right now, hamas and other militant groups in gaza say they've reached a deal with israel. a new cease-fire is now under way. if it holds, it muputs an end t more than seven weeks of flying. also, president obama approves u.s. reconnaissance strikes over syria. are air strikes over isis targets in syria the next step? might the obama administration end up working with al assad's government in damascus? we're only minutes away from the

report on va hospitals across the u.s. did excessive wait times lead to the deaths of some of america's veterans? hello, i'm whole repowolf blitzer reporting from washington. we're following breaking news in the break through in fighting between militants in gaza and israel. officials announced a new cease-fire has been reached, israel only a few moments later said it has accepted the truth. power correspondent reza sehe is joining us from cairo right now. reza, walk us through the details. what do we know about this cease-fire? >> wolf, i think what's important to stress is this does not address the core demands, the core issues that have been the source of this.

a temporary cease-fire where both sides have agreed to stop fighting, which is good news, and at some point return to cairo and engage in indirect negotiations. we spoke to a senior egyptian official a short time ago. and he essentially tells cnn that this is the same initiative, the same agreement that was on the table one week ago today, and that according to the palestinians, the israelis rejected, according to this egyptian official with this particular agreement, the israelis have agreed to make some concessions. and that includes the easing of the blockade on gaza. they venthaven't agreed to lift blockade completely. they've agreed to ease the blockade for the passing of humanitarian aid and some rebuilding material. they have agree to extend the territorial limit for fishing for gazans. both sides have agreed to come back to cairo at some point to

engage in indirect talks. what shouldn't get lost in all this is the fact that, again, the core demands, the core issues that have been the source of this impasse have not been addressed. the big question, when you look at this bloody conflict, when more than 2,100 palestinians were killed, more than 60 israeli soldiers were killed, what have these two sides gained? if you look at the core demands, they haven't gained anything. hamas wanted a complete lifting of the blockade. they still don't have that. the israelis wanted the disarming of hamas, the demilitarization of gaza. according to this greepagreemen they don't have that either. again, the good news is they have agreed to stop fighting at this point, to come back to cairo. we'll keep an eye on things to see if they can make it any different from the scenarios we've seen in the past weeks and the past years for that matter. >> the israelis have agreed to send their delegation back to

cairo to resume these indirect negotiations with the palestinian delegation, which includes of course representatives from hamas islamic jihad, some of the other militant groups as well. there's been some confusion, reza, about what time of cease-fire goes into effect. some suggest it's already in effect right now. others, midnight, gaza/israel time, which would be 5:00 p.m. here on east coast of the united states. is the cease-fire now technically in effect? >> it is. we're going to clear that up for you. state media here in egypt falsely reported that the cease-fire would begin midnight local time. palestinian officials have told us the cease-fire is already under way. which is about an hour ago, wolf. >> all right, reza s sayah, we' watch it closely, we'll stay in

close touch with you. let's hope it stays quiet now between gaza and israel. cyst yeah yan amanpour will join us live. the latest on the fight against isis. this time, though in syria. officials telling cnn president obama has given the go ahead for reconnaissance flights over syria. flights meant to gather intelligence on isis militant positions there. it comes a day after the syrian regime said it was open to help from the united states and other countries in its own battle against the isis forces. barbara starr's joining us from the pentagon right now. i want to play a quick comment from the president. just a few moments ago in his speech before the american legion about u.s. interests in iraq and syria. listen to this. >> so we're strengthening our partners. more military assistance to government and kurdish forces in

iraq and moderate opposition in syria. >> so he's basically lumping in the moderate opposition forces in syria to the kurdish forces to the iraqi military forces. what are you hearing about what the united states will do to strengthen what he calls these moderate opposition forces in syria in their own battle against isis as well as against the bashar al assad regime? >> well, wolf, as you'll recall several weeks ago, the u.s. said it would begin supporting once again these moderate rebels trying to provide perhaps some weapons, perhaps some training. but this has been problematic for years now, you know, trying to figure out who the so-called moderate rebels really are and what can be done for them. right now, i think it's fair to say isis is on the front burner for the obama administration at this hour. the president has authorized reconnaissance flights over isis targets. try to get a better understanding of exactly where they are, where their troop formations, their training camps

are, to prepare to go in with air strikes if he makes the decision to go down that road. they need much better intelligence. they need real-time intelligence. all we've seen so far are isis strikes, as you see, across the border in iraq. those air strikes, officials tell us, have had some effect. they've stopped the isis momentum in parts of iraq and that's what they're hoping to replicate in syria. if the president makes the decision, go after isis in that northern area of syria, up against the iraqi border, and try and stop isis from its momentum in that area. wolf. >> so we know the president has approved these reconnaissance flights over syria. are they actually started yet? >> interesting question. the pentagon is getting vebeing closed about all that. we don't know if there's been a reconnaissance air flight into syrian airspace . the u.s. has continued to fly

drones near the border on the iraqi side. and officials tell us they do have the capability to see somewhat into syria, you know, making that decision to actually go into syrian airspace a very big deal. because it would be a violation of the sovereignty of syria. will the u.s. coordinate with bashar al assad? don't count on it. many u.s. officials, many u.s. military officials telling us they have no intention telling assad anything about what they may be up to. wolf. >> all right, barbara, thanks very much. barbara starr at the pentagon. she raises an important question about cooperation with the syrian regime of president assad. he has offered, by the way, to partner with the united states in his own fight against isis. isis representing a major threat to his regime. let's go to nick paton walsh. he's joining us from london. what's the likelihood, as remote as it might sound, there could

be this alliancalliance, if youa partnership between the u.s., bashar al assad regime, and their common battle against isis? >> i think nothing really in public, wolf. you have to bear in mind, a year ago, they were in the middle of accusing the regime of using chemical weapons and killing 1,200 people on the outskirts of damascus. many argue, too, that the tens of thousands killed by often indiscriminate bombing in northern syria is actually the crucible in which the radicalism of isis was formed. that people were so infuriated by the absence of western intervention and the brutality of this assad regime that they found isis a better alternative. hard to imagine but what many argue in these circumstances. to suddenly turn around, even given the threat isis poses, and have washington and damascus reach an agreement seems highly unlikely. perhaps they may allow each other wriggle room, operating space. but i think it's going to be de

v very difficult for the iraqi government, shia government air force, carry out mission, to assist their fight on the ground, often against sunni rebels which, i should point out, isis certainly are as well. wolf. >> you heard the president saying in his speech at the american legion the u.s. is ready to strengthen the moderate rebel forces, opposite forces in syria. i know from my own conversations with u.s. military and intelligence officials, they're very worried if they were to supply sophisticated weapons, whether tanks or armored personnel carriers, anti-aircraft missiles, for example, to these moderate rebel forces, these opposition forces in syria, those weapons could wi wind up in the hands of isis. how serious is that fear? >> certainly, you have to bear in mind what syrian moderate rebel group is. they have been decimated. this is the fourth or fifth time the white house has said they will assist these groups. it's constantly been stymied by

infighting between the groups and, most particularly, the fact they've been heavily hit by the threat of isis advancing towards them, on the outskirts of aleppo now. of course they have to have serious weaponry. and have washington not worry that will end up in opposition hands once the time is done. so the magical solution to this is beginning to fade. many worry as isis advance west, they're, in fact, dealing an exponential blow to that syrian opposition. they've been on the ropes for quite some time. they seem to surge back in some areas. but really not the force many two years ago thought might prevail in this brutal civil war. >> the u.s. military has been badly burned by the loss of a huge amount of sophisticated weaponry the u.s. left behind in iraq for the iraqi military, which the iraqi military simply abandoned as they ran away from the incoming isis forces in

iraq, and that has left a very bitter taste in the u.s. military's mouth and as a result they're very worried about what could happen in syria, if they were to leave stockpile, of weaponry for the moderate opposition forces in syria. nick paton walsh reporting for us, thanks very much. up next, we'll have much more on the president's decision on syrian flyovers. our own christiane amanpour standing by on that decision. and the sound of gunfire caught on tape. newly released audio said to be from the shooting of ferguson, missouri. an audio expert tells us what he hears. hey. i'm ted and this is rudy. say "hi" rudy. [ barks ] [ chuckles ] i'd do anything to keep this guy happy and healthy. that's why i'm so excited about these new milk-bone brushing chews. whoa, i'm not the only one. it's a brilliant new way to take care of his teeth. clinically proven as effective as brushing. ok, here you go. have you ever seen a dog brush his own teeth? the twist and nub design cleans all the way down to the gum line, even reaching the back teeth. they taste like a treat,

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and the palestinian leadership on a cease-fire in gaza. this one is supposedly a longer-term agreement, unlike the short-term deals we've seen come and go over the past 50 days or so. our chief international correspondent christiane amanpour is joining us from london. we've all been disappointed that all the earlier cease-fires didn't exactly work out as planned. what about this one, christiane, you think it's any different? >> well, really, who knows. and to that end, i did speak to the uk ambassador to the u.n. about it. just as it was being announced. and he said that this one must be sustainable. we can't just keep going on repeating the cycle of violence and everybody being exactly back at the same place in another couple of years or so. so to that end, this is an open-ended cease-fire, we're told. there's no definitive number of days put on to it. they are, the parties, apparently, according to the officials, going to continue to work out all of the bits of it and they'll return to cairo, we're told. we're told that it involves

expanding some fishing rights for the palestinians off the gaza coast. it involved some easing of the blockade into gaza and presumably it also involves guarantees of no violence from gaza into israel. but, what the u.n. secretary-general told me, in no uncertain terms, very, very bluntly, this mutt st be the la time. he said, we've continued to keep building up gaza, then everybody destroys it. build and destroy, build and destroy. this has to be the last time. we cannot do it anymore. you do get a sense that the world is very, very anxious that this one should stick. >> let's talk about syria also for a moment. the president, as you know, president obama, has authorized surveillance flights over syria. a lot of folks believe that's a precursor to the start of u.s. air strikes against isis targets in syria. what's your take on that? >> well, it seems that it may very well be. actually, it's not my take, it's

the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general martin dempsey, who has said that isis needs to be confronted on both sides of what is now a nonexistence border between iraq and syria. as we know, finally, the united states did employ air strikes and push back isis from certain areas, pushed it back and helped the kurds up in northern iraq, but the u.s. has sat on the sidelines of the syrian war for the last three years and has pooh poohed, the white house has actually pooh poohed the notion that any intervention would have prevented the rise of isis. now, it's possibly being forced to intervene to prevent isis, which is now got a territory which britain is calling as big as the size of britain. a huge terrorist state that's possibly able to strike, maybe in the future, striking europe and the united states. so it's very, very, very critical right now. >> could you see, as crazy as it might sound, some sort of covert

cooperation between the u.s. and the syrian regime of president bashar al assad in damascus? they have a common enemy, namely, isis. >> well, again, i asked the u.s. -- the u.n. ambassador from britain and he said there's simply no way. and of course it would be the height of desperation and cynicism after both president obama and many world leaders have called for assad to step down. using those words. assad must go. over the last three years. now, nothing was done to assure that assad must go, but the notion of now cozying up to him and forming some kind of alliance of convenience has been dismissed by it is british, by even the pentagon. in fact, the british ambassador told me the monster of isis has been created by assad, the frankenste frankenstein. so, you know, this what they're saying. you never know what might happen. but the truth of the matter is actually assad, accord to officials, has been enabling

isis partly as a self-fulfilling prophesy to say, listen, i told you we were fighting terrorists, well, here they are, but also because the moderate syrian opposition who are on their last legs, they had been fighting isis and they've been pushing back and they've been actually doing quite well until a lot of outside help came in on the side of assad, which was syria and hezbollah, as you know. >> christiane amanpour reporting from london for us. we'll have much more on these stories coming u. also, other news, including the sound of gunfire caught on tape. can this newly released audio shed light on the deadly shooting in ferguson? we'll have details. ♪ [music] defiance is in our bones. defiance never grows old. citracal maximum. easily absorbed calcium plus d. beauty is bone deep. my golden years will not just be gold plated.

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a series of gunshots, a pause, then more gunfire. that's what audio experts say they hear on a newly released recording said to be from the michael brown shooting. you can hear him talking, but listen closely to the shots in the background. >> you are pretty. you're so fine. just going on some of your videos. how could i forget? [ shooting ] >> cnn's stephanie elam is joining us from ferguson, missouri. stephanie, we could point out, cnn cannot independently verify the authenticity of the tape. but how significant could all of this potentially be based on all the experts and sources you're discussing this with in ferguson and elsewhere? >> well, wolf, when you hear

that, it gives you a bit of the time line. if, in fact, it is real and true, it is the sound of the mike brown shooting, what it does, it gives us now a sort of sketch of what was happening. because the question is, what was going on in that pause. it sounds like there's about six gunshots and then there's a pause of about three seconds and then there's another four gunshots that you hear. so what many people want to know is what was happening in that time. the other thing i keep hearing is it's very hard to decide what you should do in three seconds, that this is too short of a time to react, but others are saying this is showing he had some intent. also the question remains because he said and they said. because officer williams son ha indicated he thought mike brown was struggling from his gun. we heard from witnesses when the shooting occurred, he was away from the police car, mike brown was, and he was saying he was unarmed and he was saying he had no defense on him.

so what it is going to come down is how this audio, if it is really from the shooting what it means as far as who may have been the aggressor and who may have been to blame in this situation. >> if it is the shooting. key words. because the autopsy, as you know, done by the family, commissioned by the family, showed there were six bullets in the body of michael brown and here we hear ten shots, if you will. here's the question, has this audiotape been presented to the grand jury, to the federal or the fbi investigators? what do we know about that? >> we do know that the fbi does have this recording and that they're analyzing it to see -- for its veracity, to see if it's really, if it does play into this case. we'll wait to hear more about how that will play in. if it, in fact, does, i suspect it will also play into the grand jury here in missouri, which keep in mind, we're not going to hear results of that until they

estimate mid-october as far as the legal system here. so it could play in. the first question, though,is it real, and that's what rather waiting to find out. >> an audio expert tell us there a three second pause between the series of gunshots. we asked about the significance of that. >> there could have been a reloading of the weapon or there could have been movement or getting into another position or any number of different reasons. of course, we would love to have had video of this event. but unfortunately, all we have to go by are witnesses and this audio. >> as stephanie said, no word yet on what, if any, impact this will have on the shooting investigation. we'll stay on top of this story for you. up next, we'll get back to iraq and the battle against the isis terrorists there. the terror group is gaining ground. we're going there live. we'll get a closer look at american options.

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welcome back. i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. we heard from president obama last hour where he admitted that battling the isis forces in iraq and syria won't be easy. he also said it won't be quick. here's more of what the president said about the threat, the strategy, to defeat what he

called barbaric terrorists. >> american combat troops will not be returning to fight in iraq, will not allow the united states to be dragged back into another ground war in iraq, because ultimately, it is up to the iraqis to bridge their differences and secure themselves. the limited strikes we're conducting have been necessary to protect our people. and have helped iraqi forces begin to push back these terrorists. we've also been able to rescue thousands of men and women and children who were trapped on a mountain. and our air drops of food and water and medicine show american leadership at our best. we salute the brave pilots and crews who are making us proud in the skies of iraq every single day. we have to meet today's evoling

terror threat. the answer is not long-term military deployments that overstretch our military and lead for us occupying countries for a long period of time and end up feeding extremism. rather, our military action in iraq has to be part of a broader strategy to protect our people and support our partners to take the fight to isil. so we're strengthening our partners. more military assistance to government and kurdish forces in iraq and moderate opposition in syria. we're urging iraqis to forge the kind of inclusive forces that are ultimately going be to the antidote against terrorists. we're urging countries in the region and building an international coalition including our closest allies to support iraqis as they take the fight to these barbaric terrorists. today, our prayers are with the foley family in new hampshire as they continue to grieve the

brutal murder of their son and brother jim. but our message to anyone who harms our people is simple. america does not forget. our reach is long. we are patient. justice will be done. we have proved time and time again we will do what's necessary to capture those who harm americans. >> let's bring in bobbie gosh from new york right now, the managing editor of quartz and he knows what's going on in iraq and syria. wa what's your takeaway of what the president told the american leerj legion, because he's pretty specific. >> he described the enemy. this is a barbaric force. he seemed to equivocate over what exactly we must do about this barbaric force. we go after those who killed jim foley specifically. but what happens to it s to th

islamic state or isis? that's not clear. there's not going to be boots on the ground about there will continue to be air strikes. there will be surveillance to collect intelligence. what is that intelligence being collected for? syria, if not air strikes? >> here's the question that came up in my mind. the u.s. about to begin these reconnaissance, these surve surveillance of flights over syria. the syrians say if they do that, they will go after those u.s. warplanes. whether they're reconnaissance spy planes, whatever. how good, based on what you know, bobby are syrian air defense systems in terms of potentially shooting down one of these u.s. aircraft? >> i don't think the syrian air defense systems are all that great. israel has repeatedly mounted attacks deep into israeli territory, to syrian territory and come back unharmed. we learned last week there was a special forces operation to go in and try to rescue jim foley

and other american captives deep into syrian territory, so all these missions have come back unscratched. it suggests to me the syrian air defense system is not particularly great. and if a lot of the surveillance is taking place in the north in areas where isis holds most of the cards and controls those areas, well, the syrian air defense system is not even really present in those areas. >> a lot of experts have said to me, the president, by authorizing the surveillance flights over syria, is defini definitely going to go ahead and launch air strikes, because why fly over the area just to get a lot of information if you're not going to use that information to deal some crushing blows to isis? is it only a matter of time before the u.s. engages, uses air power against isis targets not only in iraq but in syria as well? >> it would seem so. i agree. what is this intelligence gathering for? what do you do with this intelligence if not act on it right? the only intelligence the

president has said he's willing to take at this point is air strikes. i guess you could also be collecting information on isis safe houses. and so if a rescue mission needs to be launched for an american hostage, perhaps that intelligence would be useful. it's possible if we had surveillance over isis safe houses that operation to save jim foley might have had a different outcome. but the best guess is this intelligence gathering is to lay the groundwork at least for air strikes. >> there was really a fascinating story in "the washington post" this morning, bobby, i assume you read it, that david bradley of the atlantic media group here in washington got involved with the qataris in doha, qatar, and they helped arrange the freedom for peter curtis who was just released through the golan heights into israel of all places. if you read thatter t estory, i pretty intriguing, the role

david bradley played and the role played by the qataris. >> the qatari role i think is the crucial one. the qataris have had channels open to various groups in syria and other parts in the world and they've been able to use their leverage, not always, and not uniformly, but from time to time. the one group with whom the qataris, nobody, seems to have any kind of influence is eye six t isis, the islamic state. other smaller groups which may be islamists, one or two of them may have close connections to al qaeda, the qatar i weres are able to talk to them. there's been some criticism aimed at the qataris to say, well be they're talking to these people, they're funding these people. i'm not sure they're funding them. they're certainly talking to them. if you ask the families of all the hostages, they've been able to release, it's probably a good thing that someone has some communicati communications, reliable communications with this group. >> the question is do the

qataris in addition to communications do they directly or indirectly fund al nusri, the group that was holding this american, because that goes to a different level, right? >> it certainly does. i would be surprised if that were the case. the qataris are trying to present themselves, they have been doing for several years now, as a kind of honest broker in the middle east, a role that many others have tried to perform and have failed, and you cannot present yourself as an honest broker if you're financing one side. that would be -- that would be going beyond it is line. i think the qataris try to stay very close to the edge without actually going over. if evidence presents itself that they have paid moneys to al nusri or any other extremist group, that would be a huge blow to qatar's prestige. >> al nusri split with isis because they thought isis was too much of a terrorist organization. al nusri being an offshoot of al qaeda itself. bobby gosh, thanks very much. the managing editor of kuwaitqu.

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there's growing concern in iraq that kirkuk could be next target for the isis tariffs. this companies after three suicide car bombs killed 20 people there. isis has taken responsibility for the bombings. the city is currently under kurdish control but its strategic value lies in the massive oil reserves in the area. despite dozens of air strikes by the u.s., isis fighters have been in a fierce battle for control over the mosul dam and they remain not far from kirkuk. across the border in syria, isis seized a key air base that had been held by the assad regime.

taking that base gives isis effective control over the province in syria which has also become the de facto isis headquarters. cnn's anna cornan is joining us now. talk about how important this is, if the isis forces were to take over kirkuk, that would be a huge, huge game changer. >> yeah, it would be a massive blow. just because of the resources in that city. as you mentioned, those vast oil fields, it is extremely rich. so isis would obviously love to get their hands on that. that's why, wolf, when mosul fell, the iraqi forces, defending kirkuk on the outskirts, they fled, that's when the persshmerga, the kurdi forces, came in to defend those oil fields and also the large population in kirkuk. kirkuk is very diverse, made up

of sunni, shias, kurds, turkmen, other minorities. that allows isis to blend in, to assimilate and to not stand out. they're not the only terrorist organization in town, but according to officials, they certainly are the most powerful. they wouldn't give specifics on numbers but they say they have been dozens of arrests of isis members in the last two months, including a powerful inflew tunnel amir and his son from mosul. but certainly there is concern, you know, isis militants they are within kilometers really from the outskirts of kirkuk. so, you know, the peshmerga, they are on high alert. knowing full well of what isis can do. >> we'll see if the u.s. launches air strikes around kirkuk to help those peshmerga fighters. that would be a significant development if it happens. all right, anna, i'm glad you're back safe and sound from erbil,

in kirkuk, which is obviously a very dangerous place right now. coming up, cnn first told you about the long delays at va facilities across the country. our drew griffin has been going through it. he'll update us on what he has learned. ♪ start a team. join a team. walk to end alzheimer's. visit alz.org/walk today. where the reward was that what if tnew car smelledit card and the freedom of the open road? a card that gave you that "i'm 16 and just got my first car" feeling. presenting the buypower card from capital one.

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. all right. we've got breaking news coming in to cnn. only moments ago, the findings were released of the findings of

the patient care delays. drew griffin wrote the story about the problems in medical care in america's v.a. hospitals. he's joining us from the american legion convention in charlotte, north carolina. so what are some of the conclusions, drew, of this new report? >> reporter: well, this report is a damning report. they did find that 40 veterans on wait lists have died. it's a question of how they died and if those delays actually caused their deaths that is at issue here. this oig report is a scathing review. as for the numbers, wolf, they went and looked at a much broader sampling of patients. 34, 3500 patients who were not any list at all waiting for care. what they came up with was 28

instances of significant delays in care. of those, six veterans are deceased. another 17 cases where there were severe care deficiencies. of those, 14 are deceased. what's not clear is the linkage. and this is the report used. poor quality of care. we are unable to conclusively assert that the absence of timely quality care caused the deaths of these veterans. the report goes on to talk about the dozens of employees involved in cooking the books, hiding appointment wait times, actually denying care to veterans and it is truly a damning report which i'm sure is going to lead to a big shakeup at the phoenix v.a. which has already begun. wolf? >> as far as the 40 veterans who died while waiting for treatment, i'm confused. what do they say? they have no hard evidence to

conclude that they died because they weren't getting the treatment or they would have died under any circumstances? is it clear from what you've read in this new report what exactly they are suggesting happened to those 40 vets? >> reporter: that is the summary. i haven't gone through the case studies of each of those individuals. they are saying that while waiting for care, they can't conclude if it was the specific wait that caused their death. some may have been gravely ill or some may have died for other reasons. they cannot say that there was a link in the delay of care and their deaths. but there have been deaths and there has been significant delays in the care given and several of those veterans are dead. it's by no way a report that clears anybody at the phoenix v.a. of the care that's been delivered there. quite frankly, i'm a little

stunned at some of the leaks we got earlier from the actual v.a. about how good this report might look. it looks pretty bad from my end. >> the former v.a. secretary eric shinseki, he's gone and there's a new secretary of veterans affairs and the president praised him, promising that this wouldn't happen again. he said what he has learned about what happened over the past several years at the v.a. is outrageous and must be, must be fixed. drew, thanks very much for that report. still to come, they may be the most significant terrorist organization that the united states has faced in a long time. the numbers are growing. the threat of isis. that's coming up. this is bill. his doubleheader day at the park starts with back pain... and a choice. take 4 advil in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. peanuts! peanuts! crowd cheers!

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their tactics are brutal, forces are growing, their influence clearly spreading. isis is proving to be a very, very deadly enemy. brian todd is here and he's been taking a closer look at these militants. they are moving and despite the u.s. air strikes, you just heard anna coren say that they are threatening kirkuk, the northern province. >> we're getting pictures that isis is launching complex assaults in some places and engaging in maneuver and tactics that reminds military officials

of special operations forces. one defense official told us that isis does not take on missions or assaults that it believes it can't win on the watt tell field. they are very strategic thinking on the battlefield. they distribute their resources and their men and fuel very equitably. one expert who we've been speaking to about isis military tactics says he's noticed they conduct a kind of military maneuver that reminds him of infantry or special ops maneuvers. they will send three fighters up to a battle point and draw fire on the three or four fighters and then other fighters flank them from another side. a complex and disciplined military maneuver that he's noticed isis fighters doing to great effect. so these guys have clearly learned from conventional forces. they are studying them. they are incorporating their tactics and we're getting a

picture that they are becoming a much more disciplined and fighting force on the field than maybe we thought going into this. >> we're showing some of these fighters going in with their flags that are backing pretty important for propaganda purposes. >> that's right. we're digging into what it means. one expert on islam tells us that the black background stands for conquest in the ancient islamic history and the lettering on the flag is -- at least part of the lettering are the first few verses of the koran. that's what we're getting as far as the symbolism of their flag. they put it up wherever they go, whenever they take a piece of territory, they put it up around the mosul dam. it's an incredibly important piece of symbolism. it tells people, avoid them if you can. when they put that flag up, it has great effect. >> they basically humiliated the iraqi military which was armed,

trained, by the united states and they are intimidating the peshmerga fighters which are experienced fighters as well. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'll be back at 5:00 p.m. eastern. "newsroom" with anna ka ka bran cabrera is next. the world is watching two huge developing situations. the first is israel agreeing to a cease-fire deal with hamas militants that started a short time ago and this one coulding long term and it comes amid a flurry of last-men violence on both sides. the other fast-moving story today, the threat of a growing terrorist group that has many experts calling them more dangerous than al qaeda. that group, of course, is called