concluded by saying the threat level in belgium is raised to three out of four possible levels. i'm joined here by tom fuentes, former assistant director for the fbi. when you hear major imminent attack in brussels or in belgium planned by a cell of people that returned from syria, what's your reaction? >> exactly what we hoped wasn't going to happen but knew it eventually would john. in this case they had live wiretaps on these individuals, 24/7 surveillance. they were able to know exactly when they started to notify other partners of the potential attacks. the fact they had that information and were able to monitor them enabled the police to go ahead and take them out before they did it. as paul cruickshank has been saying, how many fighters have already come back from syria, from fighting and have this training and presumably have the same kind of weaponry? they've neutralized one, but this is almost like swatting mosquitos at a picnic. how are you sure you're going to get them all? >> reporter: all right tom fuentes. thank you

the belgium media reporting that the target to have been belgium police. all of this happening as secretary of state john kerry is visiting paris. meeting with the french president and foreign minister and discussing the fight against extremism. the secretary was behind me here shortly ago for a memorial at "charlie hebdo." the secretary of state came here and laid a wreath with the french foreign minister moments ago. this all happening as we understand there were 12 new arrests or detentions overnight of people in france believed to be connected to the attacks here in the city one week ago. i'm joined by terror expert fabrice magnier. 12 people believed to be tied to amedy coulibaly. does that number believe to be a terror cell to you? >> sure. a terror cell includes people prepare the action people who do the action and people who support the action. and people who permit the escape of the attackers. a number of 10 or 12 people. it could be a good number you know sufficient number to provide such an attack in paris. >> we are learning at the same time a

you're learning about what triggered the raids. belgium said the attacks were not coordinated but you have found out there could be a link. an armed dealer that could have sold weapons to terror suspects this both countries. >> reporter: the belgium authorities already had a group of known extremists on their radar for quite some time. according to the source the timing and the urgency of these raids was accelerated because of new information that was developed. there are two things that have occurred since the paris attacks not necessarily related to the paris attacks but one is a belgium arms dealer. the second two men returned from syria who arrived at the belgium airport over the weekend. the first, this arms dealer he is suspected of providing weapons that may have been used by the kosher market gunmen. this is man was arrested. he was questioned. his belongings were searched. there were matching names found within the arms dealers possessions and connected to other extremists on radar. that's the first thing. the second component inv

of information that we are getting about the belgium connection? >> we know there was a weapon exchange. the alleged dealer, if you will the weapons dealer handed himself into authorities reported in the last 48 hours. he might have maybe some tips that maybe lead authorities to the capture of other cell members that he may have sold weapons to. we cannot ascertain the connection between the attacks in belgium. some of the france attackers have travelled to belgium and dealt with belgium weapons dealer it makes the problem that much more complex. we don't know where these weapons have landed. we don't know how many actual jihaddists from the cell or other cells, many of its members are still on the loose. they are still at large. we have no idea how many members of this cell are on the loose. >> and how strong is the intel and the intelligence sharing between eu nations when it comes to terrorism and comes to antiterrorism activity? we see it is now spreading. the raids are spreading from country to country. how sophisticated is the intelligence? th

on the streets of belgium, where are these troops and and why? >> thaerpt positioned throughout the city in certain strategic places around government buildings, ministries, and the reason is because of this plot that was disrupted on thursday evening. the plotters wanted to kill policemen. that was the purpose of their plot. they had police uniforms. they had explosives. they had guns. it was more than 13 people involved in the plot. it was a fairly sophisticated, ambitious effort to try to kill people, kill policemen on the street, and in police stations. so they're not-- they believe that they've rounded up the plot-- they've rounded up all the plotters but this is more of a precautionary effort to make sure that if they've missed anybody, that they have enough firepower in place to fight them. >> sreenivasan: how is it affecting the mood on the street to see this military presence, to hear about these raids happening? what are people thinking about, talk about? >> well, i think they're pretty shocked. un belgium has a large moroccan minority,

we know one of the suspects amedy coulibaly, was perhaps in belgium not long before the attacks. he allegedly bought a vehicle there for his wife and we suspect he might have bought more than just a vehicle for his wife. there was an arms dealer from belgium who turned himself into authorities after the "charlie hebdo" attacks here who may have given them information that led to the raids. back to you, thomas. >> let me jump in. back to the press conference now. back to english. >> -- we will not hesitate to ask them. thus the places that were -- >> phone taps part of this investigation? >> i cannot confirm that. >> are there going to be further security restrictions i suppose? >> well the terror threat level has been raised which means more security measures will be taken, but for specific details, i will have to refer you to the authorities for that. >> talk about the increased police presence in brussels across belgium? >> i think it is quite obvious that there is more police presence in belgium. the level of threat has been elevated, which implyicates there is more protection

what do you make of the situation in belgium? >> obviously we got intelligence services, they got some leads and they're following up on it, and they giving that to the people. the historic thing here is that as long as this isis war goes again. >> it's very interesting that you say that, because a new report has come out saying that the months of the air strikes led by the u.s. and other allies has failed to slow down the islamic state, isis in syria. that the militants have actually gained territory despite the u.s.-led strikes. so if you were in charge, what would you want to tell the united states to do. >> we did make some success against stalling the -- about taking some territory back but we have a very long way to go. the problem i think we have here gretchen, is we separate syria from iraq, iraq is a priority it's priority one and syria is a stektd dare mission, iraq is to destroy isis retake territory syria is degrade isis, we should look at syria and iraq as one campaign and recognize that what happens in syria, materia

the terror alert is high. not just in belgium but in germany and the netherlands as well. >> thank you very much. there's fear and appears to be great reason for it. we have details on what the terror cell was planning to do in belgium. phil black is out front from the town where we saw the raid last night. you have new information tonight. >> reporter: this was the location of the intense fire fight between belgium police and terror suspects. two of them were killed here. the belgium authorities are not revealing much about those men just yet. what they are talking about and what they are revealing is some of what they found. the physical evidence which they say backs up their theory of just what and who these attacks were going to target. gunfire and explosion ons thes on the streets of belgium. authorities say the alleged terrorist target police. >> plans to assassinate policeman in the street or at the police buildings. >> reporter: investigators say they found rifle handguns explosives and cell phones. perhaps more disturbin

believe have connections to the islamic groups in belgium. in europe at the moment still a fluid picture. arrests continuing and filtering by authorities of the people arrested. >> that is interesting. you have the four men facing court situations in france. arrests and raids in germany. you have belgiums looking for people with arrests in greece. nic, any sense it is being coordinated at the international level? >> reporter: the european foreign ministers met in belgium yesterday. this was an opportunity for them to discuss that cooperation. the analysis is it needs to improve. not just with european allies internally. you have the example here of the kouachi brothers and the investigation into them now has thrown up facts even in france mistakes were made and information not shared properly. analysis and thoroughness of investigations of them of the two brothers. not carried out to a high standard. it is not just an improvement and cooperation across europe but an internal examination of what can be done better of significant failings. >> th

the source saying the imminent threat is in belgium. have gone to syria and fight for isis and come back and preparing for any sort of attack across the continent. we heard in the last 12 hours, there are believed to be 3,000 europeans who have left to go to syria and fight there and return. 500 reportedly we have been told have returned. 250 going to the u.k. 200 to belgium. 70 to france. in light of this and everything that has happened in belgium and indeed in paris, authorities chasing any lead possible and chasing links to any of the terror cells. let me break down what we know in paris in the last few hours. paris prosecutor telling cnn that 12 people have been detained and are still in custody. they are linked and possibly they say have some sort of logistical support to coulibaly. coulibaly was the terrorist that killed four people at the kosher store. this is what we know. the 12 people were detained across four parts of paris. mostly the suburbs of paris. we have learned from le monde, hayat boumeddiene, the partner of coulibal

, the foiled terrorist plot out of belgium. t we have seen in paris, the isis related attacks and of course the failed attack on the u.s. capitol just yesterday, not to mention a personal threat against the speaker himself by a previous bartender who threatened to actually kill the speaker. so the speaker was asked about the state of security the height of security and this particular threat on the u.s. capitol and brooke previously we have been hearing that there are tweets exchanged between this individual and an fbi informant that said he had this plot that was going to unfold. today we heard from the speaker a very different story. actually suggesting that it was through the nsa's program, foreign intelligence surveillance act, that they got information from that particular program that there was something that was afoot and that implies that potentially this is not just a lone wolf somebody who was acting on his own, but potentially making phone calls, reaching out to other people either overseas or talking to some of the b

belgium? >> it's not just france that hit the headlines, last year belgium was at the center of a few headlinessort of terrorism if you like. we heard about the attack on the jewish museum in brussels where up to four people were killed. that was by an extremist and then september of last year 2014, there was a couple apprehended by the intelligence community and security forces that were coming back from syria. so we've spoken about the nerves of the intelligence communities in europe about the secondary consequences of what happens when jihadists of which there have been 1200 from france alone have gone to syria. what happens when they come back with the training and operational experience. a couple were apprehended in september and they had information allegedly which was planning on plotting a bomb attack on the european commission, which is also housed in belgium as well. like france it's no stranger to this terrorist activity and plan and plotting. as we head earlier on, there's so much information and so much work that goes on behind the scenes that the public don't know about and rightl

it happened in the city of verviers eastern of belgium. rding to our cnn affiliate, several suspected terrorists were killed and at least one person was taken into custody. we expect to learn more at the top of the hour. the federal prosecutor scheduled to hold a news conference 2:00 p.m. eastern. we'll have coverage of that of course. let's bring in paul cruickshank who's been monitoring what's going on. >> i've been speaking to a senior belgian counter-terrorism official. he says this operation in this town is linked to a group suspected of traveling to syria to have connected with isis in syria and crucially that isis persuaded to return to europe to launch terrorist attacks. they have this group under surveillance for the last several weeks, perhaps longer. they were very worried about them. watching them very, very closely. they decided today to launch this operation. a lot of things happened very very quickly. it appears several of these suspects were killed in the raid. i understand there are other operations going on in other parts

how are the people of belgium reacting today? >> reporter: well things could change in the next day or so. so far, what i see on the streets is that people are quite calm. the subways are running, although there was an incident today on the subway where some crazed gentleman was yelling allahu akbar and was arrested because he had a weapon in his hand. nothing went further than that. people have been going on with their business and that's how it's been up to now. now, after what happened in verviers perhaps people will be a little more edgy from now on. >> i assume jewish schools, museums, institutions kosher supermarkets they are getting extra security in belgium, right? >> reporter: i have seen some places ever since the may attack on the jewish museum there has been stepped-up security but i think most of it is quite discreet. it's not heavy, heavy security but then again, that could change after what's happened in the last week or so. >> chris burns on the scene in brussels for us. we will get back to you, chris. thank you ve

here in paris, separate from the belgium raids. suspects. what do we know about them? coulibaly. he is the man killed on friday in the kosher store. he's the partner of the woman in syria. she's on the run. so police are saying 12 people have been arrested. eight men. four women. all suspected of having some sort of logistical support to coulibaly. we don't know if it's driving him to the the kosher store or providing weapons or renting the second apartment that we know he had. we do not know what kind of support they've had. but what we have learned, sources telling a french newspaper that they found dna evidence linking these people with indeed coulibaly. they found dna that linked them on the weapons, belonging to coulibaly, that links them together. also the car that he drove or he drove to the kosher supermarket. dna evidence there that links them, or one of these suspects to them. and the stash of weapons, if you remember, pam, police found in the second apartment. there was a lot of weapons there. almost like for a war enviro

now you have the greek angle to the belgium arrest. is there a feeling -- are investigators saying these are all somehow connected or separate sleep cells that are coming alive all the same time. . >> reporter: it is a good question. they have taken care not to link the attacks on the "charlie hebdo" in paris to the jihadist plot to attack police officers here in belgium. they kept those two cases separated. however, belgium investigators have said that there does seem to be a common thread running through the suspects they detained. that is almost all of them have previously traveled to syria and have had membership in the isis militant group. that's similar to the suspects who were involved in those terrible gun battles and those killings in france. >> ivan watson thank you. in france a source with the knowledge of the paris terror attacks tells cnn police are seeking two people whose dna was found on amedy coulibaly's belongings. including dna found on a gun magazine. coulibaly killed four hostages in a kosher market before police sh

>> well there is concern both in belgium and europe. the get all of these guys that they only got part of the network. they are confident they got part of the network they were sort of most worried about, but that they fear there are others still out there and that they could avenge the fact that belgium security forces killed two of their comrades in verviers in eastern belgium. on the european level, there's concern that there's connections between some groups in other countries and this network in belgium, that the belgians believe there are actually connections and they have also got some marching orders from isis to launch attacks in europe and european intelligence agencies have received indications that isis are pivoting towards launching attacks in europe to retaliate for those air strikes against it in syria and iraq. several european countries involved in air strikes over iraq. >> bob baer how are these sleeper cells monitored? how big of a role does the united states play in assisting these allies? >> well it's huge. the national

the target is a huge swath of western europe france germany, belgium and the netherlands. belgium may have been in the most immediate danger. intelligence agencies both in europe and the middle east say the threat of the attack was imminent there, but here's an unnerving reality check. the latest official reports show fewer than 2 dozen people have been taken off the streets. that leaves over 100 sleeper agents still on the loose. also breaking overnight, 400 american troops deployed to syria to train moderate rebels. that's expected to begin in a few months. that's on top of the 3,000 troops already authorized to be dispatched to neighboring iraq. i'm going to have much more on this in just a moment. first, we want to season acease on a major opportunity. >> cnn is the only major network in yemen. that's where the killers in last week's magazine attack cherif and said kouachi released the terror strike. did they meet with the master mind anwar al awlaki. cnn's nick paton walsh is there. >> reporter: what's key is for them to swiftly establish the links in reality between i

we will begin with the break news. belgium launched raids against a a group of e terrorists who were planning major attacks. terrorists were killed against police in the raids. phil black, you were there, and tell us what happened. >> it happened when police moved many in quickly and shut down the road and moved en force and heavily armed into the property just up the road here. the authorities say that when they entered the building the occupants, well, thaey opened fire straight away. that gun battle followed. the locals tell us it went five to ten minutes and very fierce and he i have weapons were used they say and they heard a number of distinct large detonations and one of which they believe triggered a fire on the ground floor of that building. when it was all over the authorities say that two suspects had been kill and a third had been injured and is now in custody. this raid and oter thises across belgium tonight are all of the result of an invest xwags that the authorities say that been going on for some time pre-dati

we're waiting on the belgium federal prosecutor to take to the microphone and give us new details on what is going on in belgium following that raid. but as you know belgium police killed two islamic extremists and have taken another one alive. the men were allegedly plotting a paris style attack. but back here in the u.s. new details on how an ohio jihadist was nabbed. >> we would have never known about this had it not been for the fisa program and our ability to collect information on people who pose an imminent threat. >> nbc's tracie potts is live in washington for us this morning. the speaker's comments could really renew the debate over the nsa's reach, couldn't it. >> reporter: it could because there have been some vigorous debate here on capitol hill, betty, about whether or not this government surveillance was warranted. now you have house speaker john boehner who we just said the other day was targeted himself in a foiled attack boehner is now saying it is because of this government surveillance that we were able to find out about this plot to bomb the u.s. tap tollcapitol b

>> well the countries -- belgium ranks fifth among european countries. t the top of the list is russia. the united kingdom, germany, france and turkey. so all of those countries have large muslim populations. of course, not all the muslims are radical, but they have -- the larger the population the larger the contingent of radicals that you expect to see from there. so those are the main countries, i would say. >> the belgium federal prosecutor who has been giving us some of the only information we have about this said authorities are investigating whether there is a link to the activities in paris and were also looking about this arms dealing and other related suspicions there. we have discussed the syria connection. what foreign policy implication does this have at a time where before we get the facts on whether there is linkage a lot of people in western europe are feeling a larger sense of being under attack linkage or not? >> well, the main -- for the europeans this is bringing up -- adding a security element to the sentiment growing in europe relate

they are also investigating the lingt to the arms dealer in belgium. they don't think it was a coincidence that he turned himself in. apparently he knew that he sold the weapons to jihadists, but says he didn't think they were that bad. that they would carry out this kind of spectacular activity attack in paris and do something so disgusting. when he saw that his weapons had been used and that counter terrorism raids were coming, and they had been lethal thus far, he turned himself in and decided to cooperate. >> richard, it is -- i don't know if that counts as a remorseful arms dealer, or an arms dealer afraid of being raided. >> being shot as the police come through his house -- >> yeah, we can't parse that from here, but we do we know if there is a connection between him coming forward and this new round of raids in belgium. there is one that is very dramatic, but it seems like they search warrants to do alose loss across that country today. >> i don't think know at this teenage, we don't know if the arms dealer coming forward and the raids are relat

let's go to a journalist for euro news on the phone from belgium. what can you tell us about this raid? >> reporter: hello, jake. the police are rather tight-lipped about exactly the details, but what we are getting from belgian media is that the police have been surveilling these suspects for some time after they came back from syria and that the police moved in just hours after there was a leak connected to what had happened in paris a week ago, the attack there that some of the weapons in those attacks were actually bought here in belgium. police stepped up their operations today in a number of cities, a number of places and they moved in on that house in verviers. police say the suspects began to open fire with war weapons, as they identified them and hand guns and the police fired back killing two of them and arresting one of them. we have just in the last few minutes seen in belgian media reporting that a second intervention has happened in verviers in another street, in another house. no further details on that but just that police have taken

now let's go back to buts sells to try to understand more about the raid that is organized by belgium. she has the latest purse us what can you tell us. >> according to the latest information. the local media is reporting on a parody this could be part of the reaction in seven different countries just one of that, this moment we cannot confirm officially that because the press conference is just to be held. so in less than an hour. the information will be known only after that, but apparently federal prosecutor did confirm that it was raid on a suspected terrorist cell. two people might have been dead, one wounded. the sources and this operation or raid. not only this town the brussells -- it all start as couple of minutes before six local time. a couple of explosions heard. the ambulance outside a lot of police, the train station. the vicinity have been -- apparently quite an action. >> and katrina just talk us through the situation. assuming the country was on a heightened state of alert, because of the attacks is that the case? >> well the level of concern is surely rising. so abso

, with the belgium authorities obviously foiled an attack on belgium. ermany, they are making preventive arrests. in italy and spain. this is to strike the most apparent and those who they know are the most aggressive and might decide suddenly to trying very soon. the phenomenon is more entrenched and deeper. we have more than 4,000 european union citizens or residents involved in jihad and syria and iraq iraq. the work that is to be done will not be over very soon. >> what makes the teachings of sarkawi unique for the way of life? >> we have seen that phenomenon for jihad in the past and afghanistan and bosnia and somalia and yemen. of course, totally different scale. today, the problem is the syrian conflict is a close conflict. very easy to access. the propaganda by the groups is especially and effective internet and reaching the young in europe. basically the young population that might be willing to have a future to get involved in something and for them because they feel they have a crisis of identity. they are searching for themselves. it is an ap

what the belgium authorities are telling us this evening is a that they move dd in this operation, and others across the country as a result of the information they have obtained after an investigation going on for some time. one that pre-dates the attacks in paris against the "charlie hebdo" magazine. they say they have received into margs that pointed to a major attack, and at the moment, no lin okay the events in paris, but they are looking at it that it raises the frightening possibility that the coincidence if you like that the attack was planned ready to go so close to those events that we have been tauklk ing about the in paris. >> and so i want to e repeat that because it is so important that as of now they don't have any linkage of the cell operating in paris that undertook the "charlie hebdo" attacks, and no linkage to this group there in ver vie -- vervie verviers? >> correct. with we foe that the kouachi brothers the links are al qaeda and yemen, and so at the surface, no physical direct link, and no talk of the mayjor players have any connection ooet either. and so to poin

the belgians requested his extradition back to belgium. whether or not they can get their hands on the man is if he agreed to extradition. if he rejects that it could be weeks before he is brought back to belgium. >> from paris to greece to germany. ivan watson helping us this morning. >>> new this morning, protests turning deadly. demonstrators in the nation of niger furious with the french magazine "charlie hebdo." they took to the streets. ten people died with nearly four dozen churches set on fire. many hotels and bars were also burned to the ground. the government in niger declared three days of mourning for the victims of the violence. >>> in yemen, a tenuous cease-fire appearing to be holding after fighting around the presidential palace. the fighting is part of the effort of houthi to grab power. this is a worrying development for the west. the power vacuum in the country has created an enormous opportunity for al qaeda in the arabian peninsula which uses yemen as a base. >>> happening today. president obama delivers his state of th

the suspect opened fire on police, two of them subsequently killed. a third captured. belgium authorities still haven't identifying the suspects. they say they now have, as a result of different raids, pressed charges against five belgium citizens accusing them of participation in a terrorist organization. they're also pressing some same charges against two more belgium citizens that were arrested by french authorities trying to cross the border from france into italy. the cell that they went over belgium authorities say were plotting imminently, we're told, an attack, some kind kof attack against belgium police. they were even found to have in their possession, not only weapons, guns, rifles and explosives but also police uniforms. now in addition to this, since that raid thursday night, we've learned that the belgium authorities have reached out to police in grease to kukts some kind of joint investigation there. both sides being very careful not to link this, not to confirm any links of this to the suspected jihadi cell in that belgium town of verviers. the timing is suspec

the suspected cell struck. but just how many would-be terrorists are in belgium? t country a new hub, a new hotbed of radical islam? we will ask the former supreme allied commander of nato what he thinks coming up next. ♪♪ edward jones. this is shirley speaking. how may i help you? ♪♪ oh hey, neill, how are you? how was the trip? with nearly 7 million investors he's right here. hold on one sec. you'd expect us to have a highly skilled call center. kevin, neill holley's on line one. ok, great. and we do. it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. latte or au lait? cozy or cool? exactly the way you want it ... until boom it's bedtime! your mattress is a battleground of thwarted desire. enter the sleep number bed. save $300 on the final close-out of the c3 queen mattress set. he's the softy. his sleep number setting is 35. you're the rock, at 60. and snoring? sleep number's even got an adjustment for that. only at a sleep number store. right now find the lowest prices of the season plus 36 month financing on qualifying purchases. hurry ends monday! know better sl

back to aqap they believe the one in belgium linked back to isis two competing groups. maybe the guys in belgium saw what aqap did and tried to respond like a one upman ship from these two groups. >> like amedy coulibaly and the alleged policewoman on thursday pledged allegiance to isis not sure if there was direction by isis or him just trying to bolster his own credentials. >> there's no evidence coulibaly had any connection. he was fond of it and wanted to claim his operation for it but not linked to it in any greater way. >> belgium has also been very tough or trying to be the toughest against returning nationals who have fought overseas and i'm wondering if that has anything to do with kind of sharpening the divide there. >> well they've got to get tough because there's a big problem. 150 belgium nationals in iraq. almost all to be with isis and 30 of them killed there and 70 back in belgium. that's a lot for them to monitor. i'm half belgian. i go to belgium. i talk to officials there. they're very stressed out there. they don't feel they have enough resources to c

. >> continuing coverage of the deadly terror raid in belgium. police just reported they busted up a terror cell fresh back from sierra, it planned to attack on something they call grand scale. isis reportedly running the whole thing. we'll have a live report. >>> a 20-year-old 20-year-old seen right here that 20-year-old from ohio, is accused of plotting to blow up the united states capitol building. now the suspect's father is speaking out in a big way, but just how serious was the threat? >>> and starting are tomorrow it will be lat easier for americans to do business with and travel to cuba. who can go? and who can't? and under what circumstances? let's get to it. >> good afternoon from the deck. breaking this afternoon, and still developing, forces in belgium say they just prevented a major imminent attack with a raid on what officials are calling an active terror cell. at least two people are dead, one is under arrest, official says they've been monitoring members of the cell for weeks, members just fresh back from syria and working for the

the magazine charlie hebdo. greasegreece arrests four people within an alleged belgium terrorist cell. this is the scene in manila where around 3 million people have gathered to celebrate the pope's final mass on his tour of the philippines. >>> but first isil has released more than 200 captives from the minority yazidi community in northern iraq. they were transport to kurdish-held territory. it's not yet clear why they were leased. the yazidi captors many of who were were elderly were take to hospital for check up. thousands were believed to be killed or kidnapped by isil after its advance across large parts of northern iraq. mohamed adow is our correspondent there. >> reporter: this is an incidents or development that raises more questions than answers. they say most of these people have been held by isil in mosul. they are believed to have been transported through the town before being released at this frontline. it's very unclear why they were released. it's very unclear what we know thousands of i can't yazidis mainly girls continues to are he main in the hands of isil fighters. >

we wanted to talk to policeman in the street or in buildings. >> the belgium police carried out 12 raids across the country. they also made numerous arrests. >> it is scary. really scary after what happened. i'm surprised it's happened so close to us. >> he added there was no information to suggest other attacks were imminent. security forces are taking no chances. >> we asked our brussels correspondent what the raids revealed about the scale of the islamist threat in belgium. >> there are more foreign fighters in belgium than any other country in europe. there is a very well-known organization called sharia for belgium. they are very worried about the foreign fighters coming back from syria. experts are talking about at least 100 foreign fighters that are now on the ground in belgium, back from syria. >> police and france have arrested 12 people in their ongoing. >> outside of charlie hebdo laying a wreath for the 12 victims killed there. he was killed along with nine of his colleagues when his offices stormed the gunman -- by gunmen. >> a large antiterrorist raid. >> 250 police officer

[ inaudible ]. >>> neave barker sends us an update. >> reporter: speaking a short file ago was the belgiumeral magistrate who said this was a very significant raid not only in the town where i am but also in the belgium capitol, brussels and at least one other town in the country as well. a total of a dozen raids and searches took place on thursday night. but here a gun battle ensued as police tried to search a bakery just up this street behind me. this is the scene this afternoon. the streets still closed off, the population here that are very nervous indeed. according to investigators after they searched this bakery they found bomb-making equipment, money, guns, and police uniforms as well. they suspect an attack was likely to be staged against police officers themselves potentially police stations. >>> well in france 12 people have been arrested in a series of overnight raids. police say some of them may have provided logistical support for last week's attacks. jacky rowland reports. >> reporter: the u.s. secretary of state said he came to give a big hug to the french people. it was als

latest on the ground there in belgium? >> reporter: well the -- i was just speaking to a senior official here in counterterrorism. he was the one who told me that of these 17 people rounded up in these terrorism raids yesterday, only three are actually still in custody. the rest have been released apparently that might be indicted at a later time but of the three who were released is also the surviving member of that raid in verviers. remember wolf yesterday one of the raids went very violent with two people who were killed. one of those people survived and the interesting thing is that the official tells me the reason why that man survived is because he was under the shower when that raid started. however, the other two who were in the house in verviers were heavily armed and ready when the police got there. the latest we got is that they had the guns and immediately fired open at the police officers when they started the raid and that's what led to the very long shootout and ultimately to the death of these two people. th

and also they say for now, we heard from the belgium foreign minister earlier. he said that this was the end of this part of the operation, and then they can move on to the next. and he didn't give anymore detail about what the next state of this operation may be. and also the prosecutors were saying today that they would tnt be releasing any further information about the suspect until the end of this inquiry. but you can already see lots of speculation on social media. >> many thanks to bbc's anna holligan live for us in brussels. let's talk now to the european counterterrorism coordinator. i think he is on the line now. first of all if i could just ask you, what's your reaction to what's been happening in belgium. you're belgian yourself. >> yes, first, good morning. i'm not that much surprised, to be honest. because it's something i had feared for months if not more. and i've always thought that it was not if but when and where. and no surprise because belgium has suffered is in a way from the high number of people going to syria and iraq. and it seems, i don'

big question, is the belgium terrorist cell linked to the paris terrorists? and are their more suspects out there. grn affiliate joins us from brussels belgium. tessa, what you can tell me about what happened today? >> well there were simultaneous anti-terror raids around belgium. there were 10 arrests, search warrants, arrest warrants issued by the prosecutor's office and those raids took place in brussels billboard and where we saw those two suspects killed and one arrested. they are suspected members of a terrorist group that were supposedly preparing an attack in the police said that a raid was extremely necessary. thankfully the prosecutors said that no police officers or any civilians had been hurt. investigations are still underway. in fact there are reports that the federal police headquarters here in brussels still not over. belgium has had a problem with some of fighters. hundreds of fighters going into syria joining jihadist groups and magistrate here in belgium has said that these groups today that were raided were those that had returned from syri

the 1980s. this is a dramatic change for belgium. e belgian defense ministry hopes to get around 300 soldiers deployed in brussels and antwerp by tuesday. they are protecting not only embassies, the u.s. embassy, the european parliament and a number of jewish institutions. we have to recall the jewish museum was the target of a deadly attack in may in brussels. let's put it in context. they are talking of putting out 300 soldiers by tuesday, france has deployed some 10,000 soldiers since the "charlie hebdo" attacks. this is significant that belgium has taken this measure, but it is nothing in comparison with the military deployment across the border in france last week. >> that's important context. thank you. >>> as u.s. president barack obama puts finishing touches on the address, cnn learned about one of his big announcements. we have details next. >>> we continue to see pope francis here in manila in a downpour. people the faithful here still really straining to get a glimpse of him. he's clearly enjoying the moment there. you can

authorities arrested 17 people in connection with the terror raid in belgium. they released most of them later. three remain in custody. a counterterrorism source says it two militants killed and the one who was arrested has links to isis and other terror cells. cnn senior international correspondent ivan watson is in brussels. in belgium and with the authorities, do they have a sense, still, that the threat is imminent and they are standing by waiting to see if any of these cells remain active? >> reporter: they are certainly on alert and we witnessed that here in brussels seeing soldiers members of the armed forces here deploying in brussels guarding outside the jewish museum which is a few blocks from where i am standing right now. reports that troops are being deployed in antwerp as well. that's a sign of how seriously the authorities are taking the threat. as one law enforcement official told me he doesn't believe soldiers and armed soldiers have been deployed on the streets in some 30 years sinister "rick's list" attacks against authorities in belgium. it

the army held in belgium. tack was blunted the spear head stopped the nazi columns contained and thrown back by men who had flung themselves into the breach. in the wild gamble of war, a momentary equilibrium had been gained. the cost had been great. and there were no guarantees being issued on engraved paper on the western front that the time of counterattacks was over. despite the great victories in the pacific where guarantees being issued there would be counterattacks against the islands we had won back from the japs. in the general uncertainty of war, one fact remains certain. the enemy is always dangerous. the enemy always wants to kill americans. the enemy does not slack off. is the news good from russia? remember the lesson of december. another japanese admiral died, remember the ardent forest, as it looks as though we can finally take it easy. remember those 78,000 americans lost in the christmas holidays. the men on the line pay for counterattacks in dead, wounded and missing. how do you intend to pay

the country. that's something that usually never happens in belgium. several hundred troops have been called on to be on standby. the first 30 are going to be deployed tomorrow in a town where there is a large jewish quarter and that's where the troops will be deployed. like in paris, the jewish community here is also one that's of great concern because the authorities here believe they might be a prime target of course after amedy coulibaly held up that kosher grocery store in paris. that's a prime concern of authorities here as well john. >> belgium troops deployed inside belgium giving you a sense reality is there's battle going on inside the borders. you were with me in paris where they are mourning the loss of those killed in the attacks. any connection of what is going on in belgium and what happened in france? >> reporter: they say there is no connection to what happened in paris, to the "charlie hebdo" attacks or attack on that kosher grocery store. however, there does appear to be one link. the arms dealer that was contacted near brussels where

from belgium. then reportedly happen negligent eastern part of the country as a location where armed deals can happen in the train station. details on the exact target we don't know. we are trying to bring the stories together. the praugz according to the local reports may be ongoing. steve is in the agent the former counter terrorism. we expect a news conference. and perhaps we'll know more. >> the events in paris are paramount significant. and the extent of the conspiracy that ended in paris is of immediate interest and concern has to be vigorously. and how many people are involved and the elaboration. the main issue and concern is to make sure all is pursued and it sounds like from what we are hearing from belgium that is indeed the case. >> it will be interesting to see the details of it. >> how much time dow have from a big crime that bee saw murderous terrorist attack and connect the dots if you will? how much is time of the essence here? >> you have time. what disappears quickly is physical evid

ivan watson with the latest from belgium. thank you. of course ivan mentioned the other spots in europe that you are seeing heightened and accelerated investigations and that is happening in france as well, that saw the attacks last week on the weekly and kosher market. it's now dealing with even more threats apparently. isa suarez from paris. hello. where are the new threats coming from? >> reporter: good morning, natalie. when we are seeing is an enormous amount of anti-terror activity following not just what happened hastert week but also what we have seen in brussels from what we've just reported. and what we heard in the last 24 hours or so is that yesterday in the cover of darkness, police moved in on four suburbs of paris. and they took in 12 people. these were eight men, four women. all suspected of providing logistical support to coulibaly. that's where they are in closing in on any link between coulibaly and the kosher store. four suspects they believed to be on the run. the paper reporting, saying perhaps it was a man who is p

officials say there's no link between the paris attack and the belgium operation. they say the raid is the result of an investigation that was underway for weeks. >> women will be allowed to take part in the grueling army training for the elite special forces. 60 females can participate in the combat schools in april. both men and women must meet the same standards. upon completion, women would not be allowed to join the ranger regiment because infantry jobs are off little to females. >> the sixers leading scorer, tony roten is out with a sprained knee. >> the flyers lost pushing them further out of playoff contention. the flyers have to turn around soon if they want to fight for a wild car spot in the eastern conference. >> one airline is slapped with a record $1.6 million fine for stranding passengers on the tar pack. >> residents of a montgomery town are being warned to watch out for burglars, hear how police say they are able to walk past their victims. >> reporter: extra gear on the kids this morning we're cold out there with temperatures below freezing. this a

the belgiums now want to be expedited back here. they have not released what role he has played in this plot just yet there. is in addition to the two more belgium national was have been charged in france and will be extradited here as well. all of them accused of involvement in a terror plot said to be targeting police officers on the street or if police stations. this investigation is still very much ongoing. the country's threat level remains elevated. the proof of that the belgium paratroopers on patrol here on the street of the capital brussels. outside key institutions and jewish sites. >> thanks for the late. >>> meanwhile, in france they are searching for two more suspects that relate them to the kosher grocery store bombing amedi coulibaly. cnn is following these developments out of paris. nick. >> reporter: alisyn, these leads related to dna potentially people close to amedi coulibaly, very important for police. one of those samples found on a magazine clip containing weapons in his apartment. therefore, police say this per