>> anti-taliban sentiment bring thousands on the treats of pakistan while the government sets up strikes against the group. hello, welcome to al jazeera. live from our headquarters in doha. iraq take more ground from isil, but say they can only do so much alone. also to come: >> the cia would love it if you two could take him out. >> north korea said it wasn't behind a cyberattack that drove

sony to scrap it's satirical movie about kim jong-un. >> we're just days away christmas, and there is one industry that is set to do incredibly well. can you guess what it is? find out shortly. >> we start in pakistan where the government has stepped up its military campaign against the taliban. intelligence sources are saying the mastermind of the attack on the school may have been killed in an airstrike. he took responsibility for the attacks in a video released online. he said that more attacks would target military families. it's thought he may be one of 21 suspected taliban fighters who were killed in airstrikes in the area of tirah.

just four days since the taliban killed 148 people, most of them were children in a school attack in peshawar. >> reporter: going in pakistan after a deadly attack on school children. thousands of people, supporters of the movement gathered in karachi to protest against the taliban. >> we want to unite all the pakistanis against the taliban, because we know as long a. >> the taliban has pockets of public support across the country, but critics gather outside of islamabad mosques. the preacher accused of being

sympathetic to the group. >> i'm protesting. our strategy to deal with terrorism is wrong. >> on tuesday the taliban carried out an attack on a school in peshawar. the vast majority of them were children. the taliban said they carried it out in retaliation. >> the government has stated this moratorium on death penalty that had been in place for six years. two men found guilty of separate attacks were executed on friday. >> in the past. extremists have start schools but never targeted like this.

>> to grief for the young victims it seems clear that tuesday's attacks have effected thousands of pakistani. >> the latest on the battle against isil and iraq. kurdish forces have managed to open a second corridor, which allows them to get close for isil-held territory at sinjar mountain. this represents another gain of kurdish fighters who try to push isil out of the area. >> kurdish forces on the offensive, the secure significant gains they say they've made against isil in the sinjar mountains. it's where at least 1,000 families from the yazidi communities have taken refuge. >> this has happened under the

auspices of the president himself. to liberate a vast area of kurdistan, and also to be able to rescue those yazidi people who are trapped on mount sinjar. >> this was isil-held territory along the route of zumar and mount sinjar. this opens a way for stranded families to leave, but they have to navigate through land mines planted by isil fighters. this is the village of kobane. evidence of the fierce fighting that took place here, kurdish forces say they're now marching to isil's main military base, but they say there is a limit of what they can achieve on their own. >> we do not want peshmergas to

be the only one going in to the areas to have some political ramifications. liberation of mosul require participation, especially the iraqi government, military. >> many say that more than 8,000 peshmerga fighters were involved to break the siege of the sinjar mountains, but knowing how fast isil can change its tactic notice battlefield, it could be far from over. on the other front line of ramadi, the city is getting more intense. part of the city lie in ruins. the result of frequent shelling for most of the last year. airstrikes by coalition forces cause damage here. like the rest of anbar province

there are people on the street who are loyal man. most say that their houses were used by isil or are laden with explosives. it will take a long time for the fighting to stop, and even longer before they return to their homes. al jazeera. northern iraq. >> another of our correspondents who i jane arraf in baghdad. >> isil fighters have tried to breach defenses around the base. the american military advisers are based there as well as other

members of the coalition assembled by the military. but they're advising iraqi forces on the ground led by iraqi special forces. they say they fended off an assault as isil got closer to that base, an indication of how intense the fighting is across the entire province. in ramadi more clashes not very far from the government headquarters, which has been a major focus of fighting. across the province the western province, which is iraq's biggest governor, u.s. and iraqi officials are trying to persuade sunni tribes to come on board to fight with the iraqi army. that's a work in progress. a lot of tribes are suspicious of the iraqi government, reluctant to fight with the americans. and not entirely sure where it leaves them given that isil has in their words they will make

gains. south of baghdad shia militias have been holding off isil with the iraqi military. >> well, the iraqi capitol has been hit by a series of bombings. the outskirts of baghdad where 26 other people have been injured. to north korea where state media is denying the hack against sony pictures. it led to a controversial film from being released. sony pictures said it only

canceled the film's christmas day opening after some of the cinemas itself pulled out. it is now looking at different ways of releasing the movie. but u.s. president said that sony should not have pulled it in the first place. >> the cia would love it if you two could take him out. >> hmm? >> take him out. >> you mean for drinks? >> it's a comedy. a movie that has turned into an international drama. sony pictures decided to make a provocative film about the attempted assassination of kim jong-un. the u.s. say that north korea retaliated by sacking sony films, releasing embarrassing e-mails. president barack obama said that north korea will pay for that. >> they caused a lot of damage. and we will respond. we will respond proportionately, and we will respond in a place

and time and manner that we choose. it's not something that i will announce here today at press conference. >> the response could be a counter computer attack, one that stays secret. or the use could go as far as putting north korea back on the list of state terrorism. >> that's a message to every country out there, and the financial institutions out there, you're now dealing with a country that's involved in international terrorism. so it will really tighten things up significantly. >> the president said he has not decided what to do, but he has made up his mind on sony decision not to release the movie, calling that a mistake. >> we cannot have a society in which some dictator some place can start imposing censorship here in the united states. >> in what has become a traditional year, the president talked about changing relations

with cuba and maintains the u.s. economy is moving ahead strongly. but it's his unusual comments on sony that will be carried on. sony said it was not a mistake. >> but he does talk to dolphins. >> still to come here at al jazeera, fishing for trouble, the fight between india and sri lanka. plus rereport from afghanistan's capitol where civilians are suffering the worst in the war against the taliban.

>> hello again, you're with al jazeera. let's take a look at the top stories. pakistan's top stories intensify against the taliban. 26 fighters have been killed in strikes in the valley, and in the outskirts of peshawar. it follows attacks on a school in peshawar in which 148 people were killed. peshmerga have taken over a corridor that allows them to get closer to sinjar mountains. they havthey are trying to push isil out of the area. the fbi has investigated an

attack on sony pictures a that has led to postponing of a film. >> countries in the sub sahara call on the u.n. to help get rid of armed groups in libya. they want an international force to disarm rebel groups and help with national reconciliation in libya. the united nations says the

number of afghan civilians being killed is on the rise. most of the killings are being carried out by the taliban and other armed groups. we have reports now from kabul. >> the worst single attack on afghan civilians took place last month in the province in eastern afghanistan. children were among the dozens killed when a sued bomber detonated himself at a volleyball match. the united nations said civilians are increasingly in the line of fire. injuries and deaths are up 19% over last year. this is one of the latest victims. they're fighting for their life after a suicide-bomber detonated explosives in a kabul auditorium, killing one. november was a bad month in the capitol. >> we've never seen so many explosions in the city. so practical one man there is not one single day where we're

not waking up or coming to work needing explosion or gunfight. >> in the children's ward all of the injuries are a result of shrapnel. this seven-year-old was injured, eight-year-old in the bed next to him. nearly 10,000 civilians are killed or wounded in afghanistan this year. child casualties alone are up 33%. the numbers are so high because increased fighting between afghanistan government forces and the taliban and other groups. car bombs and buried explosives are another reason for the increase. they maim and kill in large numbers. the united nations have appealed to the taliban, but the attacks continue. >> they've improved their so-called code of conduct. there has been a number of steps taken. the reality is that on the ground the situation has not measurebly improved because they still cause the majority of civilian casualties. >> the taliban dispute the u.s.

findings. >> we reject and repeatedly say it is far from reality that 75% of the casualties are attributed to us. most of the people killed or wounded by american bombing are afghan soldiers or police. >> civilian casualties have never been higher in this 13-year war. this time of year the fighting usually slows down but there has been no sign of that, and the number of civilian dead and wounded continue to rise. jennifer glasse, al jazeera, kabul. >> a tunisia man who spent 13 years locked up in guantanamo bay and was recently taken in by uruguay is speaking to al jazeera. he was asked if he worried about what the future holds? >> i have learned a lot from my experience in guantanamo. i was surrounded by lies. everyone was lying, from lawyers to interrogators to guards.

and later we became hard wired not to believe anyone. i no longer believe anything unless i see it with my own ey eyes. did i not believe i would be coming here until i landed and left the plane. i suspected they might change their mind at any point while i was on board. as a muslim i have deep faith in god. that's why i'm not worried about the future. i have served 13 years in guantanamo for better and for worse. >> china's president has reminded hong kong and macao that they're both part of what he calls one china. xi jinping celebrating the 15th anniversary of macao's return to chinese rule. xi's warning comes as there is a call for free elections. onlockers were banned from using umbrellas during the president's visit, of course, because

umbrellas have come to symbolize the democracy protest in hong kong. in thailand anti-coup protests are on the rise with university students at the forefront. the prime minister has invited students to take part in the reform process. we have reports from bangkok. >> reporter: defiance in front of the cameras. student protesters in thailand flash a three-finger salute. the government banned the gesture co-opted by the anti-coup movement here. a movement largely fronted by university students across the country. this student studied political science. >> university students are the only force left who dare to come out against this military government. if you don't return the country to its people eventually people will come and take it back from you. >> student protests have had a

bloody history in thailand. the crackdown at an university in 1976 killed dozens of protesters, but it launched a pro-democracy movement that led to reform. >> the student movement still carries someone who cares for the future of the nation, someone who truly cares about the democracy transition. >> this is the monument where the first protests were held a year ago. they started the coup in may. and then last month students were protesting against the coup. these photos are from a protest from a nearby university. students littered the campus with flyers demanding freedom. >> we have a chance to explain to them why we have taken

control of the country. >> the military government is launching public forums to talk about reform. some are specifically for university students. but that is being met with skepticism by the students. >> we all know that this forum won't an free and fair one. we won't be able to tell them that we disapprove of the coup. the problem of the country is them, not us. >> even though the student movement is gaining momentum on university campuses, it's been unable to get mainstream public support for their cause. something that they hope to change, but also something that will test the pay tension of military rulers. al jazeera, bangkok. >> the former members of the parliament in egypt have announced from turkey that they hold their sessions in exile. some belong to the muslim brotherhood freedom party, which has been banned in egypt. they continue to hold sessions

until they bring down what they call military rule. al jazeera continues to demand the release of thre our three journalist who is have been held for 357 days. they were charged for helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. they appeal their convictions. in india and sri lanka it's all about fishing rights in a narrow strip the ocean that separates sri lanka from the southeast coast of india. the fishing boundaries run along the middle of the strait are disputed. both countries claim to have rights 200 nautical miles out from the coast. but in this case the area overlaps. up to 3,000 indian trollers cross that maritime boundary several times a week, not only are they catching high-valued

shrimp, they're accused of destroying the marine ecosystem. we have reports from northern sri lanka. >> a hard night's work and little to show. fishermen in northern sri lanka say their fishing has dropped. >> they say the government must do more to protect it's territory and resources. indian trollers use heavy planks to hit the ocean floor scooping up everything. >> they say that the trollers are carrying away their livelihoods, especially where people are struggle to go recover from war. scientists have bigger concerns. >> experts say that the process

the bicatch is thrown over board. >> it does not leave a lace for them to lay their eggs. that's where the problem starts. the whole ecosystem, the base there, the whole system will collapse. >> we can't calculate the environment destruction. it is--it is not short-term. it is long-term impact, and it is a chain reaction, not only the particular area effected the whole marine environment through food chain. >> india said that it's disputed waters are traditional historical fishing grounds, but an agreement signed in the

1970's clearly defying the international maritime boundaries. scientists say stopping indian trollers from crossing that line is vital to the ecosystem and those who depend on it. al jazeera, sri lanka. >> it appears this holiday season has brought with it a renewed love of board games. sales have shot up not just for old favorites but rather new ideas. we explain from london. >> talk about coming full circle the board game is back. the fun, the friction, a christmas tradition, it had appeared under threat. when you can't shoot the numbers the sales are up 40% year on year. board games were once staple presence but they lost their way thanks to electronic alternatives. >> and it is those electronics

that appear to be helping. the fact is video games are the big sellers, there is no getting away from that, but lots of the old titles have been brought to the big screen, then graduated to smaller screens, tablets and smart phones, and they are bringing the purists, the no, sir tall gist and even a new breed of gamer back to the board. they had to fill the shelves with this shop where it is the busiest week of the year and all kinds of people are coming in. >> years ago it was mainly other people who were hobby games players coming in. now they ask us questions about games. get recommendations and maybe try some out. >> how about this, a board game bar. coffee, beer, from a to z, there are hundreds of games to play, and the place is packed.

the boss thinks it's a winner. >> the games can twist things how they work or taking inspiration from video gaming and other board games and creating games that are much more complicated and much more deep in the way you do things that you would not consider even part of the board game 20 years ago. >> but sometimes it's the simple ideas that endure. leslie invented janga, and it has been driving people crazy for 30 years. this is one woman who knows how to build a game that lasts. >> it's just a very simple concept. it's a social gathering where there is a lot of laughter and a lot of fun. and janga just provides a focus for it. >> this little game, can you guess which are the most popular board games of all time? in third place scrabble. second place, monopoly, and

first, the king of them all, this one needs no introduction. al jazeera, london. >> now don't forget you can keep right up-to-date with all the moving stories on the al jazeera website www.aljazeera.com. it's "inside story." >> hello, i'm ray suarez. since the partition of the