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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Report: 2 Brussels Subway Bombers; Clinton Denounces Cruz and Trump. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired March 24, 2016 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:15] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning: investigators revealing a second bomber may have been involved in the Brussels subway attack. This as we learn new information about the terror cell, their ties to the Paris attacks, how European intelligence failed, and the manhunt for the airport bomber is still on the run.

Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START, everyone. I'm Christine Romans.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. It is March 24th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.

And breaking this morning: word of another attacker involved in the Brussels bombings.

Belgian and French media reporting there was a second person involved in the blasts in the Brussels metro system. These are early reports. And we're working to bring you more details. And we now know the identity of the suicide bomber who blew up the subway car. Officials say it was Khalid el Bakraoui, who also rented the Brussels apartment and served as a terrorist hideout and headquarters.

Khalid's brother, Ibrahim el Bakraoui and authorities belief Najim Laachraoui, both wearing black here. You see the pictures on your screen were the two suicide bombers who died at the airport.

Now, Laachraoui thought to have built the Brussels bombs has been on the run since the Paris attacks. The third man who dropped his bomb off of the Brussels airport and left remains unidentified. The infamous man there in the white jacket, on the run, the subject of, of course, a huge manhunt. Police are conducting raids across Brussels raising questions did the men in the pictures act alone or are there other members of their terror cells still out there?

CNN's Fred Pleitgen joins us now from Brussels with the latest.

And, of course, the breaking news this morning, the question about the second bomber here. What are we learning here?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're learning from French and also Belgian media, Victor, that there is a possibility of a second person involved in the metro bombing. Now, remember, the police already saying that there is one person who was unaccounted for in the airport bombing.

Remember, there were three people in the surveillance picture. There was one man in lighter clothes. He apparently is still on the run or unaccounted for. The police is saying there may be additional people involved. Now, they're saying the same thing about the metro bombing as well.

And at the same, they are giving us additional information as to the kind of bomb material that was used and where that bomb material was likely made. It was likely made right where I'm standing right now.

If we pan up to the building, we can see on the top floor, is the apartment where most of the explosives were made. Police raided that apartment, they told us yesterday, they found some 15 kilogram, that's more than 30 pounds of TATP explosive.

That is an explosive you can make at home, but very powerful and that is also very volatile. If we go back for instance to what a taxi drive who allegedly drove the attackers to the airport. They had a lot of suitcases. When we got to the airport, they refused to allow me to handle the cases, which indicates there could have been something volatile inside those suitcases.

The other thing that the police found here at the apartment block behind me is a trash can. In front of it, they apparently found a laptop. And that laptop, they say, contains something like the will of one of the bombers where he was saying that he felt the authorities were on to him and he had limited time left. And that he felt he needed to conduct the attacks as fast as possible, otherwise, he too would end up in a prison cell, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. Expansive and complex investigation happening there in Brussels and across Europe right now. Fred Pleitgen for us this morning, thanks so much.

ROMANS: ISIS bombmaker Najim Laachraoui, the key tie to the Paris attacks, linked through DNA found in houses in Belgium used by the terror cell. Investigators have been looking for Laachraoui for months. His name released to the public after police arrested the Paris attack suspect Salah Abdeslam just days before the Brussels bombings. The police raid created a panic in the terror cell, forcing them to speed up plans.

Ibrahim el Bakraoui's laptop discovered in that raid contained his will. He wrote, "I don't know what to do. I'm in a hurry. I'm on the run. People are looking for me everywhere. If I give myself up, I'll end up in a cell."

For more on the Paris connection, let's bring in CNN's Jim Bittermann live in our Paris bureau.

Good morning, Jim.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. Yes, in fact, the headlines were full of it this morning, linking the

two attacks and basically Najim Laachraoui is in fact that connection. His DNA was found on the suicide belts that were blown up at the Stade de France, the football stadium and the Bataclan theater, as well as in the safe house in Brussels. And that safe house was also used by Salah Abdeslam, who was the one attacker here that got away.

[04:05:07] So, there's a lot of reason to believe this is all the same cell as "Liberacion" reported this morning, Paris, Brussels, the same crew, the same group that was working. The other thing in the headlines, Christine, and it's all over the place, it's questioning whether or not France and Europe can defend itself against terrorism. There's been enough done and if the intelligence services are working, because there are so many clues and so many critics saying they should have known, intelligence services should have known that these brothers el Bakraoui were out there.

Especially Ibrahim el Bakraoui, who were expelled from Turkey, sent first to Brussels and then intend went to Amsterdam and to Netherlands. And he was flagged by Turkish authorities. The authorities did not react.

So, a lot of criticism of intelligence officials. A big meeting in Brussels this afternoon with justice and interior ministers, and they will be talking about this, no doubt, and trying to figure out how they can better cooperate across borders -- Christine.

ROMANS: Yes, that deportation from turkey is raising red flags. Not as if these were not known to authorities. Thank you so much for that, Jim.

BLACKWELL: Now, as Jim mentioned, concern rising across Europe with intelligence services have not been able to keep up with the tide of ISIS fighters, returning from to their home countries ready to wage jihad in Europe. Now, Turkey revealing it deported Ibrahim El Bakraoui to the Netherlands while warning Belgian authorities he might be a militant. Turkey says that Belgian responded that Bakraoui had a criminal record, but no links to terrorism discovered.

Meantime, CNN has found that Interpol had an outstanding red notice on Ibrahim's brother, el Bakraoui saying he was wanted in connection with terrorism.

So, where there intelligence failures? Could the Brussels attacks have been prevented?

Joining us is CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton, former deputy director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Cedric, good morning to you.

CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: I want to start with this Paris connection and after the attacks in Paris. There was this collective pledge, this vow from countries across Europe to assist Brussels after the deficit was discovered. Was that just lip service? Did anything happen?

LEIGHTON: Well, it looks like not enough happened. I think there was a lot of movement at the top of the structures, Victor, but when it came to the middle and bottom, nothing happened. That's really a severe indictment of not only the system that the Europeans have, but also their ability to change. They don't seem to have the ability to change in the face of new information in the face of new technology, and that is very worrisome.

BLACKWELL: So, let's go specifically to this discovery that Turkish president Erdogan told the world about, that in 2015, June 2015, Ibrahim el Bakraoui was identified, deported and he notified Belgian authorities.

How does something like that happen here?

LEIGHTON: So what normally happens in a case like that they will use Interpol or some other mechanism to communicate with the intelligence services of the country like el Bakraoui was going to. What they do in a deportation case, they are supposed to provide detailed docile. What his movements were and he is tied to terrorism and that should go into a database.

The fact that they did not equate a criminal part with the intelligence part is also a significant indictment because it seems that this is an indication that ISIS mode of operation has actually changed. Instead of being these pure jihadist Islamist type people, what they are actually is using the criminal element to foster their operations and you have to realize, you know, as an intelligence person, you have to realize that is a key ingredient that in the criminal under world, especially the Arabic based criminal underworld that is in Europe, you have to realize there are these connections. And that's something that I think was an indication that was missed and very, very bad situation for them.

ROMANS: Terribly missed and tragic. We keep hearing how many people it takes to monitor, for example, someone who is a suspected militant 24/7. You know, 25 takes -- the manpower of 25 people to monitor one person 24/7. But in this case, there were such clear red flags, Cedric. It's not the question of the man power, is it a question of missing and not connecting the dots that were there?

LEIGHTON: That's right, Christine. It is a question of not connecting the dots.

[04:10:01] It really -- you know, when you talk about 25 people that are out there, you know, it's really much more than that because you've got a whole infrastructure. You have the different type of intelligence that are used. For example, signals intelligence.

You bring all those different pieces together and you have to fuse that information. And that's where the Americans have done a good job of fusion cells. That is something that I think the Europeans can learn from.

ROMANS: Cedric, let me ask you one thing that is troubling is that many of them can get on a plane anywhere and go anywhere. We made changes in the United States to make sure that passports are flagged of people who are visa waiver country participants with the United States. They are flagged if they traveled to the hot spots.

Do you think America is safer today?

LEIGHTON: I think America is certainly safer than the European Union is. You know, there's always a lot more to do. But, yes, on balance, America is safer.

But we have to make sure that the weakest link in this case, the European system, doesn't feed us with people that are suspect from a terrorist standpoint or from an Islamic militant standpoint. And that is where all procedures have to be brought together and we have to be constantly vigilant and that is really the key.

ROMANS: All right. Cedric Leighton, thank you so much. Nice to see you this morning. We'll talk to you again very, very soon.

Eleven minutes past the hour.

The attack in Brussels and war on terror creating new controversy on the presidential campaign trail. We've got that for you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:15:36] ROMANS: The terror attacks in Belgium dominating the conversation on the campaign trail this morning. Donald Trump is calling on members of Muslim communities here in the U.S. to be more cooperative with local law enforcement. He claims they are turning a blind eye to radical behavior. Trump and his rival Ted Cruz are also calling for more aggressive policing in Muslim neighborhoods.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need to use proactive policing and law enforcement and intelligence and national security resources.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They're protecting each other, but they're really doing very bad damage. They have to open up to society. They have to report the bad ones. When they say trouble they have to report it. They're not reporting it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Hillary Clinton insists the anti-terror plans offered by Trump and Cruz prove both candidates are, quote, "loose cannons", and she says loose cannons tend to misfire. The former secretary of state and President Obama denouncing the idea of profiling Muslim communities and stepping up surveillance. Both Democrats claiming that plan makes no sense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When Republican candidates like Ted Cruz call for treating American Muslims like criminals and for racially profiling predominately Muslim neighborhoods, it's wrong, it's counterproductive, it's dangerous.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I just left a country that engages in that kind of neighborhood surveillance. Which by the way, the father of Senator Cruz escaped for America, the land of the free.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Really something. Three stories. We will hear a lot more on the campaign trail about all of that.

BLACKWELL: Absolutely.

ROMANS: All right. Time for an early start on your money.

Dow futures are lower, thanks to a big drop in oil prices. Stock markets in Europe and Asia posting loses as well. The U.S. stock market is closed for Good Friday. So, it's a short week this week.

Oil side comes after a new report shows supply is growing, even as the world drowns in excess oil. U.S. crude imports rose to 8.4 million barrels per day last week. Now, 532 million barrels of oil are sitting in storage. That has never happened. An all-time high.

The recent crash in oil prices has slowed down U.S. oil production in some areas. That is filled by the gap in other countries. Last week, Saudi Arabia sent almost 10 million barrels. Venezuela, 7.5 million. Nigeria, almost 4 million.

But cheap prices are enticing to buyers, and that's causing some of the increase those storage facilities are almost full, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Well, investigators piecing together who was behind the Brussels terror attack. We are learning new information about the victims of the bombings. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:22:53] ROMANS: As the manhunt for the surviving Brussels airport bomber expands, we're getting new information this morning about victims of these attacks. The U.S. State Department says it's aware of about a dozen Americans who were hurt in these ISIS attacks.

No deaths, but a State Department official says a number remain unaccounted for like Stephanie and Justin Shults, a Tennessee couple who now lived in Belgium. Last seen when they dropped off Stephanie's mother at the airport. In other cases, Americans are hoping desperately for word from European loved ones.

Twenty-one-year-old Bart Migom was on the way to the airport to visit his girlfriend Emily Eisenman in Athens, Georgia. She says he never made it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) EMILY EISENMAN, BOYFRIEND MISSING IN BRUSSELS: In the last two days, they have been something I never thought I would feel. It's been the worst days of my life. I guess I didn't know how much one person can love another until you just don't know where they're at.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Joining us now with the latest on the victims and many waiting for word on their fate, CNN's Atika Shubert, live in Brussels.

And, Atika, you know, just the tragic loss of life and hundreds of people who are very injured. Some in comas, we're told. And then there are folks who are just waiting, waiting for any word, Atika.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, more than 100 are still in hospital. The most frustrating for families is they feel they are not getting any information. I actually went to the royal military hospital, which is one of the medical teams trying to identify victims. Doctors there told me the blast was so powerful that it literally ripped a lot of the victims apart. And so, they're not able to identify them any other way other than fingerprints, DNA samples, or dental records.

So, what we are seeing is families going from hospital to hospital trying to give any information they can. In fact, we met one man looking for his 24-year-old girlfriend. They have a son together. He just says he is desperate. He doesn't know. It has been very difficult for the families.

[04:25:05] There is some slim hope as you point out. A number of the wounded have not been identified because they remain in comas. However, that's a very slim possibility and it's a very grim reality. At the moment of the 31 killed, only three have been identified, Christine.

ROMANS: Only three identified.

Atika Shubert, thank you for that.

BLACKWELL: The breaking news this morning: as this investigation expands, two bombers now believe to be behind the Brussels subways attacks. New information on the terror cells, their ties to Paris and how police intelligence failed to track them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Breaking news this morning: investigators revealing a second bomber may have been involved in the Brussels subway attack. This as we learn new information about the terror cell that ties to the Paris attacks and how European intelligence failed. Also, the manhunt for the airport bomber still on the run.