this is happening in schaerbeek.ave information about what we're seeing and also information this is part of what is going on that is much, much bigger. >> what's you are seeing on the screen is part, only part of a major counterterrorism operation. at least three locations in brussels. this information coming from the belgian federal prosecutors' office briefing belgian media. there is a helicopter that has been involved in this. the army has been brought in at this location in schaerbeek to reinforce their efforts. belgian special intervention commandos have been involved as well. and so far, six people have been brought into custody. it appears possibly one at this location that it's not absolutely clear yet. two in jet, a northwestern district of brussels, but the most sort of stunning development of all potentially is the rest of three men in a vehicle outside the belgian federal prosecutor's offices at the heart of brussels. not clear what they were doing there, but as part of this counterterror operation they'

this operation in schaerbeek appears to be winding down.k back in on the ground in a few moments. >>> up next, the republican race for president and the war against isis. right now, though, the war is between ted cruz and donald trump over their respective wives. stay with us. with extraordinary offers on the exhilarating is... the thrilling gs... and the powerful rc coupe. ♪ this is the pursuit of perfection. >>> a new low in the so-called war over wives is playing out in the republican presidential race. ted cruz called donald trump a sniveling coward after trump retweeted this. a split screen image of heidi cruz and melania trump. no need to spill the beans. the images are worth a thousand words. an anti-trump superpac put an ad on facebook using an old gq photoshoot in which melania trump posted nude. now that trump has posted the picture comparing heidi cruz to his own wife, his defense is pretty much the other guy started it. now here is ted cruz today. >> i have to say, seeing him go deeper and deeper into the gutter, it's not easy t

the apartment is located in schaerbeek. authorities said they found bomb making materials as well as nails and bolts. we have our correspondents in belgium. we want to start with ayman mohyeldin. he's in the schaerbeek neighborhood, the area where the newest raids are taking place. what can you report this morning? >> yeah, thomas. this is very an ongoing operation. we apologize for the shaky camera. we have been pushed back from the street where we were set up. you can see off to my shoulder in the distance, a variety of belgian forces currently working in this operation. what we have been able to see are explosive units. the explosives teams responsible for detonating any controlled sustance or suspicious devices found. a short while ago, we saw members of the team get dressed in uniforms, the heavy ones, protective gear and moved some type of object onto the train tracks or rail tracks behind us. we also saw mechanical robot that is common with these types of scenes. now, police continue to push members of the media and

taking place a few hours ago in a neighborhood of schaerbeek. one person was wounded and arrested during the operation. it follows several raids conducted last night. the man on the far left is. alexander and sasha penchowski and secretary of state john kerry honored the victims and in an interview with richard engel, kerry asked if europe has a handle on the isil problem. >> europe has done a lot. particularly, the government of belgium has done a lot. before this event took place, they had already had our foreign fighters search team here a month ago. they are the ones who apprehended salah abdeslam. >> a lot to cover and our team of reporters and analysts are standing by ready to talk about all of the developments and angles of this story. i want to begin with chief foreign correspondent richard engel who joins me now from brussels and not far away from schaerbeek. talk more about what you were able to learn in that interview with secretary kerry and what that means the takeout of haji imam. >> reporter: so a lot of activity to cover. there h

much of that concentration taking place in schaerbeek in brussels. chris. >> ayman mohyeldin, thank you. i want to go to nbc's keir simmons on what has been a morning of fast breaking developments. i understand you have new information from the federal prosecutor. what can you tell us? >> chris, that's right. we just got a release from the federal prosecutor's office here in belgium. and we have been picking through it. it looks as if from that that there were nine people arrested and apprehended in the past 24 hours. this is how they break it down. they say that yesterday, three people were arrested outside, outside the federal prosecutor's office, and they were taken into du custody. two of those were released. another man was arrested in the street close by. two more men were then arrested in a car leaving brussels. so that brings you to six arrests overnight. two properties searched. and then today, three more arrests, we are told, and particularly in that area where ayman was talking to you. two of those people were shot in the leg. we're told,

one of those major raids right here in the schaerbeek area as well. we know that there were three people who were arrested right in front of the federal prosecutor's office here in brussels. it's unclear if they'll be charged. there was a statement put out by the federal prosecutor a couple of minutes ago confirming the arrests and saying the investigation is still ongoing. they want to see whether or not these people will be charged with anything. the person taken into custody after being shot here, right here, a couple of moments ago, as this operation was going on, the police has said that they believe that person is linked to the terror attacks that happened here on tuesday. pop poppy? >> just shows the e nnormity of this cell. let's talk more about the significant of all of this. paul cruikshank is with us. why is this so significant? >> well, what we're seeing over the -- especially over the last year, the intelligence community, and the intelligence operations on the ground in iraq and syria have got son much better. when we first started doing

what has proven to be important is an apartment that was raided in schaerbeek. that was based off a taxi driver who saw the pictures of the three men on belgian media, called the police and said he picked up three individuals who met that description from an apartment in this neighborhood and that's what led police to that neighborhood. when they got there, they found ingredients that were explosive in nature. tatp, the substance that was in one of the bombs, they found screws, nails, they found things consistent with bomb making, and they believed as well there are evidence, forensic evidence linking some of the attackers to that apartment belonging to the suicide bombers. now, based on that, they have also been looking at an apartment they raided last tuesday. it was in that apartment they found the fingerprints of salah abdeslam who was the person in connection with the paris attacks who had been on the run for four months. >> that raises the question, what is the connection, how deep does the connection go? is this all the work of one kehl? >> there are a lo

. >> we've seen several raids in the schaerbeek area. we know they picked up one individual in the schaerbeek neighborhood with whom they're speaking. we know that the raids have stretched all the way out into ireland, but these are unique neighborhoods that are swollen with refugees. you have people who don't assimilate in the community, they don't speak the language. as we've seen in the case of saleh abdeslam, they don't infiltrate into these areas. >> saleh abdeslam believed to have been hiding out with the two people who made the bombs yesterday. it is becoming clear now that this was one cell. the people that we know about in that cell are all deceased and if there are others, authorities are alleging that there may be others, we don't have any information about them because the authorities haven't given us that. >> the secretary of state is going to be here on friday and really what we have from the state department right now is that the mission of the secretary will be to express condolences and meet with the authorities out here

this area is called schaerbeek.o drive, it might be a 10-minute drive, maybe a 15-minute drive. >> so it's close. >> all of this isn't very far away. >> okay, fred, stay with me. bob baer, i want your astute eyes as well, as you're looking at this. we've been talking to mitch about, you know, looking for, you know, people, perhaps explosive, perhaps, you know, high-powered weapons. analyze this picture for me, please, sir. >> well, what you have to do in the absence of intelligence is start making raids. it's what our special forces did in baghdad, in kabul as well, hit one house after another, collecting intelligence as quickly as you can, moving on. you have to stop the momentum of these attacks. the only way to do this is send in the special forces essentially and hit these places. any suspects, you know, without warrants. there's no other way to get ahead of this. they're doing the right thing. the helicopters are watching to see who runs. i mean, belgium is at war now. there's a lot of people dead. it's a diffi

he took them to a suburb called schaerbeek where they found a nail bomb, chemicals, an isis flag.e that apartment in the district of schaerbeek could be the place where the bombs were made that were at least used in the attacks on the airport. as you can see, the group of people who appear to be implicated in this appears to be narrowing down. on one occasion, it appears the police in belgium may have had the two people implicated in the airport attack cornered but they got away. >> just amazing, fred, thank you for that update. >>> europe is on high alert after the brussels terror attacks. nearby netherlands tightening checks at borders. france says it is beefing up security at all public transportation hubs. jim bitterman is live for us in paris with much more. jim, what's the scene there? >> well, they have put another 1,600 security officers on at various transportation hubs and airports around france. quite a nervous situation for authorities here. the illustration of that took place this morning. the airport was shut down and evacuated for a few minutes but a suspicious pack

but his dna has not yet been matched to the schaerbeek property which was raided yesterday which was the bomb factory for this attack. the fact that his dna at this location suggested he might have been the bomb maker. i think it is premature carol to call him isis's chief bomb maker. we don't know that for sure. but certainly he is a very skilled bomb maker and still at large. belgium authorities very keen to arrest him. he may be the most dangerous man in europe right now. >> okay. so all of these people are apparently connected though. and that is really the point. and i think that many americans are wondering, general, is isis in the form of al-baghdadi directly ordering these kind of attacks? because we know this bomb maker went to syria. we don't know who he talked to or anything but that is what many americans fear? >> well i think there is a command and control element to all of this carol. but his terms of directly ordering it as to the details of the plot, the timing, the place, the location, no. he is not doing any of that. what you were talk about with nima before in thes

his dna was found in the bomb lab in schaerbeek. it was also found on the suicide belts that the attackers used in france. and what has been frightening for them is the evolution of laachraoui's skill set. in france attack, one person was killed. as tragic as that was. part of it was because the explosive was very, very unstable. these attacks in brussels, you saw a new level of experience almost coming into play. that third bomb that failed to detonate. that was the largest of the three in the airport that had 15 kilos of explosives in it. it is horrifying if the man in white, whose image we are seeing, if his bought detonated, all of this the work of laachraonajim laachrao laachraoui. for authorities, his signature shifted. his dna tied him to the attacks. a lot of those we have been speaking to in the intelligence community said why would they sacrifice such an experienced bomb maker? you get the sense the network was really feeling that noose tightening around them. fred said ibrahim el bakraoui felt it was this or end up in jai

one of the raids taking place in the area where nick paton walsh is in the schaerbeek district. we were there on the scene. we could see forensic experts combing through top floor of a building. looking for evidence. taking swabs, taking samples. obviously floork traces of explosives. traces of dna. any identifying factors that can help them on this manhunt. they're look for these two men. we heard about an rest in germany. we're seeing this plot overlapping now into france and also into germany. we heard the man in germany arrested who sounds like he might be most closely related to this plot was stopped on a routine check. he was act us ing suspiciously. they found a text message was sent at 9:08, just three minutes before the metro bombing. in gnthat text was the name ka lead el bakraoui. one of the suspects. we're seeing that the network goes beyond belgium. beyond france even to germany as well. so, authorities here very much focused on trying to contain the situation and find, primarily, pam, the two men we know were involved in the airport and metro bombings. but also try

schaerbeek, when we arrived on the scene there was a heavy police presence.ally what we saw what were appeared to be forensic experts moving in to this house, actually unclear if it was a house or three apartments. they appeared to be centering efforts on the third floor, going through, collecting evidence, possibly searching for dna, for fingerprints, for more explosives. it's not clear yet. what we do know is that six people were arrested during the course of various raids across belgium last night. three of them arrested outside the federal prosecutor's office as the manhunt is continuing here for those two men. now, meanwhile today we are hearing in germany, new information coming in about two separate arrests. these two men are both believed to be connected to bakraoui, of course, one of the two brothers involved in these vicious terror attacks. apparently there were suspicious text messages that were found on the phones. one of these men who was arrested in germany reportedly very well-known in the sal afide community in respect is a connection to the b

in the district of schaerbeek. it's not far away from molenbeek. it has seen raids after the paris attacks and of course the run-up what we've seen today and the run-up of salah abdeslam being captured as well. certainly this is an area where the police has been operating in the past couple of months. when they conducted over 100 raids to try to apprehend salah abdeslam and those connected with him and police also saying they did find a considerable amount of weapons, ammunition, and explosives in those many raids that they carried out since the paris attacks. some of them right here in this district, anderson. >> the question, of course, that law enforcement is no doubt investigating very vigorously right now is is it the same explosives used in the paris attacks that were used in the attacks today in brussels? and fred, correct me if i'm wrong, but memory serves, i believe i remember that they still have not been able to identify who the bombmaker was from the paris attacks or where his present location is. is that correct? >> reporter: no, you'r

forces raid, but first there was a raid carried out in schaerbeek. a bomb squad is on the scene inspecting a certain object. it resulted in several people being detained. the people in france say it foiled another terrorist plot in the stages of planning. belgium reports a fifth suspect in the brussels bombing named today. police forces described the man as, quote, armed and dangerous. we're also getting new images from inside the attacker's so-called bomb-making safehouse in an apartment in schaerbeek, the same neighborhood where today's raid took place. authorities raided the apartment shortly after the bombings, saying they found bomb-making materials including chemicals, nails, bolts and an isis flag. about that isis leader who was killed today, we were told it was isis' second in command, hajimam. today ash carter talked about the operation. >> today the u.s. forces killed several isis leaders this week. he was serving as a finance minister and also responsible for some external affairs and plots. he was a well-known terrorist within isil's rank

"that would have blown up all brussels, not just schaerbeek. he feels letdown by police. "maybe they didn't do their job properly," he said. "they neglected things. they were too lenient. we spoke to many residents who were too afraid to go on camera, jeff, but there is a profound sense of shock and disbelief that the men behind the brussels attacks carried out their dangerous work in a quiet family neighborhood undetected by police. >> glor: debora, thank you. syrian government troops have forced isis fighters out of the historic city of palmyra but it comes far too late for the roman era ruins and priceless antiques they destroyed there. it is a story elizabeth palmer has been following, and she has the latest now. >> reporter: for three weeks the syrian army has been advancing on palmyra in an offensive backed by russian air strikes to drive isis out. today the army declared victory. soldiers found the residential areas of the town littered with isis signs and banners. but all eyes were on the city's world-famous ancient ruins. mamoun abdelkarim, syria's head of antiqu

his dna was recovered at the bomb factually in schaerbeek for the brussels attacks.whether that's his real name or a name that he used to gain entry into europe. one line of inquiry is he entered europe through liros, the greek island of liros in september to come into europe. one other detail we're learning from a source briefed by german investigators, and this is a big investigation right now, is that it's believed that salah abdeslam picked him up in a refugee center in olm, germany, on october 3rd and then drove him to brussels. this figure they believe is possibly played a key role in those brussels attacks. finding him is a matter of great urgency. this man is definitely one of the most wanted men in europe right now. >> naim al hamed. we don't know if that's his real name or if he was the third figure in the airport photo or the one seen in surveillance at the subway station. it's possible there are three fugitives or he could be one of the two they are hunting for right now. crucially, paul, if i was following your timeline. connection to salah abdeslam, one

flags, those raids are continuing in schaerbeek. they released photos of three perpetrators who they think did the bombings. two guys that are likely dead and one there is a manhunt for. so those raids going on in schaerbeek now. they're on the run. they haven't disclosed how extensive the cell is. the expectation is this was a well-planned, professional and large cell that perpetrated this today. >> rose: any connection with the arrests made recently? >> that's speculation. 24, 48 hours ago we heard belgian authorities saying they were nervous that because the arrests made friday, that abdeslam, the last remaining attacker from paris, they thought since he was arrested they thought the plotters could move up their attack date and there would be retaliation. they were preparing because they thought they were connected. that's the operating suspicion amongst the analysts i talked to today. >> rose: is he talking or not? disclosures over the weekend that he has been plotting and that they were plotting something else. the foreign mini

it was in the brussels suburb of schaerbeek. there were two police helicopters in the air. one shining its light on a particular apartment building. now, we don't know what was going on inside, but shortly after we were there, the police released a statement saying that they had found bomb making material, an isis flag, other isis documents. and what they described as a chemical laboratory in an apartment. not sure it was the one i was looking at, but there's a lot of activity and there are raids. this is a very nervous city tonight, tamron. >> let's talk about where these raids are happening this hour, bill. is this the area where the individual abdelslam was arrested? give us a better picture of if these raids are happening throughout or if there is a neighborhood of particular focus and interest? >> reporter: no, salah abdelslam, and indeed, many members of his cell, are from the brussels area of molenbeek. now, that is a high immigrant population, it's an area where a lot of jihadis ha s have lived the past few years. today's raid was on an area closer to brussels' city

taking place a few hours ago in a neighborhood of schaerbeek. during the operation. it follows several raids conducted last night.

his dna was found in that bomb factory in schaerbeek.e forensics tonight if they match his dna to this device that they found today, that would be confirmation that he's the bomb maker and that is a very worrying thing, indeed, because if you got an experienced isis operative, a bomb maker on the loose in brussels, all he needs is willing candidates to equip them to launch more attacks and there are plenty of those these days. >> kimberly, you were just in brussels. >> the other disturbing thing is they knew this was coming. the belgian foreign minister told the conference i was at which is partly about terrorism this week that in questioning the paris fugitive who'd just been arrested that they found out he had a new wider network, he had plans for future violent attacks, and they were out there looking for anyone connected to him and yet they didn't find this plot. >> so even while he was on the run, the subject for this massive manhunt in which belgium has said, look, there were more than 100 raids over the last several months, this g

the place i'm here is schaerbeek. apartment that served as the bomb making factory for the brussels airport bombing. there were forensic units on the scene securing material out of the apartment here. it is unclear if anyone was arrested here. overnight, six people brought into detention. three right in front of the belgian federal prosecutor's office. three people apparently waiting in a car. certainly the belgian police stepping up activity as it searches for two people still at large. one on the surveillance cameras and one from the metro station where many people say was acting strangely before the blast. some say they saw that person leaving the metro station after the blast. christine. >> fred, we're learning more about the people missing. we're not getting much new information about confirmation of fatalities as the investigation continues. we are learning about a mother of three. a woman who is a teacher at an islamic school in brussels. her students waiting for her on the morning of this and she did not come

they found his dna in an apartment in schaerbeek.o be involved with the making of bombs in paris. this is just what belgian media are reporting. in addition to those linked to this attack, he is one of the most sought after in belgium. >> let's hope they got him. thanks so much for all of that. u.s. officials helping now in the brussels investigation. cnn's justice reporter evan perez is live in washington with more on that angle of the story. what do you have? >> counterterrorism analysts here in the united states are helping belgian investigators dig in to multiple people. the belgian authorities provide the people with names of interest. they are being run through data bases of suspected extremists. investigators want everything, including past travel, friends, associates. today there is a race against time to try to find as many members as possible believed to be part of a large network connected not only to the brussels attack but also to other terrorist plots including the paris massacre. in the past few months since paris, u.s

>> well, there has been activity in the schaerbeek area. throughout the day.not only trying to find these men who they believe are still at large, that means they're a priority, but also trying to see whether there are other people at large who might have helped them, whether there is some sort of wider web. authorities have linked the terror attacks that happened on november 13th and the brussels attack. abdeslam is one of those who seems to be one of those linking figures. najim laachraoui is another one, the bomb maker who built those explosive devices, created a lot of tatp explosives. which of course is very high powered. you can create it at home but it does require a certain amount of expertise. that very isis bombmaker actually went to school less than a miale from where we are now in the schaerbeek area. his former principal said, listen, when he was at our school, he never had any issues. he went to a technical institute here where he learned electromechanical engineering, which seems to indicate why he's so well versed in creating things like these

as tina kraus reports. 3 -nats-authorities continued searching the brussels suburb of schaerbeek overnight...looking for suspects connected to attacks.(gfx)one of them - pictured here with two of the suspected airport attackers - is said to be on the run. belgian prosecutors say *he* vanished, leaving his luggage at the scene...while the men next to him died when they detonated explosives hidden in their bags.police raided a house in the area tuesday and found chemicals, an explosive device containing nails, and an isis flag:(sot diana/ last name withheld) "it's been weird// to think that there are people so close to you who could do something like that." nats..mama! mama! somebody help me!security teams locked down brussels yesterday when isis terrorists set off explosions at an airport and train station.emergency officials treated many of those wounded on the streets. (sot emmanuel batiot/ witness) you see it in movie but you cannot imagine people yelling, like they are going to die -nats-a memorial is now growing in the center of the city for those killed.many mourners were reminded of

they cordoned off parts of the northern district of schaerbeek which has a relatively large immigrant community. the neighborhood was also searched following the paris attacks last november. belgian police are still searching for two men who were seen with the suicide bombers near the attack site. they have identified three suicide bombers. two of them were brothers. they say najm laachraoui went to syria in 2013. he confessed that he could not find any signs that his elder brother was influenced by extremism. meanwhile, in france, the interior minister said authorities arrested a french national who was apparently plotting a terror attack. plans for the attack were at an advanced stage. authorities have not yet confirmed that the man has links to the attacks in brussels and paris. >>> the attacks in belgium have prompted officials to beef up intelligence. eu home affairs officials held an emergency meeting on thursday. they set up an anti-terrorism center in january to fight crime. but it is not working properly. citing varying results for requests for information. >> sometimes, i'm

the other incident in schaerbeek, the investigation into the bombings now show that one of the airport bombers was najim laachraoui. his brother has now spoken to the media. moorad laachraoui told authorities he had no contact with his brother since 2013. >> why did you stop contact with him? >> he was in seniors. >> did you try to get hold of him? >> he was in syria. it was difficult to get a phone. >> was it his choice or your choice? >> it was a technical choice, his choice, i have no idea. >> condole sans coming to an end. the official search for answers goes on. dominic cain, al jazeera, brussels. >> fronlfrancois hollande is wag that other groups still threaten european cities. nadim baba reports from paris. >> the day after the dramatic raid in paris suburb. security forces moved in on thursday night to secure an apartment here, they found both explosives and weapons. >> translator: we know there are other networks because even though one that carried out the attacks in paris and brussels is in the process of being wild out with a number of its members being arrested there is a

there was one suspect who was shot in the leg in the schaerbeek neighborhood in brussels. lots of other raids going on as well. and the individual who was arrested in france last name kriket was a known associate of abdelhamid abaaoud, the plot ringleader of the paris attacks. all this starting to connect together. this cell at the very least wanted to launch attacks, more attacks in france and belgium. there's obviously this german angle as well. no evidence yet, though, that germany was targeted specifically by this cell. >> stay with me, everyone. when we come back, the pentagon says it has a killed a top leader of isis. a man many consider to be the success in command. who was he and how significant is his removal in the battle with isis? you know we said we'd take a look at our retirement plan today. not now! i'm cleaning the oven! yeah, i'm cleaning the gutters! washing the dog! washing the cat! well i'm learning snapchamp! chat. chat! changing the oil... (vo) it's surprising what people would rather do than deal with retirement. pressure-washing the... roses. aerati

this is in the schaerbeek section of brussels in belgium.the bomb squad, at work. they're detonating, apairmently, a device over there. and we have -- yeah, you see the bomb squad. it's a situation we're going to keep monitoring for you. meantime, going to pivot back now to american politics, to the presidential race. going to talk to donald trump's national campaign spokesperson, katrina pierson. obviously, the wisconsin primary race heating up. that contest on april 5th. some saying this is the last chance for the republican establishment to stop donald trump if it's going to stop donald trump. so katrina pierson from the trump campaign joins me now. katrina, thank you for taking a few minutes here. i want to start with the biggest controversy in this republican race right now, and this is over this issue of the candidates' wives, whether they're fair game in the campaign. ted cruz, your opponent yesterday, did not mince words talking about donald trump. this is what ted cruz said about donald trump yesterday. i want to play it and have yo

. >> reporter: security forces taking over brussels schaerbeek neighborhood, an assault by heavily armed officers. loud explosions. once quiet streets now the focus of the war on terror. today it led them here to this tram stop where in a dramatic confrontation they shot a man. a witness tells me we heard a shot. it was the police that shot in that direction to my right. we saw a man on the right in front of me. he was on the ground. at that moment, the police dragged him and put him in an balance. police demanded his backpack. the bomb squad moved in to check the bag. this is where the man ended up. hours later, his blood still on the ground. today's shooting only about two miles from the schaerbeek apartment where a taxi driver told police this is where he picked up two of the men in brussels' attacks. today shots outside her home. a day she never thought possible. she tells me, i live in fear now. i live in fear now. not before. maybe things will calm down, but she tells me, i think it's just the beginning. secretary of state john kerry arriving here in brussels to meet with belgian a

the incident at schaerbeek. one of the be person traits was najim laachraoui. >> why did you stop contact with him? >> because he was in syria. >> did you try to get in contact with him? >> he was in increase. it's hard to get a number. >> it was his choice, there were no more contacts. >> reporter: friday is the last of three days of national mourning for belgium. condolence is coming to an end. the official search for answer he goes on. dominic cain, al jazeera, brussels. >> i'm going to take you to the center of brussels to see the crowds that have gathered there around the floral tributes and candles on open defiance to those who have decided to inflict terror on the population. they have decided to not stay indoors. you can see the solidarity. paul brennan on the edge of that crowd. paul i know i can see behind you, you have people in fluorescent jackets, crosses on their backs, first responders i imagine. responsible for clearing up after the events earlier this week? >> reporter: that's right, david. ther

one in the schaerbeek neighborhood near what's called the bomb factory where three identified bombers operated, police recovered 33 pounds of explosives. also very near the metro station where one of the bombs went off killing 20. we saw investigators in protective gear leaving with bags of evidence. in paris, another raid. this one in a north suburb. north authorities arrested a man described as a high-level operative in advanced stages of planning an act. however, at this stage, there's no connection between the paris raid and the brussels attacks. we've seen an increased level of activity with the police here in brussels. reporting live, i'm mike tobin. now here's "hannity." >>> welcome to "hannity "" program. in the wake of the deadly brussels terror attacks president obama is under fire from being out of touch with his own country. i'm tucker carlson in tonight for sean. after ignoring repeated calls to return to washington to deal with a growing threat of radical islam, last night at a state dinner in buenos aires, argentina, the president found it appropriate to take to the dan

the incident in schaerbeek was not the only one on friday. others were picked up elsewhere in the city. the investigation into the boaments now shows that one of the airport bombers was najim laachraoui, his brother has now spoken to the media. >> why did you stop contact with him? >> because he was in syria. >> did you try get hold of him? >> he was in syria. it is difficult to get a phone number. >> was it his choice or your families? >> it was a technical choice, our families or i have no idea. there were no contacts. >> while the search goes on the third and final day of mourning has been observed. the be secretary of state john kerry expresshis sympathy to the people of brussels at the zaventem airport. >> after 9/11 you showed your solidarity with the victims of new york and washington and pennsylvania and then voices ought croodeclared je suis amer. and now we declare, je suis brusselsaine. >> the search for more perpetrators gs goe goes on. dominic cain, al jazeera. >>> tribute to dead and almost 300 wounded. >>> a choir and be brusse

heavily armed police conducting an operation in the district of schaerbe schaerbeek, the same district a taxi driver picked up the three men suspected in carrying out the airport bombings. belgian prosecutors have confirmed the second bomber was najim laachraoui. >> translator: we accept that we need to improve in the fight against terrorism in europe and belgium. >> reporter: u.s. authorities believe they know the name of this man seen wearing a hat and light-colored clothing in airport surveillance footage. he allegedly left a bomb behind and fled. u.s. officials have shared this information with belgian authorities. german authorities arrested a 28-year-old moroccan man that allegedly received two text messages before the attack. one with a name of the brussels metro bomber, and the other saying french for ending. just three minutes before bakraoui detonated his bomb. >> translator: we have had success in finding the terrorists, both in brussels and in paris, there have been some arrests and we know there are other networks. with a number of its members arrested, there is still a th

the bombs, the city is on edge as police continue major operations in the brussels district of schaerbeek. the same neighborhood where a taxi driver picked up three terrorists an brought them to the brussels airport on tuesday. two of them blew themselves up inside the terminal. this video obtained pby cnn shos the apartment where two of the suspects planned the attacks. inside police found tatp, the unstable explosive believed to have been used in the brussels and paris attacks, as well as chemicals and an isis flag. meantime overnight in a separate operation outside paris, french officials captured another man suspected of planning his own attack. >> translator: to foil an attack in france. the individual in question holding french nationality is suspected of being involved at a high level in this project. >> reporter: recovered in a related operation, a kalashnikov rifle and more tatp. and tonight german authorities say they arrested a 28-year-old moroccan man. a source briefed by german officials tells cnn the man allegedly received two text messages before tuesday's attacks in brusse

there are areas of france that certainly compare, but in places like molenbeek and schaerbeek, areas with very high levels of immigration, usually from either north africa, morocco in particular, and turkey, they are not people who feel very belgian. i mean, joy, this is an odd country right from the beginning. there are two distinct communities here. one french speaking, one dutch speaking. indeed, there's a german speaking community on the eastern side of the country. it's often said that there's very little that unites belgians except for the king, the football team, and the flag. it is not a country that has a great deal of national cohesion like france. so when you've got immigrant communities as well, they often feel their first loyalty is not to belgium but to the countries where they come from. now, on top of that, in the last few years and indeed, i suppose since 2003 in the invasion of iraq or perhaps even before that, you've had the al qaeda and isis poison going through these communities. and a lot of young people from molenbeek and schaerbeek, indeed, hundreds of them, h

this is the same schaerbeek district for the brussels and paris attackers had safe houses.his operation was triggered from information gleaned in paris yesterday when one man was arrested apparently preparing a new attack in france and not linke -- linked in the brussels bombings. >> they make sure the kid is safe and they shoot a man in the legs the the police asked him to put the bag far from him. that's what he do. he put the bag far from him and after, i just watched and he tried to move but that was very shock. i was very shocked. >> meanwhile, prosecutors today kirmeds -- confirmed that the man who is thought to have made e suicide vests used in last year's paris attacks made the brussels bomb. some 40 nationalities are touched in total from the brussels attacks. from america to china, families are now mourning and in the u.k., too. david dixon, an i.t. consultant from harty poole texted his family after the attack to say he was such a the father of a 7-year-old son died soon after in the metro blast. mason wells survived the boston marathon bombing three years ago. h

this is in schaerbeek, the security was heightened here. this heavily armed officer stood near the home of one of the suicide bombers najim lachraoui. also, we went to the military hospital which perhaps is one of the grimaced places of all. here is where families can bring dna samples so that they can match up with the remains from the blasts and possibly make some identification. so basically, there's very little official notice about the victims in these blasts, who has died and who is considered very uneasy. >> what we hear now is that everybody we know is okay. if you are afraid, then they won. so i think hope and love is the best weapon against this terror. >> okay. photographer eddie alonso is focusing on some military men over there with some big assault rifles. they're standing outside guarding the station and then, eddie, just pan over to the right just a little bit. you did see that there are some army trucks here. we are told that they have been in place since after the paris attacks and obviously, security is heightened here be

connected to the paris attacks, in fact, came from that molenbeek neighborhood a we have it in schaerbeek and hala and explosives and tactical raids, explosions rather and tactical raids have been heard and seen throughout the city tonight. this is very much a city on edge. it has been increasingly on edge ever since paris as we have been looking and hearing about the search for the suspect who's been on the loose and now bell belgians are seeing exactly what they feared, all-out major terrorist attack on their capital. >> i want to show you the scene at the white house. president obama has ordered flags flown at half-staff. we'll have all the latest developments this evening in a special one-our edition of "nbc nightly news." one hour in many of the markets. for now, i'm lester holt, nbc news, new york. >>> back now entrie into news, everyone looking at surveillance photo from brussels, three men pushing luggage carts. heard earlier, the two men on the left side were wearing one club which may be too controlled detonation devices from security as they went to the airport. >> still a very

a major police raid and a new arrest in the schaerbeek area of brussels. fred pleitgen is with us.e're looking at some new video coming in. you can't see it but you can talk to us about the wounded, the man wounded and taken into custody. what are you seeing and hearing? >> reporter: well, it meshes with what eyewitnesss told us as well. we were outside the police cordon as the raid was going on. they said there was a man who apparently was armed and on a tram station which is where we are right now, and that he apparently was threatening. it was then that police was alerted to his presence there. they then shot him, and the witnesses told us initially that he had been shot but hp shot in a way that he was not killed. they believed it was the leg or something, and certainly the video does seem to corroborate with the people were saying. it also was the case that there were bomb disposal squads called. it appeared as though a bomb robot was also used during all this. we could see the man appeared to have a backpack on him, and the bomb robot seemed to check out the backpack. the mas

in brussels, a shoot-out in the belgium district of schaerbeek led to the arrest of a man that officials say is linked to tuesday's deadly terror attacks in brussels. witnesses say they heard two explosions and then gunfire. the person taken into custody was wounded. police have been focusing on the town since thursday when they raided a nearby apartment and found chemicals and an isis flag. secretary of state john kerry says more attacks could be in the works. is there we know there are foreign fighters who have returned from syria over a span of five years. that is the reason for people being individual lent and alert. that is -- vigilant and alert and for travel adversaries. leon: meanwhile, defense secretary ash carter announced special operations in syria killed a man considered number two in command in isis. he goes by several names but including haji imam. secretary give details of the clandestine raid except to say that haji imam was killed in the past two days and we are not sure of what force entered syria for the mission. but he was not killed by a drone or aircraft strike. se

he was arrested in the suburb of share be schaerbeek. also in italy a man was arrested suspected of being tied up with this network both in paris and brussels. suspected of supplying the network with false documents, with identification paper ares, possibly with passports. he was scooped up by police in southern italy. so, the police do seem to be make i making some progress in the investigation. but they know there are members of this network who are still out there. >> they don't know how many. i asked one of the police officers candidly, the commissioner in charge, how many, and he said frankly we simply don't know. >> and for some of you who are just joining us let us reset the scene here at the place de la bourse on this easter sunday afternoon. what started out as a peaceful remembrance of the folks who were killed here, 31 people, including the attacker who died, including four americans, a young couple from tennessee, recently just yesterday positively identified, the schultzs, as among those who died. they canceled a march here.

belgian police carried out raids in central brussels, jette and the schaerbeek neighborhood early friday where earlier this week they found explosives and bombmaking material in the apartment used by the attackers. overnight six people arrested across the city. amal also evacuated. investigators are trying to figure out if there were other potential targets. they claim brothers khalid and ibrahim el bakraoui secretly recorded a top belgian nuclear scientist using a hidden camera. the two killed in the attacks were also on a u.s. terror watch list. authorities are also on the hunt for a man shown in surveillance video just before the attack and searching for this suspect shown with the bombers at the airport. ♪ as the memorials across brussels grow and the grieving continues, the families of the missing are still searching for loved ones. >> every one of them heartbreaking and difficult for these families. they want information about their loved ones who are missing. >> reporter: u.s. authorities tell abc news they have identified that mystery man in the airport and that he was likely on

fred pleitgen is live in schaerbeek where one of those raids took place.s what you have seen, fred. >> yeah. it was a massive raid that took place in the schaerbeek district with a lot of police officers and a very wide police cordon. after the raid took place, you had a lot of police officers in that hazmat gear, forensic suits, going through the apartment searching to see whether there could be any clues there. from what we have heard, no one was detained. but six people were detained in the overnight raids. the most recent information was that there was another raid that took place in the forrest district, which is also not far from where i am right now. several people were taken into detention. it is unclear whether or not they were taken into detention. that was the site of another terrorist safe house that was raided last tuesday. they had a firefight with several people inside the house. two people managed to escape. some believe those could be the bakraoui brothers, who conducted the attacks at the airport and metro as well. by and large, when you'

that was a neighborhood called schaerbeek. we're heard a lot about molenbeek. this is a similar neighborhood. they went to that house and found an explosive device containing nails as well as chemicals and an isis flag. >> and speaking of those raids, alex, what do we know about the search for that third suspect? >> reporter: well, the third suspect is now the prime suspect. he's the one who got away. we don't know whether he was meant to be a suicide bomber. i was at the airport. there was a third explosion. that was a controlled explosion by the authorities to detonate now we understand explosives that didn't go off. now, whether that third man was meant to be a suicide bomber is still not clear. there is some speculation and i emphasize that this is speculation, it has not been confirmed -- hopefully we'll get guidance later on the third man could be someone named najim laachraoui. his name and photo were released as a man who was connected to the paris attacks, connected to salah abdeslam who was arrested on friday. bombmaker for the paris attacks. his dna