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In Pakistan Mosque Attack, At Least 38 Killed And Dozens Injured In The Blast; Antony Blinken To Meet With Palestinians Officials In West Bank; Israel Behind Strikes At Iran Military Plant; Fierce Fighting Rages In Parts Of Eastern Ukraine; Workers In France Prepare For Major Protests Over Pension Reform. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired January 31, 2023 - 00:00   ET

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

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[00:00:58]

LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello everyone. I'm Laila Harrak.

Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM. Terror in Pakistan, more than 80 people dead -- confirmed dead in an attack on a mosque.

Plus, America's top diplomat is calling for calm as he meets with Israelis and Palestinians during heightened tensions in the Middle East.

And the Ukrainian commander says it's a living hell, the latest on the intense battle for Bakhmut.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Laila Harrak.

HARRAK: We begin in Pakistan where the death toll is rising from that deadly bombing in the northwestern city of Peshawar. Hospital officials now say at least 83 people were killed and 57 others are being treated for their injuries after a bomb tore through a mosque located inside a police compound on Monday.

Pakistan's Prime Minister condemned the attack. He went to Peshawar soon after the blast and met with the injured in hospital after his visit. He tweeted "The sheer scale of the human tragedy is unimaginable."

So far, it's still unclear who's behind the blast. But the Pakistani Taliban have denied any involvement in the attack.

CNN's Ivan Watson has the details.

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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dazed worshippers pulling themselves out from the rubble. A deadly blast hit this mosque during afternoon prayers partially collapsing the building. The suspected attack targeting a police compound in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar. The victims likely mostly law enforcement caught off guard in a place of worship.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): We took out the injured and send them to hospital. The dead bodies should all be inside the mosque, buried under the rubble.

WATSON: Dozens are confirmed dead, Pakistani police say, with more than 150 injured. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned what he's calling a suicide blast, saying "The brutal killing of Muslims prostrating before Allah is against the teachings of the Quran. Terrorists want to create fear by targeting those who perform the duty of defending Pakistan."

Monday's blast was the worst the city has seen since March of last year when a suicide bombing that ISIS later claimed responsibility for, killed at least 61 at a Shiite Mosque during Friday prayers.

Leaders of Pakistan's rival political parties condemned the latest mosque bombing. A country with a long history of deadly political violence now bracing for the threat of more possible suicide attacks.

Ivan Watson, CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: For more, we're now joined by Raza Rumi, he's a Pakistani policy analyst and the director of the Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College. Mr. Rumi, thank you so much for joining us.

A horrifying attack in a place of worship inside a mosque. What is the objective of such an attack?

RAZA RUMI, DIRECTOR OF THE PARK CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT MEDIA, ITHACA COLLEGE (on camera): So, well, first of all, I think it is extremely tragic, and, you know, condemnable. The purpose or the motive always is to create a state of fear, a state of panic. And you know, these military groups have been doing this in Pakistan for you know, at least in the last decade and a half, they've been carrying out similar attacks. And the idea always is to create a state of fear whatever it does.

But it's also a message to the Pakistani state, because you see, this was a place which had a lot of police presence and their target has been the police in the local area, and the other security forces, because that's a direct hit of the Pakistani state.

[00:05:08]

HARRAK: Now the main spokesperson for the TTP The Pakistani Taliban is saying they weren't behind it all. Earlier, they -- one of their representatives said that they were behind it.

But put this into context for us, the Pakistani Taliban, what role do they play in Pakistan? What is their purpose? What are their demands?

RUMI: Yes. So, you see, the Pakistani Taliban are a branch of the larger Taliban movement when it came up in Afghanistan and got traction there and unfortunately, Pakistan had been a supporter of the Afghan Taliban throughout.

And the Pakistani branch repeated the same demands that they had in Afghanistan, which is to create a Sharia based state in Pakistan. And they considered the Pakistani state and Pakistan's military as an Islamic -- as an alliance with the Western powers, which they consider as hidden or non-believers.

And their aim is also to just the way the Taliban have taken over Afghanistan, they also have similar aims in Pakistan.

So, in Pakistan, they obviously face far greater obstacles because Pakistan has a well-developed state and state institutions. But they keep on targeting those particular institutions like the police, the military, the paramilitary forces, and of course, they create a state of fear among the general population by targeting mosques, places of worship, market.

HARRAK: Now, the security situation as you describe in Pakistan, a nuclear power is precarious. It has been and it continues to be.

Simultaneously, the country's economic crisis is deepening and there's obviously also political turmoil. How are these multiple crises affecting the people of Pakistan?

RUMI: I think this is exactly the -- you know, the real challenge facing the Pakistani state in its current government, because as you mentioned, the security situation has really, really become alarming there. 150 targeted attacks in the last three months, or last three or four months now, that's a huge number.

And at the same time, there is immense political instability within the country, which has obviously impacted the way the economy has been acting up.

So, these multiple crises are now have created a state of instability. And as well as, you know, the real sort of groundwork for public unrest, you know, public turmoil, and they -- and we might -- we might even see some protests in the coming weeks if the inflation becomes more and more, you know, hard hitting for the average person on the street.

HARRAK: Raza Rumi, thank you so much for speaking to us.

RUMI: You're welcome, Laila.

HARRAK: In the coming hours, the U.S. Secretary of State will hold urgent talks with Palestinian leaders and tried to defuse a wave of violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

On Monday, Antony Blinken urged both sides until the storm calmed as he met with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The top U.S. diplomat said a sense of security was sorely lacking. And the best way to work things out is through a two state solution. Mr. Blinken is expected to call for the restoration of a security

arrangement between both sides when he meets with the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the day ahead.

CNN's Hadas Gold has more on what Blinken hopes to achieve.

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HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As the U.S. Secretary of State's plane landed in Tel Aviv, so did hopes that Antony Blinken's visit will dial down the raging temperature on the ground here, after days of some of the worst bloodshed for both Israelis and Palestinians in years from the occupied West Bank to Jerusalem.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We're urging all sides now to take urgent steps to restore calm to deescalate.

GOLD: Blinken's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was already set to be prickly. The top U.S. diplomat first to visit Israel since Netanyahu's new government came into power, largely considered the most right wing nationalist and religious government in Israeli history now reaching an even greater urgency.

BLINKEN: We continue to believe that the best way to achieve it is through preserving and then realizing (AUDIO GAP) of two states. As I said to the Prime Minister, anything that moves us away from that vision is in our judgment detrimental to Israel's long term security and its long term identity as a Jewish and democratic state.

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GOLD: Blinken seemingly alluding to Israeli's moves in the week of attacks, including demolishing homes of attackers, and even pushing draft legislation that would revoke the Israeli residency cards of the families of those deemed terrorist.

Netanyahu facing his own internal pressures from the more extremist members of his cabinet to go even further in response to these latest attacks.

The Israeli leader barely mentioning the recent wave of violence, arguing that it is through expanded normalization agreements with Arab countries that will ultimately help bring peace on the ground here.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I also believe that expanding the circle of peace, working to close finally, the file of the Arab Israeli conflict, I think would also help us achieve a workable solution with our Palestinian neighbors.

GOLD: Blinken heads to Ramallah on Tuesday to meet with Palestinian leadership, where he will likely be pushing for them to restore the security coordination with Israel the Palestine authority cut last week, seen as one of the few tools available to help prevent an escalation of violence.

Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Joining us from New York is Martin Indyk, he's a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and distinguished fellow for the Council on Foreign Relations. A very warm welcome, sir, good to have you on.

Things, as you know, at the moment are not trending in the right direction, there's a tide of deadly violence. Can you speak to the very fine line that Mr. Blinken threads there while visiting the area?

MARTIN INDYK, DISTINGUISHED FELLOW, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS (on camera): Well, from the point of view of the U.S. Secretary of State, the objective is to calm things down as much as he can. But as you said, they're trending in the wrong direction. They're trending towards an explosion. And the very real concern today is that the cycle of violence that we witnessed in the last few days will continue and move towards an explosion in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

So, the Secretary of State has to try to convince leaders on both sides from Mr. Netanyahu yesterday in Israel, President Mahmoud Abbas, the president Palestinian Authority today in Ramallah, that they need to act together to calm things down to try to find a way to lessen the tensions, rather than to wrap them up again.

HARRAK: And that doesn't seem very likely at the moment, but how would you describe the Biden administration's handling of the current situation and their policy towards Israel and Palestine? Is there any appetite to launch a major initiative to end the conflict?

INDYK: Well, look, as you say, it doesn't seem very likely. But in fact, it is quite likely, because neither the Palestinian president or the Israeli prime minister have an interest in having things blow up and get out of control.

And so, as a result, the effort by the Secretary of State on behalf of the president is really to try to use his influence with both to get them to resume the security coordination, and to find ways to reduce the tension. That's the primary objective that he has in these conversations.

HARRAK: I'm just wondering as well, I mean, is it time for a new approach, because it's obviously very important what Mr. Blinken has to say during his visit, but arguably, it's more important what the U.S. is willing to do about the situation. And it's not very clear it's willing to do anything.

INDYK: Because our priorities are elsewhere, dealing with Russian aggression, and Chinese assertiveness. And President Biden's hope has been that the Middle East will not be a distraction to that effort, and that we won't get sucked back in.

But as you say, it's not enough just to tell everybody to cool it. At some point, if we want to avoid an explosion, we're going to have to try to find a way out of this jungle for both sides. And that's very hard to do when you have a far right government in Israel that's not interested in making peace with the Palestinians. And you have a Palestinian leader who is not capable of making peace with the Israelis. He presides over a divided polity. How much he's determined to destroy Israel.

And so, the two sides are very far apart. And the best I think that Secretary of State and the president can do is try to find a way incrementally with small steps to try to rebuild relations in a positive direction. But we should not imagine that somehow the United States could wave a magic wand and resolve this conflict.

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HARRAK: Martin Indyk, thank you so much.

INDYK: Thank you.

HARRAK: U.S. officials reportedly believe Israel is behind drone attacks on a military facility in Iran.

The reports come from the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times citing unnamed officials. A Pentagon spokesperson says the U.S. has not conducted strikes or operations inside Iran while the Tehran government displayed what it says are pieces of the drones. But the Israel Defense Forces have declined to comment.

More now from CNN's Salma Abdelaziz.

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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER (on camera): Questions and concerns after an attack over the weekend on a military facility in Iran, according to Iranian state media on Saturday night, a military factory in the central Iranian city of Isfahan was attacked with three drones in according to Iranian state media, one of those drones was shut down, the two others caught in the country's air defense systems and exploded.

Now, Iran has not accused any certain group or country of carrying out this attack but a top official, the Iranian foreign minister calling it a cowardly act and saying it was part of efforts to incite insecurity in Iran.

Now separately, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times have spoken to U.S. officials, unnamed U.S. officials that say Israel was behind the attack.

Now in the past, Israel has been accused by Iran and others of carrying out these covert attacks against Iranian military sites in an effort to deter that country's nuclear program to make clear. Israel has made no comment on this recent attack.

Now, separately, there was also a response from Ukraine, a top official again, a Ukrainian presidential adviser, in a tweet saying it was "An explosive night in Iran", going on then, to use the Ukrainian flag and saying did warn you. Now, it's important to note here that Ukraine has accused Iran and Ukraine's allies agreed that Iran is providing drones to Russia, which are being used in Ukraine -- in Russia's invasion of that country and have caused according to Ukrainian officials, again, civilian loss of life.

Now, all of this quite murky, unclear who is behind this specific attack, but very much part of a shadow war and a continuation of the increasing isolation of Iran over the course of the last few months. That country has been cracking down on a protest movement. The result of that has been that nuclear talks, attempts to restart nuclear talks have all but faded away, no hope there, more sanctions from the west. Iran increasingly turning to Moscow, helping to provide and replenish its arsenal for the war in Ukraine and concerns and fears that the Middle East already in a very fragile place that this could escalate tensions there.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

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HARRAK: Up next, fighting intensifies in eastern Ukraine as President Zelenskyy warns Russia is now looking for revenge.

And France preparing for another round of paralyzing strikes over pension reform. So, we'll take a look at what kind of disruptions are expected.

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HARRAK: This just in, the death toll following the mosque attack in northwest Pakistan has gone up again. At least 88 people are now confirmed to have died in the bombing according to hospital officials, and so far it's still unclear who's behind the blast. But the Pakistani Taliban have denied any involvement in the attack.

A Ukrainian commander did not mince words when describing the constant fierce fighting around the eastern city of Bakhmut, calling it a living hell.

The commander told Ukrainian T.V. the country's troops are doing an incredible job as the Russian forces trying to take control of a key highway. He also said the Wagner mercenary group is almost completely destroyed and are being replaced by Russian paratroopers, who also suffer losses almost daily in the south.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was joined by the Danish Prime Minister during a visit to the Mykolaiv region. And Mr. Zelenskyy offered this stark assessment of what Russia wants now.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I think Russia really wants its big revenge. I think it has already started. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: The Ukrainian president has been urging his Western allies to supply Ukraine with fighter jets but U.S. President Joe Biden made it clear where he stands on that issue.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will the United States provide F-16s to Ukraine?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Ukraine's defense minister says the country plans to spend about $545 million this year to purchase drones which have played a key role on the battlefield.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen shows us how they're being used.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Ukraine's entire eastern front is now heating up. This is Russian infantry in a massive firefight in the forest near the town of Kreminna. Close by we're creeping through the same forest with a Ukrainian frontline drone unit called Dnipro One, that scouts out Russian positions and direct Ukrainian fire.

Drone operator Ruslan (PH) says working in the forest is extremely dangerous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Old time work in tanks, a lot of artillery from different directions, from eastern and from north.

PLEITGEN: But the team is often able to spot attempted Russian advances. Here, Russian infantry are moving through the thick woodland, and this tank leaves cover and opens fire towards Ukrainian positions.

The Ukrainians liberated towns and villages in this area last autumn. But the scars of battle are visible everywhere.

This village like many of the ones in this area was heavily damaged when the Ukrainians moved in here in fall. For a while, it was quiet but now all that is changing, the fighting is coming back. And it's heavier than ever before.

The few people remaining those too poor or too old to flee. I asked Valentina if it's not too dangerous to stay here.

Yes, it is dangerous, she says, but what can we do? Of course, it's dangerous, but we endure. Sometimes we hide, but now it's too cold in the basements.

The Russians have massively beefed up their forces around Kreminna. They believe they have to prevent the Ukrainians breaking through here to sustain their own offensive against Bakhmut, and are now also launching fresh attacks near Vuhledar further south.

This video near Vuhledar shows Russian armor getting hit by Ukraine's artillery. The soldiers run away, a wounded comrade tries to crawl to safety. In all these places, drones are critical to detect and to destroy the enemy.

Dnipro One has its own drone workshop where NATO issue grenades are literally sawn and have to be carried on drone. Yuri (PH) can manufacture drone munitions in 20 minutes, and they've proven very effective in the conflict.

[00:25:06]

Drone operator is one of the most dangerous jobs, the boss says. As soon as they locate a drone operator, they use all kinds of weaponry, artillery, MLRS, tanks. We have a high rate of casualties among drone pilots.

In the forest Ruslan's (PH) mission is now over. But he sees a long battle ahead in a contest of wits and brute force.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mostly last month, our army goes state, but last I think two weeks, maybe we stop and Russians making counter attack.

PLEITGEN: And all the time drones will shape the way this war changes.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Zarichne, Ukraine.

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HARRAK: The Kremlin is denying an explosive allegation made by former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He told the BBC that Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened him with a missile during a phone call before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

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BORIS JOHNSON, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: You know, he sort of threatened me at one point and said you know, Boris, I don't want to hurt you but with a missile it would only take a minute or something like that, you know, jolly.

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HARRAK: On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters he's aware of what Mr. Johnson and Mr. Putin had discussed but says Johnson's claim is a lie and that there were no missile threats.

Johnson's comments appear in the BBC documentary, Putin versus the West which was released on Monday.

French workers are gearing up for another day of nationwide strikes. They're furious over the government's plans to raise the retirement age by two years and the country is preparing for closures and chaos in the coming hours.

CNN's Melissa Bell has this report from Paris.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The last protests against pension reform saw more than a million people take to the streets of France, according to official figures.

Just over 10 days later, unions are hoping to top that. They're also calling for strikes across the public and private sectors like the ones that paralyzed so much of the country on January 19th. But for now, the government hasn't budged.

OLIVIER VERAN, FRENCH GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON (through translator): We're not asking everyone to agree with the reform we're carrying out. What we want is, first of all, to explain that this reform is essential, and that we must do it.

BELL: Currently the French can retire at 62 or even earlier in some cases with a minimum monthly government pension of around a thousand euros.

Earlier this month, the French Prime Minister announced plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, with a full pension raised by an average of 100 euros a month.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The reform is necessary because the accounts are in deficit from this year, our pension system is no longer balance and by 2027, we're looking at a deficit of roughly 12 billion euros.

BELL: Pension reform has been derailed in the past in 1995 under then President Jacques Chirac, it also faced stiff resistance under Macron's two predecessors.

(through translator): This reform comes at a time when there's a lot of anger, a lot of frustration, a lot of fatigue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE In fact, it comes at the worst time with living standards down and the cost of living up. For some people, shopping bills are up by 20 or 30 percent. And rent hasn't fallen. And all of that creates a climate of defiance.

BELL: Largely peaceful defiance so far, but also anger with more than 70 people detained last time.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

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HARRAK: The global economy is looking slightly less gloomy this year than in previous forecasts according to the International Monetary Fund. The IMF now projects nearly three percent growth in 2023. Just a few percentage points higher than predicted last year. It's by no means a strong year of growth, but the new numbers show some promise. The IMF says China's sudden reopening after scrapping its zero COVID

policies has paved the way for the rapid rebound, especially given the resilience of multiple countries in the second half of 2022.

A protester nearly lost his life after standing up to the Iranian regime. He spoke exclusively to CNN about what he endured and how we survived.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I was the man who died and I was brought back to life. As I'm speaking with you, I still have 20 shotgun pellets still lodged in my body.

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HARRAK: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Laila Harrak.

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Our next story contains graphic content that you may find disturbing. An Iranian protester, who was attacked by security forces last year, nearly died and was then charged with a crime that carries a death sentence. He spoke exclusively to CNN's Jomana Karadsheh about his harrowing escape from Iran and why he has no regrets.

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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was one of the most terrifying videos to emerge from Iran: a protester surrounded by armed regime forces, trying to fend him off with a knife.

(GUNFIRE)

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Shots are fired before he falls to his knees.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Ashkan Morovati appeared in intensive care, barely conscious, with this parents by his side.

ASHKAN MOROVATI, KURDISH IRANIAN PROTESTOR (through translator): I had a severed artery in my leg. I had around 200 shotgun pellets in my body. I had serious wounds. Even after I surrendered, and they arrested me, they beat me around 100 times in the head and the rest of my body with batons. When they were transporting me to the hospital, they shot me from a very close range with a shotgun. They thought that I'd be dead.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): But Ashkan survived, and with him, a tale of unimaginable horror.

MOROVATI (through translator): I was a man who died and was brought back to life. As I am speaking with you, I still have 20 shotgun pellets still lodged in my body.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): He escaped Iran, now a wanted men in hiding, speaking exclusively to CNN. For his safety, he won't say where he is.

MOROVATI (through translator): I got out of the country through mountains and deserts while heavily bleeding and in very, very bad condition. I died so many times before I got out of the country.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): As he lay in hospital, hanging onto life by a thread, he was charged with moharebeh, waging war against God, a crime punishable by death in the Islamic Republic.

Regime agents raided this hospital and dragged Ashkan to jail.

MOROVATI (through translator): When someone is taken from the ICU, straight to prison, this is kind of a death sentence. In prison, I went through unbearable agony, because all my wounds were open. I used salt to try to disinfect my wounds just a little bit.

They badly tormented me. They sent me to an army hospital that was not equipped to treat me. I was there in that condition with both my hands and feet chain to the bed.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): People of his Kurdish town of Sanandaj protested for his release. His family paid all they have to build him out for medical treatment, and with the help of friends, he made it out of Iran.

[00:35:10]

MOROVATI (through translator): I was a professional boxer, a fighter. I was so eager about my future and had a plan to pursue this sport as a career. But, because my leg and the rest of my body has been severely injured, I can't do that anymore.

Being away from my family, and all the pressure that they have endured because of me is mentally tormenting me. I'm not feeling OK physically or mentally.

KARADSHEH: What do you want the world to know about what is happening inside Iran right now?

MOROVATI (through translator): There are so many like me who, sadly, gave their life. But their voice didn't reach outside. There are so many brave girls and boys inside Iran. Our only crime is that we demand freedom and democracy and want our women to be equal to our men.

We shouted, "Women, life, freedom," and their response to us is only bullets, only torturing, raping prisoners.

I saw many young people, 16-, 17-year-olds get killed. They killed so many. They blinded so many. I swear to God, I can't sleep at night thinking about these things.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Ashkan remains undeterred. Once he recovers, he says he's ready to go back and continue the fight for a free Iran.

MOROVATI (through translator): I have no regrets, and I am proud of what I did. I will give my life for my people, for my Iran. Not one time but 100,000 times.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: And the Iranian government did not respond to CNN's request for comment on Ashkan Morovati's case and the widespread allegations of protesters being mistreated, tortured and killed.

We're going to take a short break. More news in just a moment.

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HARRAK: COVID-19 is still a global health emergency, says the World Health Organization. But the group also admits the pandemic has reached a, quote, "transition point."

The WHO's director-general made the statement on Monday at a committee meeting about COVID-19, which will continue to be labeled a public health emergency of international concern.

But now, they're considering what to do once that classification expires. The director-general says countries should continue to push vaccinations and keep an eye on new infections.

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TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, WHO DIRECTOR-GENERAL: The committee has advised me that, in its view, COVID-19 remains a global health emergency, and I agree.

[00:40:04]

As we enter the fourth year of the pandemic, there is no doubt we're in a far better situation now than we have -- we were a year ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Well, more than 170,000 people have died from COVID-related issues in the past eight weeks, according to the WHO, while Johns Hopkins University data shows more than 6.8 million people have died from the virus since its initial outbreak.

An attorney for Tyre Nichols' family says prosecutors should bring criminal charges against more police officers in the deadly beating. Three Memphis Fire Department personnel have now been fired, and two more police officers were also relieved of duty.

A report now from CNN's Nick Valencia contains some graphic footage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, seven Memphis Police officers have now been relieved of duty in the Tyre Nichols investigation, including the officer wearing this body camera, identified by Memphis Police as Officer Preston Hemphill. Hemphill can be seen firing his taser at Nichols following the initial traffic stop on January 7th.

After Nichols takes off running with other officers chasing him, Hemphill is heard on his body cam saying --

PRESTON HEMPHILL, FORMER MEMPHIS POLICE OFFICER: I want to stomp his ass.

VALENCIA (voice-over): A source confirms Hemphill, seen here receiving a certificate for 40 hours of skill training from the Memphis Crisis Intervention Team, was also a member of the now-disbanded SCORPION unit. But he has not been charged, like the five former officers now facing second-degree murder.

Hemphill's lawyer says his client never went to the second scene, where the beating occurred, and that he's cooperating with the investigation.

Attorneys for Nichols's family released a statement today, saying, in part, "The news today from Memphis officials that Officer Preston Hemphill was reportedly relieved of duty weeks ago, but not yet terminated or charged, is extremely disappointing. Why is his identity and the role he played in Tyre's death just now coming to light?"

According to a spokeswoman for the Shelby County D.A.'s office, all officers and first responders who were at the scene of Nichols's arrest are being looked at for possible charges.

STEVE MULROY, SHELBY COUNTY, TENNESSEE, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We're extraordinarily quick. Within less than three weeks, we went from the incident to filing charges against the five officers who were primarily responsible for the death of Tyre Nichols, and who were on that scene.

Now, as to everybody else, it's going to take some time as we do that investigation. But I assure you, the investigation is ongoing.

VALENCIA (voice-over): In the disturbing footage, released Friday by the police, you can see Nichols being beaten with a baton. He's also punched and kicked. All the while, his hands remain restrained behind his back.

In the video, you could see other officers standing around after the beating.

TYRE NICHOLS, FATALLY BEATEN BY MEMPHIS POLICE: Mom!

VALENCIA (voice-over): His mother, also reacting to the moment in the video where Nichols can be heard yelling for her.

ROWVAUGHN WELLS, TYRE NICHOLS'S MOTHER: As a mother, you want to be there to protect your child, and we did hear that he was calling my name. And I didn't hear him. I wasn't there to protect him. It just hurts me to my core.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: I'm Laila Harrak. I'll be back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM, but first, WORLD SPORT starts after this break.

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