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More Police Raids in Brussels; Syrian Forces May Soon Recapture Palmyra; Belgians Had Been Warned about Impending Attack; Increased Security in Brussels; Trump and Cruz Trade Attacks on Each Other's Wives. Aired Midnight-1a ET

Aired March 25, 2016 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:18] MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Max Foster, live for you in Brussels with CNN's continuing special coverage of the Brussels terror attacks.

Within the past few hours' police have raided more homes here, one anti-terror operation took place right in front of our cameras. Officers spent hours inside this home in Schaerbeek neighborhood and have been sealing off streets with hazmat teams. Police have arrested at least six people in connection with the attacks; three of them were outside the federal prosecutor's office and officials will decide in the coming hours if any will be released.

Authorities also think there were five men involved in Tuesday's blast, including a second bomber of the metro station, one witness may have seen him.

ERIC PANIA, WITNESS TO METRO ATTACK: I saw some guys, 25, 24, 30, I don't know the age exactly. It was with (inaudible) a big bag on -- he was very nervous. You saw sweat. He was really nervous and he was back and forth in the metro hall; back and forth, back and forth.

FOSTER: Well, all of this as intelligence points to ISIS getting ready for more attacks to ensue. On Thursday, French police arrested a man suspected of planning one that was already at an advanced stage.

CNN has complete team coverage in Brussels. Our correspondents have been all over the city for you. This hour you'll hear from Phil Black about metro station security and Nima Elbagir has an emotional interview with a man whose siblings traveled to Syria for jihad; but we're going to start with Senior International Correspondent, Atika Shubert. She's here in Brussels, with more on the intelligence gathered so far, and also bring us up to date on the developments overnight Atika.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, via satellite: Yes, these developments were quite interesting. We saw a total of five people arrested, in various parts of the city, including right in front of the federal prosecutor's office and this seems to be actually a kind of a car arrest. The car was stopped. People were pulled out and arrested. Now, we're not getting any details from the prosecutor or police on who exactly these people are or why they were arrested; but I think we can assume that this is probably part of the wider rounding up of anyone who might know the extensiveness of this terror network.

Now, in addition to that, of course, we're getting a few more details about how exactly the attack was carried out. We now know there are five suspects in total that are believed to have carried out the twin terror attacks: three at the airport, one of those is still on the run. Police have an extensive manhunt for them, that is the man in the white jacket and a black hat; still not been identified at this point.

Now, police also believe that a second man may have been -- may have taken part in the bombing of the metro station. Apparently, there is security video of a man with a bag there. Now, what's not clear is where he is. Whether he left, whether he's alive or may be dead. I think that speaks to how mangled really the crime scene is at the metro station. So they really haven't identified everybody who was killed in that attack.

And so while all this is happening, there is this sense of urgency by Belgian security forces here that it's almost a race against time to stop any other attacks that might be in the planning and this is why they're beginning to round up people overnight, and I think it's likely we could see more in the days to come Max.

FOSTER: Interesting to hear from the French authorities that the arrests in Paris, or just outside Paris wasn't linked to the Paris attacks or the Brussels attacks. It seems as though the authorities are going for this much wider network and looking for any sort of intelligence coming out of it.

SHUBERT: Much wider network; what's concerning here is that in this arrest in Argenteuil they said that this is an individual who was in the last stages of planning an attack. So it does sound like it was quite imminent. Now, we're still waiting for more details, confirmation of exactly what they found during that arrest but it's very concerning.

This is the problem with ISIS, of course, is that ISIS doesn't have to give a direct order to have an attack carried out. It's more of a philosophy. And so what we have is these fighters that may have gone to fight with ISIS, or other groups like ISIS, in Syria and Iraq and they find a way to come back home, sort of infiltrate borders, come back into society here and then can [00:05:01] begin their own plans and plots, individually, on their

own, without any orders from ISIS; and that is one of the hardest things for security officials to try and prevent.

FOSTER: Atika, we're watching (inaudible); thank you. Several in the intelligence community say Belgian authorities have missed clear warning signs before the attacks. Even the country's Interior Minister admits it's a legitimate concern. Senior International Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh tried to get answers from him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A devastating attack, but also one that had a devastating number of warnings. Of the five said to be attackers we know the identity of three and for each of those, we know Belgian authorities were warned.

Najim Laachouari, on the left here, skilled in bomb making and sought by Interpol, fired red-notice, a kind of global arrest warrant since last year. Khalid El Bakraoui, one of the two brothers behind the attacks, subject also of a red-notice for three months before the attacks, this one explicitly for terrorism and issued in December; and his brother, and perhaps the most staggering twist, traveled to Turkey last June. He was deported by Turkish authorities for trying to join ISIS, to Holland. Dutch authorities saying they got an e-mail from Turkey 26 minutes before his flight took off, but never mentioned Turkey's concerns. A mess so extraordinary the Belgian Interior Minister reviewed the papers overnight and then offered his resignation.

JAN JAMBON, INTERIOR MINISTER, BELGIUM, via translator: People ask how is it possible that someone was released early and we missed a chance, when he was in Turkey, to detain him. I understand that question. I cannot speak for a colleague, but for myself. I offered my resignation to the Prime Minister.

WALSH: It wasn't accepted, but he also wasn't answering questions.

So there were a number of occasions in which there were very clear warnings about the links between all these attackers and the potential for terrorism. Why were those --

Remarkable decision by the Interior Minister here, not to answer any questions, at all, despite the growing evidence of substantial information being passed to the Belgian government about the links between all these attackers and terrorism.

The number of suspects still growing, as are the ramifications at the heart of power.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Brussels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Going to discuss this further now with Mirren Gidda. She's a reporter here in Brussels for "Newsweek" Magazine. Actually, you're just over. You're been covering all of this, but you've been covering it a lot in recent months.

In terms of those criticisms of the security services, the authorities more generally, do you think they're justified; because you've been speaking to them over the months and you've been seeing how they all work, trying to prepare for something like this?

MIRREN GIDDA, REPORTER, "NEWSWEEK" MAGAZINE: I think to some extent some criticism is justifiable, and I think that's being recognized by the Belgian ministers as well. For example, the Minister of the Interior and the Justice Minister both apparently offered to resign over the fact that one of the El Bakraoui brothers had been apprehended by Turkey, but Belgium told them to let him go; that he ended up being deported to the Netherlands. So I think they are aware that they did make some mistakes, particularly as three of the suspects in the Brussels bombings were also known to the police.

FOSTER: You were in a notorious prison here, weren't you, where a lot of these terror convicts are held; right?

GIDDA: Yes.

FOSTER: This is where people are radicalized as well?

GIDDA: Yes; I mean, the real problem with Belgium, the Belgium story, they don't have any figures for how many people are being radicalized in prison. In France it's about 15-percent of all radicalized people are done in prison. So it's definitely a problem; and I was speaking to someone who sort of monitors all the prisons in the country and he said (inaudible) there are 67 terror suspects. Now they are apparently kept isolated from the rest of the prison population, but that, of course, has its own problems; if you keep them locked up alone for 23, even 24 hours a day. That's not going to help them become integrated in society on their release.

FOSTER: Are the authorities outside the prison service doing enough to try to keep the cross-radicalization in prisons?

GIDDA: I think they're becoming aware of it now. So, again, the man that I spoke to said they've asked Imams, they've asked prison guards to report any signs of radicalization. But obviously, as with trying to find radicalization in general, it's very, very hard to root this out unless you're there at the very grass roots level.

FOSTER: It's a very interesting example though, isn't it, because a lot of police services around Europe will tell you that they are finding people being radicalized in prisons is an area that perhaps they haven't got across, in the same way they haven't got across how young people are being radicalized in the community.

GIDDA: Absolutely; and it's interesting that of the Paris attackers, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who was the master mind, Salah Abdeslam and the El Bakraoui brothers all had spent time in prison. It's not clear whether they [00:10:02] were radicalized there, but there is certainly an indication that they may have been and that's very, very worrying.

FOSTER: You were telling us yesterday, though, a real concerned that they don't have enough resources in the security services to deal with what's expected of them. Are they feeling as if they're going to get that support, now that there's been a second attack which has been linked to another attack in Europe?

GIDDA: As far as I'm aware no more funding has been announced, although I wouldn't be surprised if they do that more, in terms of resources; but one (inaudible) I spoke to from (inaudible) think tank, she was saying it's not so much they're underfunded but that they're badly funded. So that instead of hiring Arabic speakers, people who know these disadvantaged, disaffected communities, they're hiring the wrong sorts of staff. She was saying it's about better directing the resources.

FOSTER: That's a failure, isn't it? That's a legitimate failure of the system.

GIDDA: Yes, it is; but I think it's also a failure that happens across many cities. We hear about it in London all the time. The wrong sorts of people are in the police force, or, rather, and the right people aren't.

FOSTER: Just a final word on all these arrests we're hearing about: we probably shouldn't focus on them too much in this current environment, should we, because these arrests are happening all the time?

GIDDA: Yes, exactly. You know, particularly since Paris there have been numerous arrests - numerous raids, sorry, in places like Molenbeek and Schaerbeek. It's definitely a positive thing. You know, Paris arresting someone in the advanced stages of terrorist plot suggests that maybe they are beginning to crack down on, you know, these radicalized individuals.

FOSTER: Okay; well, thank you very much indeed for joining us today, again, with your insight.

A dark cloud hangs over Brussels as people try to get back to normal here. Next, how commuters are feeling as security swarms the city's metro stations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[00:15:04] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you angry?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course I am; who's not angry about that? I mean, why does people be so bad? Why do they need to be like this? I don't understand why. I mean, do you understand? Because I don't. I really don't.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you afraid?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I am, but I don't have to be afraid because if I'm afraid they're going to win and it's not possible. They can't win, not now. I can't imagine this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Emotions are still so raw here in Brussels as people struggle to come to terms with the attacks. Although authorities lowered the threat level a notch, tension is high pretty much throughout the city.

Phil Black went to the central metro station, for example, to see how people are feeling about that increased security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are so many soldiers on the streets of central Brussels. This now looks like an occupied city.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a little bit kind of war, the feeling of war.

BLACK: An intimidating presence, but also comforting for people who are now sharply aware of the vulnerability that comes with living in an open European city.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, safe.

BLACK: It makes you safe?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it makes me safe, I said; yes, yes. A lot safer.

BLACK: It can now take a long time to get inside Brussels Centraal Station. The crowd shuffles slowly. Everyone is watched as they enter. Soldiers patrol in small packs. Most people are here to catch commuter trains out of Brussels, but the inner city metro is now partially open, operating a very limited service for the passengers who endure even greater scrutiny. Everyone is personally searched before getting to these platforms.

There's so many soldiers and police officers at the stations. The security is extraordinary and so is the atmosphere underground.

A mix of necessity and determination means these people are still riding trains across and under Brussels.

Do you think people are behaving differently?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little bit; they are anxious.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We all know that we're not safe anywhere. It can happen anywhere, and at any moment.

BLACK: Catching a train is now an act of courage and defiance because of what happened here. Maalbeek Metro Station is where the most people died in Tuesday's attacks. With the surrounding streets now open, people are coming here to grieve.

Lisa (Inaudible) Dewilder came to sing.

LISA DEWILDER, SINGER: Just to show that, yeah, that we're never -- never will stop singing and never will stop - yeah, doing what we do.

BLACK: There is great sorrow, but some here are making a real effort to promote other emotions too. You see it along the road near Maalbeek Station, where countless hearts have been scratched into the ground with messages of love and peace. Some in this city are determined to respond to terror with hope.

Phil Black, CNN, Brussels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: We'll have more on our special coverage from Brussels in just a moment but right now we'll turn it back to John in Los Angeles for the day's other news. Hello, John. JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Max; thank you. Now the race to the White House may have hit a new low with a very nasty fight on the republican side between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. Both candidates spent the day defending the virtue of their wives after both women became the focus of a tit for tat war on Twitter.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are escalating their nasty spat involving their spouses.

TED CRUZ (R-TX) REPUBICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's not easy to tick me off. I don't get angry often, but you mess with my wife, you mess with my kids, that will do it every time. Donald you're a sniveling coward. Leave Heidi the hell alone.

SERFATY: That, after Trump retweeted this split screen image of Cruz's wife Heidi and his wife Melania, with the caption "the images are worth a thousand words."

CRUZ: Real men don't try to bully women. That's not an action of strength. That's an action of weakness. It's an action of fear. It's an action of a [00:20:02] small and petty man who is intimidated by strong women.

SERFATY: FOX News anchor Megyn Kelly, a regular Trump target, also joining the fray with a one-word tweet to Donald Trump.

MEGYN KELLY, ANCHOR, FOX NEWS: Seriously?

SERFATY: Cruz blasting Trump for bringing his wife into the middle of their campaign showdown.

CRUZ: Let me be absolutely clear, our spouses and our children are off bounds. It is not acceptable for a big, loud, New York bully to attack my wife.

SERFATY: The attacks were first sparked by a Facebook ad from an anti-Trump Super PAC, not the Cruz campaign that, used an old modelling photo of Trump's wife posing nude. Trump still insists his rival was somehow involved.

DONALD TRUMP (R) REPUBICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, via telephone: I thought it was disgraceful. And Ted Cruz knew about it.

SERFATY: The sharp, personal attacks eclipsing the divisions over national security, now emerging of a flash point between the 2016 candidates on both sides, in the wake of the Brussels terror attacks. Hillary Clinton angling for a symbolic contrast, sitting down with Muslim leaders in California. the democratic front runner blasting her GOP rivals for pursuing policies that she says will only sow division.

HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY) DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- cannot allow our nation to be pitting groups of people against one another. We cannot give in to panic and fear. It's not in keeping with our values.

SERFATY: This comes as a brand new CNN-ORC poll shows if Trump and Clinton face off in the general election, 56-percent of voters believe that Clinton will win. Compared with 42-percent of people who think that Trump will. And while Clinton also an edge when it comes to who would be a better commander-in-chief, and who is more in touch with the middle class, she and Trump are tied on the question of who is a stronger leader.

And back on that Donald Trump/Ted Cruz feud, the Trump campaign is calling for the Cruz campaign to direct that Super PAC, with that Facebook ad about Melanie Trump, they are directing them to pull the ad. Well, the Cruz campaign saying they have nothing to do with it and they have already denounced it.

Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, Janesville, Wisconsin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Christina Bellantoni is here with us now. She's an Assistant Managing Editor for Politics at "The Los Angeles Times". Christina, thanks for being with us.

Okay, did Donald Trump actually make Ted Cruz look like the classy, high-minded one here or, as some critics have suggested, he's milked this a bit with some sort of macho outrage, because, after all, he didn't condemn the original Melania Trump ad. He didn't call for that to be withdrawn.

CHRISTINA BELLANTONI, ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR, "THE LOS ANGELES TIMES": Well, there's a lot of different factors at play. You've got Ted Cruz who is trying to appeal to an evangelical republican base. If he can motivate them in the states to come, especially right here in California, which votes on June 7, that could actually help him maybe get to where Donald Trump is with the delegate fight and maybe get the nomination.

Then you also have the fact that he's able to keep himself in the spot light. We all know Donald Trump has dominated the headlines for the types of things he's said, just like this, over the last many months. So now Ted Cruz is actually getting on television, constantly responding to it. And, at the same time, you have Hillary Clinton who's able to just think about the general election and think about if she faces Donald Trump here's one more thing that's he's said that is offensive to women.

Anybody that says don't talk about my wife, their poll numbers go up.

VAUSE: Right; I mean, look, it was remarkable that Ted Cruz came out on four separate occasions, I think, by my count, it may be more, talk about his wife. Hillary Clinton was in Los Angeles talking to Muslim leaders and basically talking about national security/foreign policy, which I think in some ways really is sort of differentiating between the Republicans and the Democrats right now. BELLANTONI: It's a different contest. Hillary Clinton has moved on from Senator Bernie Sanders, even as he's campaigning in California as well. He says he's going to make California his big strong hold. She's looking toward the general election, even if Sanders thinks he can still win.

For Trump and Cruz, this is still a real battle and it could go all the way to the convention. So they have to really get at each other; and the ad that they're talking about, with Melania, this is an outside Super PAC, a group of people put together, many of whom supported Carly Fiorina way back when, and now they're sort of behind the scenes -

VAUSE: Wow!

BELLANTONI: -- basically, the anti-Trump movement. Well that ultimate is benefitting Ted Cruz.

VAUSE: Okay, well, Donald Trump has really bad poll numbers when it comes to women. He's very, very unpopular with women. Does something like this hurt him or are those women who like him, are they going to like him no matter what he does?

BELLANTONI: Well you see, I mean, women are not his strong class of people that are voting for him. If you think about the types of things he says and what will happen if he does face Hillary Clinton; right, this is a female candidate who has taken advantage of that at times and has tried to be the tough guy at times. It is very possible he's going to say something that is a step too far, that is going to bring the umbrage machine from all of the [00:25:02] women in America on there; and there are moderate Republican women who will consider voting for her, for as many people that say they hate her and will never vote for her, there will be that faction of people.

VAUSE: Because we are seeing that now. Ted Cruz, you know, on and on again hammering the point, Donald Trump has a problem with strong powerful women and that may or may not be true, but if you look at the track record, Carly Fiorina, and, you know, Megyn Kelly from FOX News, you know, and now Ted Cruz's wife -

BELLANTONI: Rosie O'Donnell.

VAUSE: Rosie O'Donnell. The list does go on. I mean, there's the perception at least --

BELLANTONI: For all of that being true, you've also seen this be the tough on candidate. He's said so many different things, that have offended so many different types of people, and yet still he is remaining where he is, as the republican frontrunner, generally taking between 38 and 43-percent of the republican electorate. So we're probably longing at him as the nominee of this party -

VAUSE: Yes.

BELLANTONI: -- and he's probably going to continue to say things that are inflammatory. VAUSE: Yes; $60 million in attack ads have no impact, like they did before Super Tuesday. I guess he is well on his path.

BELLANTONI: It looks like it.

VAUSE: Christina, thanks for coming in. And when we come back here, young Muslims disconnected from society, targeted by jihadist recruiters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you feel Belgian?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be honest, no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: In a CNN exclusive, the rejection which leads to radicalization.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:29:59] FOSTER: Welcome to CNN's continuing special coverage of the Brussels terror attacks; I'm Max Foster, live in Brussels. Police have detained at least six people in raids throughout the city but the manhunt continues for an airport bomber who is still on the run.

Plus, Belgium's Interior Minister has offered to resign. He says it's justified to question why officials failed to detain one of the airport bombers.

Ibrahim El Bakraoui was released before he completed his prison sentence on criminal charges in Belgium; but Turkey says it deported Ibrahim after they caught him near Syria. Officials say there might have been a second unidentified suspect, meanwhile, at the metro attack.

Investigators don't know if he's dead or alive and earlier CNN spoke with a Belgian member of parliament, who's also Muslim, and she says the attackers were losers and thugs and Belgium needs to do a better job at integrating Muslim communities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KHADJA ZAMOURI, BELGIAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: When I follow this news, I really -- it makes me feel bad because, of course, it's three terrorists from a certain origin. I'm also from that origin. I'm a Muslim. I mean, it's like, am I a terrorist? Are my children terrorists? I'm sorry, no.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you feel like --

ZAMOURI: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- people point their finger at you --

ZAMOURI: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- and say you're responsible for something?

ZAMOURI: Yes, they do; they do, because they ask me to apologize for what happened. I'm sorry; I'm not going to apologize because I'm not part of them. They are terrorists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Anger, alienation, rejection is a potent emotional cocktail and jihadist groups are playing on those feelings to target young recruits in the Muslim communities in places like Belgium.

CNN's Senior International Correspondent Nima Elbagir has this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARI, BROTHER OF JIHADISTS, via translator: How do I explain this? It's as if someone hit me with a very sharp thing in my heart. When my brothers left, I don't know how to explain.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ari says his brother were among the first wave of Belgian jihadists to travel to Syria. He agreed to speak to us on condition we conceal his identity and obscure his real voice. Ari isn't his real name.

Why do you think your brothers went to Syria?

ARI: Honestly, I always asked them, but I never understood why, but it is as if they felt rejected.

ELBAGIR: 2011, for Abdel (Inaudible) and his (Inaudible) Disciples, in public dower, street evangelizing, key to the spread of their radical ideology, telling young Muslims they would never truly be accepted as a part of Belgian society so they shouldn't try. He is now serving a 12-year jail sentence for incitement to hatred, and Belgian authorities believe (Inaudible) served as a key pipeline of young Belgian's joining ISIS.

Some killed in Syria and some now cooperating in prosecutions. Abderrahim Lahlai is a Belgian lawyer representing, not only Belgian members, but also families caught up in this war against ISIS. A Sharia (ps) client, Hakim Rusaki (ps) was due to stand trial for murder in Syria, but the trial has now been postponed. Lahlai believes the government could have, should have done more to prevent the exodus.

ABDERRAHIM LAHLAI, LAWYER: You know, everybody who is 18 years old is an adult. So the thing that you're seeing now is people who are 18 years old, you cannot stop them from going to Syria. (Inaudible) Belgium case. They know everything from everybody: when he was going, how he planned it, when he buyed his tickets, but they let them go.

ELBAGIR: Ten days after the Paris attack, 18-year-old Yassine Bouboot says he was surrounded by police officers at a local supermarket and pushed to the ground at gun point. His friends attempting to film, were threatened, he says, with arrest.

YASSINE BOUBOOT, BELGIAN OF MOROCCAN DESCENT: First I was in shock, what's happening? What's happening? They already commanded me get on your knees now and I went to my knees. I stayed for like 20 minutes on my knees with my hands up.

ELBAGIR: After more than three hours at the police station, Yassine says he was released without any charges.

At any point did you ask yourself, why?

BOUBOOT: It was from the beginning until the end; it was still, why? Why is this happening? Is it because I'm -- look like Muslim? Is it because I'm Moroccan; is it my color? What is it? And even, I still have the same questions. Why did they really hold me on gun point and why did they rale arrest me?

ELBAGIR: Belgium's Interior Ministry told CNN they couldn't comment on the incident, as it's still being investigated, but stressed that allegations of racial profiling are taken very seriously. Yassine believes there is more at stake here than integration of social cohesion. Experiences like his, he [00:35:02] believes, play right into the extremists' hands.

BOUBOTT: Kind of give those people who recruits a -- a -- a weapon to -- to use in the way of they can look, you see those guys or the society, it's a racist society, and they don't want you here, so that's a key factor for them that they use.

ELBAGIR: Do you feel Belgian?

BOUBOOT: To be honest, no; because in the eyes of this society, Belgian is being white. It is - or Christian.

ELBAGIR: The deadly terror attack on the Belgian capital coming just mere days after the capture of Paris attacker of Salah Abdeslam in the heart of his childhood neighborhood of Molenbeek. It's highlighted how little penetration authorities here have into many Belgian Muslim communities, and the mutual mistrust.

For authorities hunting out those who may have helped perpetrate the Brussels and Paris bombings, as well as any other ISIS conspiracist, it's a race against time to rebuild that trust.

Too much is at stake for the families of those who left to Syria, and of those that have returned to strike terror in the heart of Europe, and their victims; it's already too late.

Nima Elbagir, CNN, Brussels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, ISIS is taking responsibility for those deadly Brussels attacks but in Iraq and Syria the terror group is on the defensive. More on the battles to retake two major ISIS strongholds, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: We'll get back to Max Foster in Brussels in just a moment, but for now ISIS appears to be on the defensive on two major fronts. The Iraqi army has forced the terror group out of several villages south of [00:40:02] Mosul. This could be the start of a much bigger operation to retake Iraq's second biggest city, which has been under ISIS control for almost two years now.

And in Syria, regime forces may soon regain control of the historic city of Palmyra. As Jonathan Mann reports, it's been ten months since ISIS has overrun the city and began to destroy its ancient buildings and cultural treasures.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN MANNN: After weeks of fighting in the desert, Syrian regime forces appear poised to re take the historic city of Palmyra from ISIS. Video broadcast by Syrian state media showed government troops entering the outskirts of the city Thursday, backed by Russian air power. ISIS militants seized control of Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage site, last May. They publicly executed the city's 82-year- old retired Head of Antiquities after he refused to reveal where valuable artifacts were being hidden. And they leveled many of the sites ancient monuments. Cultural treasures, some 2,000 years old, reduced to rubble.

CNN affiliate "Expression" shot this video inside Palmyra, showing the Roman era, Arch of Triumph. It used to frame the entrance to the city, now it's destroyed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, via translator: When you think of Palmyra the first thing you picture is the Arch of Triumph. I feel very sad. It makes me want to cry. There are no words.

MANN: Palmyra it's located 130 miles, or about 200 kilometers, northeast of Damascus and is considered key to controlling a huge swath of desert, extending to the border of Iraq. Recapturing the city now would be both a strategic and symbolic victory for Syrian forces.

Jonathan Mann, CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Well, for all the latest developments in Iraq and Syria let's bring in CNN Military Analyst, Lieutenant Colonel, Rick Francona. Colonel, thank you for being with us. Very quickly, is it possible these two operations, one in Syria and the other one in Iraq, are being coordinated in any way?

RETIRED LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: You know, I was thinking that earlier John. You know, Secretary Kerry was just in Moscow and I would not be surprised if they were having that exact same conversation because if you look at what's happening, Palmyra, Raqqa, Mosul, those three cities are key to what's going on and if the Syrian Army is capable of taking Palmyra back from ISIS, and the Iraqis are table to take Mosul, that pretty much puts ISIS in a box, in a vice. So I think that's the long-term plan, but we're not there yet.

The Syrians will retake Raqqa. I'm sorry, the Syrians will retake Palmyra; it's only a matter of time. They've got the military force to do it and ISIS has done a good job of defending but they can't stand up to the might of the Syrian army, especially when they're backed by Russian air power.

On the Iraqi side, we're a long way from the liberation of Mosul.

VAUSE: Yes, I want to get to Mosul in just a moment, but very quickly how does this change the balance of power, if you like, or the map in terms of the regime in Syria and essentially how it's clinging to power once they do, in fact, take Palmyra, however you want to pronounce it?

FRANCONA: Exactly; well, the Russian Air Force has really changed the situation on the ground. When Vladimir Putin deployed his forces there a few months ago he went there to prop up the regime of Bashar al-Assad, and he did just that. It completely altered the situation, and the Syrian Army went from the defensive to the offensive and they've been able to retake swaths of territory that hay had given up prior; and they've been able to move toward Palmyra. If they can take Palmyra from ISIS, that complicates ISIS' situation, and it boxes them up into the Euphrates River. So this is a key battle and I think the Syrians are on the verge of winning it; and I think that just shores up the future of Bashar al-Assad.

When we talk about what's going on with the peace talks there between the warring parties, Bashar al-Assad is now in a seat of power. There is no way they're going to unseat him in kind of a diplomatic solution.

VAUSE: Colonel, let's talk about Mosul very quickly. Clearly this is a very different proposition that's not going to happen any time soon, as you said. I'm just curious, how much of this is about preparation for a bigger operation to take back Mosul? How much has to do with protecting that U.S. Army Base, which is in northern Iraq which has come under fire from ISIS forces in Mosul in recent weeks?

FRANCONA: Well, that army base that houses a marine artillery unit is providing direct support to the Iraqi forces moving up the Euphrates and they don't -- this is the beginning of the operation to liberate Mosul but it's a long way off. They still have to clean out that whole Tigris Valley before they move. There's a couple of key cities they have to take; and the U.S. army base there, the secret army base, as we were told, is providing that direct support.

That puts U.S. in the real thick of the battle. I mean, this is on the front line. They are not very far back. We saw the loss of a marine there just last week, killed in action. So this is going to continue, but I think there's a grander strategy in play here. If we can move on Mosul at the same [00:45:01] time the Syrians, with the Russian help, are moving toward Raqqa, I think there's hope in the future that ISIS will be defeated in the next year.

VAUSE: Okay; when we look at what's happening in Iraq and Syria they're being squeezed there, the theory is that then ISIS will lash out at other targets like Brussels, like Paris. Is that what we're going to see and are these two events, the on the ground in Syria and Iraq, and what's happening in Europe, are they directly related?

FRANCONA: I don't know if they're directly related but sure there's a cause and effect. We've seen this before. We saw when the Russians started first bombing there, there were actions against them in Egypt. We saw the Paris attacks when the French were more involved. So we're going to see a - and ISIS has metastasized all over the world. We're starting to see them, not only in Libya and Somalia, but also operating now in southeast Asia.

So, as they get squeezed in their strong hold of Syria and Iraq, they spread out wherever they can. But if we can take away that operating base, that's like robbing al-Qaeda of their homeland in Afghanistan. It really makes their operations much, much harder. We still see al- Qaeda, but nowhere near the strength they were when they had a base in Afghanistan.

VAUSE: Okay; we've had turning points before, maybe this is one which will work out that way. Colonel, thank you for being with us.

FRANCONA: Sure thing, John.

VAUSE: U.S. federal authorities have seized a drug tunnel four football fields in length, which connected a home in southern California to a restaurant just across the border in Mexico. Officials say the three-bedroom house was bought last year and was built solely to hide the tunnel. Here's Paul Vercammen.

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PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: According to the U.S. attorney they bought this property in sunny Calexico, California for $240,000. They then got a contractor to build the house, and at one point they asked the contractor, please leave room for a floor safe. Well, according to the federal agents they connected that hole for the floor safe to a tunnel. And, as you can see, this is 415 yards, a couple city blocks from Mexico.

Over there you'll see the brown fence, excuse this extreme zoom in, but this is the ground that they covered and basically they connected the tunnel to a Mexican restaurant on the other side that was still functioning up until the day of the bust. They have seized 3,000 pounds of marijuana. They've made at least four arrests on various drug related and tunnel digging charges. Agents in this area say this is the first time they can remember that alleged drug dealers bought a property and built a house for the sole purpose of hiding a tunnel that they were going to dig.

Reporting from Calexico, I'm Paul Vercammen. Now back to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: Thanks to Paul for that report, and when we come back, one of the faces among the missing in Brussels. We'll have the story of beloved mother and teacher.

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FOSTER: In the moments, one of the memorials here in Brussels. It may be weeks before many of those killed in the Brussels bombings are identified. Meanwhile, the stories of the missing are emerging as their loved ones try to find them. CNN's Senior International Correspondent, Atika Shubert, joins me again with more on one of those presumed lost to the attacks. Atika?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, via satellite: That's right, Max. Only three of the 31 killed have been identified so far; and we went to a school where one of the missing is a teacher. Take a look.

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SHUBERT: On Tuesday morning in Brussels La Nepute (ps) Islamic School were waiting for class with their gym teacher. Loubna Lafquiri, also a wife and mother to three young children.

MUHAMMAD ALIF, SCHOOL CO-FOUNDER, via translator: She was supposed to start at 9:45, the school's co-founder told us, but she didn't show up. We started to worry. We thought she was sick. We called and called but there was no answer on her phone.

SHUBERT: A powerful bomb had ripped through Lafquiri's morning commute. Her family has checked every hospital. She remains missing. it may take at least three weeks to identify those killed.

ALIF: she was an exceptional woman. She represented the true values of Islam, with generosity and caring.

SHUBERT: He then corrects himself as he says she was a woman -- I'm sorry, she is a woman; an energetic woman who smiled all the time.

the chairs in her homeroom class are still empty. Many of the students haven't come back to school yet. On the door of her classroom, you can still see her name listed.

Before students return, a counselor meets with teachers to discuss how to break the news to the children.

What's your favorite memory of Loubna?

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Her smile.

SHUBERT: At the gym, children play under gold calligraphy that spells out the word for Allah, the prophet Mohammed. No one here can fathom how the attackers can possibly justify bloodshed in the name of their religion. ALIF: It's simple he says. Whoever supports these people who harm so

many others, who paralyzes the lives of those around them with fear is not a human being. We must not support these people; we must report them.

The terrorist attacks on Brussels may have robbed the school of a beloved teacher, but it cannot shake their faith.

Now, Max, this school is actually in the neighborhood of Schaerbeek, which is the same neighborhood where the investigators believe the terrorists were [00:55:02] actually plotting the attack, where they assembled the bombs; and it just stands in such stark contrast, the school, to the twisted ideology of ISIS and its followers.

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FOSTER: The families awaiting news, I mean, how are they -- what are they doing? How are they coping?

SCHUBERT: Yes, I mean, this has been the most painful part for families is knowing that most likely their loved ones are dead, but they have no proof of this. They have no sign of this. So we've been talking to families and friends and what they've been asked to provide any information they can. They're given a long questionnaire to identify them with anything like tattoos, any sort of birthmarks, that sort of thing; but the bodies are so badly mangled that, really, the only way to do it is fingerprints, dental records or DNA samples.

FOSTER: Atika, thank you very much indeed, and we hope they get at least some news soon. I'm Max Foster, live in Brussels. I'll be right back with CNN's continuing coverage of the Belgian terrorist attacks.

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