dou iraqi kurdish forces raid and i.s.i.l. base in the north two months after freeing captives in a joint operation with the u.s. this is al jazeera. thanks for joining us. also ahead flooding waters causes thousands of people to be evacuated in south america but some are refusing to leave their homes. relatives of 43 missing students in mexico keep the pressure on the government to find out what happened to their loved ones.

u.k. scientists invent new tools that allow doctors to perform vital surgery on babies in the womb. iraqi kurdish forces have raid an i.s.i.l. base near the town of howijah. u.s. commandos are said to have been involved, but the u.s. has denied this. several i.s.i.l. fighters have reportedly been killed and others captured. it comes two months after u.s. and kurdish commandos conducted a joint operation there freeing 70 i.s.i.l. cap activist. our correspondent live from erbil. tell us more about this kurdish offensive.

osama? can you hear me? >> reporter: yes. what we can tell you about this kurdish offensive is according to the kurdish media, it is saying that more than nine i.s.i.l. fighters were arrested, over 12 were killed in a joint operation on friday night just slightly away from kakuk near the town of howeeja. this is the place where necessity earlier carried-- they earlier carried out an operation where they released a number of captives held by i.s.i.l. there is no government official report. the reports are via the semi-state news agency quoting news officials. one u.s. official, security fish, that we spoke to last night said that this operation did not take place. there are conflicting reports about this operation. the kurds are confirming it, but some sources in the u.s. are

denying it also there is a trial that has started in baghdad. if you could tell us more about that. 26 men accused in a mass-- accused in a mass shooting in i.s.i.l. what can you tell us about this? >> reporter: these are 36 men who have been charged with a massacre as the iraqi government calls it that took place in the military camp. the government says more than 1600 iraqi recruits, air force recruits, young ca debts, many of them shia, were killed by i.s.i.l. this is the second batch of people who have been accused of aiding i.s.i.l. since the iraqi forces took the town. earlier 25 people were sentenced to death, four taking part in the killings of these cadets. what we know is that this trial is about to resume, but so far the iraqi government and the

court proceedings are in the dark. we're hearing from sources that this will resume now. as soon as we get more we will let you know thank you for that. the new leader of one of syria's powerful rebel groups has vowed to take revenge for his predecessor. it is said to halt a deal in be that as it may as can you say. -- damascus. >> reporter: the deal between the government on the one hand and i.s.i.l. on the al-nusra front on the other hand about the safe passage out of damascus and paving the way for fighters of their families to pull out from those areas and go to areas under the control of i.s.i.l. or the opposition is still on hold for different reasons. i.s.i.l. and the al-nusra front are looking for more guarantees that they say are going to be safe but they're waiting for

more logistics to take their families in one go out of the capital of damascus. they will have to cross some areas under the control of the groups. with the new leader they're going to intensify their military campaigns as a revenge of the death of zahran alloush. this whole debate about the deal between the government and i.s.i.l. comes against a backdrop of the renewed international push to push an end to the crisis in syria. the syrian opposition is going to go to gen eve to talk about a way-- - geneva. first, a ceasefire where they would be committed to stop using barrel bombs against criticism i can't answer. a political way out from an opposition perspective is the following, a transitional

authority with full executive power. bashar al-assad has to go but he has been saying in the past that he has been backed by the iranians and the russians that it is only the syrians that have the right to say whether bashar al-assad should stay or go at least 160,000 people have been forced from their homes in flooding rains. it is blamed on the el nino phenomenon. >> reporter: of the four south american countries dealing with their worst floods in years, paraguay is the most severe. more than a hundred thousand people in the capital have had to leave their homes and belongings behind and move to higher ground. the river has reached three and a half metres above its regular level and is close to bursting its banks. that could lead to widespread flooding across the capital city. the president has declared a state of emergency to help mobilise the army and free up funds to help those in need.

>> reporter: this situation really pains me, not because of me. i had the means to survive. but you see old men and women carrying their belongings over their heads. >> reporter: many people are refusing to move to higher ground, concerned about looting. >> translation: i have my apartment up here. that's why i didn't leave. besides if you leave, the thieves will clean you ow. everything you have they will take. >> translation: i'm not leaving because if i do, thieves will take everything. they will take stolen goods away on anything, rafts, boats. i just can't leave >> reporter: tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in argentina, brazil and urugay as well. swelling rivers. some experts have linked the weather to a stronger than unusual el nino phenomenon which is known to spark global climate extremes as a result of warmer

ocean temperatures. ment u.n.'s weather agency says this year's el nino is the worst in more than 15 years in the >> s at least eight people have been killed at tornadoes hit parts of the country. they swept through several cities in dallas. some of the victims were in vehicles that were blown off a highway t there are reports of roofs ripped off houses and motorists facing debris falling from the sky. with northern england hit by more flooding, an emergency services has been calmed. hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes after heavy rains that began earlier in week. thousands more without power. december is on course to be the u.k.'s wettest month on record. the relatives of 43 missing mexican students and hundreds of their supporters have taken to the streets of the capital. they're trying to keep the pressure on the government to

tell them what happened to their loved ones. a report from mexico city. >> reporter: they're anger towards the government. among the chants these are the people would are destroying our country. the agony of the family-- families of the 43 missing studen students. what happened to them is yet to emerge two years later. they said they were highjacked. the mexican government lied and withheld information from the family. >> translation: i have seen repression in the social demands have been growing because people are disappearing and now we are demanding that the government

give us back the students alive. >> reporter: the mexican government is refusing to launch a new investigation. the hope is that independent experts will expose the truth, but those experts say they still need some assistance from the government. >> translation: fortunately the families protests last year and legal action have helped discredit the governs's version of events. >> reporter: more than 20,000 people believed to be missing across the country, their activism is being viewed by some as representing the conscience of all mexicans mechanics compo is cracking down on the flow of migrants on their way to the united states. it was the new action plan that has led to a huge increase in deportations but there have been huge claims of human rights abuses. the first on the series of migrants trying to reach the u.s.

>> reporter: the road to the u.s. has been barred to central american migrants as never before. this is mexico where deportations have gone up by 70% in the last year and a half. authorities send hundreds back every day to hondura, guatemala, el salvador, countries sufrlg brutal gang violence and december patent poverty. >> translation: we are poor and that's why we look for the american dream. unfortunately, they catch and send us back to death whachlt can we do apart from trying again. >> reporter: the count down began with the the u.s. crisis. record numbers of child migrants turning up on its doorstep. mexico stepped forward to help stem the rush enroute. rather than focusing on the root cause that are forcing people to flee, they're given mexico more money and equipment to cut off that slow into its southern

border. it has worked. roving check points and a constant watch on the cargo train migrants climb on, meant this mexican detention center, the biggest in latin america, is full to bursting. as migration officials have closed the net, accusations of extortion and physical abuse has soared. this is what happened to this man's arm. they saw his injury and he was left bleed onning the roadside. >> translation: other people would have helped me. taken me to a hospital, but they just didn't care. it was as if i wasn't even human. >> reporter: to avoid authorities migrants are often forced to travel through isolated areas where gangs of robbers and kid natters lie in-- kidnappers lie in wait. >> translation: we have sthoen clearly that we don't tolerate impunity in the state. we've had accusations against

officials and we've caught and tried them. that's the best proof that migrants can trust us. >> reporter: that trust is far from earned yet. the vast majority of the migrants we talked to in mexico fear authorities is just another threat in an increasingly hostile land coming up on al jazeera, the security situation in central african republic ahead of elections. we meet arts and crafting bringing people together in south sudan. south sudan.

>> our american story is written everyday. it's not always pretty, but it's real... and we show you like no-one else can. this is our american story. this is america tonight.

top stories now on al jazeera. iraqi kurdish forces have raided an i.s.i.l. base. u.s. commandos were involved in this investigation, but the u.s. has denied this. more than 160,000 people have been forced to leave their homes by some of the worst flooding in south america in decades. a state of emergency has been declared in paraguay. the relatives of 43 missing mexican students have been protesting in the streets of the capital. they're trying to keep the pressure on the government to tell them what happened to their loved ones. police in the u.s. city of chicago say they accidentally shot and killed a 55-year-old black woman. she was among two people killed on saturday after police responded to a domestic disturbance call.

there were protests in that city over the past few days where anti police feeling it running high. chicago police are already under federal investigation following the release of a police video showing a white police officer shooting a black teenager 16 times back in 2014. extra police have been deployed on the french island of corsica. demonstrations there are banned after protesters ransacked a muslim pair hall. -- prayer hall. >> reporter: a christmas day crowd but no spirit of goodwill. instead, violence and desecration in this capital. a crowd shouting anti muslim slogans ransacked the pair hall of this mosque shan'ting "arabs, get out". they even attempted to burn-- shouting. -- copies of quaran. >> translation: some

installations were broken. they broke through the barriers, two doors and the entrance. the window, the piece of furniture where we leave shoes, the air conditioning, paintings, is have the closet. >> reporter: it apartments to be in retaliation for an incident on friday night where attacks in the housing project in town. authorities say it's not clear what prompted that incident. the french government condemned the latest attack and sent police reinforcements to other religious centers. this follows the attacks in paris. about 120,000 french police and soldiers were mobilized over the holiday pert. france's muslims are also facing backlash in the wake. the attacks. in corsica far right parties did well in the local elections. in this climate of suspicion, a

feeling of fellowship may prove difficult for some communities to find security in central african republic is tight ahead of presidential elections. wednesday votes aim to restore stability after two years of sectari sectarian conflict. >> reporter: the leader of a christian vigilante group is releasing 18 child soldiers. they have all seen and done no things a child should be a part of. this boy took up arms after his father was killed by fighters. he wants to put it all behind him. >> translation: by the time if central african went to a muslim area he would be killed and vice versa. i couldn't just stand and wait for something to happen b i can't be angry and bitter any more.

his chance of a better future has improved in recent weeks as war in this country has too. piece keepers are taking an active role under a new commander. with so many armed groups still loose, there is no illusions about how fragile the current calm is >> we're just trying to do all these elections. this is not a disagreement so far. one day, one of the factions for one reason or another can just go back to square one. >> reporter: the central african army has come back on the streets in recent weeks too taking over some of the u.n. piece keepers patrols. >> reporter: the national forces are the ones that know their neighborhood, their towns, their neighbors, those thought to be holding weapons. the international community has impressive forces. they can gain precise information much faster >> reporter: only in the last few weeks police have been stopping cars on a daily

basicallies. streets that were-- basis. streets that were quiet a few months ago are busy. it's check points like this making people more safer and confident about voting. even if the election passes peacefully, the long-term stability of the country could depend on whether whoever wins can form an inclusive government. that means mending sectarian divides that turn children into soldiers. there are thousands more young small hands holding weapons in car. the more they're occupied with games and not war the better the future looks -- and not war looking at one of this year's most significant stories through the eyes of families affected. the second part in our series is from kenya. in april gunmen stormed the university college killing 148 people most of them students. security forces surrounded that building for 1 a5 hours. four gunmen were killed and the

fifth detonated his explosive vest. the group al-shabab claimed responsibility for the attack. hundreds of hostages were taken and freed muslims and christians were killed. >> reporter: they shot her seven times. one bullet shattered her spine. she is now paralysed from the waist down and undergoing rehabilitation in a hospital. she was studying at the university in northern kenya when fighters attacked in april. her parents live mosh a 100 kilometres from the hospital. they come in to see her and it has taken a toll. >> translation: at first it was very hard. she would not eat. she did not want to talk to anyone. we had to be there to make sure she is well taken care of.

>> reporter: necessity will never forget the images from the attack and the days family members spent looking for her, not knowing whether she was alive or dead. >> i have realized that life is in the hands of god and you have to find strength in your situation, no matter good or bad. >> reporter: the university is due to reopen next year. a police camp has now been set up inside the university compound. many security changes have also been made in this region. >> reporter: the number of al-shabab attacks in kenya have gone down significantly. officials say this is because of better intelligence and coordination with the local community. but members of the sew mallee - somali community believe the cost has come to them. this man's nephew was arrested by police. his family haven't seen him since. >> translation: we have looked

everywhere. weep went to the police station where he was taken. they told us they didn't have him. we went no mortuaries and also parliament but nothing. >> reporter: human rights groups accused security forces of unlawfully detaining and executing suspects more than 70 people in this vast region are said to have disappeared since april. >> translation: we don't kidnap anybody. whether necessity are arrested from their homes or from wherever, and they are in custo custody-- whether they are-- for proper processing. >> reporter: rachel is far from the politics in the hospital that has been her home for months. she is working hard on regaining her fitness and coming to terms with the fact that she may never walk again on sunday you can see the third part in this series.

we are meeting members of a family trying to rebuild their lives after april's devastating earthquake. you can see that on al jazeera from 10 gmt. scientists are developing procedures that could be used to perform surgery on unborn babies at an early stage of preparing nancy. university college london in the catholic university and belgium are cooperating on this project. a report from london. >> reporter: a healthy ultrasound. relief for annex pactant mother. it is not always the case. genetic birth defects can be seen as early as 12 weeks. when scans highlight a problem there are few options. open the mother up and perform surgery on the foetus, highly dangerous and could leave the mother unable to have more children or in some cases keyhole surgery.

scienti scientists in london are providing surgery on unborn babies. this technology is going to help us to be cleverer to be able to do it less invasively, earlier in pregnancy and probably have a better long-term outcome for the babies that we treat. >> reporter: surgery to treat holes in the hard or where the spinal cord grows outside the baby's body are too risky to contemplate. surgeons will only operate when there is a real threat that the baby or babies will die. >> reporter: already some womb surgery takes place. for instance, this procedure, to balance the blood and nutrients between two twins. doctors say there's much more they could do with the right tools. those tools are being designed here. it is a seven year, 17 million dollar project funded by the british government and the welcome trust. more proceed toe types and - proceed toe types and research is ahead. one day a probe will go through the mother's skin and into the

use russia. it will carry a-- uterus. it will carry a scalpel, camera or laser. like all keyhole surgery, doctors have to rely on cameras to see what they're doing. the challenge is greater because of the tiny space and poor visibility. one wrong move can damage the unborn baby. >> you've got a lot of challenging things happening around and you need to be able to not only take care of the foetus but also the mum. so it does make the environment far more challenging. the tools we have to use have to be as small as possible. >> reporter: robotics to compensate for uninsteady hands, micro engineering for small veins, all coming together skirmishs continued in south

sudan despite a peace deal signed in august. the two-year war killed tens of thousands and displaced two million people. some are returning home. one former refugee is using an arts and crafts projects to bring people together. a report from juva. >> reporter: inside the house he shows off some south sudanese craft. >> this is from various areas. this is traditionally a - well, a necklace with a bone decorated with fire nor the patterns there. >> reporter: after 20 years as a refugee abroad, she came back to help rebuild the country of her birth >> beii was independent in liv here. i know there was a lot required. being able to contribute in one way or the other was definitely something that influenced my

studies, influenced what i wanted to do >> reporter: part of that contribution is to preserve the culture of the area. a trader demonstrates some traditional crafts. >> inside here, you light it and use it like this. you use it for the smoking. >> reporter: at this women's cooperative, women from all tribes come together to make beaded july re. two years ago the civil war started when the president accused his deputy of attempting a coup. fighting assumed an ethnic dimension with the two tribes going against each other. it is hoped that people will feel better connected to one another through the cultural practices they have in common, which clues these handy crafts. a lot of south sudanese people grew outside their communities. many of them were refugees from war in neighbouring countries. as a result these traditional skills have been leveled.

what this project is-- lost. this project is aiming to do is to pass on the skills and crafts like these can be revived be sure to set out our website. al jazeera.com >> wildlife poaching is big business... worth more than 17 billion dollars a year and growing. the slaughter is being fueled by demand from asia... ...where rhino horn is gold a status symbol and believed to