we have this report. >> the syrian government is on the move in aleppo. it controls parts of the city, such as the central prison, and wants the rebel held country side. on friday government forces attacked two villages, threatening rebel supply lines to the north. several fighter were reported to have been killed. >> regime forces advanced in several directions. wr preparing to regain areas under opposition control. >> this overlooks the only road connecting the rebel city with towns close to the rebel border. towns that controlled this area controls the supplies to the rebel, the defense unit is in rebel hands. the government assault did not end here. foreign fighters backed by government soldiers stormed other districts north of aleppo. within a few hours the government was in charge of half the district. the opposition fought back. >> some of bashar al-assad's soldiers and m.e.r.s.an air yeas have been killed and others arrested. we are chasing them in areas where they are holed up. >> the fragmented nature of the opposition fighting on various fronts

inside aleppo city, and the syrian government in the south. north of aleppo. f.s.a. to the west, i.s.i.l. to the east, all the way to the turkish border. i'm in turkey, that is syria behind me the the town behind me - i.s.i.l. took it over, that's the black i.s.i.l. flag fluttering in the town center, a mile and a half from me. i.s.i.l. is strong, fighting with equipment stolen from the iraqi army, including night vision, artillery and tanks. on the other side the u.s. provides anti-missiles to fighters considered trustworthy. the u.s. will train more fighters, but the f.s.a. is outmanned and gunned. >> translation: the reality of the revolution is painful, we have no choice but to take support from sim pathetic countries. >> reporter: supporting the fsa is not without risk, this shows f.s.a. supporters that left moderate groups to join i.s.i.l. the f.s.a. says it will not happen again. >> i.s.i.s. has the weapons, the regime has a lot of weapons. now is the time to put weapons in the right hands. >> not only weapons, the f.s.a. says the u.s. air strikes need to expa

we have this report. >> reporter: the syrian government is on the move in aleppo. it controls part of the movement and wants the rebel held countryside. on friday government forces attacked the villages, threatening rebel supply lines to the north. several fighters were reported to have been killed. >> regime forces advanced in several directions and the city of aleppo. we are preparing to regain areas under opposition control in the village. >> reporter: it overlooks a road connecting a city with towns close to the turkish border. whoever controls this area controls the delivery of supplies to the rebels. their defense is in rebel hands. rights groups say opposition fighters retook parts of the area, but the government assault didn't end here, foreign fighters stormed some districts north of aleppo. within a few hours the government was in charge in half the district. but the opposition fought back. >> translation: some of bashar al-assad soldiers and mercenaries had been killed and others arrested. we are chasing them in areas where they are holed up. >> reporter

foreign fighters backed by fighters stormed another district north of aleppo. within a few hours the government was in charge. the opposition fought back. >> translation: some of the soldiers and mercenaries have been killed and arrested. we are chasing them in areas where they are holed up. >> the fragmented nature of the opposition, fighting on various fronts is pushed further away by government forces coalition air strikes have strengthened the government assault. bashar al-assad's forces know they can't win outright, so are trying to push boundaries as they have in aleppo. >>> human rights watch is calling on the united arab emirates to reveal the whereabouts of 10 libyans and six nationals detained. they are held by the u.a.e. since august and september. a statement released by human rights watch goes: >>> a critically ill egyptian abbing visit is in hospital -- activist is in hospital from prison after refusing food. he started a hunger strike in august, but relented when he became ill. he has been in detention since last year on charges related to violat

until then aleppo's misery will continue. nick schifrin, al jazeera, turkey. >> can you see much more of nick's reporting from turkey this friday. join us for a special report, five days of escape from i.s.i.l, 5:30 pacific, 8:30 eastern time. >>> henry kissinger's secret plan to, quote, smash cuba. >> today we learned that nearly 40 years ago a you know, secretary of state was making plans to launch an all-out attack on cuba. henry kissinger's plan, the goal in kissinger's words, smash cuba. it's all coming from a batch of newly declassified government documents. paul beban is here with the report. >> these are transcripts of a series of conversations between secretary kissinger, president gerald forward and a few national security members. just how willing kissinger was to go to war. in late 1975, the middle of the cold war, cuban leader fidel castro took a step that we now know almost provoked a drastic response from the u.s. castro sent cuban troops to the african nation of angola. global dominance between the u.s. and th

syrian government is on the move in aleppo. it controls parts of the city such as the central prison and now, it also wants the rebel-held countryside on friday, government forces attacked two other villages threatening rebel supply lines to the north. several opposition fighters were reported to have been killed. regime forces advanced in several directions in the city of aleppo. we are preparing regain areas under pop situation control in handarat village which over looks the only road connecting the aleppo city with towns close to the turkish border. whoever controls this area, controls the delivery of supplies to the rebels and air defense units here are in rebel hands. rights groups say opposition fighters retook parts of the area but the government assault didn't end here foreign fighters backed by government soldiers stormed another district north of alepo. within a few hours, the government was in charge in half of the district. but the opposition fought back. some of the soldiers and his mersaries had been killed and o

what is the condition of people living inside aleppo today? >> 20-year-old abu omar is an activist, we spoke to him by skype. >> we wake up in full bodies out from destroyed buildings. we have no ambulances and medicine, life is miserable. the u.s. must find and tape fighter whose will have to win two separate battles, until then, the misery will continue. >> nick joins us now from the phone in instanbul. you have been reporting from the syria border for quite some time, there are a couple of interesting notes from your report just now, first of all, how will today's develop independents in turkey, impact the ability of the u.s. to take on isil? >> i think it is a dramatic development. turkey behind the scenes has already been helped the united states. that means we can talk about the base that they are going to launch air strikes from. and we will see some kind of military action, maybe not so overt, but some kind of action in syria, and iraq that will dramatically help on the grouped. because as turkey has been so effected and knows that bor

inside aleppo city, divided with the fsa in the north, the syrian government in the south, and north to the west, isil to the east, all the way to the,ish border. >> i am standing in turkey right now, that is syria right behind me, the town isil took it over in january that's the black flag fluttering about the town center. >> isil is strong, it fights with equipment stole opinion the iraqi army, includes night vision, and. >> thats. >> on the other side, u.s. provides tank missiles it considers trot worth think. right now, the fsa is outmans and outoned. >> the reality of the revolution is painful, we have no choice but to take support from countries sympathetic with us. >> but supporting the fsa is not without risk, this video shows f, is, a fighter whose left moderate groups to join isil. >> today the fsa says that won't 4578 again, it is now or never. >> isis has all of these weapons the regime has a lot of weapons and aircraft, barrel bombs and now is the time to put more weapons in the righten has. >> not only weapons the fsa says the u. air strikes need to expand and improve.

in ten villages in aleppo's southern country side. fighters said they withdrew from those areas after sustaining a heavy aerial bombing campaigning and facing syrian reenforcements. second city remains outside the government's control. the syrian military says its troops are progressing around the country side. >> thank you very much. i wanted to ask about the situation in dallas. dr. freiden. you said they have not had >> welcome back the top stories on al jazeera, 29 iraqi soldiers have been killed on multiple suicide attack. the diala province, dying in an apples bush by i.s.i.l. fighters. international donors have pledged 5.4 billion, the conference in egypt in cairo. by israel in july and august. the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention, a breach in protocol resulted in a nurse testing positive for ebola. she took care of the first person ever diagnosed with the virus in the united states. returning to kobani where there's been another day of fears fighting. demanding the turkish government intervene. if nothing is don

aleppo with these three players.ioned about the fsa and other rebel groups in aleppo calling on the u.s. or the coalition to do air strikes against assad, you know, that stands out because the fact of the matter is the u.s. is not fighting assad right now. it has been very clear it's fighting isis. so what would the dynamic do in terms of u.s. getting involved? i mean, obviously assad is doing something else on his own right now while the u.s. attacks isis. >> well, assad is using the opportunity to do a lot. for example, in 36 hours, alone, last week, he launched 210 air strikes. the u.s. have launched in syria and iraq since september the 23rd 150 air -- 158 air strikes. the problem for the u.s. is this idea that these two problems are not intertwined. for example, if the fsa and the more moderate rebels do suffer the loss of their half of aleppo, then you're going to see a collapse of the uprising and strengthening of isis. as some rebel commanders point out to me, it means demoralized fighters in their brigades c

north of aleppo, f.s.a. to the west, isil to the east all the way to the turkish border. >> i'm standing in turkey right now, that is syria behind me, the town was taken over by isil in january. that is the black isil flag about a mile and a half from here. >> isil is strong, fights with equipment stolen from the iraqi army, including artillery and tanks. on the other side, the u.s. provides anti tank missiles to f.s.a. fighters it considers trustworthy. the u.s. will soon train more fighters. right now, the f.s.a. is outmanned and outgunned. >> the reality of the revolution i guess painful. the reality of the f.s.a. is difficult. we have no choice but to take support from countries sympathetic with us. >> shorting the f.s.a. is not without risk. this video shows f.s.a. fighters who left moderate groups to join isil. >> today, the f.s.a. says that won't happen again, it's now or never. >> isis all of these weapons, the regime has weapons, aircraft, barrel bombs and now is the time to put more weapons in the

coming up in this program, protests continue in aleppo as syria's government says it has taken controlf three villages in the province. >>> and violent scuffles break out in hong kong. >>> britain's prime minister makes a stop in kaboul. >>> plus a cyber attack on jpmorgan chase, data from millions of bank accounts are compromised. ♪ >>> we begin in syria, where the regime continuing to fight rebels across the country. that was the scene in aleppo a short time ago, protesters marching through the streets and calling for an end to president assad's regime, that comes as the government in damascus says it has retaken control of three villages north of aleppo. further north, fighting inside syria is inching ever closer to turkey. [ gunfire ] >> there has been intense fighting around the syrian count of kobani, just across from the turkish border. the video shows a confrontation with isil in the city, al jazeera cannot verify the authenticity of these pictures. go's go to bernard smith. what is the smithest with the fighting there? >> reporter: well, this has probably been one of the most

-funded program is going well or not inside aleppo.been able to report on any conflict zone. and it's just not getting reported inside syria. >> john dan is ze-- daniszewski, are you hearing similar from your reporters. >> we get report approximates from things going on inside syria, and they are' very difficult to verify. in this conflict, to a greater extent than ever on user-generated content,;0@v social media, the-- that people there send out. but we have very high standards, which of those we will use and how we verify them.ç so you know, in the middle of the night last night we were chasing one particular report in the city of kobane and we were never able to satisfy it, to satisfy ourselves that it was very find that we could report it. in fact, we do have means. we do have contacts inside that we can reach out to. we do have very experienced journalists in the area who are picking up reports and sifting through them. it is a sort of pillar of conflict coverage to talk about what is happening to those caught in the middle. and

syrian army advances in the province of aleppo feature prominently in news bullet tins. here, a story of how the armed forces manage to restore security and stability in 10 villages in aleppo's isn't earn countryside. they say they withdrew from those areas after sustaining a heavy aerial bombing campaign and facing syrian army reinforcements. other parts of syria's second city, though, remain largely outside of the government's control. the syrian ministry also says that if troops are progressing in the countryside around the capitol damascus. >> the official state news agency says the value to the east of the capital is now under the full control of government forces, a claim denied by rebels. the government in the eastern district of the capital damascus could be next. the suburb, fierce fighting continues just a few kilometers from the city center. the syrian army has been trying to sees it for months and say they are making progress by controlling a number of buildings. in the southern prove incident, the syrian air force bombed two districts. several people were sa

even of aleppo -- even aleppo? >> latest reports say i.s. militants are trying to seize control of a strategic road leading into turkey. kurds in the region are increasingly calling for help. on the turkish border, ankara is widely blamed for the desperate situation in kobani. with turkey fearing any involvement would invite the conflict onto its territory, they are likely to remain stationary, and the kurds across the border are left to watch and hope. >> with the u.n. envoy warning of a srebrenica-type massacre if help does not arrive soon, how long can kobani holdout? can the defenders hold out much longer? >> it does not really of pierce so. another day of heavy fighting in kobanik and theo battles have come close to the turkish border gate. isis appears to be tried to take that gate, which would lead the people still inside completely encircled and with no way out. >> not only that, we understand that i.s. is receiving reinforcements in strength from as far away as iraq. what are you hearing? >> we are hearing several things. we've had

i spent my life in aleppo and kobane. we fled aleppo because of the free syrian army there, and now we flee here. all we do is flee. >> we're having trouble finding food and shelter. >> there are now more than 1.5 syrian refugees in turkey. among the kurds there is also a feeling of helplessness. these men wanted to go in kobane to help, but the turkish authorities have closed the border. for the kurds' own safety, they say. syrian kurdish fighters we have spoken to in kobane are now more optimistic of holding the time after a couple of u.s. airstrikes on friday evening hit isil positions. but the isil offensive continues as has there has been artillery and gunfire all day. those refugees are not going home soon. bernard smith, al jazeera. turkey-syrian border. >> inside iraq forces in the north are continuing to fight isil. thousands of people have had to leave their villages and they're pooing into the city of erbil. bernard's package has outlying how they're coping in turkey. how are they doing in erbil? >> reporter: w

. >> this woman in aleppo is asking why is no one protecting us. we'll have to take up arms ourselves. the battle is intensifying in aleppo and the damascus countryside. >> it is good news for bashar al-assad. now he's taken advantage from this time to gain on the land when they will arrive to say sit down on the table. he can. around the time, it's running out and he's interested to gown on the field -- gain on the field, on the land before sitting in starting to discussion any political solution. >> the syrian opposition is subdivided split -- divided politically. there may be an international coalition, but there is no agreement on how to end the war. a war according to the u.n. which killed over 200,000 syrians and displaced millions. >> ukrainians head to the polls for the first parliamentary elections since viktor yanukovych was overthrown as president. with russia's annexation of crimea, and the ongoing turmoil. barnaby phillips reports on how people in are desperate for stability. >> these are dark days in ukraine, and there are unlikely ca

aleppo, some people took to the streets to protest the government of president bashar al-assad.the same time, state tv was reporting that his army was recapturing three villages north of the city. >>> the chief executive of hong kong has appealed for calm and for the streets to be cleared as demonstrators gear up for more protests. earlier student leaders called off talks with the government blaming the authorities for failing to protect them after being involved in scuffles with the group that supports chinese rule. >> reporter: we may have seen hinths of the backlash that many have feared. there were running scuffles here in one of the most densely populated parts of hong kong. these clashes were between rival groups those who support democracy, and those regarded as being more in the pro-beijing camp. the police have been doing their best to keep the two sides pa part -- apart. around 130 people we're told have been admitted to hospital tonight with a variety of injuries. the chief executive of hong kong has made another plea tonight for both sides to show restraint and for t

and the syrian government said that it has taken control of three airstrikes in aleppo. they destroyed dozens of cars. meanwhile, protesters have been marching flu the streets of aleppo, holding the flag of the revolution, and calling for an end to president assad's regime. >>> to hong kong now. the police are telling demonstrators to leave protest sites that they have been occupying. the demonstrations have shut down major parts of the city. earlier, hundreds of hong kong residents tried to force the crowd from the streets at a protest site in the district. >> after spending the night, hundreds of protesters waited in front of chief executive's office, hoping to block him from going to work. he was a no-show. and he and many other to government officials it simply worked from other locations. government complex was temporarily closed. 3,000 civil servants were told to stay home or work from other locations. there were fewer protesters across the city on friday, but those in the district were able to maintain their blockade of the main government buildings. the police an

attention when they were trapped on the mountain, just wait until aleppo falls. think that is the real concern that aleppo will be surrounded and will eventually fall, and the world will be watching, and in the meantime, you know, the assad regime has really used the focus on isis to distract from what it's doing, what is a nightly and daily campaign of bombing and assault on civilian populations, including what you see in barrel bombs falling from the sky at a very regular basis. >> and obviously, gayle, ebola and other world events have sor distracted attention from what is happening with isis right now. it seems like isis momentum has slowed down. is that an accurate read? what does it tell us about where things are and go from here? >> that is a sense of that. it's very hard to tell. there are reports that i are marshalling resources in kobani which is in part why theest effort is attacking isis there. they seem to have this ability to recruit more and more because victory begins victory. that's the concern of administration and others. we're heading into a m

this woman in aleppo is asking why no one is protecting them, they'll have to take up arms themselves. the battle it intensifying. >> it's good news for bashar al-assad. now he's taken advantage from this time to gain on the land when they will arriving to say sit down on the table. he can have strong ties. time is running out. he is interested to gain on the field, on the land before sitting and starting to discuss any political solution. >> the syrian opposition is divided - politically and when it comes to the many different groups on the ground. there may be an international coalition when it's fighting i.s.i.l., but there's no agreement on when to win the war, a war that has killed over 200,000 syrians and displaced millions >>> now, egypt's president called a meeting of the armed forces to review security in the sinai sinaied peninsula, imimposing a state of emergency after at least 30 soldier were killed on friday. 37 dying in alarish when an attacker rammed the vehicle packed with explosives into a security checkpoint. in a second, three were killed when a gunman opened fire.

group like nusra took a city this would be a city out of government control because we have rebels in aleppond hold the west and each and it would be seen as a major victory but we have to put it in context and they have not managed to penetrate and no big fighting going on in the sense the city is under real threat and on humanitarian front we need to remember idlib has internally displaced syrians and if this is a new front and battle we would see another humanitarian crisis evolving through that. >> thank you very much for that update and that is the correspondent from beirut in neighboring lebanon. the government has major offensive against al-qaeda and airforced backed by houthi fighters by al-qaeda and allies south of the capitol and dozens reportedly killed on both sides and u.s. drones took part in the attack. getting reports of a suicide bombing on iraqi bombing check point and took place in a village north of where the town was recently retaken from isil by the iraqi army and let's go to our correspondent who is joining us from the capitol baghdad and yesterday we talked about what

the town is two and a half kilometers from aleppo and over looks like the only road connection to theity to rebel supply lines. -linked fighters have launched a major offensive in northeast lebanonon near syria. force ins lebanon con fronted the group in the town of asal, 16 fighters said to be affiliated with the alnusrrah front were reportedly killed. there are reports that twoez bello fighters decide. hezbollah century enforcements. million of brazilians are voting for their next president. the eriction is one of the country's closest in recent history. the incumbent dilma roussef cast her ballot. she wants a second term in office but will need at least 50% plus 1 vote to win in a first round. al jazeera gabriel he will elazondo has more from sao palo. this is one of the main voting locations here in the entire city in what is going to be the biggest election in brazil history with more than 14,800 candidates nationwide running for senate for congress and even state offices as well and, of course, the 11 candidates running for president. now, overall, there is one 42 million brazil

he's a member of a civil defense team in aleppo. first responders when the assad regime dropped bombs on what's left of his city. in june, it was khalid who was sure he heard the cries of a baby from beneath the rubble of a bombed out house. even the colleagues thought he was mistaken, but he refused to give up, clawing at the rubble with his hands. a tiny baby boy, just 10 days old. what happened was a miracle, he says. the baby boy was under three meters of debris. after the rescue, we felt indescribable joy. this was khalid setting off on a different journey, leaving bomd out aleppo. this might be quite something. and traveling to new york where the skyline has now been repaired. he saw this half-destroyed fire truck and said it could be made road worthy and used in syria. but this trip wasn't about sightseeing. the aim was to remind the international community that the assad regime is still killing syrians, not just islamic state. we hope that the american government and people will remember the syrian people who have suffered f

well, syrian opposition fighters have shot down a military helicopter in aleppo province. it was an army base south of aleppo city, and these 15 soldiers and 14 opposition fighters have been killed in attempts to capture that base. >>> still ahead on this al jazeera news hour. we will tell i couldn't israeli police have stopped palestinian worshipers from going into isl islam's holiest sites. >>> the search continues for mexico's missing students and attention turns to suspected criminal links among the police and politicians. >> i'm lee wellington in london where the head of the european football club association has give fifa a warning. >> two more people have lost their lives in fighting between indian and pakistani soldiers bringing the death toll in the latest to seven. it's one of the worst violations of a 2003 cease-fire. between the two countries over the disputed kashmir region. 18 others were hurt. fighting forced thousands of people out of their homes. >> this man is the latest victim in a conflict that lasted more than 65 years. his village was one of dozens ca

i superintendent my life in aleppo and kobane. we fled aleppo, and now we're fleeing from isil. all we do is flee. >> we have enough food, the problem is finding shelter. >> camps have sprung up along turkish border. some are weeks old. others have been there for three years. there are now more 1.5 million syrian refugees in turkey. among the kurds there is a fooling of helplessness. these men wanted to go into kobane to help defend it, but the turkish authorities have closed the border for the kurds' own safety, they say. >> fighters we have spoken with in kobane are now more optimistic after a couple of u.s. airstrikes on friday evening hit isil positions. but the isil defense continues as there has been artillery and gunfire all day, and those refugees are not going home soon. bernard smith, al jazeera, on the turkey-syria border. >> the fighting inside iraq has forced civilians out of their homes. we have this update from erbil. >> reporter: well, it's a very difficult situation. they're internally displaced iraqis who fled isil's advance. pain people were telling us today t

human rights groups say syrian forces have used barrel bombs, like here in aleppo. these containers, so with males shrapnel, and explicit material, are drop-- these containers filled with nails shrapnel, and explicit material are dropped. the u.n. banned the use of these bombs. >> welcome to the observers. in early october, work was supposed to begin on the biggest telescope in the world in hawaii. a groundbreaking ceremony was held but interrupted by native hawaiians. they see it as more than a blocking a. -- more than a volcano. >> they would like to put it on the northern summit of our sacred mountain. there are telescopes already. people are standing up against that. many of us, for spiritual and religious regions. others, for the environmental impact. they had been planning to hold a prayer vigil. protesting and holding signs. maybe around a good mile or two miles, they set up a road block. police officers and university of hawaii rangers. we were able to share with them our thoughts and our songs. very important for us in these sacred places for us to conduct

this whole group of people dedicated activists who risked their lives living in idlib and aleppo, and hama in the north, they held out and did their best to advance the revolution. i.s.i.s. comes along, attacks them, forces them out. you had journalists who couldn't do their jobs, and this happened over a year ago this happened. >> what is going on in washington. is it wishful thinking, denial to what we saw with i.s.i.l. back in january when i.s.i.l. had tape over a couple of major iraqi cities. the president called it is jv team, and we are doing the same thing, thinking that there's enough of a moderate fighting force there that they'll be able to take on i.s.i.l. >> i think anyone that supports the ideals of the opposition would love to see the moderate group grow. anything could happen in i.s.i.s. and i.s.i.l. it's a push back. you may see that that creates more room and space for people to return. now we are not seeing the space for them to exist, prosper and do what they were trying to do, the things we associate with the uprising. >> was the president more realistic in august,

. >> this woman in aleppo is asking: why is no one protecting us?e will have to take up articles, ourselves. >> the battle is intesfying in the cities of aleppo and the m damascus countryside. >> it's a very good news for president assad. now, he is taking advantage from this time to gain on the land when they have a right to say, sit down on the table. he can have strong cards. iran time is running out. he is very interested to gain on the field on the land before sitting and starting to discuss any political solution. >> the syrian opposition is divided politicalsly and when it comes to the many different groups fighting on the ground. there may be an international coalition that is fighting isil, but there is no such agreement so how to end this almost four-year war, a war that according to the u.n. has killed over 200,000 syrians and displaced millions. stefanie dekker, al jazeera, beirut. >> syria's war is destabilizing lebanon. there have been first he battles. sirrians have been killed. stefanie dekker from beirut. >> the northern city of tri

enough for me, but a whole group of dedicated activists that risked their lives, lying in idlib and aleppo. they were holding out and doing their best to advance the revolution. i.s.i.s. comes along and attacks them and forced them out. you had journalists who couldn't do their job. others under threat. this happened over a year ago this happened. >> what is going on in washington. is it wishful thinking or denial similar to what we saw with i.s.i.l. in january, when they had taken over a couple of cities, the president was calling it a jv team, now are we doing the same thing, thinking there's enough of a moderate fighting force, that they'll be able to take on i.s.i.l. >> i would like to see... anyone that supports the ideals of the opposition would love to see the moderate group grow and have space to grow. anything could happen, it's i.s.i.l.'s push back, it may create create room and space. we are not seeing that space. the things that we associate with the uprising. >> was the president being realistic when he talked about arming them, and we couldn't arm that. >> it was a realistic

syria, government forces made gains in aleppo, pushing back the opposition african union troops go onhe offensive against al shack ab's hartland in somal i can't. seeking a second term in brazil's presidential election. >> i am andy richardson with the latest sport. formula one driver suffering a serious crash at the japanese grand prix. he has a severe head injury following the incident in suz suzuku. the battle guess isil continues in iraq and syria. isil says it has taken more territory in anbar provnts even though iraq's army and the sunni fighters continue to go after the group. imran khan reports from the iraqi capitol, baghdad. >> reporter: this furious exchange of fire shows the battle against isil isn't slowing down. backed by tanks and heavy weapons, these government forces are in the town of amaria. this is a strategic town linking am bavr with baghdad in the south of the country. holding it against isil fighters means supplies from the capitol can reach anbar province. we will never leave oub city. this is our homeland that we cannot abandoned just because there is a consp

the fighting is almost non-stop from dusk until dawn every day. >> reporter: most of aleppo has beeno rubble, but the fighters say they have to defend this position, because it overlooks a supply route used by the regime. >>> philippine rebel group says it has releaseded two hostages. they wanted a ransom of $5.5 million and called on germany to stop supporting u.s.-lead air strikes on isil fighters. harry fawcett has more details from the southern philippines. >> reporter: confirmation late friday night from the philippine military that the two german hostages, stafan okonek, and henrite dielen have been released and are in philippine military hands. that follows an announcement from the abu sayyaf fighters earlier in the evening from a local radio station. we were told there would be an announcement and it came through live on air about a quarter to 9:00 that these two individuals had been handed over. they said, the abu sayyaf that they had been paid the full ransom amount they had been seeking, $5.6 million. no independent confirmation of that from either the government or the mi

. >>> in syria six have been killed in rebel-held districts of aleppo. government helicopters dropped barrel bombs, hitting districts. several buildings were completely destroyed. in homs, there has been two car bombs. there are more details. what are you hearing about this? >> well, we heard that they were full of explosions in a government-controlled area of homs, and those explosions went off outside a school. the reports we are getting is that there are tens of casualties, children included. details are emerging because it happened a short while ago. we have seen car bombings in homs in the past the the last one was in april. since then the area has been safe. homs is in the center of syria. the area is under the government control. in the north it's contested territory. two powerful explosion, tens of casualties bringing in details. >> let's move on to other news. tens of thousands of protesters packed hong kong's city center, threatening to exn panned the campaign -- expand the campaign for full democracy. these are live pictures. wednesday's ralli

fragments come into view, like this recent rebel video from aleppo, syria's largest city. months, cnn, like many others, denied access by the syrian government. unable for the most part to report independently on what's happening inside syria's boarders. >> there is no question, the assad regime's advances threaten to cut off a city of well of 300,000 civilians. >> reporter: while coalition aircraft bomb isis, rebels send words that barrel bomb dropping helicopters are picking off softer targets and report thousands of civil deaths in other parts of syria. >> that's a regime strategy, focus on assad's attempts to regain lost territory without dealing with isis. >> reporter: assad it appears is leaving the coalition to take on his toughest enemy, isis. u.s. officials are adamant there is no deal struck with assad. >> this is not about assad, this is about isil. >> reporter: but moderate opposition rebels believe isil is trying to force the u.s. to talk with them, aiming to drive them from front line positions against isis. so that only assad's forces face the terror group o

the group says these training sessions are happening at a military airbase east of aleppo. here's senior international correspondent nick peyton walsh with more. >> reporter: according to residents east of aleppo, they have seen in the sky over that airbase flying low what they refer to as three war planes. suggestion being by these opposition activists that, in fact, the iraqi military has defectors that have joint isis and they're teaching isis militants how to fly these war planes, presumably ones that have been taken from the syrian air force in bases that they've overrun. that's a far stretch from isis having an attack air force base. >> the pentagon says it has no information on the report. >>> in london, five men have been charged in a string of terror-related arrests. four of the men charged under the terrorism act. police say they took an oath of allegiance to isis. a fifth man was charged with the firearms event. the men range in age from 20 to 24. they're expected back in court october 27th. >>> in mexico, thousands of protesters are demanding answers about the f

this woman in aleppo is asking: why is no one protecting us?will have to take up arms ourselves. the battle is intensifying in the damascus country side. >> a very good news for president assad. now, he is taking advantage from this time to gain on the land when they would like to say sit down on the table, he can have strong cards. so time is running out and he is very interested on the field, on the land before sitting and starting to discuss any political solution. >> reporter: the syrian opposition is divided politically and when it comes to the many different groups fighting on the ground there may be an international coalition that is fighting isil, but there is no such agreement on how to end this almost four-year war, a war that according to the u.n., has killed over 200,000 syrians and displaced millions. stefanie dekker, al jazeera, beirut. >> leb nineteen knees troops launched attacks on gunmen hold up in the northern city of tripoli. one person was killed and 13 others were injured in the fighting that started on friday and has stre

they say that residents of a base to the east of aleppo have seen flying at low altitude planes that isis is said to control. they suggest that residents say iraqi defected military pilots have been teaching isis militants how to fly them. it's still a whole world away from isis having an effective air force that could launch attacks. three planes, they have to maintain them, fuel, munitions, all sorts of issues they'll face getting them in the air and then there's the other issue of the u.s. air force who will potentially meet them in the skies and not consider them much of a threat. it tells you more about ambitions that isis have. they want to get their hands on the best weapons and consider them to be a normal national army and they have ex-iraqi military personnel in their ranks. >> barbara, we know this u.s. centcom commander general lloyd austin made some interesting revelations today about what's happening in that syrian turkish border city of kobani. what do we know? >> a place that nick has been watching for days if not weeks on the front line there. here at the pentagon th

. >> air force pilots teaching near aleppo where the training apparently has taken place. australia's foreign minister said that her country won't be sending soldiers to fight on the ground in iraq. they held talks with the government. they say foreign troops would an red line that would threaten iraq's sovereignty. >> from australia's perspective we do not envision sending ground forces. we've not been asked to, we've not offered to. i don't see that being part of our arrangements with iraq. we'll only provide assistance at th the invitation of the iraqi government. >> people have said they've lost confidence in iraq's army to protect their communities. >> reporter: these men are part of yet another irregular armed force in iraq. farmers, students, the school principal, almost every man in this northern village has a new job, protecting their families from the islamic states of iraq and levant. they feel particularly threatened. >> we have to be alert at all times day and night. we have to make sure that isil is not able to come here. they've threatened us many tim times.

the countryside of aleppo and homs have been affected. the syrian regime says it's targetting terrorists only. >> and after each hit, those still alive look for survivors under the rubble. this is reb 'em held. el -- reasonel held. here the ascertain for the missing continues. rebels con talliated by firing rockets. on the beach there is more despair. this family is burning part of a mattress to make bread. the situation is not better for those taking refuge. the surgery is far from over. >> we are forced to leave our homes, we came soaking shelter, there's -- sooking shelter, there's no understood for water. >> -- no food for water. what is the coalition going tore displace the children. >> more than 11 million people need help as the war drags on into another winter. this camp is hope. this, too, seems to be running out >>> al jazeera demands the release of three journalists detained in egypt for 303 days. peter grestemohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed are falsely accused of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. al jazeera rejects

he traveled to aleppo.e was initially stationed as essentially a foot soldier in the same jail where james foley and another were being held. a text message from his worried dad came on his cell phone and his colleagues managed to see it and the text message was such that they thought oh, he might run away and he might be a spy so at that point they through him in the same jail as james foley where he spent three weeks and as far as i know the only witness to the early months of foley's captivity. he's returned to antwerp. he's one of 46 young men from belgian that are facing terror charges for belonging to a terror organization. he's interesting because he recognizes that he made a mistake and that this was not the path he should be on and he has worked very hard to try to bring information to the foley family about where james was and he agreed to speak to me for the first time this september. >> incredible. detail you had about the hostages being happy is overstating it but being relieved when they saw s

hussein from the syrian city of aleppo had already settled in uruguay and is employed as their translator. >> we really changed our lives to be better, now they are here, they now have an uruguayan i.d. we cannot say that they're refugees here. >> reporter: they received an enthusiastic welcome from the locals. they were at the schools where the syrian children will attend when they have enough spanish. >> they will have a happy future and for the children it's amazing. it's an amazing future, really. >> reporter: uruguay was built and developed by immigrants, mostly spanish and italian. but it's now opening a fresh chapter with the hopes and aspirations of these new syrian arrivals. al jazeera, near monte video, uruguay. >> the italians have rescued more than 400 passengers from vessels off the coast of sicily. >> tens of thousands of people are without power in bermuda after hurricane gonzalo hit the island. it made landfall with winds 175 kilometers an hour, the strongest to hit bermuda in ten years. it pom th pummeled the island with wind and torrential rains. it has now moved off as

he was killed fighting rebels in aleppo on behalf of the syrian government >>> in the southern philippines an armed group threatening to behead a german hostage extended their deadline. stefan okayer nick will be killed at 900 hours g.m.t. unless demonstrates are met. harry fawcett reports. >> reporter: new images of a man who captors say may have hours to live. the 71-year-old is shape in a hole in a ground, surrounded by fighters from abu sye af. he spoke to this radio station on wednesday. >> i'm sitting here in a hole in philippines, it's my grave. they have pushed me inside this hole. . >>: >> reporter: they spoke to the leader of the group. >> we have delivered the news, it is a difficult thing. >> reporter: he was taken with his partner from their yacht. it's believed they are being held separately. abu sayyaf pledged allegiance to the islamic state of iraq and levant. it's demanding $5.6 million and an end to german support for u.s. action against i.s.i.l. in return for the hostages release. >> the use of the target is, indeed, a new challenge, and presents short-term crisis here i