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Attempted Coup in Turkey; Deadly Attack in South of France. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired July 16, 2016 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: We are following two major stories this hour. The uncertain situation in Turkey following Friday's overnight coup attempt. Military forces have been on the streets but they've been confronted by thousands of people.
MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: While in the south of France we are learning more about the man who carried out the deadly attack in Nice as the names of some of the victims are released.
Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Max Foster.
ANDERSON: And I'm Becky Anderson for you. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.
ANDERSON: Well, we begin this hour with the bloody coup attempt still happening now in Turkey. Opposition soldiers have been trying to seize control of the government; 42 people are dead in the capital city of Ankara and local media reporting they are mostly police.
The Turkish President Erdogan standing defiant before supporters a little earlier, saying that he is in charge despite the military's claim.
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RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, PRESIDENT OF TURKEY (through translator): I would like to make a certain expression of (INAUDIBLE).
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ANDERSON: Friday night members of the Turkish military attacked the government buildings including parliament. They apparently threw bombs and local media got involved, including CNN's affiliate CNN Turk.
Soldiers entered their studios in Istanbul and took staff members out. The network resumed broadcasting about 45 minutes later. And at Turkey's state-run TRT network, troops stormed in as well and pulled down the signal. Its anchor tweeted video of what was happening.
CNN's senior international correspondent Ivan Watson has covered Turkey extensively; was the Istanbul bureau chief for some time tonight, coming to you live from Hong Kong.
Ivan, what is your assessment of what is going on at present?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Turkish president, a number of cabinet ministers have come out and have basically declared victory and vowed to bring traitors to justice after this attempted overthrow by at least a faction within the Turkish military.
The kind of weapons and weapon systems that were brought into use something unprecedented in Turkey, with low flyovers by fighter jets and attack helicopters in the air in Istanbul and in Ankara, with tanks on the streets that tried, throughout the night, to hold on to and block the two main bridges across the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul.
In the last couple of hours, since daybreak, basically, we have seen dramatic footage emerge of soldiers on the Bosphorus Bridge. That's the first suspension bridge across the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, surrendering en masse, abandoning their tanks and walking out with their hands up.
And then scenes of pro-Erdogan supporters, rushing in around the abandoned tanks and then ominously, video emerging on social media of attempted attacks on some of those soldiers who surrendered themselves and actually Turkish --
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WATSON: -- police using water cannons to protect the captive soldiers from the pro-government demonstrators, who were actually trying to hurt them.
And I saw video of at least one soldier definitely unconscious, possibly dead, on the ground of the Bosphorus Bridge there.
We have seen other scenes of soldiers moving in to the studios of CNN Turk, of the state broadcaster in Ankara, TRT, briefly taking them over and apparently abandoning those locations.
This has clearly been unprecedented. Turkey did have a long and tragic and difficult history of military overthrows between 1950 and 2000. But one of the successes that supporters of the elected president Turkish Erdogan -- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had pointed to over the 14 years that he's been in office has been his success at pushing the military out of the realm of the elected government, making it subservient to the elected government.
What we've seen over the course of this deadly and dangerous night is that there are clearly at least one faction in the military that did not follow and rejected the rule of the elected president. And one further ominous thing we've seen: images of the national parliament, the Majlis, clearly hit by some very powerful munitions. Some of the buildings in the compound damaged heavily, burned, the suggestion being that the parliament itself was bombed during this very dangerous night, in which there have been reports of scores of people killed.
And now the government reporting that hundreds of people, suspects, have been arrested in the wake of this very difficult and dangerous night -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Ivan Watson, assessing the situation on the ground for you in Turkey, Ivan, thank you.
Otar Ozan (ph) is an MP with Turkey's Justice and Development or AK Party, the party cofounded by the president, joining us now on the line from Ankara.
The president says this coup is over. It's not yet clear though who is in charge.
What are you hearing?
Sir, can you hear me?
This is Becky Anderson.
OTAR OZAN (PH) TURKISH MP, PKK: Yes, I do.
Mr. Ozan, who is in charge in Turkey?
OZAN (PH): The President Erdogan, the government is in charge in Turkey.
ANDERSON: You are in Ankara. We've seen pictures of the parliament buildings there being attacked.
What can you tell us about what is going on?
OZAN (PH): I mean, what's going on?
First of all, coup attempt against army. And then to the country itself. But thanks to the people and the government and the president, that attempt is right now failed.
A group of army gangs-- this is not a comprehensive coup attempt. Rather than that, it's a gang of people, most of them belong to Gulen (ph) group, whom just lives (ph) in Pennsylvania, United States, attempted such a coup.
But that being overturned itself about 10 hours ago, into a modern coup, a terror campaign against everybody, ordinary people, civilians, parliament, all kinds of buildings, streets. They kill just innocent people.
ANDERSON: What will happen to those who are behind this coup and the soldiers associated with it?
OZAN (PH): Sorry, I didn't get that. Sorry.
ANDERSON: What will happen to the people who were behind this coup and the soldiers?
OZAN (PH): Now I understand.
ANDERSON: Who helped carry it out.
OZAN (PH): Already prosecutors already moved, around 700 of them are (INAUDIBLE) and all of them will be tried (INAUDIBLE) in the Turkish judiciary system. This is not a first coup attempt actually by Gulen group. That group attempted such a thing in 2012 by trying to arrest head of the intelligence and in late 2013, December 17, they again attempted. That time they were using corruption as a camouflage and silencer (ph) and they were --
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OZAN (PH): -- planning to arrest -- planning (INAUDIBLE) and Prime Minister (ph) and plenty of top businessmen in the country.
So this is not a new phenomenon in Turkey. And we were trying to explain to the rest of the world how dangerous this group is. Actually, this is a kamikaze (ph) attack more than a coup. That's why it turned itself into a terror campaign.
Last time, I don't know, in the modern world we have not witnessed such a thing. Last time that thing happened to us probably 11th century (INAUDIBLE), attacking like Al Qaeda style in 9/11.
So these guys are attacking with fighter jets, helicopters, onto civilians, parliament and all other institutions and ordinary people. So this is just a suicidal team. But they did it.
ANDERSON: All right. Ozan (ph) is an MP with Turkey's Justice and Development or AK Party and it has to be said this is a party co- founded, of course, by the president.
Mr. Ozan (ph), thank you for joining us.
Some of the earliest reports of the turmoil in Turkey were about tourists being held in hotels; for the time being, they are all still there with no flights coming in or out.
Earlier, CNN's Anderson Cooper spoke to an American citizen, who is trapped in Istanbul.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were frankly lucky to get back to the hotel because we were out having dinner in another neighborhood and luckily I have a security guy in New York. I'm from New York City. He texted me and immediately when everything happened, we immediately paid the bill and went out. We could not get a taxi. We could not get an Uber. We couldn't get any car. We called the hotel, the Four Seasons. They couldn't get a car out to us. We jumped into a civilian car. He took us as far as he could go and then we walked in the streets with people. And we -- everybody is walking the streets. And because of the curfew set, people were running to try to get back. And we luckily just made it back to the hotel.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: The bridge, the bomb, though, that occurred, do you know, was it close to where the military was?
Was it close to where civilians were?
Do you know?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, from what we can see right now, I'm out on the Bosphorus and the bridge is to the left of us. It sounded like it occurred on the Asia side; we're on the Europe side right near the bridge, very, very close.
COOPER: And are you seeing -- are there flames or anything like that?
Is there any aftermath to it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. As soon as it happened, we heard two fighter jets literally just overhead. And then all the lights just got shut down at the hotel. It's dark out here.
COOPER: And have you had any communication?
I know, the embassy, the U.S. embassy has told people not to try to get to the U.S. embassy, to basically stay where you are and monitor local broadcasts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Correct. We were told -- I've been in touch with a bunch of people in the States and everybody said stay where we are. Do not leave. We have not been able to contact the embassy. We can't get through. I have some people who are trying to contact the State Department to let them know that we're here.
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ANDERSON: OK, well, that was an American we spoke to a little bit earlier on.
I have to just bring you right up to date, just in the last hour or so, we have now learned from Turkish airlines that they are resuming flights out of Ataturk in Istanbul beginning at 6:00 am local time there. That is per a statement from the airlines.
The announcement reading upon the call of our president and commander in chief, our operations at Istanbul Ataturk Airport have gone back to normal, flights resuming six (ph). We kindly ask our passengers to check the website for new information to avoid any inconvenience. Right. That's it from us for the time being. Let's get you across to Nice and to Max to get you up to date on what has been going on there and what is our other top story of course -- Max.
FOSTER: Yes, we're getting new details, Becky, about the suspect behind Thursday's terror attack here in Nice in France. We're going to bring that to you plus the victims of that attack have been mourned all over the world and especially the 10 children amongst the 84 people killed here.
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FOSTER: Welcome back. 84 people killed in the terror attack here in Nice in France and they are being mourned as well all over the world. A driver plowed a truck through crowds celebrating the French national holiday on Thursday. This is the third time France has been significantly attacked in about 1.5 years.
The French president is requesting the state of emergency to be extended for another three months. Francois Hollande says his country will overcome all trials.
And we're learning new details as well about the suspect behind this awful attack. We have to warn you, some of the video you are about to see is very disturbing. Our senior international correspondent Clarissa Ward reports.
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CLARISSA WARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mayhem and carnage as a large truck careens through crowds of tourists and residents for over a mile, sending hundreds running for their lives. Tonight, the driver has been identified as 31-year-old Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a resident of Nice born in Tunisia. The terrorist was known to authorities for petty crimes but wasn't on the radar of counterterrorism investigators.
FRANCOIS MOLINS, FRENCH ANTI-TERROR PROSECUTOR (through translator): he was entirely unknown by intelligence services and had never been the subject of any file or indication of radicalization.
WARD: Authorities are combing through the suspect's house where he lived alone. A neighbor described him as odd. He wouldn't say hello, only nod his head. The attacker's ex-wife was taken into custody and is being questioned by police.
Together, they had three children. Investigators are trying to figure out if the assailant acted alone or had help and there have been no claims of responsibility for the attack by any group so far. The horrific scene unfolded at 10:30 p.m. Thursday night. Thousands were gathered to watch fireworks celebrating French Independence Day. As the fireworks were ending and revelers began walking back along the promenade, the attacker first opened fire on the crowd from inside the rented 18-ton refrigerator truck.
He then proceeded to accelerate, indiscriminately plowing through the crowds for over a mile, swerving left and right to hit as many people as possible, including dozens of children.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There were people crying, people covered with blood. It is so sad.
WARD: When police tried to stop him, the attacker opened fire.
MOLINS (through translator): Police chased the truck for nearly a thousand feet. The police officer was able to neutralize the person.
WARD: When the truck finally came to a stop riddled with bullet holes the attacker was dead, slumped on the pass edger seat. Inside the cab of the truck, police found a semi-automatic handgun and ammunition, as well as several --
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WARD: -- fake guns and a fake grenade. Also, the attacker's ID card and cellphone.
Among the dead, two Americans, Sean Copeland and his son Brodie of Texas.
Tonight, President Obama is condemning the attack.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We pledge to stand with our French friends as we defend our nation against this scourge of terrorism and violence. And this is a threat to all of us.
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FOSTER: All right. Clarissa Ward reporting for us there.
Now the French president, Francois Hollande, addressed the nation following this third major attack in 18 months. He says the fight against terror will be a long one.
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FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): It's a lesson that we must also learn from this tragedy, from this terrorist attack, one of many more after previous others in the last five years.
We are facing a long battle because we have an enemy that will continue to attack all people, all countries who possess freedom as an essential value.
(END VIDEO CLIP) FOSTER: Let's bring in Glen Schon (ph), who is a security and terrorism expert and a security management consultant as well. He joins us via Skype from St. Louis, Missouri.
So, Glen (ph), the president's under a huge amount of pressure, three massive terror attacks on his watch. Each time, he says, they're doing as much as they can to try to prevent something happening again. But there does seem to be something within the intelligence in France which isn't coordinating effectively. We keep hearing that these people were known before.
GLEN SCHON (PH), SECURITY MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT: Correct. We have seen the report come out in the past week of the investigative committee looking into the 13 November attacks in Paris, which was highly critical of the performance there.
On the one hand, there were several tactical aspects of how the incident was handled, particularly at the Bataclan theater and on the other hand what you just emphasized, is the fact that French intelligence obviously has had some challenges in trying to get a more structured, high-performance process going on meeting this threat.
Part of the challenge for the French is the structure, which is centralized in some aspects but very decentralized in others. So there is some stovepiping elements and the committee there suggested that the French should switch to more of a U.S. model that was adopted after 9/11.
There is also some challenges there in the privileges of different services, who is allowed to exchange what information with what service. Of course, that's also includes connections to foreign services, to Interpol, to Europol.
And there have been challenges there with how the information itself is processed and how the assessments are made. So there is a whole number of challenges I think on the intelligence front that the French are struggling with at this time and we're going to find out shortly if there was indeed some factor here, whether that made a difference or not.
FOSTER: Yes. They're trying to work out whether or not there were any links that are terror-related in his background that they could have picked up on.
But if they don't find them and they discover that he literally was this mad guy, who rampaged along the seafront here, how could the response at the time been better?
Because people find it amazing that he managed to drive for two kilometers before he was even stopped.
SCHON (PH): Well, you're going to have to look on the one hand at what can we do in preparation of these kinds of events. Should they become more standard practice to have indeed anti-vehicle barriers, to have different types of reactive forces or reactive capability on standby. The French have made a number of big changes over the past year and a
half, first after the "Charlie Hebdo" attacks again after the attempted attack on the Talis (ph) train last year in the summer and again after the November attacks.
And the main change has been that more counterterrorist units have been deployed further forward so that police and military police can more quickly intervene at the scene of potential incidents.
Now in this particular instance, with a crowd of nearly 30,000 people, the questions are already on the table: should more have been done here to segment the area in which the crowd was present?
Should there have been thoughts here about anti-vehicle barriers?
And we're seeing the reconsideration of the tactics already today in France with the decision to call off a number of concerts and other events, both today and for the coming weekend, while authorities are reassessing how can we do this.
FOSTER: Can they ever make those events secure, though?
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FOSTER: This is the whole concern, isn't it, that attacks are most likely in these big gatherings, informal gatherings like the one here for that big celebration a couple of days ago, but how can you ever actually make them secure?
Is there a case that people have to avoid these situations for now?
SCHON (PH): Well, there's different ways to approach it. Tactically speaking, there are many ways in which the danger can manifest itself. If let's say we all focus on vehicles not getting into a crowd the next time it might be a motorcycle slipping in between two anti- vehicle poles.
So there is many ways that the professionals need look at this problem and consider it, whether or not some events might be shifting towards venues where there is no vehicle traffic at all or where it might be easier to do checks of individuals as they enter an area or where police in different tactical strongholds could be interspersed with the crowds to be more quickly on the scene.
But let's not forget there was some positive news in the tragedy of yesterday in that some things did work well, the orsec (ph) major casualty incidence response plan worked well. The authorities were quick to react and send law enforcement, the investigative effort got going fairly quickly.
So there are some positive things from prior planning that I think have proven their value as well.
FOSTER: OK, Glen Schon (ph), there is a lot that needs to be analyzed off the back of this. Thank you very much indeed.
Much more on here and the situation, Becky, in a moment.
ANDERSON: That's right. And we'll have a lot more on what is a very fluid situation in Turkey right now, after a night that saw tanks rolling down the streets of the country's major cities. Its president claims he has stopped the military from seizing power. The latest on that after this.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Becky Anderson for you in Paris and our breaking coverage of developments in Turkey.
It is unclear right now whether a coup attempt by rogue members of the Turkish military has succeeded the president insists that the coup attempt, which he calls treason, has failed.
We've just learned that 754 people have been arrested. That is according to the interior ministry. And there have been dramatic images of soldiers under arrest, being marched through the streets of the capital, Ankara.
Mr. Erdogan spoke a short time ago after what's been a night of gunfire and explosions, both in Istanbul and in Ankara; 42 people, most of them police officers were killed in the Turkish capital. Bombs were also thrown at the parliament building there. You can see the damage in these pictures from the scene.
Let's get more on what has been this tumultuous situation in Turkey and continues to be so. CNN senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir joins me now.
Nima, you were in Hatay in Turkey 48 hours ago on the border within very much impacted by the conflict in Syria. You were in Istanbul three weeks ago, reporting on the triple suicide bombings at Ataturk Airport.
Given the context to this coup, which is the chaos in the country, how do you assess what is going on this hour?
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There has been a rising sense of concern about President Erdogan's administration's inability to really fight back against that rising wave of insecurity in the country. We are running at something like eight terror attacks already inside Turkey since the beginning of the year.
There was always a sense that that was raising the tension within the Turkish government between the Turkish government and the military. But also you were beginning to hear a lot of allegations from President Erdogan and his allies about the undermining from within.
And now we see these events unfolding here over the last 24 hours. Unclear really is the key characterization, Becky. The president and his allies, the deputy prime minister all say that the country is under their control.
But eyewitnesses on the ground speak of explosions through the night in Istanbul, gunfire; one presidential source even admitted that a military jet had gunned down what he described as a helicopter that was under control of the coup plotters.
Even though President Erdogan finally able to address his nation via cameras rather than via the iPhone camera which he'd been using earlier when he exhorted people to take to the streets, even though he wanted to give the appearance of being back in control, it is still unclear, Becky, whether he has even been able to leave Istanbul airport.
This is sending reverberations and shock waves, given the months of almost back-to-back terror that we've seen unfolding around the world. This is sending reverberations around the world, Turkey a key ally in the fight against terror and a key NATO member -- Becky.
ANDERSON: That's right. And the government saying that this was not a coup. They say that this was a full-scale terror campaign waged against the people, the elected government. They say the democratically elected government and the army itself, we have also heard some talk that this may have been a fake coup.
Given the chaos, which is the context to this evening, there are those who would say that this narrative might suit the president and that what might follow could conceivably be a full-on crackdown at this point.
Is that feasible, do you think?
ELBAGIR: Well, given the language that we've been hearing from the president, that these are terrorists and they will be treated as terrorists, it's understandable why that kind of speculation might arise.
But at the same time this is a hugely popular president, popular out in the rural areas, as opposed to the streets as Istanbul and Ankara, where this is now all playing out.
If this was an attempt to facilitate a broader crackdown, it's a very dangerous game because it really exposes how little popularity the president does actually have within the urban elite inside Istanbul and Ankara.
And although he has asked for his supporters to take to the streets and we have seen people in the streets in the tens of thousands --
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ELBAGIR: -- we're not clear whether they are coming from outside or coming from the suburbs. That has always been really the dilemma that's at the heart of President Erdogan's rule.
And at the heart of President Erdogan's mandate, his support base are the poor, the rural, the secondary cities around Turkey. Istanbul and Ankara and what they represent, Kamar Ataturk's (ph)
legacy of the post-Ottoman state, is not what Erdogan has built his power on. And that could be coming back to bite him now -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Nima, reporting for you from Nice, where she is reporting on and investigating what occurred there on the night of Bastille, the terror, the slaughter there of innocent people during those fireworks celebrations.
And, Max, of course, my colleague, reporting on that for you today this hour.
All right. Let's keep you in Turkey for the time being and more on the attempted coup there.
We are joined via Skype by Ahmet Khan (ph). He's an associate professor at Hadiya (ph) University in Istanbul.
And, sir, we have just learned that more than 700 people, soldiers, many of them have been arrested.
According to the president -- we heard him speaking earlier on -- these are acts of terror overnight. He says he is back in control.
How do you assess what's going on?
AHMET KHAN (PH), UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR: Well, it's a very, very sad day for Turkey, of course. This coup attempt was something that many people around Turkey and around the globe had thought was a thing of the past.
But the fragility and the polarization of the country, coupled with the terror attacks that it has been suffering in the hands of PKK and ISIS, has been boiling in the ground. And it seems that these developments, all combined, has led to a politically very, very fragile situation, which had its reflections throughout the country.
And these attempts -- the attempted coup, as you have put it -- is just another very sad episode in the story of a country which has been politically become very, very fragile.
ANDERSON: And we've been discussing the chaos in the country. And one assumes it would be a more efficient system, were there not to be this sort of fractious relationship between the president and the military. But we've known that that has existed for some time.
We are just now learning that five Turkish generals and 29 colonels have been arrested. That is the very latest from the interior ministry. Also hearing that several high court judges are also being questioned. At least one air force base is still in control of what the interior ministry is calling insurgents at present. I'm just getting that information.
Again, your response to what we're hearing; 29 colonels relieved of their duty and arrested, five Turkish generals and several high court judges being questioned. KHAN (PH): Well, Turkish army has very close to 300 generals and admirals. So five is not that big of a number. The numbers of colonels are even higher. So these are not very big figures.
It is very clear that the attempted coup was not carried out in the chain of command, as has been the case with Turkey's chronic history of coups in the 20th century. That should be kept in mind, because question here, however, is the whereabouts of the chief of staff, General Luisi Arkar (ph). He has not been seen and out.
If he's out, we will be much more in a convenient position to comment on that.
Instead of General Arkar (ph), the commander of the first army, General Dundar (ph) has been appointed as the chief of staff, as acting chief of staff.
And because of that, we are not really very much able to diagonal (ph) the depth of this organization in the military itself.
When it comes to calling the coup attempt there as terrorists, I believe that this is --
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KHAN (PH): -- to be expected because, first of all, this is a way of discrediting and distancing the coup attempters from the rest of the military on the side of the government, which is understandable and is expected.
On another account, calling people out for Mr. Erdogan to the streets was also very much reminiscent of the case of Egypt, which he has been referring a lot during the last year throughout his political campaigns. So he is also mobilizing the masses over those --
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KHAN (PH): -- of Egypt.
ANDERSON: OK. With that we're going to leave it there. We thank you very much indeed for joining us.
Analysis on what is going on in Turkey at this hour. And for more on the attempted coup there, we'll be back after this short break. Also, getting to Nice for you, for the latest from there.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Welcome back.
We're learning new details about the man behind the terror attack that killed 84 people in the French resort town of Nice, behind me, as it wakes up for another day.
Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel plowed a truck through crowds celebrating Bastille Day. The 31-year old was a Nice resident but was born in Tunisia. He was shot dead by police. And officials say they've searched his apartment and they've detained his ex-wife. The French prosecutor says there were no signs that he was radicalized --
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FOSTER: -- but he does have a record for minor crimes. We know that at least 10 of those killed here were children as well or teens. Atika Shubert visited the hospital where some youngsters are still fighting for their lives whilst others are struggle to grasp the horrors of what they witnessed here.
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ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was supposed to be a family event: fireworks, cotton candy, stuffed toys. And that is why so many of the victims were children.
Sixteen-year-old Kimberly Torres was separated from her mother in the chaos.
"I didn't understand what was happening," she told us. "I saw the truck and I went closer and then I saw everyone lying on the ground. I started running because everyone else was running, too, but I still didn't understand."
She can't finish talking to us. She starts to cry.
And then her mother says, "She's going to be 17 soon and she called me and she said, Mummy, there are dead people everywhere. There are severed heads, dismembered legs, blood. 'Mummy, come get me,' she said.
"So I left in a panic to look for her. And I tried to stay strong. I didn't want to cry in front of her. But I just can't hold back anymore."
Her leg was injured in the stampede to escape but she was lucky. At least three children remain in critical care, one still unidentified. In all, some 50 children were brought here. For many, their parents have not been found.
SHUBERT: Now this is the promenade where the attack happened. And as you can see, people have been leaving flowers here all day. The truck actually started its attack right around the bend there.
And the closest hospital to the scene is the Lonbal Children's Hospital (ph) right there. Doctors told us they rushed in, expecting many of the wounded to be brought in. But they had no idea just how many of those wounded would be children.
SHUBERT (voice-over): "These were not the wounds we saw in Brussels or Paris," says Dr. Christian (ph). "These were massive blunt trauma injuries, run over, crushed beneath the truck, something you would see in a car crash. But to have 50 children brought in from a car accident all at once is very, very rare."
Dozens of children are still in this, hospital barely able to grasp the trauma that will remain with them for the rest of their lives -- Atika Shubert, CNN, Nice, France.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Meanwhile in Paris, what does this all mean for the political system here?
There is an election coming up. Cyril Vanier (ph) joins us from Paris. He's an anchor and international correspondent for France 24.
You've had these three major incidents now in a year and a half. Francois Hollande has overseen the country in that period. And there's a sense, isn't there, that he hasn't got a grasp of security.
CYRIL VANIER (PH), FRANCE 24: Absolutely is that sense. And you know, in fact, the highest levels of the state, the president himself or the prime minister, have not shied away from saying how much of a challenge this is going to be.
You could say this is strange from a political point of view, especially going into an election year; Francois Hollande facing a tough re-election battle next year, less than a year from now.
Now the prime minister Manuel Valls has repeatedly said this is going to be a long fight. There are likely to be more attacks, something that Francois Hollande himself said yesterday again. And it's true that, from a political standpoint, it's strange. It's not particularly reassuring for the French population.
However, it's probably the closest thing to the truth, which is that the French security services, who are really overhauling the way they work and have been doing so over the last year, are not able to guarantee that they are going to stop all these attacks.
And that's just a given. It has become a fact of life here in France. It's become the new normal. And whether it's in Paris or whether it's in other towns outside of the capital city.
So how is this going to play out politically?
It is still very difficult to know. Obviously the opposition is now beginning to pounce on this. And you can tell we're going into an election year because they've changed their tones. If you compare it to the first attacks, there was very much a feeling of national unity, everyone standing behind the president.
The socialist president, even the people who are on the right of the political spectrum here.
Now that is not the case anymore. Last night, over the last 12 to 24 hours, you saw figures of the French Right, who are beginning to question whether the government is up to the task.
FOSTER: And the areas like this, the right wing's politics is powerful, isn't it?
And we know that the nationalists, if we can call them that, have something like a 30 percent level of support here. And if we don't find anything more out about this attacker, we do know that he was an immigrant and that plays in people's minds and it does play into their narrative.
[01:50:00]
FOSTER: So it plays to them.
VANIER (PH): It's true; it could help the far right. I mean, we don't know. We don't have the poll numbers to support that. But it certainly plays into their narrative and it's something they're going to want to use over the next 10-12 months, going into this election year.
And already Marine Le Pen last night was one of the first to lambast the president, saying he has not got a handle on things. We have not even begun to fight terrorism on our soil.
So it is something that could really help them going into this election year. We don't actually have the numbers for that yet. The right wing and the far right in particular has been surging over the last few years in France. This is just one of the many things that could help give them a good showing in next year's presidential election.
FOSTER: OK, Cyril Vanier (ph), appreciate your thoughts on that. It's having huge repercussions, this story, not just on a local level here but also internationally. So we'll bring you all of the reaction as it comes in to us.
We'll also bring you the very latest on a consistently unfolding story this morning out of Turkey.
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[01:55:00]
ANDERSON: Right. More on the breaking news out of Turkey. Now we've got Jeff Kell on the line. He is a photojournalist, who has been at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul. Flights there have resumed a couple of hours ago after being suspended earlier during what we now understand was a military coup.
Jeff, what can you report from there at this point?
JEFF KELL, PHOTOJOURNALIST: I just -- it's still quite really quiet. We just saw the personnel have come through now to start lining up and to get your flight information. So far as far as I know, no one has left the airport and no one is
coming in. No one's coming through security but people are now queuing in numbers in the main foyer just to find out when they can get out of here.
ANDERSON: What is the atmosphere like, Jeff?
KELL: At the moment, it's anticipation, much different than about three hours ago, when there was a big mass of demonstrators coming through here and they were definitely loud, bangs happening outside the building and many people running (INAUDIBLE). And they weren't sure what they were running from. They were just running all over the airport.
But at the moment it's just that anticipation and the hope that they can get out of here as soon as they can.
ANDERSON: Yes, OK. I'm going to get more from you, Jeff, in the next hour. Stand by.
I'm Becky Anderson in Paris. More on all of our breaking news coverage after what is this very short break. Do stay with us.
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