Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Possible Brussels Bombing "Mystery Man" Arrested; Iraqi Engineers Buckling Down to Save Mosul Damn; Al-Qaeda Affiliate Has Claimed Responsibility for Killing of Blogger; Sanders Toughens Stance on Clinton's Qualifications to be President; Trump Recalibrating Campaign After Wisconsin Loss. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired April 9, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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


[03:00:00] ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: Belgian police snap one of Europe's most wanted and authorities think he could be the mystery man in a hat at the Brussels airport bombing. Plus a gruesome murder, claim of responsibility and demand to justice, we'll have latest on the aftermath of the killing of a secular blogger in Bangladesh. And dialing it back, Bernie Sanders toughens his stance on Hillary Clinton's qualification to be president.

Hello everyone, I am Zain Asher and this is CNN NEWSROOM.

We begin with the possible breakthrough in the Brussels terror investigation as authorities believed they may have found the mysterious man in the hat seen in airport surveillance video during the bombings.

Mohamed Abrini was arrested in one of several raids by Belgian 5000 police on Friday. He has known connection to last November's attacks in Paris and one of the suspected masterminds Salad Abdeslam. Police are holding another man as well and they suspect he was there for the bombings at the metro's station Maelbeek.

These arrests could bring investigators a much needed intelligence, that's a t a growing concern about the possibility of a full pledge terror net web throughout Europe.

Our Kelly Morgan is live for us in Brussels. So, Kelly, first thing first, do we know if Abrini, right now, is actually cooperating with authorities.

KELLY MORGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, he certainly a big fish for Belgium authorities given his links to the Brussels and Paris attacks. Remember that he was caught on CCTV footage with Salah Abdeslam on route to Paris from Belgium just days before those November attacks.

He's link to the Brussels attacks according to persecutors is that his DNA was found in the Schaerbeek apartment, the bomb making factory which was used by the Brussels attackers. So he is (inaudible), first not in custody after that dramatic arrest on the streets of Brussels. We saw a -- he was walking around in (inaudible). Police in undercover dress, they arrested (inaudible) on him so he spent the first night in custody. Now, authorities would want to question him and find out what more does he know, not only about the Brussels attacks about -- and also the Paris attacks and also whether or not there are more plots in the making. Now, that is a huge concern obviously so that one to know what more that he knows and particularly given that the last time police arrested a big fish, Salah Abdeslam, four days later, the attacks here in Brussels were carried out, so that effectively fast- forwarded that plot.

So they don't want -- I'll repeat -- and that -- the one - prosecutors are trying to establish as the moment is whether or not Abrini is the so-called "man in the hat" the third airport bomber. Let's have a listen to what prosecutor Eric Van Der Sypt have to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC VAN DER SYPT, SPOKESMAN BELGIAN FEDERAL PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE: At the moment, the investigators are verifying whether Abrini, Mohamed can be positively identified as being the third person present during the attacks in Brussels National Airport, the so-called man with the hat. The investigation continues currently in the interest of the investigation, no further details can be given.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: So we are writing some more detail on that. Now, the other suspects that they arrested yesterday was Osama Krayem also known as Naim al-Hamed.

Now, investigators believed that he was the second metro bomber, the man who was seen with Khalid el-Barkaoui just moments before that explosion. So two very big fish for authorities here in Belgium, they are in custody and they are being questioned -- and this public no doubt about that and we do wait for the detail going.

ASHER: Yes, so many questions still are unanswered, all right. Kelly Morgan lived for us there. Thank you so much, appreciate that.

Joining us now is Michael Weiss, CNN contributor and Co-Author of the book "ISIS Inside the Army of Terror." Michael, thank you so much for being with us.

You said in the past that you will not travel to Europe because the terror threat there is (inaudible) so great. Is the feeling still the same even after all these arrest?

MICHAEL WEISS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah. I mean, look, I've talked to ISIS fighters, recent defectors from the ISIS organization and they have assured me that the war is being brought to Europe in a way that I think we have not seen in the past two years. Paris was sort of a four case. The spectacular success in the eyes of ISIS of that massacre has redoubled their efforts to try and then emphasized foreign operations. I've been told that, you know, they have just dispatched other sleeper agents into the heart of Europe.

[03:05:00] According to CNN Today Paul Cruickshank and Tim Lister reported as many as a dozen other operatives who took part in both the Paris and the Brussels attacks that is so-called (inaudible) network are still at large. I've heard that even the women are to be repurposed as suicide bombers and sent in to Germany to wage attacks there.

So yeah, I think this was a very, very dangerous period for the continent.

ASHER: Belgium had a lot of this number of ISIS fighters per capita.

WEISS: Yeah.

ASHER: How do authorities in Belgium begin to even root that out?