>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello and welcome to the al jazeera news hour. i'm stephen cole in doha. coming up at least six al-shabab fighters die in a u.s. air strike thought be aimed at the group's leader in somalia. the united nations says the conflict in ukraine has forced more than a million people out of their homes. as west african countries struggle with ebola, a lead charity company says the world is losing the battle to contain it.

i'm robin adams with all of your sport. including the wild-card picks to take on the u.s. team. >> i had a variety of choices. >> i'll tell you who made the cut later in the program. ♪ but first a u.s. drone strike in somalia has targeted the leader of the armed group al-shabab, missiles were fired at the al-shabab strong hold on monday. there are reports that at least fighters were killed. it's unclear if the main target was among the fatalities. memo -- mohammed tell us the latest about what we know of these targeted strikes? >> reporter: well details [ inaudible ] air strikes

happened in a remote and densely forrested area not far away from a town that is the headquarters of al-shabab's operations. al-shabab's spokesmen say up to ten missiles have been dropped. a convoy was said to be leaving the area containing al-shabab leaders, however, they could not confirm whether their leader was among the people who were killed. african union peace keepers and somali troops are on the move against the group. we just returned from the front line and this is what we found out. on the march against al-shabab fighters, the thicketed are awash with troops as african

union peace keepers and somali government forces go against al-shabab militia. even american drones have been deployed in what officials are calling the final on slot against al-shabab. >> translator: we will not repeat past mistakes. we will not stop fighting until we have established full control everywhere. >> reporter: these men know they can be am beneficiary -- ambushed anywhere, so they go on foot. on the outskirts of a town they want to recapture, they stop and wait. later we move on. we are told the fighters in the town have fled. it the peace keepers and somali government troops say it has been a good day for them. this is the second town they have taken without a fight. it is, however, deserted.

al-shabab ordered the residents to leave just before they came in. of particular interest to the somali government is a seaside town, al-shabab's headquarters and official port. >> translator: we know al-shabab cannot survive without this town. they have been using the port for their imports and also taxing traders. all of that will be over very soon. >> reporter: somali's are president says that is an urgent operation. >> people are isolated. they cannot receive aid or even the normal trade through the routes that are blocked. in many places the foot [ inaudible ] have also been destroyed by al-shabab.

>> reporter: last night, the soldiers mount their defenses in strategic locations. they know their operants are not far away and don't want to be caught unprepared. on the morning after the forces ready themselves once again. they understand the job at hand is far from over. now african union peace keepers are pursuing al-shabab militias who have until now been controlling huge swathes of land. joining me now is the sector commander, sector 1 commander of african union mission in somalia. this strike, the air strike by the u.s. forces happened in the area under your command.

now, tell us, what more do you know about these strikes? >> yeah, as you know, the zone currently is collecting operation in the indian ocean, and it's a multinational operation. indeed if our partners had a strike on the target indeed that's something that we can confirm, yes, there was a strike, and the strike was intended on some al-shabab leadership who were holding a meeting. but as to whether the strike met its purpose, that is something for the partners to confirm. >> reporter: because the leader of al-shabab in the convoy that was targeted? >> yeah, as i said, the strike occurred, but we yet to get that information, and i'm sure the partners will be in position to give that information themselves. >> reporter: now what is the role of the u.s. forces in this

offensive? we have seen them launching drones, and advising some of your commanders. >> just like any international community, the u.s. forces and other partners have given a lot of support, and whatever is done is done a nation away. so like any other community that supports the african countries, the u.s. partners, the british, they all form part of the efforts to undo the foef foefrt -- efforts by al-shabab. >> reporter: you have taken a number of towns from al-shabab, but what is the use of taking this town when they will return tomorrow, because of what many people are calling the inefficiency of the somali government forces to hold on to these towns? again, what is the use of taking these towns if they are going to be blockaded and people are

facing a situation they are looking at [ inaudible ]. >> i won't call it inefficiency, one of the mandates is to [ inaudible ] the somali national security forces, we operate with the national security forces whatever area we take on, we leave foot on the ground in comparison to the national forces. we are certain this time, regardless of what happened the last time, whatever town, whatever city has been taken, the foothold of the [ inaudible ] and the somali national security forces. >> reporter: thank you very much for joining al jazeera. >> you are welcome. thanks. >> reporter: government officials are saying this is the final on slot against al-shabab. now back to you in the studio, stephen. >> many thanks mohammed. al shabab is just one of

many armed groups in africa persuaded by a radical version of political islam. it is being discussed in the african summit on terrorism. al-qaeda and the aqim began in algeria but has launched attacks in kidnappings in all of the countries on its borders. boko haram has caused a series of terror attacks. and while al-shabab is primarily associated with somali it has also been linked to attack in kenya and uganda. katherine has more from the african security summit. >> reporter: the leaders in this summit from countries that have been affected by terrorism, and are still battles extremists, were unanimous about the need to collaborate, pool resources,

strengthen loads. those who spoke recognized the dangers of radicallizing the huge population of young people who are vulnerable targets of recruitment. and they talked of pooling their resources, and setting up an african band to fight terrorism. but some analysts say all of this will come to together if bad leaderships continue. poorly equipped and disorganized armies, and terrible infrastructure, and across porous borders are making the fight against terrorism in africa even harder, and those are some of the issues that need to be addressed. >> saudi arabia says it has detained 88 people suspected of planning what are being called terrorist attacks. the suspects have been monitored for months before their arrests,

and were on the verge of carrying out operations. three are said to be from yemen. at least 20 people have been killed in fighting in benghazi. the fighting is focused around the city's airport. libya's outgoing parliament said armed rebels are already in control of the capitol tripoli. relatives of iraqi army recruits have broken into parliament demanding to know the fate of relatives who surrendered to the islamic state group in the battle for tikrit which happened in june. amnesty international has accused the islamic state fighters of system mass killings and ethnic cleansing. on the ground the battle against the i.s. group in iraq is gaining momentum and an alliance

have pushed the forces back. [ gunfire ] a military source says this effectively ends three months of islamic state control in the area. al jazeera's sue joins me live from erbil in northern iraq. how secure is ameli now? >> reporter: we have just come back from there, and i would say even though the people really are rejoicing at the sight that they are seeing, we had a wonderful welcome when we arrived. they are rejoicing that that no longer have the threat of the i.s. fighters surrounding them, but they don't feel completely safe. we had iraqi helicopters above our heads while we were there. we understand they killed seven insurgents in the vicinity.

but there is a flow of people going in and out now. and that's what is really worrying security, that with this flow of people they don't know who might be with them. and when a lot of the i.s. fighters were pushed back previously, they disappeared, they blended back into the countryside and into some of the arab sunni villages in the area, and that is what is worrying people. they could well be carrying a suicide bomb or meaning harm, really. so there is a nervousness about the town, but at least people are now seeing the siege is gone. >> what about the situation regarding aid, regarding supplies? are they getting the supplies they were so very desperate -- desperately wanting? >> reporter: it is a tackle so far, and i guess that's because the security situation is still

a little bit in flux, we saw one truck driving around the streets. a couple of businessmen had bought and filled up a truck full of ice and water and they were going through the streets and throwing the goods to some of the people there, very, very relieved people to see supplying coming in at least. but it is a trickle so far. i think the main ngo's are watching to see how the situation is on the ground, making sure this is a sort of safe -- and there is not going to be any insurgents coming back into the town. >> many thanks, sue. you are watching the news hour from doha, i'm stephen. going green in somali, how they are harvesting wind, water, and weeds in order to kick start sustainable energy projects.

the world number 1 battles through to the quarter finals of the u.s. open. more on the tennis later. ♪ yemen's president is saying he'll dismiss his cabinet and appoint a new prime minister once a deal is agreed with houthi rebels. tens of thousands of houthis have been holding mass protests in the capitol. the group has been fighting for years for better and more representation. on monday their leader called for increased civil disobedience until their demands are met. >> reporter: the president has a new initiative. his envoy is now meeting with the houthi leader with the following message, president is willing to form a new government of technocats, the prime

minister will be announced within a week, and the houthis are welcome to join this new government. as far as the main demand of the houthis, which is reinstating subsidies. the president is willing to cut fuel prices. this is a go where the government and the houthis will debate for the coming hours. we'll have to wait and see what will be the final answer of the hewthy leader. if he accepts the initiative that will diffuse tension and pave the way for new talks about the future of the country. the houthis would like to have more political representation and a bigger say in running the country. president is willing to give them that opportunity. we have to wait and see what will be the response of the opponentings which has been very critical and suspicious of the

houthis. they have also been of the view that the houthis have been implemented by iran to create a radical shiite faction in the country. they all are of the view they need to solve the crisis in yemen, otherwise the other option will be military confrontation. an attack on an army convoy in the sinai peninsula has been reported. some were killed by a bomb others were reportedly shot as they tried to escape. al jazeera is continuing to demand the release of three journalists who have been detained in egypt now for 248 days. they received long sentences after trial many observers saw as politically motivated. their convictions are being appealed. against the case has been raised by the u.n. secretary general in a conversation with the egyptian

president. more than a million people have now been displaced by fighting in eastern ukraine according to the u.n. refugee agency. more than 814,000 ukrainians have fled over the border to russia, and a further 260,000 are in other parts of the country. the number of people displaced inside ukraine has almost doubled in the past three weeks. respected of being helped by russian forces. pro-russian separatists have made substantial recent gains in the luhansk and donetsk regions and further south around the area of mriopol. kiev has been forced to change its strategy preparing not only to fight the rebels but also russian troops in a war it says could cost tens of thousands of lives. russian soldiers are reported to

be seen around lujou -- the region. paul tell us about the incredible numbers of refugees. >> reporter: yes, well, the combat really flared up in a major way in the cities of donetsk and luhansk, three or four months ago. what we saw was a major exodus from those cities. they are a little bit north of here. so the figures spiked early. then calmed down a little bit, but now as a result of the increasing activity along the border, the resurgents if you would like of the pro-russian militia in a huging swathe of land, in the month there was

260,000 more internally displaced. many have gone to russia. many have simply gone to stay with relatives in a safer part of the country. so these figures may actually chronically underestimate the truth. >> paul, are we seeing a change of tone here? because up to this point, the message coming out of moscow, well, really it is nothing to do with us, these are separatists, and we'll help them with a bit of aid. whereas now in a sort of remark, he's supposed to be private, putin is talking about, we could get to kiev in two weeks. and russian soldiers are very obviously and very high profile now in eastern ukraine. so it is becoming a de facto war? >> reporter: well that is certainly the belief of the kiev government.

it's certainly the belief of nato in the sense that they are saying that this has been an invasion by russian forces. and the tone has noticeably hardened i would say, even in the space of today. because what we have had is the in coming european union foreign affairs chief, she has said that russia is fast -- she -- saying russia is a stream streamic -- strategic player in this but is no longer a strategic partner of nato. and it is said when russia reformulated its defense doctrine, there is a very strong likelihood that nato nations will be basically designated as a threat to russia. that's not just bluster, i don't think. think. i think it's a significant

hardening of political attitudes as well. >> paul beban reporting. thanks, paul. pakistan's prime minister says he won't resign despite the political crisis. kamala harris reports. >> reporter: what began has peaceful protests are now firmly in a volatile stage. tear gas hangs over the streets of islamabad. and now there appears to be descent in the party of opposition leader imran khan. >> translator: imran khan told me that they said to take cad ray along and we are not move without the army. the court committee said they wouldn't have unwanted politicians among us.

>> reporter: the military denies it is backing the opposition. so far it has stepped in only when asked by the government. as was the case on monday when protesters stormed the state tv channel. anti-government protesters have continued to challenge the police with force. resulting in sporadic scuffles. >> translator: i never saw tear gas in my life. this is such a painful gas. i can't breathe easily. i was just there, and police are firing tear gas from almost two kilometers away. i'm here with my friends. >> reporter: the protesters are heeding caused by two opposition leaders to rally against the prime minister. they occur him of electoral fraud and want a new government. imran khan used a language of [ inaudible ] to demand his resignation. >> translator: your inning is over. why aren't you going bah to the

pavilion. >> reporter: the prime minister has issued a statement he is not going anywhere. a they have been holding crisis talks with the embattled prime minister, but that has only lead to intreeing and rumors of possible military intervention. the medical charity doctors without borders is warning they can't stop the spread of ebola unless western countries intervene. the head of the organization is calling on foreign nations to dispatch a specialized biological response team to west africa. they say the world is losing the battle to contain the virus. a number of medical workers in liberia's capital are on strike in protest against a lack of equipment to deal with ebola

patients. some 240 health-care workers have contracted the disease, and at least half have died. >> reporter: a protest against poor conditions outside of this medical center in monrovia. these health workers risk their lives on a daily basis to treat the patients. but they say they don't have the right equipment, they are not paid enough, and there's no insurance. >> before we can return to work, we need, one, increased salary. we need proper equipment to use to work with. and we need insurance benefit. we need [ inaudible ] to [ inaudible ] us. because our lives are at risk. >> reporter: the ebola outbreak has put pressure on already poor health care systems. in guinea where the first cases of the outbreak were detected in

march, there are around 10 doctors per 100,000 people. in sierra leone there are two doctors for 120,000. and in liberia the situation is worse. there is just over one doctor per 100,000. fewer than 50 doctors in total in a country of about 4 million people. the united nations says the outbreak is putting harvests in the region at risk. it has resulted in panic-buying food shortages and price hikes. many airlines are still refusing to fly to the region. an effort to stop the spread of the virus, but the suspensions are also making the fight against it more difficult. >> this is a tremendous blow on the country, because now we feel very isolated internationally. it's like we'll being

international quarantined. >> reporter: the main airport has introduced screening measures. >> translator: the government and airport authority has set up a screening process that is going to make sure that no one with fever gets on a plane. and that's important. it gives the airlines confidence that they can keep flying, and that's important. >> reporter: human trials of possible vaccine are due to begin this week in the united states. but health officials are not pinning their hopes on its success. basic health supplies are running low, and workers are focusing their efforts on how to make them last with a growing number of cases. coming up on the news hour on al jazeera, failed crops, dying cattle, we report from guatemala. and in sport this american golfer takes a step towards a

$10 million payday. find out more in a moment. ♪

>> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand.

>> this trial was a sham... >> they are truth seekers... >> all they really wanna do is find out what's happening, so they can tell people... >> governments around the world all united to condemn this... >> as you can see, it's still a very much volatile situation... >> the government is prepared to carry out mass array... >> if you want free press in the new democracy, let the journalists live. >> to hear al baghdadi hear it, he's head of state. the status that merges religious and governmental leadership. who al baghdadi, how he got where he is, and the caliphate