>> russian-made jets arrive in baghdad as the government launches a massive assault against sunni rebels. i'm here in doha. the other top stories on al jazeera. a libyan man appears in the u.s. court, denying involvement in an attack in benghazi that killed four americans. free at last - pro-russian separatists release a second team of independent observers in you caup after holding -- ukraine, after holding them for nearly one month.

plus... >> i'm daniel schweimler in the heart of uruguay, where the cows have been trapped, shortly after birth. iran's government has received a major boost in its fight against sunni rebels. five russian-made fighter jets have arrived in baghdad. commanders say the military air force will target areas that have been taken over in the north. the government says it needs more military jets to defeat the enemy. >> translation: we are in urgent need of this type of aircraft during this difficult time. these jets will come into service within the next three or four days, to support the grand units or support i.s.i.l. the government described the latest assault to retake areas of the north as zero hour,

involving a major offensive against rebel targets. the conflict is focussed on the central region of iraqs. they have operations in many towns, and have taken back the highway from there to the capital baghdad. >> integral to the fight, is tikr tikrit. rebels took the city. it's unclear who controls the area now. >> baghdad is in the hands of the central government. from there prime minister nouri al-maliki is trying to rally support and at the same time the northern city of mosul is in the firing line. >> imran khan has the latest. >> as iraq battles i.s.i.l. and human rebels, the human cost is

agreeing. the united nations says thousands are escaping across iraq in fear, as the violence takes on an increasingly sectarian nature. figures have not been released. there are concerns that the rebels and the iraqi army may have killed minutes caught up -- innocents caught up. this is the first of the army, troops massing in samarra when i.s.i.l. rebels began to take territory in the north-west of the on saturday a ground offensive started, fighting up to here, the outskirts of tib rit. that state has been in the hands of islamic state of iraq and levant, and this latest offensive has been dubbed zero hour by some government sources. iran's army sources say it's in control of government area. >> translation: it's confirmed that the i.s.i.l. leaders have

started to flee. all the intelligent information that we got today and yesterday show that the morale of the army is collapsing. pro-i.s.i.l. supporters say they have brought in more, destroyed humvees, and have the iraqi army on the run. both say the fighting is continuing. in mosul the iraqi air force struck target, likely using hell-fire missiles. the americans would have given them advice on targetting, but it's not just air strikes. >> we continue to fly manned and unmanned aircraft over iraq at the iraqi government's request, predominantly for reconnaissance purposes. some of those aircraft are arm. the reason that some of those

aircraft are armed is primarily for force protection reasons, now that we have introduced into the country some military advisors whose objective will be to operate outside the confines of the embassy. >> despite that, i.s.i.l. not only controls iraq's second biggest city, but has mounted another display of power, and shows no signs of backing down. russia's deputy foreign minister met syrian president bashar al-assad in damascus. the syrian state broadcaster showed the two holding talks, reportedly to strengthen bilateral ties and discuss the crisis in iraq. in an official statement bashar al-assad is keep to consider accord nation and consultation with russia. a car bomb in south-west syria killed two and wounded dozens more. it happened in dil mer, north east of damascus.

activists say it targeted a popular market. a man accused of leading a deadly attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi appeared in court. ahmed abu chattalah pleaded not guilty to charges. three others were killed in the explosion. ahmed abu chattalah was captured by special forces. james weddick is a former special agent with the federal bureau of investigation and explained why it too so long to arrest ahmed abu chattalah despite knowing where he was. >> they needed to affect the rest and make sure those that made the arrest could turn to the u.s. safely, as well as kat articlea. i have a number of high value arrests, and sometimes those plans go on for a little longer

than most people think. when you have something with international waters and territory, you can imagine it would take a long time. >> we prosecuted a number of terrorists, they'll be given their rights, and it will be chaired by a judge. i don't expect there to be a problem presenting the evidence, and i don't expect his defense team will have a problem defending him. it will be difficult for the defense team and the prosecutors. it will be up to the judge to maintain, you know, a fair decorum in the courtroom, and make sure that everybody gets their fair shake, if you will, at making their case or defending the case. at least two women have been killed by a bomb attack on the outskirts of the egyptian capital cairo. a blast wept off in a telecommunication building which was still being built, also

exploded. and four metro stations. no group claimed responsibility for either attack. protesters in canada have held a rally to call for the release of mohamed fadel fahmy, one of three al jazeera members held prisoner. he holds canadian and egyptian citizenship. they are demanding the release of others. al jazeera continues to demand the release of our journalist in egypt. they have now been imprisoned for 183 days. peter greste and mohamed fadel fahmy was given seven years and baher mohamed to 10, because he had a spent bullet in his possession which he picked up. >> ukraine's brillianty says there has been sporadic attacks in the east.

separatists released a second group of international observers held captive for a month. four others, for security and cooperation were released on friday. >> paul brennan has the latest from donetsk. >> reporter: it was in the early hours of friday morning that the first four o.s.c.e. monitors were released into the safety of their colleagues. these guys were detained in donetsk by separatist militia for more than a month. less than 48 hours later, we have the second batch of four o.s.c.e. monitors, returning to their colleagues of the deputy social monitor welcomed them back to safety. we welcomed the return of the last four. >> we welcome the return of our colleagues after a month away. we hope the press will allow

them the time with their families they reserved. the detention of the monitors constrained the operations and mission at a time when the flow has never been more important, particularly while consultations continued. we consider the work essential in helping to restore peace and stability. the difficulty in monitoring the two ceasefires which are observed in eastern ukraine emphasis the importance of the oece's work. what we have had on saturday, for example, is from the government side, reports of three separate attacks on government troops resulting, according to the government, in four deaths and 14 wound the. we spoke to separatists, denying that any incident is taking place. that is as to the real status of the ceasefires, it makes it difficult to decide who is to

blame, whether any violations have taken place, and how to maintain a peace process much pt o.s.c.e.'s work is important and they want to continue. in order to monitor the ceasefire, the border areas and the humanitarian core tors that have been proposed, it needs a degree of security. hopefully the release of the eight monitors in total means that the attention can turn to the o.s.c.e.'s future work, without the encumbrance of the hostage negotiations. it is important, and it is crucial to the future of this region. >> still to come on al jazeera - the gunshots that were heard around the world, marking a century since the heir to the austro-hungari austro-hungarian thrown was

assassinated.

good have you with us. these are the top stories - iraq's government has received five russian fighter jets to help fight the i.s.i.l. and islamic state of iraq and levant. it will be used in coming days. the man accused of leading an attacks on the u.s. in benghazi appeared in washington. ahmed abu chattalah pleaded not guilty to the charges in libya that killed four. proseparatists in ukraine released four monitors. another set was released on friday. let's go back to the top story. the crisis in roib, and the sunni -- iraq, and the sunni rebellion against the nouri al-maliki government has thrown different factions into an uneasy alines. the islamic state of iraq and levant attracted the most attention. the fighting

involves former officers of the saddam hussein era army, and sunni tribal factions with their own agenda. >> reporter: the sudden appearance of fighters of islamic state of iraq and levant, or i.s.i.l., has sent a shock way from baghdad to washington. the black flags are flying over the war bounty. it comes after months of would youed-spread sooun -- wide-spread sunni protests against nouri al-maliki, perceived as sectarian. the government protest was lethal. like here, last april. this is a former officer in saddam hussein's republican guards. he doesn't want to be identified nor give clues of his whereabouts. >> translation: the protest started because of marginalisition of the area. it reached a point that whenever

anyone was detained you knew heed be killed. >> these people welcomed i.s.i.l. in their area, but deny that it is taking over iraq. >> translation: this is the extension of the resistance that started in 2003. i.s.i.l. is irrelevant. it's a sunni revolution directed by members of a former army. people are huge ailiated and oppressed. now is the time of reckoning. in sunni areas, i.s.i.l. fighters have been running a campaign helping the community. this is a video showing iraqi soldiers. all heralded into a ditch. it was a few weeks ago. sunni leaders say i.s.i.l. does not pose a long-term threat to iraq. >> the tribes in iraq won't accept i.s.i.l.

it's not to our advantage to fight them. it will come later. the priority is to fight nouri al-maliki. the world should help us in our cause, and we'll deal with i.s.i.l. as long as iran is in iraq i.s.i.l. will remain, and as long as sunnis are being repressed, the fighting will continue. >> reporter: human rights groups say government forces are carrying out mass killings. this is a road to baghdad. amnesty international says there appears to have been a pattern of extrajudicial killings. every day that passes brings a share of death and destruction. the risk for iraq is as the conflict widens, the voices of moderation will be drowned out. hong kong is voting on the final day of an informal referendum calling for a democratic way to elect a leader. the 10-day poll is organised by protest groups.

several hundred thousands have been voted. campaigners want to choose their chief executive instead of picking one from a list of candidates nominated by the chinese deposit. north korea fired short-raping miss -- short-range missiles in the ocean. it comes days after south korea tested precision-guided missiles. japan is to hold talks with north korea over the kidnapping of its citizens in the 19 '70s, and '80s. they'll meet after north korea promised to reopen investigations. kim jong-il admitted in 2002, 13 were abducted to betrained as spies. five returned home. eight are missing. commemorations to mark the deaths of franz ferdinand of sarajeva, triggering event that led to the first world war, and

the redrawing of borders. that's where some believe the current conflict in the middle east were created. dominic kane explains. >> reporter: fighters of islamic state of iraq and levant attack iraqi positions. i.s.i.l. believes the geographical boundaries of the middle east need to be redraup. the borders were created after the first world war, after the fall of the ota man empire. it stretched to the red sea and to the caucuses mountains. the ottoman defeat saw the wen allies break up the -- we were allies brake up the empire. many modern day arab states from created. front ears were drawn arbitrarily. europeans used straight lines on

maps to demarkate areas with no ethnic or tribal considerations, and some modern analysts believe decisions by the french and british created the positions for the battles of today. >> if you look at what they did immediately after the first global war came, they were an independent state. they promise the jews had of homeland and became public, and they have what we call an agreement by which they'll divide the arab to their own interests, regardless of interests of the people. >> it's the end of the first world war revolutionized the arab world, it brought about change in central europe. when gavrilo princip shot and killed franz ferdinand and his wife in 1914, he was striking at the heart of one of the sow-called great powers. having lost the war.

the austro hungarian empire was broken up much austria and hungary were split up and the new states of checko slovakia and yugoslavia were created. within 75 years rising ethnic tensions meant yugoslavia disintegrated into the conflict of the 1990s. thousands of people turned out at the site of an historic battle in scotland to mark 700 years since scottish forces defeated the english, and scotland became an independent nature. the celebration was less than three months away from another milestone event, the referendum on independence. lawrence lee reports. >> reporter: on the fields here 700 gears ago the guerilla army of robert debruise defeated the english invaders.

the re-enactment of the battle pleased the crowds. robert was pleased, and forces of king edward the second booed. the battle was a piece, and the scottishness guaranteed a sell out. with the scottish independence vote a couple of months away, in was the place for those who dreamed of scotland being it's own place. >> they did sclpd for the land in the past and it's time for scotland to strike out by itself. >> we had it before. 10 minutes down the road in the same city on the same day, those that defend scotland's place inside the u.k., were holding their own celebration of what they hold dear. under sister-in-law iping's

castle, salmond had to line up with david cameron and the rest of the elite which he can't stand, while princess anne took the salute. the crowd stayed far away. >> reporter: are you proud to be part of the union? >> yes, yes. >> reporter: i'm asking that... >> i know the question you're asking. yes, i answered your question. >> reporter: will you go to balakbow. >> no, i'll spend all day here. >> reporter: it speaks volumes about the battle for hearts and minds. outside the economics, the arguments about scotland - whether it would be richer or poorer running its on affairs is deeper. it's about who you are and your right to choose your place in the world. >> the importance of scotland to the british military tells an important story about the referendum.

the politicians in westminster are prepared to so far the scots many things to stop them leaving the union entirely. the one thing that the u.k. government in west minister and supporters will never ever vender voluntarily, not in a million years is defense and foreign policy. >> the genders point to the sacrifices scottish soldiers made in the name of britain. nationalists will push england back and choose their open battles. that to the british establishment would be a defeat of an historic scale. two buildings have collapsed in india killing 15 people. 50 workers have been searching for survivors after an apartment block tumbled. four families were in a 50-year-old building, 10 were killed. in chennai dozens were

trapped in a tower. five are dead. uruguay is home to 12 million head of cattle. the life of each and every one is recorded from birth to the dipper plate. in the growing demonstrate or meat. daniel schweimler takes a look at uruguay. >> reporter: uruguay with lush green hope plains was largely built on the cattle industry. it knows its cows much every one of them. for every head of cattle, it is tagged after birded and details -- birth, and details of its life and death are locked in a computer system. this man owns more than 300 cows. >>. >> translation: this is list of my animals, this one, i know it's an aberdeen angus, it's female.

it's alive and she's tagged. >> reporter: by law all cattle must be tagged within six months of birth. a number in one year, and a computer chip in the other. it's in complips with the rest of the -- compliance with the rest of the count rich. >> trace ability provide security. >> this lady - a cross between an aber teen angus and a shorten is number 4739, allowing the ministry for agriculture and the openers to track her throughout her life, until she end up, unfortunately, on someone's plate. you've done a great job. after sale and slaughter, each cut of meet continues to be trapped with the same identifying number all the way to the wholesaler and here to the uruguayan grill. >> translation: if we mind a problem we can check it. we call this the black box

system. it's like the black box on a plane. in the institute we have people checking traceability in real time for any problem with the meat. >> even here, with the steak sizzling on the other side of the restaurant. they can continue to track the life of our lunch. uruguayans are some of the world's biggest meat cop assumers, eating an everything of -- consumers, eating an average of 60 kilos, per person, per year. it's one of the leading meet producers and exporters. their relationship with their meat is personal and detailed. still ahead on al jazeera - the latest on the world cup. brazil is through to the quarterfinal after a penalty shoot-out against chile.

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you are in the stream. thousands of children are being forced into sex trafficking in america. an fbi agent joins us to talk about the latest bust that freedom 169 kids from their pimps. how to reverse the troubling trend. plus new calls for more regulation on pet food as thousands of american's pets become ill and die as a result of what many believe are tainted products. millions of american homes are at ex treenail risk of natural disasters. are we spending billions because proper preventative measures