andrew simmons has more. >> reporter: it was an attack on turkish security forces, but here civilians were asleep in their beds are rescued from what remains from their homes. one adult and two children were killed when this building next door to the police headquarters collapsed. rescue workers searched through the rubble looking for survivors. this woman overcome after being guided to safety. ylight showed how devastating the damage had been. this is what remains of the police complex targeted by a pickup truck full of explosives. one officer was killed. the wife of another policeman in a residential part of the building died along with her five-month-old baby. the authorities blame the pkk. the turkish government's two-year ceasefire with the group fell apart last july. now strict curfews are in place in selected districts of towns and cities across the southeast of turkey. >> translator: i strongly condemn the attack on a police station last night. five civilians were killed and a police officer was martyred in the attack. >> reporter: the prime minister says the commitment to wha

andrew simmons, al jazeera, istanbul. >> joining me in the studio is an expert on radicalization.we have really seen between arrests and detentions as well, i think it's nearly 70 people that have been detained after this attack on tuesday. how big -- i'm sorry, the turkish government said some arrested were suspected of planning huge attacks. how big do you think the isil threat within turkey itself right now? >> i think it's fairly reasonable in the sense that both the nature of the type of attacks that have happened previously, can demonstrate the nature of what we're dealing with. it's quite substantial, not minor attacks. we're looking at much more major types of incidents that happened recently. >> this summer it was more than a hundred each time. >> yeah. and on a secondary level i guess there is a growing issue where you have remnants of people that have come in either from syria, and also within turkey itself. given the change of stance where turkey is taking a much more hostile stance towards isil, i think you will see more and more of those types of incidents taking pla

andrew simmons reports. >> only a few hours into a school day then this, three explosions and a blast in the middle of a primary school's playground. a clean are was caught in the slap flel, she died. one of the students, a ger in her teens, was injured. rockets landed first two in empty fields, the last one deadly. shrapnel sprayed all around, every window in the school building shattered. military sources said turkish radar had tracked rockets from i.s.i.l. position he. turkish artillery units on a border with syria were ordered to retaliate soon afterwards, bombarding i.s.i.l. outposts for several hours. >> i'm not in a position to give you information at the moment. >> reporter: the governor who didn't want to make any comment at the scene ordered other schools to be evacuated and issued a statement calling for people in the area to be calm. but many staff at the school feel angry or afraid. >> translator: if it was break-time it would have been so much worse because the children were inside the building they were safe. >> reporter: with syria and its war only a short distance fro

andrew simmons reports. >> reporter: it was an attack on turkish security forces, but here civilianse asleep in their beds are rescued. one adult and two children were killed when this building next door to the police heed quarters collapsed. rescue workered has searched through rubble looking for survivors. those who escaped were in shock. this woman overcome after being guided to safety. daylight showed how devastating the damage has been. this is what remains of the police complex targeted by a pickup truck full of explosives. one officer was killed. the wife of another policeman in a residential part of the building died along with her 5-month-old baby. authorities blame the pkk. strict crew -- cocurfews are now in place. >> translator: i strongly condemn the attack. five civilians were killed and a police officer was martyred in the attack. >> reporter: the prime minister says the commitment to what he calls counter terrorism remains steadfast. this datest devastation from the kurdish conflict in which 40,000 people have died in the past three decades shows what turkey is still

andrew simmons, al jazeera, turkey. >>> sweden's prime minister has visited the town where an asylumoyee was stabbed to death. she was allegedly killed bay 15-year-old boy at a home for unaccompanied minors. the prime minister says the attack has raised concerns that authorities are being overwhelmed by the number of asylum seekers in the country. >> translator: i believe quite a few people here in sweden now feel a great worry that there will be more similar cases as sweden accepts so many minors. many of those who come here have had traumatic experiences and there are no simple answer as to how it should be death with, but there are important principals that apply. >>> the iranian president has meat pope francis at the vatican. he met the pontiff for 40 minutes and asked the pope to pray for him. jacky rowland sent this update from rome. >> reporter: this visit to rome has been primarily about reestablishing political and economic links between iran and italy. italy historically has been an important trading partner for iran and this period of sanctions viewed in that perspective w

. >>> well fork more on that let's go to our correspondent andrew simmons live for us in istanbul theer the attacks. what's the priority, andrew fox, police? >> reporter: well, make no mistake about it, elizabeth at the highest level there seems to be a determination to track down the accomplices of this suicide bomber. and the attack that's devastate third degree area. shaken a place steep ed in history and this new departure by isil, it would seem, if the turkish authorities are correct to actually target tourist areas. there have been arrests as all lewded to in your introduction, something lik like 59 people pud in by security forces in five different provinces. there is no certainty that they are isil linked but they are a pattern of events taking place of security forces really going full length to get information. the prime minister who is flying from ankara to istanbul soon will see some of the victims in hospital. aside from the 10 did he goes, eight of them german, there are 15 people in the hospital right now. two of them in a critical condition, he liz beg. >> anymore info

andrew simmons al jazeera, turkey. >>> now the world news it has been a miserable day for markets acrosssia when mainland china shared slumped to a low and dropped 6% to finish at the lowest level since december 2014 and it was compounded by panic selling, the low price of oil is having a major impact on international markets and benjamin is from the advisory firm china policy and says the plunge in the market make china's economy look worse than it actually is. >> we have seen a wild ride. there has been panic selling across the board for a number of months now and it's really a case of the animal spirits in action here in china, panic gripping investors both individual investors and institutional investors and the panic is spreading to global endicies and part of what is happening in china and fueling the oil drop as well and things combining to lead to a general sell off across markets around the world but it's important to keep in mind that this ride and sell offices is sound and fury and not signifying a great deal and what i mean by that is despite these fluctuates many of the fund

andrew simmons, al jazeera. >>> country's ambassador to the u.n. promised action to prevent future attacks against embassies. he also wrote that, quote, iran expresses its regret over the referred to incidents and will spare no efforts in arresting and prosecuting those who brought them about. al jazeera's james bays is at the u.n. with more. >> heavy weight nation of the middle east which have always had strained relations and now they're at a new low. having said that i suspect they will have been slightly heartened by the words of the saudi ambassador who said there will be no effect in his country's view about peace efforts with regard to syria and yemen. >> from you're side it should have no effect because we will continue to work very hard towards supporting the peace efforts in syria and yemen whenever there might be a need for that. how is that going to affect the behavior of iran? we do not know. you would need to ask the iranians on that. but the iranians even before the break of diplomatic relations have not been very supportive, have no

andrew simmons, al jazeera, killus in turkey. >> i.s.i.l. has launched several attacks on oil ports, fighting has slowed after three days of shelling but germany's defense minister says she's concerned the new rise of violence could launch a new wave of refugees. germany took in over a million migrants last year. burkina faso, 29 people were killed in friday night's assault on the splendid hotel in ouagadougo. an al qaeda affiliate is claiming responsibility for that. al jazeera america's mohammad adow has the story. >> the attack in the capital that killed at least 29 people. most of them foreigners. accompanied by the president of benin, to assure his solidarity. the leaders were shown the charred entrance to the hotel, the ruined cafe across the street and the bombed out shells of cars and motorcycles in between. >> all that the terrorists want is to sow terror in people's hearts. they also want to scare away those willing to invest in our country. our responsibility is to ensure the people are safe and continue to have confidence in burk

andrew simmons right -- reports. >> reporter: a solemn group lead by the prime minister, the interioristers of both turkey and germany also present. there is a surreal feeling here. the whole area has been cleaned up. red flourers are the only visual sense of death. there are no signs of blast damage apart from some wood gouged out of a seat. turkey's government blames isil for the attack. saying it is the organization's third bombing in the country, and the first aimed at foreigners. the bomber has been named, a 27-year-old syrian citizen born in saudi arabia. he is cited here on cctv footage when he is said to have given his fingerprints in istanbul only a week ago after an illegal border crosses. it was hours after the blast that the police say they were able to identify him from his fingerprints. they say he wasn't an isil suspect. one of the most historic places in the world. it all sends a chilling message, and a realization of the colossal task facing security and intelligence agencies. some tourists appear defiant, although many are staying away. >> life goes on, and if we let

. >>> andrew simmons has more. >> on the approach to an ancient egyptian obelisk where the tourist died a solemn group led by prime minister aimmediate davutoglu, the interior ministers of turkey also present. there is a serene feeling here, the whole area has been cleaned up. red flowers are the only visual signs of death. no blast damage apart from some wood gouged out of a seat. turkey's government blames i.s.i.l. for the attack. saying it's the organization's third bombing in the country, and the first aimed at foreigners. the suicide bomber has been named by security forces as nabil fadley, a syrian citizen. he is said to have given his fingerprints in istanbul only week ago after an illegal border crossing. it was only hours after the blast that the police say they were able to identify him from his fingerprints. they say he wasn't an i.s.i.l. suspect. one of the most historic places in the world an attack on turkey's tourist industry with foreigners dead. it all sends a chilling message. and a realization of the colossal task facing security and intelligence agencies. some touris

andrew simmons has the story. >> it was an attack on security forces.ere civilians are rescued from what remains of their homes. one adult and two children were killed rescue workers had searched looking for survivors, those that escaped serious injuries were in shock. this woman overcome after being guided to safety. daylight shows how devastated the damage has been. this is what remains of the complex tarted by explosives. one officer was killed the wife another another in h the residential part of the building died along with her five-month-old baby. the authorities blame the kurdistan workers party, the p.k.k., the turkish government two year cease fire that the group fell apart last july. now strict curfews are in place in selected districts of towns and cities across the southeast of turkey. >>ish strongly condemn the attack in our town last night. 39 citizens were wounded including six police officers. the prime minister says the commitment to what he called counter terrorism remains steadfast. >> this latest conflict in which 30,000 people have

andrew simmons has more. >> on the approach to an ancient egyptian open living died, ahmed davutoglu, fm the whole area has been cleaned up. red flowers are the only visual sense of death. there are no signs of blast damage apart from some wood gouged out of a seat. turkey's government blames i.s.i.l. for the attack, saying it's the organization's third bombing in the country the first named at foreigners. the suicide bomber has been named as nabil fadley, born in saudi arabia. he is sighted here on cctv footage when he is said to give his fingerprints, a week ago, after an illegal border crossing. police say they were ape to identify him from his fingerprints. they say he wasn't an i.s.i.l. suspect. one of the most historic places in the world, an attack ton turkish some tourists appeared defiant although many are staying away. >> life goes on and if we let this sort of attacks like impact our daily lives i think we are giving in to the threat altogether. i think we should stay confident and live our lives well. >> i don't feel safe going to the public place so there might be an issu

al jazeera's andrew simmons has their story. >> they should be in school but instead are turning outrage for anything that might make money, paper, cardboard or plastic that could be turned in is what they are looking for. in turkey, the u.n. estimates more than $160,000 syrian refugees are of school age but well beyond half don't go to school. here in the rundown backstreets, there's a ray of light for these children. some warmth, and some hope in a dismal situation. it may be a small building but a group of volunteers with so much effort and so much enthusiasm are using just two rooms to try to start to educate 65 children with very little money indeed. >> this english teacher said most of their pupils are street kids or parents who can't afford the transportation money to get them to turkish schools. she said it's difficult to troy to help the children with behavioral and learning problems. >> we are trying to do our best. we are looking for information, trying to deal with them with love and with passion and to do our best. >> the children get a snack before leaving at mid-day. i

andrew simmons, al jazeera, killes in turkey. therturkey. >> the syrian association of human rights say, dars deir ez r sick thinening mack akerr taking place. >>> joining us live from our u.n. headquarters in new york, diplomatic editor james bays, do we are even have an idea now whether they will or won't go ahead? >> staffan de mistura, the u.n. envoy has been briefing the u.n. security council, he revealed he has not sent out invitations yet. it looks touch and go whether this is going to happen on time. having said that, both the u.s. and russia say that it should happen on the 25th of january one week from now. and if you've got those two countries pushing it you certainly can't rule it out. i think the problems are these: there's disagreement on who should be in the opposition delegation. it was up to saudi arabia to come up with a list but moscow doesn't like that list, says threr nothere are not enough ser representatives and not enough represents from the kurds. the delegation said should we go to geneva or not? they we

andrew simmons, al jazeera. >> they and other major powers try to end two of the middle east's major conflicts in syria and yemen. the saudis and iranians are in opposite sides in both these wargs. wars. iran supports bashar al-assad and hezbollah. along with their gulf allies back the rubble groups fighting to force assad from power. >>> in yemen, saudi arabia and its gulf allies are conducting air strikes and military operation necessary support of government forces. they are fighting shia houthi rebels who took over large parts of the country last year and are backed by iran. demonstrators have also been back out on the streets of tehran for a third consecutive day, some 3,000 demonstrators gathered in the square outside tehran. people have been out protesting in baghdad, demanding their government cuts its ties with saudi arabia. thousands of follow erst of the shia cleric muqtada al sadr, protest the slowing of the embassy. are at least two sunni mosques have been attacked just south of baghdad. the dome and several walls of the mosque have been destroyed. it's been reported the

police station with a truck bomb, this brought down a building nearby housing police families andrew simmonseports. >> it was an attack on turkish security forces but here civilians who are asleep in their beds are rescued from what reare mains of their homes. one adult and two children were killed when this building next door to the police headquarters collapsed. rescue workers had searched through the rubble looking for suv vier veries. this woman overcome after being guided to safety. daylight shows how devastating the damage has been. this is what remains of a police complex targeted by a pickup truck full of explosives. one officer was killed the wife of another policeman died along with her five-month-old baby. the authorities blame the p.k.k., the turkish government two year cease fire with a group fell apart last july. >> i strongly condemn the attack on a police station in our town last night. five civilians were killed and a police officer was martyred in the attack. 35 citizens were wounded including six police officers. >> the prime minister says the commitment to what he called

andrew simmons reports for us. >> reporter: we're hearing that at least 47 civilians have been killed after air raids reported to have been russian bombers that have hit the area. most of the province is held by i.s.i.l. and this province borders iraq. they have been on the offensive for the past week and they've been clashing with regime forces and the russian air force has been going to great lengths to try and track el the i.s.i.l. fighters on the ground-- tackle. it is reported that up to 80 civilians have been killed since friday. this comes from the sohr, the syrian monitoring organization in england. they have been involved in this war and it is a contentious matter to get the peace talks held because the opposition ground backed by saudi, they need to stop the strikes are to be stopped >>> as andrew mentioned, world powers are scheduled to discuss the conflict on geneva on monday. they haven't agreed on which which syrian groups of attend. john kerry said he is confident the talks will go ahead. he met with the president in riyadh. >> one of the things that we did today which

as andrew simmons reports. >> reporter: it's a family business in a city where textiles are one of theexports. five vacancies have just been filled. only turks could apply, but that could soon change when syrian refugees get work permits. under the new plans, one in ten of the work force here could be syrian. the idea is to improve in - in -- integration with syrians such as these casual workers in a fast-food cafe. this man was lucky enough to have a turkish sponsor to register the business, so he borrowed the money and set himself up. now he is making enough to give his family a basic lifestyle. he believes work permits could make others feel like he does. >> translator: i'm against the idea of going to europe. because i'm waiting to go back to my own country. if we don't go back to rebuild it, who will? >> reporter: but he is in a better position than most. in this part of town, nearly everyone is syrian, and nearly everyone is desperate to improve on an extremely basic way of living. right now many syrians are reliant on casual work to get by. estimates put the figure at around 400

andrew simmons, al jazeera. >> the stand off between saudi arabia and iran comes as they and other major powers try to end two of the middle east major conflicts. in syria and in yemen. the saudis and iranians are on opposite sides in both of these wars. what impact will the current situation have on peace efforts? let's go live now to the united nations in new york where the diplomatic editor james bays joins us. these negotiation in syria and yemen, these are going to be difficult in the best of times, and these are not the best of times. what is being said at the u.n. to try to salvage the situation? >> well, there is serious concern i think at the united nations. that both of these peace tracks were always going to be difficult, as you say, but there was new hope with the new year that perhaps there could be some progress in both of these conflicts are so many ordinary people both in yemen and syria, have been suffering for such a long time. we now know that the u.n.'s envoy in syria is currently in riyadh, where he's meeting with officials. and we're told in the next few days he'll

andrew simmons, al jazeera, istanbul. >>> stocks plunged today on wall street. the dow fell 365 points a loss of more than 2%. the s & p officially entered correction territory. that index has fallen 10% from its november peak, the stocks sell off comes after oil halving around $30 a barrel. today's drop continues the drop of the stock market since the start of the year. and stock indexes are broadly lower in early trading in asia on what is now thursday there. >>> al jazeera will cease operation buys april 30th this year, a statement from the company's ceo to employees explained that al jazeera's board is driven by the fact that our business mod is not sustainable in light of the economic challenges in the u.s. media marketplace. al jazeera america has done a brilliant job with an unrivaled commit to him great journalist and the most brilliant team that anyone could wish for. we have shown that there is a different way of reporting news and providing information. al jazeera america started on august 20 of 2013 and the last two 1/2 years the channel and website

andrew simmons has the latest. >> it looks like a normal scene, kids in a concert, but behind the innocence in their faces, there's a tragic reality, every one of these children has lost their father, either missing or dead. they're from an orphanage here. more than 130 of them all ages, some of them very young, most of them go to turkish schools, some go to a nursery and this is really an example of success for syrian refugees in that they're being looked after, they're doing well in school many of them, but it has to be said that the vast majority of syrian refugees in turkey are not getting help. they are basically on their own, making their own way. they're very reliant on various promises that could come out of the euro deal where a deal also includes the promise of work permits. we went out to take a look at the prospects. >> it's a family business in a city where techs tiles of one of the main exports. five vacancies have just been filled, only turks could apply. that could soon change when syrian refugees get work permits. under the new plans, one in 10 in the workforce here could b

al jazeera's andrew simmons sends us an update. >> this is the school reception, imagine the chaos andanic when the first blast happened. the emergency services were on the scene very quickly. they desperately tried to save the life of the staff member right here but she died. there was also a female student she was critically injured and taken to hospital where she's in serious condition. there was another injury also also taken to hospital and it's unclear of their condition at the moment but not believed to be life threatening. look at the blast damage and look at the crater right here. this rocket came something 17 to 20 kilometers. it came from i.s.i.l. positions, according to turkish security forces and there were two others also fired and they landed nearby in a field on soft ground. but this is a very ugly development in the whole crisis here. many people saying that frightened for their children, frightened what might be attacked next. it isn't confirmed that this is an i.s.i.l. attack but every suggestion according to turkish officials points in that direction. look at the da

bahrain and sudan cut all ties with iran, andrew simmons reports. >> reporter: saudi diplomats on their way home from iran, transiting at dubai airport. as they were evacuated, came similar action of the kingdom's allies. the gulf state close to saudi arabia accused iran of dangerous support for terrorism. the actions followed arson attack at the saudi embassy in tehran. saudi arabia accused iran of doing nothing to prevent it. a war of words is escalating. >> we decideto cut off all diplomatic relations with iran. we'll also be cutting off all air traffic to and from iran. we will be cutting off all commercial relations with iran and we will have a travel ban against people traveling to iran. >> translator: unfortunately, the government of saudi arabia sees its interest in creating clashes in the region. in recent times policies in line with that. >> shia right across the middle east have been demonstrating after the execution of nimr al-nimr. he and 46 others including al qaeda preacher targeting civilians an security forces. saudi arabia is adamant he got a fair trial. it's not the f

rights and headed to geneva without stopping the raids or lifting the siege or sending aid >>> andrew simmons is live for us. the mood music surrounding the talks happening or not doesn't look positive today. >> reporter: it doesn't. you have a situation here where the u.n. special envoy should have sent out the invitations to geneva on sunday. he hasn't. john kerry, who was in riyadh on saturday, and talking up the prospects of the talks happening, has made a warning speaking in lachlt aos saying no-one should be made-- laos saying no-one should be making preconditions or posturing on either side. he said it was not a problem if the talks were delayed by a day or two. some diplomats are suggesting it could start on wednesday. he also used this phrase, he said that you can bring a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. the situation right now particularly with the opposition talking at the general body representing armed groups and politicians may not even get to go to the water, it would seem, because they're saying these opposition groups that they really want some indication from syr

andrew simmons has this update. >> this is the school reception. imagine the panic.they desperately tried to save the life of a staff member right here, but she died. there was also a female student. she was critically injured and taken to hospital where she's in serious condition. there was another injury, they were also taken to hospital. it's unclear of their condition but it's not believed to be life threatening. look at the crater right here. this rocket came something like 17 to 20 kilometers. it came from isil, according to security sources, and two others also fired. they landed nearby in a field on soft ground. but this is a very ugly development in the whole vi crisis here. it's not been confirmed that this is an isil attack but every suggestion points in that direction. look at the damage here. every single window smashed. and when you look at the position of the isil potential attackers, this could be a response to the latest pressure from the turkish military who have been responding to up to 250 isil operatives were killed, and so could there be more at

andrew simmons has more from istanbul you. >> this was an attack on a police headquarters. security forces were the target, but civilian families took the brunt of this attack because a building housing families collapsed nearby. it was a devastating blast that took out the front of the police headquarters. now there are desperate scenes of rescue workers trying to get children and families out while dealing with the casualties of the police headquarters. among the dead was one police officer. the rest were either from police families or the civilian families. three children reported amongst the dead, one of them a baby. it was the p.k.k., according to the government, about the kurdistan workers party responsible for the attack. all the hallmarks are there. this is an area where they are active, the p.k.k. it's 30 kilometers from the city and many towns are subject to strict curfews since the two year ceasefire with the p.k.k. collapsed last july. the situation there is very tense, indeed and this, a very vivid illustration of just how much of a threat in security terms the

al jazeera's correspondent andrew simmons is live for us. one day after the attacks, what is the priority for the police and those over night raids? >> reporter: certainly, but first of all we've just been allowed now right to where the bomb went off. you wouldn't believe that this is the bomb site where all ten people were killed, but the only indicator of this location is the red flowers there. it was wide open here, wide open. normally this place would be packed to the gunnels in summer time. it is the biggest tourist attraction in turkey, but, of course, it wasn't, and, of course, the number of deaths were lower as a result. those mainly germans killed here, they were the group that evidently was targeted here and then a scene of absolute chaos and panic at a place where we have the egyptian obelisk which dates back to when it was moved here in 390 ad, gives you some idea of what sort of atmosphere there is here, a place steeped in ancient history. coming on to those arrests, yes, 59 arrests and another three on top of that of russian ci

andrew simmons, aljazeera. >> taking you back to the situation happening in jakarta in indonesia. these are the pictures that you're seeing, and there's an explosion. reports that in the last hour, there were six quick explosions followed by gunfire in a very busy section of jakarta. near many offices, in the business district of the city. there are reports that at least one police officer has been killed. three people total killed. so one of those people being a police officer. obviously, this area has been cordoned off by security forces because the situation is still happening as we speak. at this point, we do not know who the tart of this attack was. obviously, with it being early on in a developing story, we don't know, there are already theories about this, but we do not know exactly who the target of this attack was. people earlier were talking to our reporter there rosy, strike being terrified. and there were civilians screaming as they tried to get the situation under control. and at this point, a stabilized situation. as you can see, there are lots of security forces in

without stopping the air raids or lifting the siege or releasing the prisoners or sending aid >>> andrew simmons reports from a city near the syrian border. >> reporter: the u.n. special envoy on syria should have been sending out invitations to geneva on sunday. that didn't take place. now we're looking at possibly wednesday some diplomats say, but john kerry has stepped in again warning against any provocations by either side, what it called posturing. what has been happening is some elements of the syrian regime have warned that no concessions will be met to the opposition and the opposition itself, speaking from riyadh, a large group of the main body which represents both the armed groups, politicians as well, has said that it wants to see prisoners released, it wants to see the syrians not using russian air power any more against civilians and it also wants to see some more movement from the syrian regime. it feels pressurized, according to a number of opposition figures. now, kerry has assured the opposition that it has a full support militarily, financially and politically from the u.s. a

hearing from andrew simmons live for us with the latest from istanbul.at is the latest on this blast? >> reporter: this was a devastating attack. a pick-up truck was driven to the entrance of cinar in the south-east and it detonated causing a lot of damage and devastating a civilian apartment block near by. that building collapsed. in total there are five dead. it is reported that two of those are family members, police family members, and the other three are reported to include a mother and a baby and they were killed in the apartment block according to reports. lots of injuries, more than 39. now, this was a coordinated attack because nearby in a building came under rocket fire and machine gunfire. now, this is being put down to the pkk, the kurdistan workers party. the govern has said that it has all the hallmarks. this is the area where the pkk is highly active and many towns are under strict curfew since the collapse of the ceasefire in july last year which had lasted two years. thereof is a lot of tension, anger and desperate work by the emergency

andrew simmons is in turkey and sent an update from near where the rocket hit the school yard. >> this is where the rocket struck, the blast and shrapnel spread through the school yard and all over the school itself. a woman staff member died. also a female student was seriously injured and is in critical condition in hospital and another person, a woman, it's believed also injured in hospital. there was three rockets fired from isil positions in syria. that's just under 20 kilometers away. this one struck, two others landed on soft ground, in fields not far away. there is concern whether or not isil is going to start repeating attacks like this. there has been a run up to it in the sense that the turkish military has been attacking isil positions ever since that bombing in is stop bull in the old city among all those german tourists died. since then, there have been retaliatory strikes by positions both in the syrian border and also the iraqi border with the prime minister saying that after 250 isil operatives have been killed. right now, much concern about what's going to happen, a r

. >> reporter: i'm andrew simmons near the border with syria. i will be reporting on refugee children living in poverty and the rainbow project that is giving them some hope >>> fighting for an apology, the filipino women kept as sex slaves by the japanese during the second world war. the only way to get better is to challenge yourself, and that's what we're doing at xfinity. we are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. and this includes our commitment to being on time. every time. that's why if we're ever late for an appointment, we'll credit your account $20. it's our promise to you. we're doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around. >>> welcome back. a reminder of our top stories now on al jazeera. activists say syrian government forces have retaken one of the most important towns in the south of the country. it is a key supply line linking damascus and the city of deraa. chinese shares have plunged more than 6% after oil prices ha

. >>> al jazeera's andrew simmons has this update. >> this is a school reception.magine the panic when the first plasmati happened. the emergency services were on the scene very quickly. they tried to save the life of a woman right here, but she died. there was also a female student who was critically injured and taken to hospital where she's in serious condition. look at the blast damage. this rocket came 17-20 kilometers. it came from isil positions urged do turkish security sources, and there were two others also fired, and they landed nearby in a field on soft ground. but this is a very ugly development in the whole process here. many people say they're frightened for their children, and frightened by what could happen next. it has not been confirmed this is an isil attack. but every suggestion points in that direction. look at the damage here. every single window smashed and when you look at the position of the isil potential attackers, this could be a response to the latest pressure from the turkish military who have been responding to the isil attack in ista

andrew simmons, al jazeera, istanbul. >>> australia has did he made a request from the u.s.reat military commitment against aisles. iraq the australian defense minister says there are no plans to go i don't understand what the country is already doing the prime minister malcolm turnbull will visit washington next week to visit president obama where they plan to discuss the conflict and other security issues. >>> the u.s. and russian presidents have been discussing the u.n.-backed road map for peace in syria. barack obama and vladimir putin spoke on the telephone about reducing violence and insuring humanitarian access to sale civilian red sox. they say talks between the government and the opposition will go ahead in geneva as planned their month. earlier in rebel factions said tell are they will not attend the talk until aid surprise are made available to those indeed. >>> our running order today dominated by the big story on ot of jakarta to get up to date before where he the juan this half hour of world news at least seven people have been killed in a coordinated series of

andrew simmons reports. >> reporter: this was an attack on the police headquarters in cinar town of thehe police forces were the target but civilian families took the brunt of this attack because a building housing families collapsed nearby. it was a devastating blast that took out the front of the police headquarters. there were desperate scenes of rescue workers trying to get children and families out of the residence at the same time dealing with casualties at the scene of the police residences and the headquarters. amongst the dead was one police officer, the rest were either from police families or the civilian families. three children reported amongst the dead, one of them a baby. it was the pkk according to the government responsible for the attack. all the hallmarks are there. this is an area where they are active, the pkk. it's 30 kilometers from diabika city. many of the towns in this area are subject to strict curfew since the ceasefire, the two-year ceasefire with the the pkk collapsed last july. the situation there is very tense, indeed, and this a very vivid illustration o

andrew simmons. al jazeera. turkey. >> a day after mass protest demonstrators have occupied an office and said they won't leave until the government takes action. >>> the sri lanka government has publicly destroyed the biggest ever haul of illegal ivory more than 350 tusks were placed before being fed into 100 done crusher and sent to an industrial furnace. we have more now from the capital o. >> this haul has been seized from waste that was packed in a container that was moving through the port of colombo. >> we have no way of getting it down and unloaded. that has been the main difficulty. >> now ivory fetches as much as $300,000 a kilo and one can only imagine one and a half tons of ivory. in terms of the ivory and the ceremony to destroy the ivory. the clergy invoking blessings on the dead elephants, very much indifferent from a couple of years ago when they were asking for responsibility and custody of these tusks be transferred to the secretariat. however, the president of the government making it very cle

had andrew simmons, aljazeera. >> attacks by the french coalition, and it is the latest of the series of attacks over the last week. >>> meanwhile, in tikrit, a curfew is in place because of the intense fighting between isil and the forces in the area. ban ki-moon called the service starvation of syrians a war crime today. >> the assault of the elderly, children, men and women, who are little more than skin and bones. they could barely walk, and they are utterly desperate for the slightest morsel. >> aljazeera's caroline malone is there with families who managed to flee. >> reporter: they made it to lebanon from dumas, one of the many areas under siege in syria. they shared what life is like and how they escaped. >> we walked under ground in a tunnel like tomb. our heart is telling us that we are going to get killed inside. when we got out, we left freedom. and we got a piece of bread. and we ain't like a starving person. dumas is under siege by government forces. and a tart of airstrikes. those in the area are charging money for it. >> we got barely anything, and managed to come in b

andrew simmons, al jazeera, in istanbul. >>> the u.n.the latest aid delivery to reach the syrian town of madaya is good news, but it won't solve the crisis there. about 50 truck are part of the convoy to the town. many people in madaya have been starving as government forces prevented food and medicine from getting in. >> the real solution to this predicament, to the plight of the people besieged in these towns, the real solution is for the siege to be lifted. >> up to 2,000 refugees and migrants sheltering in calais, are waying to be evicted, but they don't know when it will happen. jacky rowland sent this report. >> reporter: there is the expectation that at some stage up to 1500 people will be asked, taken, forced, we're not quite sure what the modalities will be, from the tents they have been living in until now. these flimsy structures you see behind me, and then moved into the facility being shot. you can see the white containers, and the crane behind them. the crane at the moment is lowering more containers in into position. and t

andrew simmons, al jazeera, istanbul. >> the latest attack shows us how porous the border is between syria and turkey. istanbul has bolstered security but it's still a haven for smugglers. this is our exclusive report. >> a student in northern syria films a journal towards a border crossing, a journey he has made many times. it is possible to leave legally with the correct documents or illegally without for the right amount of money. >> going the other way appears to be open, too. al jazeera secretly spoke to a man at one border crossing who said he is a smuggler. >> if you want to go the illegal way it's 75 lira. just jump over the border. he walks over to the trucks. he gives 1,000 lira to the syrian driver and he picks him up. >> the turkish police say that the bomber crossed the border illegally. this man said that he is a former isil smuggler who provided weapons in syria for fighters from chechnya, and he said that it is the only way in and out for fighters. >> it is like daesh is sitting in the room with no windows and one door. when turkey closes the door a little bit, they w

. >> andrew simmons reporting from turkey. >>> -- burr kimo fas sew marked oovms a memorial today. an al-qaeda affiliate claimed responsibility for the attack. >>> another suspect for the paris attacks is now in custody. morocco's interior ministry says the 26 year old was arrested friday near kcasa blanca. it is unclear what role he may have played in the bombings. >>> up next on the program, the cost of cheap oil how the plunge in the price is costing thousands of american jobs. and el niÑo slimming the west. what is next for a pacific winter on the coast? the only way to get better is to challenge yourself, and that's what we're doing at xfinity. we are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. and this includes our commitment to being on time. every time. that's why if we're ever late for an appointment, we'll credit your account $20. it's our promise to you. we're doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around. ♪ >>> i have got to tell you the price of crude oil drops to i

let's cross over to our correspondent in southern turkey near the syrian border, andrew simmons. what we are hearing in geneva, big changes to these talks that are going to take place, the situation on the ground is as ever, conflict, more violence, more people losing their lives, but some turnaround for the assad government with the help of russian airstrikes in latakia, where big gains are being made. >> probably no coincidence it that the level of force has been put behind this push by regime troops and covered by air power in russia, incessant airstrikes in the province of latakia. the town of selma fell to the regime and now on sunday, rabbia, the last main town on the road up north from latakia province to the border with turkey, that town has fallen to the regime, making much of this on state t.v., and the russian air power, every step of the way has been the key to it all. now, of course, going right back to september 30, when the russians became directly involved in this conflict, this has been a partial game changer, not only just in terms of helping the syrian forces m

andrew simmons, al jazeera. >> let's cross over to al jazeera's diplomatic editor james bays joining us from new york. before we get to any reaction from the united neighborhoods i am reading here. this is according to rioters, that saudi arabia is saying it is going to cut flights, trades with iran as well as ban visits. so this seems to be much more than a war of words at this point. what is the united nations secretary general say, if anything? >> well, we know for a very long time, relations between iran and saudi have been strained. they are clearly at the very lowest point they have been for some considerable time now. diplomats here deeply concerned. we have had a statement from the u.n. secretary general not on the deteriorating diplomatic links but on earlier developments. he said he was deeply dismayed by the 47 executions in saudi arabia including that of shake nima and also he said he dmrord the attack on the saudi embassy in tehran. so, the statement from ban kk e moon there we will have to watch in the coming reaction, the cutting of ties between the two countries and t

andrew simmons reports. unfortunately, we don't have that piece right now. grim discovery at the coast of turkey. the bodies of three dozen refugees were recovered today. like so many before them. trying to reach greece in search of a better life. jonah hull has more and this warning some of the images are disturbing. >> it's the first week of a new year. the warm summer long gone and the refugees journey is getting harder. off the turkish coast a rubber dinghy has capsized. it's passengers thrown to their fate. for those on greece on tuesday more than 20 would never arrive their bodies washing back ashore o on the beaches of turkey. >> we came an hour ago. we heard the boat sank and hit the rocks. i believe they died when they tried to swim for the rocks. we came to help. >> but, there wasn't much to be done. the turkish cost guard disbatched three boats and a helicopter to search for survivors. eight people were rescued. including one man who emerged from the freezing waters on their own. it's estimated that a million refugees and migrants through its outl

andrew simmons has been monitoring developments from istanbul. >> the government is saying that there was a massacre of at least 300 civilians. it makes no mention of anybody taken hostage, where as the flhr is saying that there was a major operation by isil and isil took 400 people, civilians and families are regime forces officers and soldiers, and they have been taken -- kidnapped and taken west towards isil firmly held areas. >> 17 isil fighters have been killed in cam bolt near rimadi as iraqi forces try to push them out of the region. government coalition because by war planes are involved in the assault. 12 soldiers from international security forces were killed. its forces advancing where isil is holding out just east of rimadi. >>> iraqi officials say order is being restored in the city, the scene of recent sectarian violence. we are live in baghdad. how much order is being restored? >> after nearly a week of rising sectarian tensions, officials saying things have calmed down substantially in the last 24 hours. they say schools have reopened and more shops will be reopening i

andrew simmons, aljazeera, istanbul. >> and the security force that's killed two after an explosion, it occurred in the eastern city, and seven in the security forces were killed. the two had barricaded themselves in a government guest house before being killed. and earlier, a man blew himself up in the pakistan consulate. it all is the result of stalled peace talks with the taliban. >>> 14 people why killed outside of a polio vaccination center. forces were on the way to guard the facility when a door-to-door drive was being prepared. two separate groups claimed responsibility. one with ties to isil and the other to the [ speaking italian ] >>> president obama spoke to vladimir putin on the phone today in that regard the war with syria, and all of this comes after a series of deadly attacks in syria, >> reporter: the devastation as far as the eye can see. buildings are toppled, more than 100 people killed. and ambulances taking away the injured. for foreign. >> we have recovered a lot of bodies. there are many more hurt. >> reporter: the state tv said that the samada attack is part

andrew simmons has the latest from turkey. >> the fatal blast was in this schooling yard two hours intong day for peoples here and a staff member, a woman staff member was killed, and a student believed to be in her teens was seriously injured, critically injured, in fact and a few others were also caught in some of the glass coming sprayed down from the building here and also the shrapnel. there were two other rockets that landed nearby. security forces say they were fired from isil positions over the border in syria. it was said to be a serious incident and they are investigating what happened. the turkish army responded to the rockets, firing artillery across the border at the points where those weapons were fired. >> andrew simmons reporting from turkey and turkish officials are still investigating whether the shellings that hit the school were fired from syria. >>> crews stepping up their search for 12 missing marines in hawaii. they were onboard two military helicopters that went down on the north shore last thursday. that search has been extended to the western side of the island

andrew simmons has this update from where the rocket hit the schoolyard. >> in the middle of the schoolyard this is where one of the rockets dropped. the blast right here and the schranel hit where a woman died. another woman is believed also injured in hospital. now the ministry is saying that they're convinced that there was three rockets fired from isil positions in syria, that's just under 20 kilometers away. this one struck and two others landed on soft ground in fields not far away. there is concern that isil will start repeating attacks like this. there has been a run up to it in a sense that the turkish ministry has been attacking isil positions ever since that bombing in istanbul in the old city where all those german tourists died. since then there have been retaliatory strikes both in the syrian border and also the iraqi border with the prime minister saying up to 250 isil operatives have been killed. right now much concern about what is going to happen. a real feeling of fear here for people not knowing if it's safe for their children to even go to school. >> indeed, the syrian