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Eyewitness Speaks Out About Airport Attack; Terror Attacks in Brussels. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired March 22, 2016 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We heard that same sentiment in Paris when we were there after the attacks there at the Bataclan and elsewhere, that people felt that they had to turn out in force. And yet, you know, today - I'm just reading here, the breaking news, that not only is Paris deploying 1,600 more police officers, but London is deploying all sorts of police officers to their transit hubs. I'm sure Rome, where you were traveling to, will do the same. Does it feel as though something's changing in Europe?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, maybe they are finally realizing that they have allowed a few people who should not be allowed here. So maybe I think it's - yes, it's a pity that these things has to happen before that it gets a way that it - there's a serious problem.

CAMEROTA: Jeff, where do you live?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I live in Cannes.

CAMEROTA: And what is this - what is your sense? You say that you travel all the time. Has life changed after the Paris attacks for you as a traveler?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me, no. No. To be honest, no, no, no, no. I was never (INAUDIBLE) for - for - of that's. No, like I said, if I'm going to arrange my agenda by the Paris attacks, then I can rather stay at home and (INAUDIBLE). I need to travel for my business, so, no.

CAMEROTA: Jeff, we understand that at least 13 people, the latest numbers we have, at least 13 people were killed there right around you at the Brussels Airport this morning. We also understand 10 were killed at a - at least 10, in a subway explosion that was coordinated at the same time. And yet there seem to be - have been dozen more injured. Can you tell us what your sense is of how many people at the airport were injured?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the floor where I was, there was a lot. There were - honestly, there were a lot of people injured. A lot. I saw a lot of people that - who were carried out, who were not unable to walk. A lot of like (ph) injured. You know, there were a lot of people - I think it should be 50, 60 on the floor that I want, I think, here. And the explosion was down four, I think, actually even worse.

CAMEROTA: Jeff -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. CAMEROTA: Jeff, we're sorry that you've endured this ordeal. We appreciate you giving us your eyewitness account of what happened there in their Brussels Airport.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No problem.

CAMEROTA: Take care of yourself. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. (INAUDIBLE). Bye-bye.

CAMEROTA: Let's get back to Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Alisyn, thank you very much.

I mean there's no question hearing from that man just moments after such a traumatic experience. He is lucky. Many are not lucky. This is a very fluid situation. Emergency services are on scene. This happened just after 8:00 a.m. local time. Very busy time at that major transportation hub there in Belgium. There is going to be a lot of change in terms of who was hurt, who made it and who did not. And that's just at the airport, not to mention the metro attack, which happened after the two explosions at the Brussels Airport. We'll stay on all of it all morning long. We'll give you the information as we get it.

On that level, we will be hearing from the Belgium prime minister. They're collecting their information right now. We heard from the prosecutor's office. Yes, this is terror. Yes, this is being treated as a coordinated suicide attack. When he comes out to address his people and now the world, we'll bring you that as well.

Right now let's bring in Mary Schiavo, CNN aviation analyst, also former inspector general for the United States Department of Transportation.

Mary, obviously, being sensitive to the reality of travel these days and the fact that many are watching us right now from airports in and around the United States and Europe. This is a very well-developed hub here in Brussels. You and I have probably been in and out of this airport several times. How this attack was done is not an unusual setup from what we see all over the world. You go to the ticket counter first, then you go through security. Is there anything in this that triggers a concern of yours that you've had for some time?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Absolutely. And it's been a concern that has been played out many - in many airport attacks in the past. Munich, Rome twice, Vienna, Athens. And then after such attacks, including after September 11th in the United States, there were a lot of questions about how we should secure the airport in advance of security. And so what we do is temporarily and we inspect cars and people coming onto the property. But this has been a weakness that has been exploited by terrorists many times starting from the '70s, through the '80s and into the '90s, and it does cause concern. So I would expect that airports around the world will have local authority inspecting cars and people - people approaching the airport properties before security. CUOMO: And, Mary, you know, we're hearing about this scrambling of

troops all over the place. A lot of that is done as part of the learning curve after what happened in Paris and there was so much immediate understanding of how people have been flying back and forth in cars and otherwise in all of these contiguous countries, specifically France and Belgium. This is now a reaction we're seeing where everybody's going to flood their border patrol, you know, early to make sure that they can stop people being in transit.

[06:35:17] That you can do. But there are also things that you can't do. It's very difficult to slow down the flow of people who are trying to get through these big airports. So how do you balance, even after something as terrible as this, and we're not even understanding the full extent of it yet in terms of injuries, but how much can you do to control an aviation hub?

SCHIAVO: Well, you're exactly right, Chris, it's a - it's a balancing act. And, of course, everyone remembers the United States after September 11, 2001. The balancing act weighed, you know, heavily in favor of slowing things down to the point of stopping where it was very difficult to travel because we did have such intensive security. And so there's been a balancing act. But right now I think probably what they're worried about, there was an attack in Rome in Vienna back in '85 and they scheduled the attacks at different airports in different countries, one after the other. And I would assume that's what authorities are worried about right now, is there something else coming at another airport. And right now the balancing act is, of course, waving off of the issue of, well, we don't want to impede travel. Right now they're going to be weighing heavily in favor of security to wonder if there's another one coming.

CUOMO: Right. Now, we did get word from American Airlines. There had been some speculation of what ticket counter this is around. We'll wait for the authorities to take us through that. But American Airlines put out a statement saying that they're aware of the incident. They're taking care of all those relevant to them, the customers, employees and contractors. At this time everyone is accounted for. No injuries even. There is a flight that's been canceled for today and, obviously, they are going to be subject to when that airport is open.

Delta Airlines also similarly put out word that its flight, DL-80, relevant to those who may have loved ones on the Atlanta flight to Brussels, that it's actually landed at that airport. It's going to have to be parked remotely. They'll deal with that. A lot of flights are in that situation. As for other flights going there, everyone's being diverted.

So, in terms of the steps of understanding this investigation, as they go forward, do you think that this will be just a straight terror investigation and let those authorities deal with it, or is there going to be a layering effect here?

SCHIAVO: Well, there's always a layering effect, especially when there are multiple attacks. But they will, undoubtedly, be treating it as a straight terror investigation to the extent that - that you can treat any kind of terror investigation as just a limited event. It won't be because, again, terror attacks in the past have had, you know, tried to have a broader pact than just one area and I think they will be looking at previous attacks where they have used multiple attacks in successive days. And that's what they'll be trying to guard against.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Mary, thank you so much.

We want to update you on what you're seeing happen here. There was a coordinated terror attack, according to the Belgian prosecutor, in Belgium at the airport this morning at 8:00 a.m. local time. We know 13 people are dead at the airport and dozens wounded. Separately, at 9:30 local time, a metro station, reports there of a bombing. At least 10 people have been killed. And, again, that scene, we're not getting as much information from at this point.

Let us turn to the airport, where we find our correspondent Nima Elbagir. She's outside the airport, which is sort of a staging area for the police.

And, Nima, maybe you can bring us up to date on the latest on this scene. Has the - is the threat considered contained at the airport now?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's the sense we're getting that there are a number of road blocks that have gone up, but traffic is now being allowed to move to some extent through this road. What they're concerned about is creating gridlocks, chokeholds and creating the potential for greater panic. So they are trying to move people through here as quickly as possible. But their message to everyone is, then go home.

They are containing this threat here, but they're concerned about what else could still be out there. And part of pushing that threat level up to the maximum is to give them the powers to do that, to deploy soldiers and greater security presence onto the streets. And in order to do that safely and to not create potentially other softer targets, they're asking people not to congregate and to stay indoors.

They've also shut down all the metro stations. We understand that they've shut down the underpasses. Brussels is a city that has a lot of underpasses in many of its major roads. They've shut that down to also limit the potential for any attacks targeting any of the - the highways that run through the center of town and they are asking everybody to stay indoors. The city is effectively now, Michaela, in lockdown.

BARTIROMO: Which makes it a real challenge, Nima, as you mentioned. Authorities telling people at the airport to go home, to go away. But, again, if all of the metro systems are shut down, especially with the fact there was another bombing at the Maelbeek metro station, not far from the European Parliament buildings, we should point out, only about 500 yards from there. It makes it a challenge of, how do you get those people safely and out of the area?

[06:40:23] ELBAGIR: Well, security officers, we've been observing them, have been trying - especially the passengers that were evacuated from the airport, they were trying to get them out in single file and they were moving them as safely as possible and to try and organize their transports. And I - I know from a lot of people we've been speaking to just on the phones, people are trying to pick people up from different areas. There's a real sense of communities here trying to come together, making sure everyone is safe.

Unfortunately, because this is an emergency situation, where a lot of the emergency services are using the bandwidth on the mobile phone networks, people are having a lot of trouble getting through to their loved ones. FaceBook has now set up a check-in for Belgium. The Dutch Red Cross, which also services the Flemish speakers, Dutch speakers here in Belgium, they've also set up a website asking people to check in and say, I am safe. And part of that will allow their friends, their family, even just people who find them on the street, to help get them home while this situation is being resolved.

CAMEROTA: Nima, thank you very much for all of the update. Stand by. We'll get back to you as we get more details.

We want to bring in now Jim Bittermann. He's live in Paris, where that city is reacting to this attack in Brussels today. So this is, of course, just months after Paris itself came under siege.

Jim, what is the latest there at this hour?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, the nervousness has not gone away here, I can tell you that. There's a couple of things. The - in the immediate aftermath of the attacks in Brussels, there was immediately a crisis cell established at the foreign ministry, as well as a meeting taking place at the presidential palace, still going underway - still underway at this hour between the president, the defense minister, the interior minister, the - and the people that would be in charge of defending this country. They've just come out and announced that there will be 1,600 more police and reinforcing security around the airport and other transportation hubs. It's obviously something that everybody's taking very, very, very seriously.

One of the things that the terrorist attacks here on November 13th that has come out in the last few days is that these are huge networks of terrorists involved in these attacks. That there may have been 30 or 40 people who were involved in the Paris attacks in terms of logistic support and others. And there's a great fear about who else is still out there. The kinds of things that we have seen, Nima's reporting up in the Belgian suburbs, in the Brussels suburbs, is no different than what you see in the Paris suburbs here. The other day the prime minister had some awful statistics and some frightening statistics about the number of people who have been radicalized. He said there may be as many as 300 people who have come back from the war zones in Iraq and Syria. And some were arrested. Some had been arrested. But the whereabouts of a lot of those people are unknown to the authorities. So it's a - it's a kind of situation that has everybody on edge.

Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Yes, chilling developments and information there in Paris, as well as Brussels this morning.

Jim, thank you very much.

We want to get over to Chris now with an important interview.

CUOMO: All right. And, obviously, this is going to be a situation that's being dealt with specifically. Dozens and dozens of people badly injured in and around Brussels. So the prime minister there, Charles Michel, is addressing the nation. Let's take that right now. The prime minister of Belgium.

CHARLES MICHEL, BELGIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Stabilize the situation and the site of where there are still concerns. The first emergency was for us to treat the victims, to evacuate the people who were victims of this attack from the different hospitals, to take them to different hospitals. We know there are different hypothesis of the numerous numbers of dead and numerous people who wounded, sometimes seriously.

We have brought the security level up to four with additional security measures, which are now - have now being taken, strengthening of deployment, border controls, which have been decided upon, in particular restrictions about public transport which have been implemented at this time.

I'd like to indicate to you the - at this time of the tragedy, which is a dark time for our country, more than ever I call on everybody to show calm but also solidarity. We are faced with a trial, a hardship, a difficult time. We have to face up to this, being united in solidarity and united and joined together. We must continue to follow this situation minute by minute with different security services, with different rescue services.

[06:45:28] I'd like to thank the security services for the work they've carried out. And I will say to you once again that we are completely determined to face up to and manage this situation, to follow up this - pursue this situation in the most adequate way possible.

We were fearing terrorist attacks and that has now happened. In Zaventem Airport and at a metro station in Brussels terrorists have murdered. We are now confronted with a situation in which many dead have been - and that we have lots of injured. So we have taken a decision to increase the threat level to level four. This means that there will be extra security measures. The border controls will be increased and there will also be more restrictions on public transport. And we will also reinforce the presence of the military at several sites. So we are still discussing with the crisis center to see what extra measures will need to be taken.

Of course our primary thoughts go to all those injured and all the families of the injured. Of course our thoughts also go to all those people who today, and at this very moment, are unclear about where their beloved are. We know that this is a very tragic moment and I would like to make an appeal to people to please stay as calm as possible, but also show our solidarity and to remain united amongst these very difficult circumstances.

Later, to complement a certain amount of information from the crisis center, the emergency - an emergency number has also been set up to allow people to give - bring responsive answers to people who are looking for those close to them, their nearest and dearest.

I want to clarify that we are in a situation of evacuations which are taking place. It's a difficult time to - it's difficult to give precise answers to questions that are being asked. It's up to hospitals and emergency centers to give precise information concerning the identity of the people. There are also people not of Belgian nationality and the embassies are in contact with foreign nationals to progressively bring in this framework, this information.

I also wanted to - that what I want to indicate. I give the floor now to the federal prosecutor about the judicial procedures.

FREDERIC VAN LEEUW, BELGIAN FEDERAL PROSECUTOR (through translator): Thank you, prime minister.

Ladies and gentlemen, this morning, at Zaventem Airport, there were two explosions in the departures hall of Zaventem. One probably provoked by a suicide bomber. And a little bit later, an explosion at Maelbeek. It took a little time to make the area secure where had to be certain that there were no more bombs or dangerous objects in luggage. And so it is too early to give a precise number of victims.

As the prime minister has just said, the priority is being given to treating the wounded. An instructing judge has - is carrying out rapid, rapid duty of implementing everything to retrace the possible authors and to see if there are any other authors who have - actors of this who have escaped.

The authorities of Zaventem are involved with - and of (INAUDIBLE) are involved in this inquiry. I cannot give you any more details about the inquiry.

[06:50:08] The different operations have been set up. Different (ph) functions and disciplines are working together in order to put everything together to try and normalize the situation and advance it.

So this morning there were two bomb explosions at the airport of Zaventem. One we can assume that was committed by a suicide bomber. Then a second bomb then exploded at Maelbeek metro station. We made sure many security officers were sent to Brussels and to Zaventem. We have also instructed an examining judge to start with the examination work as quickly as possible in order to search for any perpetrators.

And when it comes to the specific situation in the Zaventem Airport, in the security forces of (INAUDIBLE) and Zaventem are now working together on the investigation. A lot of work is being done at the moment to try and trace any clues and to look at all camera images, all CCTV.

I cannot give you any more information at this moment. It is still early days. We will do everything possible to try and get a correct overview as soon as possible of the situation at a legal level.

MICHEL: Thank you very much. Are there any questions?

No information yet.

I don't have any information -

CUOMO: All right, we are listening right now to the prime minister of Belgium. He came out and said what has become obvious in this situation, this is what we feared, he said, and now it has happened. A blind attack are the words that he used. The prime minister also made it clear that there are a lot of people from different countries involved. You have to remember, Belgium is not only a big center for the European Union operations, but it is a big transportation hub, contiguous with France, the Netherlands, Germany. It is the most densely populated country in that area. Remember, a small place, lots of people, over 10 million, and so many thousands go in and out of this Brussels central airport.

So the numbers are going to be soft there. Dozens and dozens of people very injured. The prime minister did say at least 15 lost their lives at this secondary explosion that happened after that at the departure center of the airport at a metro station, a subway station. Fifteen have lost their lives there. Those numbers may well change. And, again, we're waiting to hear about the extent of injuries and those who lost their lives at the airport.

So now let's get back to the consideration of what we just heard from the prime minister.

Paul Cruickshank, the words blind attack, no matter how you translate them, that's going to come under immediate scrutiny. Tell us about this ongoing tension that specifically the French and also the British are having with the Belgians in terms of coordinating intel, the movement of people in and out of these countries, this new idea of security as a function of insecurity.

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, Chris, this is a challenge right across the European Union right now coordinating information. There are many countries with many intelligence services and they are reluctant, for obvious reasons, to share information about sources and methods. It's difficult for other intelligence services to then evaluate the information.

There are some serious shortcomings in the information sharing when it comes to people traveling to Syria and coming back to Europe. More than 6,000 European extremists believed to have travel to Syria and Iraq, many of them joining ISIS. More than 1,500 back in Europe. Those are staggering numbers. Those are numbers beyond the capacity of European security services to keep the continent safe.

This is the new normal now in Europe. This is likely an ISIS attack. They have just rolled up part of a cell in Belgium, part of an ISIS cell in Belgium by arresting Saleh Abdeslam. When they went into their long-term safe house in Brussels, they found an ISIS flag, they found Kalashnikovs, they found ammunition, and they also found detonators, suggesting an attack was being plotted. Was this some kind of operation launched by another part of the cell still at large, accelerating their plans after Saleh Abdeslam was brought into custody? Those are all questions which we're going to get answers for in the hours ahead, Chris.

[06:55:10] CAMEROTA: I want to bring in Michael Weiss now. He has been standing by and listening to all of this.

Michael, I know you've also been working your sources. What have you learned about an ISIS connection or anything to this attack?

MICHAEL WEISS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I mean there are unconfirmed mutterings on social media that ISIS has claimed credit. Again, not confirmed. We don't know that for sure. It is true, though, that ISIS supporters are cheering, as they typically do. They do it all the time, even when they're not responsible for carrying out a terrorist operation. But I think there's a sense of inevitability to this. You know, since Paris, we were - we were all been walking on egg shells waiting for the next major attack. And I have to emphasize, I mean, it's not just the capital of Europe that's been struck today. This is the second NATO capital in about a week's time that ISIS has managed to carry out - not a NATO capital, but a NATO country - Istanbul being the earlier one - that ISIS has been able to carry out a deadly suicide bombing of this nature.

And I've seen footage apparently from the subway terminal in Belgium. I don't know if it's - if it's for real, but it's been tweeted out, showing the scene of the explosion. This is what they want. Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, the spokesman for ISIS, about a year ago put out a statement saying that this was the new phase, essentially, in ISIS' foreign operations. He mentioned countries by name. He mentioned France. He mentioned Belgium, Australia, Canada, the United States, and he actually said, you haven't seen anything yet. You know -

CAMEROTA: This is the video that I think you're referring to.

WEISS: Yes.

CAMEROTA: And it's just as terrifying and ominous a scene as you can ever imagine.

WEISS: That's right. And what they're trying to do is bring Baghdad to the west. They want to create - they refer to Europe or the land of, you know, non-Muslims, as they put it, as the gray zone. It's not really a gray zone anymore, though, you know? I mean when they are able to carrying out these spectacular operations using suicide bombers, using the kinds of methods they're - they're bring to bear in Syria and Iraq, they've essentially brought the war home.

And this is now happening at such a - you know, an intense and frequent clip that I don't think - I mean I quite agree with Paul, it's not just 1,500 who have returned back to Europe. If you think of this as - in sort of epidemiological term, these are patient zeros coming home and they are infecting people in Europe. They are radicalizing directly, but also remotely, trying to recruit and prophesize and get people who - who are unknown to the security services, to be willing executioners for their grim plots. That's what worries me too. You know, it's not just trained up ISIS operations.

You'll recall in October I interviewed a defector from one of ISIS' own internal spy services, who had told me, he personally oversaw the training of two French nationals who had returned to France. That was right before the Paris attacks. Those two guys, by the way, have never been was implicated in the attacks. But as the French authorities said I think a week ago, the extent of the network in France and the extent of those who are actually in some manner logistically connected to the Paris massacre, was much greater than they had previously assumed. So, you know, it's the invisible army of the caliphate and they are scattered throughout the world. They are in the United States. They are in Europe. They are in every major Middle Eastern country. And, again, I mean it shows just how operational they can be. They've done this within, what, 72 hours of the capture of one of their leading figures.

PEREIRA: Right.

WEISS: You know, it really is terrifying.

PEREIRA: Peter Bergen, quickly bringing you in, spilling off that. I mean French Prime Minister Manuel Valls spoke of a threat level that is high. We are at war. This is not a war that we're fighting overseas merely. The war is coming home. And that poses a challenge for any counterterrorism official.

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes, office of - the office of director of national intelligence released a recent report saying 6,900 westerners have gone to train in Iraq and Syria. Luckily, the number of Americans is relatively low. I mean let's be clear that the threat in Europe is high. The threat in the United States is very low. We've only seen one example of an American trained by ISIS who's defected recently. We've seen no public accounts of Americans trained by ISIS coming back to the United States. We've seen two Americans trained by Nusra, which is the al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, who have come back to the United States. One of the - he was - one of them was arrested. The other one went back to Syria and conducted a suicide attack.

So, Alisyn, for American viewers watching this, it's important to recognize that the threat in Europe is very large. The threat by contrast in the United States is relatively small. We're protected by geography. You can drive from Paris to Damascus or Brussels to Damascus. You cannot drive from Damascus to New York. And we're protected by the fact that the volume of Americans who have gone over is relatively small.

PEREIRA: All right, our thanks to Peter Bergen. We're asking our experts to stick around with us. More of our continuing coverage starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[07:00:01] CUOMO: All right, we want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. You are watching NEW Day. And we're covering a series of deadly explosions rocking Brussels. Two blasts at the airport, another at the city's metro system. The death