Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Ceasefire in Syria Hanging by a Thread; Police Have Arrested Suspect in Weekend's Bombings in New York and New Jersey. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired September 20, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: The ceasefire in Syria is hanging by a thread. The U.S. suggests Russia is not fulfilling its side of the bargain. And an air strike on a U.N. aid convoy is further threatening the truce.

We will take you live to Damascus for the very latest.

Police have arrested a suspect in this weekend's bombings in New York and New Jersey. Now there are questions about why he wasn't on a terror watch list.

And New York's naked Trump statue has gone missing. We will take look at this bizarre theft.

Hello. And a very warm welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. This is CNN Newsroom.

If a ceasefire is still in place in Syria it's not doing much to stop the killing. The United Nations is outrage after a deadly air strike on an aid convoy. A Red Crescent warehouse was attacked, as well.

Monitors based in the U.K. say air strikes in the Aleppo area killed 38 people Monday.

Washington's top diplomat says Russia must pressure the Syrian president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The Syrians do not -- they didn't make the deal. The Russians made the agreement so we need to see what the Russians say. But the point, the important thing is the Russians need to control Assad, who evidently is indiscriminately bombing including on humanitarian convoys.

So, let's wait and see. We'll collect the facts. We need to see where we are and then we'll make a judgment. But we don't have all of the facts at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen joins me now live from Damascus, Syria. So, Fred, what happened? How does a U.N. humanitarian aid convoy get targeted in the midst of a shaky ceasefire that was designed specifically to get that aid to those in need? And does this represent the end of the fragile truce?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, if it is not the end of the truce it certainly looks as though the truce is very much in peril. In fact, the Syrian government said late last night that they believe that the truce had expired.

They said around 7 p.m. local Syrian time, they believe that the truce expired and there was no indication that it has been extended. And it was really right after that time that a lot of shelling began to hit the Aleppo area, both the rebel-held districts inside the city, and then also to the west of the Aleppo countryside.

Aleppo is of course also a very big province here in Syria. And then there's that question of what exactly happened to this aid convoy? This was an interagency aid convoy. It was U.N. aid that was being delivered by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent is an organization that is really working to help people on both sides of the equation.

They often cross the lines between the opposition and regime held territory. So they are an agency that really tries to help everybody here in Syria.

What is clear is that apparently this convoy was going toward an aid warehouse in the western Aleppo countryside when it was struck by -- which unclear who it was struck by. So far the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the U.N. are only saying that it was hit.

The U.S. says it believes that it was an air strike. The opposition says it believes it was an air strike and it's unclear who that air strike was conducted by. At least 18 of 31 trucks were badly damaged. Some 12 people were killed. And it wasn't just the trucks that were hit, it was the U.N. or the Syrian Arab Red Crescent aid warehouse that was hit, as well.

So, certainly a lot of damage. The U.N. said it was aid on board for about 78,000 people. Now of course all of that is destroyed. So, really a very big blow to the United Nations. They say they are outraged by what happened.

And you just heard Secretary of State John Kerry saying the U.S. still trying to get all the facts of what exactly happened, but they, in every case, hold Russia responsible saying that the U.S. had to deal with Russia that supposed to ensure that there is no fighting here in Syria.

CHURCH: Understood. And, Fred, how possible is it that this attack on a U.N. aid convoy was perhaps retaliation for that mistaken deadly strike over the weekend on dozens of Syrian soldiers by U.S.-led coalition forces?

PLEITGEN: Well, it's unclear at this point whether or not the two are in any way linked or whether or not it might have been retaliated. Again, at this point in time, the U.N. is not saying who they hold responsible for hitting this convoy. Whereas, the U.S. says that it's Syrian that it was an air strike and saying that there were no coalition planes in that area. And so therefore it holds both the Russians and the Syrian government responsible for all of this.

[03:05:03] Again, we haven't heard from the Russians yet. We haven't heard from the Syrian government yet either.

However, of course there was a lot of anger here among the Syrian government after that air strike took place on Syrian regime positions in the town of Deir ez-Zor, which is one that surrounded by ISIS.

And there was about 300,000 people holding out. And of course, also that contingent of Syrian military. There was a lot of anger here about that.

But it's not clear whether the two are linked. What is clear, however, is that right at or right after 7 p.m. there was significant increase in fighting in the area, especially around there in Aleppo. You saw that aid convoy that was also in the eastern district of the Aleppo city that were hit, as well with over 30 people being killed there.

And efforts to try to pull people from the rubble, to try to save people in the aftermath very much hampered by the fact that there is no electricity there. So, the rescue workers that were trying to save people also having a lot of difficulties obviously operating there in the dark.

But again, it was really at that point in time, 7 p.m. last night that you saw significant optics in violence here, especially up there in the northern part of Syria in and around the Aleppo area. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. We will watch to see what happens going forward. Our Frederik Pleitgen reporting there live from Damascus in Syria, just after 10 in the morning there. Many thanks to you, Fred.

Well, the man suspected in a series of bombings in New York and New Jersey is now charged with five counts of attempted murder of police. Investigators are questioning Ahmad Khan Rahami, but we are told he has not been cooperating.

They identified him using a fingerprint on one of the devices. Sources say surveillance video showed him near the site of the explosion, which wounded 29 people on Saturday in Manhattan.

Authorities found Rahami on a tip sleeping outside of a bar in Linden, New Jersey. He then got in to a shootout with police. Rahami and two policemen were wounded.

More details now from Deborah Feyerick on how the arrest unfolded.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A massive manhunt for bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami ending in a shootout with police in Linden, New Jersey. The tip to Rahami's location came shortly came shortly before 11 this morning when a local bar owner who was seen the suspect's photo on CNN called police to say he was sleeping in front of his bar. Linden's police chief tells CNN that when an officer approached

Rahami, he pulled out a gun, shooting the officer, striking his bullet proof vest, Rahami took off running firing at random.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISSETE TORRES, WITNESS: I stayed on the corner and then I hear people yell out "active shooter" and then I see cops with bulletproof vests like running onto the e streets and then I heard three shots.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Officers shot Rahami multiple times taking him down in the street. The 28-year-old was alert as paramedics loaded him into an ambulance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES O'NEILL, NEW YORK POLICE COMMISSIONER: A lot of technology involved in this but a lot of good old fashioned police work too. I mean, between the FBI and the NYPD, the members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, this is a pretty quick turnaround. And this happened 50 hours ago and we have our suspect in custody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: The terror spree began Saturday morning in Seaside, New Jersey, pipe bombs placed in a trash can and partially exploded right before the start of a charity 5K race for U.S. Marines. No one was hurt.

Then around 8.30 Saturday night, a bomb exploded in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood, injuring 29 people. It was a pressure cooker bomb similar to the ones used in the Boston marathon bombings. A federal law enforcement official said bb's and ball bearings were among the pieces of metal packed inside.

Four blocks away, another device was discovered. A pressure cooker bomb which failed to detonate providing crucial leads.

A senior law enforcement official tells CNN that an attached cell phone, possibly the detonator or timer provided important numbers in the phone, a fingerprint was also discovered.

Surveillance video showed a man at both Manhattan locations stopping first in West 23rd Street and then on West 27th Street, leaving behind a duffel bag which contained the second device.

Late Sunday night, police were called to a train station in Elizabeth, New Jersey where a backpack was found containing five suspected bombs. One exploding after a robot tried to disarm it.

The investigation rapidly developing overnight, but the focus on Elizabeth, New Jersey where FBI agents executed a search warrant at Rahami's family restaurant and upstairs apartment. The FBI chief here in New York says there is no indication that there

is a cell operating here. However, there are questions about the motivation, why did he do this? And is there anyone who may have helped him or provided support?

[03:10:00] Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

CHURCH: Let's get some analysis now on what laid to these attacks and what repercussions we can expect. I'm joined now by Bob Baer in Telluride, Colorado, he is CNN intelligence and security analyst and a former CIA operative.

Great to talk to you as always. So, Bob, the suspect in the New York and New Jersey bombings has been arrested and the FBI has said there's no indication of a terror cell. Is that your conclusion, as well, given what we know so far?

BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I still have some doubts. You have to look at the explosive. He had an initiator which is very rare. It's difficult to make. HMTD. It was used in the London bombings in 2005, the two bombings -- I've actually spent some time with a British chemist and showed me and we walked through -- very difficult to make. It's not something you can just get off the internet.

But what disturbs me is the trip to Quetta in Pakistan. That is a closed area. The Pakistani government will not let Americans fly there. Once you get there, if you were to get in even an Afghan with an American passport then you have to know somebody there on the ground.

I assume it's not Pakistani intelligence or the army, so was it the Taliban? This is not a touristic area. What was he doing there? What was he doing in Kandahar which is also a no-go area for westerners, for Americans, easy to get kidnapped?

He had some sort of protection when he went to these two places and the explosive device was fairly sophisticated in terms of just getting stuff at the local store. You know, there's something going on here more than a would-be terrorist. Now whether he was actually supported on the ground is something else. So, we will have to wait for the police on that.

CHURCH: Interesting. So, your feeling is this wasn't a lone wolf attack. Given his trip back to Afghanistan and the history of him and his family, should he have been on some sort of watch list here?

BAER: Oh, I think absolutely. Going to Quetta, they should have asked him where he went, they should have gotten phone numbers, family, everything just a questioning, a secondary, even though he was an American, naturalized they should have asked him questions. Because it's a very dangerous area there.

And we have to also remember that the Orlando attacker, the San Bernardino attacker, they all have connections in South Asia to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia. You know, its people, they want to participate in these wars back home, whether it's Iraq or Afghanistan.

There's civil wars going on in these countries, and a lot of Americans of, you know, of Afghan origin or Iraqi origin feel -- it's almost a guilt that they are not participating in these wars so they feel like the best way they can do it is attack in this country. Now, it's completely irrational, but I've seen it enough, go through the minds of these people to pretty much predict what this guy was thinking.

CHURCH: Interesting. I did want to ask you this, Bob, because we saw New York authorities tying themselves in knots over the weekend as to whether this was terrorism or not in the early stages. Surely the real question was whether it was domestic terrorism rather than international terrorism.

Why was there that confusion in the initial stages when clearly the pressure cooker bomb should have indicated an intent to terrorize on whatever level.

BAER: I think most definitely. You know, a lot of people were calling this. I mean, I said, look, the coincidence in the New Jersey bombing, and New York on 23rd Street the pressure cooker bomb. There are just too many coincidences adding up.

But police officials are reluctant to be wrong when they go public. There were a lot of people on the bomb squad that says this is terrorism, but to actually have the spokesman for the NYPD -- they are reluctant to do it. Because they do not want to be wrong. They do not want to call it terrorism and it turns out to be psychopath. I understand the mentality.

CHURCH: Yes, of course. Bob Baer, thanks so much for joining us. Always good to talk with you and get your perspective on these matters. I appreciate it.

BAER: Thank you.

CHURCH: And you can log on to our web site and read expert analysis from CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen, find out why he thinks attacks such as this are becoming the new normal in the U.S. That's at cnn.com.

Well, the presidential candidates are speaking out about the attacks. Their responses couldn't be more different. They also sharply criticizing each other. What they are saying. That's still to come.

[03:14:58] Plus, authorities are scrambling to learn more about the bombs found in New York and New Jersey. What the devices could reveal about the bomb maker. That's coming up, as well. Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, the summer of 2016 has come and it's got a couple of days left before it's all done with. And we got a couple active areas to watch across the Atlantic. We have tropical storm Karl. This is poised to become hurricane Karl in the coming few days. And then Tropical Depression 13 poised to become tropical storm Lisa over the next several days.

Good news, that both of these storms the vast majority of their life cycle is going to be remaining over open waters. One of the areas we're concerned about Bermuda potentially in the tail end of the forecast there over the next three or four days could be impacted by the storm system.

But beyond that, Lisa eventually will also look to remain over open waters and not be any sort of a direct impact to a major population. But that's what it looks like across the Atlantic. A little disturbance across the southeastern United States.

But look at this, it's quite as they gets across the lower 48 states. We're watching tropical storm now hurricane Paine that's sitting there off the coast of Mexico. The storm system should weaken as it moves over northern Mexico and eventually should bring in some beneficial rainfall towards the southern -- southwestern United States.

But look at this. You see that color contour? To be honest we hadn't seen that in a few months. That is the coldest air of the season filtering into southern Canada and eventually that actually brings the temperatures down to the single digits in the overnight hours.

And enjoy the 26 in Montreal. We'll be down to around 6 or 7 degrees on Saturday morning once the cool air begins to filter in. Take care.

CHURCH: The weekend attacks in the U.S. are at the top of the presidential candidates talking points and Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump could not be more different in their approach to battling terrorism.

Jeff Zeleny has more now on their pointed criticism of each other.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: The bombings in New York and New Jersey impacting the presidential race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a fast- moving situation and a sobering reminder that we need steady leadership in a dangerous world.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton talks tougher about my supporters than she does about Islamic terrorists, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: One week before their first debate a new test for Trump and Clinton already on a collision course over who is better equipped to be commander-in-chief and who has better judgment. Trump quickly seizing on the Afghanistan-born suspect to make an immigration argument.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Let me state very, very clearly, immigration security is national security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:20:06] ZELENY: He also said police should be allowed to racially profile suspects.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They are afraid to do anything about it because they don't want to be accused of profiling. In Israel they profile.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Clinton accusing her rival of fueling hate, blasting his call to ban Muslims from the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: We know that a lot of the rhetoric we've heard from Donald Trump has been seized on by terrorist, in particular ISIS. Because they are looking to make this into a war against Islam.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: With the election in 50 days, voters sending mixed signals on the qualities of Trump and Clinton. Asked who is a strong and decisive leader Trump leads by 8 point. As who has the temperament to be serve president? Clinton holds a wide 20-point advantage.

Both candidates reacting in real-time to fast-moving developments in the bombing investigation on the streets of New York and New Jersey, and in multiple stabbing at a Minnesota mall.

All being investigated as acts of terror. Trump taking to Twitter, "Under the leadership of Obama and Clinton, Americans have experienced more attacks at home than victories abroad. Time to change the play book."

At a rally today in Florida Trump echoed the all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: That's all we need is four more years of Obama, except worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: And Clinton delivering a pointed response to Trump for linking her and the president to attacks on the home front.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: It's not grounded in fact. It's meant to make some kind of demagogic point and the facts are pretty clear.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ZELENY: It's an open question how much the attacks will affect the

presidential race or if they will affect it at all. Hillary Clinton is making the argument that her strength and experience is needed in this moment of crisis, but Donald Trump, he said it's precisely not. He said now it's the time for change and strong change at that.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, New York.

CHURCH: This, on the day that securing America was named as one of the themes for the first presidential debate.

And I'm joined now by Julian Zelizer, he is a historic and professor at Princeton University. He is also the author of the book "The Fierce Urgency of Now." Thank you, sir, for being with us.

JULIAN ZELIZER, "THE FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW" AUTHOR: Thank you.

CHURCH: So, protecting Americans from terrorism is the theme of this first presidential debate but it's a tough task, as we've seen particularly when presented with the unpredictability of lone wolf attacks as we saw over the weekend in New York and New York.

Using history as your guide, and of course your knowledge of the election campaign so far, who might benefit most in this first debate on securing America, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump?

ZELIZER: Well, it's one of those cases where I hate to say it, it can benefit either side. Meaning traditionally you would expect that the opposition, the party out of power, Donald Trump would benefit when there's an attack of this sort because it raises questions about the strength of the incumbent party and whether Hillary Clinton has the skills necessary to handle this.

So, in that way, it might help him. But on the other hand, there's a lot of fears about whether he has the capacity, the temperament to handle national security issues and I think Clinton will try to throw the issue that way and to raise the kinds of concerns that have existed, even among republicans, about whether he can be commander-in- chief. So, I don't think it's clear cut how this plays out.

CHURCH: Interesting. And in an article you wrote for CNN on Monday, you said presidential election observers are beginning to wonder if there will be an October surprise. What sort of political surprise are you and others expecting?

ZELIZER: Well, usually October surprises don't come to fruition, but I think a lot of people are wondering if this year might be the year. One has nothing to do with either campaign, it's simply internet leaks. That has been an ongoing part of this campaign.

There are still rumors that WikiLeaks might unload more documents about Hillary Clinton. And this could be damaging. And this could cause the kind of movement in the polls that democrats are worried about.

And with Donald Trump, you never know what he is going to throw out there. And he is a second concern that he might say or do things or make accusations in October that really shake up the campaign. So, those are two examples of something people are watching for.

CHURCH: Is it just as possible that WikiLeaks could leak something on Donald Trump, or is the feeling that Julian Assange is not, not really very happy with Hillary Clinton? And it's some sort of pay back occurring here as for Hillary?

(CROSSTALK)

ZELIZER: Well, certainly the feeling -- that the feeling with WikiLeaks is that yes, that WikiLeaks is more interested in targeting Hillary Clinton. But the thing about leaks and data dumps no one controls them.

[03:24:59] And so, it is easy to imagine that information comes out about Donald Trump as well. Possibly from another source. The internet has created a very volatile campaign environment where possible or any individual to release information at a global scale that becomes very damaging politically. So, I think both sides to some extent are fretting about this.

CHURCH: And of course despite being rare, a number of these October surprises have occurred throughout history, haven't they, in the lead up to other presidential elections. What impact have the surprises tended to have on the outcome of presidential elections?

ZELIZER: There's very few, in fact, there is none that have actually changed the election. The biggest October surprise happened in October of 1968 when Lyndon Johnson announced the bombing halt in Vietnam to try to reach a peace accord.

And that benefitted the polls for Hubert Humphrey who was the democrat who was running and sees his polls rise because it looks like peace is at end but in the end, Richard Nixon wins any way. So, the clearest example we have on an October surprise actually doesn't end up being decisive.

CHURCH: Interesting, but it is a new era as you mentioned. Technology has played quite a role so far. We will be watching closely. Julian Zelizer, thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate it.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

CHURCH: And we'll take a short break here. But still to come, experts say the bombs recovered in New York and New Jersey over the weekend are crucial to the investigation. We will look at the clues these devices could offer.

Plus, U.S. President Barack Obama has a full plate at the U.N. General Assembly. What's on his agenda today? We will take a look. Stay with us.

[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: A warm welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Time to update you on the stories we've been following this hour.

The U.N. said an attack on an aid convoy in Syria could be a war crime. At least 12 people were killed. A Red Crescent warehouse near Aleppo was attacked, as well.

Observers based in the U.K. say heavy air strikes killed at least 20 other people in the Aleppo area on Monday.

North Korea claims it has successfully tested a new high-powered rocket engine to launch satellites. Its state-run news agency reports that leader Kim Jong-un supervised the test.

Earlier this month, North Korea claimed it detonated a nuclear warhead that could be mounted on ballistic rockets.

Police are trying to learn more from the suspect arrested in the New York and New Jersey bombings. Ahmad Khan Rahami was captured in New Jersey on Monday after a shootout with police. He's charged with five counts of attempted murder.

Rahami was captured. Thanks to a tip from someone who was watching CNN.

Jim Sciutto has more details on what happened.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN'S CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: After a shootout with police on the streets of New Jersey, the prime suspect in the New York and the New Jersey bombings is in custody. Twenty- eight-year-old Ahmad Rahami as well as four officers were injured in the altercation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard another pop more pops and then it kept going and that's when I saw the police vehicles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Authorities tip off to his location bya bar owner who was watching CNN and recognize Rahami who he found asleep in the doorway of the bar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'NEILL: Now that we have the suspect in custody, the investigation can focus on other aspects such as whether this individual acted alone and what his motivations may have been.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go. Get off the street.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: A weekend of terror across the two states included two bombings and the discovery of several unexploded devices.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) O'NEILL: And we have every reason to believe this was an act of terror.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: It started at 9.30 a.m. on Saturday in the beach town of Seaside Park, New Jersey. Thousands of people were about to run a Marine Corps charity race when a pipe bomb exploded in a garbage can near the starting line.

Then that night, panic on the streets of New York City. A bomb built from a pressure cooker explodes. It detonated at approximately 8.30 p.m. on 23rd Street and 6th Avenue injuring 29 and sending panicked crowds running for cover.

Police scramble, searching the area and finding another suspicious- looking pressure cooker located just several blocks away on 27th Street. Both devices packed with ball bearings, commonly used in bombs to maximize human damage.

Investigators say surveillance footage shows a man they believe to be Rahami with a duffel bag at both Manhattan locations. He leaves the bag at the spot where police later find the unexploded pressure cooker. A multistate manhunt launch for Rahami after he is identified by a fingerprint left on a cell phone in one of the explosive devices.

At 9.30 p.m. on Sunday at Elizabeth, New Jersey, a backpack containing up to five pipe bombs found in a garbage can outside of a neighborhood pub just 500 feet from a train trestle.

One of those bombs detonated when police sent a robot to examine the devices after two men had alerted them.

One focus of the investigation now is his foreign travel, multiple trips to Afghanistan, multiple trips to Pakistan where he was married. None of that by itself certainly incriminating but the focus is going to be on whether he had contacts of concern during those trips with groups or individuals tied to terror. They don't know the answer to that question yet, but it will be a focus going forward.

Jim Sciutto, CNN, New York.

CHURCH: So, just how sophisticated were these bombs and what can they tell us about the suspect?

Brian Todd reports on that.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With the dramatic arrest of suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami, authorities are now scrambling to learn more about how the bombs in New York and New Jersey were made, and who made them.

New York's police commissioner says right now authorities are not actively seeking anyone else in connection with the attacks, but officials still want to know if Rahami had help in making and planting those bombs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'NEILL: I'm going to talk to family, talk to friends and see what the connections are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Law enforcement officials tell CNN on one level the devices may not be very sophisticated because some of them didn't detonate.

[03:35:03] And the pipe bombs found in New Jersey, experts say, are considered crude. But on another level, officials say, there was enough know-how at work for these bombs to be lethal as evidenced by the BB's and ball bearings which appeared to be backed in to both pressure cooker bombs in Manhattan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAY LOPEZ, FORMER FBI BOMB TECHNICIAN: Oh, it was designed to maim and kill. Very, very if it has bb's, extra scrap-metal, you know, you really want to kill someone. You want -- you want maximum effect from your explosive bang. That's what you're looking for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Law enforcement officials tell CNN the pressure-cooker devices in New York City and the devices along the race route in Seaside, New Jersey were rigged to detonate using cell phones as timers. Possibly with the phones' alarm clocks. Former FBI and ATF investigators tell us that's a sign of sophistication.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOPEZ: You have to have some knowledge of the clock and the assembly of the clock, and you have to sit there and study how much power you're getting out of it to actually use it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: But experts say making these bombs doesn't require a high level of training. An Al Qaeda branch once posted instructions on how to manufacture and deploy a pressure-cooker bomb.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY MAY, RETIRED ATF EXPLOSIVES INVESTIGATOR: It tells you how to put together devices, how to make explosives, how to make the detonators.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: One miscalculation on the part of the bomber was placing the bomb in Chelsea, which did detonate underneath or inside a dumpster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOPEZ: if they put this underneath it or inside of it, it basically acts as a tamp to hold back a lot of the effects of the detonation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Bomb experts tell us the FBI's work at its lab in Quantico, Virginia will be crucial. They will look at the bombs that didn't go off. Looking at fingerprints, hair, DNA samples on those bombs to try to determine if anyone else was involved.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: One official told us that Rahami was not on the intelligence community's radar for radicalization, even though he took several long trips to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Our Nick Paton Walsh joins us now live from London to talk more about this. So, Nick why wasn't Rahami on a terror watch list given these multiple and lengthy trips to Pakistan and Afghanistan? What's being said about that and what links might Rahami have had overseas with terror cells perhaps?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, we don't know the extent of that. What is interesting, Rosemary, is yes, the areas he went to in predominantly Pakistan but also briefly Afghanistan, as well, could well have been a warning flag to people looking into his travel history in detail.

And we know that when he return to the United States he did undergo secondary questioning but that in itself did not seem to put him as far as we understand now, on law enforcement's radar.

Now let's go into detail as to when he traveled and whereas this stage. We know that he went several weeks in July 2011, or round about 2011 to both Quetta in Pakistan, that's kind of a northwest, southwestern area, a key hotbed for the Afghan Taliban who have their Shura, their governing council based out of Quetta.

He went to Quetta for some time, and then it appears also into Afghanistan, too, to Kandahar. Yet, another hotbed, particularly then of the Taliban, as well. Twenty eleven or so, around about the time, some of it when Bin Laden was still alive. Al Qaeda thriving to some degree in those areas predominantly in Pakistan, too.

And at same time he went back a couple of years later, in around about April 2013 to March 2014. He was again in Pakistan and then traveled, it seems, to Afghanistan by car. It was a very busy border crossing there of Quetta we're talking of gate now.

Of course during that lengthy period of time, it's entirely possible he could have met any number of individuals who could have radicalized him or could potentially have told him the rudimentary skills you heard about in that report there behind the bomb making.

Obviously it's hard to tell the sophistication of the devices. Quite what level of training he may have received, whether he picked this up all online. In the handwritten notes they found there are some of these devices that were explicit reference to the Tsarnaev brothers, the Boston bombers who themselves used pressure cookers too, but seem to get most of their information online.

And this is where it gets complicated. Because we don't have an easy narrative here. You know, the last indications he'd been traveling to these areas in Afghanistan and Pakistan where he could well have met radicals from Al Qaeda potentially or the Pakistani or an Afghan Taliban.

Remember, this will predates the existence of ISIS who normally considered to be sort of the first person, the first group on the list to go to when it comes to radicals like this. It's unclear whether he learned this information there, Afghanistan Pakistan bomb making that is, or like the Boston bombers possibly got it all online.

Remember, the Boston bombers themselves had links back to Dagestan and Chechnya where their family originated from. But as far as we can tell they traveled they are looking to meet up with radicals who basically thought they are possibly a little bit too flamboyant in public and stayed cleared themselves, does not put themselves on the Russian security services radar.

So, a not easy fit narrative here. Plenty of opportunity to meet the wrong type of person in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Whether that happened we don't know. And there's a two and half year gap until the attacks of the past few days.

[03:40:00] It really shows I think how complicated a task it is for law enforcement officials to work out who to keep tabs on, particularly for a period of time of two and a half years that may in fact have lapped between potentially suspicious travel, not a criminal act, particularly, frankly, if you are Afghan descent anyway going to your homeland. And an act of, it seems terror like this, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes, certainly. Authorities have certainly pieced together a lot so far, and no doubt once they discuss these matters with the suspect we will learn a lot more.

Nick Paton Walsh, always a pleasure to chat with you from London there. Many thanks.

Well, six countries will co-host a summit on refugees with U.S. President Barack Obama. And one of them is struggling with the influx of migrants. A live report from Jordan, still to come.

Plus, a powerful typhoon has been battling Japan and could trigger massive flooding. We will have the latest on that as well. Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

U.S. President Barack Obama will rally for significant commitments when he hosts a refugee summit on Tuesday. Mr. Obama is expected to request more funding for U.N. humanitarian agencies and more settlements for refugees. In essence, he will be asking governments to step up and do more. He will be joined by co-hosts from six countries, including Germany,

Mexico and Jordan.

And we do want to remind you of the scale of the refugee crisis in Jordan. An estimated 1.3 million Syrians have fled to the country since the civil war broke out. Jordan's population is about 9.5 million, according to the latest census.

So that means, more than 1 in 8 people inside Jordan is currently a displaced Syrian. Pretty incredible statistics there.

[03:45:00] And the people of Jordan go to the polls Tuesday to elect a new parliament.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh joins me now from Amman, Jordan. So, Jomana, Jordan will be watching the outcome of this leader summit on refugees very closely, of course. What are the expectations? What do people there think this summit can achieve, particularly when it comes to increasing funding to help refugees, and of course help stabilize the country in the midst of this election campaign?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, to understand what Jordan wants you need to look at the extent of the problem. And the figures that you mentioned pretty much sum it up. And when we're talking about the refugees in Jordan, that's about a quarter of the population now is becoming Syrian refugees they're not all in camps.

These are majority of the refugees (inaudible) here are urban refugees. And according to the Jordanian population, to the government here, this is really adding a strain on the infrastructure, on services here on a country that really has very little resources.

Now, the Jordanian government and we also heard this yesterday, Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan speaking in New York at a round table also mentioning what Jordan's focus is here. While they are grateful for receiving aid from the international community, Jordan says that this is only covering about a third of its costs to host the Syrian refugees here.

So what they want is longer term plans. The refugee problem is not going away anytime soon. They want to try, as they put it to empower Syrian refugees. They want money to be pumped into the Jordanian economy to try and create economic zones, to try and create job opportunities that they say will allow Syrian refugees and Jordanians to work.

So, this is one of the ideas that the Jordanians have. It's a pilot program that they are trying. And they also say it will not only help Jordan, it will also help countries in Europe, for example, because they believe that refugees don't really want to go very far away from home.

And if economic opportunities are provided for them in countries like Jordan and other neighboring countries they will not have to go to other countries and take that dangerous journey, for example, to Europe. So, this is Jordan really here emphasizing again that this is not only

a problem that neighboring countries, especially like Jordan and Lebanon should be dealing with on their own. It needs to be -- they need to get support and help from the international community, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Jomana Karadsheh joining us there from Amman, Jordan. Really putting it in perspective here, the situation, the crisis in Jordan. It's 10.46. Just after 10.46 in the morning there. Many thanks to you.

And while millions of people remain displaced by violence in the Middle East, we do have some scenes of hope to share with you. The Iraqi police and army decked out check points with plastic flowers to welcome residents returning to Fallujah in Iraq.

They are the first group to go back to their home city since its recapture from ISIS in June.

All right. We want to turn to the weather now. And we are keeping a very close eye on typhoon Malakas which has already brought flooding to Japan. The storm made landfall in the country overnight.

Our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now. And this very disturbing and it's very disturbing video on this, too.

JAVAHERI: Correct.

CHURCH: I understand and will there be more flooding as we go forward.

JAVAHERI: Yes, for a few more days, at least. And you know, Malakas actually is a name that's derived from the Philippines. It means powerful, it means strong. It precisely what the storm was with a category three when it made landfall in the late overnight hours across parts of Japan.

And if you take a look, we have video coming out of this region if we can share with you that really, coming in brand new actually in the last hour or so. To show you what has transpired across this region of Japan. And the flooding really widespread.

We know some 600,000 people were given evacuation advisories to leave their properties. And we know at least several dozen homes have been completely destroyed by the floodwaters. And again, brand new video coming out of this region of southern Japan showing you what happened in the last couple of hours.

And we know the storm is on the move. The satellite imagery it shows you what's happening with it. Just dropping off strength here to about 100 kilometers per hour. So, it's going to lose its tropical characteristics. But over and over again, since the beginning of August, this is now the sixth tropical disturbance that made landfall across Japan. The busiest such trend in about a decades' time.

You know, such a short time period to impact one area. And the storm system will actually push through Tokyo, at least what is left of it will over the next 24 or so hours. So, it will be very blustery, very wet to say the least across much of Japan including Tokyo over the next couple of days where we get several days of wet weather in the forecast does a really good job here of short wing what happened.

But the other end of the spectrum I should take you down towards Australia. Because much the same has been happening when it comes to wet weather. In fact, about 200 percent of normal is what the winter season has been.

[03:50:02] Winter coming to an end over the next several days, of course across the southern hemisphere. But in places like Tasmania, New South Wales, out towards South Australia, all of them have seen among their wettest season on record.

And what's happening here something known as the Indian Ocean Dipole and essentially it's a fancy way of saying the water temperatures between the western Indian Ocean and the eastern Indian Ocean begin reversing waters. Meaning warmer water now sets up on the eastern side and that sets up thunderstorms and convection and it basically spells a wetter spring ahead of us across parts of Australia.

In fact, this happens every three to five years. Rosemary, we have been up here many times talking about drought in Australia. Looks like we're going to get beneficial rainfall this go around. So, keep (Ph) the change.

CHURCH: That's good as it's not too much in one go then that's...

(CROSSTALK)

JAVAHERI: Too much of a good thing quickly becomes bad, yes.

CHURCH: ... can't absorb it.

JAVAHERI: Yes.

CHURCH: All right. Thank you so much, Pedram. Always a pleasure to chat with you.

Up next the heist you have to see to believe. Someone stole a naked Donald Trump statue.

And we have the video showing how it happened. Don't miss that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley with your CNN World Sport headlines.

The Fancy Bears internet hacking group had struck again. Last week, they broke into the World Anti-Doping Agency database and put many athlete's medical records online. Monday's list of 26 names included some high profile athletes including three who won gold medals at the Summer Rio Olympics. However, they had been granted therapeutic use exemptions, known as

TUEs which allow athletes to take banned substances for verified medical conditions. There is no suggestion that any of the sports figure named were or are involved in any wrongdoing. And WADA has strongly criticized the leak.

To the English Premier League where Tottenham Hotspur have announced international midfielder Dele Alli have signed a new deal to remain at the club until 2022. But as England teammate Harry Kane he scored the winner against Sunderland on Sunday is reportedly set to be out for few weeks with an ankle injury.

And brothers in arms were given a whole different meaning in the closing stages of world triathlon series in Mexico. Olympic silver medalist Jonny Brownlee looks set for a second world series title in Cozumel but was on the verge of collapsing with 700 meters to go off the run. But his brother Alistair was just behind him and put his arm around Jonny and all but carried him the final few meters before pushing him across the line to take second place.

And that's a look at the sport headlines. I'm Kate Riley.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:54:58] CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. There is a mystery that's baffling people in New York and New Jersey. Who stole the naked Donald Trump statue?

Jeanne Moos shows how it happened.

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Someone kidnapped the naked Trump, the hardened foam version. He was standing atop of warehouse flashing drivers headed in to New York City through the Holland tunnel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was a little taken aback, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Now naked Trump's been taken back, we know not where. Surveillance video shows a guy running across the roof to the statue. He used a ladder to reach a fire escape to climb up. The thief spent three and a half hours on the roof. At one point he notices the camera and covers it with a bag.

At 3.10 a.m., he leaves. And at the same time a police car arrives, leaving the property owner to wonder if police were in on it or were they simply answering a burglary call somehow triggered by the thief?

Last week, more locks were installed after someone tried to break in through a door. The art's organization that erected naked Trump, called Manna Contemporary accuses Trump of bigotry and he's preparing a billboard depicting him as the joker.

But the joke is on us, to think that just a few days ago we were up on the roof pulling the Donald's way. Make America naked again. Now the story has got legs. Jersey City police say they are investigating. Where oh where is naked Trump?

Jeanne Moos, CNN, Jersey City, New Jersey.

CHURCH: Can they solve the mystery? Well, thanks for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. And remember to connect with me anytime on Twitter @rosemarycnn. We'd love to hear from you. Stay tune now for Max Foster in London. And have yourselves a great day.

[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)