the zinc war newsagency said three were injured. >>> pope francis is visiting calabria.e is visits the family of a 3-year-old killed in a mob hit earlier in the year. >>> now the top story - the sheer display of might in iraq. we'll bring in imran khan from saddar city in baghdad. there'll be a show of support. what is happening? >> we are seeing a mass rally by the supporters of the muck tarreda alsady, a key cleric. i was at that rally. there were thousands of people there with military uniforms and a display of weaponry. rpgs, rocket-propelled grenades, rifles and many dressed in black, reminding people of the mardy army. what mok tarreda said is this is not the rebirth of the mardy army, it was one of the militias responsible for taking part in the sectarian violence when it was at its height in 2006, 2007 and 2008. this is a defensive operation, a defensive show of strength to protect baghdad and protect shrines. they are not going on the offensive. that's what they say publicly. the visual, the guys in black, the heavy weaponry suggests anything but that, it will m

. >>> maurey tainians head to the poll >>> pope francis takes on calabria - a stronghold. >>> first, to the turmoil in iraq, where sunni fighters have taken more territory, said to have seized the baiji oil refinery. the most power of the groups are promising or are promising to fight back. one held a show of power against its enemies. supporters of the muqtada al-sadr rallied across the country. others are involved too. the biggest event was in sadder city in northern baghdad. men turned out, including the northern town of kirkuk, under kurdish control. they are getting ready for a long battle. >> we urge you to be ready to sacrifice yourselves and befriend the beloved country. >> imran khan is in baghdad for us. tell us what happened in sadder city. >> well, there was what you call a show of force. i was down there and saw thousands of volunteers rallying in support of muqtada al-sadr. it was a military show of force. a lot of people with ak-47s, automatic machine-guns, rocket propelled grenades and knives on show. this was the biggest military rally they have held ever in sadder c

he was in calabria in the southern part of the country after visiting the family of a child shot in thehootout. he condemned the evil path of organized crime. tim friend has more. >> reporter: under a scorching sun, the pope delivered his strongest attack yet on the mafia in the heart of their own territory. this was a mass. but he also delivered a speech, saying that the mafia clan that thrives here was the add oration of evil. the church had to do more for the common good to prevail. >> the question is: will the pope's words make any difference? some here believe that the mafia are too powerful to be challenged and have, on occasions, infiltrated the churc church, itself. >> earlier, the pope visited criminals at a local jail. in a private meeting, he comforted the prison father of a 3-year-old boy killed after being caught in a local mafia shootout earlier this year. it was that tragedy that prompted the pope's visit. >> he had this message for the prisoners who he urged to radio pet. >> i want to express to you my personal closeness and that of the church to all of the men and women

francis' anger can be traced to a mafia hit in calabria in january that killed a 3-year-old boy and his grandfather. he told the mafia bosses hell awaits you if you continue on this road. for "good morning america," jeffrey kofman, abc news, london. >> thank you, jeffrey. >>> ominous new developments out of iraq. four more strategic towns have fallen to the fundamentalist sunni fighters known as isis. they're marching toward baghdad. meanwhile, thousands of heavily armed shiite militia men and women took to the streets to show they're ready to take on the insurgents. president obama announcing this past week we are sending 300 soldiers to iraq as advisers. let's bring in jonathan karl. he's co-hosting "this week." later this morning, right here on "gma." right here on abc, rather. the latest reports out of the northern territory are horrifying. stories of crucifixions in one town. at this point, how hard does the administration believe it will be to dislodge these insurgents? >> frankly, dan, they think in terms of the united states going in and dislodging it would be impossible. the vi

the pope received a warm work in calabria region and he declared all mob temperatures are excommunicatedholic church. some anti-mafia prosecutor say they feel mobsters may target the pope not only for his remarks today, but for vatican bank reforms. for decade there were allocations that organized came used bank accounts in the vatican bank for money- laundering. >>> a former rock musician and father of three is also perhaps the only skateboarding cop in the nation. police officer joel zwicky is a 10-year veteran the green bay wisconsin police force. he says he decided to patrol on skateboard to get out of squad car and talking to people. he says working without elements and sirens is just fine with him. >> whoo, whoo, whoo, i would just do that and save the money [ laughter ] >> officer zwicky says he is on a mission to get skateboarders and long boarders equal rights on wisconsin roadway. >>> sure, there are ballpark proposals. but this one has a special ring to it. you can call it zoom zoom, a southern california miata driver got help from other miata drivers to spell out "marry me."

and august and liam calabria study for their exams. >> are you guys ready? >> ready as i'll ever be. >> they are not ready to separate from each other. >> bye, dad. >> we've always been together. as twins. so we don't really know what it would be like to not. it's just -- yeah, it's just always been this way. >> from birth. >> yeah, from birth. we've always been together. >> they're identical twins, born 2 minutes apart. side by side always, as honor students, athletes and boy cots. >> on my honor i will do reply best. >> to obey the scout oath. >> to obey the scout law. >> friends joke the two are one and the same. >> and morally straight. >> there is one difference. august is straight. liam is gay. he's known since he was 14. >> i remember being in our room. and just being like, so, august, i think i like guys. i think i'm gay. he's like, okay. just turns off the light. goes to bed. >> liam was immediately embraced he says by high school friends and family. although his father had his own fears. >> my concern was for his welfare. on what position this woul

tim friend, al jazeera, sibaru, calabria. >> coming up. a deeper look at a crisis in iraq. we are amid the turmoil unfolding in iraq. >>> and the unts ma unts the uny need to cut back. and game 2 in brazil for the united states. united states. >> it's time now to take a deeper look at the situation in iraq and its implications for the rest of the middle east. i.s.i.l. has taken control of a security post along the border with syria and are in control of two more towns. it is the latest advance in a week of gains in the islamic state of iraq and the levant. our jane arat is there and joins us. jane. >> thomas, there is growing worry about the onslaught of i.s.i.l. this is a border far into western al anbar, the province with fallujah. u.s. marines will be familiar with this because they not fierce battles there in 2004. that has fawrnl to th fallen ins for fighters and weapons. they have taken tal afar, another area that has experienced fierce battles with the u.s. army. the beji refinery is the biggest oil refinery in iraq. it refines kerosene and gasoline and the fuel that

the won't was in calabria, a rural area in the southern part of the country after visiting the family of a child killed in a shoot-out he condemned the evil path of organised crime. >> under a scorching sun, the pope arrived to deliver his strongest attack on the mafia, in the heart of their own territory. this was a mass, he also delivered a speech saying that the mafia clan that thrives here was the adoration of evil. the church had to do more for the common good to prevail. will the pope's words make a difference. some believe that the mafia are too powerful to be challenged, and have, on occasions, infiltrated the pope itself. >> earlier he visited prisoners, and comforted the imprisoned father of a 3-year-old boy killed after being caught in a local mafia shoot-out. it was that tragedy that prompted the pope's visit. he had this message for the prisoners, who he urged to repent. >> i want to express to you my personal close possess, and that of the church. to all of the when and women in prison in every part of the world. >> they have been preparing for the visit for weeks, many

tim friend, al jazeera, sibria calabria. >> next, growing protests against police violence in new mexico. the united nations may have to scale back peacekeeping mission. the budget fight that's brewing between western powers and the third-world. >>> hundreds of protesters march through the streets of albuquerque, new mexico. demonstrators say they are fed up with the police department's use of excessive force. 26 people have been killed by officers since 2010. the story. >> happened here in albuquerque since march when the albuquerque people shot and killed a homeless man with a history of mental illness in the foot hills surrounding the city. he was repeatedly shot a police dog was said on him. it was all caught on camera. he was posing minimal threat. the protesters say the leadership has allowed the police to kill people with impunity. around that same time, james boyd was killed. the albuquerque police department. it was damming. there was a pattern of excessive force, unconstitutional. violent outcome was desirable. a culture of aggression whereby police officers would comb pete wit

on a day-long visit to calabria, francis took aim at the heart of italy's mob, with an unscripted denunciation of organized crime. calling it the adoration of evil. those who this their lives have taken this ooel road, such as the mobsters, he says, are not in communion with god. they are excommunicated. the crowd of 150,000 cheered when they heard his words. never has a pope spoken so bluntly about the mob before. it is a body blow for mafia bosses in the region who like to present themselves as upstanding catholics. >> it's a remarkable thing for the pope to travel into their own territory to make this statement that they are not doing the work of god and far from it. declaring that they're excommunicated. >> do you renounce satan? >> reporter: the hypocrisy of the mafia's devout catholicism was captured in "the godfather." the violent 1972 film. this is the first time a pope has threatened to excommunicate the mafia. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: in 1983, pope john paul used milder language against the mafia, warning they would one day face the justice of god. they responded by

mafia that they're ex-communicated, and it is resounding loudly, especially in those regions like calabria where the pope was yesterday that live daily with a mafia presence. the reason the excommunication is a big word there is because they live basically with those two pillars, as you said, the catholic church and the mafia. they are small towns. they all know who the mafia members are. what these men try try to do is portray themselves as religious men. they want to participate in religious procession, attend mass. the pope is saying, no, we are distan distancing froure ining ourselv behavior. in saying this, the message is not so much for mafia members themselves who may not be losing too much sleep over the fact that they're excommunicated. t for the local communities, to give them support, to show them the pope himself is distancing himself from these people, and that they, too, should have the courage to do that on the front lines. >> all right. in pope being known to kind of steal the headlines and stay out in front. thank you very much. delia gallagher, appreciate that. >>> coming

the roman catholic pope made his comments on sawyer after visiting calabria in southern italy. the pontiff met the father of a 3-year-old boy killed in a mob murder. he is the power base of a drug traffic and syndicate that dominates italy's cocaine trade. it is this. the add oration of evil, contempt for the common good. this evil must be beaten, expelled. we must say no to it. those who good down this evil path, the path of evil, as the mafioso do are not in communion with god. they are excommunicated. >> i think so been 69 days since the radical group, boka haram abducted more than 200 nigerian school girls despite a worldwide outcry. the searchers failed to find the girls. speaking to some of the girls who managed to escape about how they are feeling. >> these are the school girls who managed to avoid capture. their classmates are missing. and the pain shows. they are preparing it for final exams. their teachers believe talking about it helps. >> their school principal is here. she has lost count of the number of appeals she has made for the release of her pupils, but she i

he was at this outdoor mass in calabria, known for mob ties, a 3-year-old boy was found in an alleged mafia hit. his body was found burned with his grandfather in a car. pope francis met with the boy's father before making the anti mafia comments. john allen editor with "the boston globe," as you've been working this beat for many a year, the pope has won demd the mafia before, this time different because of the word usage, excommunicated. what did he mean by this? how big a deal is this? >> pope haves been speaking out against the mafia for a long time. this is the first time the pope has used what we in the catholic world like to call the e word, excommunicated. this is sort of the nuclear option in catholic life, the most severe penalty any pope can impose. technically speaking, the pope didn't ex-communicate anyone on saturday. there's a whole process the church has to go through to do that. this is a whole shot across the bow against the mafioso saying he's willing to apply that penalty in individual cases if it comes up. bear in mind, brooke, a lot of these maf osi types conside

he's in calabria where a 3-year-old was murdered. the pond if spoke to inmates. -- pontiff spoke to inmates. tim for exampled is there. what -- friend is there. what is the pope's message to the mafia? > i think as you said in the introduction, he's take the the anti-mafia message into the heart of their territory showing that he is not afraid. i think he's hoping others will follow his lead. priests, but also the local people who sometimes become embroiled in organised crime, whether they want to or not. i think that's the key to his message. it's the death, the tragic death of a young boy that proved a step too far for everyone here. people who are used to killings and all sorts of mayhem over the years, but i think that they believe and perhaps pope francis believes that the moment has come to stop it. >>> what is interesting is that on the other side of the coup, the mafia plays up its ties to the catholic church. will the won't's announcement shame them into making a difference? well, toith that this is the -- i think that this