it does help in an indirect way. the vegetation around here remains super saturated so it prevents any kind of major brushfire and that's a good thing. you don't need another disaster on top of the one you're dealing with, jake? >> martin savidge, thank you so much. that's it for "the lead." i'm jake tapper and i turn you over to wolf blitzer. he is next door in "the situation room" approximate." wolf? are russian hackers attacking the white house? i'll ask the state department spokeswoman marie harth. she was freed from isolation in new jersey, can she now get out of quarantine in her home in maine? as prosecutors build their cases against jesse matthew, we'll hear from a former high school classmate and what went wrong? investigators looking into the rocket launch that ended in a shocking explosion. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

u.s. airstrikes have kept isis from overrunning a syrian border town. now the hard-pressed defenders are getting some help on the ground. a convoy of british fighters from iraq armed with heavy weapons are poised to enter kobani from turkey and dozens of syrian rebels have arrived bringing mortars and machine guns, but in iraq, isis is committing more atrocities and the terrorists are boasting of the slaughter of 45 iraqis after a u.s. air drop to their tribe. the state department deputy spokesperson marie hart is standing by with our analyst. let's begin with our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr. what's going on? >> wolf, it just becomes more and more unspeakable day after day. the latest, a couple of days ago the u.s. air dropped supplies about 7,000 meals to members of a tribe in western iraq that

were beginning to turn against isis and take up arms against them. we learned today no direct connection of the u.s. air drop and 45 men from that tribe were brutally murdered by isis. pure retaliation for the tribe's move to try and turn against ice toys move away from them as you say, unspeakable brutality and it still is continuing, wolf. what's the latest with kobani, barbara? >> kobani, this border town in northern syria near the turkish border, we've all been watching for so many weeks and they appear to be getting help of these peshmerga fighters and some from northern iraq coming around through turkey now and entering kobani with their weapons and with their fighting expertise. a very experienced force. it may help, but the fighting on the ground in kobani is still very tough, block by block, the u.s., of course, as you see still conducting air strikes there. >> and if that were not enough amid all of this, nato is now

closely watching russian air activity over europe. what's going on there? >> a very startling announcement from nato today, wolf, that they are concerned about some stepped up russian air activity over european airspace where thousands of commercial airliners fly. let me put up a map for a minute and let's leave it up there and walk through what is happening between nato and the russians. over the last two days, nato has monitored an increased number of russian flights. they have been over the north atlantic, the balkans, the baltic and to the east in the black sea. a number of european air forces have responded and they are intercepting these flights and they are generally russian bear bombers with refueling aircraft in groups of eight. now here's the problem. they're not doing anything particularly illegal. they're not violating airspace. they are being intercepted. there has been no startling

military move, but the problem, they are not filing flight plans. they are not using their trance ponders and they are not in radio contact with civilian air traffic control over europe. this is raising concerns. the civilian air traffic controllers, the commercial aircraft that fly all over the european continent, those air traffic controllers need to know what is out there and the russians are keeping silent. it can be a very dangerous situation. >> certainly can be. very, very disturbing situation at least for now, stand by, barbara, thank you. there's other breaking news we're following. the white house has been hit by hackers and the cyber security breach is thought to have originated in russia. let's get some details now. our justice correspondent pamela brown is standing by. pamela, what are you learning? >> wolf, we are learning that two u.s. officials with knowledge of the breach are saying that this early indication is that it's believed to be emanating from russia given the complexity of the

breach. officials say it would aren't be surprising if it was backed by the government and they're still investigating this and according to "the washington post, it appears the white house may not have been the ones to actual three detect the computer systems and instead an ally then alerted the administration. the white house official says for security reasons we are not saying who is responsible, but that is not to say we are not aware and what white house press secretary john earnest had to say today. >> our efforts are ongoing and by publicly revealing what we know it might affect our ability to know more. >> the cyber security teams initiated temporary outages to the network to defend the system. officials say it appears the breach was relatively well contained, but it was so concerning because it was able to penetrate what is supposed to be one of the most secure systems in the u.s. and that is something the fbi and the department of homeland security are investigating as we speak. >> amazing stuff indeed.

thanks very much, pamela for that. meanwhile, there is a stunning new report out there that suggests the apparent rift between the united states and israel, at least some of the leadership is deeper than a lot of people thought. the atlantic monthly quoting obama administration officials as making crude comments about the prime minister of israel n benjam benjamin netanyahu and suggesting he's cowardly followed by a top israeli official. let's get the latest from our white house senior correspondent jim acosta. what's going on with the u.s.-israeli relationship. >> the white house quickly jumped into white house damage control after offensive comments directed at benjamin netanyahu from an unnamed senior obama administration official on the strained relations between the u.s. and israel. using a nickname for netanyahu and saying the thing about bibi is he is a chicken [ expletive ] and he offered some heated comments of his own in a speech in israel saying, quote, i have

been on the battlefield many times. i risked my life for the country, and i am not willing to make concessions that would endanger our country. now many of these disagreements between the obama administration and netanyahu are well known and center around iran's nuclear program and expansion of settlements like east jerusalem when asked whether the president should personally reach out and apologize to netanyahu, the white house declined to say whether that would even happen. here's what josh earnest had to say. >> -- called prime minister netanyahu and apologized on behalf of this official who made this comment? >> i don't have any calls on the president's schedule to tell you about, but i think -- i can confidently say that based on the numerous conversations that president obama and prime minister net net ha minister netanyahu, that the value that he personal places on the strength of the relationship between the united states and

israel. >> john boehner suggested the president should fire somebody over the comments in the atlantic saying and we can put this up on the screen, the president sets the tone for his administration. he can either condonees the profanity by the most senior members of his administration or he does not. he has a pension for salty language and we should point out back in 2008 the speaker was quoted as saying he was chicken [ expletive ] for being voted for so many times. >> joining us now, the state department deputy spokeswoman, marie harf. >> happy to be here. >> pretty ugly word, chicken [ expletive ], is that what the administration believe he is? >> not at all. they do not endorse this use about the prime minister.

the secretary speaks to him on a regular basis and the president has met with him more than any other leader. our relationship is unshakeable and we have a strong security relationship and stand by them, and we've stood them at the u.n. and it's an interesting story and a headline-grabbing quote, but that does not in any way represent the -- >> and there is -- >> no two allies agree on every single issue. you could say that about everyone one of our allies in the world and when we disagree we raise it as friends do, but we believe the best place to do that is privately, that's the most constructive way to raise these kinds of issues when we do disagree and that's what we do and that's what we hope happens going forward. >> the israeli defense minister was here last week and met with the defense secretary, john, and chuck hagel, excuse me, and he wasn't invited to meet with your boss, john kerry. he was invited to meet with susan rice, the national security adviser and samantha

power, the vice president joe biden and his predecessor ehud barack when he was defense minister, he used to meet with all of them when he came to washington. what happened? was this a deliberate snub because of what the israeli defense minister said about john kerrie? >> the defense minister of israel met with his counterpart here and he's met with a wide range of officials in the past including john kerry, my boss and others and we have a wide ranging relationship with the israelis and the closest security relationship we've ever had and we have stood by them throughout this whole administration and this article is in no way representative of how my boss, secretary kerry, looks at the situation and how the president does. it's not how we all do. >> is the secretary, secretary of state deeply o febdzed by the prime minister's comments about him, when he was trying to advance the peace process between the israelis and palestinians. >> the term i would use is more disappointed. the secretary has worked tirelessly on the peace process because we know that's in the best interest of israel's

security to advance a two-state solution. he has traveled there, as you know, numerous times and numerous phone calls and hours and hours, working very hard to see if we can provide israel more security through a two-state solution. we believe both sides should not resort to personal name calling and keep the relationship constructive. >> we have a lot more to discuss including this state department memo that seems to be circulating that's causing a lot of buzz out there and a lot of concern and maybe it's time that some officials in the state department believe to start bringing ebola patients to west africa to the united states. we'll discuss that and more when we come back. [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, we've always been on the forefront of innovation. when the world called for speed... ♪ ...when the world called for stealth... ♪ ...intelligence...

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and start bidding today! there's a report out there that the united states may commit to treating professionals from other countries, not american, who become infected with ebola in west africa. we are back with marie harf. you've seen this report that there is an internal memo sushg lating and some of these people may have come down with ebola in liberia, new guinea and sierra leone and may be brought to the united states for treatment. is that true? >> not at all. not at all. we are not considering bringing non-americans who have ebola to be treated. this memo is an internal draft from weeks ago and it was never cleared by anyone at the senior level and has no basis if what we are actually going to be doing. >> what would be wrong if you have someone from britain or france or other volunteer doctor or nurse over there who has ebola and needs u.s. help.

what would be wrong with bringing them to nih or emory university hospital. >> well, in practice, the reason the memo was written at that time again, several weeks ago is that this was when western european countries were in discussion, what would happen if as you said one of their health workers were to get sick. you're right, if someone gets sick and needs treatment we should look at all of the options, but to be very clear at this point we do not have plans to bring non-americans to the u.s. for treatment. could not be more clear than that. >> is russia trying to hack the cyber -- the computer system over at the white house? >> i know my white house colleague spoke to that today. we know there are a number of actors working to see if they can penetrate our system, when there are things concern, they're looking into it. >> the russians spy on the united states, i assume this kind of stuff goes on all of the time. >> i wouldn't assume that this kind of stuff goes on all of the time, but look, we know people are trying to get into our systems and we don't think it's

acceptable and our systems are protected for a reason and if we see something, we'll address it. >> let's talk about the war against isis and syria in iraq. there are reports that isis has been using this chlorine gas, poison gas against kurds whether in syria or iraq. against iraqi forces inside iraq. is that true? we are still looking into those reports. we've seen a number of them at this point and we think there may be some validity and we can't confirm it for certain yet. obviously, it would be incredibly concerning and this is why we wanted to get the chemical weapons out of terrorists so they won't get into the hands of terrorists or assad would use them. >> as you know, there were plenty of stockpiles left over at various places not only in syria, but presumably in iraq, as well. >> that's true. in syria we've made great steps here in getting the delaired chemical weapons and chlorine isn't always classified as a chemical weapon, but it can be used as one and these reports

are concerning and it shows against barbaric actions that this terror is willing to take against anyone in their way. >> the situation in kobani, what's your analysis? what's going on right now because isis claims they basically have it under control. we saw the video they released the other day. what's your understanding? >> well, still fighting as barbara starr said, block by block and this will be a tough fight. we have supported the forces on the ground fighting isil in cob any and that's important to do, because isil has put more resources in it and put more focus on it. we've supported it with air drops and it will be a tough challenge and no one town will define this entire effort. >> are you satisfied with the level cooperation you're getting from the nato allies, and turkey. >> we are and we know this is a topic of constant conversation with people in washington, but we are. they've played a very key role, obviously, they are affected by

isil more than almost anyone in the region given their proximity geographically. >> marie harf, thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you. coming up, president obama lashes out at what he sees as the disrespect being shown to america's ebola heroes. our dr. sanjay gupta was there in the room when the president met with doctors and nurses fighting the virus in africa. new details from those who know the main suspect in the disappearance of hannah graham. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." and we're here... to help communities recover and rebuild... their roads, their schools, their buildings, their offices. we're a leading global insurance company based right here in america. for everything from loss prevention to cybersecurity. we're here to stand behind our commitments that we've made to our clients, our customers. we're aig. we're here to help take on the risk... for people, for companies, and the world. to help you realize

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there's some breaking news in the fight against ebola. president obama insisted the doctors and nurses who volunteer to fight ebola at its source in west africa are examples of american exceptionalism. only days after a nurse who showed no signs of illness was held in quarantine against her will by orders of the new jersey governor chris christie, the president struck a defiant tone demanding they're heroes, as he called them, be treated with respect. >> we have hundreds of americans from across the country, nurses, doctors, public health workers, soldier, engineers, mechanics who are putting themselves on the front lines of this fight. they represent citizenship and patriotism and public service at its best. they make huge sacrifices to protect this country that we love, and when they come home they deserve to be treated properly. when i hear people talking about american leadership and then are promoting policies that would

avoid leadership and have us running in the opposite direction, and hiding under the cove covers, it makes me a little frustrated. so i put those on notice who think that we should hide from these problems. >> strong words from the president. our chief medical correspondent, dr. sanjay gupta. he was at the white house, in the room, when the president met with those ebola specialists and sanjay is joining us from the white house. take us inside. how did it go? >> it felt like he was frustrated like you just heard there and he also talked a lot about the fact that the idea of imposing these quarantines would discourage health care workers from actually doing their work in west africa. it's a big issue. obviously, a lot of people have differing opinions on this. i spoke to dr. kent brantly afterwards as well.

he introduced the president today, wolf. you remember him, he was the first patient that came to the united states with ebola and treated at emory university. he also reinforced these points that these quarantines would discourage health workers from going back and discourage him from going back and i asked him about the case of dr. craig spencer. he was up walking around on subways and bowling alleys and after getting back he'd been feeling sluggish for a couple of days and it took a couple of days for him to be diagnosed with ebola and i asked dr. brantly about that specifically. take a listen. >> i think the important thing to remember is that people even who have been exposed to ebola do not transmit the disease, they don't shed the violence until they're symptomattic. i think dr. spencer, ultimately he did what was right. how he was feeling those two days, i don't -- i don't know that i could even put myself in his shoes. my situation was totally different. >> i ask because i think it's

one of those areas as a doctor myself that's a little bit gray, right? it's not a binary thing. you don't suddenly become infectious at a particular minute or at a particular hour, but if someone was feeling sluggish after having done this work, this is the question people are asking he's unlikely to have transmitted the vier u, but out of an abundance of caution, should he basically have stayed away from people. >> i think he did the right thing and those that come after him will be more cautious because they've seen the response that happened when he was following those guidelines that were in place for him. >> i thought it was interesting, wolf, because he says he thinks dr. spencer did the right thing, but he's had a chance to see the repons to all of this and dr. brantly believes that as a result of that, the returning health care workers may be more cautious in the future. >> it does send some sort of signal out there. sanjay, stay with me for a moment because i want to come back to you, because there was defiance today from kaci hickox,

the ebola nurse who was quarantined and now she's back in her home in maine, still showing absolutely no signs of any illness. hickox says she will not obey maine state officials' instructions to seclude herself inside her home. let's bring in someone who knows her, dr. sema yasmin is joining us. she's a former cdc disease detective and now a writer for "the dallas morning news." we're seeing police cruisers guarding the house kaci hickox is being forced to stay in right now under mandatory quarantine and she's not keeping quiet at all. i want you to listen to what she said earlier today on abc. >> you know, i remain really concerned by these mandatory quarantine policies from aide workers. i think we're only adding to the citiing matization that is not based on swie science or evidence and if these restrictions are not removed for me from the state of maine by tomorrow morning, thursday

morning i will go to court to attain my freedom. >> all right. sema, so kaci hickox, she's a friend of yours. what is she telling you and are you worried about her? >> we know this is panning out to be somewhat of a test case, wolf. it will be interesting to see how it evolves and with legal counsel and legal advice she will take this to court and we'll have to see what happens there. we know that she's well. she doesn't have any symptoms and she's healthy and that's really reassuring and she's very concerned about what kind of stigma this puts on health care workers and we heard from the world health organization and they're saying we need 5,000 more cases to go to west africa if we're ever going to stop this outbreak in its tracks any time soon. we need more people going there to stop the spread. we need to make sure when their return, that they're treated with respect and dignity. >> what do you think about this quarantine in maine, sanjay? >> you know, i think the science has been pretty clear on this and one thing that sort of struck me watching what's

happened with kaci hickings on and listening to the president today i sort of realize that i don't think this is a fundamental lack of understanding of science. when i talk to people i think they fundamentally get the science that you're not going to likely transmit the virus unless someone is ill with ebola symptoms. i think this is not so much lack of understanding as it is some distrust. there's just distrust of what they've heard. i think what happened in dallas may have fostered some of that distrust, and i think that that's -- how that gets repaired going forward will be very important. as sema mentioned this is sort of a test case here, but it comes in the context of the first patient who was diagnosed with ebola, mr. duncan, in doing what he did in dallas. so we have to see how -- how this goes over the next days and weeks. >> but sema, there seems to be a lot of confusion out there and mixed signals coming from the federal government. on the one hand, the cdc has these guidelines and the president being very passionate about adhering to these guidelines and then the defense department goes ahead and says

every u.s. soldier coming home from west africa, all of the u.s. troops, there's a thousand of them there right now. there could be up to 4,000, no matter what they did and no matter how much contact they may have had with ebola patients and absolutely no contact with anyone with ebola and they may be in quarantine for 21 days and that sends a confusing message to the u.s. government and one for civilians and one with military with very different standards. >> absolutely, and just a sheer inconsistency with the policies is very confusing andic consistnessy among the public and they're feeling more afrngz and feeling insecure, what policy should i believe? is it cdc and we need to build more trust among the public. what do you think about the military decision and the secretary of defense, sanjay, signed off on it today thatall u.s. troops serving in west africa in these hot zone

countries, as they're called all will have to spend 21 days in quarantine, mandatory, once they leave? >> i read that very carefully and listened to secretary hagel's remarks. it was interesting, he couched in this idea that it was unclear whether he thought -- he characterized many of these military personnel as being young, even unclear whether they could even go through the self-monitoring on their own or if they would need help with the compliance in that regard. it wasn't so much at least from the remarks i read that he was saying the science was wrong or anything like that, but the idea of monitoring them is that they would need some help. you talk about inconsistnessies and let me point out something else that is interesting. you have a picture of the president of the united states today, and in the white house, in the east room he has doctors behind him, some of whom have just returned from west africa. they're still within the 21-day period. some of them fit the same profile as kaci hickings on, so

she could have been on that stage, as well, but instead she is in mandatory quarantine in maine. the white house behind the president or mandatory quarantine. it's remarkable to me. >> you were there, you are still there, they deliberately wanted to send that message that these people, even within these first 21 days of being outside of africa, they felt confident, let them come over to the white house. i believe you were in the east room at the white house over there and be with the president of the united states. they wanted to deliberately do that, right? >> i think it was as much as what you saw today as what you heard. i think the optics were very important. none of them were having any symptoms and they weren't sick at all so they weren't infectious or transmitting the virus and i think the fact that they call into a category that some states are suggesting those people be quarantined and instead some are here with the president. i think it was a strong message they were trying to send. >> what did you think about that message, sema? what did you think about bringing people who were fighting ebola in west africa

into the white house even though they hadn't been out of africa for 21 days? >> well, it speaks to the science, wolf. we know if somebody does not have symptoms then they're not capable of transmitting the disease. we can't say that enough and it is so important to see that these heroes are being welcomed back to the u.s. as they should be. they made very big personal sacrifices and their families have made a sacrifice and as the president said, it's not just charitable work overseas. they're protecting all of us who live here in america. >> let me talk about your friend, kaci hickox, he will explore all options if kaci decides to not abide by the quarantine order and we do know that the main cdc and the department of health there in the process of filing a direct order for hickox, the state quarantined in maine. kaci's lawyer says she will not observe the mandatory

quarantine. is she getting ready for a legal showdown. >> i can't speak to that, i'm not a lawyer. we have heard from her legal counsel that could happen pending this kind of communication from maine. i can't comment further. i don't know the legal details of the case. >> you were there in africa you recall earlier in the year, we all saw your reporting and it was powerful reporting and you wore all of the protective gear. when you came back at that time and we're showing pictures to our viewers about your time, and did you think of some 21-day, self-quarantine. what was it like when you came back? >> i talked to infectious disease experts both in the country in guinea as well as experts on the ground here. first of all, was there no screening when i left. there was no screening when i arrived. when i left guinea there was one of the handheld thermometers to take my temperature and when i arrived there was no further screening. when i talked to the folks from doctors without borders they said continue to take your

temperature, but no need for any kind of quarantine, so i never got sick. i felt fine the entire time and never had any symptoms. so i -- the guidance that was given by the centers for disease control as well as doctors without borders was very clear and what i followed. i did not go into a quarantine. >> did you take your temperature twice a day? >> i took my temperature. we have a thermometer, the same type of thermometer they use at airports and never had any problems. >> we're all thrilled about that, obviously, sanjay. sanjay gupta at the white house and sema yasmin, thank you to you, as well. up next, a scathing new reports on human rights and an appalling double standard in north korea even though its supreme leader enjoys disney characters from western culture. he's tortured and killed others in north korea for simply watching soap operas. new details from insiders who know the man accused of kidnapping the university of virginia student hannah graham.

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hard line regime has been working hard in recent days to show a bit of a softer image and may have a good reason to do so. stunning new revelations about its human rights abuses. let's got more from our global affairs correspondent elise labott. >> it is time to refer the regime of kim jong-il to the international criminal court saying it's time to take the north korean's aks to a higher level and the north korean leader is desperate to avoid

that and for the first time the so-called hermit kingdom is coming out of its shell. >> the drama in south korean open operas like this are harmless enough, but if you believe officials north korean leader executed those for watching them. >> they can use it as a deterrent, but the one thing we've learned throughout human history is that human beings, they want information. >> and so does kim jong-un. himself a fan of western culture, here's the north korean leader watching a performance by disney characters and who can forget his fascination with american basketball star dennis rodman, but kim's brutality against his own people has the united nations moving toward hauling his regime in front of the international criminal court for crimes against humanity. a scathing report on north korea's human rights record released tuesday details brainwashing, torture, starvation and impriefsonment o

citizens for questioning the system, or practicing christianity and trying to escape the country. >> it is recommending to follow up on the recommendations. >> the fear of being tried on the world court has sent north korean to help bell olster its e opinion releasing jeffrey, and the united nations. the regime has released photos of a con are kinder kim jong-un, remember inspecting the kids' pool and playing with hello kitty toys. images as firmly in power after a mysterious six-week disappearance in which south korea says a military doctor performed surgery on kim's ankle. >> there was speculation during kim's ak sense about a possible coup. officials say they have no indication of anything like that, but they do note that a

referral to the icc could be a major blow for the regime and that's why north korea is taking the rare move of engaging its critics to address its well-do you meaned human rights violations. the north koreans do not ever like to talk about the criticism they're facing on the world stage. >> and the so-called charm offensive which is why they released jeffreyfeld. the suspect in the kidnapping of the university of virginia student, hannah graham. eeeeeeeeee financial noise financial noise financial noise

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as the suspect in the kidnapping of the university of virginia student hannah graham prepares for his next appearance before a jung, people who know jesse matthew are opening up and revealing new details about his personal life. let's bring in coy barefoot, who is joining us from charlottesville, along with cnn law enforcement analyst, tom fuentes. coy, jesse matthew is going to be in court this friday for the first time facing rape and attempted capital murder charges from an alleged 2005 sexual assault in northern virginia in fairfax not far from washington, d.c. you just spoke with the lawyer representing matthew in the hannah graham case. what can you tell us about that? >> reporter: that's right, wolf. earlier today i was on the phone with jesse matthew's attorney, and i asked jim what we could expect friday morning. will this be a full arraignment,

what is going to happen? he said to me, quote, well, we'll see. i'm not sure he knows exactly what to expect on friday morning. he did say that at the very least, the court will confirm mr. matthew's court appointed attorney. he has requested that he be the court appointed attorney. does that mean we'll see a full arraignment after that? i'm not sure. >> this same lawyer, tom, represents jesse matthew in the charlottesville case and the fairfax case, what does that signal? >> it signals that the cases may not go consecutively. you know, and he might be able to handle the hold he would have trying to defend him. if he has the fairfax trial first, because they're read question to go, we'll see what happens with the other ones because they're not quite ready to prosecute in morgan

harrington's case or with hannah graham. >> his appearance friday, as you know, tom, it will be via videoconference. he won't physically in the courtroom in fairfax county. coy, you had a chance to speak with a friend of matthew's from high school. what did he have to say about his form ee eer classmate? >> reporter: there is much we have yet still to learn about gentlemen. a close friend of his from high school, they all knew him as l.j. they described jesse matthew as very outgoing, very friendly, very popular, with boys and girls. he was an athlete. he was on the wrestling team. he was on the football team. he was described as being very polite. other parents of other students loved jesse matthew.

he always had his books with him. he was always studying, even during lunchtime in the cafeteria. when he won the state wrestling championship his senior year, he had the flu and a 102 temperature, be he won any way. that's why all the team i've talked to that are close to jesse matthew, they remain shocked, absolutely shocked that he could have anything to do with these charges, and they tell me, to a person, they say we saw absolutely no indication that the jesse matthew, the l.j. we knew, could possibly with a serial killer or a serial rapist. >> interesting. tom, we know that they've wrapped up the search where they found the remains of hannah graham. but they have a lot of evidence presumably that the investigators are going through right now. what are they looking for? >> they still have the evidence that they received from his apartment and the car they searched weeks ago. they're looking for some

indication of how hannah graham died, and the ability to link him to being the one that murdered her. just the fact that they were together, they found his hair or fibers on her isn't enough, because they already knew they were together walking in downtown charlottesville. >> coy? >> that's right. we have videotape, we have eyewitnesss that say jesse matthew was with hannah graham the night she disappeared. so tom is correct, if they find his dna with her remains, that only substantiates the eyewitness accounts and the videos we've all seen. it doesn't mean that he killed her. the police, the investigators have to be looking for evidence of a murder in the case of hannah graham. >> very quickly, any new developments, coy, in another case that they're looking at, the morgan harrington case? apparently there's suspicion he's linked to that, as well. >> that's right. we know that morgan harrington,

a 20-year-old virginia tech student, she went missing in 2009. she was abducted and murdered. her remains were found about eight miles south of charlottesville. we know her case is linked by dna evidence to the case in fairfax, the same case for which jesse matthew is charged. so i do know and sources tell me that the commonwealth's attorney is looking very closely at all the evidence and weighing very seriously some charges in that case, as well. >> coy, thank you very much. coy barefoot, tom fuentes, we'll stay on top of this story. coming up, isis slaughters dozens of iraqis after a u.s. air drop to their tribe. my exclusive interview with u.s. army chief of staff genere odiero is standing by.

happening now. isis terror. a mass execution of prisoners as anti-isis fighters get reinforcements. i'll talk about that and much more with general ray odierno. disaster investigation. so what caused this spectacular failure of this nasa rocket just seconds after taking off at on a supply mission? experts say there are clues in the video. river of fire. lava closing in on the homes in hawaii, threatening to wipe out an entire community. it could just be a matter of hours before the first homes go up in flames.

we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we're following major new developments in the war against isis, including the arrival of fresh rebel forces and heavy weapons in northern syria. but in a fresh demonstration of isis brutality, the terrorists executed dozens of iraqi prisoners, leaving their bodies on display in the street. we have indepth coverage, including by interview with general ray odierno. and our correspondents are all standing by. but first, jim sciutto begins our coverage. he's got much more on the mass execution. what are you hearing, jim? >> reporter: i'm told by a senior military official the tribe negotiated a surrender with isis in exchange for fair treatment and isis went back on its word. this is a debilitating

development, because these men were from a sunni tribe and the coalition needs sunnis. for this group, answering that call ended terribly. the gruesome images put isis brutality on frightening display. 45 iraqi men, executed by the terror group in cold blood after being kidnapped weeks ago. the men were members of the sunni abu nimmer tribe, who had taken up arms against isis, after being forced from their homes northwest of baghdad. just on monday, the u.s. air dropped humanitarian aid including food to the tribe. but two days later they were dead. a rescue by iraqi security forces never came. today, defense secretary chuck hagel reiterated the fight against isis will require a long-term effort. >> it's going to require

coalitions of common interests which we are forming. we have more than 60 countries to deal with this. this is an ideology. this is a dynamic that in total we've never quite seen. >> reporter: now kurdish rebels fighting isis in kobani, syria, are receiving valuable new reinforcements. kurdish peshmerga fighters from northern iraq. after delays, turkey allowed the peshmerga to cross the boarder into syria, bringing artillery and fighting experience. >> the peshmerga are known for being excellent fighters. they are now fortified with heavy weaponry. that's what they're bringing to this game in addition to anti-tank artillery. >> reporter: looking at the numbers here, this air campaign really becoming one dominated by u.s. warplanes.

415 air strikes, 361 of them by u.s. warplanes. overall, it's about 6-1, u.s. versus all the coalition partners combined. but this is something that u.s. officials have not shied away from acknowledging. you'll remember the president said when trouble comes up anywhere in the world, they don't call beijing or moscow, they call us. >> i've got to say, i think you'll agree, jim, still impressive that the coalition partners in this air campaign against isis are participating. that's very encouraging that they're still with the u.s. in this war. thank you very much for that. let's go to the syrian turkish border where reinforcements are heading towards kobani. nick paton walsh is there on the worder. what are you seeing over there, nick?

>> reporter: wolf, just before you joined me, we heard three loud blasts. even here in this town about ten kilometers away from kobani but on the other side of the border. you can hear what must have been air strikes going in. but this town has been waiting for hours now for the arrival of the peshmerga, the iraqi kurdish fighters coming from northern iraq. a lengthy journey across land, the motorized convoy coming through here and 100 plus have flown in. they'll reunite here, and then overnight go into kobani. we saw a b-1 bomber circling before dusk today. they had been expecting the peshmerga to arrive, but today, syrian rebels at the request and facilitation of turkey, about 50 of them turning up quite separate for what they had

expected. not kurdish reinforcement but syrian rebels. we've had a lot of heavy clashes after that. this town now, tense to some degree. these crowds are ready to greet the peshmerga. but certainly a sense atmosphere here. they want to see those reinforcements inside kobani fast. >> nick paton walsh, be careful over there. thank you very much. the war on isis is forging some unlikely ties to tr united states, which include a fighting force which women are playing a key role. ivan watson reports for us from northern syria. ♪ [ singing in foreign language ] >> reporter: don't be fooled by the pretty song. these women are part of a militia that is isis' most

deadly enemy in syria. kurdish fighters from the people's protection unit, or ypg. they fought isis on the ground in syria for more than a year. only recently they started getting help from the u.s. in the form of air strikes and weapons drops. a surprising turn of events for this secular, marxist rooted movement, which have long battled turkey. an important part of their ideology is founded on gender equality. that means female fighters fight and bleed on the front lines. that stands in sharp contrast to isis, which has been covering women up and hiding them from public life. addressing the crowd, a top kurdish official who urges the fighters to protect their people from becoming slaves of isis. she is the co-president of one of three kurdish statelets in

northern syria that have largely governed themselves for the last three years. >> translator: our dream is to build a democratic society that includes arabs, christians and kurds living together in unity. >> reporter: the kurds call their region rotova. some of them clearly proud of their experiment in self-rule. life in this town looks relatively peaceful and secular. unlike other parts of syria taking over by islamist militias. but the streets here feel empty. many of the towns christian residents have fled and more people leaving. this is a sad day for your family. why? >> yes, because they were run off from our country. >> reporter: he waves as his sister and mother wave goodbye. their final destination, germany. the shrinking christian flock

can still walk peacefully through the streets enjoying the protection of the kurds. but the kurds are paying dearly. at this memorial center, mothers and wives of dead fighters and this widow. she says isis killed her husband last year and mutilated his body. if i didn't have these children, i myself would go fight, she swears. her young son already wears the uniform of a future kurdish fighter. ivan watson, cnn, northern syria. >> let's get some more on all this. the u.s. army chief of staff ray odierno is here in "the situation room" with me. thanks for taking the time. i know you have a lot going on. the breaking news right now, nick paton walsh is hearing more closes going on in kobani right now. based on the latest information you're getting, what is the status of the war against isis?

>> i think we've kind of tried to stop the initiative of isis through air strikes waiting for reinforcements to come in on the ground with the kurds. so i think we're making progress there. that's the theme throughout all this fighting. it's about restricting their freedom of movement and restricting their initiatives so the forceks stop them from gaining more ground. >> you think kobani can be won from the u.s. perspective? >> i would just say, with the air strikes and potential peshmerga reinforcements, the potential is to be successful. >> the peshmerga being the kurdish forces. iraqi peshmerga, syrian kurds, any help at all from ally nato turkey? >> they obviously know the area, they're helping in that area, so i think there's some help there.

again, as we are, we're not putting any fighters on the ground. so we're relying on the indigenous forces to do that. i think helping them and continuing to assist them, turkey is doing that, as well. >> turkey has a very sophisticated combat capability. they could go in there and clean it out relatively quickly. >> again, that's their own decision. i have not seen any indication they're going to do that. >> are they going to let the u.s. launch air strikes from turkish air bases? it sounds like maybe they are. >> again, i don't want to again on what air bases we're using. but we are not, as far as i know, using any in turkey. >> isis is committing these acts of terror, brutalizing people. are all these reports true? >> yes. they have a history of this. this is not new.

we have watched groups like this before. they will stop at nothing in order to dominate and control populations, in order to move forward with their own movement so this has been very real. not only that, they're proud of it. they like to show everybody. and the ruthlessness nature of their actions, and they think that will help them gain more influence. it's very real and something we should be aware of. >> is there a threat to the baghdad national airport, which is about 12 miles or so from the isis troops in the anbar province? not very far away. >> i think it's protected. there's always a threat, but we feel it's very well protected and we're able to use that. it's being used regularly with many, many fights coming in and out. it's something that everyone is watching carefully. >> there's thousands of americans in baghdad in that so-called green zone. how in danger would they be?

>> i feel comfortable we have protections in place for them. we have some security there to protect them, u.s. security on the ground as part of the force in case they are attacked to protect them specifically. >> here's what worries me, and i don't know if it worries you, but isis now has these shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles that they could use to down not only iraqi aircraft, but u.s. helicopters, apaches, other planes and even commercial aircraft, if you will. >> we always worry about the technology they're picking up, and there are reports that they have this capability. obviously, we have systems that protect our aircraft, but of course, it causes us to be very careful and make sure that we understand that threat is out there and it affects how we conduct operations. >> are they using poison gas? >> unclear. there's some reports of that. >> we have a lot more questions, general. i want to get that. questions about the u.s. troops

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won't raise your rates due to your first accident. see car insurance in a whole new light. call liberty mutual insurance. new blasts heard in the city of kobani. reinforcements are arriving right now to help the fight against these isis terrorists. that fight has been going on forfor days now. we're back with u.s. army chief of staff general ray odierno. this new cnn poll asked the question, should u.s. ground troops be used against isis if the u.s. embassy in baghdad were attacked.

72% favor ground troops to protect the embassy. 27% oppose. you got some criticism a few weeks ago when you said you've got to have ground forces, and then you suggested not necessarily u.s. ground forces. will the u.s. have to use ground forces, for example, if all things get crazy over there in the capital of baghdad this >> that's a decision we'll have to decide at the time. it depends on the situation. if we have to protect u.s. citizens, we will use u.s. forces. but the long of term war against isis needs to be caught by iraqis and syrians and other arabs. it's their country and they need to win that back. i think it's important that they do that. we can assist them, train and advise them. in the long-term, that's the only way you're going solve this problem. >> it's been so heartbreaking. i know you served a lot in iraq and saw the victories in fallujah and mosul, all these

places go down the drain in recent weeks. is the iraqi military that the u.s. trained, financed and armed, is it doing the job? so far they've been m.i.a. >> what people have to remember what happened in the last two or three years, leaders were changed, they were not continuing to do the development. so when troops lose the confidence in their leaders, they're not going to fight. that's what we saw. we're now back on the ground helping them. i think over time they're starting to make more progress and we're starting to see it slowly. what the air strikes are doing for us is buying time to train them. we're going to have to continue working hard with them. >> we asked, are you confident the united states will degrade and destroy isis forces? in september, 61% said yes. but now it's down to 54%. you're the army chief of staff.

are you confident that this u.s.-led effort will degrade and eventually destroy isis? >> i think it has the potential to do that. let me clarify what i'm saying. we said early on, this is a long-term effort. this is not going to happen in three weeks, a month, it's a three to four-year effort. that's what it is going to take to get the indigenous force s prepared. it's going to take people on the ground, ground forces as i said before, but it needs to be the indigenous ground forces. over time, if that's not working, we'll have to deside what we think it's worth putting other forces in there. >> so you say three, maybe five years, something like that. i heard others say it could take 30 years. >> this is a 30-year problem, but i think it's a 30-year potential problem, however in the next three to four years, you can significantly degrade the capability of isis. >> if this new iraqi government

steps up. i'm worried about this new iraqi government. the first visit the new prime minister does as prime minister is to go to iran. >> i would just say remember, remind us why we are where we are. we're a failed government in syria, and in iraq, we had a government that was not responding to the people. so isis exploited that. so it's critical that this new government takes charge, understanding we're there for all iraqi people, sunni, shia, kurds. if they don't do that, it's going to be difficult to defeat that threat. the initial indications are this prime minister is serious about reaching out to the other groups. >> there's another war against ebola right now. u.s. soldiers are deeply engaged. there's about 1,000 military personnel in west africa, could go up to 4,000. today the secretary of defense accepted the recommendation that

all of these military troops, once they leave, no matter what they were doing, will be quarantined for 21 days. do you think that's smart? >> i do, and it was my recommendation. remember that our soldiers are not volunteering, we ordered them to do missions. it's up to us to make sure they're properly protected. although we understand the risk is low, it's important for us, more the morale of units and family members, we're doing everything we can to protect our soldiers. we'll continue to assess this, and if over time we believe we don't have to be this strict, we'll relook at the policy. >> it seems like there's one standard for the united states military, which is the standard you recommend, everyone gets quarantined. another standard for civilians. it sends a conflicting message. >> it's apples and oranges. civilians are volunteers, our

military are not. it's up to us to make sure we protect them. we think that's important. we have thousands of people over there, as you just said, whereas civilians it's a handful. we have many missions we have to do and we maintain the confidence of our soldiers and families that we'll take care of our soldiers and families when they return. >> once they return, no matter what they were doing, 21 days, they're not going to be able to see their family. >> enhanced monitoring. >> that's quarantine. >> the feedback i've gotten with all the town halls, the families are very pleased with this. they feel protected it will not be carried become to their own families. >> one final question, barbara starr, pentagon correspondent, reported earlier that these russian military planes are flying over europe right now in very disturbing ways. they're not using their transponders, they're not communicating with air traffic control.

what is going on? >> russian aggression is clear. they have gone on a type of regression, whether it be in the ukraine. and the important part is they're not abiding by rules that have been set up, air rules, normal air rules. everybody files fight plans, and the fact that they are flying without any communications. so that's concerning. this is russian aggression. i think they're trying to reassert themselves. we have to watch it carefully. we deployed a brigade over to eastern europe conducting exercises with our partners. we'll continue to do actions like that to reassure our allies because of this russian aggression that we continue to see. >> good luck, general. thank you very much for joining us. thanks for your service and all you're doing. >> thank you, sir. >> general ray odierno, the u.s. army chief of staff. we have breaking news just ahead. lava, yes, lava is threatening an entire community on the island of hawaii.

and cnn has learned that the ferguson, missouri police chief may be on his way out in the wake of the michael brown shooting. we're looking at who might replace him. stand by. (receptionist) gunderman group. gunderman group is growing. getting in a groove. growth is gratifying. goal is to grow. gotta get greater growth. i just talked to ups. they got expert advise, special discounts, new technologies. like smart pick ups. they'll only show up when you print a label and it's automatic. we save time and money. time? money? time and money. awesome. awesome! awesome! awesome! awesome! (all) awesome! i love logistics.

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wolf. we've shown you now for years lava flowing into the ocean, and it's been going this direction into the pacific ocean. it's not doing that any longer. it's moving toward a town. how did that happen? how did the lava start going in

the wrong direction? it started through a different crack in that vent. this thing has been spewing lava for 30 years, but it's all the way into the town now. only a couple hundred yards from the road, and moving into these homes and villages here across the northeastern part of this lava flow. let me show you what's happened over the years. for 30 years, the lava has been flowing this way. now it's flowing this way. if a different direction, in a different crack, and from the same vent but going a different direction, and this is going to be the problem, as the lava continues in this direction. what we have going for us now are something called breakouts. let me describe what a breakout here on my next graphic. what it means is that the lava is trying to make its way down into one long tube. but the tube above the lava point here, the flow front right there, is breaking out. so lava is spewing out here.

lava is spewing out here. and it's not making its way all the way down to the front as fast as it was. this is a tube of hardened lava on the outside, but molten lava on the inside. so all this lava goes down the tube until it hits this town. say you're washing your car and you cut the hose near the faucet, you don't get as much water pressure. if you get the hose here and here, you won't get as much lava pressure. when those break outs stop helping, the lava picks up speed again. >> chad, thank you very much. let's get on to some other important news, including tensions still high in ferguson, missouri. the attorney general of the united states, eric holder, says there's a need for wholesale change in the local police department there. all this coming as cnn has learned the ferguson police

chief may be on his way out. our justice reporter evan perez is joining us along with our other guests, john gaskin, our senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin, and tom fuentes, former fbi assistant director. evan, you reported this police chief is on his way out. what's the latest? >> every time you have someone who is being pushed out essentially, you often have this kind of pushback. people don't want to hear the news before they're ready to put it out. we're told this announcement is expected as soon as next week. the plan right now is to have the st. louis county police temperature take over some of the management of the ferguson police department, and start healing some of the rift there between the police and the community that they're supposed to be protecting. >> that certainly is a serious rift over there. john, what are you hearing over there in missouri? what's the reaction to this report that the police chief,

thomas jackson, may soon be leaving? >> many people on the ground have heard various things. many people were expecting the resignation to make place today, but now we have the understanding it could be taking place next week. but several people, several groups, several individuals have called for chief jackson's resignation. they believe the ferguson police department needs a fresh start and they need an opportunity to get back on the right road to heading towards building trust with the community. this is a great way to start heading in that direction. i believe, along with many community leaders, once he steps down, they'll be able to start that road to recovery. >> have you heard any names out there who might replace him? >> i haven't heard any names. but what i have heard there's a very good possibility that the st. louis county police department could potentially be taking over the ferguson police

department. as you know, where darren wilson came from, the jennings police department were taken over by the st. louis county police department, as well. >> tom, who would have jurisdiction if the police chief were to go and they needed control from the outside? >> the city can make a deal with the county and have them take over. many towns across the country, when policing became too expensive, contracted with the county or the state police to take over. so they could go to st. louis county. >> missouri, like a lot of states, has these small police departments that are overmilitarized, undertrained, and frankly, not doing as good a job as perhaps big city police departments do. >> there are 60 of them in st. louis county alone. >> which is uneconomical and doesn't make any sense. so if this crisis could be used as an opportunity to consolid e consolidate, that might be a

good thing. >> the grand jury will come out with a decision by mid november or so. are you getting any evidence they may be going as far as the police officer who shot and killed this young teenager? >> the short answer, no. the longer answer, it's probably a good idea not to rely on these leaks, because the people who are doing it have a self-interest in either making officer wilson look good, officer wilson look bad. it's hard to be patient. we should be patient and wait until the grand jury reaches their decision. >> john, how tense is that situation in ferguson and st. louis, the whole area right now? >> well, many people, as has been mentioned with the leaks, are feeling as though there may not be an indictment. but some people still have hope that there is a possibility there could be an indictment, and like you just mentioned, there's really -- we can't really trust those leaks. we really have to wait and be patient. many people on the ground, many

business leaders, many community leaders are bracing for unrest that could potentially take place if there is a non-indictment. >> and if there is a non-indictment and a new police chief, maybe that could ease some of the tensions. is that possible, tomsome -- tom? >> i doubt it. >> it will be tough to bring down the expectations of the people on the street that want an arrest and want more justice. >> but it is possible there will be no indictment. >> it certainly is, but sit a terrible situation to have a crowd demanding an indictment, and with the threat of violence hanging over it. i don't know whether he should be indicted or not, but the idea that if you don't indict, there is going to be violence, that's a really sinister combination. >> guys, thank you very much. we'll wait and see what happens.

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>> reporter: we've been speaking today with officials from nasa and the company which owns and operates that rocket. they are combing through the debris for clues. they froze every computer, every launch command and log from the moment of the explosion to analyze that data, and they are going over every frame of the incredible video that was shot last night of that incident. >> yeah! oh. >> reporter: for a few seconds, onlookers were captivated. then horrified. >> [ bleep ]! [ bleep ]! distance, across a body of water, the blast concussion was massive and jarring. the rocket was unmanned. no one was hurt. what happened? a catastrophic failure seconds after launch according to orbital sciences, which owns

this nasa contracted rocket. tonight, an investigation is under way. expects say one possible clue can be seen in this video, an explosion in the aft section where the engine is. >> the rocket motor at the bottom of every rocket is the place where the fuel gets mixed, ignited, and the exhaust spurts out, forcing the engine to propel the rocket into space. yes, when you put these together, you're creating a volatile situation and there can be failures. >> reporter: another possible cause -- a fuel line rupturing. just after the explosion, mission control issued this directive. >> call personnel to segregate any mission notes, any photographs and any other data they've taken from the launch operation today. >> reporter: orbital science plans to review that data, look at the video from the explosion and debris. every rocket has a self-destruct

switch. >> if it turned around and headed to baltimore, they might destroy it in the air. >> reporter: they did hit the self-destruct switch after it failed to make sure it didn't fly anywhere else. the rocket was carrying food and supplies to the international space station. an astronaut on the space station knows what it's like to be cut off. >> we did have a food shortage and ran low on water. so we had to ration food and water for four or five weeks. >> reporter: officials say the crew has enough supplies to last well into next year and a resupply rocket has just docked with the station. will this catastrophic failure be a big setback to the private space industry? probably not. nasa will probably not go back to buying, owning and managing rockets, not only because of the

financial strain, but because in a private space industry, the lack of a huge bureaucracy still allows for speedier innovation and efficiency in space flight. they're going to continue on with this pattern. >> there's some concern that the engines of the rocket could be a problem. these are old engines that were built in the old soviet union. >> built decades ago. the engines were modified and tested before being placed on these rockets. it's not clear that the engines were the cause of this crash, but experts say if you look at the cause, start by looking at the old soviet made engines. >> thank you very much, brian todd. let's get some more information. joining us miles o'brien. what about those engines, miles, you studied them. >> reporter: they go back to the space race. they were designed originally by the soviets to loft their n-1 rocket, which was their version

of the saturn 5, to send cosmonauts to the moon. they had multiple failures and then gave up on going to the moon. these rockets, they were told to destroy them. but they were put in a warehouse, then purchased by orbital sciences many years later as a way to launch this craft. this will be a big area of focus, because as it turns out, orbital science didn't have a lot of options for buying a u.s. homegrown rocket. they just aren't out there. and so they turned to the russians and this refurbished 40 yield rocket. is that the wisest, safest way to get to low-earth orbit? that will be the focus of the investigation. >> take us into depth how they're going to deconstruct this explosion. >> well, we talk about aviation accidents all the time. we think about the black boxes, right? but in this case, when you're dealing with rockets, all of the information you need is sent out

via streams of data to mission control. all those people in front of those consoles are reading real-time information on what's going on, on board that rocket. if there's some sort of tremendous difference in pressure or turbo pump appears to not be operating or a fuel line pressure decreases, they can isolate where the failure might have been. so i don't expect lit be too long to isolate where the problem was. >> miles o'brien, thank you very much to you. we'll stay on top of this story. there's other breaking news we're following. we'll take a quick break. we'll be right back. how can power consumption in china, impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 70% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average.

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breaking news coming into "the situation room," cnn learning about the leaders of the al qaeda off shoot, khorasan, suggesting the leaders are alive, despite the u.s. airstrikes. barbara starr is standing by at the pentagon and pamela is in the situation room. what are we learning? >> we are learning that two of the main operatives in the group are still alive and actively plotting. they believe the group's leader who was in osama bin laden's circle is alive and able to

escape the strikes back in september and another man, david druggon who is believed to be a skilled bomb maker, they believe he is alive and actively plotting. it is not certain whether they are injured. and barbara starr was told that it is 99.5% certain that these two main operatives are alive. there had been scattered press reports by this but we are learning they are alive and actively plotting. so the most definitively we are hearing from the u.s. pentagon. >> let's go to barbara. you are getting new information. tell viewers what you are hearing? >> wolf, why does this matter and why is it important to know these men and where they are and what they are up to. the khorasan group is core members that left pakistan and went to syria and actively plotting attacks against europe

and the united states. this is the big concern for the administration, to find these people and get to them and stop them. they have the ability, it is believed, to make bombs and they have learned it from al qaeda in yemen to make bombs that can get past airport security. so this is a huge issue. one of these men, david druggan is a french jihadist. and he has connections back into europe and he is believed to be actively working with his own bomb-making expertise to run jihadist in and out of the european rat line between the continent and syria. there is a great deal of concern, if they didn't get them the night of the strikes on september 22nd, where are they exactly right now and how do they get them? >> do they have an up to date assessment on the damage? it was tomahawk cruise missiles and they thought they would knock out the leadership but clearly they didn't? >> they did not. the u.s. navy struck with nearly

50 tomahawk weapons and destroyed a number of buildings, but as the former head of counter terrorism in the u.s. just told jim sciutto a few days ago, the khorasan group is very much a factor and worry to the u.s. and tonight we know why. they are working now with the assumption that 99.5 one official said to me. they are alive and they may be injured but may be very involved in active plotting and recruiting and working with al qaeda in yemen and running operatives in and out of europe. >> the assistant to the terrorism advisor said they represent an imminent threat to the united states. what do you hear about the french jihadist? >> we are learning a lot. before this, u.s. officials haven't publicly acknowledged him but he is one of the key

bomb makers in the group. he is believed to be such a big threat because of that and because he is involved with the movement of fighters back and forth between europe. and he is believed to have been involved with the threat over the summer with producing easily concealed bombs that could go on to airliners so back over the summer security at overseas airports was increased because of the concern of the easily concealed bombs and that was emanating from the khorasan group and it is believed he was helping to build this easily concealed bomb. and as we seek, he is actively plotting with other members of the group. and i've been speaking with intelligence officials, wolf, and the concern is there was reporting about the khorasan group leading up to the strikes and the concern was they changed their tactics and moves the location where they were before the strikes and that is why they

were able to escape. >> the cora son group, what is the connection between the group and al qaeda? >> look, wolf, the general thinking in the intelligence community is this is a small but deadly number of individuals that were part of al qaeda core back in pakistan, back in the day, if you will. and over the last couple of years, perhaps up to half a dozen of them have moved into syria, some of them transiting through iran to get to syria. the u.s. has been tracking several of them for months now. they believe that they brought bomb-making expertise with them and they have learned from al qaeda in yemen and it's master bomb maker, abraham al siri knows how to do this. and if they can match up that bomb making, in syria, this is a free zone right now, they can do

what they want and move back into europe, and possibly getting on planes to the united states. this is the big worry. this is why you see the phrase imminent threat. it is the fact that these people have the expertise, they have the man power and they have got to find them now. >> and remember, 24 hours ago the secretary of homeland security, pamela, jeh johnson announced they would step up security precaution at nearly 10,000 federal buildings around d.c. and across the country because of fears of terrorism. i suspect this is one of the reasons he may have decided that. >> it is a threat. we have known the khorasan threats and plus the chatter from isis members in recent weeks asking for attacks against government officials and you

have that combined, it is no wonger they are so concerned. >> excellent reporting from both of you. that is it for me. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. >> breaking news, maine officials filing a court order to force casey hickox into quarentine. and an enormous fire ball, and 40-year-old technology behind the explosion. and the ferguson police chief supposedly on the way out and will it make a difference on whether or not officer darren wilson is indicted. let's go out front. good evening. i'm erin burnett. outfront, the breaking news the fight over the