amerli -- like a miracle. amerli has been the biggest victory so far. this is just one small town. the islamic state is still a powerful force. gabriel gatehouse, bbc news in amerli. town freed. fighting in eastern ukraine. government troops backing separatists forced to retreat from the strategic and crucial airport. after being attacked by what they claimed were russian tanks, it comes as president putin saying ukraine is refusing to engage in peace talks with the separatists. >> in the restive region now at of intensifying diplomatic crisis, pro-russian separatists prepared to fight. one of their leaders says they were heading to donetsk airport. there were heavy with clashes between the rebels and government forces. the airport has been under the control of the military ever since. today, russia's prime minister denial ofoscow's direct involvement in the rebel push in southeastern ukraine. he said talks on the ukraine crisis taking place today were primarily about an unconditional cease-fire. concern nowional focusing on the key port city. beingefenses are reinforced because it

on sunday kurdish fighters and shia militias reached amerli. let's get more on the developments out of iraq and speak to jane arraf, in baghdad. tell us about the gains made by the iraqi army, the advances. what they are doing now is trying to basically clear out the remaining pockets of islamic state group resistance in that area. now, they have taken most of amerli, and we have spoken to residents a short while ago. they are overjoyed but do not feel that this is over. there are elements of islamic state fighters around the outskirts of the city and in other villages that the iraqi army is trying to clear. this is important, because it was taken over a year ago by sunni fighters and the islamic state group, i.s.i.s. at the time. fighting is still going on there. so the military estimates that it will take 48 hours or so to clear out those remaining villages, but villages in the town itself - a lot more confident than they were 24 hours ago. >> and so what is next then, jane, to - for the iraqi army to dislodge is and, you know what, is next i

amerli is okay, but other townships nearby, fighting is ongoing. this is going to continue as military forces try to push back isis. >> in terms of the response from isis, what do we know about how they might respond to this? is there a fear iraq may respond to this? >> reporter: look, i think for the township of amerli, they will cut their losses. they are getting support from sunni arabs. this is why isis made an advance across the country. those disenfranchised sunnis and nuri al maliki who turned to isis and they loued them to walk into their villages.

airstrikes help to go deliver amerli. >> today, key u.s.ies are considering what to do next in the fight, while president obama is taking heat at home over his strategy in iraq and syria. >> let's go live to phil ittner in london. while the u.s. can celebrate this latest victory in iraq, that hadn't eased the pressure on president obama to come up with a clear strategy against the islamic state group, so what are his critic saying? >> critics are basically saying he doesn't decisive enough, there isn't enough action taken. it's not just domestic criticism that is aimed at washington. we are hearing on this side of the atlantic many voices within europe also saying that there needs to be more action taken against the islamic state. many european nations are worried, because they have fighters in that part of the world, their own nationals have gone there. it's right on their doorstep and there's concern fighters may come back and seek revenge top for now, many europeans hope that american combat missions will be enough. >> u.s. airstrikes he

sue turton reports now. >> huge relief on the streets of amerli. for 80 days and nights they faced the threat of islamic state fighters taking their town, a threat leaving some of the shiite turkman to contemplate taking their lives. >> the groups are not used to fighting side by side, but the peshmerga, kurdistan, and sunnis banded together. >> translation: we came to join the fight upped muqtada al-sadr's orders, to clear iraq from i.s.i.s. with no difference between sunni, shi'a, kurdish or christian. we came to year is, most came from outside iraq. >> translation: this had become an 80-day siege aring they were surrounded by -- siege, they were surround surrounded by islamic state fighters. many had no food, babies had no water. >> reporter: the air campaign began in earnest the previous days, dropping food and water to the residents, and bombs from the is lines. >> there's pride amongst the peshmerga forces, that that they and the militia men broke the siege. they couldn't have done it without help from the air, the u.s., iraq and iranian heli

within a few hours of that, brooke, the siege of amerli ended and militia entered the town. they have been allowing these troops on the ground to make advances and roll back the gains of isis. >> so a game changer over the weekend. part of this greater larger air strike campaign that we've seen playing out in iraq but not in syria. let me pivot to you at the white house, athena jones, because you see this isis fighter, this terrorist speaking once again to the president saying essentially back off, back off of these air strikes. the president has been criticized, particularly when he met with his national security team last thursday when asked specifically about potential air strikes in syria, the president said he didn't want to put the cart before the horse, that he had no strategy and he's been criticized since. what is the white house's response to all of this? >> well, first of all, the reports of the killing, the second beheading of an american journalist, were coming out during the white house press briefing. white house press secretary josh earnest responded to those

we left amerli, heading east to a place occupied by the forces since 30 june. the battle to drive them out left it a ghost town. the smell of core diet and death -- coredite and death hung in the air. this is a police station. it was used to arrest and punish those that did not conform. this is why the people here fought so hard to protect their land and their families. but they know the battle is far from won. >>> indeed, jane, a battle far from won as you pointed out as well. while we look at the celebrations in amerli, there are communities that are feeling that they are very much threatened by what is happening. >> absolutely. it's hard to over emphasize how torn this country is over what has been happening with the islamic state group. not far from here is the iraqi parliament, where they are holding an emergency session to figure out what happened to what human rights watch says could be up to 770 young men killed near tikrit. although we tend to see this, the battle through the lyons of the islamic state group, and the shia-led government. some of those

had hit isis targets near the town of amerli. the town of about 20 thousand is home to many of iraq's shiite turkmen, an ethnic minority facing massacre from isis. >> "we got into iraq because we had humanitarian issues we had to deal with and because we have to stop isis. it's a very dangerous group of people." >> humanitarian aid to amerli; residents have been without power and faced severe food and water shortages, according to the u.n. following the strikes, iraqi security forces entered the town and broke the isis siege, according to iraqi state t-v. the u.s. and its allies are concerned about the growing threat of isis in iraq and syria. friday british prime minister david cameron announced the u.k. would raise its terror threat level to "severe." at home, president barack obama is facing criticism that the combat isis in syria. >> "we had a year that the president has talked about trying to put together a strategy in syria. it was unfortunate he used the term 'we have no strategy in syria.'" >> the administration says that

amerli is a crucial area between a province controlled by the islamic state, and the capital baghdad. sue turton has the latest. [ gun fire ] >> reporter: huge relief on the streets of amerli as friendly forces break through the siege. for 80 days and nights they faced the threat of islamic state fighters taking their town. it had led some of the shiite turkmen to consider taking their own lives. their plight invoked an unlikely alliance between groups not known to fight side by side - with peshmerga, shiite militia and iraqi army soldiers banding together in a joined operation beginning at four in the morning. >> translation: we same to join the fight for amerli under muqtada al-sadr's orders, clearing iraq from north to south of i.s.i.s., no difference between sunni, shia, kurdish or christian, we came to clear is from iraq. most came from outside iraq. >> translation: this had become an 80-day siege, surrounded by islamic state fighters, and they had no food, water or anything. many died of starvation, babies had no milk. thousands were saved. >>> the air campaign began in ernst th

amerli is okay, but other townships nearby, fighting is ongoing. this is going to continue as military forces try to push back isis. >> in terms of the response from isis, what do we know about how they might respond to this? is there a fear iraq may respond to this? >> reporter: look, i think for the township of amerli, they will cut their losses. they are getting support from sunni arabs. this is why isis made an advance across the country. those disenfranchised sunnis and nuri al maliki who turned to isis and they loued them to walk into their villages. we are getting rumblings, max, that people are getting fed up. initially, they thought isis would be a revolutionary force coming through, freeing them from the al maliki government. they are now finding that isis controls with an iron fist. they impose these ridiculous laws, which really creating huge problems for the people of these cities. there are food shortages, power shortages. women who now have to be fully covered up and not allowed to leave the house without a male escort. this is the s

seeing the air strikes around amerli, moving further south.es broadening their strikes. >>> calls for president obama to take strong action to deal with the growing threat from isis on the heels of the president's comments last week that he had no strategy to come pat the terror group in syria. one of his closest political allies sided with republican lawmakers saying the white house must do more. >> a full blown strategy is recognizinging we now are facing the largest, most powerful, wealthiest terror organization in history and it's going to require strong measures to defeat them. they must be defeated, not contained. first of all, we have to have a strategy. the president said he didn't. what our goals there, if you want to build coalitions wharks are you telling our allies. >> i have learned one thing about this president, that is he's very cautious. maybe in this instance, too cautious. >> gop lawmakers says isis poses an immediate threat to the u.s. >>> breaking news. three known americans are held captive in north korea. will ripley had

shia militias have now entered the small town of amerlie. the pentagon is not talking about the is coordination with iranian war planes. still the break through today was significant. amerlie is in a province controlled by islamic state and the l capito capitol baghdad. sue turton reports. >> for 80 days and nights they have faced the threat of islamic state fighters taking their town. a threat that had led some of the shiites turkmen community to consider taking their own lives. their plight provoked an unlikely alliance. with peshmerga, shiite militia and iraqi army soldiers banned together in a fight that began at 4:00 in the morning. >> we began the fight under muqtada al sadr's forces. we came to clear i.s. from iraq. most of them came from outside iraq. >> this has become an 80 day siege. they were surrounded by islamic state fighters. they had no food, water or anything. many of them died of starvation. babies had no milk. thousands were saved. >> reporter: the air campaign had begun in earnest the previous day. it had a dual purpose.

. >>> now, kurdish fighters and others have reached the northern town of amerli. islamic state group surrounded the town leading to food and water shortages. >> reporter: huge relief on the streets of amerli as friendly forces break through the siege. for 80 days and night they faced the threat of the islamic state fighters, a threat that led some of the shiite turkman community to consider taking their own lives. their plight provoked an unlikely alliance to groups not known to fight side by side. with peshmerga, shi'ite and iraqi army banding together in a joint operation that began at four in the morning. >> this has become an 80-day siege, surrounded by islamic state fighters. they had no food, water, anything. many died of starvation. babies had no milk? a. babies were saved. >> the air campaign began in ernst, having a dual purpose, dropping understood and water supplies to the residents, and bombs to the is lines. >> peshmerga, and the shi'ites managed to break the seeing and take back the town. they couldn't have done it without the help from the air, a ja

sot tikrit is further down the lines after clearing villages like amerli. they are advancing towards tikrit. it won't be the first time they have tried to retake it. they have attempted twice. tikrit is saddam hussein's home town and the stronghold. they will not give it up easily. fighting is going op on several fronts. there's tikrit and mosul, where the islamic state fighters moved in in june. the u.s. military hance been dropping leaflets, warning people to stay out of areas where the islamic state group has bases within the city, with the implication that air strikes at least are imminent. >> you mentioned amerli, a town that has been retaken. i know we've had our people in there. tell us about the story. residents of this town. that was fascinating. the u.n. warned while the town was under siege, that there could be an impending massacre. that's because the 1200 residents are turkman, the third biggest ethnic minor city, and the shia a minority within that. they are vouched by arab villages, but the iraqi military broke the siege with the help of the

the iraqi military with shiite militia led that ground invasion, ground offensive into amerli. these militia were the same militia who fought american soldiers during the long occupation here in iraq. they're the ones who are backed by iran up. basically have two sworn enemies coming together to liberate this township. the situation on the ground very dire. we heard dozens of children had died because of the conditions. lack of food, lack of water, lack of medical supplies. there is no hospital in this township. finally relief they've been rescued and a crisis has been averted. >> absolutely. anna coren reporting live from erbil in iraq. many thanks to you. >>> coming up next on cnn, while russians continue to insist, there will be no military intervention inside ukraine. why one u.s. lawmakers claims an invasion has already begun. >>> plus, this is no ordinary pool party. more video showing libya militia partying inside an abandoned u.s. embassy. >>> slid myrrh putin says it's time for ukraine to sit down with rebels on a number of issues including political organization and,

this man was filmed on the day amerli fell. he is giving orders. the commander witnessed many fighters alongside the shia. >> in a response to the accusations, a spokesman said there are no such revenge attacks on sunni. we liberated the towns, regardless of ethnic or sectarian background. forces are recognised on an official record. others are under the iraqi army command. as president obama announces an expansion of air strikes across northern iraq. he risks allowing the millisher to -- mimisha to gain control. it will do nothing to ease the hearts and mind in this area. more than 20 people are missing from a ferry that sunk off the central philippines. government officials says the ferry reported problems of steering amid heavy rains. 84 mr on board. >> despite a ceasefire, donetsk airport is under attack. the country is said to still be in a state of war. arseniy yatsenyuk warned na the russian president wants to take over his country, and recreate the soviet union, we have more from donetsk. >> there has been sporadic but intense shell and gun

, amerli and tikrit, where they were pushed back from the pro government forces.e are seeing many religions harbouring the islamic state fighters, which are coming to areas and launch attacks in the area. insurgent attacks and mortar and artillery attacks. i was with the az eedy refugee camp to the -- yazidi refugee camp, and they are saying they want to leave iraq because of the sunni arabs. they thought they had a rm relationship with the sunni arab neighbours, but believe they have sold them out. a mixed picture with regards to the sunni arabs rights in this part of the world. >> the united states and britain are sending medical equipment to military personality to help contain the deadly ebola virus spreading across west africa. the world health organisation is warning of thousands of new infections. five countries have been affected, more than 2,000 have been killed as a result of the deadly virus, out of 4,000 cases, meaning the virus has a fatality rate of 50%. now, in liberia, the government extended a night-time curfew to contain the spread of the virus.

had hit isis targets near the town of amerli. the town of about 20 thousand is home to many of iraq's shiite turkmen, an ethnic minority facing massacre from isis. >> "we got into iraq because we had humanitarian issues we had to deal with and because we have to stop isis. it's a very dangerous group of people." the u.s. also air-dropped humanitarian aid to amerli; residents have been without power and faced severe food and water shortages, according to the u.n. following the strikes, iraqi security forces entered the town and broke the isis siege, according to iraqi state t-v. the u.s. and its allies are concerned about the growing threat of isis in iraq and syria. friday british prime minister david cameron announced the u.k. would raise its terror threat level to "severe." at home, president barack obama is facing criticism that the u.s. doesn't have a plan to combat isis in syria. >> "we had a year that the president has talked about trying to put together a strategy in syria. it was unfortunate he used the term 'we have no s

united states air reichs are helping militia ba(3 the town f amerli, wherelp villagers were t off fromritical supplies. here you see iraqi soldiers holding the capturedrp#lag.i] dam inñ÷@ mosulógñ but some lawmakers from both political parties are calling on president obama to do more to the islamic state controls large parts of both iraq and syria, but so far the u.s. is only striking targets in iraq.c the head of the hous[d intelligencefá committee says hundreds of americanÑi citizens have boughtxd side-by-side with the terrorists, and they might the west. it's a threat the british prime minister david cameron ist( tackling head on. he called for new laws tolp let police taket( passports from terror suspects.xd he also called for new measures to stop would-befá jihadistsjf before they pick up arms. >> including stopping the fundings of organizations that promotee1 extremism, banning ha, and ensuring that every part of government, from schools and á(á extremism. >> last week britaine1 raised is terror alert level to severe, its second highest level. at holm the white house says presid

the iraqi government believed the town of amerli just two hours north of baghdad was about to become a scene of genocide, residents had no power and barely any food or water. somehow they were able to fend off isis until now, and today they got help, it is a second time this month the u.s. military has intervened in iraq to prevent a humanitarian disaster. but are those missions enough to defeat isis overall? we begin with juliana goldman. >> iraqi forces say they liberated the town of amerli, where roughly 15,000 people had been trapped by isis militants since june. >> u.s. humanitarian aid and air-strikes were key to breaking the six-week siege. >> but lawmakers in washington are concerned that the limited scope of the u.s. action against the militant islamist group won't be enough to defeat it. this week, president obama said his administration still doesn't have a strategy to attack isis in syria. >> it is going to require some very strong measures to defeat them. >> today, senator john mccain want mr. obama's loudest critics told cbs the president is either in denial or overwhel

in iraq, when the air strikes happen, we have had examples of these in amerli and the sinjar mountains, where the air strikes happen and ground forces from the kurdish and iraqi forces went in and cleared areas of i.s.i.l. fighters. they are unavailable in iraq. the syrian rebels are not in a position to go into those territories, they are not strong enough. this would be a different tactical approach. the air strikes would have been attacking places like rafah, a key strong hold of i.s.i.l. in syria, the headquarters, it seems, has been attacked according to a lot of reports. they won't have been able to go - the ground troops won't be able to clear the area. we had this example in iraq, what i.s.i.l. have done is disappeared into the countryside. they have gone into villages and population. >> imran, that's the correspondent in the iraqi capital. imran khan. >>> the air strikes come after the beheading of two american journalists by i.s.i.l., lisa stark in washington d.c. has more on the escalation against i.s.i.l. >> we understand that we are not going to hear from the president ton

in iraq, when the air strikes happen, we have had examples of these in amerli and the sinjar mountains, where the air strikes happen and ground forces from the kurdish and iraqi forces went in and cleared areas of i.s.i.l. fighters. they are unavailable in iraq. the syrian rebels are not in a position to go into those territories, they are not strong enough. this would be a different tactical approach. the air strikes would have been attacking places like rafah, a key strong hold of i.s.i.l. in syria, the headquarters, it seems, has been attacked according to a lot of reports. they won't have been able to go - the ground troops won't be able to clear the area. we had this example in iraq, what i.s.i.l. have done is disappeared into the countryside. they have gone into villages and population. >> imran, that's the correspondent in the iraqi capital. imran khan. >>> the air strikes come after the beheading of two american journalists by i.s.i.l., lisa stark in washington d.c. has more on the escalation against i.s.i.l. >> we understand that we are not going to hear from the president ton

we continue to monitor the situation in amerli. so further strikes remain a possibility.t we believe that the township is under the control of iraqi and kurdish forces. as we said before, one of our core military objectives in iraq is to join with international partners to address humanitarian crises. where and when we have the ability to do that, we're going to do it. with that, i'll take questions. >> admiral, on somalia, did you describe the target as a single target encampment and single vehicle or were there two strikes or two targets? >> there was one vehicle and an encampment. the way i would describe it, the strike was taken at an encampment and a vehicle at the encampment. >> one strike? >> what do you mean by strike? one missile? no. as i said, several missiles and muniti munitions. there was plural in terms of munitions dropped but they were dropped on one target, an encampment where a vehicle was nearby. >> was there any evidence that anyone survived? >> we're assessing the results right now. i won't be able to go there right now. i won't get into trying to as

. >> reporter: in the northern iraqi town amerli, iraq's president acknowledges a combination of u.s. air strikes and iranian shiites on the ground drove isis away. is there any cooperation or coordination between the u.s. and iran against ice snsiisis? an iranian official deny as report that iran's supreme leader approved cooperation between his forces and the americans against isis. specifically the report says he sanctioned a general, the shadowy head of the revolutionary guard to work with u.s. forces. he may look like george clooney. >> he's a mild mannered man but he has done a very effective job at organizing the most brutal thugs that islamic republic has. >> reporter: this photo posted on twitter by a group called digital resistance is him on the ground in amerli among the time of the siege. >> as soon as you sit down with him, you're sitting down with someone who has the blood of americans on his hands. >> reporter: u.s. officials believe during the iraq war, his units provided iraqi insurgents with a lethal weapon against american troops. >> his force provided these vast ex

government troops recaptured the town of amerli. >> jane arraf joining us from baghdad. the suggestion is that the islamic state group may be easing off its presence in and around tikrit and mosul. will this give the iraqi forces and those allied with it, the confidence to go in. >> confidence is a dangerous thing when it comes to military matters, i think you probably agree. essentially what the iraqi army has learnt since the fall of mosul, it takes organizations, will and man power, and the support of the local population. they don't have many of those things, except the manpower. what they are trying to do - let's think about this - they are trying to reconstruct an entire army. now you have a puzzle where they are trying to put together iraqi army, forces, air strikes, shi'a militia, peshmerga - all of that has to come together they are advancing towards tikrit. no one believes this is a final battle. >> you talk about the kurdish alliance, or there has been daily - occasional air strikes from the u.s. forces. the pentagon saying a few hours ago that the islamic sta

this time near the town of amerlie. iraqi forces have retain control there and today, iraqi importances reported a new victory in the town of sulaiman bek. nadeen baba has the latest. >> when it comes to jihad there are two types of people. >> a suspected british fighter, home grown terrorists, the prime minister's held urgent talks with his coalition partners. on monday he told parliament exactly what should be done to counter the proposed threats. >> fill specific gaps in our armory. dealing decisively with those already here who pose a risk. >> reporter: among the changes the government's planning, accessing more passenger information from airlines, seeing suspects' passports and making deradicallization programs compulsory for people who fought abroad. there is broad cross-party consensus on the points david cameron outlined in parliament. but many in his own conservative party are telling hin him existg laws should be enough. >> horribly they may be have lealgleagdalleged to have basedy would offend basic principle

it's one thing to take out isis militants around amerli. this is a farming hamlet of less than 20,000 people out in the middle of nowhere where the u.s. air strikes are extremely effective. it's a different ball game in the strongholds like mos is, like tikrit, like fallujah where there are millions of people. we're fundamentally talking about urban warfare. >> please stay safe. a week ago, president obama said he did not have a strategy to take on isis in syria, but could this new video dramatically change the administration's approach to the ba ling the brutal terrorist group? we'll talk to one of the president's toughest critics, congressman peter king, coming up next. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. >>> welcome back to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. we're going to continue with our world lead. president obama learned of the apparent beheading of american journalist steven sotloff by the terrorists of isis while preparing to fly off to europe to deal

they managed to take amerli.t comes next is tougher, because they're venturing into sunni territory. they have help, the united states, other countries and they're not in this alone anymore. >> has there been any reaction in baghdad to the killing of american journalist steven sotloff? >> those images are so horrific, you think there would have been, but there was surprisingly little. i think a lot of it has to do with the fact that things are so grim that beheadings here in iraq are not that uncommon. just down the street, we've got families of young men who were shot dead and then buried in a mass grave. they're just trying to find those bodies still. it's really hard to over emphasize exactly how much misery, how much despair there is in this country, so there has not been a lot of reaction to that. having said that, most iraqis believe that the islamic state group doesn't represent them at all. in fact, a lot of them would say they're a bunch of psycho paths. the problem is how to wean away the group from the

when american planes blasted targets around the mosul dam and helped relieve the besieged town of amerli. this, as sotloff's mother pleaded last week for her son's release. >> steven has no control over the actions of the u.s. government. he is an innocent journalist. i've also learned that you, the caliph, can grant amnesty. i ask you to please release my child. >> woodruff: today, a spokesman said the sotloff family is in shock. in washington, president obama did not comment, as he left for an overseas trip. but the state department condemned the killing. >> if the video is genuine, we are sickened by this brutal act taking the life of another innocent american citizen. our hearts go out to the sotloff family and we will provide more information as it becomes available. >> woodruff: pentagon officials have said the u.s. military tried to rescue sotloff, foley and other hostages earlier this summer, but the captives were gone when the troops arrived. and now, a third hostage is under threat. today's video warned that david cawthorne haines, a british aid worker, will be next. >> woodruf

. >>> iraqi forces have broken a six-week seize of isis forces in the town of amerli. attack came after the u.s. carried out air strikes on isis targets there a day earlier. >>> other countries have getting involved. this is video of the french military dropping humanitarian aid main iraq over the weekend. australia says it is flying guns, ammo and aid into the country. australia is part of a u.s. coalition that includes britain, france, canada and italy. lawmakers are calling on president obama to come up with a plan for syria where isis is based. even some democrats are leaning on the president to develop a strategy. u.s. senator dianne feinstein talked about the situation yesterday on "meet the press." >> we'll learn one thing about this president, that is he is cautious. maybe in this instance too cautious. >> reporter: when it comes to isis, senator feinstein said she agreed with her republican colleagues. this week the president travels to a nato summit in wales for a 28-nation meeting. >>> a 16-year-old girl was taken into custody at an airport in france right b

amerli is home to those facing an imminent massacre by isis. it was the iraqly military with the help of some shiite militia, some who once fought american soldiers that led to the ground offensive. this would be the first time u.s. forces and iran-backed militias have worked together against the brutal extremisextr. the obama administration says there's no direct coordination with the militias. >> we got into iraq because we had humanitarian issues we had to deal with and because we have to -- we have to stop isis. it's a very dangerous group of people. >> reporter: the u.s. also made a humanitarian air drop in amerli. according to the u.n. residents have been without power and face severe food and water shortages, this as u.s. military forces continue conducting strikes throughout northern iraq, mostly supporting efforts around iraq's largest dam, critical infrastructure once under isis control. several hundred marines on station in the persian gulf are going to be kept there an extra three weeks until their replacements arrive. just one indi

in fact, they broke the siege at amerli just yesterday using u.s. air strikes, everyone we speak to on the ground says that the u.s. air strikes are a game changer. so they are making a big difference here. and, in fact, when we have been with ground forces either kurdish ground forces or iraqi ground forces you get a sense of the momentum shifting on the ground. and amerli's majoring not just because it's humanitarian operation, but it connects erbil, kirkuk and the road to baghdad. and what you have had in the last three months says is the entire region the kurdish stan no longer bordering the rest of iraq . i.s. went from syria to the boarder of iran, now that they have broken through and have the road to baghdad opening there is a corridor going right down the middle. that is also isolating the isis forces that are on the eastern side of that cordon . this is a momentum, the islamic state i think are searching for weapons and they think the videos and beheadings might be that. >> what is the danger for westerners, because in the latest video the

over a week ago i was in amerlie just after the forces pushed out the islamic state, and a lot was made of the fact that the various factions had worked together to push them out. the shia militia with the army working hand in hand with the peshmerga. now just over a week of that success we have a very different picture on the ground with the shia militia targeting some sunni arab neighborhoods. >> residents allowed islamic state fight tours hide out. nine days earlier the same militia had welcomed us into the town. they fought along side the iraqi army and the peshmerga to break the siege. today the atmosphere is very different. we're told to pull over and a pickup truck blocks our exit. militia aim ak-47s right at us. >> we've been trying to negotiate our way through this militia checkpoint. it's very clear it's the shia militia who make the decisions here, and they're very reluctant to let us go through. we're trying to get to film a village that they have apparently flattened and torched, a village that used to have sunni arabs living in it. >> eventually they let us through. the pe

the biggest success story being towns like amerli, which were able to be cleared of i.s.i.l. fighters. this is likely to be the pattern they'll want to repeat in syria. they have a problem. who do they trust enough to go into syria, once using the air strikes. they don't have the cooperation they do with the iraqi army with the syrian rebels. the attacks will need to be significant, all-out to degrade i.s.i.l. in syria, it's a tougher fight in syria than iraq. imran khan, stand by. we'll go to the white house, where lisa stark is standing by. lisa, hopefully we can get more details from you. what more are the pentagon, and the white house saying on this? >> well, really, they are being tight-lipped. on coalition partners, and there are reports of arab partners joining in the effort, the united arab emirates, saudi arabia, they are among them. it will be up to them to detail what their role was. any role they may have played will be a boon to the white house. it's been important for the president to gather an international coalition, and especially a coalition of countries in

it's not like amerli, where they were waiting to be rescued by security forces. this is extremely complicated. calls for revenge, sunni, shia tensions and an iraqi military not tested at the best of times. >> where you are, baghdad, they are discussing the best ways to tackle the islamic state group. what kind of conversation are they having. well, the conversation on all fronts, everyone recognising this is not a military strike. this country has been petitioned and fractured. the area has been cut off due to protests and military intervention. there's an effort going on to reconcile, and put together a new government, and to clamp down on the anger. relatives of what is believed to be more than 1,000 young me. they were in parliament. the acting defence minister was telling them, if there were tribal members, do not blame the tribes. this has the potential to make a horrific situation worse. the calls for revenge that could get out of control. >> jane arraf, thank you. >>> at least 18 people have been killed in a twin car bomb attack in central afghanistan. a p

a peshmerga commander filmed this man on the day amerli fell. and is giving orders in farsi. the commanders witnessed fighters alongside the iraqi shia. >> as president obama announced an expansion of sticks, he risked the militia taking control of more and more sunni arab territories. it will do nothing to win the hearts and minds of the sunni arab community in this fractureded battle ground. >> helped joins us live from erbil in northern iraq. what do we know about the claims shia militias taking revenge on sunnis for harbouring islamic state fighters? >> well, as you heard in sue's story, what we know is there are repeated reports of incidents like this, after which sunni - a largely sunni arab town is taken by shia militia or army forces that are shia, and there are concerns, reports of reprisals. it's a running theme, highlighting the problem you have in a country that is so divided along sectarian lines and with a fighting force and battles in sunni arab towns. there's a lot of hostility and hard feelings. this is the situation that we have reported time and time again

on top of the recent gains it's already made in recapturing the towns and nearby amerli where there were celebrations after pro government forces took over there on sunday. >>> we have the latest from baghdad. >> the iraqi military said it's special forces have reached the city of tikrit nearing the government building and attacking from three fronts. and no one is expecting this battle to be quick or to be easy. tikrit is one of the strongholds of the islamic state group. it was the hometown of saddam hussein, and it's where thousands young men, most of them soldiers, most of them young recruits were slaughtered by islamic state fighters when they took over the city three months ago. in parliament relatives of some of those men were gained access to demand of defense ministry officials and generals what had happened to their relatives? why they couldn't get any information. they were told that there would be a full investigation, that it was still unclear, but that clearly something had gone wrong. and those who were responsible would be held accountable. huhansk rights watches says tha

following air strikes over the weekend in the amerli area, iraq we security forces said they finally broke a nearly two- month siege of the town by isis. the u.s. air drops humanitarian aid for thousands of people there who had been trapped and left without food, water and medicine. the u.s. has now carried out about 120 strikes against isis in iraq. but last week president obama admitted the u.s. does not yet have a strategy to tackle isis in neighboring syria. that has many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle concerned. senate intelligence committee chaired democrat dianne feinstein criticized the president's approach. >> i think i've learned one thing about this president and that is he's very cautious. maybe in this instance too cautious. >> reporter: arizona senator john mccain called for swift action. >> i think it starts with an understanding that this is a direct threat to the united states of america, that it may be one of the biggest we have ever faced. >> reporter: but some democrats are coming to president obama's defense. >> we can't simply bomb first and ask questions

>> look, certainly over amerli, if you remember the siege where the township of amerli was surroundedaqi air force was involved in air strikes there. and we do believe that they have been operating in other parts of the country. but certainly not at the scale that they need to see to really hurt isis in this country. they have been relying heavily on the united states but, yes, certainly the iraqis need to step it up. we heard from general dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff saying that half the iraqi security forces are incapable of being a partner to the united states. so very alarming. they need to rebuild the other half of the iraqi forces for them to tackle what is currently a huge threat in this country. that is what they're facing, wolf. >> certainly, anna corpsen, in erbil in northern iraq for us doing good reporting for us as she always does. we'll see what happens when the president comes to the united nations. he'll meet b meeting between today and tomorrow with the new iraqi prime minister, hider al abadi, we'll see what emerges. till to come, the united sta

military hit isis targets near the iraqi town of amerli which allowed iraqi security forces to break isis' siege on the town. the u.s. dropped humanitarian aid for residents who have been without power, food and water for weeks. also today the german government announced it would supply $92 million worth of military equipment to kurdish forces fighting isis in iraq. >>> dozens of ukrainians protested today across from the white house. they gathered at lafayette park to protest the russian invasion of ukraine and demand strong actions by the u.s. and europe. they called on president obama to provide military assistance to ukraine including equipment and supplies. just yesterday the european union gave russia one week to start pulling its troops out or face further sanctions. today russian president vladimir putin told a national television audience he wants to start immediate talks for a political solution. wendy gillette reports. >> reporter: russia's president is ready to talk. vladimir putin called on ukraine sunday to start discussions on the crisis in eastern ukraine including ta

following air strikes over the weekend, in the amerly area, iraqi security forces said they finally broke a nearly two month siege at the town by isis. the u.s. air dropped humanitarian aid for thousands of people there. who had been trapped and left without food, water and medicine. the u.s. has now carried out about 120 strike against isis in iraq. but last week, president obama admitted the u.s. does not yet have a strategy to tackling isis -- tackle isis in neighboring syria. that has many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle concerned. senate intelligence committee chair democrat dianne feinstein criticized the president's approach. >> one thing about this president and that is he's very cautious. maybe in this instance, too cautious. >> reporter: arizona senator john mccain called for swift action. >> i think it starts with an understanding that this is a direct threat to the united states of america. that it may be one of the biggest we have ever faced. >> reporter: but some democrats are coming to president obama's defense. >> we can't simply bomb first and and questions later. >>

the airstrikes also reportedly helped iraq reclaim the town of amerli which isis had taken control of >>> meanwhile britain has taken first steps to prevents its citizens from joining the ranks of isis. prime minister david cameron proposed a measure that would allow police to seize the passports of people suspected of traveling abroad to fight with terrorist groups. british intelligence officials estimate close to 500uk nationals have gone to syria and potentially iraq in order to join up with extremists. >> cole hamels and the phillies bullpen made collective history. they pitched the team's first combined no-hitter in its 131 year existence. hamels was on the mound for six no hit innings but walked five batters and threw 108 pitches on a hot day in atlanta. marlon byrd's nice catch saved the no-hitter. giles diekman and pop bon finished off the last three innings without allowing any hits. seven-nothing the final. ben revere knocked in five runs. but he only has 15 rbi's this year. kyle kendrick takes the mound against atlanta tonight. >>> quarterback gj kenny is back with the eagl

strikes around amerli, 100 miles north of baghdad helped to avert a looming humanitarian crisis. is identified david haines, british aid worker if other governments join the u.s. fighting against them. joining us from washington d.c. is ambassador james wol si, former director of central intelligence from 1993 to 1995, and ambassador for negotiation on conventional armed forces in vienna, and the chairman for the foundation of defense for democracies. pleasure to have you with us. >> good to be with you. >> two americans murdered on camera in two weeks. a british citizen threatened. the state department says other americans could be hostages. is there anything the u.s. should do to prevent horrific executions of americans and other westerners? . >> one a person is captured by i.s.i.s., their option, i think, are to try to escape. if that is impossible, to pray. because this is a group not of just thugs or robbers, these are theocratic totalitarian imperialists. they are establishing an empire, a caliphate. anyone that is part of it, living within its borders, that do not convert

war planes flew cover for iraqi troops this weekend as the forces pushed isis out of the town on amerliurs north of baghdad. isis fighters are reportly furious the u.s. fighter jets and drones helped the iraqi militaries and the kurds retake the mosul dam. in fact isis is still trying to get the dam back, shepard. >> jennifer griffin at the pentagon. thank you. a u.s. air strike may have killed the head of an al qaeda linked terror group, behind attacks including an assault on a shopping mall in kenya. the pentagon spokesman says the investigators working to confirm whether the leader of al-shabaab has died. the pentagon reports the airstrike hit a village south of somalia's capital. last year in kenya investigators say al-shabaab gunmen stormed the shopping mall, tossing grenades and opening fire, killing at least 67 people. >>> police say they're on the lookout now for some teenageré with criminal records after they broke out of a detention center last night. details on the search and how one of the teen's aunts helped the cops. that's next. we know we're not the center of your life,