an i.s.i.l. bottoming kills dozens at a football match in iraq as the u.s. steps up its fight against the armed group. you're watching al jazeera live from doha. also on the show >> can we still say that we are muslim? shouldn't we secret about it? the worry of being a belgian muslim as the police arrest and question people. china releases a journalist linked to an online petition

demanding the president's resignation. plus >> reporter: i'm in cambodia where a dying generation of musics are working debt praisely to preserve-- desperately to preserve their art we begin in iraq where there has been a suicide attack at the military air base west of the capital baghdad. the air force base is located in anbar and been used in the past by the u.s. military. that comes after a blast in a football stadium in a town south of baghdad. i.s.i.l. says it was behind that suicide attack. at least 30 people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up. it happened as trophies were being presented after an amateur tournam ent. as many as 100 people were wounded. u.s. says it's stepping up its troop presence in iraq.

it is helping iraqi to retake mosul. these are the latest pictures of the advance close to mosul. the retaking of mosul from i.s.i.l. would be a significant development for the u.s. and peshmerga mirrorss. the u.s. announcement to reinforce the presence on the grounds in iraq comes after a pentagon says a senior i.s.i.l. figure has been killed. in man apparently managed the armed group's finances. he is said to have been killed by a u.s. raid in syria. our correspondent joins us from the iraqi capital. there is a lot going on. let's start with the latest attack on an air force base. what do we know about that? >> reporter: according to our security forces from the area, and from the base, this is talking about a bigger fighters.

10 fighters succeeded and they were all wearing suicide vests. they infiltrated the base. there were fighting against iraqi forces and the people. some blew themselves up and others were free. there are around 15 or 16 people from the security forces have been killed in this attack. another 20 injured. the whole military base is under the case of alarm and searching is still going on looking for those people from i.s.i.l. fighters who are still free according to security sources. it is known that there are trainees in this area.

they support the iraqi forces there. it is not a clear so far what the clashes these fighting reached to their facilities under the control of the u.s. forces. anyway, according to a security force, the searching is still going on looking for those people from i.s.i.l. who are still free inside the base there must be a big security question of how these i.s.i.l. fighters would be able to penetrate such an important bas base. >> this is not the first time that i.s.i.l. fighters succeeded in making such an attack. we have to look at the whole area surrounding with this base. all this area or most of this area is under the control of i.s.i.l. one of them is the main shelter of i.s.i.l. in the province. unless security forces and

american also secured the whole area surrounding the base, it means at this point such an attack will be re-peted again and again. it happened many times before. it was more than one attack on this military base. forces are saying they are trying to make sure that the whole area surrounding with military base is secured, but it is very difficult to achieve this. as i said, most of the area surrounding the base is still under the control. we know that around 60 or 70% of the province is still under the control of i.s.i.l. iraqi security forces, they talk about succeeded and taking some area from i.s.i.l. and in this province, but it is still the majority of this area is still under the control of i.s.i.l. thanks so much.

i.s.i.l. is coming under increasing pressure in syria. state television reporting government forces are closing in on palmyra. these pictures we cannot verify, show an army clearing an i.s.i.l.-held building. there is fighting in the old part of the city. it is on a main road that links damascus with the i.s.i.l. stronghold. fighters took control of the town last year. at least 25 people have been killed in hay suicide bombing in yemen. it happened in the southern port city of aden. one car bomb went off near a military check point. the other two explosions hit checkpoints leading to a base used by the saudi coalition. a vigil continues in the heart of brussels for the victims of tuesday's attacks.

these are live pictures. many people are being questioned about the attacks. that has given rise to some in the muslim community. >> reporter: a solemn moment of commemoration. students at this islamic school in brussels have just learned that their gym teacher was among those killed in the metro bombing. the school governors are still digesting the news. they're shocked and they're also angry. >> translation: we can't be anything but angry and reject the beliefs of these people who claim to be muslims. there is no religion in the world that advocates killing human beings. >> reporter: she was a young mother with three sons. at school she was popular with students and teachers alike. several people we spoke to said

she was like a sister. her students have been encouraged to express themselves in drawings and postmortems and messages-- poems. in mosques around brussels the attacks have dominated friday prayers. muslims have been thinking about their place in belgium society and they're worried about the future. >> translation: it's natural that we are afraid of what is happening. we are part of this society. >> translation: my son asked me, dad, these things that are happening, does islam permit that? i said no. religion forbids that. >> reporter: this muslim member of the brussels parliament says the actions of a few radicalized young men have over shadowed her whole community >> i hear from my own children, can we still say that we are

muslim? shouldn't we be secret about it or can we say muslim phrases? i say everything has become contaminated. >> reporter: events of last week say that muslims are likely to be victims of attacks as other members of society. they also know that the perpetrators have hijacked their religion to uf these acts of violence at least 12 thousand refugees still remain at the greece macedonian border living in a makeshift camp hoping macedonia will still let them through. some have relocated to other parts. securities security is a growing concern. our correspondent is there. some people have left.

why? >> reporter: people rm losing hope. they're resigned to the fact that the border behind me will not open and they cannot continue on the migrant trail to northern europe. yesterday we saw people board buses. the buses took them to accommodation centers run by the government according to the u.n.h.c.r. some 450 people boarded those buses. of course, that is a very small number compared to the over 12,000 people who are here. we understand it that more people do want to go to the accommodation centers, but there is just limited space. the greek authorities are struggling to set up these camps in order to house these people. the greek government caught off guard, over stretched. 50,000 my dwranlts and refugees in the country. there are others who do not want to leave. they believe that by staying here it would put some sort of pressure on the macedonian authorities, on the european union to let them through and

some of them have even told me that if we go to camps, we won't be able to speak to the media and tell people about our plooit. plight thousands of people, 50,000 people stranded in greece. what is going to happen to them, whether they bust the camps or not? >> reporter: now they need to apply for asylum, either in greece or they apply to the e.u. relocation program or the family reunification program. some activists here on the ground have been trying to plain to them what they need to do. basically they're going to have to call a skype number, but the problem is they can only call five hours designated for this call in northern greece and five hours in athens. can you imagine the thousands of people who are trying to make this call to get an appointment. people are worried that they will be stuck here for months.

some people want to reewe union nighted with their families. we hear stories of people who want to meet up with their wives. one man says his wife was diagnosed with cancer and he wants to spend time with her but he is stuck here. they're being asked why don't you prioritise the list. but the authorities are overwhelmed. they said there are logistic a.m. challenges, but they're hoping to recruit staff members and this can move forward. undoubtedly the e.u. relocation program hasn't worked. it has been working at a slow pace. that's why people are worried that they're going to be stuck here for months and maybe even years thank you for that. ki niece writer who is part of an online petition called to the president to resign has been released. our caravan has more from beijing. >> reporter: a lawyer for the

chinese journalist, who had been missing since march 15 has confirmed that his client was released on friday night. now, he had been taken by police at beijing airport on march 15 just as he was about to board a flight to hong kong. it is thought that chinese security officials thought he had something to do with a letter that was published earlier this month on a news website. that called on president xi jinping to resign. it accused the chinese president of concentrating power in his hands of abandoning the principle of collective leadership and of encouraging a cult of personalitiess centred around himself. the writer signed off as loyal communityist members. while he may have been released, the investigation into who might be behind this letter has only

intensified. a chinese dissident living in the u.s. said police took his parent and april younger brother way on tuesday night. his family members live in china and heap hasn't been able to contact them since. a news agency is also reporting that four employees at the website have also been missing and out of contact for a week now. this clearly shows that authorities are intensifying their investigation, they're deepening the crackdown and these developments have got human rights activists in china concerned because this suggests that not only is there growing intolerance of criticism, but it seems that there is a more disturbing pattern of going after critics south korean protesters have held a demonstration against recent nuclear tests and rocket launches by the north.

activists released balloons across the demilitarized zone carrying anti pyongyang messages. lots more still to come. we will tell you were small business owners in bangladesh who rely on small social networking sites are angry. the rolling stones rock cuba with their first ever concert. ever concert.

>> "inside story" takes you beyond the headlines, beyond the quick cuts, beyond the soundbites. we're giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it is.

welcome back. a recap of the headlines. there has been a suicide attack at a military air base west of the capital baghdad. iraqi security forces say a number of armed fighters wearing suicide vests stormed the base. also in iraq i.s.i.l. says it was behind an attack at a football match in a town south of baghdad. this mobile phone footage shows the moment the bomb went off when the trophies were being presented. at least 30 people were killed. in the yemen city of aden 25 people have been killed in three suicide attacks. one car boko haram went off near a military you can points. two explosions hit a rode the government of bangladesh is now not banning facebook and

an app. it has restricted access to networking sites because of security concerns. for small business owners who rely on that say it cost them dearly. >> reporter: this man runs an internet company. his website is an online marketplace that does most of its business on facebook. he says a recent government ban of the social networking site has cost him money. >> translation: there are some fixed costs that you can't avoid unless you shut the whole business down. while facebook was down we in no sales but we had to keep paying our employees and other costs. >> reporter: it is worth an $8 million a month in bangladesh. the ban hit many small businesses very hard. the government defends blocking the site. it says misinformation spreads

through social media which have been to violence. after the arrest of an online satir >> whose one fast book page was popular in the country, they're worried >> the government tried to educate people how they filter out the good content and the bad content, but instead block episode everything >> reporter: the government is putting in serious effort to control online traffic. the country's telecoms regulator has twice to build a system that would allow it to filter out any contents from any website and is making a third attempt. >> reporter: the government says the country's security needs out weigh the privacy and economic issues for users. >> translation: yes, people's

businesses can get hurt when sites like facebook are shut down, but when it is called for action, people have to obey the government's decision >> reporter: facebook has rejected several questions from the government to allow access to user data and bangladeshis have signed a petition. it is a struggle that looks set to continue. it means business owners may have a challenging future ahead authorities in pakistan say they've arrested a former indian naval officer for suspected spying. they say the operative was cap fewered in the troubled province. on friday, there was protests over the arrest. the arrests could jeopardize ongoing peace efforts between the two nuclear armed states. so-called mega projects may be relatively easy to undertake in

new cities, but if you're dealing with one that's 4,000 years old, that is a different matter. that's why the construction of a new train line in pakistan's second largest city is causing some real concerns. >> reporter: this is lahore, historic city, home to monuments dating back moneys of years. here you will find remnants of architecture, inter mingling traces of the empire and british colonialism. the sky line is silhouetted by this view. it will be changed by the rail. >> this development is threatening over 11 heritage sites that are listed under law.

these will be endangered and lost. >> reporter: the government says it is necessary to overcome traffic problems. >> this is about 27.1 kilometers. it has been 26 stations, and it would be catering for about 250,000 people on a daily basis. to start with. ultimately there will be facilitating about 500,000 on a daily basis >> reporter: critics say it won't solve the problem >> this project feeds less than 2% of the population and is not integrated with anything >> reporter: it is not the heritage but the human cost of this which will affects many. this woman has lived here since independence in 1947. when she and her familiar moved

here, she had already seen her neighbor's house demolished. she has been compensated because she says they were told to take the money or see their home demolished. >> translation: if the government would have given us alternative play to live in, i would have vacated it happily, but the money is not enough to buy a house. >> reporter: this orange train project will cut a wound through the heart of the city. the feeling across the country is that the government has to prioritise before embarking on such ambitious and unsustainable projects myanmar's first ever stock exchange is now open for business. ringing in the first day of trading on friday, the exchange was packed with investors. many of them had never traded in shares before. foreign capital is not allowed access for the time being as the

government refines regulations the cumulative age is 288 for this band. that didn't stop them performing to thousands of fans, young and old in cuba. their music used to be banned there, but not any more. in a government move seen as a small but significant sign of change. >> reporter: it was a concert many cubans had been waiting for, for almost half a century. the legendry rolling stones in a performance like none this country has ever seen. entire families, three generations, even four, enjoyed a free concert implements of the british band which has been around almost as long as the cuban revolution. >> translation: i love it. they're e band and i couldn't miss this.

said 13-year-old. from early afternoon people began pouring into the open air sports center. the news of this concert has spread like wild fire. people are coming not only from all over cuba, but from all over the americas and beyond. fans want to say that they saw history being made when they saw the rolling stones in cuba. people like this irish couple. >> it's a changing time for cuba and it's the mark of that change maybe. >> reporter: this man says it makes him feel proud. >> translation: when i was young listening to the beetles led zeppelin and the rolling stones was for bitten. we had to listen to them in secret. >> reporter: it is a sign that changes are change-- times are changing >> it follows the obama visit by a couple of days. so this week is hugely significant and very exciting. >> reporter: so it was that this

historic week was wrapped up by a once banned rock band. cuba is not left off the circuit, no longer so isolated cambodia's khmer rouge killed up to 2 million. among those musicians. >> reporter: this man is a tough teacher. he has within a traditional wedding musician for more than half a century. he expects nothing less than perfection from his students. >> translation: this traditional wedding music is my

life. i won't stop playing it until i die. i will continue teaching it to the younger generation. >> reporter: but his love of music almost cost him his life. musicians like him were hunted and killed by the khmer rouge regime in the 1970s, murdered more than two million people and banned all forms of art in an effort to establish a society uncorrupted by any people or individuals. >> because they wanted to have no form of expression, 80% were killed during that period. so no religion, no music, no arts, no expression. >> reporter: within just one generation, cambodia's rich

heritage was decimated. a cultural organization calmed cambodian living arts is now working with old musicians and dancers to teach a new generation. but they are facing some new challenges. >> reporter: increasingly young cambodians are turning away from traditional hufk, listening to hip pop. without an audience these artists say they will struggle to survive. >> translation: i think the people are more in music. they don't understand the traditional music. >> reporter: for now, its tourist who are helping to keep traditional art forms alive. these forming artists admit it won't be easy competing against western music.

then again, what they have is well worth saving if you want to get more on those stories, just head over to our website aljazeera.com. you can see our front page there with the lead story on iraq. >> welcome to 101 east. i'm steve chao. in thailand, getting up close to jungle animals is one of the most popular attractions on the tourist trail. whether it's riding an elephant, patting a tiger, feeding a monkey, you can do it all in thailand. >> but in the rush to meet tourist demand and make profits animals are often mistreated