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New Details in Copenhagen Terror Investigation; Deadly Shooting at Freedom of Speech Forum; Hurricane-Force Winds Hit Cape Cod; U.N. Holds Emergency Meeting on Yemen; ISIS Reach Now Extends to Libya; How to Handle Lone Wolf Terror Threats?

Aired February 15, 2015 - 17:00   ET

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


POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everyone, you're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Poppy Harlow joining me in New York.

This hour, major developments in the war against terror. Police investigating yesterday's terror attack in Copenhagen. New details about why the gunman may have targeted a cartoonist for assassination.

And ISIS terrorists released a new unbelievable video, a depraved video, claiming to have beheaded more than a dozen Christian.

And this hour the U.N. meets to discuss the chaos in Yemen, where the entire U.S. embassy staff and U.S. Marines were evacuated earlier this week.

But first, we are following the breaking news at this hour. Twin terror attacks in Denmark, which may have been inspired by last month's deadly attacks in Paris.

These incredible new pictures revealing the moment the Danish Police gunned down the terror suspect. This is the body of the man believed to be behind both attacks in Copenhagen. These bullet holes a horrifying sign of what happened inside this cafe, where Denmark's day of terror began. A crowd had gathered there for a Free Speech Forum with a cartoonist on al Qaeda's hit list when the gunman opened fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I realized that every time we talk about activity of those people, there will be always, yes, it is freedom of speech, but, and the turning point is but. Why do we still say but when we --

(GUNFIRE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Just imagine being in there and hearing that happen. Absolute chaos in the middle of the day. One person was killed in that attack. Three officers were wounded, but it seems his deadly rampage had just begun. Ten hours after that, it is believed that the same man, the same gunman made his way, possibly by taxi, to a nearby Jewish synagogue, approaching two officers there, spraying them with bullets, their lives thankfully were spared. A bystander, though, was killed.

The similarities between these attacks and what happened in Paris are incredibly disturbing. In Paris a deadly shooting at the office of the satirical magazine "Charlie Hebdo." Cartoonists known for their controversial depictions of the Prophet Mohammed. In Denmark, the target believed to be a Swedish cartoonist who in 2007 drew the Prophet Mohammed as a dog, an animal that some conservative Muslims consider unclean.

And then the anti-Semitic element to all of this, in both, in Paris, the target was a kosher grocery store, in Denmark a synagogue.

Let's go straight to our Nic Robertson. He joins us now in Copenhagen.

Nic, thank you, for being with us. I know you've been on top of this story since it broke late yesterday. What can you tell us police are saying right now about the similarity between what happened there and what happened in Paris?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What the police are saying is that they believe that this young man, the man that they killed on the street behind me in the early hours of this morning may have been influenced by the events in Paris, the attack on "Charlie Hebdo" cartoonists and the attack in the kosher supermarket.

They say that he may have been inspired by what they called radical ISIS propaganda, but they're also saying that this is a young man who seems to have had a troubled past. They say he is 22 years old, that he was born here in Denmark, that in fact he had connections with -- connections with gangs, that he had a violent past, he had a criminal record, and some of that, his criminality activities, involved illegally having weapons.

So the picture that the police are painting here at the moment is a young man with a violent track record, who has weapons, but also who may have been radicalized by online propaganda -- Poppy.

HARLOW: We know they're not naming him -- naming him yet, and I'm wondering if you know why that is, as well as what we know about these two other people just arrested today at a nearby Internet cafe.

ROBERTSON: Yes. The police aren't saying why they arrested those two other men at the Internet cafe. It's part of a wider operation. What the police have said is they remain concerned about the possibility of an accomplice. They say those attacks yesterday were perpetrated by just the one man, the suspect gunman who was shot here. They believe he was -- he was the only person involved in those attacks, but they're concerned they say that he may have an accomplice, or they're also worried about the possibility of a copycat type of attack.

So the operations continue as they try to gather more information about him. But it does seem at the moment that perhaps one of the reasons that police are not publicly naming the man so far, although there is a lot of speculation in local media about who he is, certain suggestions and photographs have been published, but the police themselves aren't naming him, potentially because they're still trying to gather more information. Potentially trying to find more people connected to him, if they exist, Poppy.

HARLOW: And do we know at this point in time, Nic, or do you believe it's just too soon to say whether there is any true connection to al Qaeda or ISIS? It's one thing, I think, to be inspired by something, say, what happened in Paris, it's another thing to have been trained by them or radicalized online.

ROBERTSON: You know, the first impression that this creates at the moments are that that's not the case, that he doesn't have those deep -- those deep connections, that he isn't somebody who has gone up to Iraq or Syria to join ISIS. That said, it's the concern about that that has the police continuing with their investigation, the continuing high level of security here in Copenhagen. And this is -- the sort of broader worry that this may not be over. And it would be because of those types of connections.

But at the moment it does seem perhaps this man was just acting alone and perhaps didn't have strong connections to any particular group, but perhaps, as the police say, just inspired by them in some way to act -- Pop.

HARLOW: Nic Robertson, thank you very much for your reporting. We appreciate it.

It is believed the gunman's primary target at that Free Speech Forum was Swedish artist Lars Vilks. No stranger to threats, he has survived two previous attempts on his life for his controversial cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. Al Qaeda even put him on their most wanted poster back in 2007. Since then he has traveled with bodyguards and has to check his car for bombs.

He just spoke with CNN about the deadly attack that almost took his life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARS VILKS, CARTOONIST: I've been having the problem since 2007, and I've been to several instance. This one was the worst because I've never been up to shots counts before. And I have to say, I mean, the protection was, I mean, good, in one way even if the police protection could have been better. They didn't really count on the strength of the terrorist's machine gun. I mean he had -- had equipment which was very surprising for them. So they had some difficulty in striking back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Well, while Lars Vilks escaped gunfire, his security detail did not. One of them shot and injured.

Let's talk about this with Jim Cane, former U.S. ambassador to Denmark.

Thank you for being here, sir. I appreciate it. JIM CAIN, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO DENMARK: Happy to, Poppy. Thank

you.

HARLOW: One of bodyguards that was protecting Lars Vilks who's clearly been a target a number of times, is someone that worked in your security detail when you were in your position there. Do you have any sense on how he is doing at this hour?

CAIN: Yes, Poppy, the Danes have a very top-notch security detail, similar to our Secret Service. And the detail that protects the U.S. ambassador also was protecting Mr. Vilks in this case yesterday. And the head of that detail was one of those shot, not fatally, thank goodness, shot seriously. He was operated on last night and I've texted with him today, and he's OK.

But that just demonstrates, Poppy, that the Danes were aware of this threat, they were prepared for the threat. And if not for the expertise and the response of the Danish Secret Service, then we could have had a situation in Copenhagen much like Paris two months ago when 12 people were killed because, as Lars Vilks just said, the perpetrators of this crime in Copenhagen weren't -- were prepared expecting the kind of response they got from the Danish Protective Force.

HARLOW: I'm glad to hear that he is doing all right. A tragedy, though, still, with two lives claimed and a new better of people injured.

Let me ask you this. Lars Vilks did tell our Fredricka Whitfield in her interview here with him on CNN that it appeared that the police were outgunned by the attacker. And I'm wondering if you think that the bodyguards and the police were adequately armed.

CAIN: Well, typically in Denmark, as in most of Scandinavia, the police would not carry heavy weapon with them. They would carry only sidearms. And frankly many of the policemen themselves don't carry sidearms, Poppy. So in the case of guarding the ambassadors or the prime minister or the cartoonist who drew the cartoons, the Prophet Mohammed in 2005 in Denmark or Mr. Vilks, the detail would probably be a couple of men and they'd have only light sidearms.

So if the -- if the perpetrator, the terrorist showed up with automatic weapon, which we've been told, that they would have not had on their immediate persons weapons as strong as he had, although they would have been in their -- in their vehicles that would have been parked close by.

HARLOW: So very quickly, do you think that we should see security detail, the police, carrying stronger weapons?

CAIN: Well, absolutely in situations like this. Look, the Danes have been prepared for this kind of attack since 2005, when the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard published his cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. Even when I was in Denmark there were five different plots to blow up the newspaper, to attack the cartoonist, to attack the American ambassador, and Danes have taken that threat very seriously, just as we must in the -- in the West and in America.

So we've got to be prepared for this type of attack, Poppy, wherever episodes like a rally for someone who's published cartoons offensive to extremist elements is going to take place. So I'd say yes, we've got to make sure our law enforcement and intelligence services are adequately prepared for those kind of attacks. We know we've seen in Paris, and in Copenhagen, and in Sweden, and in Netherlands, and the UK and other places around the world.

HARLOW: Ambassador, thank you very much. Please stay with me. We're going to take a break but ahead, we're going to talk about this. Denmark is a small country with a big bull's eye on it for jihadists. Was an attack like this only a matter of time? That's ahead.

Also, a gruesome, troubling new video from ISIS. The beheading of more than a dozen Christians, chilling evidence that ISIS may be expanding its reach far beyond the borders of Iraq and Syria.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: A deadly day in Denmark, raising some serious questions about free speech and the future of an artistic medium that some find offensive.

A gunman opened fire outside a synagogue in Copenhagen yesterday after targeting a free speech forum at a local cafe. An artist known for his controversial depictions of the Prophet Mohammed was inside.

Back with me now, Jim Cain, former U.S. ambassador to Denmark.

Thank you for being with us, sir. Let me begin with this. Where do you stand on cartoons that some find offensive versus the right of free speech and expression around the globe?

CAIN: You know, Poppy, that's an interesting question. We of course confronted that issue head on in late 2005, which Denmark, which theretofore had been seen a little fantasy land, with the home of Hans Christian Andersen, and Little Mermaid and Lego, and a queen that everybody loves, published the 11 cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, and Denmark found itself under attack in 26 countries in the world.

And so when the attack started, we as the American embassy had to play a role and to try to -- try to stand up for free speech and the freedom of the press while at the same time trying to quell the violence, calm the violence, and act, if you would, as mediators.

So the issue which for us erupted almost 10 years ago now on the streets of Copenhagen, which has now come back again in the incident yesterday brings -- bring to the forefront this question of how can we in the West with our fundamental belief and the freedom of speech, how can we balance that with the closely held sincere religious beliefs that some have, and it's not just extremists, it's Muslims throughout the world, have --

HARLOW: Right. CAIN: That -- that is offensive when you depict the Prophet Mohammed.

It's one of the four tenets of Islam. And so, you know, we in the U.S. understand that sincere religious beliefs are things that you don't go out of your way to insult, but I will tell you that not everybody in the world, you know, necessarily has that --

HARLOW: Well -- and --

CAIN: That balance, and that's the challenge that we face now in the West.

HARLOW: Well, Ambassador, let me ask you this, because in the wake of the Paris attacks, so many people, you know, held signs and wore T- shirts, and on social media, " Je suis Charlie," saying they clearly supporting this. They may not agree with the cartoons, for example, depicting the Prophet Mohammed in one way or another, but what they stand for ultimately is free speech.

There have been cartoonists here in the United States, for example, who have done frankly the same thing. Also "Charlie Hebdo," for example, and this artist, Lars Vilks, haven't just criticized the Prophet Mohammed in a -- in a depiction, other religions have been depicted in these ways.

So I wonder, where you stand on that? Are you saying that we -- that images like this that are offensive to some should not be put out?

CAIN: No, no, I'm not, Poppy. I would point out that there's a reason that major newspapers in America, including your own network, have not reprinted the cartoons that appeared in Denmark nine years ago or that Lars Vilks drew five years ago in Sweden. And the reason we haven't is because in America we've learned to balance the protection and love of free speech with respect for the beliefs and the background and ethnicities and race and creeds of others.

There are in America, you know, words that we don't say, the racial expressions we don't use. There's the concept of hate speech in America. That balance that we've struck in America, for reasons of civility and peace and harmony, is really what's at stake now in this -- in what we see around the world in these Muslim Mohammed cartoons.

We have to stand up for the -- of course, the fundamental belief in free speech and the freedom of the press. We just have to be vigilant because we know that in the Muslim faith when we print cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, we're not just angering, you know, 5,000 extremists bent on jihad, we're angering a billion people around the world. Then we have to be prepared for the consequences.

And thank goodness in Denmark they were prepared for that, which is why we don't have a "Charlie Hebdo" situation in Copenhagen now. But we have unfortunately two who were victims, but it could have been so much worse.

HARLOW: It's a very important point. This is not just something that angers extremists, this is something that, you know, offends other Muslims as well. Before we go very quickly, sir, do you think we are seeing a change in

the tide here in terms of ISIS expanding far beyond Iraq and Syria, given -- we do not know if this was tied at all to ISIS, but given the targets, are you very concerned about what we're seeing happened across western Europe?

CAIN: Yes, very concerned, not just across western Europe, Poppy, but across the seas to North America. We know what's appearing in Denmark, we know what's happening in Paris, we know what's happening in the UK, and my only concern is whether we're facing it at home, and I'm concerned that perhaps some of our leaders in Washington aren't willing to face it, aren't willing to admit that we have global jihad that we've got to be prepared for here in America.

HARLOW: Ambassador Cain, thank you for coming on the program this evening. I appreciate it.

CAIN: Thank you, Poppy. Nice to be with you.

HARLOW: All right. Turning to the United States now and what will be some ugly weather to start out yet another week. It is already brutal in the Midwest.

Take a look at Chicago, three dozen cars in a chain reaction accident. A dozen people had to go to the hospital. We'll look at how bad it will be next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: More horrible winter weather. A blizzard warning still in effect for eastern Massachusetts, even though the storm is on its way out. It is leaving a powerful set of wind behind, along with bitterly cold temperature. Some of the coldest we have seen out east this season.

But further south, another big area of concern tonight and tomorrow. A big storm about to hit Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and the Carolinas.

Tom Sater joins me in the Severe Weather Center in Atlanta.

Tom, let's begin with Boston.

TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: OK.

HARLOW: Because they have just been just unfairly treated this winter.

SATER: True.

HARLOW: OK. They've taken the brunt of it over and over again.

SATER: Yes.

HARLOW: And I'm wondering, any sign for folks that this is going to be the last one? SATER: Well, I wish there could be some sign, but yet again, the

storm in the Midwest and into the Tennessee valley could end up again in New England, a little too early we can say, maybe even significant snow in the days ahead for D.C. and Philadelphia. But it may end up here.

Our problem now, extremely dangerous windchills, minus 20, minus 25, minus 30, minus 35. I mean, we've got warnings from Burlington to Boston into the Blue Ridge. Coldest air of the season, and we said that three times this week, as each air mass seems to trump, you know, the one before it.

Now let's back up because this has been amazing. If you look at the last several storms that we've had, January, our greatest snowfall record, and records go back to 1872, then we had a mid latitude one that came in from Iowa, across the Ohio Valley. Boston then had a couple clippers come out of Canada.

Typically to date, we should only have 28.6 inches to have fallen in Boston. Not 95. We're half inch from the second snowiest winter on record and one foot from the all-time record. And here comes the next one.

This is going to be a crippling storm with significant icing in parts of Little Rock, to Memphis. Nashville is going to be in significant snow, St. Louis to Louisville, to Cincinnati. The ice is going to be a problem, maybe half inch accumulation. And not just bridges and overpasses. This could stop traffic on major roads and major interstates such as 40.

Now your heaviest snow is just north of that ice line. And we're looking at the accumulations, really into parts of -- the entire state of Kentucky, could see in excess of a foot. This storm is going to drop possibly 5, 6 inches in St. Louis, maybe 4 to 7 in Nashville, it moves into eastern Kentucky with 14, and then into the Carolinas, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia.

Here's the track. Now we're still watching it closely, stays as rain mainly in the Atlanta area, although advisories and warnings to the north, but then the snow moves up for accumulation here.

Poppy, this is the one we'll watch to maybe move into Boston to beginning of, say, Tuesday night into Wednesday, but dangerous windchills are going to get even worse. This is extremely dangerous if you're outside with exposed skin for a period of time.

HARLOW: Yes. No question. Really tough on the road across the region. I'm hoping for my friends in Boston, they get a little bit of a break after this one.

SATER: Keeping fingers crossed. Yes.

HARLOW: Tom Sater, thanks for joining me. Appreciate it.

Cape Cod and the islands off the Massachusetts coast could still see hurricane-force winds before this system passes. Take a look at the drive from Cape Ann, Massachusetts, to Seabrook,

New Hampshire, shot by our crews on the road there. This was shot by one of our producers there with our Will Ripley, Chris Boyette. He joins me, Will Ripley does, from Seabrook.

There's also been some collapses. Some pretty dramatic pictures we've been seeing, roofs, et cetera. Because they've had all this snow piling on top, right?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Poppy, it really has been a busy day and expected to be a busy night for first responders here, not only because of those treacherous roads that you were talking about, that big pileup on I-95 outside of Boston, but also because all the heavy snow has accumulated on the rooftops.

Take a look at the result. Here in New Hampshire, we've had at least two roof collapses. This is a strip mall.

And, Poppy, it's remarkable, the weight of this snow, the brick facade of this building just crumbled. I mean, these are real bricks, but the snow was heavier. These were no match for the snow.

An apartment building, there was also a roof collapse, 30 people were displaced, Poppy. And then, you know, you think about the fact that this is happening, imagine if this had happened tomorrow when people are back to work. And that's the big concern here right now, that the snow is still sitting on a lot of rooftops, businesses like this one here, putting a lot of pressure on the buildings. And there could be some more problems in the coming hours and the coming days if those roofs don't get cleared off -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Will, I know here in the northeast, you know, we're used to this, right? We're used to know in the winter, and cities have budgets and they have the equipment to deal with it. But frankly it usually doesn't happen every single week. I'm wondering how the folks there, the folks up and down these coasts in Boston are dealing with this in terms of having the budgets and the equipment to clear the roads.

RIPLEY: You know, Poppy, I grew up in the northeast. And I've been talking to locals. Normally when we cover weather events, people say we're used to this, we're hardy New Englanders, but, you know, the fire captain here today said it this way. He said, I've never seen anything like this. I heard that from a snow removal crew. We talked to a number of locals who say this is really unprecedented, and not only that, but the cold and wind also unprecedented, too.

Look at this. This is our gustometer. We're recording gusts 20, 30 miles an hour, Poppy. The subzero windchils, it's cold, unlike what a lot of people have seen in a long time.

HARLOW: Well, you taught me something knew because I didn't even know gustometer existed.

(LAUGHTER)

Will Ripley, thank you. And now I do know.

RIPLEY: I did make that up. I made that name up.

(LAUGHTER)

HARLOW: Well, I think it's a good one.

Will Ripley, thank you to you and your crew behind the camera there, bearing it out with you. I appreciate it.

Coming up next, the collapse of stability in Yemen could make it even easier for terrorists that fought against the United States. Now the U.N. Security Council taking this up in a rare Sunday vote that just happened. We'll talk about that. The push for peace in a nation facing so much danger.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Happening right now, the United Nations Security Council in session. They just voted in this emergency meeting about a dangerous power grab in Yemen. The council just unanimously voting 15-0 to calls on Houthi militia to step down, to get out of government buildings, to release all captives.

Remember, the United States embassy just shut their embassy down in Yemen a few days ago, sent all personnel home.

Senior United Nations correspondent Richard Roth joins me now.

Richard, this is very rare for something like this to happen on a Sunday. What was the outcome? What's the significance of this?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Well, on a cold February day they come in on a Sunday to the U.N. because of another hot war, you might say. The one that's always brewing, it seems, in Yemen.

This is another key area of the Arabian Peninsula, which is -- could be up for grabs. A few days ago the secretary-general of the U.N. said Yemen is collapsing before our eyes. You have the Houthis, a group that has seized power, and now the Security Council is trying to tell them, give up that power as you may have promised and start talking -- and stop holding the president and his government, in effect, hostage under house arrest.

It was a unified 15-0 unanimous vote. Russia had to be coaxed along. They were not exactly siding with the Houthis but, look, Yemen, we've seen this now in almost every country, and for the United Nations, it's yet another challenge, where a group may not listen to piece of paper approved.

HARLOW: Well, that's -- I mean, that was my first thought is, OK, it's one thing to have the formality of this vote. What significance does that hold, if any, to the Houthis?

ROTH: Well, the U.N. has a point man, Mr. Benomar, on the ground there. And as we've seen with Libya and other lawless places, if you're ever going to find a way out of this somewhat diplomatically, the U.N. represents perhaps the sole, unilateral, honest broker, and there is the possibility, if there is going to be dialogue, that's what the U.N. is trying to encourage. There's no U.N. army, there are not going to be any U.S. boots on the ground there. But you also have al Qaeda that's been looming in the Arabian Peninsula.

It's been well pointed out by the U.S. government. You might have al Qaeda fighting the Houthis in Yemen, and to further complicate you have South Yemen.

HARLOW: Right.

ROTH: Which is not happy with what's happened and may also try to secede.

HARLOW: And the significance of this to the American public, for our viewers watching, you do not want Yemen to become a failed state, if it's not already.

ROTH: Right. That's right. That's right. You don't want not yet another failed state. A failed state that some in the U.S. government thought was under control and a success story a few months ago. So it's a big -- it's a big thing. It's far away from Americans, but it always comes home to roost.

HARLOW: Yes. It could be a training ground for terrorists.

Thank you very much, Richard Roth. I appreciate it.

We're going to take a quick break. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: All right. After this weekend's terror attack in Copenhagen, Denmark, the entire country remains on high alert right now, even though the man suspected of killing two people in two separate attacks is dead.

Astrid Sandberg joins me now. She's a correspondent with TV2 in Copenhagen. Joining me on -- in person, not on the phone.

Thank you for being here. I appreciate it very much. I'd like your sense. I mean, we've heard from our reporters on the ground what the officials are saying, et cetera. But I'm wondering from you, someone who is a native, what can you tell me about the mood on the ground from the people who are used to living in peace and have now gone through terror.

ASTRID SANDBERG, CORRESPONDENT, TV2 DENMARK: I can tell you that I have never seen this much police in Copenhagen as I have seen yesterday and today as well, but people are not surprised that we were attacked in Denmark. We have been living, knowing that this might happen because of the Mohammed drawings, because of where we are in the international politics. We are sad, but we are not surprised in Denmark. HARLOW: Sad but not surprised, in saying that the people there have

known that this may happen in part because of some of the cartoon drawings of the Prophet Mohammed. What are most people saying on the ground about whether they think cartoons like that that are offensive to some should be published or not?

SANDBERG: Well, it's actually quite interesting because people are not talking about the cartoons. It's behind us. It's something that happened years ago. Now we are talking about religion, actually that this should not be about religion. Both the Jewish community and the Arabic -- the Islamic community in Copenhagen and the normal Danish people, everybody agrees that this should not be a question about religion, and we -- I don't think that many people TV stations or media yesterday have discussed the cartoons at all because this is not about that.

HARLOW: Do you believe that this will change fundamentally what it feels like to live and to walk the streets there in your community? Right? You said you've never seen so many police officers, so many armed guards out. Do you think that is temporary? Or are we going to see a major shift here?

SANDBERG: Our Prime Minister Helle Thorning talked to the people of the country earlier today, and she said that we will have a lot of police on the streets the next couple of days, but this is also so we can feel safe, so we can feel secure. We will see the police and they will protect us. That's kind of what we are supposed to believe in. And it seems like that is what people take from it.

HARLOW: Astrid, thank you very much for joining me. I'm incredibly sorry about what happened there, to your community. I wish you all the best and thank you for joining me.

SANDBERG: Thank you.

HARLOW: First, Syria, then Iraq, but ISIS is showing every sign that it will not -- it will not be satisfied stopping there. Is Libya the next nation where it will find a foothold? A horrific new video showing how Libya is already being terrorized by ISIS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: In the Middle East, a horrifying new video from ISIS, showing the mass beheadings of Christians in Libya. Egypt confirming 21 deaths. The victims were Egyptian workers recently taken hostage in Libya. And until now the men's faith were unknown.

The jihadist statement at the beginning of the five-minute video, which CNN is not showing, makes very clear that these jihadists are waging a religious war. All of the Christians were killed on the beach, turning -- turning the ocean red with their blood.

ISIS-backed militants recently took control of the Libyan coastal town there. It was hometown of the late dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Due to the growing unrest in Libya, Italy has shut down its embassy in Tripoli and evacuated staff back to Italy.

The emergence of ISIS-backed jihadists in Libya was especially troublesome to U.S. lawmakers on Thursday as they grilled the director of the National Counterterrorism Center about the rising threat. Listen to this exchange with Marco Rubio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)