Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Brussels Terror Attacks: Manhunt Underway; New Election Results, Candidates Clash on Terror. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired March 23, 2016 - 05:00   ET

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

[04:00:10] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: an intense manhunt for the surviving Brussels airport attacker as police reveal the identities of the suicide bombers there. Coordinated attacks killing dozens, wounding hundreds, bringing the city to a standstill and putting the world on high alert.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: More breaking news, this in the race for president. We have new election results, four candidates winning states overnight. This as they go after each other on terror and what happened in Brussels.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: Nice to see you, John. I'm Christine Romans. It is Wednesday, March 23rd. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.

We welcome all of our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world.

Let's begin with this breaking news this morning: a manhunt underway for a surviving suspect in the terror bombings on an airport and metro station in Belgium. As we learn the identities, learning the identities this hour of two suicide bombers who died in this airport attack. Police across the continent are searching for the man on the right in these surveillance images.

The two dressed in black on the left, they are believed to have been the suicide bombers. A senior Belgium security source telling the men the men have been identified. They are brothers, Khalid and Brahim El Bakraoui. The man in gray put his bomb down and left the airport alive.

A cab driver who drove the men to the airport giving police the address where he picked them up, leading to a series of raids that uncovered the terrorist bomb factory. Investigators found a nail bomb, chemicals, an ISIS flag. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack. That attack which killed at least 20 people at Maalbeek metro station, at least 10 at the airport, and others injured, 230 injured.

We're covering every angle of this story the way only CNN can.

We are starting with senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir. She's in Place de la Bourse in Brussels, the site of a growing memorial to the victims -- Nima.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.

Well, a senior Belgium security source has confirmed to us not only the identities of the two brothers, Khalid and Brahim El Bakraoui, but also their links to Salah Abdeslam. The flat where Abdeslam's fingerprints were found, his DNA was found last week.

You remember, that was the break that led to the case of Abdeslam's capture on Friday, that was rented in Khalid's name. So you have this reinforcement of the network that is linked to Abdeslam. They are also suspected to be tied to the network that carried out the Paris attacks.

Now, the reason the source is differentiating between the two sources at this point is because, as you know, on Sunday, Belgium's foreign minister was telling us that they believe Abdeslam, in addition to his ties to the Paris attacks, was also part of a growing up around him that was planning new attacks. It is this evidence that -- that investigators -- these evidentiary leads that investigators are now following. And that is the picture that's emerging, this is part of that broader network that was working towards new attacks.

Of course, we all saw those events as they unfolded yesterday -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Nima Elbagir at Place de la Bourse for us in Brussels -- thank you, Nima.

BERMAN: Let's get more now on the identity of these two suicide attackers and their possible ties to Salah Abdeslam, the man who was arrested just last Friday, taken into custody, has been questioned all weekend long.

We're joined now by Max Foster, who is also in Brussels.

Max, you know, we hear the phrase these two brothers, the El Bakraoui brothers, common criminals, linked to organized crime. But that also fits the profile of folks who've been connected to ISIS over the last 18 months.

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're just trying to make whatever connections they can at this point. The working assumption from the Belgian security officials is that the Paris attackers were planning something else. And we hear from U.S. officials as well that their working assumption is the Paris attack network and the Belgium Brussels attack network from yesterday were linked.

Then you look to the fact that ISIS claimed responsibility for the Brussels attack, and an ISIS flag was in the apartment where the attackers were based here in Brussels. And connections are all there. In Maalbeek, where the group of terrorists were based, they lived very close to each other.

The assumption is they are linked up, ISIS is involved and potentially sending over these fighters to Europe to carry over military style approaches, which is different from the past.

[04:05:08] ISIS in the past were encouraging people to rise up in their own countries, they're radicalized online, they are typically carrying out lone-wolf attacks, now these are organized networks. And the question is how big is the network in Brussels, however does it stretch around Europe and around the world, and are there more attacks on the way from a similar network linked to this one?

It's very, very complex operation and security sources are struggling with the amount of resources required to continue these investigations.

BERMAN: You can bet they'll go to the background of the two brothers and look more for the one suspect believed to be on the loose, spotted in that airport surveillance photo.

Max Foster in Brussels, thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right. These Brussels terror attacks have had a chilling effect all across Europe, an alert issued by the U.S. State Department is warning Americans of potential risks traveling to Europe, saying terrorist groups continue to plan near term attacks throughout Europe.

For more, let's turn to CNN's Jim Bittermann live for us in Paris.

And, Jim, within moments of word, 24 hours ago that these attacks happened at the metro station and at the airport, around Europe, you saw governments taking action on their own.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, taking whatever action they could. Here in Paris, for example, the interior minister said he was going to add an additional 1,600 security people to the various transportation hubs and train stations. You boil that down, that's only about 100 extra officers for example at the Charles de Gaulle Airport.

So, they're trying to do what they can, but this is taxing security officials. Those types of warnings from the State Department and other governments will have a fairly strong impact on economies, especially tourism. It remains to be seen how that will fall out. But there are already prediction there's will be a short-term fallout of economic loss because of these various warnings and various attacks.

So, I think they've got to be worried about that as well. It's something that they've got to get their arms around, particularly since this attack yesterday seemed to be so directed at the very hierarchy of Europe. The subway attack occurring just beneath the European parliament.

So, with those types of things happening, they have to take action. There's supposed to be a meeting in Brussels tomorrow. Security chiefs from around Europe. We'll see if that takes place.

But they've got to do something to reassure the public. In the newspapers here this morning there's some doubt about whether security officials do have their arms around this problem -- Christine.

ROMANS: Jim, this morning are you seeing any change on the street? I mean, it was 1,600 police officers, but is there a difference that you can see in France? Honestly, France it's been a terrible year in terms of terrorism for France and now this happening to its neighbor.

BITTERMANN: No question about it. There is definitely a difference, but it's been a difference that's been there since November 13th. We're under a state of emergency here in France. This is something that has rarely happened in the past.

And that allows the police to do things like stop and search people without cause. It allows them to put people under house arrest. There's all sorts of draconian things they can do. Monitor cell phone calls without a lot of judicial oversight that sort of thing.

It's taking place. And one hopes that at least because of security reasons, one hopes this intelligence work is panning out. But there's not a lot of clear evidence of that when you see what happened yesterday in Brussels -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Jim Bittermann for us in Paris this morning -- thank you.

BERMAN: All right. We'll have the latest from Brussels including the situation there. The transportation, when will it get back up? That airport is still closed. And much more on the identity of the two suicide attackers now named, brothers, now named.

ROMANS: And breaking news in the race for president. New election results as the candidates clash on how best to fight ISIS. We've got that for you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:13:12] BERMAN: All right. Happening now: manhunt for the remaining living suspect in Tuesday's terror bombings at the airport outside Brussels.

We also now know that authorities there have identified the two suicide bombers who appeared next to him in this photo. Their names are Khalid and Brahim el Bakraoui. They are brothers and believed to have some connection to Salah Abdeslam, the Paris attacker who was taken into custody on Friday.

ISIS has now claimed responsibility for the blast in Brussels at the subway station. They are proving they can carry out attacks all over the world at times of their choosing.

ROMANS: So, what important evidence was missed? Can this kind of attack be stopped? What can be learned from this?

Joining us is CNN military analyst, Cedric Leighton, former deputy director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and CNN contributor and author, Tim Lister, who has spent time in Syria and Iraq, written extensively on the fight against jihadist terror.

Gentlemen, welcome this morning.

Tim, let me start to you. Two brothers known to police, ties to organized crime, violent criminals in some of their interactions with police. And now, it looks as if one of these $ brothers, early indications are rented an apartment under a false name, where the DNA of Salah Abdeslam was found. What are we learning about this network?

TIM LISTER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think we're learning, Christine, every day that this network is getting bigger and bigger. It's larger than was envisioned at the time of the Paris attacks. Even the Belgians last week ,after the arrest of this is a logistics network that is larger than we ever imagined. We're finding new names.

At the same time, it just goes to show how difficult it is for the authorities. It's estimated that just to follow one person 24/7 requires 25 officers or agents. There are just too many suspects to follow in France and Belgium and Germany and elsewhere.

So, this is the massive problem for the security agencies. Even people like these brothers who have criminal records who have fired AK-47s at police are still out there pretty much undetected, Christine.

ROMANS: That's what is shocking, I think, you could be on the radar with authorities and still be able to plot and plan something like this.

BERMAN: We're looking at the picture of these two brothers, Bakraoui brothers right now, believed to have been the suicide attackers at the airport. The fact that they have now been identified, that is a key break in this investigation -- Cedric.

CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, most certainly it is.

You know, one of the things that you look at with them being such a key part of this, you can then determine what exactly kind of nodes they were linked to. So, how did they interact with Abdeslam when it came to the Paris attacks, what other networks are there? You can start basically peeling back the onion and looking at how these folks are related not only to what happened in Paris and now in Brussels, but also what are the exact ways in which they worked through the other aspects of the ISIS network.

So, how -- were they connected to Syria? How are they connected to what's going on in Raqqa?

So, this is an important break for the Belgian authorities, and hopefully it will speed up the process by which they can actually look at all of the different elements of this and perhaps roll up more suspects.

ROMANS: Rolling up more suspects, that's what's important here. They got Abdeslam and four days later this attack happens from -- by his associates. Do we think -- do authorities think or what is your best thinking on whether it was the arrest or the capture of Abdeslam that triggered this, maybe pushed up their time lime or whether this was something going to happen anyway? What about the timing here?

LEIGHTON: Well, I think it was, Christine, it was definitely going to happen at some point. They clearly planned this. But I do believe the arrest of Abdeslam was instrumental in moving this forward and actually bringing this in essence to the forefront.

They -- it looks to me, when you look at the Belgian attacks, though there was a lot of planning that went into them, the execution was rushed. So they tried to get it done because they were fearful that the police dragnet tried to capture them.

ROMANS: The cab driver saying they couldn't fit all the luggage in the cab. They left some luggage at the apartment.

BERMAN: Maybe the attack could have been worse.

Tim Lister, one of the things we don't know on the el Bakraoui brothers. Did they go back and forth in Syria and Iraq? There's been a revolving door in some cases between ISIS sympathizers and in some cases ISIS fighters leaving from Europe, going to fight in Syria, then going back to Europe to carry out these attacks.

Certainly, we saw that in Paris. I imagine that's something authorities will look at here as well.

LISTER: Yes, that's very true. But in the case of one of these brothers, he was sentenced in 2010, according to Belgian media, to a nine-year jail sentence for violent robbery. If he does get out, it was way before those nine years were up. So, we just don't know whether these two traveled to Syria.

What we do know is that Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who is essential in the Paris attacks, as you recall, he bragged that there were at least 90 ISIS operatives already in Europe and much more on the way. And it's become easier for ISIS to infiltrate operatives into Europe because of the migration exodus from Syria, because ISIS has taken control even of Syrian passport offices and used blank Syrian passports to get operatives into Europe.

And I think what we're discovering time and again and what European officials acknowledge is that these networks, you peel back the onion, and there's another layer, another layer. So, it goes on.

As the Belgian prime minister said, we're in for the long haul. This is not something that will be sorted out in this year. ISIS, it's now central part of their strategy to bring terror to Europe. It wasn't two years ago. They were inspired attacks. These are wholly owned and operated ISIS attacks and part of the group's central strategy.

ROMANS: All right. Tim Lister, Cedric Leighton, thank you so much for that analysis as we continue to cover these Brussels attacks. Gentlemen, thank you.

[04:20:00] Those attacks taking center stage in the race for president as new states pick their candidate. We got that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. Back to our continuing coverage of the Brussels terror attacks in a moment. Brussels terror attacks in a moment.

But turning now to politics. Another big night for the party front-runners. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump each winning the big prize in Arizona on western Tuesday. Clinton beating Bernie Sanders, while Trump topped Ted Cruz.

Both impressive victories. Arizona was winner take all for the Republicans. Trump beat the 50 percent threshold grabbing all of the states 58 delegates. Ted Cruz won the other GOP contest, Utah caucuses, exceeding the 50 percent mark there to take all 40 Utah delegates.

[04:25:05] On the delegate count, as it stands right now, Trump has 741 delegates, Ted Cruz, 461, John Kasich, 145; 1,237 is the magic number, of course, to nab the nomination, to secure the nomination.

On the Democratic side, there were also two caucus races. Bernie Sanders takes Utah. He wins in Idaho, too. The updated delegate count for the Democrats now, Hillary Clinton ahead 1,711, Bernie Sanders 939, 2,383, that big number on the top right of the screen is need to secure the nomination for Democrats.

BERMAN: Yes, Utah and Idaho, those were huge wins for Bernie Sanders. Biggest wins he's had since he won his home state of Vermont. He did pick up the lion's share of delegates in those states.

The problem is, Hillary Clinton did well enough in Arizona, too. So Bernie Sanders didn't end up with that much of a delegate lead from last night's voting, still some delegates to be allocated there. We'll bring it to you as soon as it comes in.

The Brussels terror attack dominating the campaign trail. We have some reactions from all five candidates, starting with Donald Trump. Trump insists torturing the captured terror suspect, Salah Abdeslam, may have prevented the bombings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He may be talking, but he'll talk a lot faster with the torture. If he would have -- if he would have talked, you might not have to blow up all these people dead and all these people horribly wounded, because he probably knew about it.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's very simple, doing what law enforcement does in any circumstance. If you have a neighborhood where there is a high level of gang activity, the way to prevent it is you increase the law enforcement presence there and you target gang members to get them off the streets.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: But you are talking about Muslim neighborhoods, not radicals particularly.

CRUZ: I'm talking about any area where there is a higher incidents of radical Islamic terrorism.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We can't throw out everything we know about what works and what doesn't and start torturing people. What Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and others are suggesting is not only wrong, it's dangerous.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: First of all, I'm a little surprised that the president is going to a baseball game when I believe he should, had I been president, I would have cut short my visit. I would have flown home. I would have conducted calls jointly with heads of state.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We can win that war and destroy ISIS without getting the brave men and women in the U.S. armed forces into a perpetual war in the Middle East.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Hearing from all five remaining candidates there. Later this morning, Ted Cruz will be on "NEW DAY", that's during the 7:00 hour. Don't miss that.

ROMANS: All right. We are learning the identities of the Brussels airport suicide bombers. And there is a search underway right now, a frantic search for that man who may be a surviving attacker from the airport.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)