borderland only on al jazeera america >> two soldiers and piece keeper killed as fire is exchanged over the lebanese border. >> hello you're watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up. jordan has offered to exchange an iraqi woman on death row for a pilot being held by isil. failing to act on warnings of boko haram attacks. and kobane residents wait to hear what is left of their homes after months of fighting on the

syrian border town. >> hello israel and hezbollah have exchanged fire across a disputed strip of land over israel and lebanon. two israeli soldiers were killed and another seven injured. helicopter fightersnow the area lies on a disputed tract of land at the intersection of the lebanese-syrian border. in a moment we'll be live in west jerusalem to hear the latest israeli reaction. but first this report from nicole johnston on the board of southern lebanon. >> this is moments after an anti-tank missile sit a military vehicle in the region near the

border with syria and lebanon. the arm armed group hezbollah based in lebanon claimed responsibility for the attack. against its fighters in syria. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has warned of a swift and painful retaliation. >> at this moment they're responding to the north. i advise them to consider what happened in gaza. hamas took its hardest hit since it's formation and they prepared to act strongly on all fronts. >> last week's israeli attack happens in a syrian city near the golan heights. that's where a high ranking

iranian leader and hezbollah members were killed. >> the area on the other side of this mountain range has always been a contentious one between israel and hezbollah. hezbollah has carried out attacks there before, but certainly not any as bold as this in years. any school johnston, al jazeera, southern lebanon. >> let's take you to west jerusalem. nisreen el-shamayleh, in the past hour we've been learning more details about who died and how they were killed. >> correct felicity. we heard a confirmation from the israeli army saying that two soldiers were killed in this attack along the lebanese-israeli border, and another seven were wounded. their wounds range from mod raid to light andmoderate to light

and they're being treated. five missiles were hit into israeli and three hit the israeli convoy, and one hit a home in the border town. now immediately after that the israeli army responded with rounds of arrest artillery fire. the death was immediately confirmed by the united nations and new york. we also got a confirmation from a senior israeli force saying that this peace keeper was killed from an israeli mortar shell that was fired into lebanon. he said that they were in an immediate contact with the united nations. they regret the incident and it was never their intention to harm united nations peace keepers stationed along the

board. now israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu has spent most of his day in a meet in tel aviv with top security officials discussing the developments and the escalation of the northern border, and he held the israeli government and the--the lebanese government and the syrian government fully responsible for attacks emanating from their territory and said that those behind the attack will pay the full price. that said, there is a lot of speculation about how this could develop in the coming hours or days. >> nisreen el-shamayleh with the latest from west jerusalem. thanks. let's go to the united nations and speak to our diplomatic editor james bays. i imagine a huge amount of concern being expressed about what is happen at the moment. >> a great deal of concern. one, in the violence of the last few hours one u.n. peace keeper has been killed. confirmation that that is a spanish peace keeper.

interesting to note that spain is now a member of the u.n. security council and joined the council at the beginning of this month for a two-year term. the other reason for concern is that they're deeply worried that this is could escalate further that there could perhaps be a repeat of the situation in 2006 in a warlike 2006. some diplomats i've spoken to say they don't see from what they're hearing from their capitols their intelligence services that there is something much bigger being planned at this stage but they all accept that in this region it is a very combustible situation where things could change very rapidly. we would expect, i suspect in the coming hours some sort of statement from the u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon. i would have thought that there would be some sort of written statement from him.

so far we just have the statement coming from him on the ground released from southern lebanon. we're also expecting developments in the u.n. security council. they've been meeting in the last couple of hours to talk about the situation in syria not far away. the humanitarian situation there. we understand that there has been talk over u.n. security council statement over this, france i'm told, was drafting a statement to be looked at by other security council members. i'm hearing over the last couple of hours instead of a statement or in addition to a statement the security council may now meet to discuss this situation because they're concerned about what is happening on the ground. i'm told that both france and the u.k. have requested a note, and warned the security council many times before about what they said was the escalating

threat from hezbollah. they said that israel will not accept any attacks on its territory. >> thankthank you for keeping up to date on the latest developments. thank you very much indeed. >> jordan said it's willing to spot exchange a prisoner for its captured pilot. it was suggested that isil would also free the japanese hostage kenji goto, if jordan would release the bomber. well, she is an iraqi-born woman in her 40s. she's admitted to involvement in the 2005 bomb attack that killed 60 people. her husband blew himself up in that attack, but her suicide vest failed. she was sentenced to death by

hanging in jordan for the attack. she said she was avenging the deaths of her brothers who were killed in confrontations with u.s.-led troops in iraq. well al jazeera has been september this update from the jordanian capitol. >> the jordanian government said that it is willing to release the prisoner in exchange for the pilot captured by isil, but that is not the deal that isil is offering. they want her released for release of the japanese hostage not the jordanian pilot. but they did say if she is not released they'll kill the jordanian pilot as well. the family of the jordanian pilot has been putting pressure on the government to spare his life. even if that means that they would free her without his release. the government is still adamant that they want the release

before they release her. the japanese government is appealing to do whatever it can for the release of the japanese hostage. this deal has not been condemned yet but it is leaving the government in a tricky situation because there is a lot of criticism by the family of the jordanian pilot and other members of parliament for the government for joining the u.s.-led coalition. the parents yet said, they said this is not our war. our son joined the royal air force here to protect jordan, not to be captured in northern syria fighting isil. >> the nigerian military failed to take adequate action to protect civilians despite being given advance warnings. that is according to amnesty international. civilians told the military about impending attacks the

attacks in january claimed hundreds of people. >> the attack after attack, and no investigation and no action being taken. there is no question that the people in the front line are struggling, the military in the front line the leadership is not really leading. that's the biggest issue. there is no political will. there is no action on the ground. >> still to come on the program tears of joy. we're diagnose to tell you why these women are some of the first winners in greece's new political era? now we're going to take you inside what was once a fortress

of the world war. the headquarters of east germany secret police. children at the border only on al jazeera america

primetime news. >> welcome to al jazeera america. >> stories that impact the world, affect the nation and touch your life. >> i'm back. i'm not going anywhere this time. >> only on al jazeera america. >> a reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. two israeli soldiers and a spanish peace keeper has been killed in the clash between hezbollah and israel near the border of lebanon. jordan said it would release a prisoner for release of a pilot being held by isil.

and amnesty international has accused nigerian military for failing to ahead warnings of deadly attacks on villages in january. we'll take you now to the front line of fighting in eastern ukraine. civilian casualties are increasing around the city of donetsk and the port town of mariupol. we went to find out how fighting is effecting people there. >> reporter: they call themselves soldiers in the army of donetsk republic. the fighting had a become more intense in recent days. the fighters tell us to keep moving because of ukrainian army snipers close by. some of them insist that we hide their faces.

they stand guard looking for movement in a freezing fog. this took a direct hit. the family living close by left soon after. we're told two fighters were killed in the destroyed truck. there has been heavy shelling here on in front line in recent days. we heard of bombardment in the last few minutes. what is incredible is that there are people still living in some of these houses. anatolly has been living here with his wife for the last several years. >> i have to feed my dog and protect my home. where have i to go. i built this house nice. >> the fighters stop us filming heavy military equipment moving through the village, but they say they have helped evacuate thousands of people from here in recent weeks.

>> the main thing is to protect the people. the things they want in life. especially those who can't leave. >> there has been no electricity or water in the village for seven months. there are food shortages too. the fighters have brought bread from donetsk to distribute among the villagers. >> it's very frightening. we run and hide when we hear the bombs because we don't have a basement. >> back on the road the fighters stop and inspect vehicles. they move back to their command position from where they say they will never retreat. charles stratford al jazeera. >> syrian kurds are celebrating the recapture of the town of kobane from isil fighters. they were driven out by kurdish forces. well people who fled to safety across the border in turkey say they're ready to return home. but they have been warned

they're too dangerous. >> carefully stepping outside watched on by those who fought for their freedom with kurdish forces now in control its hope life would return to the streets of kobane. the v-sign is for peace and victory. but for the tens of thousands who fled the fighting and who hoped to return, the road ahead is long. homes reduced to republic. entire blocks destroyed. after four months of battle at least half the city is gone. the syrian rafaels and turkey getting home isn't easy. thousands came to the border on tuesday, some of them hopeing to cross but as the border is still closed, security forces pushed the people back. but they say they still have reason to celebrate. >> many people were our nation

and all the cities of turkey have come here. we're celebrating. may it have a good outcome. we've come here for kobane. kobane is liberated now and we're extremely happy. >> kobane is fully liberated today. we're extremely happy and celebrating here. all our friends are here. we feel happy about kobane since isis has left. >> taking control of kobane was a joint effort with u.s.-led airstrikes and iraqi and syrian fighters and but the fight is far from over. the fighters are all around kobane and has proven the damage they can do. >> the fighting together street by street to retake sinjar city and help the minority yazidi

people trapped on sinjar mountain since december. they have raised questions about the motives of those involved. >> this is the only way we can approach sinjar city. it is controlled by the islamic state of iraq and levant. sniper fire is almost constant. isil's main supply line that links its strongholds in syria and northwestern iraq runs through the outskirts of this border city. the group cannot afford to lose it. the fight for sinjar city is now in its second month. it is a vast area, some 100,000 people used to live here. but even before the fight is over, a new battle has already started. iraqi peshmerga troops are not fating isil alone. they came across the border to help fight a common enemy.

the syrian-kurdish party is linked to the kurdistan workers party or the pkk. a long history of rivalry with those parties accuse them of trying to oppose their authority in sinjar. >> it seems that the pkk has a plan. if they want to benefit politically they want their own government. >> fighters say that they're here to help the yazidis and rake kurds. iraqi kurds. >> we never talked about creating our own ear. but sinjar will belong to the ringal government or baghdad government or whoever is able to

control. >> sinjar is home for the yazidi. they too are an armed force. some praise the peshmerga for defending sinjar. others blame them for allowing them to fall to isil in august. but most are demanding autonomy. >> we won't accept any force not the peshmerga not the iraqi government here. >> isil has been pushed out of many of the yazidi villages on the outskirts of sinjar. it is still the case, but there are more players vying for control here. al jazeera sinjar. >> at least ten people have been killed by a car bomb that was set off near the syrian jordanian border. according to activist the explosion happened near the town's main square and most of the victims are children.

elsewhere there are reports of five people killed in a syrian government airstrikes northeast of damascus. many were injured in that attack, which is said to have been targeting housing it could be another month before afghanistan has an unity government after parliament rejected half of ashraf ghani's nominees. only eight of his 25 candidates were approved. afghanistan has been without a government since ghani and abdullah abdullah agreed to share power after disputed elections in september. thousands of protesters have been on the streets of the southern yemeni to rally against shia houthi rebels. they're demanding that the houthi leave city and government institutions, which they have taken over. russia's government is preparing to make huge public spending cuts as part of an economic rescue package. the kremlin will use savings to

pump out $35 billion into the economy, which has been battered by falling oil prices and western sanctions. the crash in russia's currency the up ruble has led to credit agencies to cut russia's credit ratings to just six. days after being sworn into power alexis tsipras holds plans that include negotiation on bail out deals. that has fears for many but there was positive news for hundreds of government cleaners. >> on wednesday, they were in shock. greece's new finance minister made it his first task to rehire some 600 cleaning ladies, his department dismissed 18 months ago and replaced with cheap workers.

>> it doesn't perhaps do anything for greece that some cleaning ladies are going back to work, but it's very important to change the climate. we hope that people will win back their properties, theirs lives and the life lie hoods that they lost. >> the government is keen to show that it is delivering day one even as the new cabinet met for the first time, greece mounted a departure from austerity policies. it will put a stop to privatization to pay down the debt including the state power authority. the a crowd-control barriers werery moved on wednesday morning. it's a small but symbolic gesture that a state living within its means and putting taxpayers before creditors has nothing to fear from its people. >> and the finances ministry, the man who will sit down to talk with the chairman of the euro group on friday said that those talks will start from scratch. >> we're turning a page from the

logic of the self-perpetuating crisis enormous toxic mistake was made in 2010. a bankruptcy problem was seen as a cash flow problem. greece received the biggest loan in human history to pay off debts old and new. it did not take an economist to realize this could not end well. countries like germany loaned more than they should have. >> this government has promised to maintain balanced budgets but can it last? greece's former representative at the international monetary funds, one of greece's createdders say that the country still needs to borrow $23 billion this year. >> greece has chosen a path of confrontation, which could lead to an accident that could take the form of a default on a payment, on ex-person debt. and the next step would be

social unrest. >> keen to stress that it will not confront creditors in the wild west scenario, but until the two sides agree they disagree. al jazeera athens. >> it was once one of the most feared and hated institutions of east germany's communist regime. the headquarters was seen as a fortress of the world war in berlin. but now 25 years on it's been opened up as a museum, giving people some idea of what that oppression was like. we went to take a look. >> a facade features the headquarters of the feared secret police. on its upper floors preserved in condition is the inner sanctum of communist state oppression. >> this is the foist of eric

meilka head of state security. >> all that drivel about executions. nonsense. execute, and if necessary without a court verdict. >> from his desk he ordered a ruthless clamp down on dissent. these are those who were conscripted against their will on spying on their neighbors and friends. >> this is instructions on how to gather evidence and make an arrest. behind each one of these doors is an interrogation chamber. this entire system was given over to one thing making the president confess. in the early days they would use sleep depravation beating and torture. but later they perfected operative psychology. >> they found out in their own

secret service university, that they get more information if not by beating people but fooling them into thinking they would be treated better. >> they were jailed for producing subversive material. he faced repeated interrogation. >> when i was imprisoned here i put my emotions on hold. i was afraid if they could reach deep inside me, then i would be at their mercy. >> 25 years ago a few weeks after the collapse of the berlin wall east germans stormed headquarters. today the new museum gives access to all, and to the thousands of secret files. a museum, but also a memorial to darker times. al jazeera berlin. >> and just to remind you, you can always find out much more on

the stories we're covering on our website. www.aljazeera.com. www.aljazeera.com. really it's the best way to keep in touch with international news and sport pretty much wherever you are in the world. i do recommend that you check it out. >> the far north of europe - a place of extraordinary beauty - home to an astonishing array of