>> announcer: this is awl jazz. ♪ hello, welcome to the al jazeera news hour. i'm jane dutton live in doha. coming up, determined to defeat the islamic state group, john kerry visits iraq as the u.s. prepares to unveil its strategy. a new man at the top of syria's most powerful rebel group after the previous leader is killed in an explosion. the yes campaign for sco scottish independence accuses the british prime minister of

panic. more clashes in yemen as police try to disburse anti-government protesters. at least one person is killed. ♪ the u.s. secretary of state is in bagdad where he has met iraq's new prime minister haider al-abadi, the meeting comes hours before a live televisioned address by the u.s. president, barack obama, which is expected to announce a new strategy to tackle the islamic state fighters. kerry is also going to visit jordan and saudi arabia, where the king is hosting a meeting to discuss how to tackle the islamic state group. john kerry says more must be done to bring stability back to the country and fight the

islamic state group fighters. >> obviously the hard work is very far from over. we all know that. in many ways it's just beginning, establishing a government doesn't mean a lot if it is not able to govern effectively or doesn't govern inclusively, and it particularly needs to govern inclusively in order to represent the interests of all of the iraqi people. >> john hendren joins us from immigration reform bill in iraq. john kerry saying this is a government they can work with in defeating the i.s. >> he said he was impressed with the efforts to incorporate all elements of iraq, but he went on

to say as long as this government continues to be inclusive, continues to protect minorities, the u.s. would be willing to participate in this effort, of course, the u.s. has very little alternative. the american population is very much behind this operation. and they have a lot of stake on what is going on in iraq. kerry pretty much promised there would be a brood range of assistance. that likely miens training iraqi troops, and intelligence. >> and he is there to get support for this brood coalition, how easier hard is that to be? >> it is often hard to get a coalition to agree to anything. but in this case, the islamic state has done a lot to align

former rebels in the region, and it looks like kerry is likely to get support because of the fear the islamic state has instilled in this region. >> and the players who will be facing the i.s. head on, what are they wanting, the -- peshmerga in particular. well, they want more weapons. they want air strikes, intelligence training, all of the things that they are very much likely to get, and they are likely to get it not just because the islamic state is so heavily operating here in the northern part of this country, but also because they have a strong relationship historically with the united states and the other governments involved here. politically speaking, the kurds want a bigger role in the government. they feel they are

underrepresented even in the abadi government which has just been forming. the sunni block is looking for more position as well, and they are likely to get the position of defense minister. and that is what john kerry was talking about in that quote >> and kerry obviously giving very few details, thanks, john. we are waiting for president obama to lay out his plan in a few hours. obama said he has the authority to take action against the rebel group without congressional approval. white house worcorrespondent ha more. >> reporter: a prime time speech there the white house tells americans to pay attention, what the president is about to say

matters. we already know his basic mess age. >> the next phase is to now start going on some offense. >> reporter: the president has pretty much already laid out what that means and doesn't. he says there will not be u.s. boots on the ground. but analysts point out that doesn't count out special forces. >> if the president wanted to find flexibility in his language, i still think he has the option of sending up to several thousand forces that could be mentors, special forces and perhaps even do some raids in the early going. >> reporter: it is expected the president will call for continued air strikes in iraq and possibly syria as well, for the u.n. to cut off the flow of foreign fighters and money. the u.s. will try to get sunni tribes to side with the iraqi government and not the islamic

state group he has the support of the american people. according to a recent poll, 91% of those asked believe the islamic state group is a threat to the united states. and 53% believe the president has been too cautious. the president is expected to warn this fight could take a while, and experts think that will work but only for a time. >> it will resinate for listeners at the moment, but listeners forget when situations change and move on. that's not going to be something that will be sustained over time. the public will get tired of an ongoing military effort. >> reporter: this is the president's chance to convince americans this is a fight the u.s. needs to take on to win, but it is a fight no one can say when it might end or at what cost.

patty culhane, al jazeera, washington. there have been more clashes in yemen as police try to disperse anti-government protesters, at least one person has been killed in the capitol sana'a. hashem ahelbarra is live for us in sana'a. what happened, hashem. >> reporter: well today for some reason, the houthis chose not to take to the streets. usually on a daily basis, they have their demands to push the government to go. however, on the outskirts of the capitol, particularly the southern entrance of the capitol there has been heavy fighting between the army and fighters who were trying to reach the capitol but were prevented by the army. one was killed and others were injured. here in the capitol sana'a, the city is very divided by

sectarian lines. this is where the injured houthi protesters are being treated. they are the victims of the fighting that happened here the prime minister's office on tuesday. >> i heard gunshots in lower limbs, abdomen, and also there is one case [ inaudible ] toxicity. shia houthi rebels say the army and police intentionally opened fire. >> translator: it was a peaceful demonstration. suddenly they started opening fire on us without even warning. the soldiers were all covering their faces. >> reporter: at least 20 protesters were admitted to this hospital. their relatives want justice for what they describe as police brutality. this is where the clashes took place, security forces managed to break up the protest, but they still insist they didn't open fire on the demonstrators.

this is a camera man who works for a channel run by the shia houthis. >> translator: there was a fence separating the protesters and the police, but suddenly they started opening fire. i started filming, then a soldier shot me in the chest. >> reporter: angry fighters attacked this military base. they were planning to join the protesters but were stopped at this check point. this area could become a front line if fighting between the army and the rebels spreads across the capitol. in the coming days, we're expecting huge rallies by the houthis and supporters of the government. the houthis say this is their fight. it is going to be a legitimate fight for the government to go and a new one installed.

others say the houthis are trying to implement some sort of radical government. so within this context of this sectarian divide, it remains to be seen whether there might be a political settlement of the crisis. we know tribal leaders and politicians are trying to convince the president and the houthi leader to come to some sort of agreement, the concern here is the capitol. if there is no deal, the prospect for a military confrontation is going to be bigger and bigger. one of syria's biggest rebel group says it has picked a new leader. they have been fighting both bashar al-assad government and the islamic state group. the new heard -- leader has

called on his fighters to keep on fighting. >> if one of us is killed, there are a lot of us still there. you are the only and one true man. don't feel despair. meeting allah is the real target. refight every tyrant until the last day of our lives. we know at least 45 people died in the explosion that killed the leader, so far no one has claimed responsibility. >> reporter: a large number of the leadership now buried. an explosion struck a bunker where the mean were meeting. details are unclear. some have blamed the islamic state fighters. but they say the bunker was next to a bomb-making workshop and most of the men died of

asphyxiation. no one has claimed responsibility. it could have also been a mistake and there are consequences. >> this attack, this kills within this group, benefits both of those actors which we have seen continuously getting stronger, both isis or the islamic state, and the assad government in syria. >> reporter: he was a highly respected commander in syria. he sat down for a interview whe he was eager to stress minority's rights in the country. >> translator: we protect christians. however, the head of state could be a muslim. this does not mean we want a dictatorip regime. >> reporter: it's the biggest member of the islamic front

alliance, the clition of groups actively fighting the islamic state and syrian government. it is inspired by a politicized version of islam and principles but unlike al-qaeda, it says it does not seek to take its war beyond syria. it had good relations with the more moderate free syrian army. the loss of the leader will be a major blow. we are joined by the senior syrian analyst for the crisis unit in beirut. i'm intrigued to hear what you think of the loss of this leader? >> it's certainly a loss. this is one of the best organized and best lead organizations within the rebellion, and this attack took out a huge chunk of its

leadership. so it has raised a number of questions about its ability to continue on, as well as the strength of rebels particularly in the north as they battle in a two-front war against both the regime and the islamic state, isis. >> i know there is a worry about in this vacuum who would step in, and that some of those supporting would move on to the i.s. what do you think of that? >> right. that brings us to the group's place. it has behaved pragmatically in certain ways in engaging with other rebel groups and the opposition state supporters. some of the leaders have done that despite jihadi criticism

and some misgivings rumor has it within their ranks. so there are questions whether this leader slip be able to continue the course between the plan and the pragmatic requirements in this expensive syrian war. >> how is this going to play out in the u.s. dialogue with john kerry being in the region at the moment? >> i don't think it has any direct impact on american policy. certainly they were not a candidate for american support. however, if we start to see an unravelling of the group, that could complicate the american-led coalition's efforts inside syria.

>> and complicate where possibly some of the gulf states send their money to. >> that's certainly troo as well. so they will be looking to strengthen their allies within the opposition to make sure that any unravelling works for those groups. >> interest talking to you. thank you. >> thanks for having me. at least eight people have been killed in a syrian city. [ explosion ] >> activists say government war planes dropped bombs on islamic state targets. most of the city is controlled by the islamic state which also controls vast swathes of neighboring iraq. coming up on the al jazeera news hour. liberia defense minister warning ebola is devouring everything in

its path. and jo will be here to tell you why it's the end of the road for this man at ferrari. details coming up in sport. ♪ any president of ukraine is promising a new law offering greater autonomy to rebellious regions in eastern ukraine, but he says the regions will remain part of ukraine and is rejecting federalization. he also says the ceasefire is largely holding. 70% of russian troops have moved from eastern ukraine back across the russian border. >> translator: i want to update you on the latest information i have received from our main intelligence director, that 70% of the russian forces were pulled back across the border. this gives us hope that peaceful plans will result in the future.

the human rights group says some pro-russian separatists and ukrainian volunteer fighters have committed human rights abuses during the five-month old conflict. >> we have received many reports of indiscriminate shelling that has happened from both sides. it is very difficult to establish who is responsible for the shelling, but we have received many reports, more than a thousand civilians have lost their lives. and we have called for an urgent investigation of all such allegations. >> peter sharpe has more from mas moscow. >> reporter: amnesty international says human rights abuses are being carried out by both sides. they had researchers on the ground for several weeks, and they term the conflict an international conflict, which russia is now party to.

russia it says is fuelling the conflict by supplying weapons to the separatists, and the separatists are violating human rights. but it is by no means limited to the russian backed separatists. there were human rights abuses carried out by local militia fighting alongside the military. and also the ukrainian army itself was reported to be involved in heavy shelling of mainly civilian areas. in one instance, separatists units using intimidation of ransom took a pastor, his family, and several church members hostage, holding them hostage for $50,000 before the village could come up with the money they were executed. so some pretty depressing reading in this report from amnesty international. the german parliament has

commemorated the beginning of world war ii with a speech by the polish president. he spoke in berlin to mark the 75th anniversary of germany's attack on poland. he says it's a miracle the nations have overcome the hatred. a massive explosions at a chemical factory happened near holmes. >> reporter: the blast tuesday evening was heard for kilometers around. some 300 firefighters battled the blaze at the chemical plant in northern germany. some factory buildings were completely destroyed. several homes in the town were severely damaged. locals were asked to stay in doors because of the heavy smoke. a local railway line was blocked for several hours because of the

incident. the plant recovered solvents to make paint. germany now has the world's fourth biggest chemical industry, and is considered to have some of the highest safety standards in the world. it will take days for investigators to determine the cause of the explosion because they will have to wait for the site to cool down. lots more coming up this news hour. we will be live where britain's prime minister is urging the scots to say no to independence. plus, in sport, qualifying for the african cup of nations continues on wednesday despite the ebola outbreak. jo will have all of those details. ♪

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