[Lynda Kinkade, Cnn Anchor:] A startling admission, Europe's most wanted man admits the plan to blow himself up during the Paris terrorist attacks but changed his mind. Prosecutors now want to extradite him to France. Also ahead, a deadly suicide blast rips through a busy tourist area in Istanbul, sending Turkey is further down the path of instability. And making history in Havana we're hours away from the first U.S. presidential visit to Cuba in almost 90 years. Hello, I am Lynda Kinkade. Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM.
[Kinkade:] The only known surviving suspect of the Paris terror attacks has already made a confession to authorities in Belgium. Saleh Abdeslam is now behind bars and his lawyer says he plans to fight extradition to France. Doctors had been treating him in a hospital for a minor leg wound he suffered during his capture in Brussels on Friday. As Nic Robertson reports, Abdeslam has been giving investigators details about his alleged role in the attacks.
[Nic Robertson, Cnn International Diplomatic Editor:] The Paris prosecutor telling us what many people have suspected, that Saleh Abdeslam had come to Paris, that he intended to blow himself up, he has told investigators now in Belgium that he did come here, intending to become a suicide bomber, that he was going to blow himself up at the Stade de France, where the football match was underway. He had already dropped off the other three suicide bombers there; he was going to be a fourth but he changed his mind. Now the prosecutor also detailing here just the level of planning and involvement that Saleh Abdeslam had in staging and helping carry out these Paris attacks.
[French Prosecutor:] He seems at this point in the investigations that he had a central role in the constitution of building the commando teams for the logistical preparations of the attacks and himself being present in Paris on the 13th of November.
[Robertson:] Now we've already heard from the Belgian authorities and from the French president that the extradition process is underway, the prosecutor saying that the extradition has a three-month deadline on it and he has no doubt in his mind that Saleh Abdeslam will be extradited to France. I spoke earlier with a lawyer representing the victims in that attack, the families of some of the people who died as well. She told me just how important it was for all of them that he does come here and face justice.
[Paris Victims' Lawyer:] Not only families but victims themselves, they want and need and they will ask to have an answer. They have a lot of questions, many questions. They need to know every single thing happened on the 13th of November during this Paris attack, so, yes, they have a lot of questions and they want to have an answer.
[Robertson:] More broadly as well, across France, across Paris, a sense of relief that he has been caught, that he will face justice and that he will be asked all those search detailed questions that many people here hope will net the other terrorists who may be out there hiding and planning attacks Nic Robertson, CNN, Paris, France.
[Kinkade:] In Istanbul at least four people were killed after a suicide attack at a busy tourist area. Two Israeli American citizens and an Iranian are among the dead. The explosion wounded 36 people. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Senior international correspondent Arwa Damon has the details.
[Arwa Damon, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Instead of the throngs of people both Turks and tourists who would normally be packing this street, now it has been almost entirely sealed off following a suicide attack. This street is one of Istanbul's main pedestrian thoroughfares. It's filled with restaurants and shops. It's located in the heart of the city. And this is one of the areas that the authorities had issued a warning about, saying that there was a fairly high potential that some sort of an attack would be taking place here following threats from a PKK offshoot, the Kurdish separatist group, that they would be carrying out more attacks after last Sunday's deadly and devastating bombing in the capital, Ankara. This explosion happening at about mid-morning at the entrance of one of the side streets that sells fish and other fresh produce. It was quickly almost immediately sealed off, ambulances rushing
[Damon:] to the scene. Police pushing people as far back as they possibly could, concerned about a potential secondary explosion, helicopters, hours later, still buzzing overhead. As we were walking back down one of the side streets, we saw a woman who was desperately pleading with the police. She later told us that she was waiting for news of her brother. He was somewhere on the street when the explosion took place and she did not know what had happened to him. This type of violence has become, sadly, fairly routine, especially in Istanbul and in Ankara. This is a population that, at this stage, is feeling phenomenally vulnerable, facing threats on multiple fronts Arwa Damon, CNN, Istanbul.
[Kinkade:] Preparations are underway in the Greek island of Lesbos to send thousands of refugees back to Turkey. It's part of a controversial new arrangement between the E.U. and Turkey to curb the flow of migrants into Europe. More than 4,000 migrants now on the Greek island of Lesbos. Greece is a major stopping point for refugees fleeing war-torn Syria. Almost 1,500 migrants arrived there from neighboring Turkey on Friday alone. That's according to Greek officials. Aid workers say returning them to Turkey is simply unethical.
[Lucy, International Red Cross:] For me, the International Rescue Committee's perspective, the deal is only going to lead to more disorder and more lack of dignity, more chaos for the people who are already here in Greece. And the idea that you can base resettlement on conditions that people are returned from Greece to Turkey is unethical and will only will only ensure that desperate people will and it will only ensure that desperate people will only seek more desperate ways to come to Europe.
[Kinkade:] ISIS has claimed responsibility for an attack in Asia that killed 13 police officers. It happened at a checkpoint in the Sinai Peninsula. The terror group says a suicide bomber blew up a car at the site and then militants raided it. Egyptian officials say government forces killed five of the militants. The Pentagon says an ISIS rocket attack has killed a U.S. Marine in Iraq. It happened Saturday morning at a base in Makhmur while the Marine was on security duty. Several other Marines were wounded in the attack. Sunday marks the 13th anniversary since the start of the Iraq War. Russia expects the investigation into Saturday's fiery crash of a FlyDubai Boeing 737 to take at least two months. Authorities have ruled out terrorism. Instead, they are focusing on three possible scenarios for the deadly disaster: severe weather, technical issues and human error. Matthew Chance reports.
[Matthew Chance, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] In the snow and freezing rain still pounding Southern Russia, emergency teams pick through the thousands of shattered pieces. The passenger airliner appears to have disintegrated on impact. It's barely recognizable now. The camera catches a reminder that the dozens of passengers and crew who lost their lives, the grim task of identifying their remains could be painstaking.
[Unidentified Male:] Today at 2:50 am after the second
[Chance:] It's now confirmed 55 passengers and seven crew lost their lives. Flight radar shows how the aircraft flew for nearly six hours from Dubai before aborting its first landing at Rostov because of bad weather. It then it circled the city for nearly two hours, waiting for a break in the storm to make its second and fatal approach. These images were caught on a security camera near the airport. The plane streaks from the sky, exploding in a fireball as it hits the ground. Airline officials say there was no distress call and that the plane was recently certified as airworthy.
[Ceo, Flydubai:] I would like to express the devastation we all feel in relation to this morning tragic event in Rostov-on-Don. Our primary concern is for the passenger and the crew involved at this stage. Everyone in our company is in deep shock and our hearts go out to all loved ones of those involved.
[Chance:] Inside the airport terminal, the shocked families and friends of those on board. Teams of counselors have been sent to support the bereaved and the Russian government has pledged financial assistance. But the question remains why this modern aircraft from an airline with a good safety record now lies scattered with all on board Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
[Kinkade:] Still to come, the U.S. president will make an historic visit to Cuba on Sunday. We will introduce you to the Cuban grandmother who received a letter from Mr. Obama after inviting him over for a cup of coffee. Plus chaos in two