jubilee. How vulnerable is it? And what are they doing there to take all precautions?

[18:35:01] BARBIE NADEAU, ITALY BUREAU CHIEF, THE DAILY BEAST: Well, you know, the security officials say they are ready for anything, that they're monitoring any suspect, people that they're completely ready for any -- to thwart any sort of terrorist attack. But of course they're not really that concerned about what could happen inside St. Peter's Square. There will be snipers on the colonnade and things like that.

It's the soft target that they just really can't protect. Those are people standing in long lines to get into museums, people outside the coliseum, people in -- you know, people outside of St. Peter's Square that they're really concerned about. People at cafes. Of course the weather here is nice year round. People sit outside year round. And those are the types of things that they're most concerned about, Poppy, because they just can't protect all of those people, and they know it.

HARLOW: What about the Pope's upcoming trip to Africa? He's going to make a stop starting this weekend in major African countries. This comes, obviously, in the wake of that horrific attack in Mali this week that took 19 people. Any security concerns about that?

NADEAU: Well, he's sending his personnel security detail ahead to check out the situation. They haven't said for sure whether or not they'll have to make any changes to his agenda in light of the attacks in Mali. But those situations are fairly well secured. They've got people with tickets, people have been vetted most are pilgrims who will be attending those sorts of live events where the Pope is, and there is pretty tight security. We saw it when he was in the United States, we saw it when he was in Cuba. And I think we'll see the same sort of thing in Africa.

But of course, you know, in those situations as well, where you've got large groups of Catholics gathered together who are vulnerable in situations where the security might not be exactly what the Vatican would expect. The Vatican brings their own security and with them they bring some of the Italian security forces as well. Those people are already in place in some of those places right now. They've gone ahead of the Pope. He leaves on the 25th of November for a five-day trip -- Poppy.

HARLOW: You wrote a fascinating piece today on "The Daily Beast," talking about some of these marching in Rome and Milan over the weekend. They were really the first public demonstrations in Italy using the #notinmyname focusing on Muslims living across Europe. Tell me about that.

NADEAU: It was really interesting. The march in Rome was very heavily policed. They were, you know, really, really obviously concerned that there might have been some backlash from the Italians against the Islamic communities here in Italy. It's a very fractured community. You've got about 15,000 Italian passport holding -- people who practice Islam here in Italy and then you've got thousands of refugees and migrant that come to the country who are in various groups, Islamic groups, community groups. Various prayer groups.

It's not a very cohesive group of people. But they came together and were represented in Rome and Milan in, you know, in a very peaceful march where they had lots of powerful speeches and there were lots of Italians in the crowd. I noticed that they were there to support and to find out and have an open mind about what they were saying.

HARLOW: Barbie Nadeau, thank you very much. I appreciate the reporting. Obviously Rome and Italy getting a lot of focus right now as well in all of this. Thank you very much.

Tonight, we are seeing a poignant photograph of the moments right before three gunmen stormed the Bataclan concert hall killing 89 people. What it shows is a smiling crowd. Some fans raising their hands and their glasses. Others enjoying the music unaware that carnage would come.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSIE HUGHES, LEAD SINGER, EAGLES OF DEATH METAL: Several people hid in our dressing room.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eagles of Death Metal lead singer Jessie Hughes speaking out for the first time, remembering that terrible night.

HUGHES: The killers were able to get in and killed every one of them except for a kid who was hiding under my leather jacket.

WHITFIELD: The band at the Bataclan theater, the deadliest site of the Paris attacks. This photo, a snapshot in time, just moments before the first shots rang out, senselessly cutting short the lives of 89 people.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The killers got in your dressing room?

HUGHES: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People were playing dead and they were so scared. A great reason why so many --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: . All right. We're going to get out of that sooner. I want you to listen in the press conference in Brussels, Belgium. You are listening -- I believe you're going to be listening to the Belgian federal prosecutor, Frederic Van Leeuw, following a series of arrests and raids. Let's listen in.

ERIC VAN DER SYPT, BELGIAN FEDERAL PROSECUTOR (Speaking in Foreign Language)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:42:26] THIERRY WERTS, BELGIAN FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: (Through Translator): In the context of a judicial investigation opened in context of the federal prosecutor have proceeded to 19 raids this Sunday night in the Brussels region. These raids were -- were undertaken in Molenbeek, Anderlecht, Jette, There are also three other raids in Charleroi. Sixteen people were arrested. The decision will be made whether they will be kept in custody tomorrow.

With regard to a raid in Molenbeek, a vehicle went at the direction of the police at which moment the police started shooting at them. The vehicle managed to escape but was intercepted in Brussels. On it was an injured man who was -- who was stopped. At the moment it is impossible to say whether there is a link with him and the current investigation. For the other raids, they -- what happened without any particular incident with regard to the objects found and the identities of people.

We cannot give you any more information at this time. Right until now neither weapons or explosives have been discovered. Salah Abdeslam has not been caught during these raids. The elements, obviously, as part of this investigation required an intervention this Sunday night. The operations are continuing and given that we cannot give you any more details.

The federal prosecutor and the police would like to thank the press but also all of those using social media to have been -- to have understood and held back during the time of the operations.

VAN DER SYPT: In the Belgian federal judicial investigation that was spoken after the Paris attacks, the Federal Prosecution's Office and the Brussels investigating judge specialized in terrorist cases ordered a total of 19 house searches in the Brussels region.

[18:45:14] These searches took place in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, Anderlecht, Jette, Schaarbeek, Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe and Vorst. There were also three house searches carried out in Charleroi. In total 16 persons were arrested. The investigating judge will decide tomorrow about their further -- possible further detention.

During a search in a snack bar in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek a vehicle ran to the police, after which the police officers fired two shots. The vehicle rushed off but was intercepted later in Brussels. The driver, a man who was hurt, was arrested. For the time being, we cannot confirm if there is a relation between the ongoing investigation and this arrest.

No further specific incidents occurred during the searches. No further information can be given about the objects found nor about the identity of the persons arrested. Until now no firearms or explosives were found. Salah Abdeslam is not among the persons arrested during these searches. Specific elements of the inquiry necessitated the operation of Sunday night. The investigation continues.

In the interest of the further of the inquiry, currently no more details can be given. The Federal Prosecutor's Office and police insist on thanking you the press and the users of the social media for having taken into account the needs of the ongoing operation when covering the operation.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. For the time being, that will be all. And good night. Nothing. Really nothing. In the interest of the investigation, we cannot --

HARLOW: All right. There you have it. Eric Van Leeuw, the Belgian federal prosecutor speaking. A lot of information to digest. Let me go through it with you then we will take you live to our Nima Elbagir who is in Brussels, Belgium.

The headlines, 19 raids, 16 arrests, no weapons, no explosives found. One incident with one of the arrests. Some shots fired but they did -- they were able to detain that person. The key here that everyone was wondering was, were they able to find Salah Abdeslam, the eighth attacker here in these Paris attacks who was last seen on the road to Belgium who is a Belgian national? They were not able to find him, according to authorities. Again, reiterating the eighth attacker, Salah Abdeslam, not taken into

custody in these raids. 19 raids, 16 arrested.

Let's go to Nima Elbagir in Brussels. So now we know, Nima, now we know that there have been these raids but they did not find that key person they were looking for. They say the investigation continues.

ELBAGIR: Although 16 were arrested, until tomorrow when the judge presiding over this judicial investigation comes in, we won't know how many of them are actually pertinent to this broader investigation in terms of whether or not they will be detained.

We've seen that before. Last weekend there was the hours-long raid in Molenbeek and out of the five or seven -- seven in the end, people that were detained, only two were held after an entire weekend of raids then. So it's -- but what it does do, Poppy, is it gives you a sense of the intensity of this operation. Nineteen in rapid succession just on Sunday night. It really gives you a sense of the pressure that the Belgian authorities are under to deliver, to actually not only deliver the eighth attacker but also deliver an end to this heightened terror threat level.

HARLOW: Nima, let me ask you, here in Paris there is a state of emergency across France right now in the wake of these attacks, which is giving the authorities here, the police much more sweeping powers, much more authority for preventative detention, search and seizure without the justification that they would normally need. Do they have that authority right now as well in Belgium?

ELBAGIR: No, not yet. And I think it's again important to remind ourselves that France has just come through, it's just come through a cataclysmic attack. In Belgium they are no way near that stage.

[18:50:01] But if this continues, if this heightened threat level continues and this tension, really, that is shrouding the city continues, then a lot of those we've been speaking to can foresee a situation in which the Belgian authorities do seek an expansion of their abilities to detain and their abilities to search. But for the time being, Belgian authorities are giving no indication that the current abilities that they have in terms of searches and detention aren't adequate to face the threat as it stands.

HARLOW: Understood. Nima, thank you very much for that.

I want to go to Juliette Kayyem, assistant -- former assistant, Homeland Security secretary.

Juliette, your thoughts on this. We know, a total now, I'm being told, of 22 raids, 16 arrests, but the key here, they did not find that eighth attacker still nine days later on the run.

KAYYEM: So this is -- it was a really inconclusive night for Belgium. Twenty-two raids, only 16 arrests, that's not a good ratio. And even when they said during the press conference we're not even sure we're going to hold these people through the day, so this was a sweep and it was an unsuccessful sweep because they didn't get who they wanted. And so now once again, as I've been saying, it's just a hard situation for Belgium.

What is going to be the standard to get that city up and running again if we don't catch the single person that they're looking for? Now let's hope maybe in the next 24 hours that they catch him, but if they don't, they sort of put themselves in a hard position to say, OK, we're going to open, we feel safe again and yet we haven't captured the one person who were saying is making everyone unsafe. This is a very difficult situation for the country. But I say the news tonight is inconclusive if -- you know, essentially, not news at this stage.

HARLOW: Let's go -- thank you, Juliette. Let's go to Jonathan Gilliam, CNN law enforcement analyst.

Jonathan, your thoughts on this. Do you agree with Juliette that, you know, how long can Brussels sustain being on lockdown here when they've had these raids that have not turned up the key man, the most wanted man in Europe?

JONATHAN GILLIAM, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: I agree with what she was saying. And I just want to add to that, the one thing that did stand out is that these investigations are ongoing. And when you look at it the way Juliette was just looking at it, you see how far behind the gun that the response actually is. And how it really snuck up on them even though the majority of these people came -- that we're seeing, came from a certain area. They're still -- they are still behind the gun.

And that's a very scary thing when you're still having imminent threats because you're trying to develop an investigation to follow where these people went, find out what their trail is, at the same time you're trying to figure out where the possibilities is that they may attack again. That's a very, very difficult place to be in and I don't foresee this threat level as coming down any time soon.

HARLOW: Juliette, what about intelligent sharing? Because we know that the United States after these attacks in Paris did open up its raw data on these terrorist groups, on ISIS, et cetera, and sympathizers in Europe, to France, which is outside of that agreement. What kind of intelligence sharing do you think we're seeing between the United States and Brussels and Belgium right now?

KAYYEM: Well, I know having talked to people, it is quite extensive at this stage. But -- and that's good, but everyone needs to understand, raw intelligence is raw for a reason. They are capturing so much information. And without the ability to put it into context, it is not clear how much that is going to help the French, the Dutch or whomever else. I think the most important thing from the U.S. perspective is assisting what we know about these attacks and then also ensuring that the visa waiver program, the program we've been talking about, allowing people from 30-plus countries to come in without visas is very, very tight.

And that would mean the sharing of intelligence to put more people on a no-fly list, at least for the time being, and make a presumption that, you know, issues like have you been to Syria, is there a gap in your travel? In other words, you went to Turkey and then you went missing for three months and coming back. Issues like that to tighten up the visa waiver. Because for me, the Syrian refugee issue is a non-issue, that's a political issue and one that's not a security issue at this stage. But the visa waiver is something that we need to tighten up.

HARLOW: We know that there's this legislation that's going to be formally proposed in the United States after Thanksgiving, the Feinstein-Flake legislation that would put a hold on those that have traveled in Syria or Iraq on that visa waiver program to come into the United States.

Juliette Kayyem, thank you very much. Jonathan Gilliam, thank you to you as well.

[18:55:04] Back to our Nima Elbagir, live for us in Brussels tonight.

Nima, following these raids tonight across Brussels, Molenbeek, and Charleroi, a number of cities across Belgium, what are the people, the public, the average citizens saying there?

ELBAGIR: Well, tonight, actually, we saw people starting to kind of falteringly venture out on the streets especially here in the center of Brussels. But given those sweeping raids that we've seen even here in this downtown area, the worry is for many of those that we're speaking to is that almost that spirit of defiance is going to be -- it's going to be in the retreat because one day on a heightened threat level is difficult. Two days, but then suddenly you're coming into the beginning of the week and it's going to be a very difficult time for people here, Poppy.

HARLOW: There's no question about it.

Nima, thank you so much, live reporting for us from Brussels.

A quick break. Much more live from Paris next.

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