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he said he made a quote bad decision to faulto a young woman from turkey to syria and then mosul iraq. and they have released a vid quo eo of his confession. >> i was with a lot of foreigners and people from the surrounding area. i didn't really support their ideology and that's at that point, that's when i decided i needed to escape. i wanted to go back to america. my message to the american people is the life in mosul it's really, really bad. >> it is unclear if wesz is returning to the u.s. or will be prosecuted. >>> meanwhile, the new york pizzeria owner who admitted he been sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison. previously pled guilty to providing material support to isis. he was the first man captured and convicted of supporting isis in the u.s. and iraqi born palestinian has been indicted on trying to support isis. this comes two months after he was arrested and accused of lying about traveling to syria. he faces a total of 15 years in prison. >>> it is a flight 55 passengers and crew won't soon forget. it was struck by lightning and had to make an emergency landing at nearby jfk

he said he made a quote bad decision to faulto a young woman from turkey to syria and then mosul iraq. and they have released a vid quoeo of his confession. >> i was with a lot of i didn't really support their ideology and that's at that point, that's when i decided i needed to escape. i wanted to go back to america. my message to the american people is the life in mosul it's really, really bad. >> it is unclear if wesz is returning to the u.s. or will be prosecuted. >>> meanwhile, the new york pizzeria owner who admitted he tried to recruit for isis has been sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison. previously pled guilty to providing material support to isis. he was the first man captured and convicted of supporting isis in the u.s. and iraqi born palestinian has been indicted on trying to support isis. this comes two months after he lying about traveling to syria. he faces a total of 15 years in prison. >>> it is a flight 55 passengers and crew won't soon forget. it was struck by lightning and had to make an emergency landing at nearby jfk. it was circling when it hit turbulence and it

>> what's happening in mosul, iraq, iraq's first strategy is no longer there, i think we need not tort thinking of i.s.i.s. as a regional problem. syria, iraq, establishing bases in libya, it has bases in yemen. so we need to start developing a comprehensive strategy for i.s.i.s. beyond syria and iraq. i think be i agree with steve, that right now, this administration is -- does not have that kind of comprehensive strategy in place and is not interested in developing one, does not have the time to develop one. i agree with him, it's going to be handing over the situation in the least bad shape possible to the next administration. for the next administration, it is a comprehensive strategy dealing with i.s.i.s, that requires not only fire power. it requires development assistance, intelligence, better communication, it requires getting at the root causes of this phenomenon called i.s.i.s. it used to be al qaeda, now it's i.s.i.s, if we don't deal with the root causes we will have a more virulent form of extremism if we were to get rid of i.s.i.s. so -- >> ambassador volker if we look

iraq. the central command said more help is needed to retake mosul in iraq, raqqah, syria from isis fightershe first real call from the military leadership for more potential ground troops to help the iraqis and others retake these two key areas? >> yeah, wolf. as it relates -- again, we are talking about mosul, iraq's second largest city a real strong hold and raqqah in syria, the self declared capital of isis. you are not going to defeat isis unless you get them out of those town s and get them back. in fact today, general austin, who oversea sees military operations against isis talked about this on political. he said, if you are going to do that you need more troops. he's made a recommendation now to the pentagon just for that very thing. i think we have a little sound of what he was talking about and what he needs. >> we could develop better human intelligence. we could perhaps provide more teams at various levels. we could increase our assistance in terms of providing help with logistical issues and we could increase some elements of the special operations. >> there's 3700 u.s. troops

this used to be the main road connecting raqqa, the so-called isis capital in syria, with mosul, iraq's second biggest city, also controlled by isis. but now the road has been democratic forces. colonel tala selo told us his fighters have been given over 100 tons of ammunition by the u.s.-led coalition in the last six months, all of it dropped by parachute. but america's most effective partner in syria has some murky alliances. it's accused of coordinating with russia, which backing the syrian regime and is also allegedly fought against other u.s.-backed groups. colonel selo denied both those claims, but admitted his group enjoys a long-standing truce with the syrian regime. its flag flies over two compounds inside his territory. this u.s.-backed group is taking on isis and winning, sometimes paying a terrible price, but its allegiances are complicated. colonel selo also told us that he met with brett mcgirg, to the anti-isis coalition when he visited syria in january. the colonel said his group asked for antitank missiles and machine guns but so far, scott, he says they've received onl

khweis made a bad decision to follow a young woman from turk toy syria and then into mosul, iraq. his kurdish captors released a heavily edited interview of his confession. >> i was with a lot of foreigners, a lot of asians, russians, and people from the surrounding area. i didn't really support their ideology, and that's -- at that point that's when i decided i needed to escape. >> i wanted to go back to america. >> my message to the american people is -- life in mosul -- it's really -- really bad. >> it is unclear how whether he will return to the u.s. or be prosecuted. meanwhile, the new york pizzeria over who admitted he tried to recruit for isis has been sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison. he previously pled guilty for providing support to isis. the first man captured and convicted of supporting isis in the u.s. >>> an iraqi-born political, a 23-year-old has been indicted on trying to support isis. this comes two months after being arrested and accused about lying to traveling to syria. he faces a total of 15 years in prison if convicted on both charges. >>> it a flight 55 p

this used to be the main road isis capital in syria, with mosul, iraq's second biggest city, also controlled by isis. but now the road has been recaptured by the syrian democratic forces. colonel tala selo told us his fighters have been given over 100 tons of ammunition by the u.s.-led coalition in the last six months, all of it dropped by parachute. but america's most effective partner in syria has some murky alliances. it's accused of coordinating with russia, which backs the syrian regime and has also allegedly fought against other u.s.-backed groups. colonel selo denied both those claims, but admitted his group enjoys a long-standing truce with the syrian regime. its flag flies over two compounds inside his territory. on isis and winning, sometimes paying a terrible price, but its allegiances are complicated. colonel selo also told us that he met with brett mcgurk, president obama's special envoy to the anti-isis coalition when he visited syria in january. the colonel said his group asked for anti-tank missiles and machine guns, but so far, scott, he says they've received only promises.

a new effort is mounting tonight called operation conquest with the goal of liberating mosul, iraq's second largest city. american troops could be sent into back them up but not on the front line. pentagon officials said today they will bring a plan to president obama soon to increase the america's military presence, in iraq. >>> meanwhile u.s. is picking off top isis leaders one at a time. today they announced special forces secretly sent into syria, killed islamic state's second in command, abdel raman, a man who was in charge of the finances, and some terror plots. >>> we know, that he was, actively planning, external attacks, presumably in the west or even in the united states. >> the removal of this isil leader will hamper the organization's ability to conduct operations both inside and outside of the iraq and syria. >> the u.s. commandos went into capture him a live. he would have had crucial intelligence but he reportedly would not give up without a fight, even when he was surrounded. >>> well, talking temperatures tonight, cooler air is moving in but it should be a nice coupl

this used to be the main road connecting raqqah, the so-called isis capital in syria, with mosul, iraq's second biggest city, also controlled by isis. but now the road has been recaptured by the syrian democratic forces. colonel tala selo told us his fighters have been given over 100 tons of ammunition by the u.s.-led coalition in the last six months, all of it dropped by parachute. but america's most effective partner in syria has some murky alliances. it's accused of coordinating with russia, which backs the syrian regime and has also allegedly fought against other u.s.-backed groups. claims, but admitted his group enjoys a long-standing truce with the syrian regime. its flag flies over two compounds inside his territory. this u.s.-backed group is taking on isis and winning, sometimes paying a terrible price, but its allegiances are complicated. colonel selo also told us that he met with brett mcgurk, president obama's special envoy to the anti-isis coalition when he visited syria in january. the colonel said his group asked for anti-tank missiles and machine guns, but so far, scott, h

over ran mosul in 2014 as it rap toured roughly a third of iraq. in syria government forces claimed to have entered the i.s.i.l. held city of palmyra. the city fell on i.s.i.l. last may. our correspondent reports on what could be a significant step for the syrian regime. >> reporter: the pictures broadcast on the television are said to show a significant advance. syrian government troops fighting to retake historic palmyra from i.s.i.l. state media also showed war planes and helicopters flying over head as soldiers approached on the ground. while there has been no independent confirmation, the syrian council for rights said fighting continued outside the city on thursday after the syrian army moved to the city outskirts on wednesday. i.s.i.l. captured the city which clues a unesco world heritage site last may and began mass executions. palmyra's location manges it an important one for the forces and allies. while russia withdrew forces from syria after six months of aerial bombardment, the government of bashar al-assad has recently made advances in

the troop was based outside of mosul, iraq. >>> isis mean while released a new propaganda video showing a british man. jhonatan can'tly is shown, perhaps under duress, mocking u.s. air strikes. isis has used him in several videos. >>> two brothers face charges after police say one of them opened fire on a man in broad daylight. 56-year-old larry williams is charged with attempted murder and accused of firing shots at a man yesterday afternoon in police say he took off in a car driven by his brother, 54-year- old robert williams. both of the men had heroin on them and two handguns were found at their home. >>> new york city shut down a construction site after the started asking questions about safety. the most dangerous in new york in fines. >> after the buildings department let construction continue, eyewitness news investigators asked who was overseeing the site and its safety,. >> reporter: this 7-story apartment building in the bronx ranks among the worst construction sites in the city. it racked up so many fines for endangering its workers and the public that late last year city bui

he is giving detail of the last month he spent in isis-controlled mosul, iraq. >> we got to another house. a lot of foreigners were there. all the foreigners had to give their i.d.'s and passports. jonathan: khweis said his journey began in december. he traveled to europe and headed to turkey where he met an iraqi girl before arriving in iraq in outside khweis' virginia home earlier this week, his father, aggressively telling reporters his son had nothing to do with isis. a high school friend recounting how he lived a normal life. >> he wasn't violent, he wasn't religious. we did the same things and got in the same type of trouble. leon: khweis says living in mosul was horrific. and those who control the iraqi city don't represent ice lam. leon harris, abc7 news. jonathan: marriott will not get a piece of starwood. they were outbid. starwood calling off $12 billion buy-out agreement at the last minute. instead a group led by chinese insurance company will get starwood upping the offer to more than $14 billion for the purchase. starwood, which owns the sheraton and the westin brands is pay

to support iraqi troops in the coming weeks, as they get ready, those troops, to move towards mosul, iraq's second largest city and try once and for all to get it back from isis. right now the base is generally being used to defend other positions in the area. but it is a bit of a shift. it has a little bit to do with geography, how to get mosul back. but i have to tell you, in speaking with defense officials today, indeed, in their view, limited but indeed leaning towards a ground combat role in a very limited fashion that we know to be artillery support for iraq troops. >> all right. barbara starr, thank you so much. keep us posted. >>> meantime, all of this as the president of the united states is on route to cuba, the first u.s. president in 90 years. there are live pictures of havana. we've got full coverage of the visit starting with cnn's ed lavandera ahead of the first family's arrival. what do you know that they will do as soon as they land? >> reporter: as soon as president obama and the delegation traveling with him, he will leave the airport and make his way to a hotel where the

us forces going after a chemical weapons site near mosul, iraq the northern part of the country. this information gleaned from the capture they made a month ago so we will follow that story as well. a big morning pick up >> lots of breaking nose. >> a lot happening happening now starts now. have a great wednesday. jenna: donald trump takes three out of four states as bernie sanders get a big shot of momentum. democrats europe for their next showdown before florida and ohio. have a great day so far. i'm simi valley. jon: hillary clinton winning big in mississippi but senator bernie sanders pull off an upset in delegate rich michigan. narrowly defeating clinton after the real clear politics average of the polls had her ahead by 21 points . >> we started this campaignas many will remember 10 months ago . we were 60 or 70 points down in the polls. and what we have seen is in poll after poll, state after state, what we have done is created the kind of momentum that we need to win. and once again, this has been a fantastic night in michigan, we are very grateful. we have all the suppor

iraq. he says he left the u.s. last december and made his way through europe to syria, and then to mosul in iraq. but he hated it there. countries. there's no smoking, and i found message. >> my message to the american the people who control mosul don't represent the religion, isis, isil, they don't represent the religion. >> reporter: u.s. officials say upwards of 250 americans have traveled to the middle east to join extremist groups. khweis says that's not him, but he surely faces a lot of hard questions from u.s. investigators about what exactly he was doing in isis territory. david? >> all right, our chief foreign correspondent terry moran tonight. terry, thank you, as as. >>> and to another headline tonight involving the fight against isis. secretary of state john kerry today accusing isis of committing genocide against christians and other muslim groups in iraq and syria. the terror group blamed for thousands of deaths, many forced to convert to islam or be killed. today's announcement is not expected, though, to change america's military strategy against isis. >>> back in this country now,

iraq. >> i made a bad decision to go with the girl, to go to mosul. because i wasn't thinking straight. >> where are you infrom? >> united states. >>. >> reporter: mohammed jamal kw khweis, 26 years old, captured monday by kurd ishish peshmerga fighters near sinjar, iraq. he says he left the u.s. last december and made his way then to mosul in iraq. >> it's not like the western you know, it's very strict, there's no smoking, and i found it hard for everyone there. >> reporter: and he k has a message. people is that the life in mosul is really, really bad. the people who control mosul don't represent the religion, isis, isil, they don't represent >> reporter: u.s. officials say upwards of 250 americans have traveled to the middle east to join extremist groups. khweis says that's not him, but he surely faces a lot of hard questions from u.s. investigators about what exactly he was doing in isis territory. david? >> all right, our chief foreign correspondent terry moran tonight. terry, thank you, as as. >>> and to another headline tonight involving the fi

. >>> new this morning, iraq has reportedly launched the long awaited offensive to recapture mosul from isis. a spokesperson says that they have retaken the town east of mosul. the coalition is providing airport. mosul is iraq's second largest city and it fell into isis' control in june of 2014. >>> last night, president obama was in buenos aires, argentina, and attending a state dinner. at one point he was guided from his table right there to the dance floor to try out the tango. he occasionally struggled with the difficult steps and the first lady eventually joined in as well. and if the song they danced to sounds familiar, there's probably a good reason. it's the same song as in the iconic tango scene from "scent of a woman" where al pacino whisks a strange around the dance floor. earlier in the day the president spoke alongside president mauricio macri and he was asked if he is taking the scourge of terrorism seriously. >> groups like isil can't destroy us, they don't produce anything. they're not an existential threat to us. their primary power in addition to killing innocent lives