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Iraq Military Fight to Liberate Mosul from ISIS; Secret Resistance Against ISIS Inside Mosul; Trump Claims Election Rigged, Tweets about GOP Office Firebombed; WikiLeaks Releases More Hacked Clinton E-mails. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired October 17, 2016 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:22] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN braking news.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN breaking news, live from CNN headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Natalie Allen.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm George Howell. Thank you for being with us this hour.

We're following the Iraqi-lead coalition now hours into the biggest military offensive ever against ISIS.

ALLEN: It has been coming and it is here. They're trying to retake the city. It was once Iraq's second-largest city. ISIS has held it now since 2014.

HOWELL: It is early in the morning there and air strikes and artillery fire can be seen in villages surrounding that city. Kurdish Peshmerga forces are a part of the task force assembled to retake Mosul.

ALLEN: We're told the fighting could last weeks, even months, but Iraq's prime minister said Mosul will be retaken. He tweeted, "The Iraqi nation will celebrate victory as one."

HOWELL: Our senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman, is live in Irbil, east of Mosul, and joins us now.

Ben, let's first talk about the timing of this operation. Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al Abadi promised to rid the nation of ISIS by the end of the year. Is there a sense that the timing of this operation we're seeing towards Iraq's second-largest evening an effort to make good on that word?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No question about it. This was something that we've been hearing from months. Back in June, the defense minister, who no longer has his job, told me that, in fact, the goal was to rid Iraq of ISIS by the end of the year. And that is certainly what they seem to be trying to do.

Of course, what we're seeing is really an attempt to re-establish the Iraqi state of what was massive defeat. On the 10th of June 2004, only a few ISIS members supported by ISIS sympathizers were able to drive out tens of thousands of Iraqi police and soldiers from Mosul. Weeks following, what we saw is one major Iraqi city falling to ISIS after another to the point where ISIS was literally on the out skirts of Baghdad. What we're seeing now is the combination of the sense, rebirth of the Iraqi army. Over the last year and a half, we've seen them regain one major city after another, Tikrit, Baji (ph), Ramadi, and in June, Fallujah.

And we've also seen the gradual sort of upgrade of the capabilities of the Iraqi army. I remember being on the out skirts of Baghdad in September of 2014 with Iraqi troops. I can tell you, the time they looked insecure. They were lacking confidence. They didn't even seem to know how to use their weapons very well. But what I saw in June in Fallujah, for instance, was a confident battle-hardened army that's now, of course, being put to the test on the out skirts of Mosul, aided by the Peshmerga, the Kurdish fighters, who have spent two-and- a-half years fighting ISIS.

So it's a different army, a different set of fighters in the battle against ISIS that is a shadow of what it was. Back in 2014, there was panic in Iraq. People thought that ISIS was unstoppable. Now they're being proofed not only unstoppable, but quite easily defeatable -- George?

HOWELL: Ben, let's talk more about the army that's at play here. Various sectarian interests that are involved, but the plan for now, the Iraqi army, the Iraqi security forces, the national police, the only groups to go into the city of Mosul. While Kurdish Peshmerga forces, the Shiite militia forces clear areas but do not go inside. Is there a sense in this complicated alliance it will hold going into the city and certainly there will be questions after this operation.

WEDEMAN: Well, what we heard from Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi was that forces going into the city would be Iraqi military and the Iraqi federal police. Now, taking part in the operation will be the Kurdish, as well as the PMU, the Popular Mobilization Units, which includes Shiite and Sunni tribal components. There are also Christian paramilitary, as well, involved in this operation.

[02:05:03] Keep in mind, Mosul is Iraq's most ethnic diverse city. It has a large component, but you see there are others, Yazidis Christians, Turkmen. And therefore, it's a very sensitive place for any force that is seen as having a sectarian agenda. So they want to keep the PMU and the predominantly paramilitary units out of the city. They're going to be playing a supporting role and clearing the country side around it. There's an agreement between the Kurdish regional government and the central government in Baghdad to make sure that it's just Iraqi central government forces that actually enter the city.

Having said all of that, George, there's a very good possibility as the battle goes on. As things get complicated and certainly rock things always get complicated, that agreement could begin to fray and you could see Kurdish forces, Shiite forces, others going into the city as well. We're in the initial hours of this operation and it's difficult to see how it's going to turn out, George. HOWELL: When we look back from what we saw in Fallujah and to just

see what it takes to go into these cities where ISIS has had time to dig in, they've had time to put booby traps inside as we go about that, how prepared are they to deal with those issues, for what is expected to be a long and protracted operation?

WEDEMAN: Of course, there is a concern because this is the second largest city in Iraq. Normal times, it had a population around two million, now somewhere between 700,000, and a million civilians are still there. It's a massive city. I've spent lots of time there, divided by the Tigress River. They'll encounter suicide bombers, suicide car bombers, all methods to impede the advance of the Iraqi forces. But nonetheless, what we've seen is that the Iraqi forces, they have gained a lot of experience in retaking major cities. These are not insignificant population centers.

And, of course, ISIS is expected to put up quite a defense of this city, not necessarily the eastern side. For instance, we just heard from a Mosul resident that she saw many ISIS fighters crossing the bridges over to the Western side. It is suspected ISIS will make its final stand. ISIS is going to fight for this city. Don't forget on the 29th of June 2014, this is where the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, declared the re-establishment of the caliphate after it was abolished in March of 1924. In terms of symbolic significance, Mosul is huge, so Iraqi forces should expect significant resistance as the battle goes on -- George?

HOWELL: Ben Wedeman, senior international correspondence, live in their Irbil, Iraq. Ben, thank you very much for the reporting. We'll keep in touch with you.

ALLEN: As Ben just said, he gave the reasons why Mosul is important. It's Iraq's second-largest city. And before ISIS took over, it had over two million residents. There are about 1.5 million today as this attack begins. It's also near important oil fields and a major oil pipeline to Turkey. And before ISIS took it, it was an important trade hub among Iraq, Syria and Turkey. And finally, the liberation of ISIS will take away the terror group largest stronghold in Iraq.

HOWELL: As the push continues to move into the city, ISIS could also see some significant opposition from inside Mosul, actually, inside, as it tries to keep control of that city.

ALLEN: Arwa Damon tells us now about Mosul's secret resistance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Operating deep within the shadows of ISIS territory in Mosul is a network so secretive, even its own members do not know each other's identity. The letter M spray painted on Mosul's walls, the Resistance. The message to ISIS, we're here, we're among you.

They Mosul battalions watch for weaknesses in ISIS defenses, carrying out hit-and-run operations or waiting for a moment to strike isolated targets, like this checkpoint on the out skirts of this city. This man is one of their liaisons.

[02:10:06] (on camera): How did the Mosul battalions manage to initially organize themselves?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): It started out as two friends who trusted each other and they would arrange the target, ISIS, at a particular point.

DAMON (voice-over): The same happened elsewhere, and by the end of the 2014, the Mosul battalions. Their weapons are basic, what they found and hid in the city or what they snatch from ISIS.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): The roadside bombs they use, they would steal from ISIS. ISIS puts them in certain areas, and those with military experience would go and steal those bombs and place them where the target is.

DAMON: They operate in two to three-man cells, independent of one another. No cell knows specifically of another. No fighter knows the name of more than two others.

(on camera): He says he's with the battalions in Mosul.

(voice-over): He's speaking from an orchard just outside of the city. Talking on the phone is punishable by death.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): We carry out assassinations, carry out sniper operations against senior ISIS members. We target the houses they live in.

DAMON: The distorted voice in this video says they assassinated an ISIS fighter. The images then show what they say is the dead man's I.D., pistol and suicide belt.

(SHOUTING)

DAMON: And this says they are providing for intermediaries, intelligence and coordinates to the coalition.

Here, the aftermath, they say, was based on their information. And they're waiting for what they call zero hour, distributing leaflets warning ISIS its end is coming.

They are ready, ready for the day the Iraqi army reaches the city and they rally the people to rise.

(GUNFIRE)

DAMON: Arwa Damon, CNN, Irbil, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Again, so many people in harm's way there as this gets underway in Mosul.

CNN military analyst, Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, joins us now.

Rick, we know this will be a long and difficult battle, in fact, are Nick Paton Walsh, with Peshmerga troops somewhere outside of Mosul, reporting a few minutes ago that they were already seeing resistance, that perhaps they didn't expect that far outside, and black smoke in the distance perhaps from ISIS starting to burn oil. So everything that you guys have been telling us about this is going to be a battle. It certainly looks that way so far. It's just begun.

RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yeah, they're not even to the out skirts of the city, yet. If you look at some of these villages where they're starting to encounter resistance, there are still 15 or so miles where we expect the heaviest fighting to occur.

What we have now are the Kurdish fighters, the Peshmerga. They're doing the bulk of the fighter to get the Iraqi army there in the city. The plan -- and Ben made a good point that in Iraq things gets complicated. We in the military always that the plan goes out the window with the first shot. So there will be modifications. But if they're planning on having the Iraqi army going into the city by itself, I think that's probably going to be problematic. Once they get in there, ISIS is going to try to slow them down. As we've all described, having the booby traps, IEDs, the minefields, the oil trenches they'll light on fire. It's going to be very, very slow going, house to house fighting, a network of tunnels where ISIS can mast troops where you need them. It doesn't matter how few troops you have, but if you can put a lot of people in one place where you need them, you can be effective. So, I'm sure, at some point, they'll want the Kurds to come in and help them because they're very good fighter.

ALLEN: This was the same army that was pushed out just two years ago. What has changed with them in this time? What kind of guidance, preparation, how has the U.S. been involved in helping them figure out how to do this?

FRANCONA: Well, it's almost an entirely new army. We're always saying, remember, ISIS has had two, two-and-a-half years to prepare the defense. We've also had two years to bring in some new leadership and rehire some of the commanders that the previous administration fired, get in senior leadership who knows what they're doing, retrain the troops, get them new weapons and get America advisers down to the battalion level. That will make a difference society.

When we left in 2011, we completely left. There was nobody there to see what was going on. Now, we've got Americans back in there. And I think we've got a new Iraqi army. They acquitted themselves well in Fallujah, Ramadi, Baji (ph), Tikrit. But they also had a lot of help from these Shia militias, very well trained and organized. They're going to stay out of this fight. I think they're going to put this out west and create a blocking action.

A couple of things that didn't happen before this that I'm a little concerned about. There's a pocket of ISIS southwest of Kirkuk, and that could cause a problem with the Iraqis. There's also nobody guarding that approach that's, that supply line to Syria. I think we'll put the Shiite militias out there and do a blocking action. They've got to isolate Mosul before they get into that city.

[02:15:25] ALLEN: Once they do and when it is isolated, what about the 1.5 million citizens? Is there any way for them to get out?

FRANCONA: Well, the Iraqis have dropped leaflets telling them what they want them to do. Stay inside. If they can get out, try to get out. The problem is when they get out, where are they going to go. Remember in Fallujah, we saw a humanitarian disaster. What if a couple hundred thousand leave Mosul? You can overwhelm humanitarian services available. I think the Iraqis not only have to take the city but they've got to be able to address all of the needs that's going to be out there. There's already food and water shortages in the city. As soon as they take the city, they'll have to reconstruct the process. This is a major, major operation from the Iraqis. It's not going to be done in a couple of weeks.

ALLEN: You can tell that already. And there's 40,000 refugees, south of Irbil, out in the desert at refugee camp that's described as horrific with very little, little assistance that they're getting.

What do the numbers come down to? Do we have any idea, you know, the number of fighters going in and how many ISIS fighters are in the city.

FRANCONA: The estimates I've seen are about 7,000 of ISIS fighters in the city, and maybe 30,000 of Iraqi forces trying to assault the city. The numbers sound overwhelming, but they're really not. If you're going to go on the offense, you have to have about three times the number of defenders to call it even. That's the way the military looks at it. Three to one is the ratio is you what you want on the offense. So 7000 can defend a force that side, especially if they've had two-and-a-half years to dig in. It's going to be slow going house to house, booby traps. Urban fighting is the worst kind of fighting you can do. We'll see if the Iraqis have received the proper training. We know ISIS fights well in the cities.

ALLEN: We know that many ISIS militants have given up and left Mosul. These 7,000 that are left, they need this, and they're in it to win it.

Rick Francona, thank you so much. We appreciate you.

HOWELL: Natalie, as you point out, this is expected to be a very long and bloody battle. Obviously, to retake this very key city --

(CROSSTALK)

ALLEN: There are other cities next.

HOWELL: Absolutely, yeah. We'll continue to follow that.

Other news we're following this hour, China making up for lost time in the space race with an ambitious new mission. What that country looks to achieve, just ahead.

ALLEN: Also from the campaign trail, Donald Trump blasting the media, the political establishment, even satirical TV show, "SNL," saying the whole system is rigged against him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:22:09] HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. We continue following the breaking news coverage this hour of a major offensive against ISIS in Iraq.

ALLEN: Just hours ago, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi announced on TV the liberation of Mosul is underway. It certainly is. A short time after that, he tweeted, "The Iraqi nation will celebrate victory as one."

Mosul was Iraq's second-largest city before ISIS captured it two years ago.

HOWELL: The prime minister says only the Iraqi army and Iraqi national police will enter the city of Mosul. That's despite a coalition that includes the Kurdish Peshmerga and various paramilitaries that are presently surrounding the city.

ALLEN: Another battle now, the U.S. election. We have the latest for you. Two new polls show Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump heading into Wednesday's third and final U.S. presidential debate.

HOWELL: The NBC News/"Wall Street Journal" poll shows Hillary Clinton has 11 points ahead, nationally, 48 to 47 percent. Clinton with a four-point lead, within the margin of error, over Donald Trump.

ALLEN: Trump now appears to be bracing his supporters for a loss in November, claiming the election is rigged and the media is distorted and dishonest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The election is being rigged by corrupt media pushing false allegations and out-right lies in an effort to elect Hillary Clinton president.

(BOOING)

TRUMP: But we are going to stop it.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: We are not going to back down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: There is now angry reaction on Twitter from Donald Trump after a Republican campaign office was firebombed in the state of North Carolina over night. He's blaming the vandalism on Hillary Clinton supporters, calling them animals in his tweet.

ALLEN: Investigators haven't publically identified any suspects. The Clinton campaign called the attack horrific and unacceptable. No one was hurt, thank goodness. ALLEN: Now to the Clinton campaign. WikiLeaks has released yet more

hacked e-mails from her campaign.

CNN's Joe Johns has details on what these latest leaks are revealing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: WikiLeaks today releasing thousands more of the hacked e-mails from the account of Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta. This weekend, the batches of e-mails have included everything from apparent texts of the speeches addressing Goldman Sachs, debate over what types of campaign donations to accept, the inner workings of the campaign, discussion over allegations concerning Bill Clinton, and the controversy that erupted over Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server.

One campaign adviser, Neera Tanden (ph), writing to Podesta in August of last year, urging Clinton to apologize for it, something she would only do the next month. Quote, she always sees herself bending to their will when she hands over information, et cetera. But the way she has to bend here is in the remorse, not in the 'if I had to do it all again, I wouldn't do it.' A real feeling of this decision I made created a mess and I'm sorry I did that. No one thinks she doesn't have the judgment to be president. She's not reaffirming a negative characteristic in saying sorry." According to the e-mail, Podesta essentially replied, agreeing that he was frustrated, too, and suggesting they were trying to get her to apologize.

[02:25:44] The Clinton campaign has been put on the defensive in light of the hacking and has tried to deflect attention by blaming Russia. Here is what Democratic vice presidential nominee, Tim Kaine, said today,

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TIM KAINE, (D), VIRGINIA & VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There does need to be a consequence, when foreign nation tries to destabilize an American election, which is what Donald Trump encouraged. Back in late July, he said, hey, Russia, go see if you can cyber hack and find things that will help me win. But when a foreign government tries to do this, there has to be a consequence. There will be time for figuring what that consequence is, but you can't let it go unchallenged. If you do, you could encourage more of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Russia has not officially been blamed for this hack but has been fingered by the U.S. for other WikiLeaks releases.

For its part, Republicans are trying to put more attention on the hacked e-mails, for example, once again bringing attention to the cozy relationship some Clinton foundation donors had with the State Department.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MIKE PENCE, (R), INDIANA GOVERNOR & VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think what Donald Trump is talking about is frankly what appears to be the monolithic support of the national media for Hillary Clinton's campaign. Their willful ignorance about the avalanche of hard evidence, not allegations, John, but hard evidence now coming out in these e-mails of collusion and Pay-for-Play politics, and the American people are just tired of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: The State Department and the campaign have denied any Pay-for- Play allegations. CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of the e-mails and the Clinton campaign has neither confirmed nor denied whether they are authentic.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Joe Johns, thank you.

ALLEN: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. And again, our top story, the battle from Mosul in Iraq has begun to take it back from ISIS. More than one million people, citizens are right there trying to live in that city. And we'll look at what's being done to prevent humanitarian disaster as we move on here.

HOWELL: Also, the French pilots flying missions against ISIS. We take you aboard their floating base in the Mediterranean, as CNN NEWSROOM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:31:04] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Natalie Allen.

Here are the top stories we're following this hour.

(HEADLINES)

ALLEN: Kurdish Peshmerga forces are a large part of the coalition fighting to retake Mosul. They've been fighting ISIS for months. The last stronghold, this one, could prove especially difficult.

HOWELL: Our senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, is embedded with a Peshmerga unit near Mosul and he describes what he's seeing on the ground. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are with Peshmerga units that have for about two or three hours being headed in the direction of the urban sprawl of Mosul but it's still some distance behind me. We are with a unit here at a berm near pretty much the first village that came across on the way.

Now, we have seen pretty intense exchange of fire, given how small that settlement behind me is and given how we saw it hit by a coalition air strike about an hour ago. We've seen then since what the fighters were, in fact, suicide bomber and a car driving towards our position here. That sparked considerable panic. And it seems like some sort of explosive device took it out. That could have been one of the many coalition air craft we've been hearing in the skies above us here.

But this small village behind me here has sent a lot of fire back towards, the Peshmerga. They have old weaponry, I have to say it's fair to say, over here, rifles, heavy machine guns and consistently jammed. But this is the first wave, really, of what many say is the last chapter of ISIS in Iraq, the assault against Mosul here. Many had hoped towards the city of Mosul -- I can't be too specific with you here -- pan slightly to this direction and I hope our signal stays strong as we do that. You can see some of the environment we're standing in here. A lot of black smoke on the horizon and we've heard the consistent thud of artillery or mortar landing in the past hours or so.

But, still, at this stage, the hopes that maybe across the plains towards Mosul would be effortless, perhaps, ISIS had been pounded by coalition air strikes that they simply weren't going to be able to put up a fight. The hopes do dim substantially, given the kind of resistance here.

The coalition, as I say, has put added massive preparation into this. There is a foreign presence, that's fair to say, in the Iraqi convoys that we're seeing here. We don't give too much away for the security of the people we're traveling with and our own. But over this berm here is a remarkably small hamlet that's putting up fierce resistance. It does show ISIS is willing to defend even the most small positions in the direction of Mosul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Wow.

[02:35:12] ALLEN: Nick Paton Walsh, just a short time ago. And he's just one of our correspondents moving in with troops as they head towards Mosul.

And human rights groups, as we've been saying, warning that this battle could be a crisis in the making. The U.N. estimates more than one million people may try to flee the city of Mosul. How they do that, no one knows. But more than 61,000 civilians have already been displaced from Mosul since March. Nationwide, more than three million Iraqis have been forced from their homes since the start of 2014. And millions more across the country in dire need of humanitarian aid.

HOWELL: You know, Natalie, the question is now, as this operation gets into full swing, where will all these people go? Are they ready on the ground with water, the food that's going to be needed for weeks, if not months, as people are displaced? Obviously, we have to follow that.

A broad international coalition has joined that fight to recapture Mosul. France is using the flag ship of its fleet as a base for air strikes.

CNN Fred Pleitgen shows us what it's like on board.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Take off to combat mission over Iraq and Syria. France is one of America's closest allies in the fight against ISIS. But with the aircraft carrier, "Charles De Gaulle," the country is drastically increasing its strikes against the terror group.

The jets carry 4,500-pound guided bombs each, a squadron commander tells me. We can only identify him by his first name in accordance with French military regulations.

UNIDENTIFIED FRENCH SQUADRON COMMANDER: The aircraft are capable of doing a mission to give higher power to the people on the ground. The aim is to help direct Iraqi forces on the ground to fight against Daesh.

PLEITGEN: France has been hit hard by ISIS's terror. Fighters sent by the group killing more than 130 people in Paris last November. That prompted France to unleash its military, flying missions over Iraq and Syria and deploying some ground forces as well.

The squadron commander said his men and women are determined to destroy ISIS.

UNIDENTIFIED FRENCH SQUADRON COMMANDER: For me, it's to have to prevent any more terrorist attacks in France where it leaves the families and relatives. That's very important for all the people on the "Charles De Gaulle" and my squadron.

PLEITGEN: The "Charles De Gaulle" operates almost exactly the same way as American aircraft carriers, allowing the fleets to operate seamlessly alongside U.S. forces in the area.

(on camera): The "Charles De Gaulle" is France's most powerful weapon in the fight against ISIS. And its jets play a major role in the effort to liberate Mosul from the terror group.

(voice-over): And French fighters are already flying bombing missions over the commander over the carrier strike tells me.

"This intensification of French efforts around Mosul had a key moment as the efforts of the coalition are baring fruit," he says. "ISIS is retreating on the ground and has lost big cities like Fallujah and Manbij. The fall of ISIS is our ultimate goal and this goes with liberation of Mosul and Raqqa."

And France has vowed to keep its forces in the region until the goal of ultimately illuminating ISIS is achieved. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, on the aircraft carrier "Charles De Gaulle" in the

Mediterranean Sea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: As Fred pointed out, what happened in France, that we know, across the country in Nice, we know there's a great deal of support.

ALLEN: Of course, attacking outside of the Middle East. We'll continue to bring you any updates and more developments as this push into Mosul continues. Up next, two Chinese astronauts have taken off on their country's

longest space mission. We'll hear more about China's space program and how these two astronauts will spend their time in orbit, as we continue on CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:40:31] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: China has launched its most ambitious mission yet in space. The Shenzhou 11 carrying two astronauts to the country's new space station.

ALLEN: You see them saluting. They're in a shoot out. They'll be in orbit for 33 days doing experiments in physics, biology and medicine. They'll be busy there.

CNN's Matt Rivers joins us now with more from Beijing.

Matt, that sounds cool to hear them counting down for liftoff there in China.

MATT RIVERS, CNN ASIA-PACIFIC EDITOR: That's right, Natalie. It was quite the spectacle on Chinese state media this morning. It was an all-out blitz all weekend long. Chinese state media drumming up the national pride. And this morning they showed that launching live. You saw people cheering. They had a group of people cheering the astronauts as they went, a very big spectacle, something that we've come to expect with big nationalistic incidents like launching them into space.

As you mentioned, the longest ever trip. This more than doubles the last trip, the last time they went up into space. That trip, 15 days, this one 33. 30 of those days will be conducting experiments in the fields you mentioned. They're going up to a space lab that was just launched last September, which is a prototype for what the Chinese ultimately hope to do, which will be to put a more permanent space station up into orbit by 2022. And really all of that just meshes into what has turned into a very ambitious two decades here for the Chinese space program. This latest launch this morning just the most recent success. ALLEN: And after 33 days, how do they come back to earth?

RIVERS: Well, the same way they've been getting back to earth. They went up in the same module they did last time. They'll be coming down, hopefully, nice and safely after 33 days spent in orbit.

But it's just more and more technology and more and more ambition from the Chinese that we've been seeing over the last couple of decades. And moving forward you can expect the same sort of thing to continue. In 2018, they hope to send a probe to the dark side of the moon, an area still largely unexplored. They want to send a probe to Mars at some point, in addition to launching that concrete space station.

It's interesting, the international space station could be retired as early as 2024. If the Chinese successfully launch that more permanent space station, they could be the only country in the coming decade with a space station in orbit.

[02:45:14] ALLEN: Maybe they can reuse them and repurpose some of the existing space station to help with theirs. We'll wait and see how that plays out.

Matt Rivers there in Beijing. Thank you, Matt.

HOWELL: China's space program has made rapid advances in the past decade. In 2003, the country sent its first astronaut into space, becoming the third country after Russia and the United States to do so. Then in 2008, Chinese taikonauts took the country's first space walk. In 2013, Chinese taikonauts manually launched the space station, a major step toward Beijing's goal of a permanent space station. And to date, China now has made six manned space flights, the latest launch on Monday morning.

Now, our next guest knows exactly what it's like to spend time in orbit. He's flown on four space missions, including six-and-a-half- month flight on the international space station. Former astronaut Leroy Chiao joins us now from Prague.

It's good to have you with us, Leroy.

First, let's talk about your thoughts on this latest Chinese mission and the significance of simply being able to conduct these experiments in space.

LEROY CHIAO, RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT: Right, this is another step towards China's very measured, very deliberate progress in human space light. They're going to send a crew up, which is much more advanced. It's another step towards the more permanent space station. This crew will spend 33 days in space, which is more than two weeks than previous crews and they'll conduct a lot more research work, including ultrasound experiments, which I also did aboard ISS. They'll have more advanced exercise equipment. All of this is going to be necessary for their operations for their more permanent space station.

What you see here is, you know, it's exciting to see them get back into space after a three-year hiatus. It was a planned hiatus. China is very deliberate in their space program, launching, surprisingly maybe, only six times in the last 13 years or so.

HOWELL: We talk about a more permanent station, part of their mission, also, you know, their goal to get to the dark side of the moon. I'm curious to get your thoughts on the ambitious nature of these missions.

CHIAO: Right, and recently, China also announced what had been an open secret for quite a while, that they send their astronauts to the moon. They didn't offer a current timetable. But everybody in the business kind of knew they're shooting for that. And so, you know, you've seen their where their lunar explorations with their YouTube rover, you know, the probe that they're going to send far side of the moon, it's another step in that direction. They're working on Mars probe.

So China is looking to the long time. That's not unusual for the Chinese leadership. They do tend to think in longer terms than others. So, you know, their aim is to become the leaders in human space flight and unmanned space flight as well. So they're in space to stay. And this is another step towards that goal.

ALLEN: And as we heard our correspondent earlier, there was a great deal of national pride, people cheering and watching this as it took place, as we see these images now. I'm curious to get your insight. What was it like for yourself to be involved in missions like this?

CHIAO: Very exciting. As a boyhood dream of mine, I dreamed of becoming an astronaut after watching Apollo 11 land on the moon as an 8-year-old kid. Very exciting to fly aboard the shuttle, but then flying aboard the Soyuz space craft, which is more similar to the Shenzhou, being a capsule, yeah, it was exciting to get into that vehicle, though it's a lot smaller than space shuttle was, flying up into orbit. So watching the launch yesterday live was very exciting, kind of brought back some memories. Looked like it was flawless launch and flawless insertion, solar rays were deployed. And expect to see them dock sometimes in the next, you know, about a day and a half.

ALLEN: Certainly, a great deal of national pride, but also pride from around the world watching this happen.

Leroy Chiao, thank you so much for your time, retired NASA astronaut. Thank you.

CHIAO: Thank you.

[02:49:49] ALLEN: We're talking about Apollo 11, that takes it way back.

(LAUGHTER)

Coming up here, what a story. A sunny day at the beach goes wrong for boaters in California. Good thing surfers were nearby.

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(WEATHER REPORT)

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ALLEN: A remarkable story out of southern California. You're out for a boat ride on a Sunday and then this happens.

Thankfully surfers were around to step in and help.

Chris Wolfe with CNN affiliate, KTLA, shows us the dramatic video.

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CHRIS WOLFE, REPORTER, KTLA: Caught on camera, a scary boating accident reportedly involving a father and two little boys off the coast of Ventura this Saturday afternoon. The vessel came dangerously close to surfers and the shore and capsized in a sand trap. Amazingly, no one was seriously injured. However, the Ventura Harbour Patrol is investigating what officers say appears to be reckless operation of the boat.

Videographer Chris Popoleo (ph) was shooting his friend and another young surfer when it happened.

CHRIS POPOLEO (ph), VIDEOGRAPHER: He got really close to the surf and he had a little child in the front of the boat. It started to tip over and the little kid went over board first. The dude driving it just completely lost control, almost hit my friend.

ATON OSBORNE (ph), SURFER: Everything flew off. It was pretty scary.

WOLFE: Aton Osborne (ph) is the friend and surfer who also became a Good Samaritan, along with his surfing buddy, Nicky Clark (ph), during the shocking close call.

[02:55:04] NICKY CLARK (ph), SURFER: The dad and one kid kind of came up kind of quick. The second kid didn't. So I pushed the boat down, so the side would come up, and he came out, and I put him on my board.

WOLFE: Nicky Clark (ph) held the other young victim while the father managed to climb on top of the capsized boat.

CLARK (ph): The current was ripping so hard against the boat everyone was getting sucked out already.

WOLFE: One boy grabbed on to the leash of Clark's (ph) surfboard and Clark (ph) paddled him to safety.

CLARK (ph): He was holding on to my leash, even when I was on the short still. Ankle deep water, and he's still gripped onto my leash. I was like, yeah, it's OK, we're on shore. He was like, thank you.

WOLFE: Ventura Harbour Patrol officer, Tim Burroughs (ph), explains what should have happened.

OFC. TIM BURROUGHS (ph), VENTURA HARBOUR PATROL: The preferred way to enter Ventura Harbour, there's a buoy about a half mile offshore here, the two buoys, you would take that and there's red buoys that would direct you all the way in here.

WOLFE: Here and here, there were breaking waves here today?

BURROUGHS (ph): With the big waves, it was a dangerous place to enter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Clearly, it was dangerous.

ALLEN: Oh, my goodness, gracious, so fortunate. Thank goodness for that family, the boys.

HOWELL: Yeah.

ALLEN: Thank you for watching this hour. That will do it for George and me. I'm Natalie Allen.

HOWELL: I'm George Howell.

The news continues on CNN with Max Foster, live in London. Stay with us.

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[03:00:12] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.