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Brussels, Belgium, Extending its Highest Terror Alert Amid Terrorist Threat; Death Toll Rises in the Mali Hotel Attack. Aired 2- 3:00p ET

Aired November 22, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:00:14] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Breaking news this afternoon. Who is this man? Police say he is the third attacker at the Paris stadium. Investigators asking anyone with information to come forward.

Plus, Brussels still on highest alert, schools and subways still shut down the prime minister speaking moments ago telling residents to remain vigilant.

And it can only be called chilling. Two Eagles of Death Metal band mate talk about what happened inside the Bataclan Theater.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Several people hid in our dressing room, and the killers were able to get in and killed every one of them.

NEWSROOM starts now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Hello, everyone. Thanks for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Breaking news, Brussels, Belgium, is extending its highest terror alert amid a warning of a quote "possible --probable and possible threat." Underground subways will remain closed Monday. All schools are canceled. Just last hour, Belgian's prime minister, Charles Michel, asked the public to avoid shopping centers and large crowds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES MICHEL, BELGIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): -- an attack similar to what happened in Paris with several individuals. Even perhaps large offensive weapons in several places at the same time which leads us to think the potential target of those which are highly concentrated populations such as shopping centers, commercial centers, public transport. Finally, I want to confirm that the schools will be closed tomorrow in Brussels. Again, I want to indicate that everything is being implemented in order to have a return as quickly as possible to normal.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: He did not disclose specific reasons for this extraordinary terror alert, but we do know that lead suspect Salah Abdeslam was last seen near the Belgium border. He is still at large.

And also today, police want the public's help in identifying this man. French officials just released this photo of the third stadium attack suspect who blew himself up outside the entrance gate.

Let's get to CNN's senior international correspondent Ivan Watson who is live for us right now in Paris.

So Ivan, what more do we know about this third suspect?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not a whole lot. Basically, the French now still trying to piece together some of the bloody events of the night of the 13th of November with this very public appeal now and this photo that they published. We don't know quite where they got the initial photo. Calling for any information possible to try to figure out who this third potential suicide bomber could have been outside that stadium.

So it just goes to show what a massive project the authorities have to try to put together the people who carried out this atrocity here in the French capital - Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then, Ivan, we just heard from the Belgian prime minister. We talked about subways remaining closed and even schools. So how long is this expected to take place?

WATSON: I don't think we really know. But it really shows how worried right now the authorities are in Belgium, in Brussels. And you have to remember that Brussels is not just the capital of Belgium or relatively small country of 11 million people, it's also the capital of the European Union.

Now, at the highest threat level that the Belgian government has for terrorist threats, for terrorist risks, extraordinary measures being taken, shutting down schools for a day. Of course shutting down the subway system. France has not gone quite to such an extent, but it has adopted a number of serious measures.

For example, it's warning the education ministry here is warning parents when they drop their kids off at school, don't spend a lot of time outside the school. Just drop them off and move on quickly. They don't want large groups gathering there. They are going be searching children's backpacks as they go in to schools. And it just goes to show again some of the worries that the French have as well. And perhaps -- I mean, it's just speculation, the fact that both the Belgians and the French have concerns about their schools suggest perhaps there might be some intelligence out there leading them to worry about their school systems. It just shows again how much the authorities in these two countries are very much on edge.

Another thing that's worth adding, the French military, the Navy, is moving its aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle into the eastern Mediterranean right now presumably to bring more air power to its aerial campaign against suspected ISIS targets in Syria, bringing more jets, more warplanes into that sphere, into that field of battle right now. Another development far away from French and Belgian shores -- Fredricka.

[14:05:25`] WHITFIELD: Incredible developments for a new week, and this as Belgium, essentially at least Brussels, you know, shuts down for a weekend and now continuing into the week.

All right. Thank you so much, Ivan Watson.

All right. Also new today, we have shocking new images from inside the Paris apartment where the alleged ringleader of the attack was killed during a police raid. The destruction in this Saint-Denis apartment is from a suicide bomb strapped to an unidentified third suspect. Police say entire floors were destroyed and a whole ceiling blown off during that massive blast.

And as the manhunt for any lead toward that Paris terror suspect Salah Abdeslam, that intensifies. We are also learning new details about his frantic being favor of the moments before he disappeared. Sources close to the investigation say he may have had plans for an additional attack near the location where he abandoned this getaway car.

I want to bring in CNN's national security analyst Juliette Kayyem.

So Juliette, goo to see you. Let's talk about these locations here, particularly where Abdeslam allegedly parked that black rental car. The attacks occurred in the 10th and 11th (INAUDIBLE) of Paris and police found this car in the 18th. So there has been no attack in that area that day yet. When ISIS issued a statement the next morning they kind of glorified the attacks in the 10th, 11th, and 18th (INAUDIBLE). And do you think this could mean that he was intending to attack there? What do investigators do with that kind of information?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I think it absolutely means that there were more attacks planned for that night and that what was sort of a relatively very successful terrorism attack when you just think of the numbers and the response that it was trying to be even more successful, that there were other pieces to the attack that got thwarted. And we don't know why. I mean, we don't know if there were additional people who would have -- who have now gone missing or we don't know if individuals who had attacked certain places then were meant to move.

And this is unfortunately sort of typical that these plans get to about 80 percent, someone get one of the terrorists gets killed, a bomb vest doesn't go off, they never work quite as perfectly as the terrorist intended, even though this was an incredibly successful attack from their perspective.

WHITFIELD: And then police are asking for, you know, any help identifying this third stadium suicide bomber. So how would police have a photo database of suspected terrorists but not necessarily a name? KAYYEM: Right. And that may be just because they are monitoring so

many people at this stage. So what's likely happened is they saw this man, the unidentified man with others who they were monitoring so they have his picture. That then connects with another picture that they have from the night of the 13th. And so they are putting the pieces together. And that's just sort of a hint of how much intelligence is out there. It unfortunately often takes an incident to be able to, you know, connect these different dots. But he is clearly a stop suspect. What we don't know is, do they think he is still in France or is he in Belgium? I mean, clearly, the response of both of those countries suggest that there are, if not one, several people that they are looking at who they think still have plans in the works.

WHITFIELD: And what are your thoughts on Belgium and the prime minister, you know, helping to underscore businesses, you know, are all being impacted by the fact that metro remains closed, schools are going to be closed and that these warnings from the prime minister about parents dropping off their kids, not lingering, et cetera. How do you kind of survey all of this information? What does this tell you about what investigators know or suspect about plans or threats?

KAYYEM: Well, it tells me that when they started the lockdown they thought that an arrest or a disruption was imminent. And now they can't find who they are looking for. And the challenge that they are under, that every city is going to be under that decides to do a lockdown is what are going to be the conditions of opening up if you don't find these guys?

I'm quite surprised that they are extending this lockdown another day. I have got to believe that they are close to a disruption, or I hope so, because otherwise I don't know what conditions are going to then make people feel better about going out in public.

It's a very, very difficult stance for nations to close down cities for long periods of time. It's disruptive. It's psychologically disruptive. And they are going to have to figure out what do they say to people come Monday or Tuesday to get them back on the streets, which is the right thing to do, but still not make them too worried? But this is unsustainable much longer.

[14:10:18] WHITFIELD: Yes. I mean, it seems like out of an abundance of caution, yes, at the same time, it does kind of raise the level of fear and disruption among people as you said.

Juliette Kayyem, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, you will see what police in New York City are doing today to make sure they are prepared if anything were to happen in the U.S.

And this afternoon, we are hearing a chilling account about what happened inside the Bataclan Theater. The American rock band Eagles of Death Metal was on stage when gunfire suddenly rang out. The band was able to run off the stage and the lead singer, Jesse Hughes, described what happened in an interview with vice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSIE HUGHES, LEAD SINGER, EAGLES OF DEATH METAL: Several people hid in our dressing room, and the killers were able to get in and killed every one of them except for a kid who was hiding under my leather jacket.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: The killers got in your dressing room.

HUGHES: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Wow.

HUGHES: People were playing dead, and they were so scared. A great reason why so many were killed is because so many people wouldn't leave their friends and so many people put themselves in front of people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Of the 130 death that occurred in Paris that night, 89 of them were at the band's concert inside the Bataclan Theater. And an incredible moment captured before the shooting that night at the theater. This picture was taken just moments before the attack. The picture showing eager faces of fans waiting for the concert to begin. You see everyone smiling, throwing up peace signs. They are ready for a great evening. The band released a statement that while they are home safe they are worried and still trying to come to terms with what happened in France.

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[14:15:21] WHITFIELD: In New York today, homeland security secretary Jeh Johnson is reassuring everyone there are no current credible terror threats against the U.S.

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JEH JOHNSON, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: We know of no specific credible threat of a Paris-like attack directed against the U.S. homeland. We are and we continue to be and we have been concerned about copycat-like attacks as director Comey said on Thursday. We are concerned about the type of attack we have seen by a so-called lone wolf. This type of exercise is something to address that.

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WHITFIELD: Johnson was part of a drill with police and fire departments in New York where they conducted a three-hour active shooter drill at a lower Manhattan subway system.

Sara Ganim is live for us in New York.

So Sara, what did police go through in this drill that we know of? SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Fred. Yes, this was an

active shooter scenario in a New York subway, two shooters, 30 victim, some of them critically wounded, some casualties. And the purpose here was to test the collaboration between the NYPD and the New York City fire department. Not just to see how quickly they could respond and neutralize the shooter, but also how they could work together in those crucial first minutes to get to victim, to get people out to tend to them.

There has been some question about that collaboration between those two entities in the past and what the mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, said today, was that they found that they were able to find -- to set up a safe zone where the first responders could get to the victims, could aid them as the police were going after the bad guys.

WHITFIELD: And then this was planned before the Paris attacks, right? Or did they modify it at all as a result?

GANIM: That's right. This has been in the works for more than a year. They have been planning on doing this drill. They do drills like this often. But in this particular instance, because of what happened in Paris, they did make some last-minute changes. For example, one of the things they did was they added a suicide bomber vest to one of the shooters in this scenario so that they could test out that scenario, and that's because of what happened in Paris. Take a listen to what the NYPD chief of counterterrorism bureau said about this.

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CHIEF JAMES WATERS, NYPD COUNTERTERRORISM BUREAU: We have looked over the years obviously suicide belts in Afghanistan and Iraq and now most recently in Paris. So I thought it was most appropriate in the last planning session, which just was a couple days ago, to introduce that.

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GANIM: Now, in in addition, the NYPD has brought this unit together. It's called a standing counterterrorism unit just in the last year or so since the ""Charlie Hebdo"" attacks. It is going to be 500 officers by the end of the year specifically because of threats like this. Although, you heard Jeh Johnson say nothing credible at the moment. They always want to be prepared, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Absolutely. All right, Sara Ganim, thanks so much in New York.

All right, ahead, the death toll rises in the Mali hotel attack. And more survivors are telling us how they barely made it out alive. Don't miss their amazing stories next.

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[14:22:13] WHITFIELD: Mali begins three days of national mourning tomorrow as the death toll in Friday's hotel attack climbs to 22. By the time security forces rushed in to the Radisson Blu hotel and ended the siege, bodies were scattered across the floors. And incredibly, many others did survive.

Let's go to (INAUDIBLE), Mali where CNN international correspondent David McKenzie joins us live.

So David, you spoke to more survivors, didn't you?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. And one survivor in particular, an American specialist from the centers for disease control in Atlanta, Kathie Fazekas, she said really her training helped keep her alive as she went through harrowing hours as that attack unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHIE FAZEKAS, CDC SPECIALIST, ATTACK SURVIVOR: I emailed my husband and I just said something like there is something going on and I want you to know that I love you. And then when -- a few hours later when the fire down the hallway, I wrote another email and I said I do believe there are shooters here and if I don't make it I want you to know I love you and my family and my -- but I am coming home. I do this because I love doing this work. And where we are in the world that we need to continue on.

MCKENZIE: You committed to the work no matter what.

FAZEKAS: No matter what. This wasn't about Mali. This is about what I call idiots. I'll be back.

MCKENZIE: Was there any point really, any moment you thought, OK, this is it, this is the end of the road?

FAZEKAS: When the shooting came down the hallway, I was more nervous. I wasn't sure. But it wasn't going to end. I was going home. I knew I was going home. That's the end of it.

MCKENZIE: So when the signal came, what went through your head?

FAZEKAS: God. I'm so glad to see you guys. I don't know much French, but I could say (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE). I said it all the way down the hall. And I will say it again. These guys, every one of them that I mentioned, put their lives on the line for me that day, and I so appreciate that. And there is a group of people who can't make it out. And my heart goes out to their families. But I believe they were here doing what they loved and what they are committed to. And if that day were to come for me, someone would be saying that about me as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE: Well, you know, Kathie has deep experience in this part of Africa. She was with the Peace Corps in Syria and has spent many trips here trying to set up aspects of the centers for disease control. She really said that it was Malian forces that came in quickly, that saved her life, supported by the American security team. She said, you know, she owes her life to them and she's on her way home -- Fredricka. [14:25:05] WHITFIELD: All right. David McKenzie in Mali, thank you

so much.

Another country is aiming to join the fight against ISIS in Syria. So how soon will they join and how their airpower could help bring down ISIS, next.

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[14:28:29] WHITFIELD: Hello again. And thanks so much for joining us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Let's get back to our breaking story this hour. Brussels, Belgium, extending its highest terror alert amid a warning of a quote "probable and possible threat." Underground subways will remain closed Monday. All schools are canceled. And today police want the public's help in identifying this man. French officials just released this photo of the third stadium attack suspect who blew himself up outside the entrance gate.

Our CNN international correspondent Ivan Watson is live for us now in Paris.

So Ivan, we're just learning that the brother of that suspect on the run, Salah Abdeslam, said he might have changed his mind about the attack at the last minute. What do we know about that? Why do they believe that?

WATSON: That's right. Well, this is Mohamed Abdeslam. He is a brother of two brothers who are viewed as key suspects in the Paris attacks. One of them, Ibrahim, was killed, he was one of the suicide bombers, so he is out of the picture. But Salah Abdeslam, is the target of this international manhunt and nobody has really seen him since the attacks.

Well, Mohamed was briefly detained by Belgian authorities, question, and then released. And he has made a number of statements to CNN and to the public, the most recent of which he raises the prospect that perhaps his 26-year-old younger brother basically got cold feet, that he didn't follow through, perhaps, with the terrible attacks here in Paris on the night of the 13th of November. And he also reiterated an appeal that he has made in the past to CNN and to other publications urging his younger brother to please turn himself in, saying he rather see him in prison than in a cemetery -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ivan Watson, thanks so much. Next time we talk I definitely want to know how it is this one brother and two other brothers would go separate ways. Maybe he had an explanation about that. I'll ask you that next time we see each other.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama is ratcheting up his rhetoric on ISIS. His message for the terrorists -- you will be destroyed. The president spoke at a news conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this morning using some of his strongest language and tone yet, promising to take out the terror group. Our senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, has the latest. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Good afternoon, everybody.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Overseas for more than a week, but well aware of a fearful nation back home, President Obama sounded more like a leader at war.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Our coalition will not relent. Destroying ISIL is not only a realistic goal, we're going get it done and we're going to pursue it with every aspect of American power and with all the coalition partners that we've assembled. It's going to get done.

ACOSTA: At a news conference in Malaysia, the president once again defended his strategy for defeating ISIS, but instead of brushing off questions about his policy as he did last week, he acknowledged Americans are deeply worried.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: We're not afraid to not elevate, to somehow buy into their fantasy that they're doing something important. They're a bunch of killers and we fight them and we beat them.

ACOSTA: The president said he just may be able to join forces with Russian President Vladimir Putin to wipe out the terror group after the attacks in Paris and on the Metrojet airliner.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: I discussed with President Putin in a brief pull- aside his need to recognize that he needs to go after the people who killed Russian citizens.

ACOSTA: And he called on Americans to show compassion to the thousands of Syrian refugees he wants to welcome into the U.S. despite poll numbers showing Americans are resistant to the idea.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Refugees who end up in the United States are the most vetted, scrutinized, thoroughly investigated individuals that ever arrive on American shores.

ACOSTA: The president also appeared to have choice words for Donald Trump.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want surveillance of these people.

ACOSTA: And the GOP front-runners' proposals to conduct more surveillance on Muslims in the U.S.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: We must absolutely reject that we are somehow at war with an entire religion. Prejudice and discrimination helps ISIL.

ACOSTA: Knocked back on his heels after his initial response to the Paris attacks was widely panned the sometimes more cerebral president ended this foreign trip speaking from the gut, urging Americans to avoid giving into fear.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Hello! How are you all doing?

ACOSTA: A point punctuated with a stop to a refugee center in Malaysia, a visit Mr. Obama reflected on as he left the country.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: If you are a parent and you saw those kids and you thought about what they had gone through, the notion that we couldn't find a home for them anywhere in the United States of America, that's -- that is contrary to our values. The most powerful tool we have to fight ISIL is to say that we're not afraid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: As soon as the president returns to Washington, he's scheduled to welcome French President Francois Hollande for a critical meeting at the White House on the war against ISIS. It's a war the French president wants to ratchet up. The key question is whether President Obama will join him. Jim Acosta, CNN, with the president in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

WHITFIELD: British Prime Minister David Cameron will travel to Paris to hold talks with French President Hollande on the fight against. Cameron will soon layout a plan to expand Britain's involvement in fighting ISIS including launching air strikes in Syria.

He's expected to present his proposal to the British parliament as early as this week. Back in the U.S., former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel discussed the strategy in Syria and what he thinks the focus there should be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK HAGEL, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: I don't think you're going to find a resolution to Assad until you figure out how you're doing to deal with ISIS and you bring the different groups, element, countries, leaders, together on some unification.

[14:35:04] We're going to have differences with Iran for years and years, with Russia for years, but you can't let those differences dictate or you can't become captive to the differences.

Let's center on the core threat, the common threat, build out from there. If you can build some platform of stability, that gets you to a point where you can start to maybe unravel some of this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's discuss this further with Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. He is a CNN military analyst and retired army commanding general out of Europe and as well as the 7th Army. All right, good to see you, General.

Your title gets longer and longer every time we talk. But I learn new stuff all the time. All right, General, so, you know, the president is pretty confident when he says, you know, ISIS will be destroyed.

So is the president's confidence in your view I guess gaining strength in large part because Russia and France to name a few are lending greater support in this, you know, worldwide effort to defeat ISIS?

LT. GENERAL MARK HERTLING (RETIRED), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, it is, Fred, and here's why. I mean, there have been several people who have said that the president or the administration does not have a strategy. In fact, they have.

And we're starting to see some key pieces of that strategy add to the fight against ISIS. And what I mean by that, we have been conducting the campaign in Syria and Iraq for the last year. We've always said it was going to be long campaign.

But the president has also said there are other aspects of this campaign that aren't given as much attention, and that is stopping the flow of Jihadis, the ones passing through the Turkish borders, going online and attempting to counter the ISIS messaging and the ISIS ideology, and trying to get a bigger and stronger coalition that will all contribute to that.

There have been other things that have contributed to all of those areas, primarily because of the recent attacks in Paris and Egypt and other places. So other countries are beginning to see that they must form this coalition to fight this scourge of criminals.

And I do believe that it is going to be a long campaign, a generational campaign. But it's going to take worldwide emphasis, and we're beginning to see other countries, Mr. Cameron is a pure poise to win over the Torre and the labor party members of parliament that have been preventing him from contributing to this campaign.

It appears that he's poised to get more support for that, so this is another ally that will contribute in many ways. And the focus is almost primarily on the bombing of ISIS in Syria, but all these coalition partners are doing very many other things under the radar.

And yes, I do believe there is a growing crescendo of an offensive movement against ISIS.

WHITFIELD: You mentioned a lot of interesting things there, and adding to the mix with the military, I guess, you know, muscle would be the United Kingdom getting involved with air strikes in Syria as well. You underscore that.

But then you mentioned something that really piques my interest when you talk about the stopping of the flow of Jihadis. We know it's well documented Turkey's border is very porous with Syria, and, you know, this is not something, or is it, correct me if I'm wrong, this is not something that military strategy can assist on.

So what will it take when you have porous borders between certain nations, the flow of Jihadis is very easy, what will it take in order to put up barriers so that that cannot continue? That's part of, you know, decapitating, right, ISIS or other terror groups from being able to do what it is that they do?

HERTLING: Absolutely. This is -- this is partly a military issue, partly a diplomatic issue, and partly an internal security issue. The police within Turkey, they have improved over the last six months, they have been able to execute some reform in their border crossing, but it's not quite there yet.

Indicators from Mr. Cameron's initial discussions on what his strategy is, that he will present to the members of parliament on Thursday of next week, one of the factors that probably isn't going to get a lot of attention is continued emphasis on a 60-mile stretch of the Turkish border that British planes can actually attack.

It's a place on the Turkish border. Turkey is a NATO ally. They've discussed this in various meetings at Brussels. Turkey has said how can you assist us? Although sometimes it doesn't appear that they want that much assistance.

But many nations have to contribute, not only along the border trace between Turkey and Syria, but also stopping the fighters from their country going, and I think that's going to be another element of Mr. Cameron's strategy.

WHITFIELD: Also stopping the cash flow, right?

HERTLING: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Because if certain countries or people are still buying that oil on the black market then, you know, I mean, terror groups like ISIS continue to have the money that they need to recruit, to, you know, dispatch people, and carry out these attacks.

[14:40:11] HERTLING: Yes, exactly. You are exactly right, Fred. That is probably -- you know, everyone likes to focus on the bombing, but I would suggest the number-one line of effort against ISIS is drying out their money supply, and that comes from a variety of resources.

It's not just the oil flow that they're working on the black market, but it's also contributions from some nations in the area that actually contribute to terrorism. So those are the things --

WHITFIELD: So better identifying some of those nations and putting the pressure on.

HERTLING: Absolutely. That's a huge pressure. And when you have more members of the coalition they can help dry up that funding, that's almost as dangerous as bombing ISIS in Syria.

WHITFIELD: OK, we'll leave it right there. Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, thanks so much.

HERTLING: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: The French government has also stepped up its bombardment of ISIS targets in Syria. Their aim, the militant group's self- declared capital of Raqqah. It is being pounded by waves of air strikes and hit on the ground by Kurdish fighters.

An exclusive reporting CNN international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, is seeing the fighting first hand from the Kurdish front line 20 miles outside of Raqqah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Air strikes repeatedly pound Raqqah, but it's here that any ground offensive by the Kurds towards the capital of ISIS, self-declared caliphate, would have to begin, and still a sense of stalemate. Their ultimate goal of Raqqah is visible on a good day in the far distance and at times in the past few days hit by ISIS mortars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, don't miss Nick's full exclusive report from Syria tomorrow morning on "NEW DAY" starting at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time. We'll be right back.

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[14:45:27]

WHITFIELD: In the race for the White House, Donald Trump's lead is in double digits over his closest competitor. A new poll for "The Washington Post" and ABC News shows Trump at 32 percent, Ben Carson at 22 percent followed by Senator Marco Rubio with 11 percent. The rest of the field is in single digits.

This comes as Trump doubles down on his calls to keep track of Muslims in the United States. Here's what he said this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): I definitely want a database and other checks and balances. We want to go with watch lists. We want to go with databases where they come in. When I look at those migrations and when I look at the migration and the lines and I see all strong, very powerful looking men, they're men. And I see very few women, I see very few children. There's something strange going on. I don't want to close mosques. I want to surveil mosques. I want mosques surveilled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN correspondent, Chris Frates, in Washington now. Chris, despite rather unusual controversial statements from GOP candidates, Trump and Carson, are still on top. What does this say about the electorate and this election cycle?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. So this is like pretty interesting. We played a lot of Trump sound there, but let's not forget Ben Carson also said some interesting things on the campaign trail today, some controversial things this week where he said that refugees -- he compared them to rabid dogs. There was a lot of heated rhetoric out there. What I thought

was so interesting about this poll is it's kind of the first time we've take an snapshot of the campaign as it is after Paris, and what we're seeing is like terrorism hasn't kind of come to the fore here.

We've seen that people still very much want somebody by big margins who can come in and change Washington. They want that outsider. So that dynamic, which has dominated this race, continues to be the same.

When you look at this ABC poll, Trump continues to be the guy who most people think can bring that outside change to Washington. You know, he gets 47 percent on that. So you have a situation here where, you know, the economy's still on top and terrorism is a second to that even after these attacks.

So you know, I think what we're seeing is that perhaps the Paris attacks didn't change the dynamics in the race here, Fred, as much as we thought they may have coming in.

WHITFIELD: All right, Chris Frates, thanks so much. We'll check back with you.

All right, straight ahead, an American journalist is sentenced to prison in Iran. Why his employers say it's a sham and what might happen, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:52:12]

WHITFIELD: An American journalist has been sentenced to prison in Iran allegedly for spying. Jason Rezaian, a Tehran bureau chief for "The Washington Post," has been detained in Iran since July of last year while a verdict was issued neither the journalist nor his attorney received it.

The foreign editor of "The Washington Post" calls the trial and sentence a, quote, "scam." The 39-year-old Rezaian has been held longer than any American journalist in Iran. CNN's Ian Lee is in Cairo with more.

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, "Washington Post" bureau chief, Jason Rezaian, has received a prison sentence according to Iran's judicial spokesman. He was tried on espionage charges. The Iranian-American has been detained in a prison for almost 500 days.

What we don't know are the details of the charges or verdict against Rezaian or the length of his sentence. This comes amid ongoing domestic tensions between moderates around Iranian President Rouhani and hardliners in the government.

There was hope that following the nuclear deal, that tensions would thaw between Washington and Tehran leading to Rezaian's release. Iranian leaders have suggested a possible prisoner swap in the past.

"The Washington Post" says they're aware of this development and added, "Every day that Jason is in prison is an injustice. He has done nothing wrong. Even after keeping Jason in prison 487 days so far, Iran has produced no evidence of wrongdoing. His trial and sentence are a sham, and he should be released immediately."

Rezaian's sentencing comes amid a crackdown on journalists in Iran. The United Nations Human Rights investigators have called on Iran to cease arresting, harassing, and prosecuting journalists. They've also urged the Iranian government to release all journalists including Rezaian -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Ian Lee, thank you so much.

Ahead, loved ones of a Massachusetts teen killed overseas in Israel are gathering today to say their final goodbyes. We'll have more on the 18-year-old who died in an attack while delivering food to Israeli troops, next.

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WHITFIELD: Welcome back. Loved ones are gathered at a funeral just outside Boston for an American teen killed in the attack in the West Bank. The 18-year-old Ezra Schwartz had just graduated from high school and was studying abroad in Israel.

Israeli authorities say he was killed by a Palestinian gunman on Thursday, and one of Schwartz's friends shared a message on his Facebook page saying, quote, "Even though I only knew you for three months it felt like I knew you forever. Rest in peace to one of the greatest friends I will ever have. The positive attitude you wrought to everything you did was incredible and just having you around always made everyone more happy."

Here's more now from our affiliate WCVB.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watched him grow, you know.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER (voice-over): His roots were in Sharon, but Ezra Schwartz's heart was in Israel, his rabbi says, drawn to the country to study for a year before going to college.

DEBBIE SUSSMAN, DIRECTOR OF CAMP YAVNEH: Ezra was a fun-loving, funny, silly, wonderful guy, big heart.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: That generosity on display in a final act of charity, delivering food to Israeli troops. Authorities say a Palestinian man on a rampage crossed his path, spraying the street with bullets. Ezra was one of five killed in a series of attacks.

LORI KIPNES, MAIMONIDES SCHOOL TEACHER: The whole school went into shock. I mean, the middle school and upper school immediately canceled classes and everybody came together to pray.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The 18-year-old graduated from Maimonides Jewish day school in Brookline this year where the brutality of the attack paralyzed teachers and students.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's devastating. It's heartbreaking is what it is.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: During a prayer service at the Sharon synagogue his family attends, the grief was overwhelming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tonight I think thoughts were really on the family, on the boy.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: There is sadness here but also frustration and anger over violence gripping Israel and claiming promising young lives.

SUSSMAN: Why this young, vibrant man, why was he cut down really at 18 years old?

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