good morning, arwa. >> reporter: good morning. you can see the police cordoned behind me and the white sheet pulled across the road. we were able to catch a glimpse from one corner of it showing the rest of the road filled with broken glass and debris from that massive blast. the attack carried out by eight terrorist organization. which one the government suspects at this stage, they are not disclosing. they want to wait for the investigation to end. we have seen a handful of forensic experts moving in and out of the scene killing at least 37 people. among them, according to government authorities, one or two of the attackers. the attackers drives the vehicle laden with explosives and detonating it close to one of the main bus stops here. the main boulevard through ankara. there are shops on the other side of the street. around the corner there are tons of open air cair cafes and restaurants. this is where you take a walk and go out and grab something at the end of the weekend and the day the attack took place on sunday happen to

i want to bring in cnn's correspondent arwa damon. good morning, arwa. >> reporter: good morning. we're here in gaziantep. this is a city close to the syrian border. over the last few years, this is a hub for people who want to either move into the war zone, a number of aid organizations. it halls become a main area where foreign fighters come to cross into syria. many as we know, join isis. according to turkish officials, el bakraoui arrived and first going to the tourist resort areas spending time there. eventually making his way here. something in his actions, we don't know what it was, raised the suspicions of the turkish counter terrorism unit. they are constantly on the lookout trying to monitor people they have lists of names. el bakraoui is not on any list. he is someone they started trailing of their own accord. now they say they took him into custody. they firmly believe, no doubt in their mind whatsoever, he was here trying to get into syria to then join the fight with isis. the turks say they notified the netherlands because that is where he would be deported as well a

let's bring in our correspondent arwa damon. this is what officials are calling a lack of urgency on the part of the european officials. >> reporter: and turkey is frustrated by all of this had not just because of the unnecessary loss of life, but turkey feels as if the west does not consider it to be an equal or credible partner despite what may be publicly said. turkey for years has been gathering intelligence on a number of individuals. it has a watch list of upwards of 38,000 names that have been provided to turkey and every single time one of those people tries to enter the country, turkey says that it deports them and notifies the respective nation. in the case of el bakraoui, this is what happened. el bakraoui was actually not on any of these watch lists. he came into the country and started out by going to a resort town on the coast. a lot of people trying to join the fight in syria, especially if they are trying to join alongside isis do first try to pose as tourists because turkey has been cracking down. el bakraoui en

cnn's arwa damon tracking the latest from istanbul. we know the significance of palmyra coming back to the syrian government. away from isis forces. the question is how long can syrian forces actually hold on to palmyra. >> reporter: that is one of the key questions here and the other thing that all of this under scores is just how useful russian support has been to the syrian government. somebody that president bashar al assad is not shying away from stating. saying the government's ability to retake palmyra proves that russia is a more dependable ally than the united states. and it goes to show that russia and the syrian regime strategy is more effective than the u.s. coalition and allies. that is a key thing that allowed the regime to retake the key area. the city itself. also the ruins declared a unesco heritage site and ones that have seen destruction at the hands of isis that went in and blew up old temples and centuries old ruins. this is an area that is strategically located to a degree on the route that leads to the isis stron

we have cnn's arwa damon with the latest. it is the russians credit who have helped bashar al assad. >> reporter: it is, christine. russian air strikes up in the hundreds which then allowed for regime forces along with any number of militias that fight alongside them to get into palmyra. not much in terms of confrontation when it comes to fighting that took place with isis. although some battles did emerge. all in all, a fairly easy and relatively easy victory. one that bashar al assad is using to make a very clear point. that is his and the russian strategy is one that is clearly proving to be working, especially when compared to that of the u.s. and the coalition that it does lead. palmyra, one of the country's most historic cities along with, of course, the unesco declared ruins that are nearby it. they damaged by isis. that reportedly bombed a number of temples as well as shrines and other areas they occupied. in the initial days, isis took over, beheading an elderly gentleman, one of the leading archaeologists on the sit

. >> joining us now from turkey is our senior international correspondent, arwa damon.a, how did belgium misconnecting the dots, if you will, especially after turkey raised such a huge red flag about this guy? >> reporter: well, i think that's exactly what belgian authorities are trying to figure out right now. here's what happened, according to the turks. bakraoui was here, and one of the main transit hubs for individuals wanting to cross into the war zone. and especially a transit hub for foreign fighters wanting to go and join isis. bakraoui was not flagged previously to the turks. but something about him raised their suspicions. they surveilled him, and then they detained him and notified the belgians. the belgians responded and all of this was happening in july of last year. the belgians came back to the turks and said, yes, we are aware of this individual. but he has ties to criminal organizations, we don't have any substantiated ties to any sort of terrorist organizations. the turks said, look, we really believe that he's here trying to cross into the battlefield

but as arwa said, they're still 60 miles away.up there they're going to have to take these towns, they're going to have to hold these towns, which is always a problem, against any isis count ar tacks. and then they're going to have to marshall their forces to attack the city of mosul. they don't have the manpower yet to do that nor do they have the technical expertise just yet. on the syrian side it depends how much air power the russians are willing to put in there. the syrians are in better shape militarily than the iraqis right now. >> all right. as you say, an important first step here with the retaking of palmyra. we will watch very closely to see what happens next. many thanks to lieutenant colonel rick francona. good to talk with you. >>> we are following several new developments in the investigation of the brussels terror attacks. michael holmes is in the belgian capital. he joins us now michael, of course, we were talking about the weekend protests and the impact they've had on the morale there in brussels but also too th

let's get the latest from cnn correspondent arwa damon. she is at the capital. arwa, what happened?er: good morning. the attack took place down the road from where we are. you see the police cordoned and the white sheet blocking the view for onlookers. some have been stopping by looking very sad. this is a country in mourning. this is a country feeling very vulnerable. turkish authorities say suspects drove a vehicle with explosives and detonated it close to the bus station at 6:45 in the evening. the area thonged with numbers of people because there are countless open air restaurants and coffee shops. it is a popular place to be and popular place to go on a sunday evening. the turkish government believes a terrorist organization is responsible for the violence. they are not yet telling us which one it is yet. they want the investigation to come to an end. turkish media says they believe this is the work of the pkk with whom turkey has been battling for decades. >> thank you, arwa damon. >>> let's get an early start on your money. the cnn democratic town hall, bernie sanders claims

arwa damon, cnn, on the greece/macedonia border. >> always appreciate arwa's reporting there.ens of thousands of refugees from syria have crossed the sea from turkey to greece in the first two months of this year. and for many, that januaourney dangerous and a nightmare. >> translator: we were about 60 people. we did not want to go on the boat, but they got us on it. in the middle of the sea, the boat started sinking. i called the greek coast guard. a few boats arrived. they saved my siblings. the driver is the one who sanction the boat. >> omar told us after the boat started sinking, the turkish coast guard rescued his siblings. after two weeks of separation, the family was finally rae uneu in greece. >>> this is "cnn newsroom." still ahead, super saturday is now over but the battle is just heating up for florida. a preview is up ahead. >>> you're watching cnn worldwide. >>> a warm welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. you're watching "cnn newsroom." good to have you with us. i'm george howell. the headlines we're following this hour. >>>

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arwa damon brings us more. >> reporter: this is one of the main boulevards that runs through ankara, an area that is normally filled with traffic and people. and was especially packed at the time the blast took place at about 6:45 local. the explosion caused by, according to turkish authorities, a car packed with explosiv explosives, driven and then detonated very close to a bus station, and according to eyewitnesses was extremely busy at the time. among the dead are also one or two of the attackers. the turkish government investigators still looking into specifically which terrorist organization may have been behind this attack that happened at a time when ankara is already at a state of heightened secure following another attack that took place less than a month ago. that attack, according to the turkish government was carried off by an offshoot of the kurdish separatist group, the pkk. and back in october, there were two twin suicide bombers that attacked a rally. that attack was blamed by turkish authorities on isis. and this just underscores how vulnerable turkey is at this stag

arwa damon, cnn, istanbul. >> let's talk about this with our military panel. joining us retired lieutenant general, cnn military analyst, former commanding general in the u.s. army and retired admiral, dean of the fletcher school of law and diplomacy at tufts university. how important is the recapture of palmyra? is it largely symbolic or is thereny strategic value in it? >> i think is strategic value. anytime you take a significant city like this. but we are far from the end of this. what we are starting to see in this campaign, both in iraq, where there's real progress moving up to mosul, and in the syrian side of this. you are seeing isis is not ten feet tall. we have to remember, however, that the retaking of palmyra is not retaken by the moderate syrian opposition. it is retaken by the apostic regime of assad. it is a mix picture. but anything that knocks down the islamic state is a good overall. >> it's interesting, this could not have been done without russia air strikes, without the syrian military, isis was not defeated by syrian rebels. it was defeat

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let's get right to arwa damon live in ankara turkey.n anti-terror raids. what's the latest on this investigation? >> reporter: jake among those 37 dead are the two attackers. one of them identified as being female turkish media quoting local security sources saying that she was born in 1992. the other a male. they are right now trying to figure out exactly which network, especially the female may have been a part of. the turkish government spokesman saying that it was a separatist terrorist organization alluding to the fact that they do seem to believe that it is the kurdish separatist group, the pkk, whose strongholds they have been bombarding. so far turkish authorities say they have ten people in custody in direct relation to this attack with another 10 they believe to be on the run. but this comes at a time when turkey really already was on edge feeling very vulnerable because it was less than a month ago there was another attack here in the capital, ankara and prior to that twin suicide bombings targeting a rally back in october ca

arwa, first to you on syria.d our american viewers, this is the cradle of syrian civilization, the 80-year-old historian who was decapitated. tell me about the battle now for palmyra. >> reporter: well, our information is based on what syrian state television is putting out there, but they are saying that syrian troops have managed to regain control of a strategic hilltop and are making according to them significant advances when it comes to pushing isis out of this incredibly historic area. palmyra is absolutely stunning. i went there years ago, well before all of this fighting broke out, and it truly is one of those ancient sites that just takes your breath away. for our viewers as a reminder, isis swept through the area back in may of last year and over the summer began destroying some of these historic ruins, including blowing up a 2,000-year-old temple. now, palmyra in terms of the battlefield is, yes, slightly strategically located, but losing palmyra is not necessarily going to deal isis a strategic, defin

arwa damon is live in turkey on the expanding trails and clues. arwa, what you have learned? was detained where we are here very close to the syrian border, a known hub for many of the isis networks where they collect their fighters and an area that many people do transit. according to the turks, he was put under surveillance. we don't know exactly why. he was not on any sort of list back in mid july. they informed the belgian authorities because they believed he was trying to cross into syria to join isis as a foreign fighter. they said that after a few days the belgians informed them while he had criminal ties they could not say he had ties to terrorism and he was deported back to the european union and released and that intelligence turkey provided, potentially life-saving intelligence was not followed up on. what is especially frustrating for the turks and something europe and turkey is going to have to address right now, believe it or not, this is not the first time turkey provided key intelligence on individuals that has not been followed up on by respective european na

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arwa damon, cnn, istanbul. >>> you are watching "cnn newsroom."the united states is showing its military strength with one of the largest war machines in its arsenal. cnn gets exclusive access to the aircraft carrier coming up. >>> plus, a historic moment between cuba and the u.s. barack obama will become the first sitting u.s. president to visit cuba in over eight decades. it's 5:14 on the east coast now. "cnn newsroom" continues live. covergirl makes flawless as easy as... one... "tru"... three. now there's a gorgeous trublend face for each of us one: new trublend primer it hides pores, preps and smooths skin two: trublend makeup matches 99% of skin tones. three: new trublend blush and bronzer - a baked blend to get you glowing! find your trublend it's easy as 1 tru 3 easy breezy beautiful covergirl. and i want to remind you that no one's the same without the game. take @youwishcommish8 for instance. he writes, "as commissioner of my fantasy league, i'm thinking about moving the draft up... to next week. too early?" commish, the season is a ways

we go to arwa damon who joins us on the phone with more. take place. fairly loud happening on what is called istaiklol street, one of istanb istanbul's main thoroughfare. filled with people, shops and restaurants. this is in the heart of the city. now, the exact cause of the blast at this stage is still being investigated. turkish meet yeah is reporting the attacker plus one civilian were killed and at least another seven people are believed to have been wounded. now, literally within seconds there were ambulances on the scene. the police cordoned it off very swiftly. they cordoned off 100 meters of this particular road as well as side streets. there are concerns following these kind of attacks there could be secondary explosions. particularly on this weekend, there have been multiple terror alerts. the offshoot of the pkk, the kurdistan workers party that claimed responsibility for last sunday's ankara bombing had pledged they would be carrying out more attacks. in fact, the germany embassy consulate and germany schools had been closed due

let's bring in arwa damon. she has that part of the story from turkey. hi, arwa. >> reporter: hi.lly detained and deported one of those brothers, ibrah i elle bakrai in the summer of last year. they're saying even though he was not on a watch list, they thought his actions were suspicious. they ploobelieved he had ties t terrorism and he was in turkey with intentions of crossing the border. they put him under surveillance and eventually brought him and notified they say belgium authorities. they say a few days after they net if ied the belgians, the response came that he was known to them, but that he only had a criminal record and they had not been able to solidify any known ties to terrorism or terrorist organizations. the turks then beportdeported hk to europe, but they say they specifically warned belgian authorities about their serious suspicions that this man had ties to isis and terrorist organizations. turkey is growing increasingly frustrated with what it perceives to be a lack of seriousness on the part of various european nations when it comes to intelligence being prov

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arwa damon, thank you so much.bul on this blast taking place in the capital of ankara. >>> welcome back. we're in columbus, ohio, where tonight cnn is hosting the democratic town hall and we're going to talk more about politics now in the u.s. the senator marco rubio knows that he has to win his home state of florida on tuesday where the republican primary is about to be under way. and if he does, he will secure 99 delegates. florida is a win-or-take-all state. joining me is the editor for "the miami herald." good to see you. >> hi, there. >> is there confidence that marco rubio will be able to secure his home state? >> i don't think so. i want to clarify one thing, my newspaper did not endorse marco rubio for the primary. we recommended him. we never endorsed simply because that means we buy hook, line and sinker into everything that a candidate believes and that's not the case here. >> so what's the difference? why would a newspaper recommend and not endorse? >> well, we make recommendations taking into account w

arwa, thank you so much. it's great to see you.t to bring in right now a journalist author and senior fellow at the council and foreign relations, and also kimberly dozier to talk more about this. the interior minister said we missed a chance here to stop at least one of the attackers. after paris, how does this happen? >> well, i was just in brussels over the weekend at a conference focussed on terrorism, and one of the things top belgian initials said we know we need to change. we know we need better intelligence and we're working on it. we need help in more intelligence sharing. the question is how can they share that intelligence before they get their own house in order? they've got six different police departments throughout the city of brussels. they've got a tiny security service only 12,000 or so strong. a couple of different intelligence agencies. and all of these things, they don't talk. when you think back to our own post 9/11 intraspection, it took a long time to come up with a 9/11 report. we set up with national direc

arwa damon is in istanbul.o a certain extent, it is not necessarily this so-called mortal blow. the regime was able to take full control of the city and the ancient unesco site very close by. one that many are concerned would have been devastatingly destroyed by isis. we do know eyes during the year-long occupation that it undertook of palmyra, did destroyed centuries old temples. it seems at this stage that much of it is intact. russian air strikes, hundreds of them pounding the area, which allowed for the regime to advance. this is both a strategic victory given palmyra's location connecting homes to the east. it is arguably much more of a symbolic victory, one sure to reduce the morale around assad's forces. it is allowing the syrian president to brazenly say that his and russia's strategy is working as opposed to that of the u.s.-led coalition. >> thank you so much for that. appreciate it. a splinter group of the pakistani taliban claiming responsibility for a suicide bombing in lahore that killed 69 people

let's go to arwa damon in ankara. >> reporter: alison, a view of the actual blast site blocked by thatheet you see behind us, the area still cordoned off. we see security teams moving in and out. the attacker or attackers drove a vehicle laden with explosives, detonating it right near a bus stop. this is one of the main boulevards going through the central part of the city. very crowded, especially at the time of the attacks. there are shops and restaurants, concerned about the death toll rising. they are reporting this is an attack carried out by the pk k-1 of the one of the attackers was a woman. they are not disclosing which terrorist organization was behind this devastating violence until their investigation is complete, john. >> all right, arwa damon live for us in ankara. and coming up from the region, a cnn exclusive inside rebel-held syria. crews witness an airstrike begins civilians first hand. this is a story you won't see anywhere else. that's next on "new day." heals faster. for a bandage that moves with you and stays on all day, cover with a band-aid brand flexible fabric

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cnn international correspondent arwa damon is live for us.ite that this information didn't get through. what do we know about his movement there's? >> well, this is what the turks are saying that he came to the country, first going to a resort town, perhaps attempting to try to pose as a tourist before eventually making his way to gazian. the city is located close to the board were syria and it's one of the main transit hubs for people trying to cross into the war zones, especially for those who potentially want to join isis as foreign fighters. and it was something in el bakroui's actions that caught the suspicion, raised the suspicions of the turkish security forces. and especially of those who work in the counterterrorism department. they surveilled him for a few days. picked him up, and then decided to deport him. the turks say that they notified the netherlands, because that is where he was going to be deported to, as well as belgian authorities. now the netherlands, the dutch are basically saying yes, we were aware of the fact that he w