is pushing again towards aleppo. it has taken numerous towns in the aleppo country side. so at the moment i guess it's a little bit too risky to travel too aleppo. but there's no doubt, i will go back. >> help us, and our audience, understand what it is that drives a journalist like you to go into a place where you know the risks are all too real? >> over 190,000 people have been killed which was estimated by the u.n. a couple of days ago. and there are hardly any journalists there. someone has to tell the story. >> photojournalist carsten stormer, thank you for your work. >> you're welcome. >> we'll show you how some an ridgaborigines are getting an ia of their ancestors' art. @ news... >> in northern australia, aboriginal rock art up to 20,000 years old, is being rediscovered. to show the ancient art to the descendants of those who created it. >> is it important for you to come back here? >> yeah, it is. >> why? >> because my dad and my grandfather used to roam around this area and lived here when my father was a little boy. >> no one now lives in this remote part of ar

now, the news from earlier today is that they have taken another town near aleppo. and that wave of power is absolutely incredible in a relatively short space of time. is enough being done not only to help the yazidis but also to fight against them? >> when the international community is looking at how to deal with it, the united states and the european powers, they are dealing with very difficult situation to manage. and partly because of the political crisis in iraq. when isis or i.s. made their spectacular gains in june and captured majority of the provinces, america made it very, very clear they don't want to be dragged into a sectarian war and be seen as fighting on the side of the shias against the sunnis. and part of this was to, if maliki wins, this would resolve this. and we have seen lots of reports recently in the u.s. media, in the wall street journal and new york times indicating that the americans are considering widening their campaign against isis if haider al abadi forms a -- >> what would that widened campaign mean? boots on the ground or not? >> n

syria rebels on the offensive in aleppo. this v obtained by al jazeera.say they have stormed the security unit in the western side of the city. the unit was tasked with protecting the aleppo military academy which hosts the syrian army's main base in the area. >> rebels say they have occupied several blocks allowing them to inch closer to the based on saturday. this building in front of us is that of the military security unit. >> we did it by the grace of god and that i can to the heroism of our mujahadine. >> they say it's key because it's the site where the syrian army maps out its strategy for the eastern front. it's also under the supervision of syrian, iranian, iraqi and hezbollah military officers. the new oftenbsive comes a few weeks after government troops made some major advances against the rebels by retaking the industry area and the eastern district. rebels say if they take this area, they may keep the balance of pour in their favor and they will be able to interrupt the army's only supply route to its basis in this side of al aleppo. >> stay

aleppo, once a city of 3 million has fewer than 300,000 residents left.arrel bombs have killed over 2000 civilians in aleppo alone this year. in february the u.n. past a resolution condemning their use. the syrian airforce responded by doubling the number dropped. in the midst of this battle for aleppo what the team is trying to do is to save those caught in the cross fire. a simple idea. so difficult to do. >> even though we lost a great deal, friends, acquaintances, family, we are staying because our work is humanitarian. >> reporter: i'm with al jazeera. >>> okay, let's go to iraq now where two invasions killed 11 people in the capitol baghdad. one of the bombs hit a busy intersection in eastern sheer muslim district. the other is in baghdad's southern part. on monday a series of car bomb ings killed dozens of people in baghdad and in two towns just south of the capitol. the deadliest of them was by a suicide bomber who blew themselves up on shia people leaving a mosque. kurdish forces are continuing to battle fighters from the islamic state group in w

it is battle to retake the strategic city of aleppo.relied heavily on barrel bombs dropping hundreds in the last few months. the physical destruction and psychological terror by the bombs has driven tens of thousands of civilians to flee the area, a tamic many analysts say is deliberate. aleppo once a city of 3 million has fewer than 300,000 residents left. the barrel bombs have killed over 2000 civilians in aleppo alone this year. in february the u.n. passed a resolution condemning their use. the syrian airforce responded by doubling the number dropped. in the midst of this battle for aleppo, what he and his team are trying to do is save those caught in the cross fire. a simple idea. so difficult to do. >> even though we lost a great deal of friends, acquaintances and family we are staying. >> i'm sheila. >> reporter: a new cabinet following a shock resignation of the government and monday's collapse came over economic policy and a new face is a banker who replaces a leftist as economy minister. let's have more on the story and spoke l

aleppo has fewer than 300,000 residents left. the barrel bombs have killed over 2,000 civilians in aleppo alone this year. in february the u.n. passed a resolution condemning their use. the syrian air force responded by doubling the number dropped. in the midst of this battle what they are trying to do is save those caught in the cross-fire. a simple idea, so difficult to do. >> translator: even though we have lost a great deal of friends, acquaintances and family, we are staying because our work is humanitarian. >>> family members and u.s. officials say the islamic state group has been holding a young american woman hostage since last year. she had been working for several humanitarian aid groups. she is one of at least three known hostages being held by the islamic state fighters inside syria. now to iraq. where there has been more violence in the country's capitol. at least 11 people were killed when a car bomb exploded in eastern bagdad. the attack comes a day after dozens of people were killed in a series of bombings. the is

they've been taking a lot of small towns and villages around aleppo in the past few days, and people are very afraid that the syrian rebels there are going to lose control of the border with turkey and perhaps the town of aleppo itself. >> sreenivasan: what about the talk that perhaps the u.s. military aid could come to kurdistan or other european countries could assist in this fight? >> reporter: well, it's my understanding that u.s. military aid has already arrived in kurdistan. it was announced earlier this week that the u.s. was prepared to send the aid directly to kurdistan. they are coordinating this with baghdad. they are not bypassing the federal government in baghdad. they're not cutting a separate deal with kurdistan, if you like. but they are sending arms. it's my understanding that some have already arrived. >> sreenivasan: liz sly of the "washington post" joining us have a skype from iraq, thanks so much. >> reporter: thank you. >> sreenivasan: in texas today, governor rick perry said he is innocent of any wrongdoing. yesterday, a grand jury in austin indicted the presid

annays exclusive, latest on fighting in syria's biggest city, aleppo.s fighting intention fives in eastern ukraine, some of the most vulnerable residents remain trapped. >>> well, back. a reminder the top stories on al jazeera. the u.n. secretary general has con domdemned an attack on a u. school and describing it as a gross violation of international humanitarian law. 10 people were killed in the airstrike on the facility in gaza there. drs. say gaza's hospitals are reaching breaking points. supplies are running out. medical staff are coming under fire. an earthquake in china kills 175 people so far with around 1,400 injured as efforts continue to find survivors. opposition fighters have called a new body called the syrian revolution command counscil. 14 will have one command sender. the announcement comes as opposition fighters say they have managed to take control of several buildings in aleppo. mohammed val has our exclusive report. syrian rebels, this video obtained by al jazeera. they say they have stormed the security unit in the assad area in th

assad is trying to retake aleppo. is he likely to do that or will the rebels with stan his attack?> it depends on input from the outside. rethinking aleppo, much like the siege, would take months and months, maybe years. ,eing able to encircle the city and if they were able to do that to aleppo, it would be a huge .low to the free syrian army these are inchoate groups not under common control. ihe non-isis jihad opposition, losing aleppo or putting it out of the battle, would be a huge loss. what we see now, more broadly, is that efforts to have the qa taris and other players be more supportive in terms of finances seen the-- we have official franchise, the islamic , these groups are suffering at the moment. what has happened is that this has opened up space for both isis and the regime, because the increase in support to fsa groups has not kept pace. our policy at the moment is creating room for both isis and the regime to make military gains. >> our policy toward syria? >> absolutely. we have a clear, sequential set of steps that we can take with local partners in iraq. we have s

they have captured aleppo. they could move on damascus. they could really take down a greater part and escalate what's happening in sir yay itself. you could have this incredible awe humanitarian crisis. >> there has been a humanitarian crisis. 190,000 people that have died in the syrian civil war over three years. what is the core u.s. interest now to go in? >> that number could multiply by 10, i think. i think the issue is containing isis. now, again, we know we are not going to have to be able to do this just in iraq and say they have a safe haven in syria i don't think that's going to be acceptable as well. so we've got to understand that there is a huge risk of isis gaining momentum. >> mike lyons, as always, thanks for being with us. >> the white house continues to deny any ransom was paid tofree peter theo curtis. curtis, you may recall was released after being kidnapped by syrian opposition fighters. u.s. officials say they played a small role in his release asking the qatari government to negotiate his freedom freedom. >> the repu

there are very big concerns about aleppo. what is your concern about that immediate situation in syria with regard to isis? >> well, the syrian opposition, the free syria army, whom we should have armed two years ago, is facing defeat, and they have called on us to bomb isis outside of aleppo. i think we should consider doing it because this is one war. it's building from syria into iraq. the border is obliterated. there's no border anymore, and we need to fight isis wherever they rear their ugly heads. you know, when we, years ago, when the russians were thrown out of afghanistan, and we just sort of looked the other way and didn't really focus, al qaeda, the taliban, allowed al qaeda to plot against the united states and that culminated in september 11th, 2001. if we allow isis to get stronger, if they take aleppo, it's the end of the free syria army and also would mean that isis would have essentially a no man's land in syria through iraq to plot and plan attacks on our homeland. and frankly, our european allies should ste

rebels advanced to aleppo. we have this report. >> reporter: syrian rebels on the offensive in aleppo. this video obtained by al jazeera, storming a security unit in the western side of the city. the unit was tasked with protecting the aleppo academy, hosting the syrian army's main base in the area. the rebels say they have occupied several blocks, allowing them to inch closer to the base on saturday. >> this building in front of us is that of the military security unit. >> translation: we did it by the grace of god and thanks to the heroism. the military academy is key, because it's the site where the syrian army maps out strategy for the eastern front. it's under the supervision of israeli and other officers. the new offensive comes a few weeks after government troops made advances against the rebels, by taking the industrial area on shajaiya. the rebels say if they take the area, they may tip the balance of power and interrupt the army's only supply route to its bases in this side of aleppo. >> lebanese troo

another activist speaking from aleppo on skype says the opposition movement is in great danger and the islamic state has brought a rain of hellfire down upon them. in cairo, this member of the syrian opposition says the international community must take on the islamic state in syria. >> we need the arab countries and the west to join together to to an end. if they do not, the world is sitting on a power tag. >> the killers, destroyers, torturers in syria have been powered and emboldened by the international paralysis. >> meanwhile, the islamic state has continued to make a demand -- advances. they posted this video showing a military post it took over. migrants carrying 170 capital ofar the libya, tripoli. a search is underway for the remaining passengers. the migrants were reportedly trying to reach europe. tens of thousands of north africans risk their lives every year trying to get to europe. the world health organization says the extent of the ebola outbreak in west africa has been underestimated. some are hiding infected relatives or chasing away health workers and there are shado

the militants have been active in and around aleppo. officials with the japanese foreign ministry have been urging japanese citizens to leave syria even before this. the foreign ministers of ukraine >>> said there is no room in the policy morally or religiously for weapons of mass destruction. officials promised to provide relevant information ahead of the august 25 deadline. they agreed to clarify an issue concerning testing explosives. he said iranian officials explained their decision to develop detonateers and said they proposed new ways. iran and six world powers plan to resume talks next month to try to resolve the nuclear issue. the foreign ministers of ukraine and russia defended their positions as the crisis in eastern ukraine continues. they sat down with counterparts to discuss ways to diffuse tensions. the ministers met in berlin for about five hours. they discussed a range of issues, including the possible of a sustainable cease-fire. the ukrainian foreign minister suggested they did not make much headway and said the talks

held in aleppo for a long period of time. we just received a statement from another american who was held in aleppo. they shared a cell. matthew did escape from the cell. he had to leave fear behind. matthew released a statement earlier saying we were together over six months but never shared a day. now we dochlt they are now free. this day will go down as one of the happiest of my life. relief from the cell mate with the fear of leaving him behind. the family released a statement. they thank the u.s. and government. they call it a humanitarian issue. they are not aware of all the technical details. a key thing here, too, he was held by a group linked to al qaeda. many analysts view them as softer, more moderate than isis who beheaded james foley last week. there's potentially a red light here. maybe at this stage, one of the more radical groups looking to improve their images. peter curtis got out. >> thank you for that. live in london this morning. thanks. >>> a trail could lead to the identity of the terrorist seen beheadi

the isis, because they control more territory more than any al qaeda-like group in its his are the aleppo to western syria to gates of baghdad in the east which is about 450 miles across. and you know, they have a pretty effective social media campaign. and if you are somebody who is influence ed influenced by this ideology there, the group that you want to join right now. some four years ago, some people may have been tempted to join is a baath which controlled somalia at this time, so isis is flavor du jour and the most inarguably most success nfl the modern era. >> we have been seeing the air strikes that the u.s. has been doing in iraq, and actually doing something to isis to push them away from the dam there in mosul. i wonder if your take, just to get your take the on all of this, and the air strikes and the boots on the ground, what does it take to stop isis? >> well, it is a political question as much as a military question. i mean, there is no constituency in the united states for a ground invasion of iraq. air strikes, you know, they are effective. they are not going to destroy

extraordinary, professional, courteous, but also working inside aleppo, terrible communication issues. we exchanged skype messages, that's all we could do. courageous in the fact he was there. the things we needed to work out and just generally seemed to be great at his profess. >> yeah, yeah, obviously in those situations, everyone is so focused on their work, but you have these interactions that become very meaningful. let me ask you, the psychology of fear, from my van vantage point has made a use of fear. we saw tweets sent out for the world to see as a warning to americans. you've covered a lot of conflicts. i've covered a lot of conflicts. is this different what you're seeinging there? >> i've never really encountered such a volume of horrifying, disgusting videos. when they started out, they weren't shy of the fact they were brutal, but it wasn't what you get know. it's hard to keep up with the number of grotesque things they post on their twitter feet. i did a story about potentially 1700 iraqi recruits near te krit, that base is overrun and they were herded off to mass execut

this video shows him working in aleppo, one of the last times he was seen alive. speaking in washington, president barack obama expressed his horror at the execution. >> good afternoon. >> he condemned the islamic state militants as a cancer and vowed to continue america's air campaign against them. >> we will continue to confront this hateful terrorism and replace it with a sense of hope and civility. that is what jim foley stood for. a man who lived his work, who courageously told the stories of his fellow human beings. they'll -- who was liked and loved by friends and family. >> reddish prime minister david cameron -- british prime minister david cameron says it is increasingly likely that his executioner was a british citizen, and that many radicalized redder citizens have traveled there. >> we redouble all our efforts to take away the passports of those contemplating travel, to arrest and prosecute those who take part in extremism and violence. to take extremist material off the internet and do everything we can to keep our people safe. >> james foley's paren

aleppo once a city of 3 million has fewer than 300,000 residents left. barrel bombs have killed over 2,000 civilians in aleppo alone this year. in february the un passed a resolution condemning their use. the syrian air force responded by doubling the number dropped. what these people are trying to do is to save those caught in the cross-fire, a simple idea, so difficult to do. >> translator: even though we lost a great deal of friends, acquaintances and family, we are staying, because our work is humanitarian. >>> two palestinians have been still -- killed in the latest attack in gaza coming after air strikes destroyed one of gaza's tallest building. and housed 70 families. >> reporter: this building was known to locals as the italian towers. it was one of the best known in gaza city. the top 11 floors were residential apartments where another least 70 families were living inside. on the bottom two floors, there were mainly commercial properties, there was a pharmacy, coffee shop, as well as offices. there were some hamas offices in the building, which

but that's over a very large area, stretching from aleppo near the mediterranean coast to mosul up inraq. and the first priority needs to be to defeat them in iraq. that's where the strategic terrain is, where the oil fields are located and we have partners, the kurds and a better government in bagdad with whom we can ally. >> and that 50,000 number comes from the syrian observatory of human rights, but do you think the only way to stop i.s. right now is a military one? is there a diplomatic solution that should also be a focus here? >> again, president obama laid it all out on june 19th. it's diplomatic with the region and the entire global community including in the un. it's political, working with the iraqi government with the sunni arab tribes in the area where isis is located, working with the kurds to include an effective iraqi government, and its military, but not with american major combat troops on the ground with american air power, logistics, advice, intelligence, along with people like we saw up in the north the kurds and the iraqi special forces will do the ground fightin

: rebels on the offensive in aleppo. this exclusively obtained. they say they have stormed the security unit in the assad area in the western side of the city. they are tasked with perfecting the military abandon which host the main base of the area. rebels say they open several to each closer on the base on saturday. they're building in front of us, that of the security unit. we did it by the grace of god and thanks to the heroism. >> it is the site where the syrian army had its strategy for the eastern front. it is the home of military officers. the if you offensiv owe--the new offensive comes a few weeks after retaking the industrial area and the eastern district. if they take this area, they may tip the balance of power in their favor. >> a strong earthquake has killed 175 people in southern china. the quake struck in a remote mountainous part of the province. >> reporter: these are just a few of the estimated 12,000 homes that have been damaged the epicenter of the quake. search and rescue teams pick the rebels in t

we believe that at one point held in aleppo, way up north.know exactly how he made his way down south. those are details i'm sure we're going to hear in the next couple of days. >> now, al nusra is not isis but these are both terrorist groups. they're both -- they both have al qaeda ties, et cetera. is there any indication why al nusra would give up an american whereas of course isis killed an american, for instance, any questions whether a ransom was paid? >> reporter: well, the -- the u.s. government says they were not directly involved in the negotiation. they're aware there were private efforts being made and a third government involved in the efforts. but the u.s. government, as you know, jim, has a policy of not to talk to terrorist groups and not to do any negotiations with the terrorist groups. so they weren't directly involved. so that -- this had to have been done privately. >> we can't understate the contrast between what we saw a few days ago with james foley and the tremendous relief his family in this case. thanks to evan perez,

syrian rebels from the islamic front are struggling to hold on to the aleppo countryside.ing this region means losing a main supply line from turkey. for years, the syrian opposition has appealed for military assistance from the international community. on saturday, they renewed that appeal and called for direct military action. >> i urge the u.n. and everyone in the international community who truly believe in freedom, especially the united states of america, to deal with the sir in syria in the same way they have handled the situation in ku kurdistan and iraq. the roots are the same in syria. the enemy is the same. the world should not have double standards. >> in iraq, the u.s. is carrying out airstrikes against the islam staikt grew. the pentagon says its mission is limited to protecting minorities and defending the kurdish region. >> a third of iraq is under the control of the islamic state group. the international community has expressed alarm about its growing strengths. but so far, there is no plan to defeat that group. >> the islamic state fighters are in urban ce

and children who have seen and you had attacks on aleppo. some psychological problems that we have started treating. >> reporter: there are 67,000 registered syrian refugees in istanbul and the children can go to government schools. but the language barrier puts them off. aid groups estimate there are another 140,000 unregistered syrians. fleeing from war they have no documents to prove who they are. one of the biggest challenges for the teachers here is discipline. because these children have never been in an environment before where they have to do as they are told and as one teacher explained to me without the schooling, these kids are on the streets and that is a potential breeding ground for another generation of fighters. in this cramped apartment in another part of the city, there is no money for bus fair to hist the children to school. 10 people cramed in to two rooms. they have been here for 18 months. the air is foul. he can't find work the strain of trying to provide for his family is difficult to bear. his children don't know any

in syria, in the north, rebels advanced to aleppo. >> reporter: syrian rebels on the offensive in aleppo. this video obtained by al jazeera. they say they have stormed the security unit in the western side of the city. they were tasked with protecting the aleppo academy, hosting the army's main base in the area. the rebels say they occupied several blocks, allowing them to inch closer to the base. >> this building in front of us is that of the security unit. we did it by the grace of god and thanks to the hero six of mujahideen. >> reporter: activist says it's a site where the army maps out what will occur. the new offensive by the rebels comes a few weeks after government troops made advances against the rebels. by retaking the industrial area and the eastern district. >> the rebels say if they take the area, they may tip the balance of power in their favour and will interrupt the army's only supply route to its bases. >>> lebanese troops are trying to regain control of a town attacked by a rebel group in syria. that many soldiers have been killed since the fighting began on saturday. j

syrian rebels from the islamic front are struggling to hold on to the aleppo country side, losing thision means losing a main supply line from turkey. for years, the syrian opposition has appealed for military assistance from the international community. on saturday, they renewed that appeal and called for direct military, calling for targeted airstrikes, backed up by intensive train and equip programs. in iraq, the u.s. is already caring out airstrikes against the itslamic straight group but the pent pe penned gone says at this mission is limited to defending the kurdish region. a third of iraq is ubldz the control of the islamic state group. the international community has expressed alarm about the growing strengths. but so far, there is no plan to defeat that group. the islamic state fighters are in urban centers and live among the local population. they are well armed. they have taken u.s.-made weapons from the iraqi army and have seized military equipment from syrian army basis. even the u.s. acknowledge airstrikes won't be enough. >> airstrikes will target the positions that the

set to control this large portion of the region seen here in yellow, from aleppo in syria, all the way as mohamed was saying to the region near erbil in iraqi kurdistan. this just to give you a sense of the size of an area that is bigger than the uk. there are around 6 million people who live here. i.s. clearly has money. there has been some suggestion that some of its funds are coming from qatar and saudi arabia. let's take you live to beirut. we can speak now to the director of the middle east center in beirut. thank you very much for joining us. where does i.s. get its funds from? >> several forces are in the very beginning, the islamic state was reliant on donor money, mainly from the gulf region. but saying that we have to make a distinction between money coming from states in the gulf and money coming from nonstate forces. in the case of the islamic state, the funding coming from the gulf is not from the qatari states or saudi states but nonstates, private actors, within those countries, who have been supporting the islamic state. >> but is pressure being put on the qataris and s

if with aleppo and what is happening in aleppo, if .here is a focusing moment last week, there definitely was. if there is an opportunity there . the point i am making is that aleppo is the second-largest city in syria and may fall at some point. two sides in a grievous assault. we did not even talk about things like christian minorities yazidis and everything being pinched by this bigger fight, but is there a focusing moment? i tend to think that president obama cut out there in ways that his own base maybe did not like but i think was essential to do. perhaps there is a moment here again,, perhaps, but going back to how you actually sell that, and being clear. i think the administration needs to be clear. one other thing i would say is that the way they have talked about their actions in iraq have been not that we should go in in any sense, but limit it in a sense that defining what this threat actually is -- i think hearing from the president about the nature of what we are dealing with in both iraq and syria i think is essential for building the case -- again, i'm not talking about an

mcarthur mccain, who we told you about last night, a second american jihadist fighter died north of aleppo. they did not identify the second american they say they killed or give any evidence of the death. for their part, isis hasn't mentioned any american fighters being killed. in the meantime, we're learning more about douglas macarthur mccain, how he ended up in syria. mccain went to college in san diego, which is where pamela brown is reporting from this evening. pamela? >> reporter: well, anderson, despite reports from that anti-isis group that a second american was killed in syria, u.s. officials say they are not ready to confirm that. also, we are learning that authorities became aware of douglas mccain back in the early 2000s because of his association with someone they were interested with at that time. but they were not linking mccain to anything nefarious. but in the last couple of months, they became increasingly concerned about mccain learning that he traveled to turkey, the gateway to syria. it was just months ago that douglas mcarthur mccain began to attract the attention of

an rethinking aleppo much like the siege of homs, would take months and months. maybe years. but obviously being able to encircle the city which is what they're trying to do, and if they were able to do that in lay siege to aleppo, it would be a huge blow to the free syrian army, and loosely termed, these are groups not under any kind of command and control at the moment, but the nonisis, nonjihadi opposition, losing aleppo or at least putting it out of the battle would be a huge loss. and so what we see now more broadly is that efforts to have the other players be much more constructive in terms of finances in to syria, an syrian rebel groups. >> we have seen nosra, the official franchise, the islamic front, jihadi umbrella organization, these groups are suffering at the moment. but what has happened is that this has actually opened up space for both isis and the regime because the incremental increase in support to fsa groups has not kept pace. and so our policy at the moment is actually creating room for both isis and the regime to make military gains. >> rose: our policy

it's two years since i saw my sister in aleppo. i don't know anything about her. >> reporter: local aid groups say 40% of syrians that make it to istanbul live in similar circumstances. in 2010 turkey opened their border to displaced syrians, but no one thought they'd be here this long. >>> the israeli military says it sht down a drone above the golan heights. prime minister binyamin netanyahu says israel will defend itself on all fronts, including gaza. >> i hope that the quiet has been restored, will continue for a long time. we are prepared for every eventuality on that front and other fronts, including the gollon border. >> israel annexed land, opponents calling it the biggest land grab. >>> in the capital of tripoli, the embassy was stormed. no u.s. citizens were present. the state department closed the facility amid rising violent. all military personnel and operations were moved to neighbouring tunisia. >>> in somalia 11 were killed in an attack on a government intelligence center, beginning when a car bomb exploded. gunmen

. >>> rest accuse of syria's largest city aleppo struggle to save a child under rubble. the most recent air strikes around aleppo come after syrian air forces took strategic ground around the city last month. >>> meanwhile syrians are trapped, between their own country and israeli occupied territory. occupied golan heights. 14,000 syrians approach to seek shelter there. still to come on al jazeera. more cases reported in nigeria as debate continues about how to treat west africa's ebola outbreak. >>> war crimes in afghanistan are being ignored and nato isn't held to account. >>> and in sport, germany's golden boy calls it quits a month after winning the world cup. >> talk are underway, arab league is also holding an urgent meeting in cairo with the palestinian delegation, discussing a newly proposed truce and how to get gaza back on its feet. so far a 72-hour ceasefire is holding up. following a month after israeli military attacks. since israel's military assault on gaza began more than a month ago, 64 military soldiers and three civilians including a thai national have

there has been talk of militants close to taking aleppo. is that still the situation or are they driven back? >> at the moment that's still ongoing with the advance north of the city. so far their focus is more in the northern country side rather than the i city. the country side is more strategically valuable for them and the opposition who currently control it and who look at this point likely to lose control of larger amounts of this country side in coming days and weeks. >> you have both opposition and president assad forces fighting at the moment? >> absolutely. that's one of the new things we've seen in the last week or two, the government and the syrian air force particularly, has gun launching more intensified operations against the islamic state. particularly in the northern aleppo country side where they're currently advancing and also in their capital. so far, that has been as i say a relatively interesting new development. >> now we're seeing what looks to be the battle to take back tikrit. we're waiting to hear more on that fro

in syria, 33-year-old douglas mccain was killed in a battle during rival groups near the city of aleppo. mccain over the course of that time officials say became radicalized. u.s. officials now estimate there are dozens, perhaps as many as 100 americans who have tried to join various militant groups there. we get more this morning from cnn's barbara starr. >> john, christine, the american douglas macarthur mccain killed in syria, said to be fighting alongside isis. his family notified by the u.s. government, telling our jim sciutto they had not known that he was in syria fighting as part of the war going on there. u.s. counterterrorism officials say he was one of the americans that they were keeping an eye on, that they were investigating for possibly joining militant groups. and if he had attempted to travel at any point, traperhaps come back to the united states, he would have been subject to additional scrutiny. so what about u.s. air strikes in syria? what about the next step there? well, by all accounts, u.s. reconnaissance flights are flying along the border, staying for now on th

. >> on location in aleppo, this is james foley for global post. >> reporter: in his final moments, james foley faced death with the dignity and courage that marked his journalistic career. >> and brian is here now. you have breaking news? >> yes, about a failed rescue attempt. president obama authorized a bold attempt into syria to rescue foley. but when they arrived at the site, there were no hostages present. no american casualties other than one injury. >> an attempt that failed. and now, the question continues. what is the u.s. going to do. isis is now estimated to be more than 10,000 strong and growing. have taken over a third of iraq and parts of syria. jonathan karl breaks down president obama's options. >> reporter: he calls out president obama by name. the president answering with resolve. >> we will be vigilant and relentless. when people harm americans anywhere, we will work to see that justice is done. >> reporter: the u.s. has conducted at least 13 more air strikes since the video was released yesterday. he could release more weapons to the front line, or send special forces

jaddist fighting alongside isis in syria. 34-year-old douglas mccain was killed near the city of aleppo. mccain became radicalized. he is not the first american to join forces in syria, the government estimates there are more perhaps hundreds will try to join groups there. >> reporter: john and christine, the american douglas mccain killed in syria, said to be along i'd isis. his family notified by our u.s. government, telling jim hutto they had not known he was part of the world going on there. u.s. counterterrorism officials say he is one of the americans they were keeping an eye on that they were investigating for possibly joining militant groups. and if he had attempted to travel at any point perhaps come back to the united states, he would have been subject to additional scrutiny. so what about u.s. air strikes in syria. what about the next step there? well, by all accounts, u.s. reconnaissance flights are flying along the border, staying for now on this side of the iraqi side of the border. but having to look into syria, trying to determine any location of potential isis targets t

state, stretching all the way from the iranian border to just east of aleppo.robably the population of 5 million or six lane. how many fighters do they have? probably only 6000 to 10,000 fighters in the beginning of june. an iraqi security official told me the jihadis takeover, were --s takes over, they were there were five or 10 new fighters for everyone they had initially. so we are probably up to 40,000 to 50,000 fighters now. it is expanding and shrinking all the time. it has arms to equip them. mosul inarms taken in russian and other arms taken in recent victories that isis has had in syria. , your colleague writes -- can you talk about that where it is not been talked about the obama administration, oil? >> yeah, i think it underlies everything. interest in so much the middle east in general over the last century come and you , you know. if iraq i think was the second-biggest exporter is to be dates, if it was dates rather than oil, would there be such an acute interest in what goes on in iraq? muchstan doesn't produce apart from some crude oil. i think t

he's been part of the advance in aleppo. he says he went to syria to fight the assad regime accused of atrocities. he eventually joined the islam pick state. >> it was the possible group fighting for return. other groups claimed to be islamic. actions proved otherwise. >> after capturing towns around aleppo from other rebel groups last week, islamic state beheaded a number of captured fighters. i asked if it was true. >> yeah, we kind of beheaded some guys. i believe maybe four, three or four guys that we beheaded. may have been more. i'm not aware of them. i'm aware of three or four guys i beheaded and put the heads back as usual in the town center. the reason for heads in the town center is to be more reliesed or cause fear in the hearts amongst us. there's spies amongst us. >> islamic state say they killed foley in response to u.s. air strikes against the group in iraq. before the strikes had taken place, i asked this fighter what the response would be to any american action against them. his answers at times sounded like

. >> it's a city of aleppo between government forces and aleppo fighters. >> the images shows rebels held by government soldiers. one of the areas was a central prison. >> israel's prime minister binyamin netanyahu has warned people in gaza to relieve a building. his comments come after an israeli air strike destroyed a multistory apartment building in gaza. with more, we have jane ferguson on the ground in gaza, and jackie role land in west jerusalem. jackie, you've been following events, the prime minister holding a cabinet meeting. it's a regular occurrence on a sunday. there's a clear message to gazans and the israeli public. >> yes, the israeli public has been asking itself increasingly as time moves on, whether, after 48 days of host ilties, whether it's government and military commanders, whether they have a clear strategy for ending the conflict. at the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting, prime minister binyamin netanyahu was doing his best for present himself as a resolute leader. >> i'm calling on the residents of gaza to clear out of any area in which hamas executes a