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Death Toll Climbs in Baghdad's Massive Bombing; Authorities Pursue Suspects in Bangladesh Attack; U.S. Police on High Alert for July 4th; UKIP's Nigel Farage Steps Down; Rio's Mayor Criticizes Security Ahead of Olympics. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired July 4, 2016 - 10:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[10:00:15] ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead of the international death, the death toll climbs in Baghdad's massive bombing. Another Brexit leader

steps aside and Rio's mayor has some harsh words about the security ahead of the Olympics.

Hi there, everyone, welcome. I'm Robyn Curnow for CNN Center. From Baghdad to Saudi Arabia, to Bangladesh, ISIS is streaming also battlefields

and taking its war to civilians turning a shopping district into an inferno and devastating part of a bustling airport.

In the final weeks of Ramadan, ISIS has been -- has claimed or being suspected of attacks that have killed hundreds of people in soft targets.

Well, we begin with this attack in Baghdad, Saturday and turned a busy neighborhood street into a smoking pile of rubble. The death toll is now

215. Ben Wedeman has been at the scene and he tells us the number of victims is steadily rising as more remains are found.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A day and a half after that bomb blast went off at midnight Saturday night, workers are

still looking for bodies, body parts still in the wreckage. People still don't know where their loved ones are. According to the Iraqi police, of

the bodies recovered, 81 of them are so badly charred, they're beyond recognition. They're going to have to conduct DNA tests. At this point,

the death toll is at least 200 with more than that wounded and it is expected to rise.

Now, exactly what happened is not only together clear at this point but what we've been able to pin together or piece together is that out here in

the street, a small refrigerator truck packed with explosives went off around midnight. The blast caused fires to start in all these buildings

around it. Many of the department stores in this area with clothing, computers, perfume and cellphones, all of it created a raging inferno in

which people were stuck on the upper floors. So it wasn't just a blast, it was the resulting fire, all of which amounts to the worst such attack in

Baghdad in years. Back to you.

CURNOW: Thanks. Horrifying. Ben Wedeman there in Baghdad.

Now, to another suicide bombing just outside the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, authorities there destroyed three other devices after the

bomber wounded two police officers but only succeeded in killing himself. It happened in the early morning hours when the officers approach the

bomber just 10 meters from the consulate wall. There's been no claim of responsibility.

In Bangladesh, those two of the people wounded in the day of the siege in Dhaka are now suspects. That's on top of one taken into custody just after

the attack. Now Bangladesh is in its final hours of official mourning for the 22 people killed in the city's diplomatic quarter. ISIS has claimed

responsibility. But who is really to blame remains a matter of debate as our Ravi Agrawal has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAVI AGRAWAL, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: It was the most deadly terror attack in Bangladesh's history. And it was designed for the maximum impact

and exposure. There is a backdrop to these attacks, however. For three years Bangladesh has suffered a spate of individual murders claimed by

terror groups. The victims were mostly local writers and religious minorities. Friday was different. Terror analysts say the audacious

drawn-out attack in a cafe filled with foreigners is a clear escalation.

AJAI SAHNI, INSTITUTE FOR CONFLICT MANAGEMENT: Foreign targets are now for the Islamist, the most desirable targets. For one simple reason, they

attract far greater attention than any amount of domestic terrorism will.

AGRAWAL: As Bangladesh mourns, people are asking who is responsible. South Asia terrorism expert, Ajai Sahni, says Bangladesh has a long history

of low grade local Jihadi violence. While the Dhaka killers were clearly trying to invoke ISIS, he says it's too soon to say the group has a real

operational foothold in the country.

SAHNI: What is crucial to understand here is that this is a one directional communication. We have no evidence as yet of any two-way

communication in which both the perpetrators and someone from the ISIS was -- were exchanging information, one with the other.

AGRAWAL: Friday's attack is a game changer in more ways than one unlike with previous attacks across Bangladesh.

[10:05:04] Reports suggest that the Dhaka cafe killers were from upper middle class Bangladeshi families. Some of them spoke English fluently and

they were adept at using social media. That's why experts are now saying that they could have been radicalized online.

The Islamic State's in house magazine "Dabiq" recently ran an essay titled "The Revival of Jihad in Bengal" specifically called for attacks on

Americans or Europeans. Bangladesh could also be seeing a battle between terror groups. Just on Sunday, Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent called

for attacks on Hindus in India. They'd earlier made similar calls in Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government brushes away these claims and she then said blames the violence on homegrown Islamist groups. In June,

authorities arrested 14,000 alleged suspects, including members of the opposition BNP and its ally, Jamaat-e-Islami.

Human rights groups send the opposition voices (ph) criticized the arrests as heavy-handed and opportunistic. But amid the finger pointing, people

are dying. And while the terror groups seek a foothold in the world's fourth biggest home for Muslims, there's an even greater prize next door.

India, Ravi Agrawal, CNN New Delhi.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Now let remember some of those who lost their lives in that attack. Twenty of the civilian victims in Dhaka were foreign nationals,

seven were Japanese relief workers. Our Matt Rivers, has part of that story from Tokyo.

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the families of the victims involved in this attack from Japan are in Bangladesh at this point and we know now

that all of these families have visited the hospital in Dhaka to see for the first time the remains of their loved ones that were killed in this

attack.

We also know the vice foreign minister from Japan and a team of terrorism experts who were already on the ground in Bangladesh as a part of this

investigation were also with the families at some point today. As for a timeframe on when those family members can bring the bodies of these

victims home, that is still uncertain at this point.

But we are learning more about these victims. They were all there as a part of a traffic relief project sponsored by a Japanese governmental

agency here. They were trying to alleviate traffic issues in the City of Dhaka. They were there just doing good work, making people's lives

hopefully a little bit easier. There was one 32-year-old man part of that group. He was killed in this attack. His father and his grandmother spoke

about him here in Japan yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was very proud of his work as he could work hard for the country and development. Everybody loved him. He is a good man.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was a very, very good boy. I really hope the news was wrong. But now, I cannot do anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS: And so the human toll of this event just absolutely tragic, but there are other implications here as well. The economic realities, for

example, companies perhaps are afraid to do business in the near term in Bangladesh. So take Uniqlo for example, the major Japanese clothing maker

told CNN earlier today that they will be no longer engaging in anything but the absolute most necessary business trips to Bangladesh. They are scaling

back their business trips to the country out of an abundance of caution, safety concern. Other companies are doing the exact same thing here in

Japan, Toshiba, Mitsubishi Motors, Obayashi Corporation, a very large construction firm, and Maruha Nichiro, a very big fishing firm.

And so the human toll of this event cannot be overstated. Incredibly tragic, but there is also an economic toll if these companies do not feel

it's safe to do business in Bangladesh as they seem to feel right now. The reverberations from this attack could be even wider than perhaps we had

previously imagined. Matt Rivers, CNN, Tokyo.

CURNOW: Thanks to Matt for that report.

Well, ISIS has been launching increasingly brazen attacks just as its losing ground along with tax and oil revenues in Iraq and in Syria. Well,

CNN Global Affairs, Ms. Kimberly Dozier joins me now with more on that from Washington. Hi there, Kimberly. I mean this has been a very bloody

Ramadan. Is what we're seeing a lashing out of a weakened organization?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think it has been long planned. They saw even a year ago that the forces of raid against them

were going to start to bite. They've lost about 47 percent of their territory inside Iraq, 20 percent inside Syria. And as part of the fight

back, they already have sent clandestine networks to Europe and some of their best people to Libya to setup training camps there.

Now, they're under pressure in Libya right now as well.

[10:10:00] But they're using the momentum of having had a caliphate, having had a state with borders, the first militant group to do that, to continue

to get followers and as they transform themselves to more of a terrorist group, a solely terrorist group that will then become their signature and

they're managing to export that ideology successfully despite the loss of land.

CURNOW: So do you feel then this is an evolution, this is an evolving face of ISIS? Even if they had a postage stamp of territory, it's in a new

phase.

DOZIER: Exactly. I mean, this is why Al-Qaeda's leaders always said, don't try to take and hold territory because that will be enough of a stick

in the eye to the international powers that they will gather forces against you to take it away. Well, ISIS ignored that and did hold territory, but

they held it for long enough to make enough of an impression around the world to spread their tendrils to something like 60 different countries

where they've already targeted people. And so, we're going to be in the global community fighting a threat that what it does is-- what ISIS does is

rather than set up their own organization in a new country, they look at the existing Islamic militant organizations and invite them to join. They

don't demand too many changes.

If you wanted to join Al-Qaeda, you used to have to do a lot of -- you had to fill out forms, you had to follow certain rules. ISIS instead, has a

different model. It says to the Islamic groups, say, in Bangladesh that this five attackers from the restaurant attack apparently from, says to

them, you can fly our banner as long as you swear allegiance to us. You choose the target, you choose how you do the attack.

CURNOW: But even with that in mind, the fact that they are losing territory, that they're under pressure, the lack territory means less

people to govern, less people to govern means less taxation, which of course means less money to run this organization, and it is run as some

sort of corporate entity in many ways. Surely, there is some sort of pressure on how they go forward.

DOZIER: Well, absolutely. In the war zones of Iraq and Syria, their traditional state is under threat. They've had to have fighter salaries.

They don't have the money to run their war machine as they once did. But they've already started this evolution of establishing themselves in other

parts of Africa, Yemen, places where they can continue to spread the ideology to local groups so that they don't need to hold that territory.

CURNOW: OK. And then the question is, I supposed, are intelligence agencies and militaries adaptive enough to deal with this changing threat?

Thanks so much, Kimberly. I really appreciate your perspective.

DOZIER: Thank you.

CURNOW: Well, in the United States, police are treating Independence Day celebrations as potential terror targets. Cities throughout the nation are

on high alert for the Fourth of July holiday which is today. Our Deborah Feyerick reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: After a series of deadly attacks overseas, U.S. counter terror officials heightening security

measures at so-called soft targets across the country, including the July 4th fireworks displays tonight.

Cathy Lanier, CHIEF OF THE METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: We have a pretty tight security plan for the Fourth of July.

FEYERICK: In the nation's capitol, much of the dramatic increase in security will be hidden.

CHIEF ROBERT MACLEAN, U.S. PARK POLICE: We do have technology that folks will not see.

FEYERICK: The biggest fireworks show in America along New York City's East River, with an estimated 3 million spectators, has the police in the Big

Apple on high alert.

BILL BRATTON, NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: You will see a very significantly enhanced police presence in the city.

FEYERICK: Out on the water, officials patrolling the harbors around Manhattan and conducting security dives along the Macy's fireworks barges.

BILL DE BLASIO, MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: We are very, very vigilant. We'll have exceptional NYPD presence to keep everyone safe.

FEYERICK: The New York City mayor deploying 500 plus highly trained, highly armed officers ready to prevent terror. The first Fourth of July

the critical response team will be out in full force.

DE BLASIO: It sends a powerful message to anyone who might try and disrupt that we are ready to prevent that.

FEYERICK: Tensions already high.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sounded like a cannon.

FEYERICK: After a small explosion in Central Park Sunday left a tourist's foot mangled.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His foot is all but detached. His friends claim he was walking down the rocks and stepped on something.

FEYERICK: That something believed to be an experiment with fireworks or a homemade explosive, set off after a young tourist accidentally stepped on

it, according to the NYPD.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We believe this could have been put here as some sort of experiments.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, our Deborah Feyerick reporting there. At this point, there's no evidence that that Central Park explosion is related to

terrorism, also they are on a specific or credible threats directed at any New York, at New York, or any other city right now for the Fourth of July.

[10:15:08] Coming up here on CNN, more leadership changes in the wake of the Brexit vote. A key voice behind the movement is stepping down as head

of his party. Five candidates battle to lead a post-Brexit Britain. Details ahead. Plus Rio's mayor has some harsh words for state officials

ahead of the Olympics. Our interview with him, that's also next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: OK. He says he did his part and now he wants his life back. Nigel Farage, one of the major voices behind the Brexit movement is

stepping down as leader of the U.K. Independence Party. This comes after Brits voted to leave the European Union. Farage says he never wanted to be

a career politician, just to get Britain out of the E.U.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIGEL FARAGE, LEADER of U.K. INDEPENDENCE PARTY: My aim in being in politics was to get Britain out of the European Union. That is what we

voted for in that referendum two weeks ago. And that is why I now feel that I've done my best, that I couldn't possibly achieve more that we

managed to get in that referendum. And so I feel its right that I should now stand aside as leader of UKIP.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Meanwhile, conservative M.P.'s begin voting Tuesday to replace -- to pick a replacement for British Prime Minister David Cameron who

announced his resignation after the Brexit vote. Still so much to talk about here. Isa Soares joins us live from outside of 10 Downing Street.

Let's start with Nigel Farage. He says he wants his life back after urging Britain to make a life defining political decision. I mean, how is that

going down?

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you can imagine, some people are quite angry about it, Robyn. Others are very relieved. This is a man, as

viewers will know, who pretty much the architect of the Brexit campaign was. He went up and down the country with huge slogan saying we want our

country back and now he's saying actually, "I want my life back"

So as you can imagine, people are very angry. I was looking at some of the reaction here in the U.K., some people are saying, you know, he's walking

away from a sinking Brexit ship. The other one is saying, forget about having -- wanting your life back, what about us wanting E.U. back?

So lots of people are very angry the fact that this man who has pushed and drove the country to vote Brexit is now calling it quits. Other's

speculation at least says is in the British media that perhaps he's not leaving politics for good. This is a man after all, who's had 20 something

years in politics. He said it was never his intention to be a career politician, Robyn, but this is a man who has been living it for quite some

time and speculation is that perhaps he has his eye on M.P. role or perhaps a prime minister role in five years down the line or even putting some

support to Andrea Leadsom, one of the candidates vying for the post just behind me.

[10:20:12] CURNOW: Yeah. So who is going to occupy that accommodation, 10 Downing Street, behind you? Let's talk about that. David Cameron, who is

the favorite to succeed him?

SOARES: At the moment, it seems we have two women which is fantastic to see, of course, two ladies vying for position. We have Theresa May, our

viewers will remember her. She came out on Friday basically saying Brexit means Brexit. She is in charge of the home office. She is described as

someone who is very sturdy, some say she's perhaps a bit boring. But she's done a very good job at the home office.

And then on the other side, you have as well Andrea Leadsom. She's a pretty new politician but she has 20 something years experience as working

in the seat in the financial sector. Some say perhaps, she doesn't have enough experience.

Now, when it comes to policies, they have differing views. We know, of course, that Theresa May was part of the remain camp. So she is trying to

convince the country that she can unite the country as well as the party. Whether where we've heard today from Andrea Leadsom who is being --

speaking quite openly about the question of immigration saying the country will decide on E.U. immigrants who comes and lives and works here. Take a

listen to what she has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANREDA LEADSOM, BRITISH INDEPENDENCE PARTY LEADER CANDIDATE: I commit today to guaranteeing the rights of our E.U. friends who've already come

here to live and work. We must give them certainty. There is no way they will be bargaining chips in our negotiations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: You know, she describes herself as a get cracking candidate. That's how she described herself. So we're starting to see the major

lines, major fault lines between each party. We've got Liam Fox there basically also saying, there'll be no free movement of staying as well as

Andrea Leadsom and Michael Gove all pretty much going up against Theresa May who currently according to one poll at least, Robyn, is leading. Back

to you.

CURNOW: Wow. A lot of sharp elbows out there at the moment. Isa Soares, thank you so much.

Well, Australia is also in political limbo two days after its federal election. There are still no -- there is still no clear winner. The

conservative coalition of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is in danger of losing its majority. However, the opposition labor party so far also

appears to have failed to win enough seats to govern outright. Vote counting resumes on Tuesday. We'll keep an eye on that story.

Meanwhile, human remains have been recovered from the crash site of EgyptAir flight 804. They will not undergo DNA testing to determine

identities. Investigators are still working to find out what caused that crash. Early analysis of the repaired flight data recorder shows signs of

heat and smoke. The flight plunged into the Mediterranean on May 19th killing all 66 people on board.

Violent crime has been rising in Rio de Janeiro as the Olympic Games grows closer. Its mayor is criticizing the security response from the state

government. He tells our Shasta Darlington they're doing a terrible, horrible job. Well, she joins us now from Rio with more on that interview.

Hi there.

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Robyn. Pretty unusually harsh words from the mayor. But we are in the middle of a

serious crime wave. Even Olympic athletes training at 10:00 a.m. have been robbed at gunpoint. You remember just a short while ago an armed gang,

they stormed the hospital to free a drug lord. So things are out of control. When I sat down with the mayor, I asked him, aren't you worried

that the gangs themselves won't be safe? And this is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDUARDO PAES, RIO DE JANEIRO MAYOR: Fortunately, this is not going to happen on the games. There's going to be the national force here, the

army, the navy, everyone is going to be here. So as you know, this is not a city responsibility of Brazil. It's a state liable responsibility. I

think they do a terrible job on security. They do a terrible job before the games and after the games. Fortunately, they're not going to be the

ones responsible for security during the games.

DARLINGTON: I think you raised a valid point. There's also the question of residence. Police aren't getting paid. Crime is rising. Do you worry

that your citizens, your -- especially the most vulnerable could be abandoned during the Olympic Games when everybody is taking care of the

tourists?

PAES: I'm not worried about them being abandoned on the games times. I'm worried about them being abandoned everyday in their everyday lives. So

this is the most serious issue in Rio and the state is doing a horrible, a terrible job there. And it is completely been failing and its work of

police, taking care of security in the states.

DARLINGTON: One of the big problems has been Zika.

[10:25:01] Athletes have been canceling. Do you think you might be underestimating the impact that the fear of the Zika virus is going to have

on the games?

PAES: I don't think so. Actually what's happening is exactly in the contrary. We people are overestimating what could happen. I mean at this

time in Rio, if you are American, please don't go to Florida. You got more cases of Zika in Florida than what we have now in Rio. I'm not saying

there's not a problem. It is a problem that we have to face but as we always said, especially during this time of the year, it's wintertime in

Brazil, in Rio, so the weather gets better, so the spread of the mosquito, it gets better so we don't have much case of Zika now.

DARLINGTON: I live in Brazil. I live in Rio. I'm rooting for the Olympics to work but it just seems like every time something can go wrong,

it does and even more. How are you going to even get people excited about these games?

PAES: These are the kind of problems that you face in the U.S. And there was a kid in lake in Disney Land, in Disney World and then the crocodile

comes and bops, eats the kid, you know? I mean there's a crazy guy that American guy goes into a gay disco and shoots, I don't know 40 people,. I

mean problem happens everywhere. Obviously, when you become Olympic city, all these problems, you know, they rise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DARLINGTON: Robyn, organizers now have exactly one month to prove their critics wrong, prove they can pull this off. But I think it's actually a

dangerous sign that we're seeing all of this finger pointing now and we'll see where that goes, Robyn.

CURNOW: Yeah, thanks so much. Keeping on eye on things there in Rio. Shasta Darlington, thank you.

Well, still ahead, as ISIS attacks shake the world, reports have new insight into the violence at Turkey's main airport, our correspondent fills

us in on the investigation and its effect on ISIS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Welcome to the "International Desk". I'm Robin Curnow. Here is the check of the headlines. As rescue workers in Baghdad picks through the

rubble with death toll from a car bombing Saturday is rising. An Iraqi official now says the attacked killed at least 215 people and wounded at

least 175. That makes it the single deadliest attack in Iraq in more than a decade.

Police in Saudi Arabia destroyed three possible bombs after a suicide bomber wounded two police officers outside of the U.S. consulate in Jeddah.

The attacker was the only try policy. The officers had approached the man for acting suspiciously. There's been no claim of responsibility there.

Bangladesh is now in its final hours of official mourning for the 22 people killed in the terror siege in Dhaka.

[10:30:03] Authorities say they now have two suspects both the wounded and so far unable to talk. ISIS has claimed the attack but Bangladesh claims

its -- blames it on the homegrown militants.

Well, let's get now -- let's get more now on that attack. Alexandra Field joins us from Bangladesh. Hi there. What more are we hearing about these

attackers?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Robyn, we know the police now have two suspects in custody. They've identified one as who -- the man who

was one called the sole surviving attacker. They tell us that he is in the hospital and still too injured to speak to investigators. The say the

second suspect was also injured inside the cafe that night but they haven't identified who exactly that person is. We do know from officials here in

Bangladesh that all of the attackers were Bangladeshi. Five of them were militants who were known to law enforcement authorities, authorities who

were pursuing them even before this attack.

They ranged in age from 18 to mid-20s. We're told that they were all upper middle class, all well-educated. And I spoke to the father of the youngest

attacker earlier today. He tells me that he hasn't seen his son since the end of February. His son has suddenly gone missing. He had not seen any

signs of radicalization but he has become fearful recently that perhaps his son had joined an Islamist group. He said that at 18 years old, his son

was impressionable and immature. But he did not know that his son, Sameh Mobasheer had been part of the attacks until he saw an image of the

purported attackers that had been published online by ISIS. And he said, right away he recognized his boy's mouth, his cheeks, his chin, the rest of

the face was covered, and he recognized the hands that were clasping a gun in that photo.

Robyn, when we spoke, this man broke down in tears. He was inconsolable saying, he hasn't been able to bring himself to identify the remains of his

son. He does not understand what could have motivated his son. He says this isn't the boy that he raised. But he was also weeping, crying when he

expressed his grief and his condolences for the 20 people who were killed inside that cafe and the two police officers who also lost their lives

fighting these militants trying to rescue 13 hostages. Robyn?

CURNOW: That attack went on for some time, Alexandra. We know that it was a number of hours. What more are we hearing about how it unfolded?

FIELD: We now know that the victims were killed within minutes. We had initially been told by police that the gunmen stormed in. They were firing

shots and then lobbing explosives and then began that long standoff with police that ended some 11 hours later when commandos rushed in to the

restaurant. But we do know now that some of the victims were slaughtered, hacked to death within maybe the first 20 minutes of this standoff.

ISIS, which claimed responsibility for these attacks almost immediately, had posted pictures online while the attacks were still ongoing, before the

commandos had stormed in., those pictures purported to show victims lying in pools of blood. This shows a couple of things, Robyn. First of all, it

shows that these hostages, these victims were in fact killed before the clash with the commandos who rescued so many people. It also showed that

the assailant who carried out these attack were likely in contact with the outside world, were connected with someone else and that's why

investigators now are looking additionally beyond looking for suspects in this attack, they are looking for anyone who could have helped to have

directed it, masterminded it, Robyn.

CURNOW: OK. Thanks so much. From Bangladesh, Alexandra Field. I appreciate it.

Well, we're tracking an investigation into another devastating terror attack. Thousands of kilometers away, Nima Elbagir is in Istanbul where

attackers there killed at least 44 people Tuesday. Nima, this is devastating, isn't it, from one part of the world to the other.

Nima, let's talk to you about ISIS aiming to divide its enemies. But do attacks like the one in Istanbul in particular provoke. I mean, what do

you think is going to be Turkey's response here?

NIMA ELBAGIR, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've seen a really stepped up response from Turkey. And already his conversations,

President Erdogan's conversations with Putin, now numbering two which after the downing of the Russian jet would have been pretty difficult to imagine,

but if anything, this seems to have brought the two former allies closer and the reality that a number of those who are suspected to have been

involved. In addition to one of the attackers are Russian, puts a whole new emphasis on Turkish well within both the U.S.-led coalition and the

potential for it to be a middleman with Russia looking to what the potential solution in Syria because this is now very, very urgent in terms

of Turkey's National Security.

It was really interesting when you look at Turkey versus what we saw in Bangladesh and Baghdad is that ISIS have not claimed responsibility here.

And that is because Turkey not only is a Muslim majority country, most of those, only two or three of those who were killed were not Muslims.

[10:35:08] Most of their victims were Muslims in this attack, means that ISIS is stepping very carefully because it is in a state of active

recruitment. What we're seeing here is a new phase, a new iteration of ISIS as it loses territory in Iraq and Syria, Robyn, and it seeks to throw,

to cast a larger shadow in terms of its international influence. It needs that homegrown terror network here in Turkey to be able to continue

perpetrate attacks.

CURNOW: So we know there might be some diplomatic opportunities here like with Russia for example. But Turkey is being criticized, particularly in

recent years about being too late in the game to prioritize ISIS. Is it too late to put a lid on it?

ELBAGIR: Well, that has been the concern for some time now. Turkey has been a transit country for foreign fighters. And in the last few years,

they have been trying to close, to seal off that border. They built 190- kilometer, physical security barriers as they call it, a wall along their 800 kilometer Syrian border. It doesn't sound like much but it showed

willing. And for awhile, it seemed to be staunching the flow and the emphasis of ISIS attacks, was moving towards homegrown terror, was the

homegrown terror -- towards the homegrown terror network perpetrating attacks.

But now we see with those arrested recently in the aftermath of the Ataturk Airport attack, 14 are foreigners, three of whom have already been charged

with membership to a terror group. So, there is clearly a permeability to Turkish security apparatus in spite of all the emphasis. And that is the

criticism that is facing the government here, not the criticism that they're going to be facing, not just internally but from their allies

within the allies US-led coalition, Robyn.

CURNOW: OK. Nima, thank you so much for your analysis and your perspective there from Istanbul.

You're watching CNN. Much more news after this break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Our Going Green series returns to CNN this week looking at changes people are making in their own lives with bigger environmental goals in

mind. Well, today, we meet Lauren Singer. She's a New Yorker who spent the last four years living a zero waste lifestyle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAUREN SINGER, LIVING ZERO WASTE LIFESTYLE: How did we get so much stuff in the world? Why are there so many chemicals in everything? When did

this become OK and are they necessary? Do I have to accept this? What are my options?

[10:40:00] I'm Lauren Singer and I live a zero waste lifestyle. In this jar is all of the trash that I've produced over the past four years. By

living this lifestyle, I've prevented thousands of pounds of trash from going to landfill.

Actually, looking into my fridge was what made me realize that I needed to change my day-to-day habit. Every single thing that I had in there was

packaged in plastic. And so, I made the decision to first go plastic-free and then eventually I learned about the zero waste lifestyle. And when I

did, it was like a light bulb moment for me.

My fridge every Saturday is completely full with vegetables. But by next Saturday morning it will be completely empty because I only buy the amount

of food that I need and I buy everything unpackaged from the farmer's market.

I can just bring my own reusable bags, put food in them and not have to use any plastic.

I mean, can I get some eggs as well?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.

SINGER: And even the egg cartons, I can give back to the farmer that I buy eggs from and he reuses it for the next customer.

I just have estimated that we if we keep consuming the way we do, we'll be doomed within 20 years. So it's so much more than just a packaging or

trash problem. It's a general consumption and pollution problem.

I make all of my products myself, all of my cleaning products and all of my beauty products. I make my own toothpaste because it's cheaper, it doesn't

require the use of a non-recyclable package. The ingredients are a lot more sustainable and it's a lot faster to make my own toothpaste than it is

to go to the store and buy it.

So in my toothpaste I use baking soda, coconut oil, a little bit of stevia to sweeten it and essential oil of peppermint or if I'm in a different mood

something like cinnamon. But that's the cool thing about making your own products, you can make it exactly what you want. You're the boss.

I'll take my toothpaste, put it on my toothbrush and then just brush as I normally would, super simple.

I have heard from people, you know, you're one person, you can't make a difference. Well, for me, living zero waste for four years, I've already

prevented over 6000 pounds of trash from going to landfill. So that's already a very tangible difference right there.

CURNOW: Now good for her.

And Finally, for all of the fans of Top Gear, one of the most watched television programs in the world. We've learned that presenter Chris Evans

is already out of a job. According to his twitter account, Evans has resigned from the BBC show saying he gave it his best shot, but sometimes

that's not enough.

He'd only been with the program for the 12 months and in his statement Evan says he'll continue to focus on his radio show. Evans, if you remember,

took over for Jeremy Clarkson, he was fired for allegedly assaulting a Top Gear producer.

Well that does it for us here at the international desk. Thanks for joining me, I'm Robyn Curnow. I will be back in just over an hour with

more news. In the meantime, "WORLD SPORT" is next.

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