special operations forces in eastern syria have killed a top isis commander. the commander has been described top financierer. "the new york times" said u.s. officicials were following the commander's vehicle and -- in helicopters. in brussels, police fired water cannons at far rigight demonstrators who stormed a chantingfor victims nationalist slogans and making salutes.- nazi belgian authorities carried out new raids yesterday. three men arrested in the raids have been charged with terrorism-related offenses after a number were charged over the weekend.

. >> reporter: that target an oil pipeline in a remote area of eastern syria. an effort to cripple isis's financial but before they hit their target the jets must refuel, mid-air. connecting with a tanker to gas up. joining. >> reporter: the pilots guiding their probe into the tanker's basket. >> you're over hostile territory so you need to get that gas. and if you don't, then we can't complete our mission. >> whatever you can do to avoid some of the weather would be reporter: an intense storm develops. lightning strikes illuminate wickware's nightvision. but finally, the target is in three, two, one. tickle. >> reporter: the two pilots hit the target with a quick, intense the mission is not over yet. >> we still have to come back carrier deck at se around the world operates at night the way america's navy does. >> expect the approach. >> it is an intense rush.r eyes can play all sorts of tricks on you in the dark. >> final bearings. >> while you're doing it you don't realize how amped up you are. your ith adrenaline. >> reporter: we met up with the pilots seco

. >> reporter: that target an oil pipeline in a remote area of eastern syria. an effort to cripple isis' financial resources. >> whatever you can do to avoid some of the weather would be great. >> reporter: an intense storm develops. lightning strikes illuminate wick wear's night vision. but finally the target is in sight. >> three, two, one. >> reporter: the two pilots hit the target with a quick intense flare. but the mission is not over yet. >> we still have to come back and land on a moving aircraft carrier deck at night. really nobody else around the world operates at night the way america's navy does. >> it is an intense rush and at knighttime, your eyes can play all sorts of the dark. >> reporter: but as the military moves closer to helping to take back major cities under isis control, the danger will only increase. >> every time we take to the sky, there's risks inherently placed on us throughout the world. >> reporter: i'm martha raddatz on the "uss truman. >> incredible. >> absolutely fascinating. great reporting by martha. >> absolutely. it takes abo

thrives in sunni-aish areas that are poorly governed, whether that is western iraq or eastern syria or all of northern libya now. that's where they're going to show up. the way to move forward in libya we can do air strikes or special forces raids in libya. that's all fine and good. what we need to do is get a government running in lib yaf so wlibya sowe have a parch to wor. that is easier said than do in libya. >> that could be the same said in afghanistan, syria and iraq. >> absolutely. >> back to iraq for a second. we were talking about the u.s. special ops forces, the kurds have really shown themselves to be something to be reckoned with. the iraqi military on the other hand has a bad rap, being corrupt and not particularly effective. is that true or he they've just got are -- they've just gotten a bad reputation? >> i think theach jus they've ja bad rep. the iraqi army has retain ramadi from the islamic state, they have yet to demonstrate that they can take a major city, that's a task that's still in front of them but i think right now you have to consider the iraqi army to be the

early thursday morning, he was riding on an isolated road in eastern syria when an elite team of u.s.ces swooped in and surrounded the vehicle. he was considered next in line to take over as the leader of isis and was given the option to surrender. instead started shooting. within seconds, he and those he was travelling with were killed. >> the removal of this isil leader will hamper the organization's ability to conduct operations inside and outside of iraq and syria. >> reporter: defense secretary ash carter said friday he was the third isis leader taken out by u.s. forces this month, including omar, isis's minister of war. >> leaders can be replaced. however these leaders have been around for a long time. they are senior, they're experienced. and so eliminating them is an important objective and achieves an important result. >> reporter: though both carter and chairman of the joint chief of staff were quick to say the war against isis is far from over. >> the momentum is in our favor. there's a lot of reasons for us to be optimistic about 0001>>> as long as there is a drought decla

effectively been shouted down by those of groups like nusra and isil across parts of northern and eastern syriayet, now this group considered moderate in the west and which calls for all syrians to come together against the regime in damascus appears increasingly to be back in favor. things like this, trashing of a nusra office, seemed to reflect a growing concern that it demands the deeply conservative religious values that isis does and many in idlib aren't interested. it has also affected those fighting with nusra but now appears to have changed the position to reflect the popular demand that all fighting groups focus on their real enemy. >> translator: the talks about setting up a civil state in syria among other things are to be addressed later. this is delayed because we are now focusing on toppling the regime. this is the same objective we share with the rest of the opposition forces on the ground and the revolutionary forces. the priority is to bring down the tyrant regime. >> reporter: with al nusra front undergoing pressure to release men it's holding, it seems popular opinion is tell

those 60% lived in eastern syria , eastern and central syria.ve other minorities who lived on the western coast and the areas around the mask is. the christians and the jews who lived in the south and central part of syria. and some like this caller who may have lived in aleppo. the majority of the people there who carried out the rebellion in 2011 were the vast majority of the population of syria. were those puture into power by the french and the 1930's. and the christian and jewish alliances forming the basis of backing the assad government. i agree with him. some rapprochement needs to ha ppen. that 60% of sunna muslims, if we do not assist them in rooting out isis to the east, which is a new iraqis and some syria extremist, then that six to percent of the population will fall under one of those two themes -- that 60% of population will fall under one of these two regimes. the onet me go back to thing the u.s. or allies are not doing that we should be doing. guest: i think the one thing we are not doing is what i call counter ideological war

this as the pentagon announces a top isis commander has been killed in an air strike in eastern syria-qaduli was companied the group's top financier. >>> the race for president in the u.s. is getting uglier as donald trump and ted cruz blame each other for a salacious tabloid story. more on that next. yeah, i was just talking uhabout yourico?... emergency roadside service and how it's available 24/7 and then our car overheated... what are the chances? can you send a tow truck please? uh, the location? you're not going to believe this but it's um... it's in a tree. i wish i was joking, mate, but it's literally stuck in a tree. (car horn honking) a chainsaw? no, no, all we really need is a tow truck. day or night, geico's emergency roadside service is there for you. your body is a finely tuned instrument. diarrhea can throw it out of rhythm. imodium multi symptom relief is the only product that combines two powerful ingredients to relieve diarrhea faster than any other otc medicine. it also eases gas, cramps, and bloating. imodium multi symptom relief. restore rhythm to your digestive s

it happened on an isolated road in eastern syria near the border with iraq.e're told by well-placed military sources the assault force arrived in helicopters there were drones above flying cover. they had been tracking the he can second in command for some time. his vehicle was surrounded and he was given the option to surrender, i'm told. instead, he began firing a weapon. it all happened in a matter of seconds. he made a bad choice according to a senior military source. t9e defense secretary and chairman of the joint chiefs gave few details about the operation when they confirmed that u.s. forces had killed the isis number two. >> all right. the number one he will baghdadi, if we can find the number two do we have any leads on the number one? because it would be very nice to get him. >> it's very unclear. clearly what this shows is now that they have this special operations expeditionary force off the ground, that's 200 special operators in northern iraq, they are starting to get human intelligence. just a little bit about this imam who they took out heqy>n

special operations forces in eastern syria have killed a top isis commander. the commander has been described top financier. "the new york times" said u.s. officials were following the commander's vehicle and -- in helicopters. in brussels, police fired water cannons at far right demonstrators who stormed a chantingfor victims nationalist slogans and making salutes.- nazi belgian authorities carried out new raids yesterday. three men arrested in the raids have been charged with terrorism-related offenses after a number were charged over the weekend. over the weekend, authorities in italy, germany, and the netherlands arrested suspects in the attacks on brussels. thousands tookof to the streets to protest the u.s.-backed saudi-led offensive against houthi rebels. the protests were said to be the largest in yemen since the 2011 demonstrations that forced the resignation of the president. since the u.s.-backed saudi-led intervention began, more than 6200 people have been killed in yemen, half civilians. the u.s. launched air attacks on al qaeda in southern yemen,

heading out in every direction and you have to take the city in order to control northern and eastern syria. >> let's talk about the map. look at the map of isis-controlled territory. clearly reduced to some strands, important areas. still a big chunk. they still control mosul, at one point 2 million people but looks like their area is being reduced right now. is that your analysis of what is going on the ground in syria and iraq? >> it is indeed. i think progress will continue. as long as we keep the pressure on. that means arming the kurds to the north on the iraqi side, continuing to support the iraqi security forces coming up from the south. amp up the bombing campaign on the part of the united states. this is in iraq and gradually enable the moderate syrian opposition. that's a long-term task over in syria, but putting isis under those multiaxis pressure is classic military,actical and strategic approach. we will see that isis is not ten feet tall. the key point to remember here, however, wolf, is that the job is far from done. we are still at the beginning. second key point, this is a

something in a the ideals had been shouted down by groups like al nusra and isil across northern and eastern syria. now this group, which is considered moderate in the west which calls for all syrians to come together against the regime in damascus appears to be increasingly back in favor. things like this trashing of an al nusra office seems to reflect a growing concern that al nusra demands hold deeply conservative values like isil does, and people in idlib aren't interested. the shifting alliances among the rebel groups now appears to change its position that all fighting groups focus on their real enemy. >> the talks about setting up a civil state in syria among other things are to be addressed later. this is delayed because we're now focusing on toppling the regime. this is the same objective that we share with the rest of the opposition forces on the ground and their evolutionary forces. the priority is to bring down the tyrant regime. >> with al nusra front and the growing pressure to release men from that it is holding, it seems that popular opinion is telling the group to stop fighting ot

this was on an isolated road in eastern syria. there were three guys in the car.they wanted to catch at least one of these three guys alive to, you know, further exploit intelligence from him. unfortunately, they all died in a burst of gunfire. >> you have some exclusive information, i understand, regarding the recent successful raid in syria, which actually harms our fight against isis. what is it? >> well, i think the problem is just i guess the word i'd use is overcommitment, julie. it just takes so much manpower. by the way, as our viewers know, the amount of manpower available from these elite forces and extremely finite. you can't grow it quickly. now you have an administration faced with sort of a hobbsian choice. do i just increment liz in a trip as we've been doing so far or go big? if i go big, i have to bring in conventional forces, soldiers and marines. if i do that, the big argument about mission creep and of course the famous old song "boots on the ground" becomes more and more of a political rather than a military problem. so we're in a nexus right

early thursday morning, he was riding on an isolated road in eastern syria when an elite team of u.s. special forces swooped in on helicopters and surrounded the vehicle. he was considered next in line to take over as the leader of isis and was given the option to surrender, but instead, started shooting. within seconds, he and those he was traveling with were killed. >> the removal of this isil leader will hamper the organization's ability to conduct operations inside and outside of iraq and syria. >> reporter: defense secretary ash carter said friday he was the third isis leader taken out by u.s. forces this month, including omar, the chechen, isis' minister of war. >> leaders can be replaced. however, these leaders have been around for a long time. they are senior. they're experienced and so eliminating them is an important objective and achieves an important result. >> reporter: though both carter and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff were quick to say the war against isis is still far from being over. >> the momentum is in our favor. i think there is a lot of reasons for us t

early thursday morning, he was riding on an isolated road in eastern syria when an he will legal teamf u.s. special forces swooped in on helicopters and surrounded the vehicle. he was considered next in line to take over as the leader of isis and was given the op to surrender instead started shooting and within seconds and those he was traveling with were killed. >> the removal of this ice sol leader will hamper the organization's ability to conduct operations both inside and outside of iraq and syria. >> reporter: defense secretary ash carter said he was the third isis leader taken out by us forces this month including omar the college chen isis's minister of war. >> leaders can be replaced, however, these leaders have been around for a long time. they are senior, they're experienced and so eliminating them is an important objective and achieves an important resu result. >> reporter: though both carter and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff were quick to say the war against isis is still far from being over. >> the momentum is in our favor. i think there's a lot of reasons for --

estimates that russia has already withdrawn just under half of the jets it had stationed at a base in eastern syria. the u.s.-led coalition, meanwhile, has continued to launch airstrikes against isil inside syria. this comes as the syrian kurds say they will declare a semi-autonomous federal region across northern syria, as the group pushes for self-administration under a future decentralized government. the announcement comes in the midst of u.n.-sponsored peace negotiations in geneva. the syrian kurds have been excluded from the talks. meanwhile, in turkey, a breakaway faction of the kurdistan workers party has claimed responsibility for sunday's car bombing in ankara, which killed 37 people. the faction, the kurdistan freedom hawks, said the attack was in retaliation for turkish military crackdowns in the majority kurdish communities in the southeast. in nigeria, two suicide bomb attacks killed 22 people wednesday at a mosque in the northeastern borno state. the nigerian military says the attack was carried out by two female suicide bombers. it struck the mosque during morning prayers. no one ha

. >> reporter: that target, the oil pipeline in a remote area of eastern syria. an effort to cripple isis' financial resources. before they hit their target, the jets must refuel. midair. connecting with a tanker to gas up. >> your left side joining. >> reporter: the pilots guiding their probe into the tanker's basket. tens of thousands of feet in the air. >> you're over hostile territory, running out of gas. you need to get the gas. if you don't, we can't complete the mission. worse, we rip off one of our fueling probes. we can't refuel. >> whatever you can do to avoid some of the weather would be great. >> looks like there's a gap. >> reporter: an intense storm makes the refueling process harder. lightning strikes illuminate wickware's night vision. >> in6-1 in range. >> 6-2 in range. >> reporter: with the jets ready to go, the target is in sight. >> three, two, one, tickle. >> you get a pretty significant. thought as you release. >> reporter: the two pilots release their weapons simultaneously. hitting the target with a quick, intense flare. but the mission is

strategically it lies in eastern syria. it is a symbol of syrian history with its 2,000 year old ruins some of which i.s.i.l. halls destroyed. joining us now is the security analyst. he is the director for the nearest and gulf analysis. they've taken palmyra can they keep it? >> that remains to be seen. we've seen i.s.i.l. pull out to the north-east of the country. we have to wait and see whether they can retain this and whether they intend to push even further east >>> looking to the north for a second, because the push to the north stopped quite suddenly. that's how it felt when it did stop. how come. what happened there? >> it stopped because the russian planes stopped bombing up there. we noticed that the trend in syria today is that where the russians go, the syrian regime troops make advances. so russia is leading the way deciding which areas the regime can control or would control in line of whatever agreement reached with them. it seems that they have divide the areas of control for the warring parties in syria betw

capturing palmyra could open much of eastern syria to government forces, but large parts of the townunder the militants' control. while, in iraqçó a suicide bombr killed 25Ñi people in a soccer match south of baghdad. 60 others wounded. no immediate claim of responsible. a korean-american arrested in north korea confessed today to stealing military secrets. state television showed kim dong chul at a news conference in pyongyang. the 62-year-old was arrested last october. today, he tearfully admitted to spying for the u.s. and south korea. >> ( translated ): it-- the extraordinary crime i committed- - was defaming and insulting the republic's highest dignity and its system, and spreading false propaganda aimed at breaking down its solidarity. >> woodruff: earlier this month, north korea sentenced otto warmbier-- an american college student-- to 15 years for trying to steal a propaganda banner. much of the christian world marked good friday today. in jerusalem's old city, thousands walked the "way of the cross." it's the route that, according to tradition, jesus took to his crucifixion

significantly enhanced the fire power that's being launched against civilians in northern and eastern syriaeen indicators of the russians moving some of their attack war planes outside of syria. but they have moved in deadlier weapons systems, even deadlier attack helicopters attacking civilians. they're not just attacking isis as the russian ministry of defense claims, and moscow has a lot of blame on its hand for what's happening in syria today. and for the refugee -- for the increase of refugees flowing into european shores because of it. of. >> all right. we have to leave it at that. five years of the syrian civil war, still no clear end in sight. i appreciate your insight, sir. >>> next, we turn back to 2016 politics and the race for the democratic nomination. bernie sanders campaigning hard this weekend in arizona. where hillary clinton still holds a sizeable lead in recent polls. we'll have a lot more, straight ahead. ♪ (vo) you can check on them. you can worry about them. you can even choose a car for them. (mom) honey, are you ok? (child) i'm ok. (announcer vo) love. (mom) we're ok

military now confirms a top islamic state commander has died after being severely wounded in eastern syriamar al-shishani, an ethnic chechen, was targeted by a u.s. air strike on march 4. a news agency affiliated with isis denied the report of his death. >> woodruff: in myanmar, half a century of military domination formally ended, as parliament elected u htin kyaw to be president. he's a close ally of pro- democracy leader aung san suu kyi. lawmakers broke into thunderous applause when the result was announced. suu kyi says the new president will act as her proxy because she is constitutionally barred from the office. >> ifill: back in this country, the washington, d.c. subway system announced an emergency shutdown starting at midnight, due to safety concerns. officials ordered an inspection of all electrical components on the tracks, after two fires in the last year. the shutdown runs at least into early thursday morning. >> woodruff: the national football league today backed an executive who's acknowledged a link between football and the brain diseases like c.t.e. yesterday, the nfl's t