abadi, i think he understands the challenge and the need to include the sunnis.but that poses a challenge for them of his open shi'a background. so he has critics among the shi'as. if he's seen to be too inclusive of the sunnis. so he's got a real balancing act. >> rose: and he has a voice. >> he still has a voice and still there and is still active. >> rose: an so what's the situation today. >> well i think right now in iraq we've actually achieved a lot. we've substantially reducedb territory that isil holds. physical territory. the kurds have been great in resisting in that part of iraqi. so the combination of the iraqi security forces coupled with coalition air power and our advice and assistance and the training we're doing i think has brought about not just a stalemate but i think in many cases which you don't hear much about, some reversals. that the isil suffered. kobani which is in syria there's huge losses there in syria brought about by the combination of the forces in kobani as well as coalition air strikes. >> rose: it has also been reported it's a d

behest of iraqi prime minister al abadi, who made a statement similar to that on iraqi television earlier. >> tell me, you mentioned that the operation had been stalled. was there a delay in getting the americans to join in on this operation or was it a logistics thing where they would carry out the reconnaissance? >> as we understand it, until very, very recently the iraqis had resisted asking for that kind of help. and of course, they've acknowledged that they're getting help from iranian elements, particularly to the point of having been spotted the head of the force. and the americans are stressing all of these operations are done with no coordination whatsoever with iran. this is a very unanswer balance between the coalition forces which are trying to say that this is not a joint operation in

we caught up with prime minister haider al-abadi at the reopening of the museum on saturday. that was reopening after distribution of antiquities in mosul by i.s.i.l. i asked the prime minister whether the government was, indeed going to take back the territories, this is what he said. >> i think we are now discussing the whole operation. by kicking daesh out of iraq. i -- d.a.e.s.h. out of iraq i can't give timetables but we are working with people in these places and other areas. they'll be with us. i think there is - i'm overseeing the whole organization of this military organization. it has to be military security to save other people and look after the well being of the people. >> ail of that the planning that has to go into this. not just the ground operations and the police force, all of these things that take time. the sfoction a little closer to baghdad. troops are massing in samarra and other pleases due to be a major offensive due to other officials in the coming days. >> in the news ahead - we meet the senegalese migrants returning home from libya after failing to

prime minister abadi has been very clear. the grand ayatollah has been clear in that regard.is operation as it has unfolded, the provincial governor has supported the operation as well as the chair of the council. key sunni sheikhs from various tribes have been supportive of the operation. so as it has unfolded to this particular moment, the actions of the forces involved here have been about clearing daesh and we would condemn instantly any retribution or any revenge being taken out on the population. >> woodruff: just by your making that point, sounds like you're concerned about that and i know vice president biden spoke today with abadi and made a point about speaking and making sure that the populations whoo are liberated are reintegrated back into society. >> than important outcome. in each one of the occasions in which populations will be liberated, embracing the population and reincorporating the population from being under the heel of daesh or i.s.i.l back into the main stream of society and into the broader of concept of iraq is important. it's also important to make

prime minister abadi has reached out to the shiias he's reached out to the tribes. who in fact victimized the sunni tribes and victimized the sons of iraq he has also established, i think, an unprecedented way relations with the sunni governments in the region. he's been to visit the king in jordan. he has a close relationship with the turks. he and his government have had close relations. so there's a regional relationship. there is a governmental outreach with his own government through his national security adviser and to his personal actions to the sunni tribes in an effort not just to recruit them into the fight against daesh but also to establish the mechanisms and the environment in which reconciliation can occur. and i -- you know i speak frequently with the sheiks of these tribes. there isn't one of them who cease that isil isn't one form or other an alternative. that may have been an issue last year. that may have been an issue in and around the invasion by daesh in june of 2014, but the tribes in which i have long relations and the sheiks with whom i main

abadi in a former palace of dictator saddam hussein.di took office six months ago as isis solidified its hold on a third of his country from across mosul in the north to al anbar province and coming within 20 miles of the capital baghdad. do you have a sense of what it's like in those areas? >> i think it's undescribable and that's why we're very eager to liberate these areas as soon as possible. >> reporter: one key part of that strategy is reclaiming tikrit. >> the only way to take back the city is not by bombardment, by having troops on the ground take back the city. >> reporter: do you wish you had american ground troops, ground combat troops to help? >> it doesn't help whether i wish or not. i don't think that's going to happen. this administration understands the u.s. public are not eager or they don't want to send their own sons and troops outside u.s. >> reporter: without american combat forces on the ground, iran has stepped in to fill the void. nearly two-thirds of those fighting for iraq are iranian-backed shiite militias. te

prime minister abadi had meant to be a reassuring message but didn't have aquite that message. >> jane arraf. >>> north of dera. libya's internationally recognized parliament has agreed to return to u.n. brokered peace talks. the tobruk based faction says only if it is recognized as the sole government. after a series of suicide bombings. >>> the u.n. says political parties are returning to the negotiating table in yemen. previous talks broke down when some parties prefted against what they called heavy-handed tactics, as mohamed vall reports. >> these women are mark of marching dependence the houthi coup. oven acknowledgment is helping. >> translator: everyone is returning to the negotiating table. >> reporter: those who refused to participate in the takeover, since the coup last month the houthis put the president under house arrest, dissolved the parliament and improved ties with iran, yemen's powerful ally against saudi arabia. expectations of a solution are low. these are negotiations before substantive talks can begin. among other issues the fate of this man hangs in the balance.

the white house announced yesterday that iraqi prime minister haider al abadi will me

tripoli, and the legally stalled government in tripoli, struck the oil port >>> general haider al-abadi has been sworn in as the army command are for the libyan commander. once an officer under the formal leader he is now regarded as a divisive figure. there are fears that it could affect the peace talks due to start this week. >> he has proclaimed himself libya's saviour. he is an a personnel mission, khalifa haftar vowing to rid libya of religious extremists. libya's recognised government named him army commander. they probably need him more than them. >> here is. yes. >> we had two rival governments due to the militias, one being libya dawn conquering tripoli, kicking out the elected parliament to tube rock and -- tobruk and establishing a government. these are the ones pushed out of tripoli, they want khalifa haftar on their side because they are going after their enemies. this is his so-called operation dignity in action. it began last may after khalifa haftar left the united states where he had been living for 20 years. with gun, tanks and aircraft. his men have seized large areas

i was in iraq last week and with our ambassador i saw prime minister abadi three times and all of theong and almost unanimous desire for the unique capabilities that the united states and international coalition can bring to this fight. we found that isil has done is really made it a fort res, with fighting positions and demand and control facilities and that's the type of thing we can help the iraqis both identify and eliminate. so we worked very closely with the iraqi government and with iraqi commanders through a joint operations center we have in baghdad which we established last june. similar to as we've done in other operations we planned with them and last night we began the air campaign and struck about 17 targets. the actual ground operation into tikrit will begin over the coming hours and days. but it's going to be painstaking work, to go house by house, alley by alley. the units taking part in that offensive will be primarily iraqi army federal police and iraqi special forces operating under their chain of command. >> we've seen a very high profile, the iranian irg leader w

can do because the iraqi government haider al-abadi has not invited the u.s. to help in tikrit. in a separate hearing. the top people battling i.s.i.l. denied the pentagon was out of the loop. >> we have good overhead imagery and those types of things. so the activity in tikrit was no surprise. i saw it coming. >> pentagon officials say iran has some advantages over the u.s. when it offers military assistance. the sir strikes are not as constrained by strict rules and has no self-imposed limit on boots on the ground. will the offensive be successful. if it is, will control of the area behis honoured to the sunni minority. some are bristling at the perception of why the u.s. is slowly and methodically trying to get the brigade ready the iranians are moving name bli. -- moving name bli. >> i.s.i.l. fighters have bulldozed one of the world's oldest sites. the ministry of tourism and antiquities says i.s.i.l. destroyed the site south of mosul. last week it destroyed artefacts at the museum. the fighters say the statue promotes idol worship. >> questions in argentina over the death o

can do because the iraqi government of hider abadi has not offered to help but in a separate hearingommander battling i.s.i.l. denied that the pentagon was out of the loop. >> we have good overhead imagery and those types of things so you know there activity in tikrit was no surprise. i saw this coming many days leading up to this. >> reporter: pentagon officials privately say iran has some advantages over the u.s. when it offers military assistance and air strikes not as constrained by strict rules to prevents civilian casualties and no self imposed limit on boots on the ground and pentagon is watching to see what happens and will it be successful and if it is will control of the area be returned to iraq's sunni minority. some in congress are talking about the perception and while the u.s. is slowly trying to get iraqi army brigades battle ready the iran are moving nimble and has a presence in the iraq of the future al jazeera washington. >>> the u.n. human rights chief is calling on pawsful muslims to shun i.s.i.l. and propaganda and hussein made a play in geneva and say majority o

as the operation unfolded prime minister abadi and members of iraqi security forces requested the u.s. and coalition support for the final phase of the operation ultimate deliberate the city of tikrit. that begin i do want to get into a lot of the operational detail to the benefit of the enemy is listening to what we are saying it began by the provision of information and key intelligence but as i think mr. dingell you saw last night a large number of well targeted and precise airstrikes went end and a beginning to support the iraqi security force operations that are unfolding right now. that i think is where we would leave the level of operational detail. the united states is deeply involved in this operation now. we are deeply involved because it is consistent with our relationship with iraq over all inside iraq but it is also specifically as a result of the request of the iraqi government and the iraqi security forces to assist them in tikrit. >> welcome is in the united states interest to say what i would call a failing iranian strategy? i worry about iran's role in iraqi military

it is the sunnis that prime minister haider al-abadi appealed to saying those who had been misled would be pardoned if they lay down their arms. he reached out to the iraqi parliament going had and talking to sunni members of parliament who ended their boycott. on the ground, military forces have approached the city from three fronts and in the town of andur they have taken it back after street to street fighting. there are major worries still. not only taking back that city which has been rigged by explosives by i.s.i.l. but revenge killings which might happen in conjunction with the fighting. this city is important not just militarily but because it was close to a camp spiker, where 1,000 recruits were killed by i.s.i.l. a huge political issue. >>> nadim baba takes a look at the issue. >> by june 2014 it was declaring a caliphate and held territory stretching all the way from aleppo to diyala province in iraq. army officers from the saddam era and tribal officers. in april u.s. led air strikes helped kurdish forces break the siege of mount sinjar. pro government force he recaptured be

prime minister abadi instructed them to ensure the safety of residents. defense minister obeydi also suggested troops should avoid harming the hundreds of civilians still trapped in the heart of tikrit. he noted it will take several more days to gain full control of the city. islamic state militants captured tikrit last june. the operation to take back the city involves iraqi soldiers and shia muslim militia men. the u.s. and other governments are concerned the fighting could rekindle conflicts when the mainly sunni muslim population. >>> pro-russian separatists are to be given greater autonomy in some regions of ukraine. the decision by ukrainian government officials comes one month into a cease-fire agreement. the government officials said the regions were mapped out at the national security meeting. boundaries are based on a cease-fire line that was agreed in september. falling outside those boundaries is the city of debaltseve a tree transport hub. a major road passes through it linking the separatist-held cities of donetsk and luhansk. debaltseve was

the white house announced yesterday that iraqi prime minister haider al abadi will

. >> i think the new government of prime minister abadi recognizes that not only for military reasons but for politicalngs reasons, he needs mosul back in the hands of the iraqi government. >> at least found people have been killed and dozens more hurt in churches in pakistani. taliban say they were behind the attacks which were in lahore? >> victory i can't gatenby reports. >> reporter: the pakistani taliban timed attacks to apparently cause maximum devastation. two churches were packed with cathlinse licks and protestants attending sunday services. there was chaos in the moment after the bombs exploded within minutes of each other. >> i was on guard inside. a small gate was opened. suddenly, a sound of the blast. the gate was turned away. all of these splashes of blood fell on my clothes. after that we got byrd with the regi u efforts. >> sunday's attack was the worst on the community since the devastating double suicide bombing in the northwestern city of peshmerga in 2013 kill more than 80 people. this time the bombings were in the uhanabad neighborhood, home to more than 100 chri

it's the sunnies that prime minister hired al abadi appeared to in the start of this operation, saying that those who had been misled and aligned themselves with isil would be pardoned it if they laid down their arms. he has reached out to the iraqi parliament going there today and talking with sunni members of parliament who ended their boycott. on the ground iraqi military approaches the city on three fronts. on the town where saddam hussein was found hiding, they have taken them back. but there are major worries. not only taking back that city, but of revenge killings which might happen in conjunction with the fighting. this city is important not just militarily but because it's near tikrit where more than 1,000 young recruits were killed by isil, a huge political issue. there is so much potential that the u.n. has warned everyone that they must adhere to basic human rights, a difficult demand in a time like this, and in a military operation like this, many fear. >> still ahead on al jazeera, tensions ramp up between north and south korea as the north fires two missiles into the oce

prime minister hader al abadi has called on sunni residents to lay down their arms and break away fromhe group. the militants posted a video on monday showing they will killing four tikrit residents. they claim the four were in secret contact with government forces. >>> cairo has been hit by a car bomb that exploded in front of a courthouse. police believe islamic extremists are responsible. reuters reports that two people were killed and nine wounded. authorities say police officers are among the casualties. the blast occurred at the country's judicial center which has busy shopping streets nearby. local media say one islamist group has claimed responsibility. egyptian officials are facing an increasingly unstable security situation. last week a series of bombings targeted five locations near the capital. in the country's sinai peninsula, extremists pledging loyalty to the islamic state group have repeatedly attacked police and military facilities. >>> top officials from the u.s. and russia are trading words over the situation in eastern ukraine. they're in disagreement about whether

prime minister abadi saying they will not be targeted by the malitia but he told parliament those whoot support the government fight were supporting i.s.i.l. in this fight and previous ones iran is playing a role and who they are advising are more equipped than other units and say iran commander mani is helping coordinate the operation from the front lines. in the air it's only iraqi aircraft according to the military and united states is helping in other ways but is not backing this major offensive with u.s. air strikes, about 2000 sunni tribal fighters have joined the battle but as iraqi forces fight for tikrit the question is how many more sunnis will join them. they see the battle for tikrit as a launching point to move further north to take back mosul but as the battle moves back to sunni provinces there is deepening iranian involvement and potential to be bogged down in sectarian conflict jane with al jazeera, baghdad. >>> activists say at least four people have been killed in government air strikes in syria. they reportedly hit the town of ibta in the countryside, other regime

a round assault which iraq's prime minister, haider al abadi tells me the americans have not been needed. >> the only way to take back the city is by having troops on the ground. >> reporter: those are the sounds of the howitzers aimed right over there. >> reporter: another front in the war against isis, al anbar province, the u.s. is conducting trackstrikes there. traveling with iraqs defense minister he tells me they are making progress in this region, but that the battle for tikrit is just beginning. but u.s. officials say the fight into the city will be bloody, with fears that isis fighters are hidden in homes, armed with suicide vests and laying booby traps. the battle in tikrit and the one in anbar, are a test for the biggest battle to come in mosul. >> mosul represents a symbol. once we take it back, we would have killed their own ambition. >> reporter: and taking it back, the prime minister tells me will be on iraq's timetable, but says it could happen even before summer begins. martha raddatz, abc news, baghdad. >> our thanks to martha and to california now, where actor harrison

. >>> iraqi prime minister abadi and they were briefed on progress since u.s. arstrikes began in the region and iraqi special forces air strikes advancing on central tikrit and trying to retake the city from i.s.i.s. open to dialog with the united states and al-assad but said there must be no threat to the sovereignty. >> we could say that everyday is a positive thing and we are going to be open to any dialog with anyone including the united states regarding anything based on mutual respect. >> reporter: united nations has more than doubled people living in the areas and the new number is close to 440,000 people. a three-day lock down aimed at stopping the spread of ebola has come into force in sierra leone and the president ordered everyone to stay indoors friday morning to sunday night and volunteers going door to door to educate people of ebola and it has killed more than 10,000 in east africa. campaigning winding down in front of the presidential election and candidates are now delivering final messages before saturday vote and challenging goodluck jonathan

prime minister haider al abadi instructed them to ensure the safety of residents. defense minister haled al obeyedi also suggested that troops should avoid harming the hundreds of civilians still trapped in the heart of tikrit. he noted it will take several more days to gain full control of the city. islamic state militants captured tikrit last june. the operation to take back the city involves iraqi soldiers and shia muslim militiamen. the u.s. and other governments are concerned the fighting could rekindle conflicts with the mainly sunni muslim population. >>> officials at the world health organization say the ebola virus may be responsible for more than 10,000 deaths since the outbreak. was first reported in west africa one year ago. health officials say the total number of ebola infections including suspected ones has exceeded 24,000 in the three hardest-hit west african nations. they say the pace of the spread has dramatically slowed in some areas. in liberia the last-known ebola patient left hospital earlier this month. but guinea and sierra leone each regist

>> reporter: well, prime minister abadi announced that the operation had been launch and this is, janebig test of the iraqi ability along with its coalition partners foreign and domestic to actually take back large centers from isil. tikrit, of course, not just the hometown of sadam hussein but an isil strong hold. it was one of the cities that they seized very early on after they took mosul and one of the place that his we have inflicted the most damage. more than 1,000 young military cadets unarmed were killed there. by isil. the families here are still looking for their bodies. so apart from being a major military operation, there is a lot at stake here, critically in terms of public sentiment and this will not be an easy fight by any means. jane. >> jane, thank you. >>> a bomb blast in egypt's south city has killed two people. five others injured including a soldier, the bomb went off near a police station. it's unclear who is behind the attack. >>> some senior democrats including vice president joed by en are threatening to boy coyed benjamin netanyahu's speech to the u.s. congres

secretary general ban ki-moon is in baghdad for talks with iran's prime minister al abadi. >> in israel, former prime minister was convicted of fraud and breach of trust in a jerusalem court today. it was a retrial of a 2008 case against american businessman morris tulansky. the court said he funneled money from 1992-2005. >> counting is underway in nigeria's presidential election. incumbent good luck jonathan facing a strong challenge from former military muhammedu buhari. >> from all accounts, including our own, with he feel the elections have been credible, and the process has been really fascinating to watch. i think the enter heroes of the election process here are certainly the nigeriaen voters. they were the heroes, they were eager to vote and turned out to vote. it was impressive to see that kind of commitment to democracy from the nigerian people. >> al jazeera continues to demand the relation of two of our journalists detained in nigeria, both embedded with the military before they were detained. they have been held in their hotel since tuesday. >> scientists and environmental

i think the abadi government has taken significant strides to try to improvement the relationship with the sunni community and create buy-in so that community sees its future not with isil but with iraq. it's a work in progress. it's usually challenging. i think they're in the middle of it, not at the end of it. but specifically we saw the formation of a more inclusive government. we saw the naming after this had been on ice for a long time of a sunni defense minister. we saw the prime minister take important steps, for example, expanding the office of the commander in chief, which had been prime minister maliki's way of having control over the military outside the chain of command. that was disbanded. dozens of generals were dismissed who were either ineffective or had very sectarian agendas. we've seen legislation that had been stalled start to move, including on debaathification. the council of ministers sent it back to the council of representatives a couple of weeks ago, there's back and forth there. then very significantly, legislation to form a national guard that would allow me

abadi called out to others for help >>> the britain-based syrian observatory for rights says isil has executed over 1,000 civilians since june. meanwhile, hasam has joined forces with the hardlined opposition movement after the group suffered a heavy defeat from the syrian al quaeda affiliates. this has rebel forces reject a u.n. proposal to establish a temporary truce in aleppo. the syrian government has agreed to send a fact-find mission to the war torn city. the rebels say they'll only discuss a peace plan if it involves the resignation of president assad. >>> now, egypt's president has been in saudi arabia holding talks for a proposal of a joint antiterrorism force. the visit coincides with the visit from turkey's president. tensions have been strained between the countries. >>> a new leaked tape has revealed how egypt's army was using foreign money to fund the campaign against their former president before he was ousted in 2013. an egyptian tv channel has aired the footage from when he was defense minister. the aide is heard talking to another official about using money to bank r

hours before the offensive began iraqi prime minister al abadi promised to help if they abandoned thellery and air strikes as well as the military. iraqi troops are taking the fight to isis in tick krit. it is an offensive to drive the terrorist out of the region. some of the militants have been pushed out of the city. some say the strategy is working. >> each time iraqis have gone forward in an offense i have effort together with allies the coalition we have routed isil. and the fact is that in iraq they have gained back a fixed significant percentage of the area that isil was controlling. >> isis terrorists have been releasing hostages. 19 christians they have been holding cap pif. the hostages were among the more than 220 people that kidnapped in northern syria last week. the fate is unclear. despite the relief some u.s. politicians say america isn't doing enough to destroy the terrorists. >> we need a robust strategy to take on these terrorists. this is a very serious matter. they are barbarians and we are over there poking them in the nose. we don't have a plan that will defeat t

from malachi to abadi. >> they did through their own mechanisms. we manipulated.es, certainly the iraqi prime minister understands the challenge and the need to include the sunnis. that poses a challenge for him with his own shia background. he has critics among the shias. if you seem to be too inclusive of the sunnis -- if he is seen to be too inclusive of the sunnis. >> maliki still has a voice. >> he does. >> what is the situation on the ground? >> in iraq, we have achieved a lot. we have reduced the territory that isil holds. the peshmerga, the kurds have been great in that part of iraq. the combination of the iraqi security forces coupled with the coalition air power and our advice and assistance has brought about not just a stalemate but in many cases some reversals. that isil suffered. in kobani, which is in syria they lost 3000-4000 fighters. huge losses there in syria brought about by the combination of forces as well as airstrikes. >> it has also been reported that the decimation of their leadership there has been significant eliminations. >> we have tak

it's the sunni's al abadi appealed to saying that those who had been misled and aligned themselves with isil would be pardonened as they lay down their arms. he's also reached out to the iraqi parliament talking to sunni members of parliament who ended their boycott. on the ground, iraqi military forces have approached the city from three fronts. they have taken one town back after street-to-street fighting. but there are major worries still, not only taking back that city which has been rigged with explosives but of revenge killings that might happen in conjunction with the fighting. this city is important because it's near tikrit where more than 1,000 young recruits were killed by isil. a huge political issue. >> now here's a closer look at the battle of tikrit and the importance of capturing the city. >>reporter: isil first started making major gains in syria in 2013. by 2014, it was declaring a caliphate. in august 2014 u.s.-led air strikes helped kurdish ground forces break isil's siege of mount sinjar. in november pro government forces recaptured the home to iraq's biggest oil ref

it is the sunnies that haider al-abadi appealed to saying they would be pardoned if they laid down their arms. going there the today and talking to sunni members of parliament who ended their boycott. on the ground, the tribes have approached the town from two fronts. where saddam was found hiding. not only taking back that city which was rigged with explosives from i.s.i.l but in conjunction with the fighting, this city is important not just militarily but near tikrit, a camp spiker where more than 1,000 troops were killed by i.s.i.l. there is so much potential to deepen the sectarian rift, that u.n. has warned everyone they must adhere to basic humanitarian rules. >> jane arraf from baghdad. jamie mcintire, not a part of this operation is the u.s. coalition, why not? >> as you heard stephanie there is concern that there could be increased sectarian alienation in the city of tikrit. the u.s. wants i.s.i.l. out of tikrit as much as anyone but also concern that having iranian backed troops could further alienate the sunni minority. >> offered i.s.i.l. fighters what he called one last chan

in his address haider al-abadi thanks the u.s. for its assistance had launched air strikes against i.s.i.l. targets mr. tikrit. until now the u.s. had had no role in the operation there. >>> officers in the south have taken control of basra al sham. syrian military forces have been trying the reclaim territory along the border with jordan. in the north rebel fighters have teamed up in the city of idlib. kim vanel reports. >> ot the outskirts of idlib rebel fighters take over checkpoints. joint forces to try and take over the city in syria's dmeft. activist video purports to show rebel fighters getting ready for battle. regime forces reportedly closed off the city, stopping residents from getting in or out while transferring command centers. taking idlib would be an important victory for rebel fighters allowing them to cut off vital government supply lines. to the east, in derazor government forces are targeting i.s.i.l.-controlled areas i.s.i.l. fighters control large portions of syria and iraq. after meeting with president bashar

one of the first things that prime minister abady did after he was elected prime minister was to order stop on the shelling of civilian areas. it has been just a few months since this government has been in place and i think that, again, what they're doing is going to help resolve this problem. obviously there will be difficulties, but one of the most important challenges ahead is to make sure that in the areas that are freed from isil people are free to return, their houses are protected and in iraq receives the international support to rebuild those areas and those communities. it's not just about the physical recon instruction of buildings. it's about putting in place social services, health services creating job opportunities, this is where the united nations and iraqi authorities are working very closely. reconciliation is a top that can has gone through a painful transition were dictatorship to democracy, however the beginning of that process is seen today in iraq where strong sectarian statements or radical sectarian statements are increasingly being seen as part of the fringes

haider al-abadi. >> we are now discussing the whole operation of the taking daesh out of iraq, i cannot defend tables but we can work within this year to the people of other areas, they will be with us and they are with us at the moment. >> the prime minister says the campaign to fight i.s.i.l. include plans to maintain security when the fighting ends. i.s.i.l. fighters have released 21 assyrian christian hostages last month. the christians were drpped off earlier. the release captives are roughly 50 years of age or older. i.s.i.l. is still holding 235 other assyrian christians. >>> a video shows three teenage girls recruited by i.s.i.l on february 17th. it's the same day the girls traveled from london to turkey. the three are believed to have made their way across the syrian border. one is 16, the others are just 15. >>> nato leaders are gathering in qatar for a summit on weapons of mass destruction. as tom ackerman reports the issues are high on the nation's list. >> some participants showed up with this mock up of a cruise missile, to be delivered personally to obama. approaching the

>> well, it's interesting that prime minister al abadi. >> it said that operations were on going and there was a communication that said this involved both airstrikes and surveillance for the iraqi force. it's clear that the iraqis thought they would not be able to break out of their one week lull in the operation without being able to capture tikrit without this amount of air support. >> originally they said that they were happy that the iranians were involved in this operation, and taking a backseat, if you like. what's changed their mines to join in on this one? >> well, it's not clear but the american spokesman had been clear in saying there has been absolutely no coordination with the iranians on the ground, and they're only deal with the iraqi government forces. what is also interesting, some of the shia militias have been quoted specifically saying they do not want american support that they can do this operation to oust isil by themselves, and that the americans support is not desired and rejected. there is a difference of opinion with the central government in baghdad. >> th

and that means in the training and support we're giving to the abadi government, that means that they have to carry through reforms that they are planning. >> meanwhile the u.s. military reported success on the battlefield in another part of iraq oil rich region of kirkuk. peshmerga fighters took a key ridge line just west of kirkuk, two days ago now they control critical supply routes. another step on the path to ultimately defeating i.s.i.l. antonio, stephanie. >> thank you to jamie mcintire at the pentagon. >>> meanwhile a spokesperson says the u.s. military looking into report that 40 fighters were killed in ramadi, joint task force says it has no additional information at this time. >> a video reportedly released by i.s.i.l. shows the apparent murder of afternoon israeli individual by a juvenile. his family denies allegation, he disappeared in turkey after traveling there as a tourist. we spoke to a senior fellow at the project about the video. >> we have a very dangerous phenomenon, we have a lot of people in the arab world muslim world who are helpless they do not have a vision

how significantar the talks between abadi and the turkish defence minister. >> the main talks are with the iraqi counterpart, the defense minister and that is what has taken place a short while ago. the two went into meetings at the defence ministry, after the turkish landed and there's a lot to discuss here. the turks are keen to make support, they have come under a lot of criticism. at first they had documents held captive by i.s.i.l. now the criticism is that they are allowing i.s.i.l. recruits to go through al jazeera and enter-syria and iraq. on the turkish side they are committed to the fight, sending aid and discussing training of soldiers with the u.s. to fight here and in syria. it is a complicated relationship given the turkish history through the ottoman empire. it's not welcome in all quarters >>> 14 syrian soldiers have been killed in the gas field. sources close to i.s.i.l. say they were killed when its fighters attacked them trying to withdraw from a battle to retake control of the area. >> the u.n. special envoy to yemen is in talks with the ambassador. jamal oftened in

been pleased frankly, very pleased at their willingness to accept the leadership of prime minister abadi and the minister of the interior and helping them to be a principle mechanism. that has been an encouraging sign for me, frankly, to see them not just as a group of tribes but also as leaders of the tribes be public and forthcoming in their willingness to support the central government in iraq and in particular prime minister abadi. >> i really do appreciate your service. >> yes, sir. >> senator paul. >> general allen, thanks for your testimony. what percentage would you say is an estimate of how many of the official iraqi army are sunni versus shiite? >> i'll have to take the question. the standing army, the prepond dance is the majority is shia. i'll take the question. >> it's on the hills of what senator carden is asking. global security reports 780% to 90% of the iraqi army being shia. i think to have an enduring victory there's some question whether you can have an enduring victory and occupy mosul. so i think that still is a significant political problem and a significant milita

abadi is iran's choice for the prime ministership. the u.s. has also fallen into a little bit of a trap which has further polarized sunnis in iraq starting with the raich spring in 2012 -- the arab spring in 2012. the traditional allies of the u.s. in the gulf felt that we were too quick to throw hosni mubarak under the bus. we announced that assad would go in syria, and then we didn't enforce those warnings. we didn't enforce our red line. the recent nuclear negotiations with iran which essentially will preserve rapp's nuclear program -- iran's nuclear program are also seen in the sunni muslim world as u.s. acquiescing to shiite demands. and even today when we look at armed forces in iraq battle which is boeing on right now for tikrit -- going on right now for tikrit where there are 30 thousand iraqi forces massed to retake the city from isis is dominated by sulemani, the general in charge of the quds force, the iranian revolutionary guard. he's not commanding from afar he is on site. shiite militias are on the front line. the capabilities of

prime minister hired al abadi tried to reassure sunni leaders that their people will be targeted by the militias. but he told parliament that those who did not support the government fight were supporting isil. >> in this battle there shouldn't be anyone standing on the other side. in this battle we should all be united. anyone who claims to be taking a neutral side, it will mean that they're standing with the other side. they're standing with those who are cellaring killing our people. killing the husbands of our widows, and children. >> the iraqi militias are considered more effective than most iraqi units. those on on ground said they have coordinated operations from the front lines. in the air it's only iraqi aircraft. the united states is helping in other ways, but it's not backing this major offensive with u.s. airstrikes. 2,000 sunni tribal fighters have joined the battle, but as they fight for tikrit, the question is how many more sunni also join them. some see the battle for tikrit as a launching point to move further north to take past mosul. but there is deepens iranian invol

about 2,000 of them it's the sunnies that prime minister haider al-abadi appealed to in the start of this operation saying those that had been misled and aligned themselves with i.s.i.l. would be pardoned if they laid downtown their arms. he has reached out to the iraqi parliament talking to sunni members who ended their boycott. military forces have approached the city from three fronts. in the town of abdur they say they have taken it back after street to street fighting. there are major worries still. not only taking back that city which has been wigd rigged with explosives by i.s.i.l this city is important not only militarily, but it's near tikrit, a camp where more than 1,000 young recruits were killed by i.s.i.l a huge political issue. there's so much potential to deepen the sectarian rift that the u.n. has warned earn that everyone that they must adhere to basic human rights. a difficult task many fear. >>> infighting causes one side to addition band. south africa's ambitions to host the continent's first olympics. first, i.s.i.l. last released 21 christian hostages who were a

been pleased frankly, very pleased at their willingness to accept the leadership of prime minister abadi and the minister of the interior and helping them to be a principle mechanism. that has been an encouraging sign for me, frankly, to see them not just as a group of tribes but also as leaders of the tribes be public and forthcoming in their willingness to support the central government in iraq and in particular prime minister abadi. >> i really do appreciate your service. >> yes, sir. >> senator paul. >> general allen, thanks for your testimony. what percentage would you say is an estimate of how many of the official iraqi army are sunni versus shiite? >> i'll have to take the question. the standing army, the preponderance is the majority is shia. i'll take the question. >> it's on the hills of what senator carden is asking. global security reports 80% to 90% of the iraqi army being shia. i think to have an enduring victory there's some question whether you can have an enduring victory and occupy mosul. so i think that still is a significant political problem and a significant militar