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Three Terrorists On The Loose After Paris Attack; 12 Dead And 11 Wounded In Paris Attack; France Now On Highest Security Alert; U.S. Intelligence Says No Indication Attack Was Forewarned; U.S. Condemns Attack In Paris

Aired January 07, 2015 - 13:00   ET

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

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

We start with breaking news this hour. An attack on freedom of the -- freedom of speech. And it happened in Paris as gunmen launched a terror attack, a brutal one, on a French magazine. Twelve people are now confirmed killed in the attack, 10 journalists, two police officers, 11 others injured. The target was a French satire magazine called "Charlie Hebdo" that, in the past, printed cartoons on its cover depicting the prophet, Muhammad. Some of the shooting was caught on tape by eyewitnesses. Watch and listen.

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BLITZER: There, you saw two gunmen on the street right in front of the magazine office. What you didn't see was the point-blank execution of a police officer who was wounded and lying on the ground with his hands up. Our producers on the ground have listened to the tapes and they heard the gunmen say, "Charlie Hebdo" is dead, a reference to the name of the magazine. The gunmen also said they have -- had avenged, avenged, the prophet Muhammad and they were also heard saying, Allah Al Akbar or god is great.

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(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: A nationwide manhunt in France now underway for the two gunmen and a third person also involved in the attack. Just a little while ago, we heard this from President Obama.

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The fact that this was an attack on journalists, it's an attack on our free press, also underscores (INAUDIBLE) that these terrorists fear freedom of speech and freedom of the press. But the one thing that I'm very confident about is that the values that we share with the French people, our belief, our universal belief in the freedom of expression is something that can't be silenced because of the senseless violence on our freedom (ph).

So, our counterterrorism cooperation with France is excellent. We will provide them with every bit of assistance that we can going forward. I think it's going to be important for us to make sure that we recognize these kinds of attacks can happen anywhere in the world.

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BLITZER: France's interior minister says at least two gunmen right now are on the loose and that police are doing everything they can to track down the terrorists.

Let's go to Paris. Atika Shubert is standing by. First of all, Atika, what, if anything, do we know about these gunmen?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, all we know, at this point, is exactly what you've seen on those videos. It appears that two of the gunmen, at least, went into the offices of "Charlie Hebdo," opened fire, apparently targeting those cartoonists. Now, we are -- it does appear there was a third person involved as well, possibly driving the getaway car. But we are waiting for confirmation on those details from French authorities.

Now, what we know is that they got into a black Citroen. You can see it in some of that video. They, then, went to the 19th Arandis (ph) Mall, which is just north of here, and they ditched the car and hijacked another vehicle. And this is why police are now asking for witnesses to come forward to give them as much detail as possible so that they can try and track down these men, figure out who they are and where they went.

Where I am now is just a short distance from the scene of the attack. This is the closest police will let us go. Over there is where forensic police are now combing through the scene, looking for any clues that might help them to locate -- to tell them exactly who these gunmen were and where they may be headed.

BLITZER: Right in the heart of Paris. What about the level of security at that building, Atika?

SHUBERT: We're seeing a very high level of security. You know, I should point out that "Charlie Hebdo" has been on the target list for Al Qaeda and other Islamist groups for some time. Very controversial because they had published the satirical pictures of the prophet Muhammad. So, they'd been fire bombed in 2011. They were on the Al Qaeda's most wanted list. They'd been threatened by ISIS.

So, this is a group that was known to have threats against them. And for that reason, they had a number of police and security at the building usually at all hours. So, there has already been heightened security for the organization but, now, a heightened security alert for the entire city and country. In fact, it's been put up to its highest level. There is extra security around train stations, airports, but also places of worships. Schools closed a bit early today so there is definitely a nervousness, especially knowing that those gunmen are still on the loose -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, at least two, maybe three and there could have been other accomplices if this was a broader cell. There's a massive manhunt underway in France right now.

All right, Atika, we're going to get back to you. Stand by.

Jim Sciutto is our chief national security correspondent. He's here with me. You're getting new information? What are you picking up?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Despite the fact that this group, this publication, had been generally threatened in the past, I'm told by a senior U.S. official that there was no specific threat or warning of this attack today in Paris. And I can quote from the senior U.S. intelligence official. "While it is true that 'Charlie Hebdo' has been the subject of extremist threats over the past several years, none have been recent nor can they be immediately linked to this attack."

So, again, a U.S. counterterrorism official saying that there was no specific credible warning that this attack was going to come today, despite the fact that it had been listed in the most recent edition of "Inspire" magazine, the magazine put out by the Al Qaeda tied (ph) Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

I should say that this senior U.S. intelligence official goes on to say, we are working with the international community and our foreign partners in identifying the perpetrators, and crucially here, as well as monitoring of any threat reporting that might warn of a subsequent attack. But the key news here is that they say -- U.S. counterterrorism officials says -- say that there was no warning that this attack was going to happen today.

BLITZER: No specific warning in the past few days --

SCIUTTO: No specific warning.

BLITZER: -- or even weeks. But over the years, there have been warnings to this satirical magazine.

SCIUTTO: There have been threats made to this magazine. But the U.S. Counterterrorism official makes the point that none of them had been recent and none of them tied to the specific day or the method of today's attack.

BLITZER: There was a fire bomb against this magazine --

SCIUTTO: That's true.

BLITZER: -- back in 2011.

SCIUTTO: That's true. And as we know, listen, they knew that there was a -- that there was danger to this organization. Paris police had, at times, posted police presence out there. But you know how intelligence works, right? You have a lot of general threats. Oftentimes, you don't have specific and credible threats.

BLITZER: Yes, what's curious, in this particular case, that police presence in front of the magazine, that was gone, over the past few weeks. And maybe -- we don't know but maybe that led these terrorists to think this is a good time to go ahead and attack.

SCIUTTO: One of the many things they're looking into right now.

BLITZER: Yes, I'm sure they're looking at that. All right, Jim, I know you're going to be back --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BLITZER: -- so stick around.

Let's get more now on this terror attack. The target and what comes next. I'm joined by our Global Affairs Analyst Bobby Ghosh, he's the managing editor of "Quartz;" also our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour; our CNN Military Analyst, retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling.

Bobby, first of all, this is startling but it shouldn't necessarily be surprising, as we point out, given some of the threats and the actual attacks against this magazine over the years.

BOBBY GHOSH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes, indeed. And as -- and Stefan Simons (ph), now sadly deceased, the publisher of the magazine, famously said that he'd rather die than live like a rat. He was -- when he said that, he was very conscious that that was -- that was a possibility that he was under this attack. He personally was put on an Al Qaeda hit list, on a wanted list, by Al Qaeda in that magazine that Jim Sciutto was referring to, "Inspire" magazine, in 2013. So, yes, this magazine was in the crosshairs and its publisher, particularly, was -- had a target on his back for a long time.

BLITZER: The editor, as you point out, Stefan Simons, was killed -- among those killed, as well as the cartoonists, including George Wolinski, Jean Cabu and Bernard Verlhac. Christiane, I know you had a chance, over the years, to speak with some of those cartoonists. What did -- what did they say to you?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I did. In fact, I did shortly after the last really provocative cover that they had which then led to the premises being fire bombed and an increased police presence around them.

And I asked him about, you know, the environment that we obviously find ourselves in right now, how difficult it is even for those of us who are deeply, deeply committed to the freedom of press, expression of speech, and that it should not be curtailed. How did they feel about, you know, constantly satirizing the very person of the prophet in these troubled times? And he said, look, our job is not, and our intent, is not to insult, it's not to shock, but we are poking fun with satirizing the very extreme and absurd ends to which the extremists and those violent militants go to.

And I think, you know, Bobby just quoted one of Stefan Simons' sayings. He, of course, was quoting a French -- Spanish Republican. But here is what he also said. He told a newspaper, I don't feel as if I'm killing someone with a pen. I'm not putting lives at risk. Where activists need a pretext to justify their violence, they always find it.

And I think that really does have to be taken into account. There are all sorts of conflicting claims of responsibility or semi-claims and half claims. It is, obviously, too early to tell. But this group, "Charlie Hebdo," you know, were, as they said, pursuing a long and venerable French tradition over the last several hundred years, going right back to, you know, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, of poking fun at power, at the absurdity of extremism and this is what they were doing despite the risk to themselves.

BLITZER: And they, obviously -- 10 of those people who worked at the magazine, 10 journalists, are now confirmed dead, two police officers as well. General Hertling, you've had a chance to study the video. The operation is pretty closely -- it looks like these terrorists, they were specifically trained for a mission and they wanted to escape with their lives. This was not a suicide attack.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, we don't know, Wolf. But what I will tell you, any military person that views these tapes will point out some very specific things which are a little bit troubling. First of all, the uniform. It's reported that they're all wearing black. But what hit me was they seem to be bulky. That tells me underneath their black coats, they probably either have body armor or, perhaps, a suicide vest.

They also have what, we in the military, call a three-point or a two- point sling over at least one of the gunmen. And that tells me that they know how to use weapons. You take a look at the second thing that I'd point out and that's their weapon use. First of all, they're going single shot. They're not doing the typical jihadi pray and spray technique where they just shoot as many rounds as they can. But they also had that weapon close to their body in that sling.

And they have the vest with the ammunition, perhaps even grenades inside those vests, too. And they're precise marksmen. You see that police car with that very tight shot group of bullets through the window. That tells me there are no spraying going on but this was single shots to kill that police officer in the car itself or to at least hit them. Then, the next thing you see is the -- what we, in the military, call buddy drills, the fire and maneuver, hiding behind a door or behind a wall, then moving forward while the other person covers them.

All of that, it takes a lot of training with buddy teams and a lot of techniques that you have to focus a lot of attention on. The reconnaissance of the site, I mean, this is noon in Paris and you look at that street and there's no car in it. Anybody that's been in Paris knows that traffic is everywhere. And so, they must've re-conned this street, re-conned the building, known when the editorial staff was going to meet and plan their operation based on all those things.

The next thing is the speed, how fast they moved in and out of the different cars within the movement techniques, how they went after the police officers and then killed them after they had wounded them, the precise targeting of what they were going after.

And then, the last thing I'd say that we haven't seen yet and that is the jihadist filming of this event. Usually when a terrorist strike occurs, you're going to have someone filming it to use on social networking. Right now, they don't need that because they've got the YouTube videos from the French citizens. But I wouldn't doubt that we might see a filming of this attack later on.

BLITZER: And we haven't heard an official claim of responsibility or credit, as they like to say, at least not yet, from any of these various terror organizations. I want all of you to stand by. General Hertling, Christiane, Bobby.

We have much more on the Paris terror attack coming up, including much more on the offices of this French publication, this magazine, "Charlie Hebdo." They've been targeted by extremists now for some time. One time, the editor was put on Al Qaeda's most wanted list for crimes against Islam. Also, the United States was quick to condemn the attacks, quick to respond by beefing up security right here in the United States. We're going to update you on what's going on. Lots more on this developing breaking news story. We'll be right back.

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BLITZER: Let's get back to the breaking news. The deadly terror attack in Paris. Gunmen attacked the offices of the magazine "Charlie Hebdo," killing ten journalists and two police officers.

I'm joined once again by CNN global affairs analyst Bobby Ghosh, he's the managing editor of "Quartz," our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour, she's joining us from London, and our CNN military analyst, retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling.

Christiane, the reaction in Europe, not only in France, but in Britain, Germany, elsewhere in Europe, it must be devastating given the open borders, if you will, that folks who have an EU passport, they can just mull around as easily as possible.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, there's that. But the reaction also is, you know, we've all felt this over the last several years. In England, you'll remember, in 2005, I think it was, or 2007, we had a massive attack on the public transportation system. And that is when suicide bombers actually went and detonated backpack-laden suicide belts and killed more than 50 people on the underground and on buses. We remember Madrid in 2004 where they did something similar on the trains there.

We remember these attacks going on in many parts of Europe. Even now, there are all sorts of cross-currents and very difficult situations going on. In Germany, for instance, Angela Merkel has had to speak out against this rise in islamophobia in Germany. And actually there, there has been a press-led backlash. People have come out to protest this anti-Islamic tendency that suddenly sprung up in Germany because of refugees and immigrants and precisely these open borders that you're talking about. And in France tonight, we've seen at the (INAUDIBLE), in the center of Paris, hundreds if not thousands of people gathering with, you know, the moniker, "we are all Charlie Hebdo today."

So this is something that is really rocking Europe. We've had Prime Minister Cameron with Angela Merkel in London today. Of course they were going to talk about EU reform and how to keep Britain inside the EU in the future. But, of course, they've turned now to this terrible situation in Paris and have said that they stand not just with the French, not just with the fight against terrorism, but with the defense of the freedom of the press.

And I think we should really, really make no mistake about it, this was a deliberate attack on freedom of speech, freedom of expression and the freedom to satirize even in some corners where some people might hold this to be terribly offensive.

BLITZER: And, Bobby, if you believe the eyewitnesses, they say they heard at least one of these terrorists shout in French, "we have avenged the prophet." And then you heard a few times, at least if you believe these eyewitnesses, the shouts of "Allahu Akbar, "God is great," in Arabic. So does it look like there's much of a question about the motivation for this specific target, right?

BOBBY GHOSH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, yes, the stated motivation seems to be quite obvious. Of course, many Muslims, the majority of Muslims, will probably retort that what these people have done have actually blackened the name of the prophet and of their faith by claiming to kill innocent people in his name. But, yes, I think the - I think all the fingers are pointing in the direction of some radical Islamist group, whether they were local or whether they were influenced at least from outside the country, we're going to find out pretty soon, I think.

One of the things that you know, the nature of terrorism, is that the group responsible will take responsibility for it. They will in their -- you don't conduct an operation like this and then simply give up what they would regard as the bragging rights. They may not give the names of the people who actually did it, but somebody pretty soon, in a matter of days, perhaps even hours, will be claiming responsibility for this attack.

BLITZER: And the fact that they covered their face, they were wearing masks, Bobby, they clearly don't want to be known. If they do release a video, I assume that video will have one of these terrorists talking with a mask on his face.

GHOSH: Yes.

BLITZER: Would that be a fair assumption?

GHOSH: Yes, we've seen that movie literally very, very often over the past few years, Wolf. That's very much the nature of these things. There will probably be a statement. There will be some (INAUDIBLE) pronouncements. There will be exaggerated claims of what this thing was all about. But we really should judge these men by their actions rather than their pronouncements and the actions are plain to see.

BLITZER: I know there's a massive manhunt, General Hertling, underway in France right now, maybe spilling over into other neighboring countries in Europe as well. These guys, once they take off their masks, they throw away the weapons that they had and they start mulling around, how difficult will it be to find them?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It's extremely difficult, Wolf. And I think we've seen that already with the transfer of the cars, getting rid of the car they conducted the attack in, getting another one. We don't know if they've transferred that one again, too. All part of a planned operation.

But what's critically important, I think, is all of our State Departments have intelligence - or, excuse me, all of our embassies have intelligence teams within their country team. You know that. So they're quickly trying to gather information to share it with other U.S. facilities in Europe, while at the same time you have the nation of France attempting to share some of the information with the two other critical countries who are probably very interested in this, and that's Germany and Italy. Plus, you have European command, military headquarters that's in Brussels and they are trying to gather a lot of information through their different means and sharing it and acting as the synapse between governmental intelligence organizations.

So there's a plethora of people who are trying to get intel right now and share it. And luckily our embassies and our military in Europe are probably on high alert doing exactly some of those.

BLITZER: And we know there's a lot of closed circuit TV on the streets in Paris and elsewhere in France, throughout Europe, in fact. I'm sure people are going through those videotapes even as we speak, looking for any clues who might have been in that vehicle that escaped.

All right, guys, thanks very much. General Hertling, Christiane Amanpour, Bobby Ghosh, thanks for your expertise.

The attack in France is raising serious concerns here in the United States. Still ahead, we're taking a closer look at how U.S. counterterrorism agencies are responding. Much more on the breaking news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: We're following the Paris terror attack. The breaking news coming out of France. Today, here in Washington, President Obama strongly condemned this terror attack in Paris, calling it evil and cowardly. He also vowed to help France bring those gunmen, the terrorists, to justice. The secretary of state of the United States, John Kerry, who met with the president in the Oval Office earlier in the day, reiterated that message during a statement he made over at the State Department.

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JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: I would like to say directly to the people of Paris and of all of France that each and every American stands with you today, not just in horror or in anger or in outrage for this vicious act of violence, though we stand with you in solidarity and in commitment, both to the cause of confronting extremism and in the cause which the extremists fear so much and which has always united our two countries -- freedom.

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