hello again, and welcome to our viewers around the world and in the united states. i am isa soares and you are watching cnn. a bold step by russia, the convoy that moscow claims is full of aid crosses the border into ukraine. and later, wisdom, fear and anger from the children of ferguson, missouri. how the town's youngest residents feel about the turmoil that has put their town in the national spotlight. we begin this hour, though, in iraq. we warn you the video you're about to see is disturbing.

[ screams ] this was taken during horrific mass killing at a sunni mosque. at least 70 worshippers were shot and 17 others were wounded. they have now walked out of talks aimed at creating a unity government in iraq. meanwhile, in northern iraq, new video shows dozens of yazidi men captured by isis being forced to convert to islam. the yazidis are one of the of t. and u.s. forces continue their air strikes on isis fighters in northern iraq.

they targeted militants around mosul dam. the dam was liberated from isis fighters earlier this week. we are joined live. and let's start off with the battle. have the iraqi forces and the kurdish peshmerga entered the city yet? what can you tell us? >> reporter: they have yet to take back control of jalaw la. of course, they have made huge gains over the past couple of days with intense fighting is happening. they have yet to take the township of 50,000 people as yet. isis certainly digging in. remember, they have heavy weaponry, u.s. weaponry that they sized from the iraqi

forces. we heard on one twitter feeds that 50 fighters have died in the battle. and they are now vowing revenge. but it's not just in jalawla which is northeast of baghdad that the fighting is occurring. it's all across the front line, mosul dam that you mentioned, that has been a place of intense fighting for many, many days. we were there earlier this week. and according to the peshmerga, they had regained control of it, but the fighting still rages around it. and that is where the focus of the u.s. air strikes have been. to date, there have been 90 air vikes of which 63 have been focused on the dam. so that just gives you an indication as to how intense the fighting is, how much isis is really digging in. we have to remember that just 40

clicks from that dam is mosul, the city of mosul. a huge city of 1.5 million people that isis claimed back in june. that is a stronghold, that is their headquarters. that is their base. so it doesn't really surprise us that fighting at mosul dam is ongoing. >> i mean, do iraqi and kurdish leaders believe they can defeat isis if the u.s. keeps its involvement limited to air strikes? >> reporter: it's hard to say. there's no doubt that the u.s. air strikes are certainly making huge gains and changing the situation on the ground for those kurdish and iraqi forces. air cover is critical, but as we know, we are dealing, they are dealing i should say, with a force, a fighting force that is organized. it's sophisticated. it's well-resourced. it's considered the most well-funded terrorist organization in the world.

we've heard that from the u.s. administration, from obama, from secretary of defense chuck hagel. i minean, what we're dealing wi isis is not your ordinary terrorist or militant group. this is an entity all of its own. it's been described by people here in kurdistan not just as an army but as a state. and with the poorest border between syria and iraq, if those air strikes continue, that's great. they are able to push them back, hold them at bay, but they can also retreat back into syria where we know they have safe haven. they have this sanctuary in eastern syria. we know they have training camps in eastern syria. so as long as that is allowed to happen they won't defeat isis, regardless of what they do here in iraq, because they will still be in syria. they will regroup. they will rearm. they will consolidate and launch more attacks. so as we're hearing coming out of washington, d.c., the obama

administration is now considering air strikes inside of syria. obviously that would change the entire situation. but certainly that is the consideration. if they're going to defeat isis, they know they need to defeat them, not just here in iraq but also in syria. >> thank you very much. and as you heard, as anna was saying, the fight against isis is not restricted to iraq's borders. u.s. officials say america's gathering intelligence on the movements of isis within syria and considering targets there. and three years since the start of the civil war in syria new battles rage. this video posted on social media reportedly shows the fighting between government forces and rebel forces. we have been unable to verify the video's authenticity. the death toll in syria has at least doubled over the course of the year.

the u.n. human rights office speculates that 191,000 people were killed this year. isis has vowed to kill another american journalist. the white house says the execution of james foley will not go unanswered. brian todd reports now. new details emerge from the chilling e-mails that were sent to james foley's family. >> reporter: his family says they received six e-mails from the captors during the year and a half he was held. they demanded $130 million for his release. according to global post. until last week, foley's family had heard nothing for almost a year. then an e-mail arrived saying he will be executed as a direct result of your transgressions towards us. his parents had sent multiple messages to the captors, hoping to engage them. the family appealed to the

captors to show mercy, saying that he was a journalist and showed great empathy for the people. he had no control over the u.s. government. the family was right to engage the captors, one expert says. >> ask me to do something i can do. you're in charge. the decision what happens to james is completely your decision. give me something to do that i can do. and that is actually a great test to find out whether or not the other side is negotiating in good faith. >> reporter: the global post ceo says he tried to raise money, but there was never any true negotiation between his news outlet and foley's captors. now new questions are rising about the failed rescue mission. they say they revealed the mission because some reporters were about to report it. >> any hostages in syria now will be disbursed among other

sites. they'll be heavily guarded. they may be bewired for demolitn and death if any rescue attempt is made in the area. >> reporter: in an interview, foley's brother says he wishes the united states had done more. >> you can accomplish both things. the united states could have done more on behalf of the western and american hostages over there and still, you know, dealt with, with the broader worldwide issue. >> reporter: u.s. government officials say they use all the tools available to bring hostages home. they don't grant concessions to hostage takers. but in reality, no one's ever been prosecuted for paying a ransom to a terrorist organization. brian todd, cnn, washington. >> and michael foley spoke to

anderson cooper about receiving e-mails from the captors. >> i was thinking about your family when i heard they had received an e-mail. i can't imagine the horror of seeing that e-mail pop up. >> have you read it? >> yes, i have. >> but just seeing, you know, checking your e-mail one gay and seeing an e-mail from the people that are holding your brother, your child, i mean, i kept thinking about your parents in that situation, and your whole family, and i just, there's no question there. just the horror of it just really struck home for me. >> horror is a good word. it's like, it's right out of a hollywood movie, unfortunately you're in it. and i just know that i'm comforted by the fact that it was clear in the images and the video that jim didn't flinch. he had the courage. i'm certain that he put himself in a position to be first in line. and he wanted us to be strong. and that's the message he was sending without saying it.

and, you know, i want that memory to live on. we all loved jim, and i know there's a lot of others that look up to him. and it's just the people are from all over the world,countrys of life, it really means a lot. >> the french journalist who was with jim said that he was a pillar of strength for everybody else, despite what was happening, happening to hem at the time, that's also got to give your family such strength and pride. >> you know, it does. no surprise, though, anderson, i'll be honest with you, but it absolutely does, and i look forward to meeting some of them in person and understanding more. there was a letter that was memorized from one of them that really just talked about my boys and really was great, great to hear. i love him, man. >> one of the others had memorized a letter from jim to your family. >> right. that's right. none of jim's letters got out.

but he was nice enough to take the time, and they did have time, to memorize the letter, and it was pretty long, actually. it was really, really, really nice. really nice touch. it really means a lot to us. >> michael foley speaking to anderson cooper. well, when we come back, another night in ferguson, missouri. the site of a police shooting that has sparked international outrage. and a russian convoy entered ukraine provoking international outrage. we'll be asking an expert what this means for the future relationship with russia. that story just ahead. aveeno® introducesmale] new positively radiant targeted tone corrector. it helps reduce the look of stubborn brown spots in just two weeks. what are you waiting for? aveeno®. naturally beautiful results™.

ferguson, missouri is enjoying another night of calm, even though the outrage over this month's fatal shooting of a black teenager by a white police officer remains. demonstrators took to the streets of the st. louis suburb friday night and the protests remained peaceful. it's quite a turn around from the violence that occurred earlier this week. the man in charge of security in ferguson spoke in the last hour on cnn and this is how he described the scene today. >> tonight traffic continued to be reduced. we have responded to fewer

incidents tonight. there were no molotov cocktails, no fires, no shootings, and we did not seize a single handgun. begin, tonight, we deployed no smoke devices, no tear gas and no mace. and again tonight, no police officer fired a single bullet. >> very good to hear too. well, you remember that officer darin wilson is identified as the policeman who fired the shots that killed michael brown. we have more on the man behind the badge. >> reporter: st. louis county police released an incident report in the fatal shooting of michael brown, but it reveals little information to explain what happened, due to the ongoing investigation, much of the details have been redacted. accounts of the incident seem conflicting, about whether or not brown threatened officer darin wilson before he was shot. >> no, like charge toward the officer? no.

>> reporter: friends of officer wilson say brown did charge at him, but there is no known video of the shooting to show what really happened. in the future that may change. ferguson police say they are planning to install dash cams in their patrol cars. meanwhile, supporters of officer wilson say they have raised more than $200,000 of his legal defense through a crowd funding website. >> he's very shaken about what happen thad day and in the aftermath. >> reporter: the streets of merg son were relatively calm overnight. only eight arrests and peaceful protests where there was once violence and tear gas. >> we're headed toward a sense of peace for our community. >> reporter: the governor is asking the national guard to draw down their deployment as streets get calmer, and funeral brep preparations for michael brown are under way. services scheduled for monday.

they say he should go to jail, but first they want a thorough investigation. >> i don't want a rush judgment. i want everyone to take they time so there won't be no mistakes, get it done right. >> reporter: the jury handling the investigation is made up of nine whites and three african-americans. the outcome may show whether ferguson remains calm. >> we'll give you guys 14 days of peace, but if we don't get what we're asking for -- >> reporter: ferguson, missouri. well, as the mood calms in ferguson, lingering questions remain. did officer wilson act in self-defense or did he use excessive force against michael brown. the three autopsies that have already been conducted may provide some answers.

>> reporter: there are dueling narratives about what happened between officer wilson and michael brown. >> michael just bum rushes and shoves him back into his car, punches him in the face. >> reporter: cnn has confirmed that matches what officer wilson told authorities. but the autopsy shows no signs of a struggle and that wilson is the one at fault. helping settle disputes like this is the job of forensic pathologists like dr. pat ross. she's performed more and 7,000 autopsies can you show me on the mannequin, where would you look for signs of struggle. >> on the arms, hands. >> reporter: she checked the knuckles. a bruise there might indicate he threw a punch. would you be able to see it in

the knuckles? or would it have to be a pretty hard punch. >> it would have to be pretty hard. >> reporter: how would you know if it was from that struggle or from before? >> you can't age a bruise. it may have happened two hours ago or five days ago. >> reporter: another dispute, wilson's friend says brown rushed at the officer full speed so wilson started shooting. but some witnesses say brown had his arms up in the air in surrender. >> so michael brown had several bullet wounds here and here. if you were doing an autopsy and looking at the body, could you tell whether he was up like this? or whether he was charging at someone? can you, can you figure that out on an autopsy? >> no. >> reporter: and an autopsy might not help with this either. why brown had a gunshot wound right at the top of his head. how would that happen? >> very likely that he was, the victim was bent over like this.

>> and why would someone be bent over like that? >> they're either dodging or maybe trying to run. >> reporter: michael brown's first autopsy was done by the county, the second commissioned by his family, the third completed monday by the federal government. >> this is now the third autopsy that's been done. and it seems like a lot of people are putting hope that it will help answer some of these questions and solve the arguments. do you think it will? >> no. it will be, it may produce more questions, but i'd say, unfortunately, things take time, and people need to be patient and let everybody get together and get all the facts together. >> reporter: elizabeth cohen, cnn, newberry, south carolina. still to come. hamas sends a terrifying message to israel in the form of mass executions of possiblis rail eye informants. we'll have more on the story in just a moment.

hamas-run television says a man and girl were killed and at least a dozen people were wounded on an israeli air strike. they are scrambling to pull victims from the rubble. israel warned that hamas would

pay a price for an attack on a parking lot that killed a boy. it was fired from a place that hamas uses as a shelter. it later retracted. hamas executed some people they say were informants. we must warn you that some of the video you're about to see may be disturbing to some viewers. >> reporter: images of men sentenced to die. they were guilty of treason for collaborating with israel. their identities concealed possibly to avoid embarrassing their families or to hide the death of penetration of israel's intelligence service. we don't know much about these men, but what we do know is that

the very public execution sent a strong warning. to no sympathy for the condemned here. the executions come right after israeli air strikes killed three men. it's unknown if these men were involved. they have long struggled with collaborators. in 2012, this video shows a man being dragged behind a motorcycle. the driver warns other turncoats of a similar fate. there's the obvious financial incentive as well as the potential for people to be blackmailed into becoming collaborators. hamas has asked all those who fell in the mud of treason to turn themselves in and said they would be shown mercy. we don't know what that mercy is. all legal proceedings have been

kept behind closed doors. at least 18 accused have been executed so far. that number is likely to grow. cnn, gaza city. let's switch gears and turn our attention to the weather. tropical system in the caribbean is being watched for possible development. ivan, tell us more. >> the next couple days we could have tropical storm christobal. it would be the third storm, which would make it a very slow season so far. much in part thanks to el nino. right now it's pouring over parts of the dominican republic and puerto rico. high chance of development from the national weather service here. it has a chance of becoming our next tropical system, which would be christobal. look at the area lit up with these tropical bands coming in.

very heavy rainfall. the radar beam is too far out coming out from southeastern puerto rico, but it is pouring there as well. here's the forecast spinning this out as are the other models here, not looking like a po formidable system here. the topography here in the mountains, we could have flash flooding and landslides. then the models take it generally to the north and west and then split-off. some a little closer to florida, most of them to the northeast. we'll watch it for you and keep you posted as to what it will eventually do. the closest to pass to florida would bring some unsettled weather and rainfall which you are pretty much getting. here's lowell, marie and karina. it's already impacting with

mexico. winds at 70 miles per hour. five more, four muore and we're getting a hurricane. the rain bands impacting with mexico, very heavy downpours. this is not going to make landfall. it is heading off to the west. it's going to be over open water. we are going to switch gears, and we're going to talk some iceland volcano. when i see you in the next half hour i will be practicing the pronunciation once again. >> i'm going to test you because i'm not even going to attempt it. thank you very much ivan. now are you watching cnn. and coming up, the russian convoy ha crossed into ukraine is still provoking international outcry. we'll see what this means for the country marked with conflict. 9m

welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm isa soares and these are the headlines. first, the video you're about to see is disturbing. it was taken at a mass killing in a mosque. 70 worshippers were fatally shot and 17 others were wounded. shiite militias are blamed. and this out of a town near kirkuk, residents are besieged at the moment. they have been -- let me go back there. there's real concern for their safety. this is just coming into cnn.

a special representative says the situation for the people is desperate, and he is demanding immediate action to prevent the possible massacre of citizens there. we are told that in addition to immediate danger, residents have already been cut off from food and water supply by isis for nearly two months. turning to ferguson, missouri, enjoyed another night of peaceful protests. anger had boiled over for nearly two weeks after a black teen was killed by a police officer. there has been little or no violence for the last couple of days. senegal has closed its borders to guinea to try to stop the ebola virus from entering the country. this comes as nigeria reports two more cases of the virus raising its total to 14. mean while, the world health

organization says the spread of the virus has been underestimated. ukrainen officials say russia's actions are a direct invasion. as 200 trucks cross into ukraine, real questions whether it was an act of compassion or aggression. the director of ukrainian studies joins me from kiev. i'm sorry. my throat's a bit itchy. you're currently in kiev. tell me what the mood is like there. good morning. >> caller: the mood is tense in kiev. yesterday there was a rehearsal for a military parade that will

take place tomorrow to mark ukraine's independence day. it took place on a thoroughfare and scores of cadets and troops, tanks, armed personnel carriers and the like, and pedestrians walking past the scene were largely silent. ukrainians have had a lot of trauma over the past year. there were scores of civilian protesters who were shot in this area, and now there are people who are going to be sent off to war. i think there's a palpable shock here, but it is coupled with growing defiance in the face of russian aggression. >> and rory, the russian trucks

have entered ukraine without government consent. this is widely being condemned by the west. but how much of this news is a boost to putin's standing at home, do you think? >> caller: that's a really good question. first of all, the humanitarian crisis in the territory controlled by armed bands of the russian federation is horrific. i've spent important times of my own life in liiall luhansk. they need to do what they do best, and that is to tend to civilians caught in the crossfire without taking sides. but the state that is offering aid while at the same time is supplying armed forces and contributing to this violence

cannot be taken in good faith. and a state that is forcibly crossing another state's sovereign border, it 227 trucks cannot be taken in good faith either. and i think the manner in which the convoy was put together, military trucks, white tarpaulin, painted white, the manner in which this convoy very publicly made its way from moscow to the border with ukraine, the very manner in which it made this incursion yesterday across ukraine's sovereign border encroach agreements made with the red cross. all of this means that aid is not the central mission of the convoy. i think the main objective here is to make the presentation for the russian audience who want to see the government acting benevolently here which it's

not, and to stunt the advances of the ukrainian military. scattering 227 visible white trucks in a circumscribe and active war zone is very dangerous. what we have here is essentially 227 pretexts for a full-scale, open war between europe's two largest countries. >> thank you very much, rory. speaking to us from kiev. still to come, more from ferguson, missouri. how the community's youngest residents feel about the turmoil that has put their town in the national spotlight.

people in ferguson, missouri are preparing for monday's funeral of shooting victim michael brown. huge crowds are expected to attend. jake tapper reports. >> reporter: here at the friendly temple missionary baptist church in st. louis, they are preparing for a very big day. come monday, these seats will be full of mourners here to remember michael brown. the church's special events manager denise mackie is busy preparing for the largest event their congregation has ever

seen. they have room for more than a thousand people. on one hand, you're burr eyeing a person. >> correct. >> reporter: but on the other hand, michael brown has become a cause. how does the pastor face that challenge? >> that's a good question. at the end of the day he is still an individual. a life that has been lost and a family that is still healing. that is our priority. >> reporter: the church is expecting a huge crowd for the service which will be public at the request of the brown family. the details of the program are still being worked out. but the eulogy will be delivered by the reverend al sharpton. the family is hoping that the sometimes violent scenes that have played out in the streets of ferguson for the past two weeks will not be repeated, despite the large crowds and substantial security presence planned for the funeral. >> the family does not expect

any type of violence. there may be some people demonstrating and supporting the family. you know, you kind of expect that, but the kind of unrest that involves the police, they do not expect to see that at all. >> reporter: it will be a very public event and likely politics will be afoot, but for the family, it is personal. >> special to me. he was ours. he was peaceful. he was humble. able i am going to always love hill just how he was. >> reporter: how is reverend jones preparing for monday? >> from his position as a leader, as a minister, as a pastor, he will prepare that he does any other way, look to god and look to, you know, that guidance to prepare him for the right words of comfort. >> reporter: the right words of comfort for a family and a community still in so much pain. >> cnn's jake tapper reporting. and the preparation for michael brown's funeral which will take place on monday in ferguson.

also on monday in ferguson, the community's children will go back to school. the last couple of weeks have been anything but normal for them. and it's a step in the right direction. cnn's don lemon visited the library where the kids had a chance to the escape the unrest behind them. >> reporter: so what are you guys doing? are you doing math? what's going on? >> social media is fantastic. got on the phone, got on e-mail, facebook, twitter, the kids don't have school. what are they going to do? they end up here. >> reporter: do you like school here? >> yeah. at the end of the day we go outside. >> reporter: so your regular school, have you been to the regular school yet? >> no. >> reporter: no? so this is your regular school now for a while, right? >> this is my school. >> reporter: are you making friends here? >> yes. >> reporter: yes? >> teachers have art supplies and 20 kids you can manage.

who ki 40 kids you can manage. then teachers came. we had a full middle school going on, language arts classes going on, math classes going on. >> reporter: that is amazing. see, something terrible happens and something wonderful happens. >> this is not their fault that this is happening, and they should still be able to learn and have fun. still have a little bit of normalcy. >> reporter: structure. normal thing. >> yes. >> reporter: do you agree with that? yes. and you do, too. say yay, mom. >> yay, mom. >> reporter: i agree. i think that's great. people all over the country are sending you money? sending you supplies? >> supplies. a lot of the food has come from the st. louis metropolitan area.

someone from clayton came in and brought a donation, but they wanted it specifically for the library to buy african-american books for male children. so now that library fund has been increased a little bit. >> reporter: that's amazing. african-american books for male children. >> for male children. it. >> reporter: wow. how's that. is this the solution, you think part of the solution as to how to help the young black males in this community? >> oh, my gosh. there's so many layers to that. and st. louis, the nation, but st. louis and the region of st. louis has to peel back the layers, peel back the onion. it smells, right? you have to peel it back and really look at ourselves and our community and examine how did this happen. this just did not happen. >> reporter: it didn't happen overnight. >> it didn't happen overnight. the governor came here yesterday. there was a judge here yesterday. captain johnson came by

yesterday. so all of these people to come buy and circle these children to say you know what? we adults, sometimes we mess up. and we don't get it right. but we know that you're the important entity right now. we need to focus on you. >> reporter: do you know what's going on? what's happening? >> he got shot. >> reporter: a kid got shot. what do you think about that? >> it's mean, kind of. >> reporter: yeah. >> shouldn't have did that. >> reporter: yeah. >> i think he should have just left the kid alone, what he was doing. he shouldn't have did nothing but leave the kid alone and see what he was doing and said mister, what are you doing? then walk away. >> reporter: nobody gets hurt, right? >> uh-huh. but now he died. and that's a bad thing. >> reporter: very bad thing. >> and the good thing is he, he's not, he's a kid, but he,

he's, he will stay a kid, so he can be with his momma and daddy. >> reporter: he needs to stay alive to be with his mom and dad. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: do you sigh the protesters and people out on the streets? what do you think of them? >> i think the people are in the way. >> reporter: they're in the way of your car? >> uh-huh. when you're trying to drive they're in the way. and people be employing their horns. that's too much. >> reporter: from the mouths of babes sometimes. huh? you understand why they're out there? why are they out there? >> it's because the boy got shot. and they're mad about that. >> such good advice from jewel there, really nice, positive story. and just ahead, we are monitoring a volcano in iceland.

ivan is monitoring, not us. can you say it? can you say the name? >> we're all monitoring it, because if this thing goes a lot of us are going to be impacted. just think back to 2010, my goodness. that just froze european air travel. we're going to take a look at this volcano, talk about the potential eruption and what that would mean for a lot of us in just a few minutes. stay with us. you're watching cnn.

new information just in to us at cnn. several dozen russian trucks have returned to russia after crossing into ukraine on friday. you can see some of them here on your screen. more than 220 trucks had entered the country as moscow claimed to be delivering humanitarian aide. western officials condemned it as russian provocation. now, it's clear that a mountain could soon blow its top. more than 2,000 small earthquakes have hit the area in the past week. and residents living nearby have fled their homes. ivan cabrera is here with the weather center with more. any sense on when this is going to happen? >> nothing has changed since the last advisory here in iceland. we have several criteria right

before we reach imminent, and we are not there. we are essentially at escalating unrest. that sounds scary enough. so there are two issues here. obviously the regional and local issue for residents here in iceland. but then if it does blow, not only for them, but the rest of us get involved because it will spew ash into the atmosphere and the jet stream will take over. and we'll show you where that's going to go. for localized threat we have the threat of flooding because of the glacier melt that would be going on. the iceberg threat. no signs of eruption. and we're hoping that this thing is just teasing us. because if it does go, it's going to be a mess. no public access. the national parks closed, and permanent residents out of there as well. just some pictures from a flyover up above.

images there. so we're connected. the entire planet is, with the jet stream here. it undulates around the planet. that stream goes to the east, and we do have these undulations. it doesn't stay west to east, right? so what happens is eventually, some of that, if it does spew out, will get into europe. exactly what happened with the volcano back in 2010, which just was a mess. i remember that. we had paralyzed, essentially, europe, for weeks, a billion dollar loss there. and we'll leave you here with europe, since isa does not like the warm temperatures here in atlanta. how about 12 in london. i would take that right about now. >> you can't possibly. look at that 12 in london. the atlanta temperatures could be much better. when you've lived in london as long as i have you'll soon change your mind.

>> the grass is always greener, isn't it? now we all know what flames look like in a fireplace, but how does fire burn in the vacuum of space? take a look. it seems like a jellyfish of flame. at least that's how an astronaut described it. he tweeted this from the international spacetati station. he's not just burning time. they are using small droplets of fuel to understand how it burns in low gravity. our special coverage continues after the break with my colleague. we're cnn. hello!

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hello and welcome to it our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm natalie allen. you're watching cnn. the fight against isis rages on as the u.s. begins military action against the stronghold group in syria. and moscow claims its aid makes it past the border in ukraine. also ahead -- >> i don't understand why police officers feel like they have to use their guns. they have tasers, they have batons. >> a future generation in