Thursday, 2 April 2015

Marseille, France (CNN)The French prosecutor leading an investigation into the crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 insisted Wednesday that he was not aware of any video footage from on board the plane. Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin, in charge of the criminal inquiry into the crash, told CNN that "so far no videos were used in the crash investigation." He added, "A person who has such a video needs to immediately give it to the investigators." Robin's comments follow claims by two publications, German daily Bild and French Paris Match, of a cell phone video showing the harrowing final seconds from on board the flight as it crashed into the French Alps on March 24. Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz is accused of deliberately bringing down the plane, killing all 150 on board. Paris Match and Bild reported that the video was recovered from a phone at the wreckage site. The two publications described the supposed video but did not post it on their websites. They said that they watched the video, which was found by a source close to the investigation. Germanwings plane crashes in France Germanwings plane crashes in France 30 photos EXPAND GALLERY "One can hear cries of 'My God' in several languages," Paris Match reported. "Metallic banging can also be heard more than three times, perhaps of the pilot trying to open the cockpit door with a heavy object. Towards the end, after a heavy shake, stronger than the others, the screaming intensifies. Then nothing." "It is a very disturbing scene," said Julian Reichelt, editor-in-chief of Bild online. An official with France's air accident investigation agency, the BEA, said the agency was not aware of any such video. Lt. Col. Jean-Marc Menichini, a French Gendarmerie spokesman in charge of communications on rescue efforts around the Germanwings crash site, told CNN that the reports were "completely wrong" and "unwarranted." Cell phones have been collected at the site, he said, but added that they "hadn't been exploited yet." Opinion: What if my patient is a pilot? Editor 'very confident' clip is real Menichini said he believed the cell phones would need to be sent to the Criminal Research Institute in Rosny-sous-Bois, near Paris, to be analyzed by specialized technicians working hand in hand with investigators. But none of the cell phones found so far has been sent to the institute, Menichini said. Asked whether staff involved in the search could have leaked a memory card to the media, Menichini answered with a categorical "no." Reichelt told CNN's "Erin Burnett: Outfront" that he had watched the video and stood by the report, saying Bild and Paris Match are "very confident" that the clip is real. He noted that investigators only revealed they'd recovered cell phones from the crash site after Bild and Paris Match published their reports. "That is something we did not know before. ... Overall we can say many things of the investigation weren't revealed by the investigation at the beginning," he said. What was mental state of Germanwings co-pilot? Lubitz's depression Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr expressed his "deep sorrow" Wednesday over the crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 and promised to help the victims' families for as long as they need. Lufthansa CEO visits crash site, avoids questions Lufthansa CEO visits crash site, avoids questions 02:25 PLAY VIDEO Speaking as he visited the crash site in the French Alps, he said, "There is not a single hour where we don't think about this terrible accident, the victims and the relatives and friends of these victims. "We are learning more every day about the cause of the accident, but I think it will take a long, long time for everybody, all of us, to understand how this could happen." Spohr also thanked all those involved in the investigation and recovery efforts as well as local residents for their response to the devastating crash. He added a wreath to the pile of flowers left by grieving families at a simple stone memorial set up in the village of Le Vernet, the closest accessible point to the crash site. A memorial service was also to take place Wednesday in the town of Haltern, Germany, which lost 16 students and two teachers in the crash. Lufthansa confirmed Tuesday that co-pilot Lubitz had battled depression years before he took the controls of Germanwings Flight 9525. Lubitz told his Lufthansa flight training school in 2009 that he had a "previous episode of severe depression," the German airline said Tuesday. Investigators: Recovery effort going 'bit by bit' Investigators: Recovery effort going 'bit by bit' 02:10 PLAY VIDEO Email correspondence between Lubitz and the school discovered in an internal investigation, Lufthansa said, included medical documents he submitted in connection with resuming his flight training. The announcement indicates that Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, knew of Lubitz's battle with depression, allowed him to continue training and ultimately put him in the cockpit. Germanwings crash compensation: What we know Lufthansa, whose CEO Spohr had previously said Lubitz was 100% fit to fly, described its statement Tuesday as a "swift and seamless clarification" and said it was sharing the information and documents -- including training and medical records -- with public prosecutors. Recovery teams have been working for the past week to recover human remains and plane debris scattered across a steep mountainside. Menichini told CNN late Tuesday that no visible human remains were left at the site but recovery teams would keep searching. French President Francois Hollande, speaking Tuesday, said that it should be possible to identify all the victims using DNA analysis by the end of the week, sooner than authorities had previously suggested. In the meantime, the recovery of the victims' personal belongings will start Wednesday, Menichini said. Prosecutors: Co-pilot suicidal at one time Prosecutors: Co-pilot suicidal at one time 03:01 PLAY VIDEO Check out the latest from our correspondents Who was the captain of Germanwings Flight 9525? Investigative agency chief quizzed Meanwhile, French investigative newspaper Le Canard Enchaine reported Wednesday that the Gendarmerie Nationale, or National Police, had questioned Remy Jouty, the head of the BEA, regarding leaks in the investigation -- specifically a report in The New York Times about the contents of the cockpit voice recorder. BEA spokeswoman Martine Del Bono confirmed to CNN that the Gendarmerie Nationale questioned Jouty regarding the Germanwings investigation but refused to elaborate. She said he was questioned on the evening of March 25. That same day, The New York Times reported that the Germanwings pilot was locked out of the cockpit just before the crash. "An investigator said evidence from a cockpit voice recorder indicated one pilot left the cockpit before the plane's descent and was unable to get back in," reporter Nicola Clark wrote. Wednesday's article in Le Canard Enchainé, citing a government source, said: "They (the Gendarmerie) reproached him (Jouty) for not informing the Prosecutor first regarding the content of the cockpit voice recorder. "The Marseille prosecutor, Brice Robin, in charge of the investigation and the Gendarmerie found out about the cockpit voice recorder content in ... the press!" said Le Canard Enchainé. Separately, the French National Union of Airline Pilots confirmed that it had filed a complaint against a person it identified merely as "X" last week for breach of confidentiality after "a source close to the investigation" leaked information to The New York Times. "The article states that the source is a high official part of the team of investigators and that he had access to audio recordings from the recorder," the union's statement said. The union said information taken from the recording was "communicated to the press before it was given to the judicial inquiry and especially families." It claimed European rules had been violated by those who had access to the recordings. CNN's Margot Haddad reported from Marseille and Pamela Brown from Dusseldorf, while Laura Smith-Spark wrote from London. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen, Pamela Boykoff, Antonia Mortensen, Sandrine Amiel and Anna-Maja Rappard contributed to this report.

Tikrit, Iraq (CNN)ISIS is gone, but the fear remains.
As Iraqi forces, aided by Shiite militiamen, took control Wednesday of the northern city of Tikrit, they found vehicles laden with explosives and buildings that might be booby-trapped.
CNN senior international correspondent Arwa Damon, who was in Tikrit on Tuesday, saw a large mechanical digger packed with explosives that Iraqi forces had to disarm. The troops, she said, were cautious when they entered buildings in case they were wired to explode. Plumes of smoke rose from burning buildings in the background.
Near former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces compound -- Tikrit is Hussein's birthplace -- the CNN team also saw a destroyed truck with a large machine gun mounted on the back. Iraqi forces said they had fired an RPG at the truck, killing three ISIS fighters. ISIS was ejected from the palaces compound in fierce fighting, they said, adding that there may still be booby traps.
Federal police said they dismantled hundreds of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) Wednesday. CNN heard at least 16 explosions, some very loud, which police said were controlled.
The potential booby traps were political as well as physical. Officials are concerned about the behavior of the conquerors, particularly the Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen who helped Iraqi troops. Officials fear the militiamen might take "scorched earth" reprisals for the reported massacre of Shiite air force cadets by ISIS fighters in Tikrit last year.
Much of the population of Tikrit is, like ISIS, Sunni Muslim. And officials fear that reprisals by Shiite militias against the Sunni population could stoke local anger, jeopardizing the government's ability to hold onto Tikrit and pull the country together. Sectarian resentment helped fuel the rise of ISIS in the first place.

A significant victory

Still, the liberation of Tikrit from the terrorist group, which is also known as ISIL and calls itself the Islamic State, represented a significant victory for the Iraqi government, which had tried -- and failed -- to retake the city many times before.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived Wednesday to claim the victory, which took place a year after the city was first attacked by ISIS. Al-Abadi, who is also Iraq's top military commander, had announced the previous evening on Iraqiya TV that the city was under the control of Iraqi forces.
Iraqi forces continued to clean out pockets of resistance Wednesday, said Interior Minister Mohammed al-Ghabban, who was also in the city. But he said the Iraqi government would be in full control shortly.
"The enemy has been defeated, and it has lost all its capabilities," al-Ghabban said. "In the coming hours, the battle will end."
Iraqi security said that the few ISIS militants left in the city are hiding inside houses hoping to escape in the dark.
ISIS' nine-month dominion over Tikrit was marked by brutality. In addition to the reported massacre of the 1,500-plus air force cadets at Camp Speicher in June, ISIS is believed to have buried victims in mass graves and to have destroyed an Assyrian church that had graced Tikrit since the eighth century.

Tactics to be replicated in other cities

The push into Tikrit came days after U.S.-led airstrikes targeted ISIS bases around the city. Al-Abadi said those tactics would now be replicated in other areas.
Brett McGurk, the U.S. deputy special presidential envoy to the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, tweeted that the coalition's airstrikes had destroyed numerous ISIS shelters.
"We will continue to support courageous Iraqi forces operating under Iraqi command as they work to reclaim their territory from #ISIL," McGurk tweeted.
The key to victory in Tikrit this time, the Prime Minister said, was surprise. But help from the coalition of Shiite militiamen and volunteers also played a part.
The militia members, estimated to number around 20,000, are backed by Iran. The offensive marked the first open participation of Iranian advisers on the front lines in Iraq.
The victory in Tikrit sets the stage for Iraqi forces to take back an even bigger prize -- Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city. A U.S. official said in February that up to 25,000 Iraqi troops plan to return to Mosul in April or May in an effort to retake the city.

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