sinjar. islamic state had taken over the province, we were going to come in, we were going to make a difference. and then it was like, well, we didn't really need to rescue them. we just -- we dropped some aid, everybody is fine. most of the people made it off the mountain. and then i get there a year later, and they were like, no, everybody was not fine. more than 3,000 to 5,000 people were executed in mass graves. these were not just men who were fighting them. these were small children and women and the elderly who couldn't get away from them fast enough. bodies were piled on top of each other. children were slaughtered. they were slaughtered. and the rest of them were left to die on the mountain. and then, you know, groups like the pkk or ypg, ypj, different militia groups were helping them through the mountain pass and into syria. let me -- as a reporter, bring you a message. from a young aziti girl i met on the road in sinjar, her car had broken down. it was a beat-up suv. her family wa

as we attacks out from sinjar and seized sinjar mountain, that country david does contribute it of mosul.zure it further isolates mosul. it further restricts this enemy's ability to resupply themselves. so the fight for mosul is ongoing. right now we are in the shaping phase. we continue to cut out various supply lines and capabilities. the fight for fallujah is ongoing. the iraqi security forces are approaching it from three directions. there are the isolation phase of that operation, which if you recall, we were in the isolation phase of ramadi for several months. we are the isolation phase. that is where the attacking forces positions itself all the way around the city adverse locations along the primary avenues in and out of the city. they build a fire and essentially they encircled the city come almost like a boa constrictor, and they will then squeeze in closer and closer into that city until eventually they are able to finally clear the same tactics that applied to ramadi apply in falluja. we do not have a timeline yet. the enemy does get a vote, so we have to see how the fight goes. d

we're not going to return to sinjar. it's dangerous either to stay or to leave. we might not survive, but we have to try. >> a backlash in europe with refugees, and now after attacks in paris, europe's open doors are closing. border controls made it much more difficult to get to western europe. thousands are still trying. for $2,000 each, amir's family will be smuggled to europe for what they hope will be a new start. perhaps he will be one of his first five brothers to go but not the last. >> my brothers collected all the money they have and gave it to me so i can make the journey. all the brothers have given me their money and once i get there, i can help them. >> they say almost everything has been destroyed by the fighting, it is i.s.i.s. controlled. the yazidis lived peacefully with the muslim neighbors in iraq for years but that's over. >> a lot of people died and drowned at sea. it's still better than living among the arabs. it's leave or face death. >> many arabs are joining i.s.i.s. and killing their people and stealing their homes. some say in revenge t

one is sinjar. forces have merga discovered a network of und underground couples that were the i.s. group. we have more. the iraqi town of sinjar seems to be little more han a pile of rubble but jihad eurtss were able -- jihadists were able to hold out despite pounded by air strikes. these kurdish fighters liberated town. they show us around one of many ouses left in ruins where the islamic state group left their trace. their graffiti. they also built tunnels to bombs.t themselves from reporter: the tunnels are almost bolstered by h sand bags on the sides. further three meters underground the women are tread. where at the jihadists are known to leave land mines behind them. a bedroom like in a real house. reporter: an underground city ooked up to the grid with makeshift electricity installations. this brings ventilation from above and network of shelters the inhabitants to stay alive while the town came under attack. >> this is their kitchen where they prepared food for themselves. reporter: in the kitchen you also have all the necessary explosives to make material required to set o

this family fled sinjar, a town that until recently was under isil control in iraq. >> sinjar was cleared of isil, but everyone there wants to establish their own authority. we decided we'd live together in peace or die trying. >> the journey remains long and heart. their next goal is to cross macedonia, serbia and beyond. >> the number of refugees crossing the border to macedonia is constant, so far, over 2,000 people have crossed and wednesday, over 3500 people went through. the u.n. refugee agency said some were subjected to ill treatment and pushed back by the macedonia border police. >> volunteer and aid groups are doing what they can to help. >> we have a camp with medical services. we have shelter which is covered and heated. >> some greek charities are cooperating. a group of chefs and volunteers are preparing hot meals. >> we give people food. if we don't give them food at the time, they need it, we are nothing. this gas station became a waiting point. >> we are giving people free magazines. that will help their life. >> handing leaflets and copies of the bible, dozens of people

this iraqi family fled sinjar, a town that until recently under isil control in iraq. >> sinjar was clearedbut everyone there wanted to establish their own authority. we decided to live together in peace or die trying. >> reporter: the flow of refugees crossing the border to macedonia is constant. so far over 2,000 people have crossed. and on wednesday, over 3,400 people went through. the u.n. refugee agency said some were subject to maltreatment and push backs by the police. volunteer and aid groups are doing what they can to help. >> we have a camp with medical services. we have shelter which is covered and heated. >> reporter: come greek charities are also cooperating, a group of chefs and volunteers are preparing hot meals. >> if we do not give the people food at the time they need it, we are nothing. >> reporter: about 20-minutes drive from the border, this gas station became a resting point. some arrived the night before. some protestant groups felt it's time to preach. >> we are giving people some free magazines, that speak how god will help their life. >>> happening arabic and [ ina

backs, backed by us, took the town of sinjar. we have seen other smaller forces unified. we had to smaller groups. the syrian arabs and kurds came together to support what we are calling the syrian democratic forces, some are calling the syrian-era coalition. they have recaptured some key terrain, most recently pushing sh out of 900 robert's surrounding territory. there is some progress. doubt solid,ou no just yesterday, secretary carter announced that we would be accelerating a number of our efforts. he talked about the special operations to include sending what was called some targeting aesh, and counterd help enable these local ground forces to become more effective. over time, these forces will be conducting raids, hopefully freeing hostages, and gathering that all precious intelligence, which, in turn, will lead to better deliberative targeting. all of this is still being worked out, and the details are not final. i can tell you that such a team would certainly have air force members front and center, and air force capabilities front and center. such teams would have

they've said there are some 213 families trapped in sinjar. the krg here and the peshmerga won't allow those sunni arab families to come back in because they're seen as collaborators with i.s.i.l. that has angered people here. the u.n. hcr has a report. kurdish security forces and their respective affiliated, continuing as you can see here: very damming words there saying that there is a problem. you've got to ask yourself what does that mean if there is to be an american ground force rule, what does that mean for the rules of engagement. do they take them in? what does it mean to everyone. it is very problem attic and up for debate now. that's the problem that we see in any force coming into iraq >>> thank you. air strikes in syria coordinated by the bashar al-assad regime and russian have killed at least 70 people. five provinces were targeted on friday. 22 people were killed in eastern guda of the capital of damascus. it has been under siege for three years now. it is continuing the air strikes against i.s.i.l. held territory. the military

kurdish and yazidis forces helped take back the town of sinjar. we've seen some other smaller forces unify against daesh. we had the syrian arabs and kurds join together. this is a group we have helped to equip. they have helped capture some key terrain, pushing daesh out of a town and 900 kilometers of surrounding territory. there is some progress. finally as you no doubt saw just yesterday secretary carter announced we would be accelerating a number of our efforts, particularly he talked some about the special operations world to include sending what was called some expediti expeditionary forces to combat daesh. over time, these forces will be conducting raids hopefully freeing hostages and gathering that all precious intelligence, which in turn will lead to better deliberate targeting like i described to you earlier. though all of this is still being worked out and the details are not final, i can tell you such a team would certainly have air force members front and center and air force capabilities front and center, so i'm talking here typical

last year the president, they were going to rescue people off mount sinjar. we're going to make a difference. we trust some aids. some people made off the mountain. everybody was not fine. than 5000 people were executed in mass graves. these were not just men who were fighting them. these were small children and women and the elderly. they couldn't get away fast enough. bodies were piled on top of each other. thedren were slaughtered rest of them were left to die. let me bring you a message. from a young girl i met on the road. her car had broken down. it was a beat-up suv. her family was making its way back from turkey. they were heading to u.n. camp just outside of sinjar hoping that they would find some help for some food. she said we want the world to declare what happened to us a genocide. the islamic state capture lots of people when they arrived. many did not escape. they killed lots of children. we asked where is the world? where is the great usa? aren't they a threat to your nation as well? where was europe? we all turned a blind eye to what was happ

and allies are taking a strategic role for the iraqi defenses with the renewed vigor we saw in sinjar, especially and up tempo operation since the november 13th attacks on paris. so they have seen launching airstrikes. we understand they have some involvement in the building of the temporary bridge and training the iraqi troops on how to launch a complex assault of this kind. a number targeting key isis locations. we understand they had weapons caches yesterday and they hit some command post, isis command posts outside. 20 isis killed in this fight. >> robin, following that had vans on ramadi, thank you for that. >> we are warning of another black eye for a secret service. a radio, a gun, flash drive stolen out of his personal vehicle near secret service headquarters in downtown washington if broad daylight t. secret service declined to comment. over the last few years, the agency has been hit by a string of scandals related to agent behavior and security lapses. the administration is touting encouraging news, it says the mid-way point, more people are getting coverage him among them,

when i file lost sinjar last month, they also lost the ability to use highway 47.rced in are much slower secondary roads through the desert south of sinjar. on december 25 and 26th, we conducted a series of strikes on the secondary roads in order to further degrade isil's ability to move fighters and supplies the between iraq and syria. let's take a look at one of the airstrike videos so you can see what i'm talking about. let's try the second video. go ahead and roll the second video. moving to syria, in tashrin, star number eight to the north west of raqa, successfully captured the dam late saturday evening post up let's take a quick look at that area. pull up the map. this is the first time you have seen this map, so let me quickly orient you to it. aleppo is to the left, number one. two is at the center of the pocket that we sometimes have spoken about. the tashreen dam is number three and raqqa is in the far right-hand lower of your screen. the dam is a hydro electric them that sits about 56 miles east of aleppo. enabled by nearly 26 airstrikes over the last s

. >> they've had recent success in recapturing territory from sinjar. now they're hopeful they can defeat armed groups with help from their ally it is the american must intervene with or without permissio per. >> we will consider any such troops to be an act of aggression. one of those groups accused of abuse as it is popular mobilization forces. a mainly shia militia. but president obama said he won't authorize airstrikes to support them. it all goes back to the 2003 u.n 2003 u.s. invasion of iraq. that's when paul bremer was sent by president bush to oversee iraq's transition nat government. bremer made a series of decisions including disbanding the iraqi army that many say have contributed to the rise of isil in iraq. >> i did not disband or destroy the iraqi army. there was not a cybil member of the iraqi army stand at arms on april 17th as the general has testified himself. the question wasn't wasn't to disband. that was a mistake. we should never have used that verbal. the question was should we recall the army. >> the only real debate is whether

the critical crossing of sinjar. what is sinjar? sinjar is a place in between mosul and raqqa and to cut isil into its syrian branch and stop them from crossfeeding is a, the objective of taking sinjar. and so in the end the political end states are different for syria and iraq, absolutely. >> understand. mr. chairman, if i may just one quick question. because the department of defense has asked for $116 million reprograming to to keep the effort of general nagla's training program. do you support the restarting of that program? >> i urgent i support that funding but i don't describe it or documents i sent you as restarting of the old program. as i described earlier we learned from the old program. it had some success but not nearly what we hoped for and i told you for me that was a disappointment and i'm very up front about that but what we're asking for is that is funds that were previously earmarked for that to approach that we think is more effective, which is precisely one of the ones i've been describing today. that is why we

more recently, isil lost at sinjar and baiji, where its oil refinery. we saw a daring raid supported by our special forces which rescued dozens of prisoners from isil, which master sgeant joshua wheeler made the ultimate sacrifice. so far isil has lost about 40% of the populated areas it once controlled in iraq. and it will lose more. iraqi forces are now fighting their way deeper into ramadi. they're working to encircle fallujah and cut off supply routes into mosul. again, these are urban areas where isil is entrenched. our partners on the ground face a tough tight ahead, and we're gogog to continue to back them up with the support they need toto ultimately clear isil from iraq. >> the president's strategy is playing out on the front lines in northern iraq. vast territory, their offensive to overrun the kurds has been stopped in its tracks outside mosul. charlie d'agata took a news crew there. >> reporter: in ways it was a routine assignment. head out to the front lines and see how kurdish peshmerga forces are holding up against isis. but we got to wit

what i would ask is that while there are tactical wins we are seeing not just in ramadi but in sinjarnd we have seen elements within syria where they are degrading the islamic state, the question i would ask is how is that affecting the ability of the islamic state to degrade -- or degrading their ability to prosecute domestic attacks? i think this is the thing we need to work on at the moment, is yes, there are tactical wins going on in ramadi, sinjar and across syria but what does that mean in terms of long term effect? in the last year, foreign fighters coming into syria have doubled. >> are you speaking mostly of what is the effect maybe symbolically, psychologically, to the islamic state, to isis? because we know short after we saw this video coming out, it was essentially to kind of beef up the morale of isis fighters as well. is that what we are needing to see as far as more than just air strikes and more than just terrorist -- ten terrorists killed? >> great question. there's no doubt that the fusion between what's called the air/land interface, the ability of u.s. advisors wh

. >> translation: sinjar was cleared of i.s.i.l. we decided to live in peace or die together trying. >> reporter: the journey remains long and hard. the next goal is to cross through macedonia and then through serbia and beyond. the flow of refugees crossing the border of mass dome re done-- macedonia is massive. the agency says some of them were subjected to ill treatment and push backs by the macedonian border police. volunteers and aid groups are doing what they can to help. >> we have a camp with medical services, shelter, which is covered and heated. >> reporter: some greek charities in the area are also cooperating. a group of chefs and volunteers are preparing holt meals >> we give people-- hot meals. if we not give food, we are nothing. >> reporter: about 20 minutes drive from the border this gas station became a waiting point. families rest and wait to be allowed to continue their journey. some of them have arrived the night before. some greek and american groups felt it was time to preach. >> we are giving people some free

islamic state fighters pulled out of the northern iraqi city of sinjar last month.hey gave up the western city of ramadi this week. authorities are showing signing of dwauing from demarcus. >>> ten member countries of the southeast asian nations launched an economic community on thursday which promotes trade liberalization. asean leaders signed a declaration in malaysia last month to establish it. ♪ a government-sponsored event to celebrate the launch of the aseen economic community or a.c.e., was held in the thai capital of bangkok. it has a population of 600 million. they will also allow freer movement of skilled workers such as medical doctors and architects within the region. they expect the economic community will help accelerate the pace of growth in the region. however, economic differentials in the region pose a challenge for the single market. the per capita gdp of singapore the most advanced asean economy is about 60 times that of myanmar. member economies also have domestic regulations against foreign affiliated companies to protect their own industries.

they've had recent success in the northern iraqi town of sinjar. now they're hopeful to defeat the armed group in other parts of the country with help from their allies. >> until now the international coalition has been using airstrikes as a former officer you need troops on the ground. >> but prime minister hyder al abadi disagrees. he reaffirmed that iraq has no need of foreign ground troops. we did not ask innutrient to send any ground troops. we'll consider any such troops to be an act of aggression. they're concerned about iraqi army's increase human rights violations. it goes on to say that reports indicate that iraqi security forces kurdish security forces and their respected affiliated militias have been responsible for looting and destruction of property belonging to the sunni arab communities. one of those groups accused of abuses are popular mobilization forces. they're part of the iraqi army. president obama said he won't authorize airstrikes is to support them. it all goes back to the 2003 invasion and occupation of iraq. that's when a

which president organized the recapture of sinjar?wasn't the fillmore administration, it was the obama administration. so it's hard to figure out what's going on here except rhetoric and campaign promises. >> is that the opening president obama has left because he's been so reticent to talk about his strategy? >> right. what does bravado get you? and i think obviously one thing he learned from 2013 with the red line is don't make promises that you don't want to keep or can't keep or are not executable. so let's not -- and yet he's a very calm person, he doesn't like the chest-beating. these guys, they can draw angry pictures on the bombs that are falling and that makes you emotionally satisfied, but the bombs are being dropped by american planes, whether it's -- >> let me ask you the bigger question. is the strategy working? >> i think it's too early to tell. i think it is working. i think the american forces and their allies -- and one of the problems, by the way, just open parenthetical. everyone knows they need a sunni army to defe

more recently, isil lost at sinjar and baiji, where its oil refinery. we saw a daring raid supported by our special forces which rescued dozens of prisoners from isil, which master sergeant joshua wheeler made the ultimate sacrifice. so far isil has lost about 40% of the populated areas it once controlled in iraq. and it will lose more. iraqi forces are now fighting their way deeper into ramadi. they're working to encircle fallujah and cut off supply routes into mosul. our partners on the ground face a tough tight ahead, and we're going to continue to back them up with the support they need to ultimately clear isil from iraq. >> the president's strategy is playing out on the front lines in northern iraq. although isis still controls vast territory, their offensive to overrun the kurds has been stopped in its tracks outside mosul. charlie d'agata took a news crew there. >> reporter: in ways it was a routine assignment. head out to the front lines and see how kurdish peshmerga forces are holding up against isis. but we got to within a half mile of isis te

military leaders applauded the fight to retake baiji, and sinjar.ome to minority yazidi and sunni. >> whel chase i.s.i.l., and go after them. we'll lies the flag and purchase the land. >> we tell the people that we are coming to liberate them. and i.s.i.l. will be defeated. >> analysts say a body's fail tour to mention the u.s. was not an oversight. >> the prime minister is trying to say this is iraqis taking control of their own destiny, because it looked like this was more a u.s. operation than an iraqi operation, it would fade into the narrative that it is the west that is struggling with groups like i.s.i.s. >> while iraq and the u.s. are celebrating progress against i.s.i.l., there's a split on the way forward. haider al-abadi says 2016 will be the year iraq kicks i.s.i.l. out of mosul. >> in the u.s.'s few, it may take longer. >> iraqi forces and tribal fighters are tightening their grip. there's reports of fighting in fallujah. this report from erbil. >> according to reports, 500 fighters came to the front line to consolidate and carry out th

. >> translation: sinjar was cleared. we decided either we live in peace or try together trying. >> reporter: the journey remains long and hard. their next goal is to cross over macedonia and then serbia and beyond. so far over 2 crossed over. some of them are subjected to ill treatment and bush backs by the macedonian border police police. volunteers and aid groups are doing what they can to help. >> reporter: i have a camp with medical services, we have shelter, which is covered and heated >> some greek charitys are also cooperating. a group of chefs and volunteers are preparing hot meals. >> translation: if we are not given food at the time we need it, we're nothing for us. >> reporter: about 20 minutes drive from the border this gas station became a waiting point. families rest and wait to be allowed to continue their journey. some of them have arrived the night before. some greek and american groups felt it is time to breach. >> we are giving people some magazines. >> reporter: handing copies of the bible bible. doze

of ramadi military leaders applauded the fight to retake beji, hub of the iraqi oil industry, and sinjar, home to yazidis and sunnies. but when the iraqi prime minister addressed his nation on monday, hyder al abadi had nothing to say about the 3500 u.s. troops who have been training and advising the country's army for more than a year. >> they won't stop until each city and village is liberated. we can say in full confidence that we're coming to liberate mosul. to be the final and heavy blow to beat daesh. >> i think what the prime minister is trying to say this is iraqis iraqis taking control of their destiny. if it looks like it's more u.s. operation than iraqi operation this again would feed into the narrative that it's the west that is struggling with groups like isis. >> while iraq and the u.s. are celebrating what they call progress against isil there is a split on the way forward. hyder al abadi says 2016 will be the year iraq kicks isil out of mosul. the u.s. view that it might take longer. roslind jordan, al jazeera, washington. >> the french security analysts said that charaff

peshmerga fighters who managed to capture sinjar from isil discovered 70 tunnels underground. many contain bombs and ammunition boxes. the town was taken during a two-day fenc-offense-day offense. >> a doctor jailed for infecting over 200 people with infected hiv needles. the only way to get better is to challenge yourself, and that's what we're doing at xfinity. we are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. and this includes our commitment to being on time. every time. that's why if we're ever late for an appointment, we'll credit your account $20. it's our promise to you. we're doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around. >> welcome back from al jazeera. let's take you through to the top stories. russia and turkey's top diplomats have met for the first time since turkey shot down a warplane near the syrian border last month. president vladimir putin said that turkey would live to regret the aggression. >>> britain's parliament has voted to take action in syria. >>>

these no longer include sinjar. there are the attack zone areas where isil conducts offensive maneuvers. zana hoda has more. >> reporter: it has been described as the final assault to recapture ramadi from isil. [ explosion ] >> reporter: the iraqi military says it's troops are moving in on the center of the city. the provincial capitol of the maintain sunny anbar province has been under isil control for months. ramadi is an urban battleground, progress has been slow. isil is fighting back using suicide bombers. it's not known how many armed men isil has in the city, but it is believed it could be up to 300. there are also civilians trapped inside. the iraqi government dropped leaflets calling on people to leave, but isil is reportedly stopping them to they can use them as human shields. ramadi's fall was an embarrassment for the iraqi government. the iraqi government didn't put up much of a fight and withdrew quickly. months later they are back on the front lines, and a spokesman said the fight is being legaled by

i spent some time in saint-jacques -- sinjar. [inaudible] there was a small girl 14 years old. >> i only wish i could take every one of you to sinjar to see the atrocities for yourself. you know, so many times we spend watching television, we are very disconnected. it seems like a movie. it doesn't seem real. we tell ourselves this will never happen in america. we will never see anything like this in paris. but for the people of iraq, and now we see what people, from their capabilities by having a sanctuary that they've established, that territory that has not been challenged to the extent it needs to be. they were allowed to metastasi metastasize, and that has become on most difficult objective. when i was on the ground, the most important thing for me as the reporter is to tell you the truth. what i'm seeing. not just to deliver a narrative, not to listen to what the white house is saying is happening, or to the defense department. it's the value what i as a person on the ground and gathering as information to deliver to the am

this no longer includes sinjar, and finally there is the attack zone areas where isil conducts offensivevers which have been concentrated around baghdad. zana hoda reports. ♪ [ gunfire ] >> reporter: it has been described as the final assault to recapture ramadi from isil. the iraqi military says its troops are moving in on the center of the city. the provinceal capitol has been under isil control for months. progress has been slow. isil is fighting back, using suicide bombers. it is not known how many men the armed group has in the city, but iraqi intelligence believes there could be up to 300. there are also civilians trapped inside, and reports of casualties. the iraqi military dropped leaflets a few days ago calling on people to leave, but isil is reportedly stopping them, so they can use them as human shields. isil stormed ramadi in may at the time much of iraq's western province was already under the arm's group control. the fall was an embarrassment for the iraqi government. the iraqi government didn't put up much of a fight and withdrew quickly. now they are back. and the fight i

military leaders applauded the iraqi troops fight to retake the hub of the iraqi oil industry and sinjar, home to both minority i can't sees and sunni. we tell people that we are coming to liberate you from isil and isil will flee ramadi. >> analysts say the failure to mention the u.s. wasn't an oversight. >> i think what the prime minister is trying to say, this is iraqis taking control of their own destiny, because if it looks like this was more u.s. operation than an iraqi operation, this, again, would feed into the narrative that it's the west that is struggling with groups like isis. >> while iraq and the u.s. celebrate what they call progress against isil, there is a split on the way forward. al abadi said 2016 will be the year iraq kicks isil out of mosul. the u.s. view, it might take longer. rosalyn jordan, al jazeera, washington. >>> iraqi forces and sunni tribal fighters say they are frightening their grip on ramadi after recapturing it, sweeping and clearing operations are underway there. isil said it launched a counter offensive. joining us from erbil, stamina, the government

half year, the partners have worked with iraqi and libyan forces and we haven't -- we have liberated sinjar with the iraqis. we have removed the terrorist commanders on the battlefield. we have cut off supply lines, hitting oil facilities over the course of the last months, including in recent weeks. really 400 tanker trucks were destroyed and we are pushing daesh out of 25% of the territory they once controlled. now we aren't is find the pressure on rob at the -- on ramadi. on finances, recruiting, and propaganda. the british have just begun to launch strikes of their own. germany is stepping up with the run support and we are increasing the president and capacity of the u.s. special forces. we understand, and i think you do too, that the fastest way to defeat them is to halt the outflow of refugees by bringing an end to this war. that is why the second core element of our strategy is political. a renewed diplomatic initiative which we have led, convening people in vienna within two weeks to create a broader and more action oriented effort in order to isolate terrorists and said syria on t

. >> we were just in sinjar.hey did not see the daylight between them. >> here's the other thing. >> how are you going to inspire someone to pick up a gun and fight? muchhas been through so killing and violence. psychologically they thought maybe it was over. they have never had anyone they can trust. think it used to be better? >> i think it has a chance. >> but militias still challenge authority. there is a line that they cannot fight over. >> there was a scenario predicted that is starting to exist. >> what is the presence of iranians in syria and iraq? >> every month we hear about and iranian general getting killed. >> or injured. solid -- assad doesn't have as much control. there was discussion that assad was uncomfortable with the role of the iranians. with thousands of them fighting on the ground alongside hezbollah, that is why he invited russia to participate more actively. i cannot speak to the validity of that. i thought it was an interesting was that assad uncomfortable with how many fighters there we

the troops to retake the oil injury and sinjar home to both minority sunnis. >> translation: we will chase i.s.i.l. and go after them from one neighborhood to another and we will raise this flag from the last member of the i.s.i.l. we tell the people that we are coming to liberate them and i.s.i.l. will be defeated and flee as they were defeated in the ramadi. >> reporter: analysts say the body's failure to mention the u.s. wasn't an oversight >> i think what the prime minister is trying to say, this is iraqis taking control of their own designee because if it looks like this was more u.s. operation than an iraqi operation, this again would would feed into the narrative that it is the west to struggling with groups like i.s.i.s. >> reporter: while iraq and the u.s. are celebrating what they call progress against i.s.i.l., there is a split on the way forward. al of abadi says 2016 will be the year i.s.i.l. is kicked ou . >>> concerns in relation to jib discriminate air strikes. kerry criticized the leader of jaysh al-islam. meanwhile, this is the aftermath of heavy shelling said to ha

state coalition air strikes on sinjar mountain. the mountain was cut off, two areas cut off. it was taken over the kurdish peshmerga forces and it was seen as a key excuse against i.s.i.l. what has happened is sunni arab families are stunned between the areas that peshmerga control and i.s.i.l. they're in no man's land. i've been followed who have access and knowledge of those people living in the area that the occur dish peshmerga and the krg government here see them as being collaborators with i.s.i.l., they were there with i.s.i.l. siting the kurdish peshmerga forces so they can't cross back. those families say if they go back towards the identify lines they will be killed by i.s.i.l. fighters and they're in no man's land at the moment. there are negotiations going on to get them out. there are two main tribes in the area. they're trying to bring them together to get them safe passage. i'm told there may well be a solution coming, but this has been two weeks now where these families have been stuck and there's at least 213 families stuck up there. that might be at least a

-backed iraqi forces pushed isis out of the town of sinjar. on the isis-held city of ramadi. the group's largest stronghold baghdady's last public message was posted in may of this year. this new recording, released on an isis twitter page, refers to events as recent as december 14. baghdady's health has been in question for many months. he's been reported injured or killed several times in the past. but, jim, apparently, he's still alive. >> axelrod: jonathan vigliotti covering for us tonight in our london newsroom. thank you. the "washington post" reporter imprisoned in iran had some christmas visitors. the iranian government allowed jason rezaian's wife and mother to see him for several hours. rezaian has been in jail for 522 days, convicted of espionage on evidence that has not been made public. the chicago police officer shot and killed two people early this morning. the officer was responding to reports of a man threatening his both the man and a neighbor were killed. chicago police, currently under intense pressure for the fatal shooting of an unarmed teen last year, s

. >> kid you tell us if the american troops are giving any support for roddy supports to sinjar aid or any tactical support in anbar? >> [inaudible] >> is that a reason why we are for the meaning for those kurdish forces? >> it has nothing to do with forces but the terrain. and between isil and a clean "frontline" of troops with the pest rigo. event on the other side you are safe there is no threat of snipers or a ambushes' it is safe. the data is not the case here. if it is occupied they give it as a series of ink spots on the map. event is it very safe. so of course, for professional reasons we decided to keep forces your in other areas inside the bases. >> and also those loyal tracks. >> that was one of the biggest threats throughout the rest of the battlefield. so its position will control another primary line. through that center of gravity. so that will be the next step. >> [inaudible] >> i don't know. so we continue to work with the iraqis. it will help to stitch up the border. >> en but was the impact? >> added close air support. with those operations for a the direct support f

in sinjar. they are hopeful they can defeat the armed group in other parts of the company with help from their allies. >> translation: until now the international coalition has been using air strikes. you want to end this war from the sky and you need troops on the ground. >> reporter: prime minister doesn't agree. he says we reaffirm that iraq has no need for foreign ground troops. we did not ask any country to send ground forces. we will consider any troops to be an act of aggression. >> reporter: the united nations are concerned about the human rights violations. it goes on to say reports indicate: one of those groups accused of abuses is the mop illization forces, part of the iraqi army. president obama won't authorize air strikes to support thechl. it goes back to the 2003 occupation of iraq. that's when paul brennan was sent by george w bush to over see iraq's transitional government. he made a series of decisions, including disbanding the army that have come to the rise of i.s.i.l. speaki