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Bombing Has Mark Of ISIS, Says Turkish PM; EU Leaders Meet For Second Day In Brussels To Discuss UK's Exit; Ataturk Airport Back Up And Running After Attack. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired June 29, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: I'm John Vause.

And you're watching CNN's breaking news coverage of the terror attack at the airport in Istanbul. And Ataturk (AUDIO GAP) business hours after suicide bombers killed 36 people there, nearly 150 others were wounded.

Right now crews are working to remove the broken glass and debris as well as people's luggage left behind after the bombings.

Turkish Prime Minister says he thinks ISIS is to blame, but so far there have been no claim of responsibility.

The video of the attack is disturbing. A surveillance camera at the airport captured the moment one of the three bombs exploded. You can see people running just before the blast and debris falls from the ceiling as the area starts to fill with smoke.

Two gunman detonated suicide vests at the international terminal, a third blew himself up at a nearby parking lot. One witness described what happened inside the airport.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you inside the terminal?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I was inside the terminal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us what happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We heard a blast, it was a big blast.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And a few minutes later, another one follow, another minutes later, a slight blast, I think it was further away and then we heard, and then we saw a lot of people running around and they were all covered in blood. That's the only thing I can say about this. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The blast or the bomb were at the entrance of the

terminal or inside the check in area?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just before the security. It was before the security. It was outside, as you see there, just behind that bridge, that's where it happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And where were you at during the bomb?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was at the lounge which has a clear view of the entrance of the international arrival terminal. That's what I saw. Just right after the blast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: CNN photojournalist Joe Duran joins us now live from the airport in Istanbul. And, now, for a time flights were suspended but now operations have resumed but the damage inside the terminal is extensive.

JOE DURAN, CNN PHOTOJOURNALIST: Yes, John. Flights have resumed. One just took off five minutes ago. Turkish Airlines and at the terminal -- at the terminal things are getting sort of back to normal.

There's quite a lot of passengers an hour ago when I last went to the terminal, they are quickly cleaning up the debris but it will take some time. There's a lot of debris, broken glass, burned out walls and bullet holes everywhere. It will take some time to clean up, John.

VAUSE: And obviously, Joe, a lot of questions now about security. There was an increased security presence at this airport. They've been ramping it up for more than a year or so now.

At this point is there any idea how these three terrorists managed to make it all this way into the terminal, one inside the parking lot?

DURAN: I think it's something that's going to take a while to investigate and to come to some conclusions how they were able to manage getting so far into the terminal. Right behind me you see the entrance to the airport.

The airport entrance has many policemen with machine guns. As I went in, I took a taxi, went in. We were stopped. They checked my I.D. They opened the trunk of the car and they do this, not to every car, but many cars.

As I approached the terminal, I went in through the arrival hall, excuse me, and you have to go through like you do in any other airport before you enter the terminal, you go through x-ray machines and as I walk around the airport, people are just observing, looking at the damage and taking photos.

A lot more police than you would normally find at this airport. Security is tight and it's quite tense.

[03:04:59] VAUSE: Quickly, Joe, the Turkish government committee had a crisis meeting overnight. What do you think the response will be there from officials in Turkey?

DURAN: Well, there's been strong statements by the Turkish government and President Erdogan has flat out said it is ISIS behind this attack. And I think everybody is waiting to see what the reaction from Turkish government will be.

The Turkish military has thousands of troops along the Syrian border and if it turns out this is ISIS, they will have some sort of response, but I think it's too early to tell. The investigation will take some time. And I think there will be quite a lot of evidence with all the cameras around the airport, and I suspect there will be many pressers today and we should know lot more by late today.

VAUSE: OK. Joe, thank you. Joe Duran there on the scene, pretty much within an hour of the attack on the airport in Istanbul. Thanks, Joe.

Another witness, Sue Savage, she was at the airport to see a friend when she heard the gun shots.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUE SAVAGE, WITNESS: While we were there, my friend was flying out that evening, I'm flying in a couple of days and I recognized the gun shots and then heard this huge explosion and I knew immediately it was a bomb.

And I just bolted as fast as I can, not very fast, and went into the first room I could find, which happened to be a men's prayer room but I left there fairly quickly and ended up actually in a men's toilet in one of the stalls with this lovely young woman in her (Inaudible) and a young boy. And we waited there easily half an hour.

Came out of there, went into a secure room where they x-ray luggage and that all of a sudden we heard more screams and more gun shots and I duck into the place where they x-ray luggage and everybody else bolted out.

But this was closest place for me and I must have been in there 10 or 15 minutes before I peeked out and was told, it's OK. You can come out now. And a lot of us, about 30 of us were herded into a woman's prayer room where we sat 45 minutes or so and then they said now it's all clear.

They escorted us towards the front of the airport, took us down the escalator, so we were down on the ground floor at the arrival hall and there was a lot of blood. It was obviously a place where one of the suicide bombers had blown themselves up.

There was a huge pile of steal (AUDIO GAP) a couple of hours after, and then there were these drip marks everywhere. It was just woman's scarf from somebody who'd been wearing it that had fallen down near this and there were glass.

I remember they escorted us around the other side of the escalator where the car places are, where you can exchange currency. There was so much glass on the floor, they were sort of (Inaudible) so that we didn't slip. It was everywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: One of the many witnesses that spoke to CNN. And the airport where these attacks took place Ataturk Airport is one of the world's busiest.

CNN's Tom Foreman take a closer look now.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This airport has a tremendous amount of security on the roads coming in to keep people from getting into the terminal easily and of course to keep them away from the planes. And these attacks seem to have made it at least this far.

To this area here for the first bombing and the second one appears to have been somewhere over here. Let's talk about the first one to begin with and why we think that's probably the first.

This is the location. It's where people would be coming in lower area arrivals. You see people standing around waiting in a normal time in this airport. This was not during the attack.

But look at the video during the attack. There's no real sign of tremendous alarm, kind of movement before you get to the explosion down here and then tremendous blast, witnesses talk about hearing two separate blasts but before that you don't see the sign of agitation.

Go to that second location we were talking about a moment ago, down near the end and this is what that area is like. You're going to see this little corner here. This were an officer of some sort seems to be as the gunman comes around the corner here and then he takes the gunman down, apparently shooting him as he comes around the corner.

And here you see a little more agitation of people trying to get away, moving more quickly, which indicates that there is some alarm already probably from the first blast. Then the police officer comes over here. He sees a man is down but he still has explosives.

The police officer runs away and then there is the explosion. You see the force of that explosion, how much damage you made of that area alone.

[03:10:02] So, that's an idea of where they occur. Past the first line of defense on the road coming in but pretty much held up somewhere around the second line of defense. Maybe they were able to force their way through but they certainly didn't get that close to the plains.

And as we're getting more information exactly how they got there and where they were trying to go, that explain a lot too.

CHURCH: Tom Foreman with that report. And it's important to mention that Turkey has been plagued by terror attacks all year long. In January, at least 10 Germans were killed in a suicide bombing in Istanbul. A month later, 28 people were killed in an explosion in Ankara. A Kurdish militant group claimed responsibility on March 13th, 37 were

killed when a car bomb ripped through a busy square in Ankara. Days later, terrorist also bombed a tourist area in Istanbul.

Earlier this month, the car bomb attack in Istanbul killed at least 11 people, and wounded 36. The target was a police bus during the morning rush hour.

CNN senior international correspondent Ivan Watson joins me now from Paris. And, Ivan, of course you lived in Turkey for a number of years so you know this airport well. Talk to us about the level of security that was likely in place at the time and why terrorist would have picked this particular airport to strike.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are multiple rings of security, Rosemary, the first one being at the entrance to the entire airport itself where there's basically a gateway and you've got police with submachine guns who can't stop vehicular traffic and check identities and even search the vehicles, though most of the traffic is waved through.

Then, to actually get into the airport, you can't just walk in. There are security checkpoints at the very doors of the arrivals and departure terminals where there are police, there are private security guards and there are x-ray machines and metal detectors that people have to go through and only then can they go into the building itself.

As to why this could potentially be a target, well, look at the pattern of suspected ISIS attacks in Istanbul alone just this year. In January and in March, ISIS is believed to have carried out two separate suicide bomb attacks in Istanbul, targeting foreign tourists in some of the very popular foreign tourist destinations in the heart of the city.

If this in fact is going to prove to be an ISIS attack, as the Turkish government has already suggested, then that suggests they're following a pattern. They're going after foreign tourists and Istanbul airport is the biggest gateway into Turkey for people from all around the world. Rosemary.

CHURCH: And, Ivan, there had been travel alerts relating to Turkey. So, clearly there were some level of chatter indicating a possible threat. So, why wouldn't security have been increased at this time or perhaps it was. Do we know that? And of course, when you talk about the security there, it sounds like there were many levels of that.

WATSON: It does. But you have to take into account that it also sounds like this was a coordinated attack with a wave of at least three different attackers armed with guns, armed with what seemed to have been suicide belts.

So, even if you have police at one doorway, imagine if a blast goes off, what that's going to do to security at another entrance on another floor amid the panic that would likely ensue. We knew that ISIS have carried out waves of suicide bomb attacks in both Iraq and in Syria. And at this stage it looks like a similar strategy may have been used

here, with eyewitnesses describing hearing a succession of blasts, three of them over several minutes.

CHURCH: Ivan Watson joining us from Paris with that analysis. Many thanks to you.

VAUSE: And we'll have much more on the development in Turkey.

But also ahead, open hostility in Brussels with the leader of the Brexit movement gloating about his referendum win.

[03:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley with your CNN World Sport headlines.

Defending Wimbledon champ Serena Williams was in action the second day of Wimbledon. The world number one had a tough court victory in her opening match against Amara Safikovic from Switzerland. The American was struggling with her serve but still called off the straight set victory, 6-2, 6-2, it's how it ended.

The six-time Wimbledon champ progresses to the second round. Meanwhile, it was an old British affair on Centre Court 1. World number two, Andy Murray faced wild card Liam Broady in the opening round, the Scott were off. The 22-year-old had straight sets, 6-2, 6- 3, 6-4.

The world number one, Jason Day has decided not to compete in Rio because of concerns over the Zika virus, the Australian join a long list of golfers who have declared themselves out of Rio because of the virus and other reason.

World number four, Rory McIlroy, as well Adam Scott, Branden Grace, and Charl Schwartzel as well as Shane Lowery. That's now seven of the world's top 25 so far who won't be competing.

And outgoing England boss, Roy Hodgson has been given a somewhat surreal press conference after his country's exit from Euro 2016. Hodgson who resigned after Monday's defeat to Iceland repeatedly questioned why he had to attend Tuesday meeting with the press. he also said there were no magic answers to explain England's performance at the tournament.

And that's a look at all your sport headlines. I'm Kate Riley.

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

Turkey's Prime Minister says he believes ISIS is behind the terror attacks at Istanbul's airport. Though no one has claimed responsibility so far. Three suicide bombers were who also armed with guns attacked passengers before blowing themselves up Tuesday, 36 people were killed, nearly 150 other wounded.

Now if ISIS is behind this attack, some experts say it will harden Turkey's attitude towards the threat it faces.

Soner Cagaptay, senior fellow and director of the Washington Institute Turkish Research program says it could mean all-out war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SONER CAGAPTAY, TURKISH RESEARCH PROGRAM DIRECTOR: So far Islamic state was maybe threat number three for Turkey in Syria. Threat number one was the Assad regime which Ankara has been trying to oust, threat number two are the Kurds whose defenses Turkey was trying to prevent, and threat number three was the Islamic state.

Now of course this attack at the heart of Istanbul, at the heart of the country's economy, its main airport at the heart of the city's most symbolic site will mean that Turkey will escalate -- have to escalate against the Islamic state.

So, Turkish vengeance will come down like rain from hell on the Islamic state and I think this will raise the Islamic state profile as threat number one. So expect Turkey to work closely with the United States, with western intelligence agencies, and also for the government to prioritize its fight against Islamic state against other threats that Turkey is facing at the moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:20:05] CHURCH: And we will of course continue to cover the terror attack on Turkey's Istanbul airport. But I want to head back to our John Vause in London for more on Brexit now. John.

VAUSE: Rosemary, thank you.

E.U. leaders are meeting for a second day in Brussels to discuss the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union. The next step is unclear because Britain wants to settle terms of its relationship with the E.U. before triggering the exit mechanism.

Meantime, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is set to meet with the president of the E.U. Parliament to discuss remaining in the union. And there is no less up and strong feelings here in London. Thousands of anti-Brexit demonstrators mast on Parliament after a rally in Trafalgar Square.

Erin McLaughlin is in Brussels this hour. She joins us now lives with the very latest. So, Erin, what can we expect about the, from that meeting today with the leaders of the E.U. all of that except for the U.K.?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the arrivals are still underway. German chancellor Angela Merkel as well as France President Francois Hollande have arrived for what will be a historic and formal summit, the first, as you mentioned without a representative from the United Kingdom.

The British Prime Minister, David Cameron was in Brussels for a dinner last night in which he explained to the other E.U. leaders what he felt went wrong for him with the British referendum.

He pointed to immigration. He said that people in the U.K. are very concerned about the free movement of people and it's something that European leaders need to think about and today forward thinking for E.U. leaders is on the agenda. They're going to be talking about the transition to life without the United Kingdom as well as the problems that the European Union is facing, the disconnect that exists.

Many leaders here say between Brussels and what's happening with ordinary people in some of these member states. All items up for discussion today.

Also meeting happening later, Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister will be meeting the president of the E.U. Commission, a spokesperson for the commission telling CNN that not to expect anything dramatic out of that meeting; that the two had met last year and nevertheless, Scotland did vote overwhelmingly to stay inside the E.U. and they vow to remain the as well. John?

VAUSE: OK. Erin, thank you. Erin McLaughlin with the latest from Brussels. Now the most vocal Brexit architect, the architect rather, Nigel Farage, well, got an ear full of jeers and cat calls when he rose to speak at the E.U parliament on Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIGEL FARAGE, BRITISH PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Good morning. Good morning. Funny, isn't it? Funny, isn't it? Funny, isn't it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The leader of the U.K. independent party gloated and insulted his fellow parliamentary members. Not everyone though appreciated his tone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FARAGE: Now I know -- I know that virtually none of you have ever done a proper job in your lives. Or worked -- or worked in business. Or worked in trade. Or indeed ever created a job but listen, just listen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a second. Ladies and gentlemen, I understand you're getting emotional. I'm really surprised that you are here. You are fighting for the exit. The British people voted in favor of exit but why are you here?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Farage later brushed off his comments as a light hearted joke. This is what he told our Richard Quest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN'S QUEST MEANS BUSINESS HOST: It hardly endears you to the very people who are going to have to give their consent to an agreement in two years' time if you are rude to them.

FARAGE: Well, they call me all of the names out of the sound. I just tease them about the fact that they are bunch face the bureaucrats who have never had a proper job. Look, forget that.

QUEST: You don't like them?

FARAGE: They don't like me. It's mutual.

QUEST: And you haven't liked them for how many years?

FARAGE: For almost 17 years that I've been here. That what they've tried to do is to build a political union without consent. And I've been in there to fight against it. And finally, a member of this union have said we wish to succeed. And they didn't like it much.

[03:25:00] QUEST: You keep talking about the political elite. You keep talking about the establishment, sir, you're part of it. You've been here for 17 years.

FARAGE: Yes, but I came into it from business. I used to trade commodities and currencies. had a proper job once.

QUEST: So, how on earth you have the effrontery to criticize Wall Street, the banks. You criticize big business when you were part of those markets.

FARAGE: Well, yes. But the markets aren't just dominated by big business. Good markets have small and medium size competitors trading in them too. And look, you know, the actions of Goldman Sacks in cahoots with this European Commission, getting Greece into the euro and everything else, we need change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: European Commission vice president, Kristalina Georgieva joins me now from Brussels. Thank you very much for being with us. We had that meeting today with the Scotland's First Minister. Is it possible do you think that Scotland could work out some kind of deal that it gets to stay in the E.U.?

KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA, EUROPEAN COMMISSION VICE PRESIDENT: At the moment, it is the U.K. a member of the European Union and is the country with whom we have relations. It is important for us all, we cooperate with authorities at all levels. We have done it in the past, we will continue to do it in the future.

VAUSE: OK. I'll take that as a maybe then. We had this meeting, this extraordinary meeting today, for the first 27 leaders they are meeting. But there will be no representation from the United Kingdom just constantly. How do you view that? Is that from your point of view, is it a sad day?

GEORGIEVA: Of course it is a sad day. It is the first time after years of the European Union building strength that we have one of our own to decide to leave us. We have to reflect on that, look at ourselves in the mirror. What it is that we need to change so this never happens again?

And we also have to look forward. We need to build relations with United Kingdom that are sound, that are good for all people, the people of the 27, and the nearly 460 million that remain and of course the people of the United Kingdom.

Yesterday's attack in Istanbul is a very stark reminder of the challenges we face together and how important it is to overcome differences and be able to retain a strong sense of European unity. My thoughts are with the victims of those who lost their lives yesterday in Istanbul with their families.

VAUSE: Yes, of course. But just on the politics of the Brexit here. Last night, the British Prime Minister David Cameron he was talking to his, you know, fellow E.U. leaders there basically saying listen, this is as much your fault as it is mine.

He went there in February, he tried to get a better deal especially on immigration. He didn't come back with much. So, his point of view was if he had to go on a better deal back in February especially on the issue of immigration, then maybe the outcome for the referendum would have been very different.

How much blame do you think is now with the E.U. for the outcome of last week's referendum?

GEORGIEVA: I think it is about time for us to concentrate on the job we have to do for our people. It is not a very good time to point fingers at each other. I think it is absolutely essential of course to understand the reasons as to why people voted the way they did.

We saw that the young, more educated, wealthier in urban areas in their big numbers voted to remain. These are the winners of the new economy and then we saw that people who are not feeling part of this win of what the new economy provides, in very big numbers voted to leave.

What does it mean for all of us, how we're going to approach it? How we're going together find a way to bring more benefits for those who felt left out? These are big questions and yes, we have to answer them and answer them with a sense of purpose of serving our people.

VAUSE: And very quickly, last question for you, ma'am. Is it true that Mr. Juncker has banned other member countries of the E.U. from having any informal negotiations with Britain on the side about this exit deal?

GEORGIEVA: We need to get first the request from the U.K. to leave the European Union. This request hasn't come yet. Let's see whether it would be soon to materialize. Our understanding is with the new government in the U.K. it will come.

[03:29:57] And then we need to know what is it that U.K. is choosing for itself so we can define negotiations. And of course these negotiations will be carried out on behalf of all the 27 member states by a team that is authorized to do it. Meanwhile, we really only can speculate and not do any useful work for

our citizens. So, let's be calm, compose, concentrate its own what is going to be a very difficult negotiation, 43 years of membership will have to be handled.

VAUSE: Yes.

GEORGIEVA: That is going to be a tough job, so. And we have to be all prepared to do the very best under very difficult circumstances.

VAUSE: OK.

GEORGIEVA: So, the calmer we are, the more composed we are, the cooler we are, the better the chances that we will serve the people of Europe of those who rely on us to do a good job better or to the best of our abilities.

VAUSE: OK. I understand. Obviously, calm and measured is the order of the day, I guess. Kristalina Georgieva, the European Commission vice president. Thank you so much for being with us.

Let's take a quick look now at the European markets. Of course, there's been recovery in Asia in some of the stock markets. So, let's look at the numbers here right now. As you can see the FTSE up by more than 1.5 percent. The DAX up by almost 1 percent. In Paris, CAC is up by 1.25, Zurich also in positive territory.

Coming up, much more of on breaking news. The terror attack at Istanbul's airport. Stay with us.

[03:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

VAUSE: I'm John Vause in London just outside of parliament. You're watching CNN's breaking news coverage of the terror attack at the airport in Istanbul.

Clean up crews are now working to remove the debris from Ataturk Airport where suicide bombers killed 36 people, wounded nearly 150 other. The departure terminal is leaving with debris, broken glass, as well as luggage which has left behind when the bombers struck.

But planes are now flying in and out of the airport once again. No claim of responsibility so far for the attacks but authorities do suspect ISIS. The Turkish Prime Minister says the terrorists arrived by taxi. They had a shooting before they set off their explosives.

British M.P. Tobias Ellwood joins me now to talk about this. He is also the foreign office minister with the responsibility for the Middle East. We're also talking some internal politics here as well within the Conservative Party.

But first, let's talk about this attack at the airport in Istanbul. Are there anymore more details that you can share about exactly what happened to maybe behind this because obviously everyone suspects ISIS right now.

TOBIAS ELLWOOD, BRITISH PARLIAMENT MEMBER: A devastating truth but simple attack. And a reflection of the fact we're actually defeating Daesh, we're squeezing them. The fall of Fallujah, the fall of Ramadi, the fall of Tikrit pushing towards to Raqqa.

This is Daesh being squeezed and then wanting to make its mark in a different way. And it's lashing out in this way. Turkey has been an active, prominent member of the coalition against Daesh.

Its border has been sealed with Syria preventing the oil from getting out which was actually providing the regime with its money, also the foreign fighter movement, as well as it's curtail back so it's not been able to replenish its fighters on the frontline. Turkey is then being hit because of this.

VAUSE: So, what you're exactly saying is that as ISIS is squeezed in iraq and Syria, the more it will lash out. So, you know, the more we will see these attacks pick up, is this the expectation?

(CROSSTALK)

ELLWOOD: Unfortunately, that is going to we saw this in Brussels and indeed in Paris. It's very simple attack, you know, with an AK-47 and some small explosives to be able to do that. They'll do that without even giving any sort of imprint or intelligence for us to pick up.

VAUSE: Because there appears to be no chatter. No one expected this would happen

ELLWOOD: No. And unfortunately, this is the very dangerous period that we're now in. But as we get towards the finale of defeating Daesh in Syria and Iraq, extremism will lash out in this way to make its mark.

VAUSE: In countries like Britain elsewhere in Europe?

ELLWOOD: Well, as if we have very, very good intelligence gathering here but everywhere has to be vigilant. We have to be very, very careful. We're going through this very, very dangerous period because of this.

But we commend the stoicism of Turkey. They are responding in the way that they should do. But it's a reflection of how countries continue need to work together to understand what is going on, online in the recruitment area, in responding and so forth, but also making sure that we can share that intelligence to understand when attacks will take place.

It could very well be that we will see, because there's been a number of attacks in Turkey and indeed elsewhere focusing on airports itself; that we're going to have to see a fundamental redesign.

I understand this they arrive by taxi, they were just going through a search area. And that point where they then decided to launch their attack, it may well be that security efforts are placed further away from the main airport itself.

VAUSE: The problem though, is that, all the security exit will tell you the minute you start doing that you simply push the circle further and further out and the bigger it gets.

ELLWOOD: You do. But we can spread it wider, then limiting the Daesh impact. Remember that this, that you had three suicide bombers here able to get in to sort of the terminal areas. And the idea is to make sure that once you're through that barrier, you're into the air side or into the terminal itself and you are in a safe area where series of visitors and so on can feel safe.

VAUSE: OK. Let's talk about U.K. politics right now because clearly both parties in this country right now are in turmoil. Will Boris Johnson be the next prime minister?

ELLWOOD: Well, the nominations haven't even closed yet. So, there's an awful lot to do. You're right to point out that we are going through an interesting period of politics.

I would say that Britain is very determined in its political democratic approaches. We do have spikes in events but we recover. And obviously the E.U. referendum that we had last Thursday is going to have huge ripples that are going through.

David Cameron made his point yesterday. It is very, very clear though that I say this with all respect to the E.U. The E.U. must wake up to recognizing what was the anxieties of the people in Britain. Because they are shared across Europe by other nations.

There's -- the E.U. for the last number of this has pressed the snooze button.

VAUSE: Yes.

ELLWOOD: It hasn't reformed itself and it's gotten out of touch with the very people it represents.

VAUSE: That is a -- that is a complaint which you hear time and time again. Thank you so much for being with us, sir. I appreciate it.

ELLWOOD: Thank you.

VAUSE: We will take a short break and when we come back, we'll have a global reaction to the terror attack in Istanbul including what the U.S. presidential candidates have been saying.

[03:40:06] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Ataturk Airport in Istanbul is back open and flights have resumed. Just hours after three suicide bombers killed 36 people there, 147 others were wounded.

Clean up crews are working to remove debris from the airport left behind from the blasts.

Now, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack but the Turkish prime minister says the signs point to ISIS. And like other acts of terror, this one is also playing out on the U.S. presidential campaign trail. Republican Donald Trump says the U.S. needs to be tough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Many, many people killed. Many, many people injured. Folks, there's something going on that's really, really bad. All right. It's bad. And we better get smart and we better get tough. But we're not going to have much of a country left, OK? It's bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Democrat, Hillary Clinton released a statement saying this. "Today's attack in Istanbul only strengthens our resolve to defeat the forces of terrorism and radical Jihadism around the world. And it reminds us that the United States cannot retreat."

Well, to another attack now. And U.S. lawmakers have finally wrapped up their two-year investigation into the 2012 Benghazi terror attacks which claimed the lives of four American diplomats.

The report written by republicans contains no new revelations about Hillary Clinton's role, but the damage may have already been done to the democrat's presidential campaign.

Jeff Zeleny reports.

[03:45:01] JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hillary Clinton feeling vindicated tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's pretty clear it's time to move on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: The most exhaustive review yet of the Benghazi attacks revealing no new evidence of wrongdoing by the former Secretary of State.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: After more than two years and $7 million spent by the Benghazi committee out of taxpayer funds, it had found nothing, nothing to contradict the conclusions of the independent accountability board or the conclusions of the prior multiple earlier investigations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Visiting Colorado today, Clinton embraced the findings, even while calling out the politics behind it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: This unfortunately, took on a partisan tinge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: That suspicion was validated last fall when House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy suggested Benghazi could topple her candidacy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN MCCARTHY, U.S. HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right? But we put together a Benghazi special committee. A select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she's untrustable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Her 11-hour testimony rallied democrats behind her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: You know, I would imagine I've thought more about what happened than all of you put together. I've lost more sleep than all of you put together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: And contributed to today's no-fault finding. CNN's Dana Bash ask Chairman Trey Gowdy why no conclusion was reached.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN'S CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Does that suggest that you don't have the goods on placing any blame on the administration, specifically the woman who wants to be president of the United States?

TREY GOWDY, HOUSE SELECT BENGHAZI COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Dana, shockingly, that was now what the House asked me to do. Look at the resolution. The resolution doesn't mention Secretary Clinton. Speaker Boehner nor Speaker Ryan have ever asked me to do anything about 2016 presidential politics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Yet, political fallout remains, as Clinton tries rebuilding trust and credibility with voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: A lot of people tell pollsters they don't trust me and I don't like hearing that. And I thought a lot about what's behind it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ZELENY: When asked in a CNN/ORC poll who was more honest and

trustworthy, only 37 percent said Clinton and 45 percent, Donald Trump, 17 percent say neither. She's tackling it head on in her general election fight with Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: And a lot of what people read about me in certain corners of the internet and a lot of what Donald Trump says about me is just that same nonsense. But I know trust has to be earned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Joining me now via Skype is Larry Sabato. He is the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. Thank you, sir, for being with us. And a lot to talk about, of course, but let's start with the house republicans Benghazi report.

No smoking gun against Hillary Clinton. But does say she should have realized the risk of an attack. What was your reaction to the report and to Donald Trump's response to it? And does this put an end to the issue?

LARRY SABATO, VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR POLITICS DIRECTOR: This is already one of the longest investigations in American history. Much longer than the investigation into the assassination of President Kennedy or Pearl Harbor or lots of other things we could mention.

You wonder how much is left to uncover and the answer is very little to nothing and that's what we got out of the report. There really isn't anything there that's important that we didn't already know. It was a tragic incident. If you dislike Hillary Clinton, you're going to blame her. If you like Hillary Clinton, you aren't going to blame her. Nothing has changed. This hasn't turned 10 votes in this election.

CHURCH: Interesting. And another issue that Trump is using to attack Clinton is the multinational Transpacific partnership trade deal that he says is being pushed by special interest groups, including Clinton who want to rape, that's his word, the United States, and he wants to withdraw from that deal but Clinton has said she doesn't support the TPP trade deal anymore either. So, which of them wins that debate?

SABATO: Essentially Clinton has been pulled to the left by the candidacy of Bernie Sanders and this is precisely why Donald Trump is raising the issue. It appeals to his hard core support among white blue collar workers in states like Pennsylvania where he was when he delivered the broad side.

But it also potentially appeals to some Bernie Sanders voters. Though I have to tell you I'm a skeptic. I do not believe in the end that many of those very liberal Bernie Sanders voters are going to end up voting for Donald Trump because of TPP.

CHURCH: Yes. We'll see of course. And I wanted to talk about Trump's change in policy in relation to his ban on Muslims entering the United States. Why do you think he softened his stance on this, focusing only on those Muslims coming from countries with terrorist links.

[03:50:04] And how might his supporters ultimately respond to this change down the track?

SABATO: Trump has had to turn the sails and he has to do it because virtually the entire super structure of the Republican Party disagrees with him on the issue. They believe his position has been too extreme.

Second, and this surprises people outside the United States. But a solid majority of Americans are opposed to a blanket ban on Muslims. So, he's also fighting public opinion and it may not matter to Donald Trump or his supporters, but a blanket ban on Muslim immigration is absolutely unconstitutional. It cannot be done.

CHURCH: And just finally, what impact do you think the terror attack on Istanbul is likely to have on this race for the White House?

SABATO: These incidents always strengthen Donald Trump at least with his core group of voters. They believe the world is out of control and they're attracted to an authoritarian figure like Trump. He's benefitted every time there was a terrorist event so he'll probably benefit from this one too.

CHURCH: All right. Larry Sabato, always good to talk to you and get your perspective on these global matters. I appreciate it.

And we will get back to the breaking news out of Turkey in just a minute. You are watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. This is your road to Rio update.

Rio de Janeiro's acting governor told the Brazilian newspaper that the state has not yet received the federal funds it's made for increased security and transportation. He says, if some steps are not taken the games could be a quote, "big failure."

The Brazilian government says the $850 million in funds will be delivered to Rio by Thursday.

In the Brazilian City of Maracaju, a man was arrested for attempting to throw a bucket of water on the Olympic torch. Luckily he missed the torch but he did hit the torch bearer and the security guard surrounding it. He was charge with the intent to cause material harm and later released on bail.

Australian golfer, Jason Day has pulled out of the Olympics because of the Zika virus. The sport's number one player said it was a difficult decision but not a risk he was willing to take since he and his wife plan to have more children.

Day's the sixth golfer to say they will not be going to the Olympics because of Zika. Rio's co-called new tunnel is the first location to feature new decorations to mark the Olympic Games. The city's government chose the designs to help spread Olympic spirit

among the local population. The main roads, sports facilities and light posts will also be decorated in the coming days.

That's your road to Rio update. I'm Michael Holmes.

[03:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody.

Turkey's Prime Minister says he believes ISIS is behind the suicide attack at Istanbul's airport. Thirty six people are dead, nearly 150 others have been wounded.

Turkish officials say the three attackers took a taxi to the airport and opened fire before detonating their explosives. Flights have now resumed to and from the airport and authorities laying passengers back inside to check in.

Eyewitnesses describe the scene of total panic as the bombs exploded. This is how it played out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROWD SCREAMING)

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Disturbing images there of how the attacks unfolded.

Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church.

VAUSE: And I'm John Vause in London. We'll be back after a short break.

[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)