they are different. >> their old al qaeda. >> veteran al qaeda guys out of pakistan and the region whoe moved to syria because of the permissive environment in syria. taking advantagef the usra, buthip with al nsura the issue is they have had an external focus. they are not focused on assad. they are focused on carrying out an external attack. against the united states and the west. the plot we saw progressing was this -- the impetus for the strikes there. when you asked me what worries me the most, in the last several months it has been that group because of their sophistication and focus. >> what do we know? >> we know that they had -- >> a group like that in the sophistication they had, my question went to the idea of are the other people we don't know about? what is on our radar? do we have everything fully in our scope? >> the answer is no. one of the things this group has done, like al qaeda and yemen, they knew it was hard to get to yemen. their propaganda is don't travel to yemen. don't communicate with us. wherever you are, carry out an attack. here is the instruction manual.

al-qaeda had been decimated. >> smith: what remained, though, were the most battle-hardened al qaeda militants, a few embittered tribesmen, and some remnants of saddam's baathist military hoping to regain power. >> this is a collection of very hardened killers. these are the guys that the united states didn't manage to kill during the war then. >> these are mostly young men who were in prison, some of them under maliki. some of them were in u.s. prisons. mr. baghdadi, the head of isis, was in camp bucca. >> smith: after he was released from bucca, the american-run prison, abu bakr al-baghdadi would, in time, become head of al qaeda in iraq, directing ambushes on iraqi forces and suicide bombings. but he had greater ambitions. in the summer of 2011, he sent a few men into syria to join the rebels fighting the shia government of bashar al-assad. (chanting) (explosion) for baghdadi, the syrian war was a gift. >> suddenly, you have a complete breakdown of the state in syria. you have this vast, open space between the two countries. and so these guys, they're suddenly able to find life. >

problem with al qaeda, al qaeda doesn't know if they're al qaeda. there is an assertion within security analyst who is say, perhaps al qaeda is more of an idea? like the mafia. you know, we're used to these convenient, clearly-demarcated groups. it is very easy in the middle east to switch from al nusra to isis. maybe moderate syrian rebel for a little while. then you go back to maybe al qaeda in the arabian peninsula if you want to relocate. the problem there are not clear lines. they would be great for us but -- >> andrea, they have the same goal all of these groups which the administration doesn't want -- >> exactly. they're a threat to the west. >> dean made the best.f they say this is al qaeda, that means that the election campaign, how barack obama got reelected, al qaeda is decimated like you said, was based on a lie. so they can't say that. >> so you will have to help me out with this a little bit. the difference is egoinggraphy. when they talk about core al qaeda, those al qaeda fighters fighting in afghanistan and pakistan. >> according to

with ties for al qaeda but not a part of al qaeda.o that is how you are reconciling the two. >> that is our position on al qaeda and khorasan. shannon: both fox news contributor rich, let me start by as he because there has been so much back and forth. after-hours clarifications, how important is it the administration get on the same page with this language which mark >> they're trying to invest enormous amount of distinction without a difference. al qaeda fighters heading to syria as part of al qaeda. very easy to understand. the administration invested in this idea of core al qaeda. the philosophy has been as long as you are droning them in pakistan although al qaeda is decimated and the early part of al qaeda that matters is devastated so does not matter their stride in iraq, stronger in syria, stronger in libya, stronger elsewhere, that is just proven wrong but the administration is still invested in that idea. shannon: now we are talking but all the different explanations. just the fact there is so much back-and-forth clarificati

groups that are formerly affiliated with al qaeda. al-shabaab in somalia. groups that are officially affiliated with al qaeda. beyond that, other groups that are allies of al qaeda like bo boko haram. groupsextremely violent like sharia in benghazi. these are regional agendas. -- necessarily inter international. are starting up shop in syria. they are a formal affiliate of al qaeda. beyond the diversity of [indiscernible] -- they speak to each other. they share resources like fighters, weapons. they share tactics. they take advantage of porous borders to move people and material. there is a degree of collaboration and cooperation. us where isis came from. >> isis is not new. they have been around since 2004 when it was al qaeda in iraq. that is the origin of the group. leader -- zas the arkowi was the leader. and the conflict that erupted there. >> and fermented that sectarian conflict. that led to the sunni awakening of 2007, the backlash. it was aided by our presence there. al qaeda on the run. in 2011 we withdrew. the iraqi government became less effecti

they are not-- they're different from-- . >> rose: they're old al qaeda. >> they are veteran al qaedauys, out of, you know, out of pakistan and that region who have moved to syria because of the permissive environment in syria, taken advantage of their relationship with al-nusra, really to provide sort of cover and support. but the issue there is that they have had an external focus. they are not focused on assad for their regime in syria. they are focused on carrying out an external attack. >> rose: against us. >> against the united states and the west. and that plot we saw progressing. and that was the impetus for the strikes there. now so that, when you ask me, charlie, what worries me the most, in the last several months it's been that group. because of their sophistication and their focus on the west, and in particular on the united states. >> rose: and what do we know? >> well, we know that they had-- . >> rose: i don't mean that what worries you is a group like that, and the association they have because they're directed towards us. >> yeah. >> rose: and my question went to the

against the al qaeda fighters. >> so the al qaeda are seemingly not responding passively to the gains that the houthis made in yemen, the situation adding to a list of challenges that the country is facing. >> yes. absolutely, this is a new reality for yemen, with the houthi advancement from their stronghold in the north province. sadder, south wards. they are in control of five provinces, and are expanding with virtually unopposed access. they control the key port of alhad agea. it is strategic, the houthis will have a bitter say in ruling the country, they'll have influence on any government formed. another problem for yemen is, as i said, the insurgency of al qaeda, and a vivid separate movement in the south. the southerners are holding sit ins and protests, they want to resurrect the socialist state in the south of yemen. we are witnessing, i can say, the first stages of the disintegration of the nation. >> thank you. reporting from sanaa in yemen, omar al saleh >>> u.s. led air strikes in and around kobane pushed back fighters from the islamic state of iraq and levant. there has

al qaeda doesn't call itself core al qaeda.ey do is they miniaturize the enemy and miniaturize the threat by saying it's a bunch of small parochial units that aren't really connected by anything that we could call islamic or an overarching ideology. >> but you say they had to do that in part because those five muslim nations fighting with us over there, they're bombing isis but they don't want to bomb al qaeda. >> right. khorasan -- actually, when they got sent to syria they're with al qaeda's franchise in syria which is al nusra. buried in the accounts of the bombing campaign was the fact that these five sunni-muslim governments will participate against the islamic state. but they won't participate against al nusra. and that makes perfect sense because for three or four years they've been arming, funding and training these groups which are said to be moderate groups. but the moderates it turns out work arm in arm with al qaeda and syria. >> this is how andy put it. what a totally messed up strategy. we're partnering on the gro

the khorasan group in al qaeda included core al qaeda operat e operatives in pakistan and afghanistan. khorasan is merely affiliated with core al qaeda and on wednesday you -- that same day, the white house press secretary josh ernest said that core al qaeda has been decimated and destroyed. has core al qaeda been decimated and destroyed? or does it continue to present a threat and is khorasan really core al qaeda? >> well, core al qaeda, as we know it, in of stan, pakistan is still present, they are not gone. very definitely through actions of the bush and obama administrations over the last decade or so who has done a lot to capture or kill members of core al qaeda, bin laden, ksm and others. the group is not what it was in 2001 and what i'm focused on is the fact that there are now all these al qaeda affiliates and adhere rants out there in the world that remain active and we still have threats and potential threats to the homeland security from terrorist organizations. >> so when josh earnest says it's been decimated and destroyed in pakistan and afghanistan, that's not true? >> w

. >> christmas >>> at least 10 al qaeda fighters killed in a u.s. drone strike in southern yemen >>> hello, i'm martine dennis. this is al jazeera, live from doha. also to come - mali the sixth african country to be affected by ebola. a 2-year-old dies. >>> south korean activists prepare to launch balloons laden with leaflets, despite warnings from the north. plus date day. >> i'm jennifer glasse in kabul where hundreds of afghans are able to hear for the first time in their lies. -- in their lives >>> at least 10 suspected al qaeda fighters have been killed in a u.s. drone strike in southern yemen. it happened in mraba city where shia houthi rebels are trying to seize territory held by al qaeda. the situation is deteriorating and there's fears the country is sliding into civil war. and now live to omar al saleh, in the south of the country. tell us what happened in the drone strike. >> we spoke to a number of sources and they are telling us that at least 10 people were killed in a number of attacks in and around the city of radar. we believe some of

he talks about his experiences as a member of al qaeda and his later life as a double agent employed by british and danish intelligence agencies. this is about one hour and a half. >> i will be brief, but as you know and as we follow the media in these days, the rising concern about young men going to the middle east in search of the hawthorne venture, finding themselves caught up in extremism and violence and in many cases converting either to extremist causes were becoming disillusioned and returning. and this perhaps results in their becoming a problem when they return to the west. there was a book during the cold war which was in 1949 book called the god that failed that was about people who had embraced communism and felt that they were true believers and they realized that that was not the holy grail. tonight's story is very much a story of conversion and an epiphany and eventual loss of faith. and i think he will find it absolutely fascinating. the story is one that was developed initially by doctor mark stout and i will introduce them shortly and he will introduce or speakers

and he was talking about taliban and al-qaeda. he said you are either with us, or you are against -- you are either with us, or you're with the terrorists. so george w. bush dud not leave any space for anyone to be in between. and for a muslim, devout muslim, there was no option because even though i might have disagreed which i didn't, but if i did disagree, i could still not ally myself with disbelievers. so there was no choice for me, and we all chose to be on the side at least we are morally support with al-qaeda. >> and just a couple of years later you're here in london, you're protesting. when you turned up to that demonstration, you thought the plan was going to be to go and storm the u.s. embassy, right? but, obviously, there was some frustration with some of these leaders that they were just blowhards and talking the talk. you eventually wanted to walk the walk, and so you in 2006 traveled to yemen where you met with anwar al-awlaki. tell us a little bit about this american you met, this american cleric who had been inter

the newest al qaeda affiliate, al qaeda in the indian subcontinent. there are groups like boko haram which are not official affiliates of al qaeda but share its extremist ideology. you last but not least, the islamic state of iraq or iso-, previously known as al qaeda in iraq will stop you now find to be the preeminent terrorist organization on the world stage. speaking for president obama and our government, we are pleased that canada is part of the international coalition. that will degrade and ultimately destroy isil. we have asked added to make further contributions to this effort, to address the threat generally emanating from terrorist threats overseas, our government has enhanced aviation security. in early july i directed enhanced screenings any number of airports with direct flights to the u.s.. several weeks later we added more airports to that list. other airports have followed with similar enhancements to their security. we continually evaluate whether more is necessary without unnecessarily burdening the traveling public. longer-term we a

we call this khorasan but let's be frank, this is al qaeda. al qaeda is plotting attacks based out of areas in syria both at europe and the u.s. homeland. and in particular even the air strikes that have targeted specific locations in western syria against khorasan, al qaeda, have not weakened the group's ability to strike targets that got westerners like david drudgen from france, that got arabs like muosu -- attacks as we just heard the fbi director note are potentially if not imminent then at least the u.s. is not entirely clear whether it will happen today or tomorrow. >> it's really incredible when you hear how frank the fbi director was. they may still be working on their effort despite the fact we bomb them. they're looking to do it very, very soon. we have to act as if it's coming tomorrow. we know who they are. we're going to track them carefully. but basically this is just a metastasis of al qaeda. okay. what exactly are we going to do? because we decided we were going to bomb them and now we're being told by the fbi director that di

>> the mid-1990s, al qaeda was competing for dominance.f are all of them, westerners were an ideal target. bin laden moved operations from saudi arabia to sudan. they expelled him in 1996, he fled to afghanistan. in 1998, he issued a full-fledged declaration of war against infidels and america in particular. >> we did not respond. congress did not meet. the president did not go to congress. there was something wrong with the jihadists marching and the victims were not responding. >> khalid shaikh mohammed was part of his inner circle. >> he was the brains behind bin lad laden. terrorism in the united states will do us good. >> 7 august, 1998. two american embassies in kenya and tanzania are bombed and 4,000 are wounded and 2,000 killed, including 12 americans. plipt retaliated by launching missiles into afghanistan and sudan. >> i have responsibility to protect this country. tried and i failed to get bin laden. i regret it, but i tried. i did everything i thought i could responsibly could. >> al qaeda strikes in yemen. suicide bombers hit

we have -- now we've got al qaeda in the maghreb, al qaeda in iraq, we have al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, and just in the last 30 days we've seen the creation or the announcement of al qaeda in india, in bangladesh, in burma, and other parts of that part of the world. so we have not struck al qaeda in a way that we're going to have to continue to fight and continue to strike them. we've got to destroy them just like the president has been talking about destroying isil. isil is not an isolated terrorist group, but they are the most vicious of the terrorist groups that are out there today as we have seen exhibited on tv over the last several months, but particularly the last several weeks. they are committed to a caliphate in the middle east part of the world that now stretches from syria into iraq. they want to stretch that in jordan and lebanon and into gaza. if we don't eliminate their capability by destroying them and killing those individuals, then they may have the capability to do that, and that's why it's so important that we use the only thing they recognize and understand, force,

according to observers here, it bears the hallmarks of al qaeda, the sign of al qaeda, but nobody has claimed responsibility. it's a day the houthi leader has been planning to make a day of success for the houthis, because they have pushed the - first of all, by the prime minister to step down and turn down the offer, and this is a victory, and they have been celebrating that over the night with ngaire works and gunshots across the capital. they said it's not supposed to be a day to mark the victory, but it has turned to bloody revolt. >> thanks, that's our correspondent in sanaa who we are not naming for security reasons, these pictures of the celebrations that our correspondent was talking about in taria square. the attack coming a day after the man picked to be yemen's prime minister turned down the job. he was due to be appointed as part of a peace deal. houthi rebels rejected his nomination. >> reporter: to his supporters, he had all the skills. he is an independent sunni from the south - young, intelligent and energetic. he was seen as a western sewage, and the houthis refused t

who have september money to other militant groups in the region, including the al nusra front, al-qaeda's affiliate in syria. in 2012 the state department designated a terrorist group. listen to what david cohen told me. >> it is important to draw the distinction between terrorist organizations whether it's al nusra front, isil, who are fighting the assad reqatar hosts scream and the moderates in opposition. we've been very clear. >> that's what i'm getting at. how do you make that distinction? people have accused america of getting that wrong and putting weapons in the hands or financing groups that have ended up biting us in the end. how certain can you be with this fluidity and the shifting of alliances? >> i don't think there is any doubt that isil is a terrorist organization. i think the world has seen what they are capable of, and frankly, what they do on a day in, day out basis. al nusra front has declared itself to be the al quite affiliate in syria and alqaid alqaida, hazard endorsed that. there's no question that these are terrorist organizations. the moderates here in oppositio

it would mean surrendering the future of iraq to al qaeda. it'd mean that we'd be risking mass killings on a horrific scale. it would mean we allowed a terrorist to establish a safe haven in iraq to replace the one they lost in afghanistan. it would mean increasing the probability that american troops would have to return at some later date to confront an enemy that is even more dangerous. >> today, seven years later the former president's prediction is now become a reality. now, take a look at what he told brian earlier today. >> i know the nature of the enemy. anybody who kills 3,000 innocents and beheads people because of their religion or because of their point of view, is dangerous. and there's a short-term strate strategy, which is to bring them to justice, and a long-term strategy which is to encourage free society to prevail so as to marginalize their ideology. the long-term strategy just takes time. americans have got to understand that the lesson of 9/11 is still as important today as it was right after the 9/11 which is the -- >> s

just to tell you, adrian, it is a strong hold for al qaeda and is considered to be one of the al qaedaong holds in yemen. >> what are we to make, omar, of the resignation of the governor of sanaa? i don't think omar can hear me anymore -- >> reporter: i think it's an indication that the -- >> carry on, omar. >> reporter: it's -- i think it's an indication of the rising power for the houthis. we understand that the houthis were demanding the governor to leave his post. and they surrounded his home and his house and therefore because they hold the power in the capital, i think he answered their call and he left -- he resigned. it's just increasing power for the houthis it seems in many parts of the country that things are going their way. let me give you a quick update in the province of ib. we understand the heidi fighters were trying to send reinforcements, they were stopped by armed tribes men. i think the sentiment anti-houthi sentiment is increasing and really could escalate in different parts of yemen. >> many thanks indeed, omar, live there in yemen. >>> the libya the supreme cour

it was used by the al qaeda linked militants to bring in fighters from abroad. militants have left the city, but the troops are prepared for an al-shabaab resistance to take back control of their last urban stronghold. >> somali government troops and african government forces are driving out the remaining al qaeda-linked militants of al-shabaab. residents say many of the rebels fled days earlier before the town was surrounded, but not before leaving their mark. officials fear that booby-traps could be planted all over the city. not yet in full control, african union troops are distributing propaganda fliers to help. barawe is one of our sure that's -- of al-shabaab's last significant remaining assets. the port city was a supply route for weapons, food, and the entry point for foreign fighters. they may be weakened, but also that -- but al-shabaab rebels still controlled areas -- the defense comes a month after i'll show that -- after al-shabaab's leader was killed by a u.s. airstrike. >> french prime minister manuel valls is in london, trying to defend the french

al qaeda.i am representing the sheik osama bashar al-assad. >> we'll bring owners osama bin laden. >> concocted by the fbi part of a post-9/11 mandate to thwart attacks before they even begin. >> it literally boils down to if you cannot find terrorists within the muslim community, make terrorists, create the terrorists. >> the fbi is not perfect in running the operations but they're pretty damn close. >> we'll show how some informants are accused of violating civil liberties and why some americans refuse to join the fbi's intelligence ranks. >> i didn't want to be an informant for fbi for the same reasons that i think the muslim community should stand up to them. if i felt that there were actual terrorists running around in toledo, i might feel different about it. >> for the first time, a man accused of terrorist charges and back in the community. >> there was never no bombs never no maps never no plans, it was a bunch of hogwash. >> stay down! stay down! >> an fbi informant has agreed to meet

trikes men and al qaeda fighters say the yemeni government the u.s.this are in alliance against them. and that sentiment is only increases tensions and could turn in to a wider sectarian conflict. there is also fighting in the western province on the red sea. houthi rebels there are confronting tribes men from the movement who oppose the houthi take over of this province but the shia are remaining in control making gains and consolidating their positions. in southern yemen there is no fighting but an increasing separatist movement setting up a camp two weeks ago and is promising to escalate its sitting protest until the south achieves independence. the political negotiations so far have failed to form a government of national unity to end the fighting. yemen is facing an existential threat with an increasing fears of wider sectarian conflict. in the south it could be a matter of time before it breaks away. al jazerra. the. >>> lebanon's army is fighting gunmen to retake a hospital eric market in the northern town of triply. at least two soldiers and t

al qaeda.> i am representing the sheik osama bashar al-assad. >> we'll brinowners osama bin l. >> concocted by the fbi part of a post-9/11 mandate to thwart attacks before they even begin. >> it literally boils down to if you cannot find terrorists within the muslim community, make terrorists, create the terrorists. >> the fbi is not perfect in running the operations but they're pretty damn close. >> we'll show how some informants are accused of violating civil liberties and why some americans refuse to join the fbi's intelligence ranks. >> i didn't want to be an informant for fbi for the same reasons that i think the muslim community should stand up to them. if i felt that there were actual terrorists running around in toledo, i might feel different about it. >> for the first time, a man accused of terrorist charges and back in the community. >> there was never no bombs never no maps never no plans, it was a bunch of hogwash. >> stay down! stay down! >> an fbi informant has agreed to meet with

he intentionally told us al qaeda was decimated. this was not a problem and for political purposes and will he do it again? will he do again to save a future democratic administration. >> critics are arguing on the left, the right isn't offering a better strategy either. >> and if obama had a strategy, i'm sure we would find fault with that. strategies from the central planners go bad again and again. >> but are we just not listening to our military advisors and those that are the most skilled in the most experienced to advise us on the strategy that should be in place? >> how can we really know? the fbi warning, it scared me and i look back and saw, there have been dozens of imminent threats, christmas shoppers 2007, 2001, over next several days. spectacular attack, something big in the air. they don't know. we don't know. >> john, over the weekend lindsey graham was referencing this fight at the border, syrian-turkish border is a place where it is very, very violent. looks like a syrian city is poised to fall into the hands of isi

we knew al qaeda was there.nd we knew it was very dangerous to have this kind of al qaeda element developing in the chaos of syria because of what the implications would be, not only in syria but against iraq. whether or not they ultimately had the intelligence on isis and what they had, i am not aware of, because i was not there. >> there was even public testimony in some cases. some testified before congress. >> i think they teed up some of the dangers involved with it. i think that part of the problem here was that, you know because , of the chaos in syria, the situation in iraq, frankly, there was not enough attention paid on the broader policy as to how it could contribute to the breeding of an isis. >> it is the biggest challenge for the u.s. in foreign policy? at this moment? >> no question. i think that is right. i think that -- i think the president has taken the right step. i think it was the right step to form a coalition. it was the right step to conduct these air attacks. i think the challenge here

in ordination with some type of support of sunni extremist groups inside of iraq even including al qaedain iraq. certainly including groups like azhar al islam. one of the clearest manifestations of that was that al qaeda and iraq members and larger al qaeda members so al qaeda members based in pakistan were able to cross iran to go back and forth between iraq and pakistan to exchange messages and so on between zawahiri and the leaders of al qaeda in iraq which is the role that for example rock mom had for quite some time until they became the ill-fated number three in al qaeda, the guy who was killed. he was the head of the al qaeda support network inside of iran that was sending fighters and money and so on into iraq mainly through iraqi kurdistan so there is a precedent for the iranians reaching out to groups that they would not appear they would have an interest in promoting in order to unleash them against a common enemy. i can only speculate that they did that in syria in order to unleash the more unsavory islamist radical elements against what in d.c. we term the moderate syrian o

al qaeda had been abusive.it had been blowing sunni arabs up and sunni mosques up, in addition to shia arabs and mosques. and so they were keen to get these individuals out of their areas. >> narrator: petraeus made a bold move. >> the biggest change petraeus makes, and the biggest gamble he takes, is he puts the sunni insurgency on the american payroll. >> narrator: in one clandestine meeting after another, millions were handed over to former sunni insurgents. >> i'm giving him 10,905,000. >> narrator: petraeus called his sunni paramilitary group the "sons of iraq." >> four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, seven-thousand. ten, 20, 30, 40-thousand. >> narrator: in exchange for fighting al qaeda, petraeus also promised the sunnis a role in the iraqi government. but inside petraeus's war council, it was not a popular move. >> our own commanders had concerns about this. i had commanders come to me and say, "hey, sir, we can't sit down across the table with these guys. they've got our blood on their hands." and i'd

it's al qaeda.nd the administration doesn't want to mention al qaeda because the president in the 2012 run-up to the election said three dozen times that he had already defeated al qaeda. >> they're on the run. >> the path to defeat. >> and now where does the path lead and the fight against al qaeda and radical islamists terrorists, which they all are? >> well, i think we have serious problems with it. aside from isis, al qaeda also is more powerful today than it was prior to 9/11. so it's a huge problem. >> andrew, mccarthy, always. >> thank you, lou. >> good to have you here. >>> up next, president obama holding some of the most controversial decisions of his presidency until after this year's midterm election. what a clever strategy. will it help? we'll find out next. [ breathing deeply ] [ inhales deeply ] [ sighs ] [ inhales ] [ male announcer ] at cvs health, we took a deep breath... [ inhales, exhales ] [ male announcer ] and made the decision to quit selling cigarettes in our cvs pharmacies.

we've put al qaeda on the path to defeat. we ended the war in iraq. we focused our attention on those who actually killed us on 9/11. and as a consequence al qaeda's core leadership has been decimated. >> if we are joined by the international community, we can continue to shrink isil's sphere of influence, it's effectiveness, its financing, its military capabilities to the point where it is a manageable problem. >> pretty scary from the man who's responsible for keeping americans safe. and on that note let's start this "hannity" conversation on radical islam in america tonight my distinguished panel for the entire hour includes the co-host of the five, bob beckel, author of "a battle for the soul of islam," dr. jasser with us. and also with us indianapolis area imam muhammad sadik. and fox news military analyst colonel david hunt. i've got to start with this, was ft. hood an act of terrorism? was boston an act of terrorism? was oklahoma the beheading an act of terrorism? >> clearly. >> all examples of terrorism? >> we call workplace violence in ft. ho

. >> this is orchestrated by many countries, they cannot defeat al qaeda. it doesn't make sense that sanaa couldn't be handed over to the houthis. you have ib province, and other provinces all without clashes and fighting. the only explanation, and from what we got from the presidential office is that the president is giving the banner to fight al qaeda to the houthis, hoping that they could defeat them. this - the worries is that this could cause sectarian tension in yemen. yesterday there are hundreds of tribesman joining the lines of al qaeda, not because they like or support al qaeda or are loyal to them, but they are against the spread of the houthis in their areas, which are prodominant sunni. >> can i ask you briefly about how the successionist calls in the south, how that fits into the wider picture. because underneath all the turmoil that we are seeing in the wake of the houthi passage through the country. >> it's a complete package. i don't - i won't be surprised if i see houthi militants creating their own checkpoints in many of the southern prov

and houthi leaders have sent more fighters to the city near an al-qaeda strong hold. shia minority are facing a backlash. >> reporter: soon after the friday prayers were over in sana'a, there was a clear message to the houthi fighters. houthis are not welcome here. and a pledge to protect their province and their country. it's the most populous province with more than 2.2 million people, most sunni, and the fighting with shia houthi starts, it could bring a sectarian aspect of the crisis. another came from the top military commander. >> translator: who one can enter by force, by the power of my office under the constitution, my patriotic responsibility and ethical duty is to secure taz. so it is our duty to provide security to citizens under these circumstances, where the strong devours the weak. >> reporter: in the province of ib south of sana'a, fighters gathered their forces. these fighters demand the houthis leave the city. but the group remains unopposed in other parts of the country. it has made significant gains in recent days and weeks, controlling more than s

. >>> al-qaeda targeted in yemen. government forces and u.s. drones carry out multiple strikes. >>> brazil's president's biggest challenge is how to unite a divided country. >>> south africa in shock after it's football captain is shot dead during a robbery. >> they have breaking news right out of spain where a number of high profile arrests have taken place across the country. police operation being described as one of the biggest anti-corruption crackdowns in the country history. for more let's now cross to the line to a journalist based out of madrid. what more can you tell us about the investigation and the arrest? >> well, just major anti-corruption, more than 50 people have been arrested so far. among them a number of mayors from towns and among those senior politicians to the people's party and also to people's socialist. this is the case o that warded contract to businessmen and the police estimate that perhaps 250 million euros were awarded in the last two years. >> some of those arrested were from the prime minister's party. how do yo

talked about al qaeda

we knew that al-qaeda was there and we knew that it was very dangerous tor3e have this kind f al-qaedaent developing in the chaos of syria because what the implications would be not only in syria but against iraq. whether or not they ultimately had the intelligence on isis and what they had i'm not aware of because i wasn't there. >> rose: there was even public testimony in some cases and others testified before congress. >> i think they teed up some of the dangers. i think the problem was because of the chaos in syria, because of the situation in iraq, frankly there wasn't enough attention paid on the broader implications of both areas how it contributed to the breeding of an isis. >> rose: it is the biggest foreign policy challenge for the united states at this moment. >> no question. i think that's right. i think the president has taken the right step. i think it was the right step to form a coalition. it's the right step to conduct these air attacks. i think the challenge here is that it is going to be a long and sustained effort. it's going to take time. i think that's one of theo

al qaeda believed to be behind it.ia rebel group that's taken over parts of the capital and other key areas of the country. cnn has learned the u.s. intelligence community is now urgently worried yemen's fragile government may even lose control of the capital, and that raises critical concerns that yemen's al qaeda branch could move in and suck steeld with its long-standing threat to attack the united states. al qaeda operatives already stepping up attacks inside yemen. >> the yemen government, just to survive, has to focus on the huti threat right now. so in other words, al qaeda, the one organization that we're seeing or one organization that we're seeing that is most directly plotting against the u.s. homeland has taken a back seat. >> reporter: yemen is now so precarious, the u.s. is keeping an amphibious warship with helicopters and a marine contingent on board, ready to move in and evacuate americans if needed. just last month, president obama touted yemen as a success in fighting al qaeda. >> this strategy of ta