> the u.s. says it's sending 300 million advisors to iraq and is ready to use targeted and precise military action. hello, welcome. i'm steven cole. you're watching al jazeera live from doha. coming up, the exodus from north waziristan - tens of thousands flee. israeli soldiers search for three missing teenagers in the west bank. and the discovering of an engraving on a touching, changing the way the world

understood human evolution. first, iraq - the united states is sending 300 special forces, advisors, to baghdad and warns that targeted military action could follow. the iraqi government has been carrying out air strikes against sunni reb scpels has retaken -- rebels, and has retaken most of teleavar. tikrit and mosul were taken by islamic state of iraq and levant over a week ago. imran khan joins me from baghdad. tell me more about the fighting for the oil refinery. >> well, what i can tell you is there's controversy over how the iraqi army managed to take over the largest oil refinery in iraq. they went in, fought and were able to take it over.

rebels say that they negotiated with the tribal sheikhs there, and from there they made a tactical withdrawal. questions are being asked about how long the iraqi army can hold the beigy oil refinery. beigy town is in control. government forces are cut off from baghdad which is where they rely for supplies and reinforcements, they have control of the oil refinery, but are in a tense situation. they are cut off from supply, and the rebels control the major town, which is a few kilometres away from the beigy oil refinery. >> the iraqi army is in control of the oil refinery as far as we know, and the i.s.i.s. are in control of the town nearby. that's the situation as we know it. >> that's right. that's what we understand so far. >> and is fighting continuing

to - by the fighters, to take over the oil refinery? >> at the moment, like i said, i.s.i.l. fighters made a tactical withdrawal. they say after negotiating with tribal sheikhs, and went back to the town of beigy, now we are in a situation where both sides are regrouping, and deciding what they'll do next. as i say, it's up to the iraqi army to hold the beijing refinery, and use it as a landing post to go into the town itself. >> how important is the beijing oil refinery to the iraq oil production? >> well, the - predominantly the oil production has not been affected. it's no the south. in the south you get 2.5 million barrels a day, where iraq gets it's revenue from. it is important to the rebels, the rebels want to use the oil refinery to fuel towns like

beigy, to get the supplies that they need. the refinery was switched off by central baghdad, saying the refinery was not working. at the moment it's a battle more for prestige rather than oil. the oil refinery is shut off right now. >> all right. many thanks indeed, imran. the u.s. is increasing surveillance missions in iraq. president obama says he's ready to take targeted and military action, but emphasise a need for a political solution to resolve the crisis. more frn washington d.c. >> reporter: president obama opposed the war in iraq. six years after taking office president obama is sending troops back to a country which is fighting a sunni rebellion, led by the group known as i.s.i.l. >> it is in our national security interests not to see an all-out civil war in iraq.

not just for humanitarian reasons, but that can be the destabilizing throughout the region. >> obama says 300 advisors will help to gather and analyse intelligence. u.s. air strikes is off the stable. obama insists it is not a combat mission. >> going forward we'll be prepared to take targeted and precise action if and when we determine the situation on the ground requires it. >> the administration has accused prime minister nouri al-maliki of stoking sectarian tensions by favouring majority shiite interests over the minority sunni population. obama called on him to rule inclusively. as for a strategic alliance with iran to diffuse the crisis. the administration says it's not looking for one. >> what i said is we are interested in communicating with iran to make clear that rainians

know what we are thinking, and we know what they are thinking and there's a sharing of information to people are not making mistakes. >> reporter: an iraq war veteran says the president needs to do more. >> i appreciate his thoughtfulness. the warning signs have been years in the making. pumping the breaks after the insurgency has been halfway across the country, we have leaders for a reason and take action. while it is being assessed people are losing their lives. coalition forces and iraqis are being lost. >> in 2011 u.s. troops told al jazeera, they thought iraqis had the tools to defend the country by themselves. now the u.s. is going back. it's something that obama never planned to have on his agenda. according to the syrian-run newsagency a car bombing in

central syria killed 34, and wounded more than 50 others. u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon is due to make a major speech on the fighting in syria, suggesting ways to end out the conflict. he'll lay out a 6-point plan in new york before an asia society. the country is accused of fuelling the conflict, to play a more active role. the 4-year long conflingt resulted in human rights controversies committed by both sides. >> is number of people have been forced out of their homes by persecution, where it has taken a jump. the u.n. says 51 million people have been considered refugees by the end of 2013. that's nearly 11 million more than the previous year. 9 million syrian are said to have let their homes since 2011.

6.5 million are inside the country. many trying to find shelter in the wreckage of damascus, and homs. 2.5 million escaped over the border to turkey, lebanon, jordan and iran. they are struggling to cope with rising numbers. 4 million are children, more born in makeshift camps in foreign countries. >> refugees are fleeing north waziristan. 80,000 fled the north-west tribal region. a pakistani offensive to root out the taliban enters a sixth day. security was tightened after a counter offensive was threatened to be launched. kamal, tell us about the offensive by pakistan against the taliban. is it on the ground as well as the air? >> well, there is action going on in north waziristan. it's a good question.

so far most of the strikes are from the air, and there is really little ground movement. however the military says it has surrounded fighters in the areas which are not very populated. the biggest problem, of course, is for the local citizens. we are told that many of them, over a dozen of them according to the report that i have been getting this morning, have died on roou. there's no escape -- on route. there's no escape. most are walking on foot, and the situation is getting more serious each passing day. according to estimates, over 137,000 people have already fled. 76,000 registered. these are conservative people. they do not want to be in camps. most are relying on friends and relatives. >> kamal hyder reporting from islamabad. hundreds of army officers

convicted of trying to overthrow the prime minister recep tayyip erdogan have been released from gaol. on thursday the country's top court ruled the trial was flawed. there were emotional scenes outside the prison. as the released soldiers were reunited with their families, the turkish military hoped a retrial would lead to a fair verdict. israeli troops killed a palestinian teenager in the wayning as -- west bank as troops continued to search for the missing three teenagers. it's been said they are using it as a pretext to punish palestinians. israel accuses hamas of kidnapping the trio. many palestinians have been arrested as the search intensified. joining me from ramallah is jane ferguson. are more protests planned for today? >> there are more protests

today, likely after friday prayers, because across the west bank, that is an provision that continues here. there was a youth killed, a 15-year-old near doura, a town near hebron. last night the israeli military seemed to focus those raids. these have been nightly raids since the three teenagers went missing last thursday. they seemed to focus on refugee camps in ramallah, bethlehem, and genin. tens of people were arrested. this campaign is focussed on hamas and its activists across the west bank. palestinians say that this is the most significant israeli military operation in the west bank for 10 years. because there is a likelihood of potential confrontations with the israeli military today. there has been some suspensions for palestinians who have permits to move into israel from

the occupied west bank. they'll not be operational. checkpoints across the occupied west bank will be intensified for the day. >> tell us more about the potential or the actual political fall-out from the killing of the teenager and the kidnapping of the three teenagers? >> the political fallout stretches across very many areas of israeli, and palestine politics here. of course, hamas have not said that they took the three missing teenagers, they will not say whether they did or didn't. israel are adamant that they did. it's a huge challenge for the unity government in palestine, a new and fresh and fragile unity government between the two opposing fatah and hamas arrivals here in palestine. now, the palestinianian prime minister mahmoud abbas came out strongly saying several times in the last 24 hours in statements that he condemns any kidnapping,

if that's what happened. that they don't think this is a good thing for the palestinians, and that the palestinian security forces are cooperating with the israelis to bring back the teenagers to find out what happened to them. hamas have not come out and criticised fatah for that. they have made statements saying that anybody who opposes what they call the resistance are arming palestinians themselves. so far the mud slinging has not been intensified. they are not falling out or name calling one another between fatah and hamas. clearly there'll be tensions. >> jane ferguson reporting from ramallah. 31 bodies have been removed from a mass grave in a mexican state of vela cruz. investigators made the discovery on a ranch. the state has been at the center of years of a drug cartel and

violence and attacks on migrants. adam raney reports. >> reporter: the scene where dozens of bodies were upearthed, several graves found on this ranch in the state, frepzic investigators say it appears some of the victims died, it's not clear whether the victims were migrants on the way to the u.s. some of the bodies show signs of torture. some victims had their hands tide behind their backs. others were dismembered. authorities gave little mention about the case. >> investigations are under way. we'll give further details. >> families of missing people are looking for more from the government. dozens have been reported missing, and the discovery of the graves fuels fear that the loved ones are among the dead. dominga went to the states looking for clues about her husband beside cause.

the 41-year-old taxi driver went missing a few weeks ago. >> i come with hope and to see what happened. at the same time i don't want him to be here. hundreds of bodies have been unearthed. victims are poor migrants or people caught up in the drug violence. tens of thousands of people are missing. loved ones usually receive little or no information from their government. still to come on al jazeera - filipino senator vendors to police over accusations he stole from the poor to make himself rich. plus... >> i'm simon mcgregor-wood in south-west france. sign tifrts gather to -- scientists gather to celebrate an anniversary against a rock face which forever changed our

understanding of human history.

you're watching al jazeera. a reminder the top stories, u.s. president obama is sending 300 security advisors to iraq. targeted military action could follow against sunni rebels on the ground. the iraqi government said it took most of teleafor and beigy, the oil refinery. thousands of panicked refugees are fleeing north waziristan. security is tight across the country as the taliban threaten

to launch a counteroffense i. a palestinian teenager has been shot dead in the occupied west bank. it happened overnight as israeli troops search for missing teenagers. n.a.t.o. says it's concerned about new russian military build-up around ukraine's eastern border. russia denies arming a separatist. vladimir putin is backing a peace plan put forward by ukraine to end violence. it's unlikely that many russian fighters will put down their arms says paul beban. >> it's places here where petro porashenko's message needs to be heard. at this checkpoint north of luhansk, separatist militia were not in the mood for listening. they say they come from the local area, but actions come from the russian side of the

border. >> translation: we didn't choose petro porashenko. those that did choose him need to decide whether his voice can be trusted. since his immigration, his speeches from beautiful and elconsequent. he has not acted on any of them. it's understandable, because his actions are controlled from outside of ukraine. >> reporter: president petro porashenko's offer of a unilateral ceasefire and proposal for an amnesty from fighters prepared to lay down the weapons, that information is not getting through on the front lines of the separatist militia. they don't trust the kiev government and are prepared to continue to fight to the death if necessary. the 14-point peace plan includes proposals for a unilateral cease fire, an amnesty for pro-russian fighters, and that the border with russia be secured, and it

calls for a firm commitment from all sides in the conflict. there is an eerie calm here. there was a fears battle on wednesday. a local ceasefire was called, allowing prisoner exchange and the evacuation of the wounded. few believe the guns will be silent. the police chief is the only officer turning up for work. his brother was abducted by the separatists. there's no word since. can there be a peace after all that has happened. can he forgive. difficult, difficult. difficult. but maybe. >> reporter: it is a hopeful sign. unless the separatists showed willingness, the peace plan could be one-way traffic. ukraine's president says

he'll sign a delayed trade pact with the european union. petro porashenko says a new plan for peace will be presented to e.u. foreign minterses, and the former government abandoned a trade deal in november stating mass protests, leading to the overthrow of viktor yanukovych. let's go to the top story - u.s. sending 300 - what it calls - special advisors, possibly special forces to iraq. let's go to james in london, director of the diplomacy platform. it's middle east security analyst based at kings clem. robin, are we getting mixed messages from washington. president obama is saying that there's no military solution. why get involved, basically. he's saying that they are ready to use targeted and precise action, but president obama said he need to ask hard questions before taking action abroad.

bit confused. >> well, i think obama has been patience about his response to the i.s.i.s. crisis. there's no military solution. there's a military element to the response. clearly these 300 advisors will be well integrated with the iraqi security force, coordinating and strategising in terms of future airstrirks, seeing americans bailout nouri al-maliki when he went into basra, that's an important role to play. this is about stopping the i.s.i.s. surge, rolling back what they have taken in terms of mosul, and other places. the more interesting question, what you do about an enmitt are the hq is in syria. i think there's a lot to be said about what happens there. the other point you make is an important one, that the americans do know that they can't be seen to be the air force of a sectarian deposit in

baghdad. that a lot of background to the conflict has been tendencies of nouri al-maliki, and you need a national project, bringing in the sons of iraq, bringing in counterinsurgency tactics to make sure you have an iraqi state that is for all its citizens, not just certain ethnic sectarian people in it. pet ray us is quoted as saying there should be strikes against the leadership of i.s.i.s., and says it's an organization with an ability to under take terrorist acts beyond middle east. >> there's no doubt that a group too extreme for al qaeda is a threat for western countries in terms of how this ends. it's a group with... >> what do you mean by that? you mean fighters returning to home countries, is that what you

mean? >> exactly. there has been a foreign fighter element to i.s.i.s. that is picked up. there's an idea that the guys act in a large non-state space, they have more weapons and funny and an agenda that is extreme. that is of serious security concern to the western states, beyond the situation in syria and iraq. >> do you see americans more involved in iraq, even though many may not welcome u.s. combat involved any more. >> the americans wanted to stay. it was nouri al-maliki that wanted them out as part of a nationalist agenda. i wouldn't be surprised if an american presence is bolstered. it's interesting that a lot of debate is echos of vietnam where american military advisors wept in and years later tens of thousands of troops. clearly, the key question is is

the main objective here to defeat i.s.i.s., or is it, for obama, to avoid being dragged into a middle eastern conflict. it's clearly a huge priority. exactly and a huge reluctance by washington to get involved. what do you think tipped washington into sending 300 special forces to iraq. was it the takeover of saddam hussein's chemical research development base? >> well, that. also the capture of oil facilities, it's incredible what happened over the last 11 days. i.s.i.s. put it's on the map. everyone is being caught short by what has happened. i think the americans are playing catch up as we all are. it's a serious tactical and strategic concern having what's going on, going on. thank you for joining us on

al jazeera. let's go to sport and the world cup. england fans face a nail-biting day after a 2-1 defeat to uruguay if there's a chance of them progressing is in italy's hand. they must bate costa rica. and uruguay. the english side if it's elime nated in the first round will be the first time since 1968. columbia beat ivory coast 2-1. 150 years ago one of the most important discoveries on the history of human development was made in south-west france. a group of archeologists found a group of tusks engraved with drawings. simon mcgregor-wood explains. >> in 1864 the valley in france's dudoine was the scene of a remarkable discovery. scientists gathered to commemorate it, an actor playing

the part of a french paleontologist at the heart of the drama. he found chards of mammoth touching. put together they made a whole. today itself rarely seen, on it a human hand of a mammoth. a stunning revelation. it proved man and mammoth walked the earth at the same time, destroying contemporary theory. >> it's not a weapon, it's not a tool. it's an object for decoration, for religious reason. we don't know. it's not an object for specific functions. it's like a painting by a famous painter. it's really an object made by an artist. >> what happened here was one of those rare moments when science chanced upon a key unlocking understanding about early human development. it was a triumph of thought and inquiry over centuries of

supersticks and guest work, proofing behind doubt that homosame yeps, human beings were older than previously thoughtment the touching is 14,000 years old. in the 19th century most led by the church thought the world was 6,000 years old. and it revolutionized the study of evolution. >> if you have an evolution of those people, thousands of years ago, before christ arrived. that changed the outlook. and the church adopted it. it took a long time. >> at the nearby national museum, they hold 6 million individual signs, building a detailed picture of early human life. the touching will star in an exhibit celebrating the discovery. it showed distant ancestors were older than we thought and capable of symbolic expression of of art, interpreting the

world around them. that they were, in every sense, truly human. that's our website. that's a picture of president obama deciding to send special forces advisors to iraq. even in the teeth since the worst recession. college tuition and fees public and private kept raising faster than the cost of everything else. as undergraduating high schoolers have been picking colleges education change lives but so does college debt. it is the inside story.