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Fighting for Iraq; Crisis in Syria; Philippines Not Severing Ties with U.S.; Race for the White House. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired October 22, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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

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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Sources say hundreds of innocent people near Mosul are being used as human shields as Iraqi-led forces try to liberate the city from ISIS.

There are only hours left on a cease-fire in Aleppo as the U.N. condemns what it calls crimes of historic proportions.

The leader of the Philippines walked back comments he made about the U.S. and whether the two countries have any kind of future.

It's all ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, we are live in Atlanta. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Natalie Allen.

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ALLEN: Hundreds of civilians are dead as coalition forces battle ISIS for control of Iraq. An intelligence source says militants shot and killed some 284 men and boys they were using as human shields in Mosul.

Iraqi-led forces are aggressively pushing their way in to the city to reclaim it from ISIS. Earlier, the United Nations said it was gravely worried that ISIS took 550 families from their homes.

Meantime, Iraq's prime minister is deploying extra security forces to Kirkuk; that's 175 kilometers away from Mosul. ISIS has been attacking key parts of that city, possibly to divert troops from the Mosul offensive.

Now for the very latest on the overreaching -- overarching job it is to get ISIS out of Iraq, let's go to Arwa Damon. She's live for us in Erbil.

What is the latest overall out there, Arwa, as far as how they're doing, pushing into Mosul?

Human shields aside, of course.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we do know that the Iraqi army is moving in on an area called Hamdani as they do try to attempt to push forward. But what started off as a fairly quick operation, relatively speaking, of course in its initial days now appears to have significantly slowed down as ISIS not only beefs up the intensity with which it is fighting back but also continues to deploy those suicide car bombs even using drones to drop bombs on some of the advancing forces and then, of course, you mention that there are this whole issue of human shields.

This is not something that is tragically surprising. We had been hearing reports of ISIS using families as human shields months ago, as the Iraqis were beginning to initially push up toward Nineveh province.

Now the U.N. is saying that since Monday, they have reports of at least 550 families that ISIS was using as human shields, families that lived in the villages on the outskirts of Mosul that it then forced in to the city.

And according to reports, bearing in mind that it is phenomenally difficult to get information out of Mosul. But according to reports using these families, stationing them around areas that might be the targets of coalition bombings, areas that ISIS used as its administrative buildings and we do have from an intelligence source that around 248 men and boys, Natalie, were executed by ISIS in three different locations.

According to the source it's because they tried to resist being taken as human shields. That also, of course, would be ISIS' way of sending a very, very chilling message to anyone else who might try to defy them as they employ this absolutely horrendous, nauseating tactic of using the civilian population as human shields.

On the Kirkuk front, well, there are still sporadic clashes that are ongoing. ISIS launching a complex attack against that city yesterday, using around 30 to 40 of its own fighters and then managing to have some of them hole up in some buildings, especially along the southern outskirts of this city.

The Iraqi government is sending up more reinforcements to that city as we speak. So, yes, as you were saying, this is an increasingly complex battlefield and one to say the least that is being fought on multiple fronts -- Natalie.

ALLEN: Absolutely.

And considering the human shields that are these families that are being grotesquely used there in Mosul, is that likely why we are not hearing about people trying to flee the city or if there is any chance they could because they knew that this was about to happen?

What are you hearing in that front?

DAMON: Well, the Iraqi government has done numerous at this stage leaflet drops to the population, trying to tell them how to keep themselves safe but also giving them a phone number that they can call. Well, here's the problem in that, is that anyone who we are speaking

to, who is in area that have already been liberated has been describing how ISIS has been going house to house, confiscating people's cell phones and their SIM cards, (INAUDIBLE) residents --

[03:05:00]

DAMON: -- inside Mosul. And for quite some time now if you are caught making a phone call that could be punishable by death because ISIS views anyone using a phone as being an informant. Anyone who does manage to leave the city itself and remember, there are upwards of 1 million, 1.2 million civilians still believed to be there, they are not allowed to leave the city.

So those who are able to escape are doing so either because they have decided to just take a chance and manage to find a target of opportunity or they are actually being smuggled outside of the city.

So leaving the battleground is not an option for all of these families who are stuck inside the city, who are probably hearing snippets of the reporting that is happening, who have already lived under and witnessed and experienced firsthand ISIS' brutality.

Some of the ones that we have been able to reach are describing how on the one hand, yes, they are very excited to a certain degree about the fact that the Iraqis and other forces are getting closer to the city. They want this to end.

But at the same time they are absolutely terrified as to what the consequences to them and their loved ones might be.

ALLEN: I can't imagine. We can only hope that the coalition gets in there and gets the city back sooner than later. Thanks so much, Arwa Damon there for us in Irbil, Iraq.

Iraqi and Peshmerga fighters aren't just battling ISIS forces on the ground. They are also up against bomb-dropping drones. Nick Paton Walsh has that.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: ISIS trying, I think, to catch their adversary on their back foot by attacking the city of Kirkuk far away from the lines around Mosul. About 30 militants sustained attack over hours against key security and government buildings, seven of them dead, many casualties on the Peshmerga Iraqi Kurd side.

The pictures of that assault captivating many here in Northern Iraq. A sort of way, I think, of suggesting ISIS are able to strike where they want asymmetrically. But still the violence continuing around Mosul itself.

As we saw ourselves yesterday, ISIS able to use drones both to spot the positions of those attacking them but also deliver explosives. A tense, bloody time on those front lines. WALSH (voice-over): Day four and perhaps the biggest push yet from

the north into the plains around Mosul.

Trying to dislodge determined and deranged remnants of ISIS, the Peshmerga backed with staggering airpower. And our common sight of American special forces, who the Pentagon says are advising, not assaulting, positioned in the front of the attack.

The work was slow, destructive, begging the question, what becomes of the wreckage under new masters?

Suddenly, in the sky, a hail of bullets. They have spotted a drone. Trace-arounds dance around it and finally take off its nose.

ISIS use them to spot targets for artillery, even drop small bombs. This one tumbles down, its wreckage picked over. It's still unclear whose it is. Yet, progress down the road to Horasabad (ph) is agonizingly slow.

WALSH: This is the source of so much of the fighting this morning but still full of ISIS. And in fact, we have heard the Peshmerga have listened to those militants on their radios this morning, discussing how they should wait and only launch a counterattack once the Peshmerga are inside.

WALSH (voice-over): Two Peshmerga are killed by a mine and others injured in intense clashes when they flank the town, heading left across barren farmland. ISIS still here, haunting the dust, pushed back moments earlier.

Through each one unit pinned down on a hill. They say the drone is observing them but also dropping these tiny bombs on them, like grenades, we are warned.

Rocket after rocket lands. Over the hill there is fiercer fighting and still the rockets come in. Exposed, trudging through land turned arid in the fight.

WALSH: The U.S. are identifying the casualty there reported yesterday as Chief Petty Officer Jason C. Finnen, age 34, of Anaheim, California, a part of an EOD team, that's basically a demining squad. We have seen ourselves, though, how there are so many --

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WALSH: -- American special forces in armored vehicles very close to the front, often going in with the first column of Peshmerga armor into ISIS-held territory. The White House admits they are in harm's way. But it is clear over the past few days, the past really four or five days of this offensive, that this will be long and bloody.

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ALLEN: Nick Paton Walsh for us there.

Well, time is running out for people stuck in Aleppo to escape the Syrian city before fighting begins again. A cease-fire there is set to end in nine hours. The U.N. said it hoped people would use the extra time to leave through so-called humanitarian corridors established by Russia and Syria but a rescue worker told us that he hasn't seen anyone leave Aleppo and, in his opinion, there is no humanitarian corridors.

Tear gas could have caused the evacuation of the London city airport on Friday. Officials say they found a can of CS gas spray which might have discharged accidentally. Officials say the chemical incident occurred as passengers waiting for their flight started coughing; 27 people were treated for breathing problems.

Officials are still investigating the cause and whether a passenger discarded the tear gas before check-in.

Philippine President Duterte is insisting he is not calling for his country to sever relations with the United States. Mr. Duterte seemed to suggest earlier this week he would cut economic and military ties. But at a news conference Friday, he said he is merely trying to pursue a more independent foreign policy.

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RODRIGO DUTERTE, PRESIDENT, THE PHILIPPINES: It's not severance of ties. With severance of ties, you cut the diplomatic relations. I cannot do that.

Why?

It's in the best interest of my country that we maintain that relationship.

Why?

Because there remain Filipinos in the United States or Americans of Filipino ancestry.

Why?

Because the people of my country is not ready to accept a separation. What I was really saying was separation of a foreign policy.

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ALLEN: President Duterte there in a news conference. Will Ripley was there and will talk more about that news conference in a moment but let's just talk about his walking back that statement.

You are now in his hometown of Davao City.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And it really was damage control here in Davao City, Natalie. Before the president himself stepped back on those remarks you heard from his trade minister, saying something different, because essentially the words from President Duterte caused a large number of people in this country to panic for a moment and wonder what this could mean for hundreds of thousands of jobs, directly tied to American companies.

And it brings up a bigger issue here of all of these outbursts that we hear from the president. Some Filipinos are very troubled by them; others view it as a sign of strength.

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RIPLEY (voice-over): A slice of Americana in the middle of Manila, serving up burgers, fries and friendship between the U.S. and the Philippines.

DUTERTE: I announce my separation from the United States.

RIPLEY: A 70-year bond the new Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte seems ready to break in exchange for billions in trade, tourism and low interest lows from China.

Vicente Sia says his new president's anti-American rhetoric doesn't sit well with him.

VICENTE SIA, BUSINESS MANAGER: I am very disappointed that he wants to cut the ties with the America and pairing to the relationship with China.

RIPLEY: He doesn't understand why Duterte is so willing to overlook China's aggressive claim to most of the South China Sea. A recent poll found most Filipinos have little trust in China and much trust in the United States.

So by pivoting towards China and away from the U.S., the Philippines populist president seems to be out of sync with many of the people who got him elected.

Near one of the Philippines largest Roman Catholic churches, a marketplace full of Duterte's key demographics, working-class Filipinos, usually more than happy to speak on camera about their president.

RIPLEY (on camera): Ask you about Duterte, President Duterte.

RIPLEY (voice-over): The silence, a sign of the divisive tone of Duterte's presidency. Locals say anyone who openly criticizes Duterte is swiftly and sometimes viciously attacked.

RIPLEY (on camera): What do you think when he said he wants to separate from America?

MARISA LAGUITAN, STREET VENDOR: I don't think so. It's better to be friends than enemies.

RIPLEY (voice-over): A street vendor, Marisa Laguitan, worries that the president's word could hurt her country, poverty, crime and lack of infrastructure continue to plague this nation of 110 million.

Ian Dulay says he's proud of his president for taking a stand against the U.S., even when Duterte used vulgar language to describe President Obama.

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RIPLEY (on camera): What do you think when he uses language like son of a whore when talking about the American president?

IAN DULAY, CALL CENTER EMPLOYEE: Well, I have nothing against that. It doesn't matter what you say, it's how you say it. But he is just being real.

RIPLEY: Do you worry he can provoke other countries by being so real?

DULAY: It doesn't really matter. It's about standing up for your people.

RIPLEY (voice-over): The same people who stand to win or lose from Duterte's risky power play between the world's superpowers.

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RIPLEY: And Duterte used that "son of a whore" language at the press conference I attended last night, only it was to describe the leaders of the European Union, Natalie. And yet his popularity ratings here in the 80s to the 90 percent -- percentile remains very high. People still like him, they think he is an effective president.

ALLEN: Interesting. He is definitely somewhat bizarre and foul- mouthed for sure.

And you were at that news conference.

What's it like to cover one of his news conferences, Will?

RIPLEY: It's interesting because you read these things that Duterte says -- you read the headlines, the name calling. He used every cuss word in the book last night during this press conference, at one point talking about the European Union, he said "F you, son of a bitch, I will wipe my A" -- another word for backside -- "with your money."

So he is saying -- he's saying these things and yet people in the room are almost laughing. He has a bit of a smile on his face, almost as if it's some sort of a joke, which is you'll sometimes hear Filipinos saying, well, we think the president was joking when he said that.

It's entirely unscripted. There's no filter. And people here kind of look at him, they say, like some sort of a crazy uncle, who says something awkward and everybody is looking down at their plate at the dinner table.

But this is a president of a country with more than 100 million people, who has ordered his police to shoot and kill drug suspects on command. And there are questions about the way he treats women. Even a young reporter at the press conference last night, she asked him a question.

He turned to her and said, "I just want to look at you for a moment," and then he did for several seconds, as she stood there awkwardly -- Natalie.

ALLEN: Very strange. Uncool. Will Ripley, covering it for us there in Davao City.

Thank you, Will.

Just ahead here, why Hillary Clinton says her opponent is a threat to democracy.

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ALLEN: An update now on a story we reported earlier. New York police say nothing harmful has been found in preliminary tests of a white powdery substance that was sent to Hillary Clinton's office in New York.

Her Brooklyn campaign headquarters was evacuated after the powder was discovered.

Clinton is hitting the road in several battleground states as the election season winds down. She says Donald Trump's refusal to say he will accept the outcome of the election is a threat --

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ALLEN: -- to democracy.

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CLINTON: He is basically saying, hey, we've been around 240 years. And we've always had peaceful transitions, no matter who won or who lost.

Look, if you lose an election, I've lost elections.

You don't feel very good the next day, do you?

But we know in our country the difference between leadership and dictatorship.

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ALLEN: And hacked e-mails posted by WikiLeaks show bad blood between Clinton and former U.S. V.P. Al Gore in the e-mails dated last November. Top Clinton aides discussed Gore's public refusal to endorse her campaign.

He ultimately did and he campaigned with her this month. This marks the latest batch of hacked e-mails that U.S. officials say most likely come from Russia in an attempt to influence election results. WikiLeaks says it will continue to release more e-mails. Donald Trump says he will announce his plans for the first 100 days as president during a speech Saturday in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. On Friday, the Republican waved off polls showing him behind Clinton and stuck with his accusation that the election is rigged. CNN's Sara Murray is on the campaign trail with him.

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DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have a bunch of babies running our country, folks. We have a bunch of losers. They're losers, they're babies --

SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A sharp-elbowed Donald Trump is shrugging aside his sagging poll numbers and vowing to hustle through the final stretch.

TRUMP: Win, lose or draw, and I'm almost sure, if the people come out, we're going to win. But I will be --

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TRUMP: -- I will be happy with myself because I always say, I don't want to think back if only I did only one more rally I would have won North Carolina.

MURRAY (voice-over): The GOP nominee still claiming the election is rigged.

TRUMP: It's a rigged system. It's a rigged system. Don't ever forget it. That's why you got to get out and vote. You got to watch.

MURRAY (voice-over): As Trump's complaints became mere fodder for laugh lines for Hillary Clinton Thursday evening.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald looks at the Statue of Liberty and sees a 4, maybe a 5 if she loses the torch and tablet and changes her hair.

MURRAY (voice-over): That's as the two traded barbs at the annual Al Smith dinner to benefit Catholic Charities.

TRUMP: The media is even more biased this year than ever before -- ever.

You want the proof?

Michelle Obama gives a speech. And everyone loves it. It's fantastic. They think she's absolutely great.

My wife, Melania, gives the exact same speech --

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TRUMP: -- and people get on her case.

MURRAY (voice-over): But at times Trump's jokes were perhaps too pointed, even drawing boos from the crowd.

Despite the tension, Cardinal Dolan had this to say about how the candidates interacted off camera.

CARDINAL TIMOTHY DOLAN, ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK: And after the little prayer, Mr. Trump turned to Secretary Clinton and said, "You know, you are one tough and talented woman."

And he said this has been a great -- a good experience in this whole campaign, as tough as it's been.

And she said to him, "And, Donald, whatever happens, we need to work together afterwards."

MURRAY (voice-over): With the major political moments, the convention, the debates behind him, it remains unclear how Trump hopes to turn his fortunes around. But he is certainly relishing the lighter moments at rallies packed with his faithful supporters.

TRUMP: I just got caught in the rain. I'm soaking wet.

How does my hair look?

Is it OK?

MURRAY (voice-over): Sara Murray, CNN, Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

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ALLEN: Well, it seems the U.S. vice president wants to teach Donald Trump a lesson, perhaps even give him a thrashing. Joe Biden was speaking at a Hillary Clinton campaign event, referring to Trump's comments in 2005 about groping women.

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JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He said, because I'm famous, because I'm a star, because I'm a billionaire, I can do things other people can't. What a disgusting assertion for anyone to make.

The press always asks me, don't I wish I were debating him?

No, I wish we were in high school. I could take him behind the gym. That's what I wish.

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ALLEN: Trump's campaign manager suggested there is a media double standard, tweeting it would have been hair-on-fire breaking news if Trump said the same thing.

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ALLEN: All right.

Let's turn -- let's turn to the weather. It's churning up, as well, in the weather world. Derek is here, though; at least it is not politics.

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DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The first day on the ski slopes yesterday in Summit County, in Colorado. There's people taking a ski lift up to the top (INAUDIBLE).

ALLEN: All right, they -- I would be smiling, too.

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VAN DAM: I would be, too. They are saying, hey, I wish you were here but you are not.

ALLEN: All right.

Thanks for watching. Next is "POLITICAL MANN" and our top stories.

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