>> the pakistani government killing 21 fighters. >> hello, also ahead on the program, al jazeera has exclusive pictures of the fa fighting in ramadi. the number of attacks civilian deaths are on the rise in afghanistan. >> the cia would love it if you two could take him out. >> north korea said that it was not behind a cyberattack that triggered sony to scrap it's

satirical movie about kim jong-un. >> we begin in pakistan where the government has stepped up its military campaign against taliban fighters. intelligence sources has told al jazeera that the peshawar attack on a school that kille killed over 130 children was himself killed in an attack. it's thought that he may be one of 61 fighters i. >> reports of the killing of taliban fighters including a local commander. thprotesters in karachi against

the taliban. >> we know we need to deal with extremism. >> security is tight outside of the school in peshawrar. they killed more than 130 children and injured many others. people now fear more attacks. >> children ask me whether they're safe in school. my kids ask me the same thing. the same thing could happen to them. the government should have a permanent solution for this. >> the taliban has pockets of popular support across the country, but critics gathered outside of a mosque who ar

whose clerics are accused of being sympathetic to the taliban. one of the things that the pakistani government has done is lift the six-year moratorium on death penalty. >> it is a tragedy. because in the past the extremists have attacked schools but never targeted children like this. >> just like 9/11 changed the united states forever, it changed the world forever, this is our mini 9/11. >> reporter: from anger against the taliban to grief for the young victims, it has effected people across pakistan. >> well, the taliban says tuesday's school attack in peshawar was in retaliation of attacks against their fighters. more than 1800 tall babb fight

verse been killed, according to the pakistani military. earlier i spoke with ahmed rasheed. >> the whole country has gone into lockdown. all of the schools in university have been shut down prematurely well before the winter holidays were due. there are troops in guarding major locations such as colleges, rare waystations airports have been security has doubled. i think there is no doubt that there will be more attacks by the taliban. and they will go against soft

targets like the school, i'm sure, and they have already threatened that they will kidnap children of military and state security officers orchid nap people in general. >> there have been bombings in iraq's capitol. 30 others have been injured in four separate explosions in and around baghdad. meanwhile kurdish peshmerga fighters try to secure their hold on sinjar mountain. first south iraqi military is battling isil fighters. >> reporter: forces on the offensive. their latest victory has been the retaking of the town at the

foot of the sinjar mountains. it's where 1,000 families from the yazidi communities have been taking refuge. they have been under siege for two months. the taking over the town by the kurdish fighters means that they can now go back to their homes. but isil fighters insist they're still in sinjar. peshmerga claim to have taken areas held by the isil. >> to move all the way to mount sinjar, to liberate and rescue those yazidi. people trapped on mount sinjar. >> they claim they have taken what was once isil-held

territory. this offensive force families to leave but they have to navigate landmines planted by isil fighters. houses and bullet-riddled walls are everywhere, evidence of fierce fighting that took place here. kurdish forces say they're marching towards isil's main military base, but they say there is a limit to what they can achieve on their own. >> we do not want peshmergas to be the only ones going into the areas to have political ramifications. liberation o require participation of iraqi government and military. >> more than 8,000 peshmerga fighters were involved in the oppression--operation to break the siege at sinjar mountains. but knowing how fast isil can

change its practic tactics in the battlefield, their fight could be far from over. on the front line of ramadi, the fight getting more intense. parts of the city lie in ruins. the result of frequent shelling for most of the last year. airstrikes by coalition forces have also caused damage here. like the rest of anbar province there are regular battles on the streets between militias loyal to isil and the iraqi government forces. troops from the golden battalion oh leading the onslaught from the government site. many displaced by you had fighting accuse the battalion of using excessive force and destroying their homes. the forces argue that most houses have either been used by isil are laden with explosives. those who own houses know it will take a long time for the fighting to stop, and even

longer before they return to their homes. al jazeera. erbil. >> the u.s. government has transferred four prisoners from the guantanamo bay detention camp back to afghanistan. the men were held more than a decade at the detention military center in cuba. the obama administration has been working to reduce that number of detainees at guantanamo where 132 inmates still remain. well, a tunisian man who spent 13 years locked up at guantanamo bay has been brought home. he said he never doubted he would be released eventually. >> i have learned a lot from my experience in guantanamo. i was surrounded by lies. everyone was lying from lawyers to interrogators to guards. later we became hard wired not to believe anyone. i no longer believe anything unless i see it with my own eyes. i did not believe i would be coming here until i landed and

left the plane. i expected they may 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. >> the united nations said the number of afghan civilians being killed is on the rise. most of the killings have been carried out by the taliban and other armed groups. as jennifer glasse reports from kabul. >> the worst single attack on afghan civilians took place last month in eastern afghanistan. children were among the dozens killed when a suicide-bomber detonated himself at a val match. [ gunfire ] 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. he's fighting for his life after

a suicide-bomber detonated his explosives in a kabul auditorium killing one. november was a bad month in the capitol. >> we have never seen so many explosions in the city. there is almost not one single day where we're not waking up, coming to work hearing explosions or gunfight. >> in the children's ward all the injuries are the result of shrapnel. this seven-year-old was injured. the eight-year-old in the bed next to him. nearly 10,000 civilians have been killed or wounded in afghanistan this year. child casualties alone are up 33%. the numbers are so high because of the increased fighting between afghan forces taliban and other groups. car bombs and explosives are another reason for the increase. at the they maim and kill civilians in large numbers. there have been appeals to the taliban but 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.n. findings. >> we reject this report and we repeatedly say that it is far from reality that 75% of the casualty are attributed to us. most of these people were killed or wounded by american bombing or 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. >> still to come on the program, su sub saharen african

countries asked for help. and morocco suffer flash floods.

>> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> its disgraceful... the only crime they really 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 the new democracy, let the journalists live. >> today on "the stream". >> nine million americans are taking prescription drugs that may have very dangerous interactions. are you one of them? find out on "the stream". >> "the stream". today at 5:30 eastern. on al jazeera america. >> welcome back. you're watching al jazeera. let's update you on our top stories. the pakistan military has intensified against the taliban. dozens of fighters have been killed in strikes in peshawar. it follows taliban attacks on a school in peshawar that killed

148 people. the kurdish peshmerga fighters in iraq are trying to secure their old on sinjar mountain. the iraqi military is also fighting fighters in ramadi. planes have struck the gaza strip. the attack comes after a rocket from gaza hit an israel field. >> the israeli attack on gaza overnight. >> three half palestinians stranded in egypt to cross.

the u.n. special envoy to syria have been negotiating a freeze in fighting in aleppo. but there are concerns about the plan and can't come to an agreement. >> the united nations has a plan to stop the fighting in aleppo city. so far there has been no agreement. it has not given much details on how it can be implemented on the ground. but it's special envoy said it could involved a monitoring mechanism backed by a security council resolution. that's what worries the syrian government. close to the authorities, he told us that the initiative does not just involve ending the bloodshed and allowing aid to reach those in need.

>> the initiative has armed rebels taking over parts of east of aleppo. the they will be able to governor that territory. the government will not accept that. this is one of the neighbors in the rebel-controlled east. syria's largest city has been divided for over two years. government sources say that the u.n. intends to deploy international peace keepers along the front lines and allow self rule in the opposition areas. that, according to the sources, won't be acceptable. >> the opposition for its part still has not taken a final decision to accept or reject the plan. it, too, has concerns. it is worried that the government will take advantage of the lull in the fighting to intensified military operations elsewhere, and it wants the fighting to stop all the way up to the turkish border. much of the north is in rebel hands. the government controls the skies. a safe zone there would allow refugees to return and the opposition to governor

territory. in effect that means establishment of a no-fly zone. that's what people want but they're worried that the government will use the stewardship to its advantage. >> the people here are against the initiative because regime will be able to take advantage, and they have never respected cease fires in the past. we want a cease-fire across syria. >> this is the only road that links the city with the turkish border and the fighting is closing in on this only supply line. for now it may not feel like the need to let go of territory. >> countries in the sub saharan region are calling on the united nations to help get rid of armed groups in libya. leaders of shad, mali, burkina faso have made the request. they want an international force

to disarm the rebel groups and help reconcile libya. >> well, i think, anybody who plays chess you can't just win by playing with one piece. you can't win by playing with the queen. you have to use all the pieces. and in deployment you have to use all the pieces. number one, the narrative is polarizing. that's an after effect of the arab spring with the good and evil. there is a revolutionary side and non-revolutionary side. today's narrative underlying those narrative is ultimately this mission of military power and military financial and assets. and both sides are fighting over the same thing using very different language. now it's gotten to the stage where they're trying to appeal to the international community to buy in their narrative. if you don't support operation

dawn you don't support the revolution. if you don't support operation dignity, then you're fo not for the war on terror. the threat has to be the last in the resolution. it can't be a clumsy heavy-handed approach where we bomb people into solutions. it's not going to work that way. >> now ebola has kille ban ki-moon pledged more support for health centers. he praised health workers battling the virus. meanwhile liberians are going to the polls. the vote was postponed twice as ebola ravaged west africa nation. the election is seen as a test of the country's ability to mitigate the spread of the

disease. >> the making their way through polling stations i. these scenes would have been unthinkable just a few months ago even though some are trying to make light of the crisis ebola remains a very real threat. conducting elections with 1.9 registered voters is risky. >> however we have put this in place, it is critical. >> political rallies in the capitol were banned earlier this month. and the seats being contested making up half the senate.

with the members set to expire the election could not be put off any longer. authorities say they want to make sure that voters don't give them another foothold. >> the most hotly contested seat puts the president's son robert against former football star george waei. the two have supported each other in weeks. thit's easier to monitor than the virus that has ravaged the country. >> flash floods have hit

morocco. 32 people were killed and 100 houses destroyed. we have reports now from the region. >> reporter: it's been three weeks since they lost their home. it was washed away by flash floods. >> my son said there could be heavy rain. i did nod pay attention. i said we'll first have lunch and then see what is going on. but the water came and took away everything. >> 9 kitchen wan here. there was an upper floor there. when the water came in the walls collapsed. my bedroom was upstairs but now it's on the ground. >> thone of many places that was hit by torrential floods in southern morocco. the water came up to the second floor of this mosque behind me. now people hearsay they have never seen such floods in their

lifetime, and they do worry it could happen again. that's why they say they will rebuild their houses but somewhere else. >> taking refuge on top of the mosque, he captured the moment the wave crashed in to the village and watched helplessly as houses collapsed under th underwater. >> it was a really hard decision. we have been here for 30 years. we know our neighbors. but it's too risky. it could happen again. it could be worse. who knows. >> 30 families have lost their houses, their belongings, and some their cattle. they don't know what to do next. >> as soon as there is a change in the weather, there is fear,

they don't want to live here. they want to relocate. there is land closer to the mountains. we can solve the problem if there is real help from the government. >> many people here claim that so far the government support has been slow to arrive, and gradually the shock of losing their past is giving way to anger and fear of the future. al jazeera, southern morocco. >> cuba's president said that his country faces a long and difficult struggle before the u.s. lifts it's embargo. during the speech he also confirmed he will attend the summit in the americas in panama in april. north korea state media is denying that pyongyang had anything to do with the hack of sony pictures. it led to the release of a film

being postponed. it warned of grave consequences if washington refuses to cooperate. well, sony pictures said that it canceled christmas day opening after some cinemas pulled out but the 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. >> take him out, what, for drinks? >> no, take him out. >> a comedy. a movie that has turned into an international drama. a provocative film about the attempted assassination of kim jong-un. the u.s. said that north korea retaliated by hacking sony and attack theaters who showed this film. president obama said that north korea will pay for that. >> they caused a lot of damage.

and we will respond. we'll respond proportionately and we'll respond in a place and time and manner that we choose. it's not something that i will announce here today at a press conference. >> the response could be a counter computer attack, one that stays secret. or the u.s. could go as far as putting north korea back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. >> that's a message to every country out there, and the financial institutions within those nation states out there, you are now dealing with a country that is involved in terrorism, international terrorism. so it will really tighten things up significantly for new york and it's leadership. >> the president said that he has not decided what to do but he has not made up his mind. but not releasing the movie was a mistake. >> we cannot have a society in which some dictator in some place can start imposing

censorship to the united states. >> in what has become his year in news conferences, it's his unusual comments on sony which will make the headlines. sony's chairman said it wasn't an mistake, but will this movie ever be made public? it turns out the ending of this story is likely more suspenseful than the movie that started it. al jazeera, washington. >> now take a look at these pictures. conservatives who scaled britain's tallest cathedral have released incredible footage of their assent. the final part of the climb of the cathedral was the entire whicspire. the reason for this move?

to replace a faulty wind. >> remember you can stay up-to-date on all of our stories on our website. check them out on www.aljazeera.com. self-declared mislick cleric to take 17 on the motivations behind such acts of aggression. plus, financially fragile small town hospitals are shutting down and having a big impact. how crowd sources apps and twit kerr be more effective than the flu shot in protecting you from some strains of the vi