this is "nightline." tonight, two young victims lose limbs in separate shark attacks at the same beach. >> someone's been attacked by a shark! >> there's a girl whose hand's been bitten off by a shark. >> tonight on the scene as officials hunt for the predators by air and by sea. what it takes to survive. our journey to the front lines of the new battle for iraq. how the americans support of the iraqi army is taking a backseat as religious militias step in to fight isis while declaring their hatred for america. we're inside the new war tonight. radical transformation, naacp lead ever rachel dolezal resigns amid accusations. >> yes, i do consider myself to be black.

>> she misrepresented her race. >> your parents -- >> now we're looking at the physical changes and attention-grab hairstyle that marked her transformation from one race to the another. but first the "nightline 5." ♪ >> one day a rider made a decision. the decision to ride on, save money. ♪ he decided to save money by switching his motorcycle insurance to geico. there's no shame in saving money. ride on, ride proud. geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. >> number one in just 60 seconds.

good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight in north carolina,

officials are on the hunt for the shark or sharks responsible for two violent attacks at the same beach this weekend. now abc's matt gutman ventures into those dangerous waters to find out why these encounters are on the rise. >> there's a girl whose hand has been bitten off bay shark. we need an ambulance right away. >> reporter: these are the frantic 911 calls. beachgoers recounting the horror of this week's shark attacks. >> someone has been attacked bay shark! >> a young girl and teenager boy brutally bitten by sharks, losing limbs in waist-deep water just 20 yards from shore. >> what is it, a shark? >> it bit his arm off! >> bit a man's arm off. >> yes, he's bleeding out, we need an ambulance! >> reporter: the first attack at 4:12 p.m. these photos show this 12-year-old girl face down in the sand after a shark bit into her left arm and leg. bystanders dragging her to safety, desperately working to

save her life. onlookers watching in horror. roughly an hour and a half later, another shark attack just two miles away. this time a 16-year-old boy attacked as he was waving to his friends. in an instant, disaster struck. randy milligan saw every horrific moment. >> the shark's head came out of the water? >> yes, out of the water and grabbed his left arm and took it off. >> you don't think it's going to happen. then when we actually heard it did happen you know, it was just total devastation. >> reporter: both teens were airlifted to a nearby hospital and are tonight in stable condition. now from both sea and air, there is a fran sick search for the aggressive predator and the sheriff's office telling us if they spot those sharks they are authorized to shoot them. the hunters now being hunted. today we got our own birdseye view.

>> sheriffs office says there may have been a shark, may have been something else. >> reporter: in the water this photo. those fins peeking above the surf. we go out with the sheriff john ingram for a closer look, into the waters where the shark attacks happened. >> we spotted a couple of sharks close to the surf that were about seven foot long. >> about the approximate size that people think may have attacked the kids yesterday? >> well, it's certainly similar to the size. >> reporter: it seems so ominous now. this quiet north carolina town where visitors are welcomed by this giant fiberglass shark. chris selma who has been the fire chief here in oak island for the past 16 years. >> have you ever encountered an incident where you had two shark attacks of that severity in the same day? >> i have not encountered in my 16 years one shark attack. >> reporter: despite the attacks the beaches remain open. authorities warning people to swim with caution. >> avoid swimming in dirty or murky water. please do not go into the water

if you have a bleeding cut. >> reporter: still we found a pair of swimmers willing to test the water. >> you don't think it's dangerous? >> it is but i'm not going to let a shark rob my fun, you know. tell that telltale dorsal fin get the hell out of there. >> reporter: these mark four attacks in two weeks and third in four days in this stretch of sand along the north carolina coast. in fact, last thursday, just 30 miles away a shark attacking a young girl. you can see the frisbee-size bites there on the boogie board. the danger is real and the fear may be just as heart-stopping today as it was in june 1975. the movie "jaws" first crept in our psyches. 40 years later scientists are searching for answers on the behaviors of these mysterious animals. >> the great white polaris

breach. >> reporter: "shark week" on discovery feeds our is if nation with majestic up-close images of one of the ocean's most dangerous predators. this marine biologist says though shark attacks are quite rare there are still details to be gleaned by clues left behind. >> you really take the approach of crime scene investigation. looking at what the shark left behind in terms of marks on the victim. that will give you a sense of perhaps the size of the shark, the location will give you a sense perhaps of the species involved. >> get out of the water! shark! >> reporter: this is the terrifying moment a great white attacked swimmer steve robles who was out in the water for an early morning swim. >> you could hear everything crunch. i was staring at the shark eyeball to eyeball. >> reporter: fellow swimmers and surfers rushed reasonables ashore on this bloodstained surfboard. >> it is the most frightening thing anyone could experience.

>> we talk about many shark interactions between people and these animals. we're basically invaders into an environment that we haven't evolved in. >> reporter: i saw firsthand how sharks can quickly misinterpret our actions. >> we are simulating a normal person getting dumped in shark-infested waters. the trick wes have chain mail to protect us. don't try this at home. ready? >> no. >> off we go. >> ah! i just landed on one! >> reporter: we jump in and immediately are swarmed by a frenzy of sharks. >> they are bumping us right and left. most over ten feet long. experts say while sharks hunt humans for food, sometimes we can be mistaken for it. >> someone on top of the water thrashing? that's potential food. >> ah. >> if they come in and it becomes an attack. >> reporter: experts say if you find yourself in a shark

attack -- >> you're going to strike them. quick, fast punch down. that way you'll guarantee you'll hit them around here and they don't like that. >> the eyes, gills, nose, snout. >> this is where all of their sensory stuff is concentrated. all you can do is fight and let them know i'm not going down easy. >> reporter: within minutes the sharks are all over us. >> oh! >> reporter: and it's a fight to keep them off. the best thing for me right now is fending them off with my feet. kind of like that one. >> yeah. you do the best you can to keep them off of you. >> reporter: but it doesn't always work. the sharks keep coming. watch this. one going right over my head. >> ready? get in! >> reporter: with summer beach season just getting under way, the search continues along the atlantic coast for those sharks and for answers on how to prevent future attacks. for "nightline," matt gutman in oak island, north carolina. and next, we're on the front lines of the new war for control

over iraq. are you african-american? >> and questions still swirling as naacp leader rachel dolezal resigns amidst racial identity firestorm. amidst racial identity firestorm. ust the two of you. the setting is just right. but here's the thing, about half of men over 40 have some degree of erectile dysfunction. well, viagra helps guys with ed get and keep an erection. and you only take it when you need it. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. ask your doctor about viagra.

for over 60,000 california foster children, it's a challenge to replace clothes that are too small or worn out. i grew 3 inches last year. i don't need anything fancy. i never had much to begin with. when i look nice on the outside i feel better on the inside. to help, sleep train is collecting new clothes for kids big and small. bring your gift to any sleep train and help make a foster child's day a little brighter. not everyone can be a foster parent, but anyone can help a foster child. we spend a lot of time online around here. but with all this speed from

xfinity, it's all good. hey, why don't we do some homework for a change? gary, you too. dad...work stuff. yes! lovin' the new design! konichiwa hirosan. five minutes... all this speed is very empowering. check out the new hardware. with the fastest internet available, xfinity is perfect for people get a lot done at home. and now you can go even faster. we've just increased the speeds on two of our most popular plans.

here in america, we don't want to think we have anything in common with the terrorist group isis, but for many iraqi citizens, we are a mutually hated mortal enemy. tonight abc's chief foreign correspondent terry moran travels to the heart of what is now one of the most dangerous places on earth, putting a

human face on this costly, complicated bloody battle for control. >> reporter: fly into baghdad and you just know it is 115 degrees out there. but it's not the heat that will get you, it's the violence. on the rise again. so we ride in armored cars to our hotel. the place got bombed two weeks ago. look at this. this is the hole made by the car bomb in front of this hotel. you can see it just blew out a massive area of the pavement. steel reinforced pavement. three people were killed, many more wounded. baghdad is a broken city. it's a whole new war out there. isis rolls on. the new enemy in a war-weary country, and the iraqi army keeps retreating, fleeing from isis, first in mosul last year, in ramadi last month. so now, it's these guys, shia

religious militias fueled by faith and backed by iran who rushed into the breach. we're here to get a look at this new battle for iraq. we're taking the armored vehicles and going out to anbar province. that's almost totally dominated by isis. we're going to meet up with the shia militia that are so crucial on the battlefield. they, not the iraqi army, are the front line troops against isis now. on the road an iraqi army helicopter buzzes our convoy, an old russian-made tank rumbles by. and we reach the forward position of the militia, the biggest and most powerful of these shia forces. given this these guys are ready for a fight but we found out they don't want to just fight isis. >> if obama sends more american soldiers here, will you fight the americans, too? [ shouting in foreign language ] >> "we will fight isis and we will fight the americans," this man shouts. you see their much.

you see their dedication to the fight, and they want no more american soldiers, a lot more american equipment, ammunition and support. these militias have been accused of committing atrocities against civilians. their leader al amari tells me every army makes mistakes. he also told me when i visited him at his house the night before and he proudly showed us his battle maps he doesn't want any foreign forces in iraq. unless they're from iran. you say there should be no foreign fighters, no foreign troops here. don't you fight with the iranians iranians? >> reporter: his answer basically, they're advisers not fighters. and this, the iranian is on the field so he gives advice on time he said. but american advisers, they are sitting at desks in baghdad. they're not in the war zone or on the field. no americans out here for sure. just happy, holy warriors. how hard is this fight? how hard is it to fight against isis? "we will be victorious over the

cowardly traitors," he says, "with god's will." we head back though the cars and mortars start to fall a few hundred yards away but they don't mind. the next morning, we head out again. this time with the official iraqi army, you know, the one americans have spent billions of dollars training and supplying. look at those humvees. they used to have a lot more. made in america. the iraqi army is almost completely dependent on american vehicles and equipment, but more than 2,000 of these humvees have fallen into the hands of isis. scores of tanks, making the enemy that much more formidable. your tax dollars at work. what happened? listen to jaffar. he recess certed from the iraqi army last year in disgust. at the time he deserted he said he hadn't been paid in seven months and had to buy his own ammunition which he received only if he could prove he had killed an isis fighter. in order for you to get

ammunition you had to bring a dead body? "we had to prove we had either killed a terrorist or prove we were under attack," he tells me. a ten-year veteran, jafar says their army fell apart quickly after the u.s. withdrawal in 2011. >> the americans have given so much money to train, equip and supply the iraqi army. where did it go? "it was all stolen," he says. all stolen? it just got stolen? by politicians, by senior officers? "everyone has done it from their own position," he tells me. on the road in anbar province with the iraqi army, this hellish mad max landscape. as we approach the front lines -- >> move! >> push on push on. a couple of shots over our cars. >> sniper over there, he's coming from the left!

>> reporter: we hustle inside, upstairs, ducking low. isis fighters just across these fields. how often are you attacked in this position by the isis fighters? "every day,," he tells me. at a nearby base, we hear from the soldiers themselves about their army. they tell us about corruption among officers, so rampant it is a joke when i asked about it. >> was where does the money go? " 50/50. we call it a kickback." they also tell me they are afraid of american warplanes and friendly fire incidents. you want to fight isis but if you hear an american plane you will hide? "the pilot will hit me not isis," he says. not far away, this amazing scene, so ancient, so modern, sunni tribal leaders meeting in a tent with the defense minister. he's trying to get them to set up their own militias like the shias have. security is intense. nobody trusts anybody here.

and then we see him. the boy soldier toting a weapon half his size. he's part of a generation that knows only war here. true children of already. and it's already their time to take up their arms and fight. for "nightline," i'm terry moran, abc news, baghdad. >> our thanks to terry and his team for that report. next, embattled naacp leader rachel dolezal sported many different hairstyles over the years. what do her choices tell us about how she may have seen herself? >> abc news "nightline" is brought to you by tylenol. abc news "nightline" is brought to you by tylenol. when were you first considered a family? when you fell in love? when you got married? when you had kids? when did you first fight to be considered a family? when you fell in love?

when you got married? when you had kids? family isn't defined by who you love, but how. tylenol®. i like my seafood like i like my vacations: tropical. and during red lobster's island escape, three new dishes take me straight to the islands. like the ultimate island seafood feast, with crab, lobster and jumbo shrimp. all you have to do... get here while you still can.

let's mobile. same plan. new phone. or a new plan. and a just in case. add a new line. or three. and unlimited talk and text for unlimited tweens. take a carrier store detour at target and upgrade to a shiny new everything. now when you purchase one of these affordable plans get a $100 gift card. all things mobile. all in one place.

finally tonight, once a public advocate rachel dolezal has quickly become a social media punch line for allegedly misrepresenting her race. today she resigned her 'position as the naacp chapter in spokane, washington but it hasn't put an end to the questions. >> are you african-american? >> i don't understand the question. >> reporter: days after naacp president rachel dolezal came under fire for allegations she was posing as black, the community leader left her position today, writing in a facebook post n the eye of the current storm, i can see a separation is in the best interest of the naacp. today many still demanding answers. >> integrity matters. when you lie, you lose everything. >> if she needs to see a

professional she should. >> reporter: tonight new details surfacing about a lawsuit filed in 2002. rachel dolezal, then known as rachel moore, student at howard university charging the school with discrimination claiming the removal of her art work was motivated by discriminatory purpose to favor african-american students. the lawsuit was decided in the university's favor. in montana her estranged parents still hard-pressed to explain what they say is the transformation. >> the most difficult part of it is the rejection we received from our daughter. that hurts deeply. >> she would have done so much better if she stayed honest and who she was. >> reporter: her appearance and noticeable change some pointing to how she styled her hair and the resemblance it had to look popular with black women. >> our hair texture is used to determine or give a clue in to our background. >> reporter: cara brown explains the styles rachel dolezal wears in her article.

she definitely natured the hair. i'll give her that. >> part of the reason i wrote about rachel's hair is because for a lot of black women, the way we wear our hair is important to us in terms of our identity and because living in a world where most people don't have hair like ours makes that juxtaposition clearer. >> hair is number one. like everything is based and your hair in african-american community. >> reporter: according to celebrity hair stylist, rachel dolezal displays cuts popular with some of her african-american clients. >> definitely if someone was trying to look like a african-american woman, they are going to seal the deal here. >> reporter: adding many of these styles require massive effort hours of labor. >> box braids takes hours. usually you need two or sometimes three people. it can actually take sometimes up to 24 hours. >> reporter: this just one of many questions surrounding the social justice advocate as she

navigates continued public scrutiny. thank you for watching abc news. tune in to "good morning america" tomorrow. and as always, we are on-line 24/7 on our "nightline" facebook page and on abcnews.com. good night, america. my name is fernando gonzalez. i'm the gas service supervisor here in sonoma county. we moved up here 35 years ago and we just love it up here, it's a fantastic place to live. our function is customer support... ...making sure that our customers are safe and that's the most important thing. we know we are part of a huge company but sonoma county is our home. sonoma county is our pg&e. what we're doing really means something in the community and it's just a great, great feeling. together, we're building a better california.