this is "nightline." >> reporter: tonight, two young victims lose limbs in separate shark attacks at the same beach. >> someone's been attacked bay shark. >> a girl whose hand has been bitten off by a shark. >> officials hunt for the predators by air and 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 rachel dolezal resigns amid accusations. >> yes, i consider myself to be black. >> reporter: she misrepresented her race. >> your parents -- >> reporter: now we are looking

at the physical changes and attention-grabbing hair styles that marked her transformation from one race to 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.

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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 vej ventures in to 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. >> these are the frantic 911 calls. beach goers 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? >> bit his arm off. >> bit a man's arm off. >> he is 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 in to 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 came out of the water and grabbed his left arm and took it sglauf you don't think it is going to happen and when we heard it actually did happen it was total devastation. >> reporter: both teens were airlifted to a nearby hospital and are tonight in stable condition. now for sea and air there's a frantic search for the aggressive predator and the sheriffs office telling us if they spot those sharks they are authorized to shoot them. the hunters now being hunted. today, we got our own bird's eye view. >> a bunch of folks. >> sheriffs office says there was a sighting. may have been a shark or

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, in to 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? >> it is 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 for the past 16 years. >> have you ever encountered an understand dwrent you had two shark attacks of tha severity in the same day? >> i have not encountered in my 16 years one shark attack. >> despite that the beaches remain open. authorities warning people to swim with caution. >> avoid swimming in dirty or murky water. do not go if if you have a

bleeding cut. >> still we found a pair of swirms willing to test the waters. you don't think it is dangerous? >> it is but i'm not going to let a shark rob my fun, you know. and tell that dorsal fin to get the heck 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 maybe as heart stopping today as it was in june 1975. the movie "jaws" first crept in our psyches. scientists are searching for behaviors of these mysterious animals. >> the great whales polaris breach.

>> shark week on discovery feeds our fascination with majestic up close images of the ocean's most dangerous predators. marine biologist says the shark attacks are rare but there are details to be gleaned from 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 the size of the shark, the location will give you a sense of the species involved. >> get out of the water! >> shark! >> this is the terrifying moment a great white attacked steve robliss out in the water for an early morning swim. >> you could hear everything crunch. i was staring at the shark eyeball to eyeball. >> reporter: swim withers rushed him to the shore on this blood-stained surfboard. >> it is the most frightening thing anyone could experience.

>> we talk about shark interactions between people and these animals. we are basically invaders in to 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 dumped in shark infested waters. the difference is we have chain mail to protection us. don't try this at home. ready? >> no. >> off we go. i just landed on one. we jump in and are immediately swarmed bay 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. >> top of the water, that's food. >> ah. >> if they come in and it becomes an attack. >> reporter: experts say if you find yours in a shark attack. >> you are going to strike them

quick, fast hunch down and that way you will guarantee you will 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. and it's a fight to keep them off. the best thing for me right now is fending them off with my feet. like that one. you do the best you can to keep them off of you. but it doesn't always work. the sharks keep coming. watch this. one going right over my head. >> get in. >> with summer beach season just getting underway 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. 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.

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 effort putting a human face on this costly

complicated bloody battle for control. >> reporter: fly in to baghdad and you just know it is 115 degrees out there. it is 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 brokencity. it's a whoel 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 fuelled by faith and backed by iran who

rushed in to 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 the most powerful militia of the 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? we will fight isis and the americans this man shouts. >> you see their enthusiasm. 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 tells me every army makes mistakes. he also told me when i visited him at his house tonight, and he proudly showed us his battle maps he doesn't want foreign forces in iraq unless they are from iran. you say there should be no foreign fighters no foreign troops here. don't you fight with the iranians. >> reporter: his answer basically they are advisers not fighters. and this the iranian is on the field so he gives advice on time but american advisers they are sitting at desks in baghdad. they are not on the war zone or in 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 morters 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 in to the hands of isis. scores of tanks, making the enemy that much more formidable. your tax dollars at work. what happened? listen to jafar he asked us to hide his identity. 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 killed an terrorist or prove we were under attack he tells me. a ten-year veteran, ja farks far says their army fell apart quickly. >> 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. >> sniper over there. he's coming from left. >> 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 kick back. 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 war 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 hair styles 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. 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?

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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. it's nice, yeah. no, no-- don't touch it! the glue's not dry yet. i made it for the e auction. what auction? the auction, ray. you know, it's all i've been talking about for the past month right? i'm on the organizing committee. the auction for ally's school, for the playgrou equipment? the auction!! i know. i remember the auction. you're on the committee for the playground equipment. it's all you been talking about...

i listen to you!