150 Police Involved In Anti-Terror Raids; Reports Accuses Baltimore Police of Racial Bias
SOARES: Welcome back to the International Desk. A large anti-terror operation has been under way in western Germany. Police raided homes and businesses on three people suspected of recruiting fighters for ISIS. Two people we've been told have been arrested. Our Senior International Correspondent Frederik Pleitgen joins now from Berlin with the latest. And Fred, I understand the raids are still ongoing. Of course, the situation is very fluid. What are you learning from authorities at this hour?</s>FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, you're absolutely right, Isa. The situation certainly is one that is very fluid and does also extend over a large area in Western Germany as well as in Central Germany as well. The latest that we're getting from the police and other authorities here in this country is they say that these raids started in the early morning hours in at least five cities. The four of them the State of North Rhine- Westphalia, in the west of Germany, among them a Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Duisburg and a place called Tonisvorst which is a much smaller town. And these raids apparently targeting three individuals, their home addresses as well as their business addresses also, and these three individuals are accused by Germany's general prosecutor of having recruited both supporters as well as members for ISIS here in Germany. And at least one of them is also accused of having provided both logistical as well as financial support for that organization as well. Now, in these specific raids that happened this morning, no arrests were made in those. However, there were two other arrests that were made both yesterday -- both today, I should say and on Friday in a separate case of someone who apparently is also a member of ISIS, who the German authorities believe may have been plotting terror attacks here in Germany. They are still looking into that. But certainly all of this, of course, comes with a situation where there's great concern about the security situation here in this country after you've had several attacks that took place here in the southern part of the country over the past couple of weeks. And Germany's interior minister, came out earlier today and gave a press statement saying that said that the raids that happened today were part of a new strategy. And he said, "There is an understanding between the federal and the state governments that they will -- that we will act early and be tough and energetic in our searches in order to protect our population from threats." Of course, a lot of that also in reaction to some of the security incidents that have happened here in this country over the past weeks and, of course, the grave concern with the fact that Germany took in about 1.1 million refugees last year from countries like Syria and Afghanistan. And with that, of course, the security concerns that large parts of the German population have at this point, Isa.</s>SOARES: Fred Pleitgen for us there Berlin. Fred, as soon as you have more on those raids do come back to us. I want to move to France because the country has been waging its own fight against terrorism. But authorities have not been able to keep Jihadist organizations from recruiting within the country. CNN Nima Elbagir, has been reporting in the story and she joins me now. And Nima, you and I covered the Paris attacks. We were also in Nice. And the questions that we keep being asked is, why France? What makes France such a recruiting hub, I should say, for this Jihadist? What have you found?</s>NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And absolutely, why does it keep happening? How does it keep happening in a first world G-7 country with all the resources that France has? Well, we have learned these figures that CNN has obtained that in spite of the heightened policing, in spite of the French president saying that his country is effectively at war those numbers keep going up, and as we understand that that is down to the propagandizing of one man. Take a look at this, Isa.</s>ELBAGIR: A tent in Syria. Home to what French authorities are calling one of the most successful Jihadi recruitment campaigns. Overseen, they say, by Omar Diaby AKA Omar Omsen, dubbed by his followers the Super Jihadist. When Fouad El Bathy 15-year-old sister Nora went missing two years ago he documented his search for her using hidden cameras. A search that took him across Turkey's border with Syria where he learned Omar Omsen personally recruited her.</s>FOUAD EL BATHY, BROTHER OF JIHADI RECRUIT (through translator): We couldn't stop hugging each other. She kissed me here, here, here. She even kissed me on the mouth by mistake. I told her, "Let's go home." But she said she couldn't.</s>ELBAGIR: Fouad said he found his sister in a villa where Omsen and his French Jihadi brigade were based, an entire fighting force from Omsen's hometown of Nice. This rare footage obtained by French documentary maker showcases Omsen's messianic fervor. It's this charisma that authorities tell us has made him so successful. Responsible for an estimated 80 percent of the French-speaking Jihadis flanking to Iraq and Syria. Fouad said he witnessed Omsen's effect firsthand.</s>BATHY (through translator): When Omar was speaking all the guys were looking at him like he was god. He made me think of a guru, they were venerating him.</s>ELBAGIR: And promenades in the southeastern of France feel a world away from Syria and Iraq. But Omsen's childhood home of Nice has proved particularly fertile recruiting ground. His neighbor Aman describing it as an epidemic.</s>BOUBEKEUR BEKRI, IMAM IN NICE FRANCE (through translator): They're transformed in a few weeks. It's like a bomb goes off.</s>ELBAGIR: You have described the way that extremism is taking hold in this community as a virus.</s>BEKRI (through translator): When a virus infects a lot of people, it's a pandemic and you can't use regular pills to cure it. You need bigger resources.</s>ELBAGIR: Through intelligence sources CNN obtained the latest ministry of entire figures for French national involved in Jihad. Between May and July the biggest rose to 67 people 2,147. This at the height if what authorities call an all encompassing security response by the French State. CNN reached out to the French government for comment but receive no response. Even as Fouad and others like him bravely speak out. Authorities say Omsen and his propaganda team continue to lure in French in citizens at home and abroad.</s>SOARES: Listening to your piece we heard that Imam, they're saying we need more than just a pill to fix this epidemic, he called it, or pandemic. What can France do?</s>ELBAGIR: I mean, that is absolutely the root of the issue, is that there doesn't seem to be any agreement inside France about what should be done. So you have deradicalization programs that open and seemingly overnight closed. You have the justice minister spearheading a campaign to combat deradicalization of prison which is a huge funneling point of Jihadi recruits. That then is now in disarray over this proposal, which just shut down by the French parliament to strip dual nationals suspected involvement in terror of their French citizenship. So you have this jostling for what is exactly the right solution while the root addressing of these causes isn't actually given the proper amount of funding, the deregulation programs. Meanwhile, you have the elections next year and you have a political discourse that is moving ever further right, and the Islamophobia only further feeds that sense of alienation that people like Omar Omsen prey on.</s>SOARES: Nima Elbagir there with an incredible report there, thanks very much Nima. Now, a blistering report accuses the Baltimore Maryland Police Department of unfairly targeting African-Americans in ways that that violate the U.S. constitution. Statistics show a disproportionate number of stop, searches as well as arrest. U.S. Justice Department blames what it calls zero tolerance enforcement practices. The report does not reference Freddie Gray whose death you may remember in police custody, sparked to outrage and protests but of course no convictions. Well here in Britain, there's an inquiry into the death of a woman killed in a crush during a police chase. At that time police were also investigating a low-flying drone near a prison. Samuel Burke joins me from outside, Wandsworth prison in South London. And, Samuel, what have you learned about this incident? Any nefarious reasons for these drones being used?</s>SAMUEL BURKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Isa, this incident all started Tuesday night in the dark skies right over me at this prison, the largest in the U.K. In fact, police were here a few minutes later, and then they saw a car leave the scene and they pursued that car. It crashed. The female in her 20s pronounced dead at the scene. A male driver is still in the hospital in critical condition. But just a few months ago, there was also a drone spotted at this very prison. And this whole situation underscores the serious situation that prisons face with drones. Look at this incredible footage, Isa. Here in Wandsworth prison in May, you see a drone entering the prison grounds, a bag being carried by that drone approaches the cell. A male prisoner reaches through with a stick trying to bring the contraband into his prison cell. Authorities later say that that bag contained drugs and a smartphone. So what this all shows, it's not just airports and airliners that are facing problems with drones, prisons as well. They need new laws and they need more investment to try and prevent contraband from ...</s>SOARES: I believe we have lost -- are you still with us? No? I think we've lost Samuel. We'll try and reconnect and of course will come back to him as soon as we have it. Now, Delta passengers are still feeling the effects today of the catastrophic computer failure three days ago that grounded the airline's entire fleet. Right now 155 flights have been canceled as Delta works through the backup of stranded passengers, as well as crews, the airline says it hopes to have all the operations back to normal later on Wednesday. Delta CEO has publicly apologized for the delays and inconvenience saying this isn't who we are. Now, there's a damning new report about the treatment of people at Australia's off-shore detention center for asylum seekers. Documents leaked to the Guardian Newspaper highlight more than 2,000 cases of abuse at the center on the Pacific Island of Nauru. CNN can not there authenticity but the nature of the allegations matched those made recently human rights watch and Amnesty International. A guardian journalist in Sydney told us children are bearing the brunt of the city, let's take and listen.</s>PAUL FARRELL, REPORTER, GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA: One of the things that is really striking about these reports, is that even though children only make up 10 percent of the population on Nauru. They make up 50 percent of the reports of serious incidents contained in these reports. I mean, that's massively disproportionate. And it shows that there are very serious incidents of sexual assaults, of self-harm and abuse happening to these children in Australia's care.</s>SOARES: The Australian government says many of the reports reflect unconfirmed allegations and one of the companies that provides detention services on Nauru told CNN that it's dealt appropriately with all the allegations. No response yet from the second provider. Still ahead right here on the show, deadly wildfires in Portugal burned everything in their path and leave anxious tourist stranded on the island of Madeira. We have the latest after this.