arwa damon reporting they were not wearing jackets or helmets. they were wearing t-shirts and baseball caps. as for heavy weapons, just one machine gun and one defense official tells cnn the isis figers were heavily armed. we're also learning tonight that the u.s. unit became separated on the ground. arwa damon's source says he saw two of american soldiers dead by gun shot wounds in the backseat of their vehicle. another american soldier lying dead under a nearby brush. this is a very disturbing picture of american troops sent into harm's way with no warning from intelligence on the ground. as for the pentagon in a press briefing late today, it offered no details. >> so again, as the chairman said this week, all of these questions are fair questions. but it is under investigation. so we will have more details when we have them. >> arwa damon broke this story. he's "outfront" tonight in niger on the ground near the scene of the attack talking to those soldiers who were there and your reporting tonight is very shocking and very disturbing, but very

arwa damon is near the iraq/syria border >> reporter: good morning, christine and dave.e fighting force on the ground backed by the u.s.-led coalition said the clearing operations are still ongoing. they are still trying to comb through the city and root out any potential remnants of isis fighters that the coalition estimates to be at around 100 there. they are suspected to be hiding out in the rubble of the burned-out buildings. then they will take the monumental task of clearing out any improvised explosive devices isis may have left behind in buildings, roads or alleyways. we did see exclusive drone footage of the sdf already celebrating, especially in one of the main squares. this is where we saw some on of the worst atrocities unfolding. the public beheadings, executions, crucifixions and trying to restore a false sense of normalcy to this city is something that lies well ahead in the future. and the population right now languishing in refugee camps. while this is a blow to isis territorily speaking, the ideology is still very much alive. >> great reporting from arw

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arwa damon, cnn, raqqa, syria. >> thanks to arwa damon. the father of a u.s.ceman killed in iraq weighs in on the white house's treatment of gold star families. he says the president's chief of staff retired four star general mike kelly went too far when he stepped into the controversy. that is ahead in cnn newsroom. n hour is easy with gocentral... ...from godaddy! in fact, 68% of people who have built their... ...website using gocentral, did it in under an hour, and you can too. build a better website - in under an hour. with gocentral from godaddy. the unpredictability of a flaree may weigh on your mind. thinking about what to avoid, where to go, and how to work around your uc. that's how i thought it had to be. but then i talked to my doctor about humira, and learned humira can help get and keep uc under control... when certain medications haven't worked well enough. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous

cnn's senior international correspondent arwa damon joining from us syria. it's got to be a fine line between maintaining security there? >> it is incredibly challenging. bearing in mind, though, that the majority of civilians who fled were really just being held hostage by isis. but there were some family members believed to be family members, the hard core fighters of isis. they're being asked to flee r k raqqah, they're still being held in the refugee camp. which you'll notice is still isolatesed from the rest of refugees sheltered. they need to be vetted. they're kept under armed guard because there are security concerns. no one is allowed to move in and out. and they have had all sharp objects removed from them. we just spoke to one family who said they were just civilians caught up in all of this. they tried to flee on neerm rum occasions and were unable to do so. the conditions are pretty dire. it's going to be some time before any families can actually go back home. authorities say it's going to take at least three to four months just to clear raqqah

arwa damon is the first u.s. correspondent on the ground in tphaoupb niger.oins us with her exclusive reporting. arwa? >> reporter: good morning, alisyn. and this soldier and his unit arrived on on scene. they were the first on scene following this horrendous, chilling attack. he was describing how they were back to back in defensive positions. he said he was quite impress build i their courage and the fact that they seemed to determined to fight to the very end. tragically, he saw is the bodies of two u.s. soldiers in the back of an american vehicle, another third u.s. soldier's body found very close by as well as the bodies of three nigeriens. some parts of the landscape still smoldering. it was the attackers that set portions of the brush on on fire to create a smoke screen so they could escape. it seems that initial lu it was carried out by eight vehicles that managed to shoot out the convoy and cause it to split apart. two vehicles separated from the rest. then, according to other wounded nigerien soldiers, they arrived on motorcycle fully encircling the

let's turn to arwa damon, she is live. >>reporter: good morning.here the final battle against isis took place inside raqqa. you have a ceremony attended by various different fighters as well as local leaders, tribal leaders. and then you have the wreckage of the stadium itself. in h the lower levels you can see the length that isis went to try to fortify itself, especially in this position. isis fighters punched holes through the walls creating something of a rat run so they could move through undetected. it's also where they held many of the prisoners believed to have been the largest isis prison inside raqqa. it is surrounded by sheer and total devastation. this entire city has been decimated. you barely even find traces of the life that was. the people who are attending the ceremony, they are by and large the individuals who are going to be tasked with trying to somehow rebuild this city. members of the raqqa civil council. >> all right. the brave arwa damon. thank you so much. >>> let's give a check on cnn "money" stream. global stocks higher a

cnn's senior international correspondent arwa damon joins me now. ike these forces are on the verge of complete victory, there is still a ways to go to make the city safe again. >> reporter: there most certainly is, jake. they're saying that they hope that they can announce the full liberation of the city from isis in about two to three days, but meanwhile, some exclusive drone footage that cnn has obtained from inside raqqa shows the scale of the devastation, the destruction, but also shows some of those sdf fighters celebrating their victory and just being able to get this far. you see them in some of these images driving their vehicles around a round-about. you see a number of them piled on top of armored personnel carriers spinning them around. this is the very same roundabout, jake, where isis carried out some of their most horrendous atrocities. the public beheadings, the executions, the crucifixes, and this is such a moment for those fighters that have really made a very direct and distinctive effort to try to get this far. now, the coalition

cnn's arwa damon is live with us for a firsthand look inside raqqa, the first time cnn has been able broadcast from there. arwa, we're so happy to have you on the ground. tell us what you're seeing. >> reporter: well, the square behind me right here, this is the square where we saw the first horrific gruesome images of the beheadings, executions. on the spikes isis would place the heads of its victims as a morbid reminder to anyone walking by what their fate would be if they dare to defy isis's role. the forces are with the syrian democratic forces. that is the u.s.-backed force. and a lot of them who are around us right now are actually part of their female fighters. we were speaking to them earlier. they take quite pride in the fact that women played such a big role in liberating a city that was so oppressive to the female population. but then also just take a look at the destruction around us. sometimes you go into the war zones and you can see a semblance of the life that was. you see bits and pieces of what civilians may have left behind. here the destruction, the devastation is

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senior international correspondent arwa damon is in northern syria. more can you tell us about the camps and these conditions for some of the new residents? >> well, they are being kept well away from the other residents in the camp, under armed guard, as you were just mentioning. these are the last families to have fled raqqah, and some of them are suspected of being the families of isis fighters, and that's why they are being kept away from everybody else. they are also having their tents searched on a regular basis, and any sharp objects have been taken away from them, as well. we spoke to one woman, resident of this camp. she and her family have a horrific story of trying to flee isis time and time again, being forced back at gunpoint, deeper and deeper into raqqah. she said they had nothing to do with isis whatsoever, but she was talking about how unnerving it was for her and her family to be held alongside others, other women who they knew were, according to her, the wives of isis fighters. in fact, there's been some arguments that have broken ou

arwa damon, cnn, northern syria. >> thanks so much for that report, arwa. >>> the u.s.ntal protection agency says that a chemical coming from a louisiana factory is putting its neighbors at the highest risk in the country of developing cancer from air toxins. state regulators say the threat is not imminent. >> you've got to live here to try and breathe the air, drink the water, see the children so sick. why should people die? if you don't live in the area, you can say anything and everybody's supposed to believe that. >> hear how local people are fighting for relief. it's a cnn investigation. okay folks! let's get the lady of the house back on her feet. and help her feel more strength and energy in just two weeks. yaaay! the complete balanced nutrition of ensure with 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. ensure. always be you. till death do us part. selectquote can help you keep your promise. with life insurance starting under $1 per day. but you promised, dad. come on. selectquote helped jim, 41, keep his promise by finding him a $500,000 policy for under $2

arwa damon, cnn, kobani, syria. >> thanks for the report. isis remains a threat. and both the u.s. and russian-backed troops share the battlefield from deer dei deir ezzor. >> they aren't alone on the skies or the ground here. banking hard and keeping out of the russians' way are u.s. jets. assisting these u.s.-backed kurdish fighters to take the nearby countryside from isis just the day before. isis, collapsing, leaving in their wake an almost cold war standoff. isis may be holding out in a pocket of a down of deir ezzor, behind me, over there surrounded by the syrian regime. but they've been kicked out too of this area by american-backed kurdish sdf forces. now they've advanced to to this river here which puts them meters away from the syrian regime who are backed by russian air power. we're told, in fact these kurdish american-backed forces have held face-to-face meetings with russian military officials to make sure they don't clash around here. now in the end game against isis, moscow and washington's forces literally meters away from each other. the kurds are so relaxed with t

arwa damon is out front in iraq, and arwa, you have been covering the fight in all of these places,allujahfallujahmosul for years. is trump to claim all the credit here? >> reporter: look, a lot of the policy that the trump administration has been implementing specifically when it comes to the fight against isis both in iraq and syria has simply been an extension of the obama administration's policies. advise and assist teams on the ground, whether it's iraqis within this country or the kurdish peshmerga that we're also fighting here, or whether it's the syrian democratic forces inside syria, and try to support them with intelligence, surveillance, air assets, and then of course the very, very critical air strikes that in both battlefields have been key to allow the forces to move on the ground towards isis. what is going to be very crucial moving forward is how, especially the u.s. is going to try to maneuver the various different dynamics that exist within the fighting groups on the ground, because defeating isis territorially is one thing. defeating its ideology, trying to prevent it from eithe

arwa damon is near the border with syria.e >> reporter: good morning, christine and dave. well, a spokesperson for the syrian democratic forces, the fighting force on the ground backed by the u.s.-led coalition said the clearing operations are still ongoing. they are still trying to comb through the city and root out any isis fightsers that the coalition estimates to be at about 100 there. they are expected to be hiding out in the rubble, in the burned-out buildings then they will take over raqqa and going through you buildings, roads, alleyways for improvised explosive devices. they are celebrating in one of the main squares. this is where we saw some of the worst isis atrocities unfolding. the public beheadings, the crucifixions and the sheer scale of the destruction. trying to even restore a false sense of normalcy is most something that lies well ahead in the future. and the population languishing in refugee camps. while this is a blow to isis tear torl speaking, the ideology is still very much alive. >>> former white hou

the woman that got all that information is our senior international correspondent, arwa damon. she is on the ground. you spoke to him. this is stunning, arwa. >> reporter: yeah, and the reason why he said he expressed his surprise was because when he and his unit patrolled through the same very volatile zone, and he was also surprised by the fact that they seem to be very lightly armed. it is worth noting, though, poppy, this is pretty much how the u.s. does go out in this particular region, they do not go out in armored humvees the way we see them in afghanistan and iraq and other war zones and that's because of the practicality, and also because of what the u.s. assessed the risk to be. did america in the analysis of what the threat levels were miss crucial information. this soldier and his unit arrived on scene to find the remaining surviving americans and nigeriens back-to-back in defensive positions. he said he saw the bodies of two of the american soldiers that were killed in the back of a u.s. vehicle, and a third body lying close by, and he noticed some of the brush was

arwa damon, thank you very much for that on the ground there. >> we want to share this moment and ite scene that's captured on friday. u.s. forces are dancing on the streets as raqqa declared liberated, celebrating at the stadium where isis fighters made their last dance, a few days later. >>> the terror group is not completely finished in iraq and syria, i ask is it losing its grip. this map is showing the territory that isis had overtime and look, we always would talk about, we got come up here of a big win for the astros last night, andy scholes, has more. >> andy. good morning, guys. justin verlander throwing another gem for the astros. we'll show you how they force a winner take all game seven against the yankees, coming up on this morning's bleacher report. how do you chase what you love with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis? do what i did. ask your doctor about humira. it's proven to help relieve pain and protect joints from further irreversible damage in many adults. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra

cnn's arwa damon is live in raqqa at a stadium where isis fight, made their last stand. arwa?>> reporter: huh or chris. that's exactly why the ceremony is taking place here with the u.s. co hraeugz-backed syrian democratic forces handing over control of the city of raqqa to the raqqa civilian council. these people to under take the enormous task of trying to rebuild this utterly devastated city. you can see right across the field the sandbags that lead down into the lower levels of this stadium. this is where isis bunched through the walls between the various rooms creating one for themselves. they have a fairly complex tunnel system that may still have mines. no one has gone down there yet. and it's where isis handled a number of prisoners. it is believed to be the largest prison in raqqa. surrounding this stadium is what you were talking about. ensuring not just is the city rebuilt but also the fab rubbing of the society here that also has been utterly destroyed, alisyn. >> it is incredible to have you on the ground with all of that reporting. it is impossible to get our min

arwa damon is live in niger with the exclusive details. we should know we are the first network on the ground in this country where there are so many questions. arwa? >> reporter: good morning. now, when this soldier arrived on scene, he described how he saw american and nigerien troops back-to-back in defensive positions. he saw bodies of two americans killed in the back of a u.s. sroeubg, the third body lying close by, and three nigeriens who were killed as well. he said they noticed that some of the brush was smoking. there was smoke rising from the ash. villagers said it was the attackers that as they were fleeing they created somewhat of a smokesscreen. two vehicles separated from the rest of the attack. initially carried out by assailants in eight vehicles. and very quickly, this is when it got really intense, dozens of attackers arriving on the backs of motorcycles. but what he did also say, which is thought to be very surprising, was that he said that the green berets, along with nigerien counter parts, actually stopped at his base

arwa damon is live in niger with more. what are you learning on the ground?> reporter: good morning, chris. we actually went out to the site of the ambush, making the journey to try to get an understanding of the terrain, but also we were looking for answers to the many questions that still remain. in this vast terrain, it's deal cover for an ambush so they advance on foot. remote border region was thrown into a global spotlight. october 4th may have been america's first casualties in these lands but not niger's. their patrols regularly come under attack. the ground outside tongo tongo is littered with heavy machine gun casings and we ask the soldiers we're with if they know they're fired by u.s. or others. they can't tell. we tracked down the village chief's uncle and older brother and insist had the t the attackers came from elsewhere. initial reports were that the attack occurred some 10 kilometers outside of tongo tongo after the convoy stopped and villagers stalled them. they're both saying that the american convoy and nigerien convoy never stopped here.

joining me now is national security correspondent jim sciutto and arwa damon.us about what happened once the men split up? >> we're learning how confusing a come bat situation this was. one of the vehicles was disabled in the initial ambush so one group continues on foot. and in an attempt it appears at a counter attack to outflank the attackers, they were unfortunately later overwhemed in the midst of that adding to the confusion, one of those teams lost communications with the other group, the group with those that would end p having four americans killed in action. and yet in the midst of that, these american fighters managed to kill some 20 isis affiliated fighters in this attack. it helps -- may help explain another thing, in the initial after reports of this attack, the white house was first told there were four missing american soldiers later the military updated that to one missing as they found the three killed in action but a confusing fire fight. teams split up. one continuing on foot, attempting a counter attack but overwhelmed in that ambush. >> ar

here with me with the latest is cnn's national security correspondent jim sciutto and arwa damon in niger. hello to both of you. i'm going to start with you. there's still so many questions that we have yet to learn the answers for about this ambush. bring us up-to-date on what happened and how did the soldiers come under attack? >> let's have a look at the setting first. niger here, right in the center of a region with increased jihadi activity all along the borders here. just keep in mind this fact. today there is some 6,000 u.s. troops across africa in 53 different place. just gives you a sense of where those troops are spread out. let's take a closer look at niger. niger, there are 800 u.s. troops today. now, the bulk of them are here building a drone base near this town. this particular unit, though, was coming out of the capital. this is what happened. they were going up towards the border to look at, they were told, to look for intelligence on a known isis leader operating in this area here. they went to the camp. the leader, as they knew before they went there, was no longer there

arwa damon went to speak to isis fighters and she's "outfront" tonight. >> reporter: isis' survival isot tied to the fate of its crumbling caliphate. it planned for this date. isis did calculate one day they would be finished, the bahrainian man said, his voice calm and steady. he says he was in charge of ideological training at isis military camps in darazor and raqqah. he tells us "they did not put a lot of money into the battles they fought, the weapons they used were the weapons of the enemy. the money went elsewhere," he says. even during times of austerity there was always a calculation for the future. no one knows exactly how much isis is worth now. in 2014, the group was thought to have a total of $1.5 billion to $2 billion. it was making $1 million a day from oil fields. more than enough for its regular expenses. isis has distributed its revenues overseas for the next phase of its war. "i saw him as an isis member from raqqah who oversaw the border crossings between turkey and isis territory." he tells us that isis would train and dispatch members to set up companies which the