the u.s. and five arab allies.com targets inside syria. >> this is not america's fight alone. above all the people and governments in the middle east are rejecting isil. ♪ hello, i'm here on al jazeera live from doha. also on the program. yemen's president warning of an all-out civil war as rebels take over large parts of the capitol. israel shoots dead two palestinians it says they are accused of killing three jewish

teenagers. plus -- i'm faiz jamil, in indian administers kashmir. coming up we'll see how people are coping with the worst flooding in over a century. ♪ top story, the u.s. and five of its arab allies have launched their first air strikes in syria. the group has taken over large parts of syria and iraq and wants to establish an islamic state in the region. several areas were targeted. the pentagon says the operation involved war planes, drones and tomahawk missiles. and the u.s. lead the attacks with support from jordan, saudi arabia, the uae, qatar, and bahrain. at least 17 islamic state fighters were killed. >> we're joined in this action

by our friends and partners, saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, jordan, bahrain, and qatar. america's proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with these nations on behalf of our common security. the strength of this coalition makes it clear to the world that this is not america's fight alone. above all the people and governments in the middle east are rejecting isil and standing up for the peace and security that the people of the region and the world deserve. meanwhile, we will move forward with our plans supported by bian majorities in congress. to ramp up to train the opposition and more broadly over 40 nations have offered to help in this comprehensive effort to confront this terrorist threat. to take out terrorist targets, to train and equip iraqi and

syrian opposition fighters, to cut off isil's financing, to counter its hateful ideology and to stop the flow of fighters into and out of the region. >> the u.s. military says the organized strikes were successful, and only the beginning. >> last night's strikes are the beginning of an incredible and sustainable persistent campaign to degrade and ultimately destroy isil. our immediate task are to continue the degradation of isil in this syria and iraq, and to build a regional coalition. to assist in placing iraqi security forces and peshmerga forces on the offensive, to support the broader diplomatic efforts in the region, to implement a syrian train and equip program, and continue to work with iraqi security forces.

>> reporter: the u.s. and five arab countries have hit a number of areas in syria. their target is the islamic state of iraq and the levant. this activist video appears to show the aftermath. the u.s. central commands says a mix of fighter jets, bombers, drones, and tomahawk missiles were used against 14 isil targets. isil controls large parts of iraq and syria, the u.s. has been bombing the group in iraq over the last two weeks to help the iraqi army and kurdish forces. this is part of what president obama says is his strategy to defeat isil. >> the first part of it can be successful, which is inside of iraq, the combination of air strikes from the coalition and the ground efforts by the iraqi troops to regain lost territory is certainly an objective that

is obtainable in the next few months. it becomes a little more problematic when we're talking about efforts inside of syria. the u.s. aim is at this point to arm and equip the moderate syrian rebel groups so they cannot only destroy dosh, but also the syrian government as well. >> reporter: syria had said any operation within its territory should be coordinated with damascus, and it appears the syrian government knew about the attack and has maintained a high level of communication with the iraqi government. saudi arabia, bahrain, jordan, uae, and qatar were also involved in the attack. but it's not clear what role they played. jordan is nervous about the isil advancement. >> there has been several attempts to infiltrate across our borders. we are striking the positions of

isis, because we think we should do whatever is necessary to strengthen, enhance, and solidify the stability of our borders and country. >> reporter: the u.s. says there is a wide regional and western coalition behind its strikes. it is not clear whether the result of these strikes will be. but many people are uncertain that aerial campaigns alone can't defeat isil. well activists say civilians were killed during the air strikes around aleppo. the u.s. military says there were at least 8 strikes in that area, targeting the al-qaeda linked group khorasan. >> reporter: there is anger in western aleppo, syrians are blaming the u.s. military for the death of civilians.

activists say the u.s. was responsible for hitting this residential building which is not far from a known headquarters of an al-qaeda branch. they say 11 people, including 4 people were killed. early on tuesday, the obama administration expanded its operations against the islamic state in iraq and the levant to syria. dozens of air strikes were carried out in the north of the country. the u.s. defense department confirmed a strike in aleppo, but said an al-qaeda group, khorasan was the target. >> translator: my village along the border, there is no isil positions here. why did the coalition target civilians with missiles. this is the first time we have seen this kind of missiles ever. >> reporter: the air campaign is part of the u.s.'s administration's strategy to defeat and destroy isil which

controls territory in iraq and syria. many fighters have reportedly been killed, but unlike iraq, the u.s. does not have any partners on the ground in syria. isil is a well armed force and the so-called moderate rebels is no match for them. and the u.s. does not recognize legitimacy of the syrian government. the syrian government may benefit from the u.s.'s military campaign. it is already benefiting politically, but reiterating its long-standing narrative that it is fighting a war or terrorism. >> translator: the syrian ambassador received a letter from john kerry through the iraqi foreign minister informing him that they will strike against isil inside syria. syria is obviously fighting isil in areas. >> reporter: this will not be an easy fight.

isil controls urban centers. air power alone has limitations especially when think fighters live among the people. isil managed to gain ground in syria and iraq. take you now to washington, d.c. where our correspondent rosiland jordan is standing by. now the obama administration had mentioned the strikes on the al-qaeda-linked group khorasan as we just heard from zana. how much of a threat are they really to u.s. security? >> reporter: well, that's the big question that is coming from not just reporters here in the united states, but from ordinary americans as well. we have only heard the name khorasan in the past three or four days, and there hasn't been any full throated explanation from any official in the u.s. government about this

organization, who its members are and what it is they pose in terms of a security threat to the united states. so of course, people are wondering exactly whether this is in fact a real threat, whether there was, perhaps an opportunity to -- to introduce this as a part of the ongoing discussion about this air campaign against isil, even though the white house press secretary told reporters on their way to new york that this is an organization which u.s. intelligence and the military have been tracking for sometime. >> rozland thank you for that. rosiland jordan speaking to us from washington, d.c. the leader of the houthi fighters says his rebels with stay in the capitol. they took over large parts of sana'a on sunday. the country's president has

warned of civil war across the country. he says a foreign plot was behind the capture. but the rebel leader says he wants to make sure an appropriate government is formed. >> translator: today we have a new form of government based on national participation, competency and integrity. such movement will be able to serve the people better. this new form also includes a significant package of measures on all economic security and military levels. >> let's get more on developments on the ground, now. mohammed joins us from the capitol sana'a. i guess the peace deal is out now that the houthi rebels say they are not leaving the capitol. >> this happened at a moment at the end of those three-days deadline when a new prime should have been announced today.

it's very interesting to notice that the peace deal has been shattered even before the first step of implementation happened. the president today was very clear about this -- he woke up finally to the reality of what happened. he signed that deal when the tanks of the houthis and their armed men were already [ inaudible ] on most of the government institutions. but it's like he didn't see that. and he described the agreement as historic. so two days later he came with this statement, talking about a foreign plot, and a possible civil war. it's very clear the president has -- as i said, seen the reality of what is happening on the ground and if you listen to the houthi leader, he talks like a man who is in charge of the whole situation in yemen. he actually even spoke about changing the names of places in sana'a, the sixth military zone

which was manned by his opponents who are ousted from it now. he said he will change it into a green park and name it after the day he took over sana'a, september 25th. he said the main obstacle has been removed and he was hinting according to observers that his arch enemy who's whereabouts are unknown now. al-qaeda has sent a very strong message yesterday, by that car bomb in which it has killed about 50 armed houthi men, al-qaeda always uses these chaotic situations to jump into the situation and people expect that maybe we'll see the armed men coming to sana'a to take it over from shia minorities that have now occupied it. in the south there is the

preliminary rumors about the possibility of [ inaudible ] trying to revive their prayings. >> all right. mohammed reporting for us on the houthi rebels overrunning the capitol of yemen, speaking to us there from sana'a. move on now, osama bin laden son-in-law has been sentenced to life in prison by a new york court. he was convicted in march for supporting al-qaeda, and plotting to kill americans. he was the closest associate of osama bin laden to be tried in the u.s. since the september 11th attacks. he denied working with the group, and argued that his features were intended to encourage dialogue. the israeli military says it has shotted -- shot down a syrian fighter jet over the

occupied occupied go land heights. there have been scuffles in the west bank after the shooting of two men by the israeli army. the army says the men were killed during a gun battle after troops surrounding a house. direct talks started again in cairo, despite the shooting. we have more now. >> reporter: in the early hours of tuesday morning, israeli forces surrounded a property here. a fire fight ensued and the two key suspects in the killings of those three young israeli settlers, were killed in that fire fight. now the suspects funerals were held shortly after their bodies were returned to their families. thousands took to the streets to

take part in those funeral processions. the situation here of course, very intense indeed after those killings, calling on their leaders to end any kind of security cooperation with israel as a result of the killings of those two men. whatever the case, this has cast a shadow over those ceasefire talks in cairo. at one point the delegation saying that the killing of these men could affect it very seriously, but what we understand is that israeli officials did go to cairo; that those indirect talks are ongoing, so it will appear that neither side have any real interest in fighting in gaza to continue fighting, which of course claimed the lives of over 2,000 palestinians, 67 israeli soldiers, and 6 israeli civilians. still to come on al jazeera, we will look at how the country's austerity measures are creating hardship for many. ♪

committed is journalism... >> 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

♪ welcome back. the top stories here on al jazeera. barack obama and its arab allies have launched its first air strikes in syria against isil. the leader of yemen's houthi rebels says his fighters will stay in the capitol. he says an appropriate government will be formed after a peace deal fell apart.

meanwhile yemen's president warned of civil war. and there have been scuffles in the west bank after the shooting of two palestinians by the israeli army. israel accused them of abducting and killing three jewish teenagers in june. peace talks started again in cairo despite the shooting. more on our top stories and that is the fight against isil. and sue is on the front line she has more on the iraqi/syrian border. >> reporter: the kurdish fighters in this camp just north of the crossing say that they think there has been a direct result of the air strikes on monday night. they say that they have orders not to fire on the isil fighters just a kilometer away from them here. but they also are not seeing any in-coming fire. they are not sure if this will continue.

the general in charge of this whole area spoke to his opposite number on the syrian side who told him that there were two key areas that were hit overnight on monday. the main oil town that was hit they say about 30 times, and a town just outside of the border area, not far from here, but on the main road coming to the border crossing. what they don't know is whether these air strikes will have a long-lasting result. they often see a fire fight at night here. they are waiting to see whether tonight the fighting continues once more. syrian refugees are flowing across the border into turkey fleeing the advance of isil. about 130,000 refugees have arrived in the last three days. they are being placed in temporary shelters or allowed to go with their relatives in turkey. and envoy for the iraqi

government has visited the syrian capitol damascus to discuss the campaign against isil. james bayes joins us live from the u.n. james what more can you tell us about this meeting? >> reporter: well we're trying to piece together exactly what the syrians think of what happened on their soil from these tear strikes. we know that meeting that took place, but we also know what we're finding out here at the united nations that very much the diplomatic spotlight has moved here because world leaders are here. president obama arrived here about ten minutes or so ago. the syrian ambassador to the united nations known to be close to bashar al-assad, now i can tell you, i spoke to him about an hour about, what he told me was somewhat confusing, but i asked him what he thought of the strikes. did he think they were legal or

illegal, and he replied they informed us. and resolution 21-70 which was passed in august which was about trying to destroy isil was something the syrian government supported. i then followed up with another question, i said they informed you, but did they ask for your permission and did you give your permission? and he said that is another story, and i'll be speaking to the security council about it in 24-hour's time. so he was referring to a security council meeting that will be presided over by president obama himself with world leaders around the security council table, a very important meeting coming up. >> indeed. and no doubt obama will have to be facing the legality of the strikes as well. ja -- james thank you very much for that. > france says it will not be

deterred from fighting isil after a hostage was taken. he was filmed calling on france to stop fighting isil. his captors have threatened to kill him within 24 hours if france continues itself involvement in iraq. ban ki-moon has urged world leaders to act on climate change by dedicated more money to address the issue. he was speaking at the start of a one-day u.n. climate summit in new york. it's meant to lay the ground work on a global agreement. but china and india, two of the world's biggest polluters, are not attending the summit. the greek leader says greece will not need another international rescue. despite the good news, many greeks aren't convinced the hard times are about to end. john reports from athens.

♪ >> reporter: george is an electronic engineer who helps maintain greece's sophisticated missile defense shield. his work is essential to national security. but the government has rewarded him and his wife, a high school teacher with a 40% drop in income during the crisis. even the modest subsidies have fallen. recently announced tax cuts will cheapen heating oil by $0.12 a liter, but it will still be almost triple the precrisis cost. >> we're going to spending the third winter without heating. we rely on gas stoves, you know, to heat our family, so we don't expect some relief from this. they say the numbers are changing or -- i don't know the numbers may prosper, but the people are miserable. that's the truth. >> reporter: emergency taxes have helped greek government

revenues remain largely unscathed, but as unemployment rose to 27%, they placed a fewer burden of fewer people. they are on track to double to about $8 billion, but taxpayers are struggling to keep up that performance. they now the government $92 billion. much of this revenue pays the interest on greece's hon orous debt. the greek tax association says greeks cannot pay off such an expensive debt and support the state. >> translator: we need to stress the economy. we need a more efficient state and a state that is better value or our money. people keep telling me they don't mind paying tie taxes as long as they get something for them. >> reporter: the association

wants the government to cut its costs and have a bigger surplus with which to pay off the debt, instead it says the government is borrowing new money to pay off the old, and passing on the malice to future generations. sierra leone says it is sealing its borders with liberia and guinea to stop the spread of ebola. monday concluded a three-day lockdown forcing people to stay in doors. flooding and landslides have killed at least 22 people in the northeastern indian states. meanwhile it has been more than two weeks since flooding in kashmir effected millions there. faiz jamil has been to trinidad

to see how people are coping. >> reporter: it is hard to believe but this is an improvement. the water was much higher only days ago. this woman and her family were inside their home when it started to collapse. they have only been able to return in the past few days, and this is all that is left of their home. >> translator: we don't have anything left. when these clothes wear out. we'll have nothing. no one from the government has come yet. we'relying out in the open. >> reporter: the places people go to seek help are also in crisis. in one of the flooded hospitals, the water reached near the ceiling, destroying millions of dollars worth of equipment. the medical staff say they are doing what they can with limited resources. temporary shelters have been set up. but this former health minister says space is limited. >> the moment we get more space to set up camps, we can set up

hundreds of such catches across the state, because we would not like the situation [ inaudible ] situation to come. >> reporter: those who have shops in the city center are struggling to clean up. opening a store for the first time since the waters receded, this man sees what is left of his inventory. >> translator: the government won't do anything. people were stuck in their homes and couldn't get help. >> reporter: local officials say they need help from the central government. >> we have announced an interim relief package which is limited by how much the relief scheme allows us to announce. but at the same time we have taken up with the government of india the need for a brood-based package of assistance. >> reporter: water is slowly receding or being pumped out of some areas, but many others

remain submerged. all of this stag next water is raising concern of an outbreak of diseases. the rebuilding cannot begin, though, as the recovery effort continues. and you can always keep up to date with all of the latest news on our website. highway, i am lisa fresher and you are in officials scramble to contain tens of thousands of gallons daily. plus, more than 100 u.s. sailors involved in the fukushima clean up say they and fair families suffer because of radiation exposure. the latest on their lawsuit.