the fight has been led by one of iraq's major shia militias, the badr corps. the group is ready to move into isil's other strongholds including mosul. >> the u.n. high court said north korea asia nor serb i can't committed genocide. the claims by both countries claimed ethnic cleansing during the 1990's conflict. >> israel's prime minister has called on the u.n. to scrap its inquiry into alleged war crimes during the conflict in gaza in 2014. benjamin netanyahu made the comments following the resignation of the head of the inquiry after he was accused of being biased. >> the remains of 30 people from the yazidi ethnic community have been discovered in a mass grave in northwestern iraq. kurdish forces found the bodies of men women and children. we have more frow from erbil. >> yet another mass grave was found in the sinjar area in the northwest of iraq along the syrian border. peshmerga fighters were clearing the area from explosives, booby-trapped explosives and they discovered this grave and they are believed to be from the yazidi community men women and chil

. >> also on the program the shia militia in iraq has pushed isil from a key province and preparing to target other strongholds. >> anti terrorist police are on the alert in france and knifemen attack soldiers guard ago jewish center. >> british m.p.s are the first to give the go ahead for a controversial technique. now doctors are closer to creating a baby with three parents. >> now video released by the islamic state of iraq and the levant purportedly shows members killing a captive jordanian pilot. he was taken by the group in december after his jet crashed in syria. a message from isil said the pilot would be killed if jordan didn't release an iraqi woman facing the death approximately. the death comes days after the group released a video purportedly showing members killing a june knees journalist. >> let's talk now, thank you for joining us here. if it's true, it's a terrible and tragic development. what do you make of it? >> >> it is a brutal execution by any organization to burn a hostage alive, we have never seen anything like this. we don't know the circumstances. we don't kn

in diyala shia militias believe sunni militias supported the group. in this village houses and the mosque were left in ruins after fighting between the iraqi forces and i.s.i.l. shia militia said after the battle they had liberated the remainder of diyala held by the group. >> a survivor told us that he and the others ran to the field and hid in the mud after they opened fire. the village is surrounded and running out of food. the prime minister is trying to contain the fallout, telling the conference that those responsible would be punished. >> those conducting killing and assault on properties areas liberated from i.s.i.l. are no less dangerous than terrorists. >> the government is upped pressure to prove it is in control, and not its partners. iraqi government forces and the kurds and militias have taken back a lot of territory from i.s.i.l. over the last few months. some of the fooerest fighting is in volatile areas. along the fault lines of ethnic rivalry and sectarian ambition. it led the government grappling with how to win a war but keep the c

barwana is where shia militia forces along with iraqi government killed unarmed civilians. we asked about that. it's being investigated and that any militia members responsible for killings or kidnappings would be brought to justice. that's the same thing the iraqi government is saying and that investigation is continuing, but it really illustrates the depth of i had red not just there but in other places where there's been fighting. as we drove around the area and taken to where fighting had been, you could see demolished homes, things in ruins fields left abandoned. on one wall was scrawled "blood demands blood -- a reference to revenge killings. it's unclear what exactly happened in bar barwana. >> finally we're hearing all of this confident talk about pushing further north and head to go mosul. of course, the isil stronghold. can they do it? >> the short answer is they can probably do it eventually. now, if you talk to iraqi officials, they'll tell you it's pretty much a straight road to mosul to lib rate the city. that's not really the way it's going to go down. they do

next, you've got iranian support to these shia militia groups. some ways, that's helpful to us today in iraq because they are fighting isis, but those same shia groups killed american soldiers in iraq by the dozens and dozens. then you've got iranian support to regional insurgent groups. you got iranian support in yemen , and you saw the result of that. they took over the capital. took over the government. and you've got iranian support to the shia opposition in bahrain. you got iranian support to shia opposition in the eastern provinces of saudi arabia. all that is designed to overthrow those regimes and put in regimes like you have in syria, who are close to iran. charlie: someone said you have two choices in circumstances like this, either change the regime or change the behavior. what should be our policy? mike: the supreme leader believes that it is already the policy of the united states to get rid of him and the clerical regime in the iranian government. there is not a policy. he's wrong about that. just like putin was wrong that the cia w

it's the base of a shia militia. its mission is to keep the area clear of isil fighters and prepare for an assault on tikrit. she that militias are backed by ran and made up of civilians. some are accused of revenge attacks against sunnis in the areas they have taken from isil, an allegation this commander denies. >> i'm a civil engineer, and i've answered the holy call from the grand ayatollah. i am a witness to everything that has taken place here and i can tell you that hasn't happened. >> for now this shia militia wait and wonder what resistance they'll face when attacked. tikrit has long been a stronghold of rebels, although isil say they control the town itself in actual fact, it's a group of sadaam loyalists in control. he was born that in town. they don't necessarily share the same goals as isil in establishing the islamic caliphate but want regime change here in iraq and should note rule. >> when isil and the sunni rebels wee sieged this area in mid june, amerli became the focal point. it took plea months to

army, there were actually a few firefights that actually occurred between some of these iraqi shia militia men who were with hezbollah and also with some of the local militias, but they're essentially running the show now. they are running the show. in terms of command structure and everything else. i'm not saying there's no syrian army left but these guys now have the strategic know-how in terms of numbers that are lost. officially hezbollah says in the high couple hundreds. i would say it probably goes much higher than that. probably into the thousand range. probably more. because they've hidden a number of their casualties or they've hidden them as casualties from syria. so it's very, very hard to get a true gauge of that. >> thank you. i'm going to call on some folks in the crowd and maybe identify yourself. wait till a microphone comes and -- up front. lisa. barbara. >> hi. thanks. barbara slavin from the atlantic council. as claude rayns would say, i'm shocked gambling is going on. when the u.s. overthrew saddam something like 50,000 members of the badr brigade came in i'm told and b

shia militias in iraq made gains in the south and northwest against isil, but some have been accused of killing soon any civilians. >> this is mainly under the control of islamic state of iraq and the levant. this is the front line marked by a tributary of the euphrates river. it's the base of a shia militia it's mission to keep the area clear of isil fighters and prepare for a attack on tikrit. some have been accused of a revenge attack on sunnis, an allegation this commander denies. >> i'm part of the popular mobilization forces. i'm a witness to everything that has taken place here and i can tell you that hasn't happened. >> for now the shia militia wait and wonder what they will face when they eventually attack. also isil say they control tikrit in actually fact, it is the army really in control. they're a group of sadaam hussein latists and he was bosch in that town. they don't necessarily share the same gomes as isil in establishing the slack caliphate but do want regime change here in iraq and sunni rule. >> in mid june, this town became the focal point of fighting. it took th

shia militia leaders said after the battle they had liberated the remainder of diala held by the group>> once survivor told us by phone he and the others ran to the fields and hid in the mud all night after they opened fire. he said the village still surrounded and running out of food. iraqi's prime minister is trying to contain the fallout. he told the national conference that those responsible would be punished. >> those who are conducting killings and assaults on property in areas liberated from is ill are no less dangerous than terrorists. >> the government is under pressure to prove its control and not its shia militia partners. >> iraqi government forces along with the kurds and shia malitias have taken back a lot of territory from is ill over the last few months. some of the fiercest fight something in the most volatile areas of iraq along those fault lines of ethnic rivalry and sectarian ambition. it left the iraqi government grappling with how to win a war against is ill and keep the country intact. jane ar. raff baghdad. >> up to 10,000 people have rallied in hong kong in the

a powerful shia militia tells al jazeera it's ready to attack them in the iraqi strong holds. hello and welcome to al jazeera live from doha. also on the program the head of a u.n. inquiry into a 2014 gaza war quit after being accused for bias. >> it's right for me to be free then it's right for them all to be free. >> in his first interview after being freed from an egyptian jail, peter greste calls for the release of his al jazeera colleagues. >>> music prodigy in the u.s. >>> hello. more on all those stories but first, breaking news out of cairo. blast which exploded in a busy square. two bombs were discovered by police that's according to the reuters news s.a.t. agency. key iraqi province of dyalla. the group held a victory rally on monday and they are ready to move into i.s.i.l. strong holds. jane arraf joins me from baghdad. what was the significance of this celebration? >> well, that really was part of it that that wasn't the iraqi government. it shows how powerful these shia groups have become. they don't want to be called be publishmilitias. the badr organization is o

they are likely here in advisory capacity to the shia militias here. they do play a role in damascus, there to protect key shrines there. the shia shrines have always been a red line. if they got attacked, they'll send it ground troops. it's likely there may be a small can tin vent of less's blah fighters in a training role with shia militias but not in the front lines according to people i've spoken to. the shia militias are once again in the spotlight. they were accused of beating a key senior m.p. and killing 12 sunnis in baghdad, leading to a suspension that still goes on to this day. the sunni block suspended it's part in pavement. very intense negotiations going on for the last few days in parliament looking at the need for an investigation as to why this took place and whether there is as need to disarm the shia militias here in the capitol, baghdad. >> new dealt is set to debate on whether to deploy troops to help fight islamic state of iraq and the levant. it would perform a non-combat role but critics say a deployment would be a mistake. >> t

there may be a small contingent of hezbollah fighters in advisory training role in shia militia but not a front line fighting force from the people i've spoken to. hasan nezrulla says, they were accused of beating a senior. and killing several sunnies. the sunni block has wend their part in parliament, decide whether to go back to parliament. what they're looking at is a need of investigation into why this attack took place sorry an whether there's a need to disarm the shia militias here in the capital baghdad. >> t.j. house of afghan refugees are now being deported, from pakistan. at the time the pakistan government said it would immediately begin expelling all undocumenting afghan refugees. 1500 were deported in january twice the number deported from the prefs prevention month more than all of 2014. afghans report incidents of police conversion. coarse. nicole johnston reports from fromjalalabad. >> in pakistan, wazir allir remarried. they detained him and his son nf they agreed to leave. >> translator: they gave us this document saying you have only three days. you have to leave. wha

they are cooperating with shia militia men and the popularization force. accused of operating outside the law and changing the deccography in many areas. we met members of the popularization forces based in the town. they refused to appear on camera. they told me that they are going to allow people to return. they will not take part in fighting allowingside i.s.i.l. >> the kurds say the same thing. they deny they are punishing sunnis belonging to the same sect as i.s.i.l. fighters. kurdish commanders say the displaced can return from home made improvised device but they trees that diyala is an al qaeda stronghold. >> translation: we have credible information that 95% of sunnis in jelal awe were fighting with i.s.i.l. al qaeda and other terrorist groups many of them were in our areas. >> instead of uniting iraq's communities, the war opened drones and created future conflicts. the reality is an example of the need more reconciliation. >>> african leaders called on the international criminal court for charges against santa barbara. the i.c.c. issued an arres

. >> bodies of young men on the ground after survivors say shia militia raided barla.hey weren't killed in fighting. they were shot in the head at close range. some had their hands tied. families frantic searched for their husbands sons and brothers. hassan, where are you, a man cries? and then he tells his mother he has found him. human rights watch says it's unclear how many were killed but says it appears to have been a massacre survivors say is started when iraqi security forces told villagers to come to the mosque to get food. from there, they say, groups of men were taken away and shot by militia members. this survivor now in a nearby city tells us the men went willingly at first. >> the army took our identification and then gathered us together. then we saw the other forces all dressed in black and they opened fire. >> there are few prisoners in this fight against is ill. in diala, shia militia fighting with iraqi sunni sforsz believe sunnis have supported this group in this village of smyra, houses and the mosque were left in ruins after fighting last week betw

the iraqi miami and shia militia are declaring victory. the fight has been led by the badr corps. the group is now ready to move north into isil strongholds. we have a report. >> the celebration illustrated the growing power of shia groups here including the badr corps. the badr corps don't like to be called a militia but in effect are in control of their own operations. they are working with the iraqi government and with those forces have now taken over according to the militia members leaders and iraqi government officials pretty much all of the province, a major stronghold of isil. it hasn't been without a cost. as they drove is through part of the territory, you can see abandoned villages, houses destroyed, even mosques destroyed in some areas, we were told. what we saw really indicated a region, the formerly rich region abandoned to the fighting. they are investigating an alleged massacre in an area of the province where villagers say dozens of unarmed men were shot dead. this celebration was really to congratulate the fighters, religious leaders and all of iraq over the vict

shia militias are making gains. in the south and north-west of the country, some have been accused of killing sunni civilians. al jazeera is given exclusive access for one of the groups as it prepares for an assault. imran khan reports from zagr. >> 35km behind the valley is tikrit city and surrounding areas. it's under the control of the islamic state of iraq and levant. this is the front line marked by a tributely of the euphrates river. it's the base of a shia militia, one of many fighting in this area. it's mission is to keep the area clear of i.s.i.l. fighters and prepare for assault on tikrit. shia militias are backed by iran made up of civilians, not soldiers. some have been accused of revenge attacks against sunnis. allegations that this commander denies. >> translation: in part i am a witness to everything that has taken place. i can tell you that has not hopped. >> reporter: for now they wait and wonder what resistance they face when they attack. >> tikrit has been a stronghold of anti-government sunni reb

i see the shia militias coming out of baghdad. the sunnis hate them. 're loyal to isis rather than go with the shia. you have the kurds, and the egyptian air force, but i don't see -- if i were isis, i wouldn't be afraid. they can keep finding places to hold executions and putting the camera work together, getting their props ready and killing people for show and nothing we do right now seems to be directed at stopping this. >> well, i think there's a few stages here. right now what we're doing is trying to take their leaders and their fighters off the battlefield in iraq and syria, where they flourish. >> are we killing enough of them? >> we're killing a lot of them and we'll kill more. so are the egyptians and the jordanians. but we cannot kill our way out of this war. we need to go after the root causes that leads people to join these groups, whether it's lack of opportunity for jobs, whether -- >> we're not going to be able to stop that in your lifetime. there's always going to be poor people and poor muslims, and the trumpet's blowing and they'll j

now while all of have has happened the shia militias are once again in the spot light.e accused of beating a key senior mp and killing 12 sunni people. that lead to a suspension in parliament. a suspension that still goes on today. they will inside whether to go back to parliament on thursday. there has been intention negotiations going on for the last few days and what they are looking at is the need for an investigation into why this attack took place, sorry. and whether there is a need to disarm the shia militias here. >>> new zealand is deciding whether to deploy troops to help fight isil. the government says its soldiers will perform a non-combat role in iraq. but critics say deployment would be a mistake. >> reporter: this was the public invitation to a fight that many people suspect new zealand had signed up for long before. last week the first iraqi foreign minister visited here and came calling on his new zealand counterpart to send troops to his country. >> the notion would be that there would need to be some invitation. >> reporter: according to the governmen

okay with the united states that the iranians are supporting iraqi militia who are shia? >> our concern about support of the militia is often the militia are acting in a sectarian fangs and engaged in the kind of violence against civilians we think is not only reprehensible but counterproductive, that is a problem and a problem we have very clearly signaled both to the iraqis and the iranians. >> charlie: but are you okay they're doing it? >> no we're not okay with support to militia we think are fueling the conflict. >> charlie: but whatever they're doing, they're being very effective on the ground against i.s.i.l. >> well, there are different pieces to this. there's the support that has been provided to the iraqi government the iraqi government is taking the fight to i.s.i.l and we're doing our part with the iraqi government, other countries are supporting the iraqi government and as long as those are not working at cross purposes we take a the view the iraqi government as sovereign can invite support from countries it chooses and we are not coordinating with the iranian

and whether there is a need disarm the shia militias here in the capital baghdad. >>> boko haram fightersrned niger chad ask cameroon that there will be more attacks and the three countries have sent troops to fight the nine nigerian group. >> reporter: they say that they have united in order to will eliminate an expanding threat. leaders in central africa are in the cameroon capital to finalize an offensive against boko haram. >> this session is historic because we most use to to respond to the barbaric actions of the terrorist group boko haram. they have the military ask hugh tan resources of a conventional army making the fight more complexion and costly in cameroon and chad. >> reporter: the community has agreed to spend $86 million to fight the group and cameron cameroon and chad have committed 9,000 soldiers to be sent to nigeria this is why they are mobilizing. these pictures from friday show the first raid on chad soil. five people killed in the village in the south of the country. and in niger thousands of people have left their home to his escape fighting between the army and bo

how did this lead to iraq and shia militias fighting against isis. religious crisis needed to be manufactured. there is the suppose it threat against the major mosque and shrine in southern damascus. a lot of granular connections to iran with this shrine. they rebuilt it and that is why it has a nice golden dome. they cast this to get fighters to go into syria, they needed people who would go for a religious reason. the justified reason was that they were doing the shrine defense. just saying shrine defense does not fit in with the narrative. they are defending it against the people we mentioned earlier who pushed them to this? and america, israel and the west. there was a conspiracy. if you are looking at a long-term problems with this kind of outlook, it now casts a vision that maybe the u.s. really didn't want to push for the shrine to be destroyed. maybe the u.s. was pushing moderate rebel groups because they wanted them to be al qaeda. qasem soleimani said this himself, trying to push america into syria. they are actually executing a grand regio

and the shia militia. the new prime minister had said there are about a million shia militias who are trying to fill the void of the ineffectual iraqi army. mr. brennan, you said earlier, you talked about the shia militias who recently experienced success against isis. you also made reference to the iranian kwud quds forces leader who really negotiated a second term of nuri al maliki with one condition. that the americans leave. that the americans leave. and now we have a president with a resolution before congress asking for authorization to engage again militarily. you know the shia militias are not there to prop up the iraqi government. they're there to do what seoul manny and others in asymmetrical warfare try to do and that is create a prop he is in places that they want to control. be it in southern lebanon, be it in syria, or be it in iraq. my concern is is if we commit american forces and there's no passive wing of the american military. everybody has weapons and fights and die courageously when th

>> because every place the shia militia -- is mostly the fighting forces of the baghdad government isrmy. the iraq he army has failed to take back any city in iraq or town in iraq since the beginning of last year since fallujah fell to isis. but the shia militias, probably about 120,000 men, the iraq he army probably has about 40,000 to 50,000, where they take over cities or towns they haven't taken many, but were they have taken them over or villages, they treat all the inhabitants as if it were members of isis. it doesn't matter if these people are completely opposed to isis, there are still treated as members of isis. so the young men disappear and in some cases are killed and in some cases are tortured or put in prison. houses are burned, people are driven out. there's one other point, a very important one want to make which i don't the people have taken on board. as you know, the u.s. government, the pentagon and the iraqi prime minister, have said there is going to be an offensive to capture mosul, but the major relief organizations, the world food program, are believed that if

to the extent the shia militia has exacerbated tensions, we consider that a problem. >> iran. nuclear negotiations. where does it stand? >> i think you know we have had a number of rounds. we just finished one yesterday in geneva. there has been some progress. some of the issues are being worked through. i have to tell you there are significant gaps that remain. >> like what? >> i'm not going to get into the details. i don't think that will be productive. let me explain the categories of issues we need to work through. there is iran's enrichment capacity. what will it be allowed to retain? how can we be certain that whatever they retain is fully transparent? the international community is able to validate with certainty they are not able to use enrichment to produce a bomb. that is a big issue. what kind of stockpile if any would they be allowed to retain? what configuration? will there be research and development involved? what about the plutonium facility? how do we ensure there is a transparency regime? >> to all those have to be settled before you get to an agreement? >> w

all of a sudden his name and face spread all over the shia militia web. so he was marketed as this big time the market. a huge thing that i realized what is doing this research was recruitment factor online. something i really truly believe nobody's been all that much attention to. they have been posting phone numbers and all sorts of things. is one of the initial ones that was posted, taken with a put up a popular committee member. they hide in the integer you're looking at and put this all into. a little bit more needs to be done because guess what i have called into these numbers. there's somebody sitting in the audience was called in with me to these numbers and we've had conversations with these guys. initially not that hard. what did they accomplish? i love this picture. it fits in with that narrative that we are pushing isis. what have they done? they have secured damascus secured the rule for bashar al-assad, hands down. this is not the republican guard, not some magical local syrian militia that data. know this is hezbollah, the other allied orga

a powerful shia militia tells al jazeera it's ready to attack them in the iraqi strong holds. hello and welcome to al jazeera live from doha. also on the program the head of a u.n. inquiry into a 2014 gaza war quit after being accused for bias. >> it's right for me to be free then it's right for them all to be free. >> in his first interview after being f

peshmerga and shia militia. the new prime minister had said there are about a million shia militias that are trying to fill the void the ineffectual iraqi army. mr. brennan, you said earlier, you talked about the shia militias who recently experienced success against isis. you also made reference to solomoni is iranian forces leader who really negotiated the second term of al maliki with one condition. that the americans leave. that the americans leave. and now, we have a president with a resolution before congress asking for authorization to engage nen militarily. the shia militias are are not there to prop up the iraqi government. they're there to do what solomoni and others in asymmetrical warfare try to do. that is create a prop city in places they want to control. via in southern lebanon, in syria or be it in iraq. my concern is is if we commit american forces and there's no passive wing of the american military. everybody has weapons and fights and die courageously when they do. we are continuing a situati

now it's full of iranian-backed shia militia fighters who played a lead role in a fight against isil. fighters say they're ready to move onto the next battle. >> god willing we're preparing to move forward and liberate the rest of the iraqi lands by the efforts of all those brave men around me. >> despite the celebration it has been a hard-won victory. there are deserted villages and fields. the fighting damages schools and government buildings. this mountain range separating iraq and iran, one of the only places free of explosives laid by isil, only known as daesh. >> what we do now is to satisfy the situation is to clean the area from bombs. this is the straty of daesh. >> it comes as a cost, but iraqi leaders say it was a price that the country had to pay. diyala province, in iraq. >> reportedly pushing boko haram out of a border town after sending in troops. 2,000 troops send in from chad with airstrikes from the chadian air force. they say to be in control of the border town. >>> croatia and serbia have been urged to turn the page from a bloody chapter in their history after a to

they are cooperating with the shia militia me. they have government backing to fight i.s.i.l. they have been accused of operating outside the law and changing the demography in many areas. we met members of mobilization forces based in the town. they refused to appear on camera. they told me that they are going to allow people to return on condition that they did not take part in the fighting along side i.s.i.l. >>> the kurds say the same thing, denying that they are punishing sunnis because they belong to the same sect. the displaced can return once the area is cleared of home made devices. they stress that the province was an al qaeda stronghold and many were supporters of the armed group. >> we have credible information that 95% of the sunnis were fighting with i.s.i.l. al qaeda, and other terrorist groups. we are not targetting their families. many found shelter in our areas. >> the war against i.s.i.l. is opening old wound and future conflicts, like other battle grounds. the reality is an example of the need. >>> the united nation mission to iraq says over 1300 have been

peshmerga and shia militia. the new prime minister had said there are about a million shia militias that are trying to fill the void, the ineffectual iraqi army. mr. brennan, you said earlier, you talked about the shia militias who recently experienced success against isis. you also made reference to solomoni, is iranian forces leader who really negotiated the second term of al maliki with one condition. that the americans leave. that the americans leave. and now, we have a president with a resolution before congress asking for authorization to engage nen militarily. the shia militias are are not there to prop up the iraqi government. they're there to do what solomoni and others in asymmetrical warfare try to do. that is create a prop city in places they want to control. via in southern lebanon, in syria or be it in iraq. my concern is is if we commit american forces and there's no passive wing of the american military. everybody has weapons and fights and die courageously when they do. we are continuing a situa

in the south when shia militias recapture territory, the shia population don't return. it's similar in the north. when the kurds push forward villages end up depopulated so iraq's prime minister needs to find a way to bring iraq's communities politicians together and make this a fight for iraq, for the time being it seems each community is fighting for their own territory. >> protestors gathered in the egyptian capitol. this is a scene in sadat in southern cairo. protests are also taking place in east cairo. al jazeera journalists mohamed fahmy and baher mohammed have enough spent 405 days in prison in egypt accused of supporting the outlawed muslim brotherhood charges al jazeera has denied. peter greste arrived home in australia after being released early they are week. mohamed fahmy and baher mohammed are still imprisoned. al jazeera demands their immediate release. >> we'll go behind bars in new york where prisoners are getting a chance to be rehabilitated through a unique program. >> from baghdad to berlin, how a snapshot of iraqi history are trying to break stereo

it's the base of a shia militia one of many fighting in this area. its mission is to keep the area clear of isil fighters and prepare for an assault on tikrit. shia malaysias are backed up by iran and made up of civilians. some are accused of revenge attacks against sunnis in the areas they have taken from isil, an allegation this commander denies. >> i'm a civil engineer and i've and the holy call from the grand ayatollah and i'm part of the popular mobilation forces. i'm a witness to everything that has taken place here and i can tell you that hasn't happened. >> they wonder what militia they will face when they eventually attack. tikrit has been a stronghold have anti-government sunni fighters. the army is really in control a group of anti sadaam hussein latist the. they don't necessarily share the same goals of establishing the islamic calendar fatal with isil but do want their own rule here. >> this town amerli became the focal point of the fighting. it took three months to break the seen, an evidence of how tough a fight it was is everywhere. >

in the south when shia militias capture at your atory the shia population they don't return. in the north villagion ended up depopulated, so iraq's prime minister needs to find a way to bring iraq's communities politicians together and make this a fight for iraq. for the time being it seems each community is fighting for their own territory. >> tunisia has a new prime minister officially taking office friday during a formal swearing in ceremony in the capitol tunis. it comes a day after the first post revolutionary government was confirmed. >> protestors gathered in two suburbs in the egyptian capitol. this was a scene in southern cairo. demonstrators there are rallying against the government. protests have been taking place east of cairo. >> al jazeera journalists have now spent 405 days behind bars in egypt. they along with our colleagues peter greste were accused of reporting false news and supporting the outlawed muslim brotherhood, charges they and al jazeera deny. peter has arrived back home in australia after being released early they are week. mohamed fahmy and baher

now watch all of this happen the shia militias are once again in the spotlight. home run accused of beating a key senior m.p. that was suspended in parliament. decide whether to do back to parliament on thursday, there's been close door meetings very intense negotiations for the last few days. when this attack took place and whether there is a need to disarm the militias in the capitol of baghdad. >> new zealand is deciding whether to deploy trips. but critics say a deployment would be a mistake. reports from oakland. >> . >> according to the government any troops that it decides to send would be h tone train soldiers. it's performed similar operations in afghanistan, it is according to the prime minister the price of longing to the club. a reference to the alliance that includes united states, great britain and canada it is also about pay back, last year iraq voted to include new deanne on the security council. some people worry that new zealand is losing it's independent reputation that has at times seen it take a bold stance like the banning of nuclear armed s

but these men say the armed group doesn't represent them but neither does the shia militias, that are leading the way against iraqi government. the fight to push out i.s.i.l. from the city of mosul may be a while away. it is not just a question of being ready militarily, the battle for iraq's second largest city will require a political decision. these men may represent many communities but iraq's shia are not among them. sunnies want the authority to speed up plans to back the national guard. establishing an armed force in each province made up of people from every area. >> national guard to be created the sons of the city know who are good and who are terrorists. we won't treat everybody badly. we want all terrorists or at least suspects. >> command here shows the national guard is important where the mainly shia army may not be trusted. defeating i.s.i.l. in the strategic and highly important mosul, could be the start of another conflict in iraq. zeina khodr, al jazeera iraq. >>> still to come. be india and its ruling prime minister 80 million and counting the hack that could be th

question is whether the leaders of the free world said everything they want to >>> now to iraq where shia militias are accused of preventing sunnis from returning to their home. once areas are cleared of i.s.i.l. fighters. the forcing out opened up old religious and ethnic wounds. zeina khodr reports now. >> reporter: in 2005 this man was forced out of his town by al qaeda, he is back now in jalawla. he is an iraqi kurd taking part in the battle for the islamic state of iraq and levant, a former al qaeda-aligned group. i.s.i.l. fighters may have been defeated the sunni population is no longer here. some blame the i.s.i.l. takeover for blaming that. >> they helped to give mem water, food. they have taken inside houses. they are going upwards into the peshmerga house. >> they couldn't believe this land is theirs they are not the only force on the ground. they are cooperating with the popular force. they have been accused of operating outside the law and changing the demack raffy in many areas. >> we met areas in the down. they refused to appear on camera they allow people to return in the fighting a

but these men say the armed group doesn't represent them wult neither does the shia militia on behalf of the iraqi government. the fight to push out i.s.i.l. may be a while away. it's not just the question of being ready militarily the battle will require a political decision. these men represent many communities but are not among them. sunnis want the authorities to speed up plans to create the national guard. the u.s. backed plan involves establishing an armed force in each district. >> the sons of the city know who are good and who are terrorists. they won't treat everyone badly the way the army used to treat us in mosul. we were all terrorists or at least suspects. >> reporter: commanders here, say the mainly sunni army may not be trusted. may be the beginning of the end for the armed group but military progress without unity could be the start of yet another contract with iraq. zeina holder, al jazeera iraq. >>> peter greste was returned home earlier this week, baher mohamed and mohamed fahmy are still in prison. al jazeera is demanding their release. >>> still ahead a referendum

they're the kurds fighting basically for their own de facto country and the shia militias that on thed are more effective and more motivated. on the other hand are alienating the very sunnis that the iraqi government has to win over if it's going to woo them away from isis. so the idea that you're going to have motivated, affected forces that are not seen by the local population as shia dominators. remember this is one of the reasons that isis was able to move in in the first place was because people in the sunni regions in iraq became alienated from a shia dominated government i think that's not only a very significant military problem, it's a political problem. there's obviously political desire here to step up the timetable in response to these terrible terrible attacks. we have a new more aggressive secretary of detensefense. i hope what rick is saying is heard in washington. >> i hope it is too, rick. like i'm just -- do you think that politics is in part driving this rush to take back mosul, colonel? >> i suspect that that's a part of it. i think peter made a good point. everybo

primarily shia militias. they are unconnected with security forces and done things like the police when they have been stopped. it's an attempt to make life bearable in baghdad. it will lift the curfew and other cities are expected to follow suit. >> refugees in pakistan are forced to leave the country in record numbers. expulsions increased since attacks on a school in peshawar. as gepp far glass reports, those with proper documentation are forced to across the boarder with nowhere to go. >> the border crossing between afghanistan and pakistan is busy. it's busier that unusual. 24,000 afghans returned from pakistan. the international organization said it came whack back in the middle of last year. about a month ago pakistani police raided this man's home. they kept his older son for 10 days, basically keeping him hostage. >> the pakistani police houses. >> he has never been to afghan. he is registered with the united nations and entitled to stay until the end of 2015. they say that didn't matter. the pressur

then you have local militia formed to protect southern cities from advancement from the shias. everywhere you looks at it economic security wise or socially. there is a lot of subdivisions. >> thank you. that report live from aiden. before we move to the rest of the day's news. let's remind you that houthis, and how the crisis in yemen unfolded. the houthis are a shia minority group, pard of a yazidi sect making up a third of the population they took part in the 2011 revolution, but they rejected gulf cooperation deal that included immunity for sala and a coalition government. in july protesters took to the streets. the houthis seized on the public discontent and the houthis took control of the parts of capital including the government buildings. in january they stormed the palace, placing a member under house arrest. a senior columnist for the saudi gazzel says iran is behind the coup and is playing politics to exert its power. >> we have to look who is behind the houthis. iran is behind the houthis, they are behind hezbollah and the shia militias in iraq and syria. that worri

that means they need to feel protected won't be victim iced by the shia militias based out of iran. >> do you agreed with john mccain's assessment that we are losing? >> i don't think we've made any progress and i think that's a very fair criticism. by necessity, though i think we'll have to defeat isis in iraq first. i think we are making process. it's slower that we'd like but i don't think that's mean we ought to rush in with combat troops. i'm not sure it would do much good at this point. >> congressman, thanks for your time. >> thanks poppy. >>> still to come the face of nbc news will not be seen in his anchor chair for at least the next few days removing himself from that position temporarily while people wonder if they can trust him again. will he be back? the newsman's credibility on the line. we'll talk about it next. [engine revving] [engine revving] [engine revving] ♪ introducing the first-ever 306 horsepower lexus rc coupe with available all-wheel drive. once driven, there's no going back. lease the 2015 rc 350 for $449 a month for 36 months. see your lexus dealer. vo: 85

and syria but particularly in iraq where there will be a ground offensive with the help of the shia militias kurdish forces and hopefully the iraqi military with the support of the u.s. military and this international air campaign. melissa? melissa: thank you so much for that report. stocks losing steam, the dow at session lows near 100 point. let's go nicole petallides on the floor of the new york stock exchange with more on this trade. nicole? >> reporter: market breadth was weak and gone the weaker. down nearly 100 point not too far off of the session lows. the dow down about half a 1%. 93 points 17,730. and a majority of stocks lower as well on the dow jones industrial average about 25 of the 30 names have down arrows. shows you the selling is lower across the board, all sectors. energy has been the shining spot. travelers, johnson & johnson, mcdonald's walmart are some of the big laggards on the dow jones industrial average. you did have news out of some of these names such as mcdonald's with weaker same-store sales. the vix, the fear index up 8%, that has accelerated some, we're watchi

keep in mind that isf is looked at as a shia army at this point in time as well as you've got shia militiasnd centers coordinating and actually directing operations of the isf in some cases. >> thank you both so much. coming up for us new polling out today on the race for the white house. shows that democrats have a clear favorite. republicans, well seems still up for grabs. we'll tell you about a big shift in the gop field as well as this. jeb bush looking to blaze his own trail when it comes to foreign policy. we'll give a major speech in just under an hour. how will he set himself apart from his older brother. [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare? that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans they could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call today to request a free decision guide. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor

. >> shia militias have made gains against isil fighters, but some have been accused of killing sunni civilians. al jazeera has been given exclusive access to one of the groups in the province as it prepares for an assault on the isil stronghold of tikrit. we have a report. >> 35 kilometers beyond this valley is ticket city and the surrounding areas. it's mainly under the control of the islamic state of iraq and the levant. this is the fronted line, marked by a tributary of the euphrates river, the mission is to keep the area clear of isil fighters and prepare for assault on tikrit. here militias are backed by iran and made up of civilians not professional soldiers. some of them have been accused of revenge attacks against sunnis in the areas they have taken from isil, an allegation this commander denies. >> i'm a six engineer, and i've answered the holy call from the grand ayatollah and in part, the popular mobilization forces. i'm a witness to everything that has taken place here and i can tell you that hasn't happened. >> for now this shia militia wait and wonder what they face. pa

. >> a shia militia in iraq pushed isil from a key target and preparing to push them from other strongholdses. >> a political deadlock continues. >> the u.n.'s cop court ruled