let's bring in nick robertson in paris and nick paton walsh following developments in yemen. how wide is the net being cast for possible terror cells? >> reporter: it's being cast across northern europe and southern europe as well. this is a concern for intelligence agencies all over europe at the moment. what the french are telling us is that the three people that they've released are women. that the nine people that remain in detention here are, in fact can be held for another two days and may be held for even longer on the suspicion of the terrorism act. so at least two days before any of the others might be considered for release. and the concern is here that there could be other cells inside france. that is why france is on such a high alert with so many security forces deployed to thwart any possible further attack. >> and then nick paton walsh from yemen, you have new information on two french nationals arrested there? >> reporter: yes. we reported last night, yemeni officials saying two french men arrested in the past few months. they tried to leave the country. we no

nick robertson joins me live from northern nigeria. cnn is the other network live in this area. perhaps you can update us on what's happening and why it's difficult to get an accurate count of how many people died in this. >> reporter: sure. 20 to 30,000 people were forced to flee that area. because they left, there isn't really anyone there who can independently verify, okay, who died, who was killed, people have scattered over a wide area. also the fact that the main army military outpost there was overrun. many of the soldiers killed. many of the others fled. there is sort of no government authority there to make that kind of assessment and it's remote. sort of in one of the harshed place of the country. the roads begin to breakdown out there as well. we've been talking to soldiers here in the fight. normally you would expect an army to go back in and retake that land. the soldiers we're talking to, moral is low. they say the weapons they've been given to fight them, they don't have enough bullets. boko haram came into town with big anti-aircraft guns. so the soldiers beaten

. >> joining me now are nick robertson. this broadcaster has reportedly been in touch with an isis spokesperson. what do you know about that? >> they seem to be dealing with the japanese nhk rather than with the government according to the government spokesman earlyier today. they hadn't heard anything. the issue of whether anyone is willing to pay the $200 million rans ransom has been avoided in detail to stay away from a complete denial. there's no indication that's happening in the background. obviously, what we have heard a lot from the japanese government is their position that the support that they are giving in syria is not in terms of military aid. it's humanitarian to help the people there. kenji's mother emphasized that. she said she had been crying for the last three days but that her son, 47 years old, he goes to war zones because he wants to save the little children there. this real emphasis on the humanitarian side of what he wants to achieve. >> sadly, we hear from the mothers and similar reasons why these me

international correspondent nick robertson reports. >> reporter: condolences and respect for the newg. the sawed wree hess analogy for all, continuity but never in the desert kingdom's history has a new mon flashing inherited so much regional turmoil. to the south, yemen, the government collapsing rebels running the capitol. to the north, iraq not just attacks on the border by radical islamists isis but growing tensions with the government and then there is oil. in king salman's hands the power to shape the global economy. all of it filtered through the prism of iran. saudi is sunni, iran shia. in this 2012 king abdullah invited iranian president to saudi, since then relations have only deteriorated. iran seen as the hand iend the increasingly sectarian politics of shia led iraq the marge zags of sunni fueling in part the growth of radical islamists like isis. isis's own global caliphate aspirations kofting the king's role as custodian of islam's two who will yes sites. and in yemen shia houthi rebels judged by saudis to have iran's backing. by keeping its oil flowing, global oil pri

nick robertson, cnn, london. >> nick, thank you for that.hen those changes do come to saudi arabia they could affect the united states as well. keep in mind, saudi arabia is the one who really controls the global price of oil since they are such a big producer. also they are a u.s. ally in the fight against terror. very critical for the u.s. strategically. we'll talk about it next. when it comes to good nutrition...i'm no expert. that would be my daughter -- hi dad. she's a dietitian. and back when i wasn't eating right, she got me drinking boost. it's got a great taste and it helps give me the nutrition i was missing. helping me stay more like me. [ female announcer ] boost complete nutritional drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a delicious taste. grandpa! [ female announcer ] stay strong, stay active with boost. >>> saudi arabia's royal family is not small. the father of modern arabia has 45 sons. all of the kingdom'

. >> nick robertson robertson, thank you. >>> a yemeni official says the cease-fire has been agreed to with the rebels and shi'ite houthis. there may be a larger looming threat as the government deal was this. there are concerns that al qaeda in the arabian peninsula may benefit. aqap. senior correspondent nick paton walsh has the latest for us and explaining why this is so important in the context of what is happening in europe right now. nick. >> reporter: christine, there has been up to date with the events on the grounds. we heard continued shelling near the palace and administration. this is a shi'a movement called the houthis. they have been taking ground the last month. they got into a dispute over closed roads with presidential security who were trying to protect the presidential staff and there are clashes here and some breaking news i can bring you. we are hearing from officials close to the president that after a meeting for an organized cease-fire the president had with the officials of the houthi movement. he came upon open fire on the convoy. they suspect the gunmen were

nick robertson since cnn london. >> mr. obama said it is with deep respect that i express my personal condolences under the sympathies to the american people. >> joe bide listen lead a dell gigs. con toll enss are being expressed from around the world. >> we just have the statement. he will be remember. he will be repped for his commit tomt piece. king abdull lahe came a few years ago as part of a ground breaking visit. in a way also the relationship between saudi arabia and the west ful! westful. >> it is dependent on the power base. and you have seen that push and pull with the call for women's right to drive. they didn't get that. but they did get representation. one that acts alongside. women will be allowed to stand. it sounds like on cure points to make. >> and why does this matter so much to the world? >> it is a time of huge instability. production as oil prices are dropping. the i-sis threatened king abdullah. he has seen very much class of that. but the hope is and that's why we have seen all of the very quick tri

. >> now nick robertson also spoke to some soldiers on armed forces rem remembrance day.w as they try to take on boko haram. the nigerian military has responded saying they are fully committed to tackling boko haram so we shall see whether that actually holds true over the next weeks and months. >> and the fact of the matter is even though it is better late than never, a pledge is one thing. a plan is another. i mean this is a large military. we have a story coming up about some of the complaints that some of the soldiers have. but this insurgency has been going on for years. it gets worse each and every year. it almost goes to show the size of the fight that the military and president are really up against. >> the battle that they're up against is huge. no doubt about it. the weapons that have trickled down especially after the dissent grags of libya has gal voe nized them. the fact that they have made significant gains seems to have galvanized them also. now they seem to be taking over huge chunks of territory. the army is managing to hold on to the provential capitals.

nick robertson what can you tell us? >> reporter: the government had to be engaged with isis for the release of their pilot. what is more apparent is isis continues to play whatever card it can for its own advantage to raise their profile, and in particular this case make trouble for the jordanian government try to undermine the jordanian government. there are so many reasons to do this. jordan is a strong ally of the west in fighting isis. think do have trouble in their own country with al qaeda sympathizers with isis sympathizers. if isis can energize those people that will help destabilize jordan perhaps remove jordan from the fight against isis tactically that's something they'd like to see happen. so at the moment anything that they can do to highlight and continue to profile this current issue centered around the jordanian pilot -- and tonight that appears to be including the beheading of kenji goto because that thrusts this issue back front and center again now, what has happened to the jordanian pilot, will the j

7 >> pam: cnn and nick robertson ticket close to look at the backgrounds of those two brothers >> reporterrif kouachi is 32. a french citizen. with a criminal past. >> reporter:in 2008. >> reporter:he was sentenced to three years in prison for being part of a jihadist recruitment ring in paris that sent fighters to join the conflict in iraq. >> reporter:he and another man were about to set off for syria. from there, they planned to reach iraq, where war was raging. >> reporter:but he was arrested in 2005. >> reporter:at trial, he reportedly told the court, he was motivated by u-s troops' abuse of detainees at abu ghraib prison in iraq.when u.s. soldiers posed for photos with detainees.in uncompromising positions. >> reporter:cherif kouachi was convicted and sentenced in 2008. but bloomberg t-v reported he didn't actually go to prison after the trial. >> reporter:half of his three-year sentence was suspended. the rest. spent in pre- trial detention. >> reporter:two years later. 2010. >> reporter:he was charged in connection with a foiled plot to break an algerian islamist out of prison. a m

nick robertson travels to nigeria in this exclusive report to hear the plight of the soldiers battling terror group. >> run away to meet a soldier who's been in the front line of the battle against boko haram. we've been chasing him all day and still trying to catch up with him. >> eventually we meet hidden in a tiny store. he dares only to spend a few minutes with us. he's not authorized to talk. he's telling a side of the war we never hear, what it's like to be a soldier fighting boko haram. >> we are not issued kits. we buy the kits ourself. >> you have to buy the uniform? >> yeah. i bought myself myself. >> that's incredible. his base is outside this town three hours northeast of the capital. it's where the mostly muslim meets the mostly christian south. last here last month a twin suicide bombing killed 12 people. there are thousands of troops stationed in this town and many more stories like the soldier we're talking to. so this is what they gave you after your injury recommending for treatment? another soldier shows me his medical a papers. he too is not authorized to speak to u

nick robertson, cnn, participate paris. >> we want to turn to the unrest in yemen.n and rebels are set to sign a seize fire agreement but there is a great growing doubt that will settle the situation. >> i spoke a little early with the specialization in arab and islamic affairs. >> the bottom line here and the reason why many people around the world are so concerned about what is happening in yemen right now is this u.s. backed government there is losing the battle with this rebel group the houthi's and leaves al qaeda free to do whatever they want. >> not exactly, john the houthis have been at war with al qaeda since day one. the original leader of the houthis was upset when they turned to the united states for help and said hey, we can do it ourselves. we can fight al qaeda and there might be a silver lining in this cloud if the houthi's take over they can take on al qaeda without having to panlder to domestic public opinion. >> the shiites, al qaeda, soon knees and the rivalry war in islam and you believe maybe they will be more effective? >> they have always bee

nick robertson, we are showing viewers live pictures from mecca. ng. in mourning because the king has died. walk us through a little bit, nick. you were there the last time saudi arabia went through the death of the king. walk us through some of the moments that we're about to see. >> we're see a gathering of all the leading members of the royal family all the princes will gather. they will come to where the funeral would be expected to take place. they will gather with the new king. then they will go to the -- they will go to the grave site. there will be a swift burial. part of the tradition is one that goes back to the roots in the central desert. they are the people of the harsh desert central arabia. it's their tradition, their cultural tradition, perhaps more so than the religious roots that may embrace them to get the power to take the thrown from the previous dynasty in early last century. this will be a very sort of -- a cultural event in terms of it's minimalist minimalist. they tend not to leave a headstone marking the grave. the importan

as cnn nick robertson explains he sees a change already. >> what should you think about saudi arabia? well i tell you what i think since i came back. it's been six years since i was in rehab. when i left there were two towers driving from the airport. we passed about ten new towers. this is a city that's changing. militia obama came with president obama the other day. she came without wearing a scarf, without wearing -- ten years ago people tell me that would have been a scandal. she shook hands with the new king with king sal ma an. this was unheard of a few years ago. what has made this change? what else has changed? king abdullah did make changes while he was here. they might be subtle and not significant it seems from the outside. he put more than 100,000 young saudis into education overseas. he paid for them to go study at universities overseas knowing full well that when they came back they would bring back some of the outside values and this is where an inside society brings about change. when you talk to women, there's much more than are they allowed to drive. it's about their

i did get a question from nick robertson and the bbc. >> prime minister, with extra security being put in place today for the jewish community and also for police officers would people be right to conclude that the threat of an attack on the streets of britain is now almost imminent? >> you have spoken of the threat caused by fighters coming back from sear wra. do you ever worry that this is a legacy the decision of the united states and the united kingdom to in effect stand on the sidelines during serious bloody civil war? if i may briefly, you said you agree. is he right? is it time to stick to the plan? >> we have to be vigilant and strengthen police and security. we have to make sure we do everything we can to keep our country safe, and that involves a long-term, patient disciplined approach. there is no single simple thing that needs to be done. it means closing down the ungoverned spaces that terrorists prayed. it means working against isil in iraq and syria. it means countering this poisonous fanatical death consult of a narrative that is perverting the religion of islam. it mea

. >> nick robertson in paris. thank you. the raids in germany and belgium and france. contacts ramp up efforts to close loopholes. european foreign ministers have been meeting in brussels to fight terrorism. some of the ideas have been in place in the united states for some time now. i want to bring in our senior correspondent ivan watson in brussels. good morning, ivan. >> reporter: good morning, john. a senior official is giving us details about the efforts the bellgiums have been using to break up the terrorist cell. this started thursday night when the police moved in the town of verviers. the suspects clashed with belgium police and killed in that gun battle. we since learned that the belgiums believed there were cells of ten people they have been monitoring that apartment. they believe it was a safe house. they arrested five suspects here in belgium since then. part of the reason they moved in was they believe that the suspects had gotten weapons and they didn't think they could maintain the 24-hour surveillance for much longer. they identified the suspected ring

cnn aes cnn's nick robertson is live in paris. what do we know nic? suspects dna so important to the police? some of that dna belonging to one of these people was found in a weapon in coulibaly's apartment, found on a gun magazine clip containing bullets. the suspicion is that this person at the very least knew coulibaly was armed and potentially dangerous and concern this person playmay also have weapons and may be on the loose, armed and dangerous. the second set of dna in a vehicle found to have been used by coulibaly to get to that kosher supermarket where he killed four people and again potential for accomplice there who knew what was happening. this person could be on the loose and could be dangerous. how are the french authorities handling this? the french public apparently believes they are handling it well. a poll has shown the french president has gone up 20 points in popularity and the french prime minister has gone up 17 points in popularity. >>> we turn to yemen. growing concerns al qaeda's branch in yemen that claimed respond for the "ch

senior international correspondent nic robertson joins us live in nigeria. nickd to wrap your head around, this horrific attack. what can you tell us about it? >> reporter: yeah, anyone who thinks that this is a kind of lone type of event where they're strapping explosives to a ten-year-old girl really needs to think about. boko haram. following day put explosives on another two young girls sent them into a different market, detonating explosives on them. but sit that big and significant attack on the strategic and important town of bagger where as many as 3,000 people killed when hundreds of boko haram showed up in truck, big automatic weapons on the back of their truck, overrunning the army base, forcing the army out, forcing 30,000 people to flee. eyewitness telling us he hid out for three days until it was safe to move. when he did walk out he saw body after body after body. this is a town on the border with chad right on the lake. it gives boko haram easy access to chad, gives them freedom of movement in nigeria, the army has been forced out. if you think ab

correspondents embedded around the globe, ivan watson, in brussels nic robertson in paris, arwa damon in istanbul turkey and nicksh in yemen. yemen. first to ivan where 12 coordinated raids first hinted at how large this network of terrorists can be. ivan, belgian officials say parts of this terrorist cell are still active. what is the level of concern there? do they have a handle on exactly who's still at large?

correspondents embedded around the globe, ivan watson, in brussels nic robertson in paris, arwa damon in istanbul turkey and nick paton walsh in yemen. yemen. first to ivan where 12 coordinated raids first hinted at how large this network of terrorists can be. ivan, belgian officials say parts of this terrorist cell are still active. what is the level of concern there? do they have a handle on exactly who's still at large? >> well, the global concern is so high, jim, that the belgians took a very unusual decision to deploy troops in the streets of two belgian cities, soldiers for the first time in more than 30 years this weekend. it's only about -- going to approach about 300 soldiers in all, but it's still a very symbolic gesture putting them out to defend embassies, government buildings as well as jewish institutions, synagogues and so on. the belgian prosecutor in charge of the investigation keeping his cards very close to his chest. so far not identifying the two suspects who were killed in a gun battle with belgian police on thursday when police started their round of raids. the belgians say that they inter