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Police Suspect Syrian Man in Brussels, Paris Attacks; U.S. Secretary of State Says U.S. Is Making Progress against ISIS; Cruz Blames Trump for Tabloid Story; The Doctors Treating Brussels Attack Victims. Aired 2-2:30a ET

Aired March 26, 2016 - 02:00   ET

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


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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): A new lead and another mug shot as European police investigate Tuesday's deadly attacks in Brussels with links to the November atrocities in Paris. Why this man's true identity is a mystery but his capture is a top priority. That's ahead here.

Plus this:

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JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: Over time, we are going to get back to a world where we feel that we can travel with impunity and feel safe.

ALLEN (voice-over): U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in the Belgian capital with a message of reassurance for its population.

And adding firepower in a war of words: the latest bout between Trump and Cruz on the campaign trail.

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ALLEN: I'll also bring you some reviews of the latest superhero film that are anything but super. Helo, everyone. This is CNN NEWSROOM. We're live in Atlanta. I'm Natalie Allen.

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ALLEN: We begin with the manhunt for one of the most wanted men in Europe right now. He may prove to be a critical figure in both the Brussels and Paris terror attacks.

His name Naim Al Hamed. Authorities say the 28-year-old Syrian is dangerous and probably armed.

According to France's "Le Monde" newspaper, his DNA was found at the apartment where the three Brussels airport bombers were picked up by a taxi on the day of the attacks.

It's not known if he's the mysterious man in white, the third bomber, who apparently escaped from the airport after his explosives failed to detonate. CNN's Saima Mohsin is in Brussels right now. She joins us now live.

Saima, the Paris attack suspect captured a few days ago there in Brussels, Salah Abdeslam, is apparently giving police more information.

What is he saying?

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What he's saying, Natalie, is that his role was very little in the part of the Paris attacks.

Salah Abdeslam, apparently according to transcripts that CNN affiliate BSM-TV (ph), our partners here in Europe, have got a hold of, is saying to police that he rented cars, rented hotel rooms for the attackers. He's basically trying to diminish his role and his part in these horrendous attacks in Paris.

He also went on to share with police that any expenses involved with the attacks were handled by his brother. All the money came from him, his older brother, who we know now, of course, was one of the suicide bombers in the Paris attacks.

And he also said that he only met Abdelhamid Abaaoud once during the entire time of the planning and the carrying-out of the attacks and that was the night before the attacks -- Natalie.

ALLEN: Well it's 7:00 there in the morning in Brussels. It looks like a pretty day after they've had a bleak week and lots of rain.

I'm just wondering, is the airport going to continue to stay closed for a while, while they continue to investigate?

MOHSIN: The main Zaventem airport remains shut here. Over the last few days, it has been opened up, Natalie, for passengers who literally had to abandon the planes on the tarmac or their luggage that was checked in and run for their lives. Passengers have been allowed to come in slowly and retrieve their luggage.

It is, though, strange, Natalie. I've been looking up into the sky. I don't know if you can see across the spire now. The trails of planes that are starting to go out into the sky. It's strange to see them here.

There are other smaller airports that are functioning now. The metro station as well, largely limited services. Out of the 80 stops, only half are open, including, of course, Maelbeek Station. I spent the day there yesterday, Natalie, extraordinary to see.

It's not just those killed and injured but the entire community that's been affected. Let's take a look.

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MOHSIN (voice-over): Reaching out for reassurance in the center of the city, a quiet moment for just two people of so many who have been touched by this tragedy. Local residents who use this station every day, tears in their eyes, struggling to absorb why they're under attack.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is our city and we didn't ask for nothing. We are just -- we are struck by that but it's not our business. We are not -- we don't have anything to do with that. If they go and fight a war, I understand and we respect that. But not in our city.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are very, very sad that all these things are happening all over the world, not only in Brussels.

[02:05:00]

MOHSIN (voice-over): Workmen opened the shutters to reveal the empty ticket hall, seen here through smashed glass.

In an exclusive look, these are the first pictures of the scene underground since the attack. Reminders of the violence and carnage remain. A gutted-out station, once the very artery of life in this city.

MOHSIN: This makeshift monument at the entrance to the metro. People have been leaving flowers. Some people coming, like these ladies, to light candles and a number of messages and prayers left as well. Children, too.

I want to show you this. A lot of them writing tributes, messages of peace.

"Everybody together," this says in French.

And this letter really, really struck me. It's a young girl who lives nearby and she says that, "I normally take the metro all the time. But that particular day, I didn't. And I keep thinking," it says, "what would have happened to me if I was on board that metro train? I'm really scared to take the metro."

These children are from a nearby school. Only five of them from the entire class came to school for the first few days after the attacks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today we are 21 of 30 in the class. The rest of them is not -- didn't dare to come or was afraid to come.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of our children, they live where the terror and the terrorists came from. They live in the streets are like that. So for Schaerbeek or Molenbeek. It's very important to see like we are Muslim but that's -- we are not the same, you know.

MOHSIN (voice-over): A community trying hard to stay united in the face of fear and terror. For now, though, there's only confusion and emptiness.

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MOHSIN: I've got to tell you, Natalie, it was extraordinary to hear from those teachers about how they're trying to handle the situation with young children as adults are finding this so hard to absorb and cope with.

And when I went under those shutters into the entrance hall, an incredibly eerie feeling, the lights still flashing, the areas where passengers should be ferried through those ticket machines. Nobody there and the smashed glass, it was a really horrible, empty feeling -- Natalie.

ALLEN: It's a very poignant story and certainly eerie and sad as well. We thank you for that.

Saima Mohsin for us live there in Brussels.

The U.S. secretary of state, John Kerry, is in Brussels right now. Kerry sat down with our Erin Burnett and said the world is making a dent when it comes to ISIS or daish as many now call the terror group.

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KERRY: Law enforcement and intelligence community, people have to get it right to prevent an attack every minute of every day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

If somebody wakes up one morning in their apartment, decides they want to go out and kill themselves and take some people with them, they can most likely find a place on a subway, on a bus, in a market, somewhere, to do it, unfortunately.

So it is a very -- you know, this is a difficult challenge and frankly, it's quite remarkable that our law enforcement community, our intelligence community, our police have done as good a job as they have done of protecting us here, both in America as well as in other parts of the world. Now that doesn't excuse one single event, when it happens.

Everybody's focused on it, with the intensity that we see here in Belgium right now, but I am convinced that we are slowly and steadily deteriorating daish's ability to recruit, its ability to prosecute, its nihilistic, you know, ideology. And over time we are going to get back to a world where we feel that we can travel with impunity and feel safe.

BURNETT: So what about the young men here -- the young man I spoke to that say, they know so many people going to ISIS.

And I said, why didn't you go?

He said, well, I have a brain but I understand why they go. They're still going.

KERRY: There are some who have gone, but there are less going and they're less able to go today and as daish continues to get beaten, as its leadership continues to be decimated, I believe the attraction is going to be reduced.

And I think you will see a lot fewer people believing that is a narrative both associating with or putting your life on the line for.

BURNETT: And will ISIS still be a threat when you leave?

KERRY: Well, I think - I think this, I think that we are going to put a huge dent in them in the course of this year, there's no question in my mind.

[02:10:00]

KERRY: But it is going to take a number of years, probably, to reduce the impact of the ideology of the -- of people who will continue to carry an anger or a willingness to engage in some kind of act individually as a lone entity.

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ALLEN: Belgium's prime minister spoke with Kerry Friday about how to do better and work together more efficiently to fight terrorists.

Roberta Bonazzi is the director of Counter Extremism Project Europe. He joins us now from Brussels, Belgium.

Thank you for joining us, Roberta. I understand you were on your way to a meeting about jihad radicalization when the bomb went off at the metro station near your office, is that right?

ROBERTA BONAZZI, DIRECTOR, COUNTER EXTREMISM PROJECT EUROPE: Yes, that's correct. We had a meeting planned for 10:00 am that morning. The focus of the conference was countering jihadist radicalization. The keynote speaker was supposed to be Gilles de Kerchove, the European counterterrorist coordinator.

And obviously he couldn't make it, had to cancel. We had a call while on our way to the venue from one of our colleagues, who was on a bus just outside the Maelbeek metro station. He called us, saying there had just been an explosion. He could see people injured coming out of the metro station and just left and went home.

There was a bit of uncertainty, I have to say. We all had heard about the airport attacks. At that moment it wasn't sure -- we were unclear whether it was just a coincidence or something else.

ALLEN: Yes, I want to ask you, though, you've been working on this issue for quite some time.

What were you specifically going to address at this meeting?

And what are your thoughts on why so many Muslims in this particular area of Brussels still disenfranchised?

BONAZZI: We've been working on this issue for the past 11 years. And one of our concerns from the beginning of our activity was to address the ideology that drive radicalization in terrorists. This is an ideology that will take actually longer than just a few years. I would say probably even a generation to be able to neutralize and eliminate. It's an ideology that has been -- has been contributed -- has been

funded by countries outside the European Union, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The issues that we were going to -- we actually did address in the -- during the conference -- because we decided to hold the conference in spite of the attacks -- was precisely the role that the ideology plays in radicalizing young and vulnerable communities.

There are many organizations across Europe, in Brussels and in the United States that continue to carry on and promote this ideology, the Islamist ideology that -- let me clarify -- has nothing to do with Islamic as religion but has a vision of -- that promotes a concept of political Islam.

ALLEN: Got it.

And so what should countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia, how they should be cooperating and trying to lessen this ideology?

BONAZZI: Well, for a start, they need to stop funding, directly or indirectly, the huge number of charities, NGOs, think tanks and various organizations that are based in Europe and in the U.S., including a number of Muslim Brotherhood structures.

ALLEN: We appreciate you joining us. Thanks so much, Roberta Bonazzi. And we wish you the best in the important work that you do.

The terror attacks are exposing how Belgium has become such a fertile recruiting ground for jihadi fighters.

Even before that, CNN's Nima Elbagir was in Brussels' Molenbeek neighborhood, an area becoming synonymous with extremism. She and her team actually spent months getting to know the residents there, having them share what it's like to live there and finding out what attracts some to a violent ideology.

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IMAM SULAYMAN VAN AEL: I believe that as a part of our Islam that we protect the country that we were raised in and that we try to make the country that we lived in prosper. And the problem is the misunderstanding of this youth, that they think, when I attribute myself to --

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VAN AEL: -- a non-Muslim country, it makes me a non-Muslim. And that doesn't make any sense.

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ALLEN: That's a small part of an in-depth look at the fight against terror by Nima and her team from "Frontline Belgium." It's Saturday at 7:30 pm in London, 8:30 Central European Time. You can see it only here on CNN. Hundreds are recovering after the explosions in Brussels. Ahead here, CNN spoke with a trauma doctor, who describes the injuries that shrapnel left behind.

Plus: Ted Cruz is really angry with Donald Trump over a salacious tabloid report he says Trump was behind. We'll have the latest on the escalating Republican sideshow as well, coming up.

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ALLEN: Welcome back.

The war of words between U.S. Republican presidential rivals Ted Cruz and Donald Trump is growing even more personal. Cruz is furious after a salacious tabloid article was published about him and he is blaming Trump for planting the story and the smear. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has the latest.

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CRUZ: Donald is fond of giving people nicknames. With this pattern, he should not be surprised to see people calling him Sleazy Donald.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ted Cruz breathing fire at Donald Trump today.

CRUZ: Donald Trump may be a rat, but I have no desire to copulate with him. And this garbage does not belong in politics.

SERFATY (voice-over): The Texas Senator bringing in up unprovoked a tabloid story about him accusing Donald Trump of being behind it but not offering any proof to back up his assertion.

CRUZ: This "National Enquirer" story is garbage. It is complete and utter lies. It is a tabloid smear. And it is a smear that has come from Donald Trump and his henchman. It's not surprising that Donald Trump's tweet occurs the day before the attack comes out.

SERFATY (voice-over): Trump today responding in a statement saying, "I had absolutely nothing to do with it. Did not know about it and have not, as yet, read it." Adding, "Unlike Lying Ted Cruz, I do not surround myself with political hacks and henchman and then pretend total innocence."

Cruz today evading the question whether he could still support Trump if he were the GOP nominee.

CRUZ: I don't make a habit out of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my family.

SERFATY (voice-over): This comes as the GOP rivals have been sparring and sharply personal attacks involving their spouses. CRUZ: And to Heidi, isn't she going to make an amazing first lady?

SERFATY (voice-over): Campaigning side by side with his wife today, Cruz calling out Donald Trump directly to the crowd.

CRUZ: You know, in the last --

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CRUZ: -- few days, Donald Trump has taken to attacking Heidi.

SERFATY (voice-over): Part of Trump's attacks, a tweet threatening to spill the beans on Heidi Cruz and a retweet of a split screen image of his wife Melania and Heidi Cruz with the caption, the images are worth a thousand words. Cruz looking to frame this as a pattern for Trump.

CRUZ: Donald does seem to have an issue with woman. Donald doesn't like strong women. Strong women scare Donald.

SERFATY (voice-over): This isn't the first time Trump has stirred up controversy with his comments about women, including Fox News Anchor Megyn Kelly.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You can see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.

SERFATY (voice-over): Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

TRUMP: And Hillary who's become very shrill. You know the word shrill? She's become a shrill.

SERFATY (voice-over): The latest CNN/ORC poll shows that while 59 percent of Republican women have a favorable view of Trump, 39 percent have an unfavorable view. And his unfavorable mark jumps to 73 percent among registered women voters nationwide revealing how much of an uphill climb he could think in a general election if he emerges as the nominee.

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ALLEN: Sunlen Serfaty reporting there.

While on the Democratic side, there are three contests Saturday in Alaska, Hawaii and the state of Washington. Be sure to tune in for CNN's full coverage of the Democratic caucuses.

Despite a brutal takedown from critics, the latest superhero movie is flying high at the box office.

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ALLEN (voice-over): "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" is scoring big with opening week audiences and is on its way to becoming the biggest March release ever in North America.

However, some don't like it. "The Guardian's" Dave Schilling (ph) opened his review by saying "like a big wet glob of fetid bird droppings tumbling down from the sky, 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" has landed with an audible splat."

And "Vulture's" Karen Brill wrote that the movie "jumps so incessantly from subplot to subplot that a script doctor would diagnose a peculiarly modern infection, 'disjunctivitis'."

The film is from Warner Bros., a part of CNN's parent company.

We'll be back with more news right after this.

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ALLEN: The attacks in Brussels left hundreds seriously wounded this week, many severely burned, their bodies riddled with shrapnel. CNN's Hala Gorani sat down with a trauma surgeon, who has been working tirelessly to try and save them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of them have burns. All of them have shrapnel injuries, metal pieces blown away by the bomb, entering the body on different locations. This has caused multiple fractures in many patients, also involving blood vessels and nerves. Many patients have --

[02:25:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- eye penetration, metal pieces going into the eye. Some of them have lost sight.

HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You've, of course, extracted some of the shrapnel from the injured. Describe some of what was in that bomb because it truly is designed -- it's designed to inflict maximum injury.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can find whatever piece of metal in there. There were bolts. There were nuts. There were screw, nails and unidentifiable pieces of metal. The more bolts they are, the more injury they cause because sharp things cut.

The other one make the skin and the tissue below kind of explode when they go into the body and they create really horrible injuries.

GORANI: You're a trauma surgeon, so you are trained to respond to severe injuries, accidents, all sorts of things.

Were you prepared for this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never are prepared for this. On one side, you have the number of patients. On the other side, these are injuries you never see under civilian circumstances. One of our co-workers is a military surgeon with experience in

Afghanistan and he has informed us in the past and instructed us in the past based upon his experience in Kabul. So we knew about those injuries and we knew how to deal with them but we never see them until last Tuesday.

GORANI: Talk to me a little bit about what the patients are telling you, when you're able to have a discussion; maybe they're out of surgery, they're just waking up to what happened to them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are extremely courageous. They all want to fight back and go back to normal lives. We have some people who were working at the airport.

And yesterday one of them told the king when he was passing and visiting the patients, said, "OK, I'll be working back on the airport in six months. You will see me on the airport again."

And this courage of these people is striking.

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ALLEN: That's wonderful to hear. There are many ways you can help the victims of the Brussels attacks. You can go online to cnn.com/impactyourworld to find out more about what you can do.

Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'll have our top stories and then it's "WINNING POST."

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