[Kate Bolduan, Cnn Anchor:] Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan, joining you live from New York. We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world
[At This Hour. John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] I'm John Berman, live in Paris. This is CNN's special coverage of the takedown of one of the world's most- wanted terrorists. Let's get you up to speed with the very latest. The dramatic news. Abdelhamid Abaaoud is dead. The man believed to be the planner, the architect of Friday's attack that stole the lives of 129 people here in Paris, killed. French officials say prints from his hands and feet confirmed that he died in the stunning raid in the suburb of Saint- Denis yesterday, his body riddled with bullets before he could carry out another act of terror. French officials have linked him to at least four foiled plots in Europe this year. And at this moment, investigators are tracing links to several more known jihadists. This news comes as yet another attacker, Salah Abdeslam, is still on the loose this morning. He was last seen on the road to Belgium. Today, new raids in Belgium, where so much of the planning and organizing for these Paris attacks happened. As I said, so much news to go over today. The major development, the death of the planner, Abdelhamid Abaaoud. We'll turn to CNN diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, for more on this Nic?
[Nic Robertson, Cnn International Diplomatic Editor:] Well, we know that he's been identified through forensic analysis. The prosecutor told us the building was badly collapsed. Obviously, his face and picture are very well known to French authority, so what we heard from the prosecutor today, that it had multiple impacts on his body. Not clear if it was from the first sniper shot and the subsequent fuselage of bullets or if it was because he had some kind of explosives near him, was caught in an explosion are or the explosives that went off when his cousin, the female suicide bomber there, detonated her suicide vest. But the prosecutor said very clearly, they identified, and the interior minister making very clear this is not the end. It is the beginning. This man has connection with other known jihadists. That's what the interior minister said, they will continue investigating those connections. We also understand that the reason French authorities were able to begin to know they need to look urgently for this man on their own soil is because they got a tip-off from Moroccan officials. Abaaoud, a Belgian national, but Moroccan origin. Moroccan sources who told the French two days before this raid that he was on French soil. The French then being able to zero in on telephone intercepts to know the location to go to. But the big headline from the interior minister today, this man he called he said he played a decisive role in Friday's attack, was involved, connected with four of six terror plots the government said it thwarted since spring this year John?
[Berman:] The Moroccans told the French about him being in France on the 16th. The attacks here in Paris were on the 13th. That gives you a sense, though, of how much more is needed in terms of speed of communication between countries right now and the battle against terrorists like this. Nic, any sense of what they're investigating now? If they believe there are other terror cells still at work here in Paris.
[Robertson:] OK. I was outside that apartment in Saint-Denis until late in the night. The police told me the operation there would probably continue for another 24 hours. Substantial physical damage. What they will be looking in there is any cell phones, any recent written communications, any computers, any hard drives that can give an indication to where Abaaoud was in the previous days. They got from the Moroccans two days prior to that raid that he was here in Paris. So, what was he doing before? What were his foot steps on the important days leading up to the attack on the 13th, Friday? Who was he speaking to? Where is he going? That will lead police to the next stage of where the interior minister hinted they're going, the connection with other jihadists. So as the police go through that apartment the two apartments there, that will provide them a level of information. Of course, they say they arrested took into custody eight people, three of them, they say they arrested in connection with these terrorism offenses. So, they will be talking to them as well to generate more information. The government here has told us the prime minister, the interior minister has also said as well, the French president, that the raids on homes of suspected jihadists around France will continue. The legislation that's been debated and passed today will make that easier. So, I think we can expect, from what we're hearing from the interior minister, to expect more operations to target more of the people that they will undoubtedly find were in connection with Abaaoud in the recent weeks John?
[Berman:] They staged more than 100 raids a night every night since the attacks here last Friday. Nic Robertson, here in Paris, thank you so much. We have breaking news from Belgium as well. Six anti-terror raids launched there today. We understand at least nine people have been detained now in connection with the attacks here in Paris. I want to get to Ivan Watson right now, who is in Belgium, with the very latest. Ivan, what do you know?
[Ivan Watson, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] John, that's right. That series of raids taking place in and around the Belgian capital, Brussels. Now, several of these raids were conducted in connection with the investigation into the Paris attacks. You had at least two people detained for questioning. Belgian investigators say. And then there were another series of search warrants and raids that were carried out in connection with a case that has been open since the beginning of 2015, police here say. And that's into a man named Bilal Hafdi. He is a resident of Belgium, also one of the suicide bombers from the Paris attacks. He had been on the radar of Belgian investigators for some time when he was believed to have left Belgium and gone to Syria to join the ranks of ISIS. But what the Belgian investigators say they did not know is that he had somehow gotten back into Europe. They only discovered he was back in Europe when his remains were found among all the carnage in Paris. When asked about the reaction to the deaths of Abaaoud, the federal prosecutor's office here said that they don't really have time to rest on any kind of whirls. They're busy right now searching for another key suspect, that fugitive, Salah Abdeslam, who has been missing sin the Paris attacks, whose car was found here in Brussels after the Paris attacks, after a brief questioning period by French police when he escaped the dragnet there. He's still very much wanted. Authorities here very worried what he may be capable of, as long as he is still a fugitive John?
[Berman:] That's right. He very much still on the run right now. As we see, probably the most wanted man in Europe. Ivan Watson, in Belgium, thank you so much. I want to bring in CNN terror analyst, Paul Cruickshank, here with me in Paris. Paul, Abdelhamid Abaaoud dead. Three things, I think, that are crucial here. One, it's amazing that he was here in France in the shadow of the Stade de France, the stadium attacked Friday night. Number two, it's amazing they pulled this off. They killed him within days of this attack. Number three, and this may be the most important for us right now, what does this mean going forward for the battle against would-be terrorists here in Paris? Does it disrupt or slow down possible operations?
[Paul Cruickshank, Cnn Terrorism Analyst:] I think it does disrupt. Abaaoud was probably going to be part of second wave, another spectacular attack when all of the world's media was here in Paris. They had very heavy weapons. This was the second team, it's almost certain at this point they were about to launch an attack, we've been told that by sources, officials. This is the worrying thing. This is part of a wider network. A half dozen Belgium and French is recruits, climbed up the hierarchy, many are now in Raqqa, where they're training, fresh recruits coming in from Belgium, France, other countries, giving them one or two weeks training and sending them back to launch attacks. This is laid out to me by intelligence officials. A key figure in this network working together with Abdelhamid Abaaoud was Fabien Clain, who is 10 years older than Abaaoud and is likely playing a more senior role in this conspiracy than Abaaoud, because he's older and they've been working in tandem and some of these other recruit fighters to plot a wave of terrorist attacks against Europe. And the interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, was talking about this. He says out of the six terror plots in the last six months, four were orchestrated by Abaaoud. But it was Abaaoud working together, they believe, with Fabien Clain. And Fabien Clain has a long track record of jihadist activity. He was friends with Mohamed Merah, who killed the Jewish school children in 2012 in southern France, in prison for a while in a network with al Qaeda, the same group as ISIS. And back in 2009, he was involved in plotting against the Bataclan concert hall here in France. Not only that, John, he claimed responsibility for this attack for ISIS. We have that audio. We're working, efforting to get it onto CNN. Claiming responsibility for the attack, saying that it was partly targeting "that idiot, who is the head of the French republic. The guy claiming the attack is still at large in Raqqa, working with Abaaoud, working to push even more of these recruits back. All of that very alarming. This threat stream is nowhere near over. It's just beginning. ISIS is starting to push down the accelerator when it comes to international terrorism, targeting not just the West, but also Russia. It's going all out right now. Why is that the case? One theory is that they have this apocalyptic vision that they want the West, they want Russia to go in, in a big way. They're trying to provoke it because they think the end of days is coming. It will be a last battle in this town in Syria, where, according to one of these prophecies, which isn't authenticated, but they believe there's going to be this end-of-days battle between the armies of Rome and armies of the Muslims. They're trying to make that happen more quickly. They think they're agents of God. That's part of the calculation from a rational point of view, also to electrify that base around the world. It's then retaliation.
[Berman:] I don't know there's a rationale point of view. But Fabien Clain, this man still in Raqqa. Any sense of why Abdelhamid Abaaoud, any sense of why he was here, running or helping orchestrate these operations?
[Cruickshank:] Because they felt, clearly, he would be a good organizer here, working with these youngsters that he knew. I mean, he grew up with two of his brothers, right, we've been talking about, the Abdeslam brothers. They were part of a gang toll in Molenbeek. They've known each other for a long time. Being able to come into the country with people he's known, evaded security services with in the past, all that's been very useful to ISIS. So, I think they felt that they you know, they could send Abaaoud back, you know, be a sort of local team leader here. But some of the more senior French brains behind this operation, including the guy who claimed responsibility for is, are still there at large, doing more of this pressing the accelerator, fasten your seat belts.
[Berman:] Paul Cruickshank, very dire warning to hear that. Yes, Abdelhamid Abaaoud is dead but the man who claimed responsibility, Fabien Clain, still alive and in Syria. New this morning, China is promising revenge after ISIS said it killed a Chinese hostage. Could this change the situation on the ground in Syria? Plus, new ISIS video depicting ISIS suicide bombers preparing for an attack on New York City. What intelligence officials say about this video. Is it a real threat? This is CNN's special live coverage. Stay with us.