>> closing in. iraqi forces say they're pushing hard to take the country's biggest dam from islamic state fighters. you. >> ukraine's government and separatist blame each other for allege attack on convoy of refugees. checking everyone leaving through airports. reports for the family of

the unarmed teenager killed by police say he was shot six times. >> the kurdish peshmerga forces in northern iraq say they're close to retaking the strategically important mosul dam. they're trying to push back fighters from the islamic state group, which controls large parts of iraq and syrian. the area stretches from the north of syria to mount sinjar in north of iraq to cities and towns like tikrit and fallujah. the iraqi army says it is fighting along side kurdish forces and that they've reached the perimeter of the dam. an army spokesman said that they're loss planning an assault to retake parts of the city of mosul to which a large number of

i.s. fight verse retreated. we go to the kurdish forces and we're following the battle. >> reporter: there is an active front line in the east of mosul. peshmerga forces trying to advance, but they've been unable to do so. the islamic state group, they're approximately two kilometers away from the front line. they've been using sniper fire mortars to prevent the perso peshmerga from moving forward. they want to recapture the lands in order for displaced people to return. they've taken over three christian villages, but from what which understand from peshmerga commanders they have no plans to push through to mosul, the stronghold of the islamic state. there is an active front line in the east of mosul, and there is

a battle under way for control of the mosul dam. kurdish forces as well as the iraqi army saying they are close to taking over the dam. they're planting explosive devices, boobie traps, so their advance is slow. of course, they're getting the support of the u.s. military a , there is still a military operation in this region. the fight is far from over. but for now the morale of peshmerga forces is quite high. they've managed to capture three christian towns in the ongoing offensive. >> joining us now is the deputy prime minister of the kurdish regional government, and he speaks to us from erbil. thank you for joining us on the show. now it does seem that the iraqi and kurdish forces are close to taking on the mosul dam, but

what about the surrounding area and the city of mosul? >> thanks for having me on. it's a pleasure to be on. the dam operation is almost complete. they are now cleaning those areas making sure there are no planted bombs or i.e.d.s. the cooperation between the peshmerga force ohs, the kurdish forces and the united states has been very effective so far. it's intended to retake the dam at a strategic location. any further operations after that, as your reporters have said beforehand will have to be done in coordination and partnership in all sides.

>> now as you mentioned you did have help in the operation of retaking of the dam. how significant--explain to us how significant the airstrikes have been in this push against the islamic state fighters? >> it's been significant, and it's been good cooperation, and hopefully these kinds of joint operations and these kind of assistance from both sides can help build confidence for future operations and some of the other challenges we'll face going forward. >> if anything this operation, as you say, has shown cooperation and highlights the importance of iraqi unity when faced with a threat like the islamic state fighters. doesn't this then call into question the kurdish push for independence? >> well, we have--obviously the country is facing a challenge.

all parts of the country are facing a challenge. it's a significant threat. it's a threat to kurdistan and the rest of iraq. when there is a common enemy and a common threat this hopefully can bring about a common preparation. it does not say that there are no no political challenges, but they'll try to overcome them. we're hopeful now that the government is going through a redress, we'll go through what created the challenge that we have today. >> are you saying that you will still push for kurdish independence under the new leadership of haider al abadi. >> we want a constitution that

will treat all communities of iraq equally and fairly under one constitution, one set of laws, one set of values. that's what we're going to push for as we form the next government in iraq. if we can reach an agreement with our iraqi colleagues, that would be great. if we can't reach an agreement, and we can't reach an agreement per the constitution, then we will have to readdress our situation and our position, and come back with a policy. >> all right, thank you so much for speaking to us. deputy prime minister of the kurdish regional government. well, ukrainian officials and pro russia separatists are blaming each other for an attack on a convoy. it was suggested that some people were killed in the attack. for months now the city of

luhansk has been held since april. >> well, the ukrainian forces say that a group of civilians were trying to flee the fighting when their vehicles came under fire. they say people were trapped in their cars. many, many people died including women and children. now the ukrainian forces anti-terror forces are pointing fingers of blame at the separatist, but the separatist movement in control of luhansk has yet to comment on this. thethey say the separatists don't have the possibility to carry out the attack. it's difficult to say who is responsibility and how many people people were killed at the moment. the russian convoy who the

russians are carrying aid, it's been a week since it left for ukraine. >> in the u.s. state of missouri lawyers of the family of an u unarmed black teenager who was shot by a police officer has held a press conference to confirm the results of a an autopsy. >> dr. baden and i concluded that he was shot at least six times. we have one at the top of the head, the apex. we've got one that entered just above the right eyebrow. we've got one that entered the top part of the right arm. we've got a graze wound, a superficial crazy wound at the top of the right arm. we have a graze wound to the medial to the right arm and a

deep graze that caused a laceration to the right hand. >> let's go to rachel lavine, rachel, we know from earlier reports that michael brown had been shot six times. what then was the point of this press conference? >> reporter: i think this was really to prove that the family has serious doubt about the i impartiality. at the press conference, the experts said that it's very normal within 24 hours of such incident usually those reports, those autopsy reports are made available. when they aren't made available that usually leads to a lot of suspicion and more distrust in communities that already have tense relationships, if you will, with local authorities.

this report was requested by the family. it's an independent autopsy report and one of three because the federal government has also requested their own autopsy, which we hope to get those results in the coming days. >> rachel, you talked about tension within the community. last night we saw more street violence. give us an idea of what the atmosphere is like in ferguson now. >> the at foss here right now is very peaceful, very calm. i'm here on the same street where you saw the protesters. as you see its relatively calm. traffic is moving. schools are closed in the area, and most of this type of protest, if you will, those happen after dark. usually after the last couple of days it's been relatively calm. it's when the sun goes down and

people start to gather again that people feel that tension and they're waiting to see what will happen, how the police will react to those protests. >> rachel, we know that the missouri governor has ordered the national guard into ferguson. any signs of their arrival as of yet? >> we have not seen them yet. i've talked to some of our other teams. they have not seen them either. we know they're supposed to be arriving today, and the national guard is really being called out because i think people feel that there needs to be more control over the situation here. whether or not that's going to increase tension or decrease it has yet to be seen. that is a new situation for people here in st. louis. they're not accustomed to seeing the national guard on their streets. it will be interesting to see later on tonight what the reaction of the community is when they actually appear and are out patrolling the streets.

>> rachel, thank you. rachel levin speaking to us from ferguson. still ahead in this half hour, africans in south korea worry about their rights in the outbream of the ebola virus. >> on the stream, >> the usda pulls 770 inspectors from poultry processing plants. join us on the stream to find out what that means for your food safety. >> the stream on al jazeera america stuart! stuart!

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battle the islamic state group. russian separatists and ukrainians are blaming enemy other for the attack of a convoy. >> with less than five hours to go before the expirery of the cease-fire in gaza, the u.n. has held open session on the crisis. they accused hamas of using human shields. >> let me be clear. we regard every human casualty as a tragedy. but let's be honest about what is going on.

the u.n. is quoting numbers provided by the same terror group. i have here a page of the hamas convert manual on urban warfare found in gaza. each and every one of you will receive it in a second. basically specifically calls on terrorists to use civilians as human shields and as combat strategy. >> 2016 palestinians have been killed since israeli attacks began on july 8th. most of them civilians. gazaens say that homes have been destroyed without justification. israeli soldiers started bulldozing their home. there is nothing left of it.

the war was raging all around. as they need the family was shot at in violation of international law. he was captured and taken to israel. >> they didn't have enough information. they needed more. they were asking me about hamas, the location of tunnels and rocket launchers. they wanted to know who in this area was from hamas or islamic jihad. who was in charge. >> six israeli soldiers were wounded here during battles of hamas fighters. they discovered a network of tunnels that lead into israel, but many here believe they sheffield united and destroyed their livelihood indiscriminately. even this little cemetery was not spared. the destruction stretches all along the flank of gaza. trees uprooted.

farmland ruined. factories and businesses destroyed. >> they destroyed everything. they want us to leave this place, but we're going to come back and rebuild once again. >> reporter: an estimated half million people are now homeless. >> an precedented firepower was unleashed on gaza. >> no one can justify what israel did here. this was a real and strong example of war crimes. >> human rights groups have called allegations of war crimes on both sides and the u.n. has named a panel to look into the matter. living among the rubble,

investigation may not be enough to bring an end to their suffering and pain. al jazeera, gaza. >> israeli soldiers have raided the houses of three palestinians in the occupied west bank who they suspect was involved in the kidnapping and murder of three young israeli settlers. they were found dead in june near the city of hebron in the up ad west bank. israeli troops demolished the homes of two. the house belonging to another was sealed with concrete. the head of the u.n. nuclear activity discussed situations with iran. iran has denied accusation it's nuclear program has military

goals. al jazeera is demanding the release of these journalists who have been in prison for 233 days. mohamed fahmy, bader mohammed, and peter greste were falsely accused of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. in june they were given search years sentences. bader mohammed got an extra three years because he had a spent bullet in his possession, which he had picked up at a protest. turkey tells germany if reports of spying are true it expects berlin to stop immediately. the german ambassador was summoned after a magazine reported germany's intelligence agency had spied on turkey since 2009. the world health organizatio organization is urging ebola screenings at all airport, sea ports and land

crossing. a nigeria woman died after flying into the airport in abou diaby. she had been on the way to india. >> a south korean university turned away three nigerian students, but some say the fears are unfounded. >> as the ebola outbreak worsens, so the fear of it spreads across the continent and beyond. including here at the south korean capitol of seoul. many of the west african nation

were stunned to see this image popping up on their phones over the weekend. it says due to the ebola virus we are not accepting africans at the moment. one man said he was disgusted when he saw the picture. >> it is not the korean government. if the korean government gave that challenge, it is their responsibility to do that. if they want to do that, they have the borders, immigration, point of entry. they found out anybody having ebola, they have means to stop that person. >> the pub declined our request for an interview but issued an apology saying no racism was intended. while this reaction from the pub may be on the extreme side of the scale it's not the only bowl la restriction put in place. koreanen air will stop flying to

nairobi despite kenya is o on the opposite end of the outbreak. there has been criticism of airlines for taking such measures saying the risk of on board risks are low. >> we contacted government organizations but no authority was able to make a decision for us. we decided that if we don't take minimum measures it would worsen criticism from members of the public without proper knowledge of the virus, and it might jeopardize the entire event. >> medical advice remains that transmission requires close contact with bodily fluids. >> unless the person is actually expelling bodily fluids, if they're just sitting there in a room greating normally they

should not be spreading the virus. >> for now seoul's african population keeps a close eye on the disease progress back at home and they keep a close eye on how they're being viewed right here. >> pope francis has called on north and south koreans to bring peace in his visit to asia. he appealed to china to re-establish diplomatic relations with the vatican. china cut ties in 1951 after the communist party took power. pope francis plans to return to asia in january to visit the philippines and sri lanka. wikileaks founder julian assange said he'll soon be leaving the ecuadorian embassy in london. at the embassy he has been granted asylum for the last two years. he's charged with releasing

documents in 2010 and in sweden there are allegations he assaulted two women. he denies those charges. gunmen stole $335,000 in france and some sensitive diplomatic documents. the robbery took place on sunday on the northern edge of paris. no one was injured. the principal's name has not been revealenot--the prince' name has not been revealed. leading a mass anti-government campaign, tens of thousands of protesters in pakistan's capitol islamabad has brought traffic to a standstill. they say the election was rigged and they're calling for the government to step down. kamal hyder has more.

>> ththey had been protesting in islamabad, but today was th they decided they would pull out of parliament where they have 34 seats and 340 plus and pulling out of the provincial assembly of the punjab where his party has 30 seats and two seats in the province, however his party has not decided whether they'll give up the provincial government where the pti is in the majority. he is saying that they had knocked on every door, going through the country's scores as well, but there was no justice. he wanted a system which would be transparent and would guarantee free and fair elections. so indeed a significant move by

khan and not one that would go well for pakistan's democracy. >> in england 35 immigrants found in a container on saturday have been identified as sikhs from afghanistan. one man died making the journey. most of the refugees including 13 children required treatment in hospital. many sikhs are desperate to leave afghanistan. jennifer glasse reports now from kabul. >> you these children are continuing three centuries of tradition in afghanistan, but they could be the last generation of sikhs in this country. it was once a vibrant community. 25 years ago there were 200,000 sikh families here in every province of the country. no more. they say threats, harassment and land confiscation mean afghanistan is an unfriendly place for sikhs. their numbers are shrinking fast. dozens of families have left afghanistan just in the past six months. there are only 3,000 sikhs left

here and most in the community say if they got the opportunity they would leave too. their leader has appealed to the united nations and embassies asking for help to get out. they say they don't want to go to pakistan or iran because they face persecution there. >> no one will protect us. even when we go to the president he says he'll protect us but nothing happens. >> smuggled into europe they were rescued in a container in england nearly dehydrated. one man died. yesterday here in kabul they say getting out is worth this kind of risk. >> even if i might end up in the middle of the ocean i would go. i have property here worth half a million dollars but i don't have a choice. whenever i go out here there is risk. i would rather face one big risk than face this every day. >> reporter: they still practice their traditions but these

afghan sikhs say they see no future in afghanistan and vow to do whatever they can to leave. jennifer glasse, al jazeera, kabul. >> and a quick reminder that you can always keep up-to-date with all the latest news, features, and analyses on our website at www.aljazeera.com. >> hi, you are in the stream. the government agency charged with keeping your foods safe is pulling 700 insmackpecialers in poultry plants. what it means nor food safety. >> what happens to a chicken before getting to your plate. 8 and a half billion animals killed for food. the producers of a documentary