and a good evening. this is al jazeera america. we begin tonight in washington where the justice department is signalling a new era in the fight against terrorism. the doj is starting a new division to coordinate the growing number of cases involving home grown radicals. for more, we go to the nations capital. what prompted this announcement? >>reporter: good evening. i think there is a bit of a back log here. they're realizing how bad the situation is here and probably a push for more money as well. but there is an up tick in lone

wolf domestic terror incidents. charleston church shootings, the temple shooting in washington, fort hood in 2009. here's how the assistant attorney general for national security put it this morning during a speech at the george washington university in d.c. >> the new domestic terrorism council will not only help ensure that domestic terrorism cases are properly coordinated but will play a key role in our headquarters-level efforts to identify trends, to shape national strategy, to analyze legal gaps to combat these threats. >> now, in the u.s., there are really two kinds of terror threats at the moment. one is the international religiously inspired threat that we think of regarding al quaeda

and isil. then there's domestic threats such as the sovereign militia for example. neo nazis. also to some degree eco terrorists. >> we don't really see a lot of groups but we see a lot of lone actors across the country that interact with one another on the internet and carry out their actions independently. there's a lot of people throughout the country. >> andy says that's where this new department could end up playing a vital role. >> specifically because they're lone actors and it's so difficult to crack they. some kind of coordination between the federal, state, and local levels is particularly important because the information is so difficult to piece together unlike structured groups where one can to some

degree crack them down easier. the lone actors are much more difficult to identify and monitor. the fbi director says the issue of home grown terrorist recruitment by isil is widespread and goes on in this country 24 hours a day right across the united states. he's said this about isil and other middle east groups before. we know that he's seeking encrypted access to information to help fight terrorism but at the moment, he and his organization have yet to convince law makers to allow him access to that encrypted information. it's possible that will change with this new post. >> all right. thank you. tensions continue to rise in the middle east along with the death toll. israeli police today shot and killed two knife-wield body palestinians who had allegedly attacked people in jerusalem.

palestinian president is blaming it on israel and is asking the u.s. to intervene. >>reporter: panic as israeli special forces police run through a mall in west jerusalems main bus station. nobody here can really work out what's happening. later on the street's youth side, two gunshots and a dark figure by the door way. one officer has shot dead a palestinian man. police say he stabbed a woman in the bus station. the woman, an israeli, was taken to hospital with what police described as moderate injuries. any hope anyone might have had that the announcement of new security measures would have an immediate effect have been shattered. once again, questions loom about how the security forces are handling the situation.

hours before a young palestinian was shot dead in the old city of occupied east jerusalem. police say he pulled a knife when he was being searched. there's no independent evidence. it appears he was shot while trying to run away. earlier the streets have been disturbingly quiet. people preferring not to venture out. the army now deployed in the city is in line with new security measures. >> you can see it's almost empty here. so people are a little bit defiant. in occupied east jerusalem, there was a mood of pessimistic expectation. the move allowed blockading of whole neighborhoods, a ban on rebuilding, and also refusal to return the bodies of people the government calls terrorists. >> the political establishment

will not achieve the goals of the israeli government. the only way to achieve the goals is to establish a two state solution. >>reporter: on the west bank, more violence. this is bethlehem where demonstrators clashed with soldiers again. here the day before a 27-year-old protester had been shot dead. with israel waiting for the new security measures to take effect, the palestinian president went on the verbal offensive. >> we are people who are asking for riots. we're not aggressive and don't want aggression. we are asking for the world, the united nations to intervene. we'll not tolerate this occupation and not give up fighting the israeli policies which are against our people. we will not stand for the killing of our children in cold blood. >> as israel once again

witnesses more violence, there's political deadlock, one with a lethal price for so many people iran has taken a major step towards supporting the president of syria, bashar al assad. hundreds of iranian troops have reportedly joins syrias ground offenses against rebel forces. they're said to be preparing to attack antigovernment troops in the syrian town of hama. and also boosting operations in aleppo. >>reporter: pentagon officials confirm over the past two weeks, iranian fighters have joined hezbollah fighters in a counteroffensive to retake key areas of rebel-controlled syria with the backing of russian air power. the focus seems to be on the

city of aleppo. control of the area is divided between the syrian government, antigovernment forces, and even some isil-controlled areas. pentagon sources are down playing the number of iranian troops but not their presence or which side they're on. pictu pick there are reports of at least two other iranian generals killed in the past few days in syria. the u.s. says it's just more evidence that russian air strikes are aimed at u.s.-backed opposition groups battling the regime of al assad and not at isil which is concentrated more to the east. at the white house, the iranian-russian alliance was criticized. >> we're obviously watching that situation closely. it's an indication of just how

isolated russia is as they carry out this unilateral action. the only people that are coordinating with them right now is the assad government such as it is and the iranians who have been engaged in destabilizing activity inside of syria that has made them the target for u.s. and international sanctions. >> meanwhile today there was a third video conference with officials from the russian defense ministry and the pentagon. then the pentagon issued a statement saying progress was made on an agreement for safety procedures. the pentagon has been clear they're not about bringing peace to syria or even how to coordinate efforts to battle isil there. it's focused very narrowly on making sure there's no accidents or incidents as russian and u.s. war planes conduct missions in the same air space over syria

but with very different targets on the ground u.s. troops on their way to cameroon, the first wave of about 90 soldiers are heading to the west african nations to conduct air born intelligence, surveillance, and fighting missions in the fight against boko haram. the white house says the pentagon could eventually deploy as many as 300 troops there. the multibillion dollars industry of fantasy football is under investigation by the fbi. players and law makers allege draft kings, one of the two main companies that operate sports sites used inside information to prey upon other players. one employee has already admitted he inadvertently released data before lineups for nfl games had been locked in. they admit many of their employees consistently win large

prize amounts >> law enforcement agents freed 149 children from traffickers in a nationwide crack down led by the fbi. more than 150 people were arrested in sting operations in 135 cities. officials say the youngest trafficking victim recovered was 12 years old. and the sweep called operation cross country is aimed at helping children who ran away from home. >> they run away from possibly a bad family situation, and then get pulled into drugs or, again, lifestyle that leads to prostitution. >> this is the ninth year the fbi has carried out initiatives like this a 19 year old man killed and his brother severely wounded after they were beating as part of a so-called counseling

session at a church in up state new york. their parents have been arraigned on manslaughter charges. four other members of the church are charged with assault. >> both brothers were subjected to physical punishment over the course of several hours in the hopes each would confess prior sins and ask for forgiveness >> several children appeared to be living in the church. they were removed and handed over to child protective services saudi arabia has sentenced a protester to beheading and crucifixion. now his mother is asking president obama to step in on his behalf. >> and what california officials revealed today about the inmates fighting wild fires in the state for decades.

his mother is asking

president obama to intervene to save her sons life. he was 17 at the time of his arrest. he initially faced charges for attending a protest but he was ultimately found guilty of those charges but a long list of other crimes including breaking allegiance to the king, robbing a pharmacy, robbing, and others. authorities have executed 134 people so far this year. the director of the institute for gulf affairs joins us from washington right now. the number of saudi executions has jumped this year making the country possibly the country that executes the most people per capita in the world while iran and iraq and that neighborhood are also high on the list. most of the sunni gulf states rarely execute anyone. so what is going on? >> the execution is part and

parcel of the saudi government foundation. it's part of the long history of the foundation of that country. saudi arabia and oman are probably the only few gulf countries that witnessed violence building meaning that in the establishment of the state, a lot of people were killed, executed. so it is part of the history of the saudi regime. and execution is used to stabilize the government, to enforce political decisions and to continue providing what they think is a continuation of the regime. >> but this case seems especially egregious because it involves a young man who was only 17 when he committed this so-called crime and because of the brutality of it, beheading and execution. >> he's not the only one.

there's younger prisoners who are sentenced to the same punishment, beheading and crucifixion and they have been transferred to riyadh possibly for execution hopefully not. but this is a political decision. obviously it's not a judicial decision. the saudi court system is an apartheid regime. so it's really a jim crow court in an american sense. >> and this boy is shiite. but the saudis ratified rights of a child. this week they sentenced a 74-year-old british man to 350 lashes for making homemade wine. you know, what's going on here? because the international community does seem fairly tepid

in its condemnation of this behavior. >> well, i think the international condemnation, saudi arabia has not really -- changing the behavior. it has been used effectively in some cases. usually cases regarding to white europeans. but in terms of cases with the locals, it has not -- there was not enough pressure by the west, by the united states for i think cultural and political and economic reasons. i think that the west and the u.s. specifically though does not really have a lot of -- it's not the higher priority for them to push for freedoms. >> and these executions, many are carried out in public which of course the government probably uses to scare people. you were born in saudi arabia. given your critical comments of the government, can you go back?

>> no, i cannot. in fact, i was telling your producer that there was a case of a twitter user sentenced today to 17 years in prison for his tweet. and i looked at his account and they were very, you know, basically very peaceful comments of the saudi monarch. members of my family were sentenced. others sentenced for merely doing human rights work. >> and there are many a at atrocious punishments. thank you. the iraqi military is getting ready to make a push

into anbar province to recapture the capital city from isil but the offensive is running into road blocks. >>reporter: in a carefully choreographed message to isil, these fighters chant we're not afraid. they belong to tribes from the sunni province in western iraq who are opposed to the armed group and have just completed a training program with the iraqi military. their graduation ceremony was attended by in as the government prepares for a major offensive to retake the capital from isil. >> our message to the central government is that these are your sons and we want them to be integrated within the military establishment and recognized officially. >> the recruits have been

trained to be part of what's being called the national guard, a proposed armed force for each of the profss made up solely of local fighters. it's meant to address concerns in sunni areas that powerful iranian-backed shiite militias. a bill seeking approval for the plan has stalled in parliament. iraqs deep sectarian divisions are to blame. >> there is no trust between the government forces including the so-called popular mobilization forces and the sunni tribal fighters. >> this is not the first time forces have tried to liberate

ramadi. they first tried in july but it was halted after shiite militias became too involved in the fighting. the prime ministers strategy has been described by some analysts as a complete mess. still, it would appear he's determined to retake the capital from the armed group but until he breaks the political deadlock and addresses sectarian concerns, he'll have a hard time doing so. california is scrapping a controversial plan to expand the states inmate fire fighting force. after corrections officials said today that more than a third of the inmates had convictions for violent offenses. for years officials have head the convicts were nonviolent

offenders. an investigation is being called for. a nonprofit group in louisiana is facing an uphill battle as it tries to bring sex education to kids in a state where many people oppose it. that's next.

>> a debate over sex education in schools is brewing in louisiana. the state does not require it and efforts to change that continue to meet resistance. jonathan martin reports. >> you guys know what this class is about right? >>reporter: seventh grade students in new orleans are getting a lesson about sex. >> we cover hive, other sexually transmitted infections. >>reporter: but classes like this are rare. the state leaves it up to local

school boards to decide whether to teach sex education and if they do they're required to emphasize abstinence. efforts to widen the sex education curriculum have repeatedly failed. >> i think it's crucial and vitally important. >>reporter: for the past five years, wesley bishop has sponsored bills that would but louisiana in line with 22 other states that mandate some type of sex education. he's pushing for a comprehensive curriculum in middle and high schools. most recently, he narrowed his proposal to just include his new orleans district. that too was rejected. >> we're doing a very poor job of providing information to our young people and our young people are making bad choices.

>>reporter: others insist schools have no business teaching anything about sex. >> i firmly believe that that's the parents job and it's my right and it's my right as a parent to decide when my child is old enough to handle that information. >>reporter: while there's no sex ed mandate in louisiana, schools are allowed to offer their own programs. but most don't. either because of the controversy or a lack of resources and training. >> what can you guys it will me about anatomy. >>reporter: 17 year old britneys school offered it as an elective. she says it was eye opening. >> we actually put a condom on a model. they taught us about con to septemberive methods, things like that. and they also gave us that abstinence option. >>reporter: an $8 million federal grant will allow one program run by the institute of women and ethnic studies to

reach 4,000 students in schools that want comprehensive sex education. still, that's a small fraction of students across the state. >> there's definitely a need and we've seen a sustained and in some areas increase in demand. >>reporter: with louisiana set to elect a new governor and legislators this month, representative bishop hopes he'll finally get the support to mandate sex education. jonathan martin, al jazeera, new orleans a california collector may have struck gold after learning he had historical photos. he purchased the image at a second hand store for just $2. one of the men there is william henry mccarty, jr., the old west outlaw bill three kid. the picture was taken in a wedding in new mexico in 1872. just one of two known

photographs of him. it could be worth $5 million. thank you for joining us. ray suarez is up next with inside story. have a great night. 11 million tuning in to see the candidates in the democratic presidential view and talking about the issues, foreign, domestic and cosmic. what the exchange met for the five candidates on stage. what happened in vegas. it's the "inside story." >> welcome to "inside story." most americans, mo