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Suspected Mastermind of London Attacks Captured; Nine Arrested in Morning Raid; IRA Asks Members to Cease Violence; Chemical Plant Burns in Texas; NASA Shelving Shuttle Program
Aired July 28, 2005 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Pictures we're bringing into you via KDFW out of Texas. I'm told now the name of this company is Valley solvent. It's been in business since 1952.
The fire broke out in this industrial complex in Fort Worth early afternoon, I'm told. Not sure what sparked the blaze. There's no immediate confirmation on whether anyone has been hurt or indeed anybody is still inside this building.
Fire crews on the scene working this right now. Running a little information here as we're following these pictures, Valley Solvent and Chemicals is what I'm seeing here. I actually brought the company up online here. Wholesale industrial solvents is what they sell, and chemicals. They've been distributing those since 1952, since they've been in business.
So as you can imagine, the type of products and chemicals that are inside, probably, a warehouse like this. Obviously, some type of explosion that triggered.
We're going to keep following information as we get it from our affiliates. These pictures, once again, from KDFW. We'll bring you more information as soon as we have it on this company, Valley Solvent. An explosion that took place just a few hours ago.
Well, he was wanted in the U.S. for allegedly trying to set up a jihad training camp in Oregon, but now Haroon Rashid Aswat is in custody in Zambia. But did his arrest come too late for the victims of the July 7 terror attacks in London?
CNN's Kelli Arena with more on a missed opportunity.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: U.S. officials say that Haroon Rashid Aswat was under surveillance in South Africa about four weeks before those London attacks. U.S. officials had wanted to render him back in the United States in connection with a plot to set up a jihad training camp in Bly, Oregon. Sources tell us that there is an arrest warrant for Aswat under seal in New York.
But because he's a U.K. citizen, British authorities did not allow him to be taken into custody while he was in South Africa. Aswat then allegedly went back to Britain, and investigators believe lent support in some way to the London bombers. Some sources have said that he may also been the possible mastermind of those attacks, but others say that it's just too early to know the extent of his alleged involvement. At this time officials say that there are very high level and very delicate negotiations going on concerning who will get access to Aswat and when -- Kyra.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Kelli Arena, thank you so much.
Of course we're bringing you more and additional information on the manhunt across Britain for three of the suspects in the attempted bombings of July 21. And one of their alleged cohorts is in custody now, along with almost two dozen others picked up in connection with the terror investigation.
CNN's Jonathan Mann has the latest now from Scotland Yard -- Jon.
JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, I'm going to tell you about the arrests in a moment, but first I want to show you something. And you may have seen this already, but it is frightening no matter how many times you look.
It is an X-Ray taken of one of the bottoms that was left behind, a plastic bottle of a kind you can see in any supermarket, filled with explosives, detonator cables coming out of the top and then nails or tacks held in place on the sides of the bomb with plastic kitchen wrap. Very basic materials with a deadly intent.
This was one of the bombs that was left behind and not used on July 27, the day that 52 people were killed in attacks on the London transit system.
There was a second set of attacks one week ago today. Police are still trying to find the people who are involved in that.
And before dawn this morning there was a raid in southern London in an area called Tooting, where nine men were taken from two separate sites. Now, those nine men are being held for questioning in connection with the botched attacks a week ago. Police say they don't believe any one of them was actually involved directly as one of the bombers.
Only one of the actual bombers, or presumed bombers, we need to say, is actually being held now by police. But thousands of police officers are at work across the country, both trying to protect this city and cities across the country and also trying to find those three men still on the loose.
Here at Scotland Yard the man who's in charge, Sir Ian Blair, described the challenge that the police are now facing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIR IAN BLAIR, COMMISSIONER, METROPOLITAN POLICE: The greatest operational challenge that the metropolitan police service has faced since the Second World War, and I genuinely believe that to be the case. It therefore is the largest ever investigation that the Met has ever mounted. And that was at 7/7. At 21/7, of course, it got even larger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: One suspected bomber in custody, 19 other people being held for questioning, 20 people in all in an investigation which is only growing, only getting more intense, and as Sir Ian said earlier, the clock really is ticking -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Jonathan Mann, live from Scotland Yard, thank you so much.
And sadly the U.K. is no stranger to terror attacks. After decades of separatist violence between Ireland's Catholics and Protestant, today the IRA, the Irish Republican Army, ordered its members to lay down arms and work with political goals to achieve goals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GERRY ADAMS, SINN FEIN PRESIDENT: Today's decision by the IRA to move into a new peaceful mode is historic and represents a courageous and confident initiative.
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This may be the day when finally, after all the false dawns, and dashed hopes, peace replaced war, politics replaces terror on the island of islands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, is this truly an end to the troubles? Although many people are expressing hope at today's news, the reality is that many people in Ireland remain embittered by the long and bloody turf battle that has cost so many lives over the years.
ITN reporter Bill Neely reports from Belfast.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL NEELY, ITN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The raw statistics are staggering. More than 3,600 dead, one in every 400 people in Northern Ireland murdered.
In Britain that would have met a death toll of 140,000.
Thirty years. Tens of thousands injured, but statistics don't tell the half of it.
It was a slow slaughter, peppered with massacres and atrocities from which whole generations are still recovering.
(on camera) One of the worst atrocities, now almost forgotten, happened here in the tiny village of Clauding (ph) where on a summer's morning something happened that scars this village to this day. (voice-over) Nine men, women and children were killed by three bombs.
GORDON MILLER, LOST FATHER: I can remember everything, every detail. It's never left me. I don't think it ever will.
NEELY: Gordon Miller lost his father David, who was helping the injured when the third bomb exploded.
MILLER: Total carnage. Body pieces everywhere. People screaming, shouting.
NEELY: The pain is caught in bronze today. The bombers, thought to be from the IRA, were never caught.
MILLER: There were maybe over European (ph) or gone on. You know. (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
NEELY: From the son who lost his father and can't forget to the father who lost his son and can't forgive. Michael McGoldrick's son and namesake graduated from university and was shot three days later by loyalists.
MICHAEL MCGOLDRICK, LOST SON: I remember reading something that if you don't forgive them, you take it to the grave. I forgive them. I got on with my life doing positive things. I didn't die when Michael died. I see Michael again.
NEELY: Michael McGoldrick was one of more than 1,000 victims of loyalist killers. The man who ordered his death began killing to avenge the King's Mills massacre when 10 Protestants were shot.
BEATRICE WESTON, LOST SON: They were just coming from their work. I'm sure they never for one minute thought that they would be stopped, you know, and took out and shot.
NEELY: Beatrice Weston lost her son, Kenneth.
WESTON: When they were killed 27 years ago, everybody would have said, "Well, at least if those 10 people give their lives for peace, that's one consolation."
NEELY: But there was no consolation, no peace. The tit for tat killing went on.
JEAN LEMMON, LOST HUSBAND: You can't forget. We never forget. I know I won't.
NEELY: Jean Lemmon's (ph) husband Joseph was shot dead. She has her own message for the IRA and all killers.
(on camera) What would you say to them all?
LEMMON: Well, I would just say they ought to get their stuff destroyed. And once the last gun was destroyed, I would say it was over. NEELY: One man who has moved on and moved out is Steven Ross, a survivor of the IRA bomb at Enniskillen that killed 11.
STEVEN ROSS, SURVIVOR: I remember the split second that happened the noise was absolutely horrendous. I mean, my next recollection is having been pulled from the rubble.
NEELY: Steven's face had to be held together. Sixteen years on, and peace, he says, isn't just the absence of war.
ROSS: People's attitudes change, so will peace (UNINTELLIGIBLE). People's attitudes to each other changed, then certainly there will be peace (ph). But it really is the people in Northern Ireland, not the politicians and the terrorists that can bring peace.
NEELY: Steven survived Enniskillen and married. That day the Omagh bomb exploded, killing 29, and Omagh became another place who stands for slaughter. There were so many, the roll call of a war that he never had a name. Bloody Friday, bloody Sunday, so many bloody days, and now the promise that they're over.
MCGOLDRICK: Omagh, Enniskillen, Claudin (ph), all sad days in the history of this (ph). Let's not have another one tomorrow.
NEELY (on camera): Just about everyone who lives here or grew up here, as I did, knows someone who was murdered, usually many more than one. It's a small place with a lot of bad memories which needs more than just words to give it real peace.
(voice-over) In Northern Ireland some say nothing is ever really over, but tonight after so many lost lives here, they're hoping all this is finally over.
Bill Neely, ITV News, Belfast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And we want to continue to update you on the developing story out of Texas right now, Fort Worth, Texas, these live pictures coming to us via KDFW.
I still don't have a lot of information for you, but I can tell you the name of this company is Valley Solvent. They sell chemicals, a number of chemicals for agricultural businesses, so you can just imagine the amount of flammable materials inside this warehouse area.
The fire broke out today in this industrial complex. It's just north, actually, of Fort Worth. No immediate confirmation of whether anybody was hurt or if anybody was inside this area that exploded. No word, yet, on what sparked the fire that started this afternoon.
We can just tell you now that firefighters have responded. And you can see all the barrels here one by one catching fire and blowing up. Not sure what's inside those barrels. But this company, Valley Solvents, known for its chemical business.
We will continue to follow any information that we get and bring it to you out of Fort Worth, Texas.
We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This week in history. A bomb disrupted the 1996 summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, killing one person and injuring more than 100 others.
Three years later in the same city on July 29, Mark Barton, a day trader who lost a lot of money, went on a shooting rampage in two office buildings. He killed nine before turning the gun on himself.
And on July 24, 1998, Russell E. Weston burst into the U.S. Capitol and opened fire, killing two police officers. It was later ruled he was incompetent to stand trial.
That is this week in history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Straight to Fort Worth, Texas, again, these pictures via our affiliate, KDFW, a fire just raging now at this chemical business in North Fort Worth. No immediate confirmation whether anyone has been hurt in this blaze in this industrial area.
The fire has already -- we already watched it engulf several tanks, at least one truck trailer now at this complex that's operated by a company by the name of Valley Solvent and Chemicals.
No word yet on what sparked this blaze, if indeed, anybody was inside. But you can see it's in an industrial complex. I don't know if there's a residential area far from this area, but if you can just -- I mean, think about the chemicals that are inside this building, and what kind of toxins could possibly be in the air.
If you live in this area, if you know anything about Valley Solvents, or you live close to it -- I'm seeing that there are other businesses and buildings and areas not far, as this helicopter shot widens out. You may want to give a call and find out if, indeed, there is a threat with regard to breathing air, if you are anywhere near this area. A lot of chemicals here used for agricultural means, so you can just imagine what could be inside there.
Fire continuing to burn there at a chemical plant in Fort Worth, Texas. As soon as we get more information, we'll let you know.
Now the latest on the space shuttle. Discovery has successfully docked with International Space Station. We saw the pictures earlier today. It was pretty darn cool. The space rendezvous is the first since November 2002. Just shortly after docking, the connecting hatch was opened. The crews engaged hugs and gifts. And that was an exciting time for the astronauts.
But just before linking up, the shuttle performed an unusual flip maneuver, and you might be able to see it here. We might go into slo- mo and you'll kind of see it make an aerobatic move.
It's so cameras on board the space station can actually look for possible damage to the shuttle's underside. Here we go. In slo-mo you're going to kind of see it make its full circle. Eileen Collins at the helm there, proving she's a pretty good pilot.
Pieces of foam and file also broke free during that shuttle launch, prompting NASA to cancel plans for all further shuttle flights. Now NASA has said they don't believe that the astronauts are in any danger during this mission, but they are taking every precaution, of course, as they learned about the tiles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN SHANNON, FLIGHT OPERATIONS MANAGER: I think it was a little bit of a misnomer that we were only going to fly two test flights. It has been said over and over again by the senior shuttle program management that every flight is a test flight. Every flight we're going to put the resources and the assets out there to go try and learn things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Well, on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," our Miles O'Brien talked with the NASA administrator about what it will take to overcome this latest setback.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL GRIFFIN, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: I honestly don't know how hard it's going to be to fix the problem that you just saw on videotape there. We're going to have to examine that in some detail before we know that answer.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST, "AMERICAN MORNING": This particular piece of foam, which is sort of wedge shaped, it's very long. It goes along sort of some cable trays and a liquid hydrogen pipe. You can see the spot there. That white spot is where it came off, has been a problematic piece of foam in the past. It's hand sprayed on, which are the areas that are of concern, in general. Ten percent of the foam is hand-sprayed. And it has been looked at. As you look back on it, was it not looked back thoroughly enough?
GRIFFIN: Well, in hindsight, obviously I think, Miles, that would be -- would be true. If we had it to do over, again, we would probably -- we certainly would do something more than had been done.
The team that looked at it at the time decided that the power ramp foam you're talking about was good enough to fly. That was an error. We're going to fix it before we fly again.
O'BRIEN: But there seems to be an inherent contradiction in their conclusion. The conclusion was it's good enough for flight, but we still need to make some improvements. Decipher that for me.
GRIFFIN: Well, there are a lot of areas on the shuttle where we know ultimately improvement should be had. We were not able to fix all of those and, frankly, we will never be able to fix all of those. At some point it's just time to retire the shuttle and move onto a newer, better system.
The president and NASA have determined that that will be in 2010 and, until then, it's our goal to fly everyone as safely as we can do it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: We're going to bring you any updates or developing news from NASA as soon as it happens.
Meanwhile, want to take you back live to Fort Worth, Texas, now and these live pictures that we have via KDFW. As firefighters continue to work, a pretty massive blaze at a chemical plant in Fort Worth, Texas.
The fire has been raging for almost two hours now at this chemical business in North Fort Worth, actually. No immediate confirmation on whether anybody has been hurt in this blaze or if anybody is inside this industrial area or if anybody was inside this area when the explosion took place, but you can pretty much see the fire continuing just to engulf the tanks within this area. At least one truck trailer we've seen.
The name of this business is called Valley Solvents and chemicals. So you can just imagine the types of materials, toxic materials, flammable materials inside this plant and what's in the air now and what people could be breathing that are not only working this fire but could be in the area, working close to the area and possibly living in the area.
No word on what sparked this blaze, but we are working all angles to try and find out if, indeed there is an environmental threat and also if, indeed, firefighters feel they have a bit of -- or at least have this fire contained and that they're making process.
Let's go ahead and listen in to our affiliate, KDFW, and see if we can learn any more information.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... one by one are going off. We are told that four people have been transported to the hospital. This is just east of Meechum Field (ph) but apparently still no threat to air traffic in that area.
And there's a tower cam shot for those of you who are wondering how far this cloud of smoke can be seen. It's a tower cam shot. Here's from DFW Airport. It dominates the skyline even that far away. Again, not far from Meechum Field (ph), but the winds are pretty light and not pushing this cloud too far. And I think that is the one break that firefighters have caught with this thing, that winds are not fueling it.
But there's just so much chemical solvent there available to this fire, so many of these explosions that it's going to be very difficult to put out until all of this...
PHILLIPS: You are listening there to one of the reporters from KDFW. A piece of information that we learned, they are reporting at least four people have been taken to the hospital. So apparently, there could be some injuries here.
We are following this explosion at the Valley Solvents and Chemicals plant in Fort Worth Texas. Stay with us for more information. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Still following this developing story from our affiliate KDFW out of Fort Worth, Texas, an explosion that took place at the Valley Solvents and Chemical plant in Fort Worth, Texas.
I can tell you a little bit more about this company as I look at their web site. They've been going since 1952. Evidently, Valley Solvents and Chemicals has been in the business of handling and warehousing and transporting industrial chemicals, also hazardous materials and waste.
And listen to this. This company also provides hazmat emergency response. So as you can imagine, if they provide that, more than likely there are people there already when this explosion went down that will know how to respond to this explosion safely and try and contain it and try to make sure there isn't any type of threat chemical-wise.
Phillip Payne is with us, I'm being told now, a witness to this explosion.
Phillip, I know we got you on the line. You're not far from there. I was just sort of describing to folks what exactly Valley Solvents and Chemicals sells and what they do. No doubt pretty scary when you think about what could be in the air right now considering all the chemicals in this plant. But tell me what you saw and what you know at this point.
PHILLIP PAYNE, WITNESS: There were about four large explosions, sounded like tanks blowing up. Big balls of black smoke and flames. And yes, there is a large black cloud in the air, and it doesn't smell very good. We don't know what it is, but it doesn't smell very good.
PHILLIPS: Well, have you been warned to stay inside and not go outside?
PAYNE: No. I've been told to leave the area.
PHILLIPS: OK.
PAYNE: And I am in process of doing that now.
PHILLIPS: All right. So there definitely could be -- so you're actually leaving the scene? You're in your car headed home?
PAYNE: Yes, I'm headed away from the scene.
PHILLIPS: All right. So tell me what happened at your company, then, and other companies. Basically an announcement came in that this explosion took place?
PAYNE: We heard it. We heard it and felt it, a very large explosion.
PHILLIPS: And you took off? OK.
PAYNE: We went out in the parking lot to see what it was about.
PHILLIPS: No doubt. I would probably head home, too, my friend. Nineteen-fifty-two this business has been going, or operating since 1952. Have you ever -- how long have you worked at your business not far from here? Have you ever seen something like this take place at this plant?
PAYNE: No, ma'am.
PHILLIPS: And does it look like it's getting bigger? Because as I watch these live pictures, Phillip, it looks like the fire is spreading, and more tanks are blowing up and more parts of the plant are catching fire. Have you been able to see it grow since when those four explosions you heard?
PAYNE: I looked down 33rd Street and it appears to be moving to the west. I don't know what's happening on the east or to the west of Valley Chemicals. It appears to be moving.
PHILLIPS: I'm told...
PAYNE: There is a Goodyear store there and a couple of small businesses, but I don't know the condition. The police won't let you in that area.
PHILLIPS: All right. So they're definitely getting folks to evacuate. All right, Phillip Payne, witness there to the explosion, Fort Worth, Texas. I'm glad you're headed home. I would not come back to work until you're advised, of course, properly, considering the environmental issues in the air right now.
But we will continue to follow this for all of you that are watching, our affiliate KDFW bringing us some pretty amazing pictures here as an explosion has taken place as the Valley Solvent plant in Fort Worth, Texas. We'll continue to work the story. Four injuries we hear, possibly, so far, a number of companies evacuating. Stay tuned for more information. "INSIDE POLITICS" right after a break.
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