earlier, i spoke to campbell macdiarmid — a freelance journalist based in nearby erbil.al nights embedded with iraqi government troops in mosul and says there are still pockets of resistance in the city. i think we have got tens of thousands of civilians still living under areas of isis control. they have taken a large hospital complex which they have been battling bob for several weeks, the iraqi security forces. and they are well into taking the old city, which is the last bastions of islamic state control. but what you are seeing now from the iraqi government is probably some premature celebration, which is giving you an idea of what a big, much—needed propaganda victory this will be for the iraqi government. retaking mosul, which is iraqi's second—largest city and has been under their control of the last three years. when you say premature, do you mean that is have not really been defeated there? no, they are still maintaining territory in the old city. there is maybe a third or a half of the old city still under control of the isis militants. the old city is just a

. >>> welcome back to erbil.of a unique little area here in northern iraq. the kurds who live here have been largely protected from iraq's recent chaos. in fact, this city has prospered in the relative safety while baghdad has become poorer and more violent. for years kurds followed the american plan and participated in the iraqi government. now they say it's time to go. >> i think we have had enough, and we believe that our hopes to build a new democratic federal iraq where all the iraqis could live together peacefully, that is a mirage. >> he's one of the most recognizable politicians in this part of the world. he represented iraq on the international stage, first as foreign minister, then as deputy prime minister. but he's retreated to his large estate in the hills above erbil. . there are his untruths and rapidly evolving characterizations. from an initial claim of no meetings, that's what he told the times back in march which he >>> welcome back to this city, the beating heart of a unique are taking advantag

cnn's senior international correspondent nick paton walsh joining me live in erbil with the latest. > it is a key moment according to the coalition statement, got through the outer old city walls swiftly. they appear to have broached two substantial holes in the wall and that enabled the syrian, kurdish and arab forces surrounding ground and air support to get in and around that old city a lot faster,xpassing a lot of booby traps and defensive positions laid out by isis to slow them down. that puts them about three kilometers from the city center. that's pretty quick going, frankly, given this only started about a month ago now, and we've seen a lot of progress on the ground. it's unclear really how long this will take, but it does look like it's going to be faster than the eight months onslaught that was required to liberate the iraqi city of mosul. there are potentially as little as 50,000 civilians inside raqqah, many as many as 150. nobody really knows but on only ,500 isis fighters, says the u.s. coalition. so it could be quicker, but there will be booby traps and dense fighting

. >>> welcome back to erbil.ty is the beating heart of a unique little area here in northern iraq. the kurds who live here have been largely protected from iraq's recent chaos. in fact, this city has prospered in the relative safety while baghdad has become poorer and more violent. for years kurds followed the american plan and participated in the iraqi government. now they say it's time to go. >> i think we have had enough, and we believe that our hopes to build a new democratic federal iraq where all the iraqis could live together peacefully, that live together peacefully, that is a mirage. >> zabari is one of the most recognizable politicians in this part of the world. he represented iraq on the international stage, first as foreign minister, then as deputy prime minister. but he's retreated to his large estate in the hills above erbil. and says the time has come to bury the dream of democratic ited nation of iraq. >> i spent the last 14 years of my political life defending this country, the unity of this coun

he joins us live now from erbil. this is roughly 50 miles southeast of mosul.hard, good to see you, sir. what's happening inside mosul right now? >> reporter: well, there's still some pockets of fighting. and the fighting has been incredibly fierce. most of it is in the old city. officially, victory has already been declared so we're now in the mop-up phase. but the iraqi troops are still going house to house, alley to alley. and to give you an example of what this fighting is like, some iraqi soldiers who we have been with just told us they experienced this just not very long ago. they were moving through the streets, and they came across a child. and they went to go give assistance to this child, and as soon as they picked up this child, they found themselves in the middle of an ambush. and they believe that this was an isis family member who had basically been put in the middle of the road, a small child, as bait to draw the iraqi soldiers in, so they had been -- so they could be attacked. and we have seen these kind of tactics up close as we have been cover

richard is reporting from erbil, iraq, tonight. i am so glad we were able to make this happen.nd. it's good to have you here. >> well, there's a lot going on and so many people have been focused on what's happening in the states but a major accomplishment has just happened in iraq. the war on isis has taken a major step forward, and we've been focusing on that for the last several weeks. so it's good to join you and join the people at home. >> looking forward to your report, richard. thank you. >> well, thanks rachel. thanks to you at home for joining us this hour and welcome to erbil in northern iraq where the sun is just coming up. we're here because for the last sifrl weeks we've been covering the fight to drive isis from the city of mosul, which is about 50 miles away. the fighting isn't entirely over yet. there are still small but fierce pockets of resistance. but it is fair to say that isis, the best-armed, most dangerous so-called islamic state is no more. isis still holds some territory including the city of raqqah in syria, but that is not a state. and raqqah is now su

richard engel, nbc news, erbil. ♪ >>> last night orchestra music, balloons and displays of light in nicefrance paid contribute be butte to the terror victims there one year ago gee. isis claimed responsibility when a terrorist grovedrove a truck a dro crowd. bastille day 2017 in paris ended with a spectacular fireworks show. president trump was there earlier in the day to mark the storming of the bastille during the french revolution and 100 years since the u.s. entered world war i. here at home the french revolution will pay out. it's an annual tradition. it starts at 2:00 be and actors will take to the walls of the penitentiary around 5:30. and then it ends with them letting the audience eat cakes, faisity ca tasty cakes that is. 2,000 cakes will rain gown from the down from the walls. >>> local brides to be are wondering if they will have a dress to wear after\gown from the down from the walls. >>> local brides to be are wondering if they will have a dress to wear aftergown from the down from the walls. >>> local brides to be are wondering if they will have a dress to wear aftergown f

campbell macdiarmid is a freelance journalist based in nearby erbil.ly spent several nights embedded with iraqi government troops in mosul and says there are still pockets of resistance in the city. tens of thousands of civilians under is control. they have taken a hospital complex. battling for that for several weeks. well into retaking the old city. the last bastion of is control. but what you see from the iraqi government, some premature celebration. that gives you an idea of the propaganda. retaking mosul, the second largest city. it has been under their control for three years. the old city is a small part of mosul. possibly 10% of the west side. battle is nearly over. it is a foregone conclusion, it is a matter of time before they can retake that territory. certainly, major blow to maintaining the caliphate. we are going to see other areas of iraq, syria, retaken from is. no longer going to control that territory. revert back to being a group. we are already seeing some signs of that. we have seen suicide bombers. at liberated areas, ongoing atta

reporter stephen kalin is covering the conflict, and joins me now via skype from the iraqi city of erbil, about 60 miles east of mosul. victory has been did he declared. in mosul yesterday. what's it like. >> fighting is ongoing in the old city of mosul. which is a century old district of the city. and this is the last area of mosul that the state hails still has presence in. it can be grim. narrow ally ways and you know, fighting. very close. very close conduct. >> mr. sreenivasan: tell me about the civilians you saw there, the ones that were fleeing >> we were at the sight of the grand mosque in the heart of the old city, which is where the state leader made his appearance three years ago and this is where we saw civilians streaming out. it was a few dozen that we saw but i later heard it was thousands overall yesterday. that left the old city. and they were coming out in desperate states i've seen thousands and thousands of residents fleeing. and these were by far the worse in the worst condition >> mr. sreenivasan: why did they stay there as long as they did? were some being held aga

of our from the iraqi branch of unicef he is right now about eighty kilometers away from mosul in erbil. i was about you can half ago in the central hospital of western most of. fun people are coming that they're coming there with fresh wounds and one of the image that touch me and still remains on my. head is this woman who brought four or five children into the hospital. her hands were all of you not had with the blood and she was so traumatized how young one year and a half all was on her lap but she was trying to press his arm to stop the bleeding fighting in mosul and specifically in western mosul was in tents extremely intense with a lot of damage and destruction the people and specifically children how. extremely terrible a price on the fighting in mosul they have witnessed hora and a nightmare yes they have been quite a cost of civilians and infrastructure damage to the horrors of war but also witnessed in another way by artist an illustrator george butler who was embedded with iraqi forces in the area previously he's worked in syria where he traveled several times to document t

middle east i'm joined by my guest so i mean nate are in beirut he's a middle east analyst and in erbil we have joe lauria he is an independent journalist right gentlemen crosstalk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want i always appreciated let me go to you first joe my introduction was very very broad. from your standpoint and you're in iraq right now what what are the most important trends affecting the middle east because there's so much going on right now unfortunately particularly the united states it's overshadowed by what i call fake news i want to do real news on this program here joe your thoughts were how is the middle east changing go ahead it's very easy to get lost in all the details like this so friendly complex to. in syria i think the overall if you're looking for a really big picture you have to look at u.s. iranian relations and in that in the subtext of that saudi raining relations and below that the standoff between saudi arabia baccarin egypt and against qatar which i think could be a prelude to conflict with iran trying to bring qatar into thei

campbell macdiarmid is a freelance journalist based in nearby erbil.tnight embedded with iraqi government troops in mosul. thank you very much for being with us. do you think ias have gone from mosul now or are there still of resistance? there are certainly still pockets of resistance. i think they've got tens of thousands of civilians still living under areas of isis control. they have taken a large hospital complex which they've been battling for for several weeks, the iraqi security forces, and they are well into retaking the old city, the last bastian islamic state control. what you are now seeing on the iraqi government is probably some premature celebration, giving you an idea of what a big propaganda victory this would be the iraqi government, retaking mosul, rob's second biggest city which has been under their control for the last three years. so when you say premature, do you mean they have not been defeated there? no, they are still maintaining control of areas that. maybe a third or a half of the old city is still under control of the milita

from the iraqi branch of unicef about eighty kilometers away where you're located now from mosul in erbil thanks for joining us here on the program today i missed the international says almost six thousand civilians may have been killed in four months as a result of iraqi and u.s. led coalition attacks in mosul are you surprised by that figure. thank you very much for having me. i cannot confirm those figures but what i can tell you is the fighting in most of this was difficult in western mosul was in tents extremely intense with a lot of damage and destruction and i have seen that with my own hours with my own eyes the cost of civilians is something that i am not sure in terms of numbers but we know because of the high temperature and because of the difficulties the lives on the live living conditions of the people who are even a stark inside mosul or outside mosul have been extremely bad so it's a situation that's extremely difficult it's a situation that's but declared lee difficult for children thousands and thousands of children that have been affected by this fighting and many of th

the middle east i'm joined by my guest so i mean nader in beirut he's a middle east analyst and in erbil we have joe lauria he is an independent journalist or a gentleman crosstalk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want i always appreciated let me go to you first joe my introduction was very very broad. from your standpoint and you're in iraq right now what what are the most important trends affecting the middle east because there's so much going on right now unfortunately particularly the united states it's overshadowed by what i call fake news i want to do real news on this program here joe your thoughts were how is the middle east changing go ahead it's very easy to get lost in all the details like this so frankly complex particularly in syria i think the overall if you're looking for a really big picture you have to look at u.s. iranian relations and in that in the subtext of that saudi iranian relations and below that the standoff between saudi arabia bahrain egypt against qatar which i think could be a prelude to conflict with iran trying to bring qatar into th

nick paton walsh monitoring the situation from erbil, iraq. >> reporter: the iraqi prime minister alriving in mosul last night to declare victory here, to speak of its liberation. we've seen him roaming the streets, talking to the normal residents here in the east of the city. appealing to them to go back to the work, to go back to their jobs. really i think iraq is in full separation mode here. you see people dancing in the streets with soldiers. a real sense i think that after enduring an eight-month slog to rid themselves of isis, iraqi troops have reached the river that marks the end of the territory, to raise the flag as we've been seeing on social media. and although there are some small pockets of isis, that since last night were holding out, the moment that iraq has to reflect on the sieveses it's made for -- the sacrifices it's made for the world. al abadi making sure people feel the appreciation has government has for the work and blood that's been lost in that goal. much more complicated task potentially socially ahead of iraq. they have quickly to begin the rift between t

nick paton walsh, thank you so much from erbil, iraq. >>> bringing in cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr and lieutenant colonel rick franc a francona. good to see you both. we haven't heard from the u.s. 0en this claim? >> reporter: a bit of behind-the-scenes diplomacy going on, fredricka. the u.s.-led coalition is waiting for prime minister abadi to make the official announcement. know he's out there, walking through mosul congratulating this troops, looking at what has been happening there. they want to give him that moment. once he comes out and makes an official statement to his country, which is expected in the coming hours, then you'll expect to see the u.s. coalition come back also with its own statement. they will be very congratulatory to the iraqis and note there's a long road ahead. the reconstruction, ensuring security. gets iie isis other other areas iraq. >> colonel if truly liberated, what's the next step? >> as both nick and barbara said, there are pockets of resistance in the country remaining an they have to be taken out. a significant southeast of mosul and south

. >> our nick paton walsh has seen the fighting in mosul first time hand and is in erbil ievlive. nick. >> reporter: natalie, as you say, we are in the old city of mosul. it shows the meters will special forces have moved to, literally 200, 300 meters from the riverbanks that runs through the center of mosul. that itself marks the back end of the fight. the fight is brutal and lengthy. in the searing heat of the iraqi summer, they are pushing through booby trapped buildings here, block to block, edging their way forward. we saw as they progress down one set of streets they move past a pocket of civilians who hobble out seeking water, seeking shelter. they're terrified of the civilian forces because some of them may have as turned out in the past few days to be suicide bombers so they have to move with great caution here. both the government and coalition agree it's the closing few days here. when they finally reach the points in mosul where they can declare it predominantly cleared of isis. they will still face insurgency in the days and weeks ahead that attacks car bombs against

joining me from erbil. iraq's prime minister declaring victory in mosul. where exactly do things stand now? >> reporter: very fond of declaring victory here absolutely. today we are seeing the final, final pockets of isis resistance in the old city of mosul. we saw them ourselves coming to an end, and while haider ider w here, the wrong sort, really, in the old city of mosul. isis fighters, dozens, really, dug in to the rubble there. we've seen them emerge, surrendering themselves after intense air strikes from the united states. people bedraggled, covered in dust, walking towards iraqi special forces perhaps simply ran out of bullets but literally dozens of houses combing through in the afternoon. that violence may still be going on or stopped, we have pulled away. all the same the broader political message is, yes, isis' main hold of territory here in iraq in its second biggest city of mosul has come to an end. declared an end to caliphate, carrying out a victory march for some time while the awful work o

. >> nick paton walsh joins us now from erbil, iraq. not far from mosul there.washington, kim dozier, a cnn global affairs analyst and senior national security correspondent for "the daily beast." the iraqi government says mosul would be retaken months ago. did they greatly underestimate how strong isis was there? >> reporter: i think it's fair to say we often hear statements of ambition and bravado from the iraqi military and government but still i don't think anybody expected the kind of resistance here. a brutal set's conditions they're facing. dealing with an enemy who quite frankly want to die themselves, quite happy to cause endless destruction around themselves and uses human shields to slow the advances of iraqi forces. iraqi forces often not as trained and struggle in coordination and communication, in a city which is second largest in iraq, where people used to live, and where isis have had about three years, certainly three years since the beginning of their announcement here and in fact the day in which the mosque, their sacred mosque liberated. thre

in erbil as well. you're watching from around the world, thanks for joining us. >>> up next, if you questions about a meeting between a russian and the trump campaign. donald trump jr. gave two statements that

abc's ian pannell is in erbil with more. ian. >> reporter: ron, when the battle began there were believed to be tens of thousands of isis fighters hiding out in mosul city. today that number is believed to be less than 100. the two sides are so close that apparently the iraqi troops can hear the isis fighters talking in the next street. the fighting is still intense, though. still brutal and people are being killed every day. the iraqi government and the u.s. say the liberation of mosul is now just days away but we've had those predictions before and it's reasonable to expect it could take a little longer than that. but there is an inevitability about what's happening. a tension now switches to racky in syria. this is the capital of the so-called caliphate. there the fighting by the syrian democratic forces maybe led by kurds has begun. if people think it will remove the threat of isis i'm afraid we'll have to think again. if you live in san bernardino, paris or london, as long as isis can recruit and attract people online t

welcome to erbil in northern iraq where the sun is just coming up.ast several weeks we've been covering the fight to drive isis from the city of mosul about 50 miles away. the fighting isn't entirely over yet. there

the security forces as mosul in iraq has long been an isis stronghold and abc's ian pannell is in erbil, iraq, for us this morning with the latest. ian. >> reporter: paula, dan, iraqi tv are predicting victory in mosul will be declared within the next few hours. here's the most important caveat. we've heard that repeatedly over the last week but it is true to say that they are very close, that they're close to the river and when they get to the river then isis will have been beaten in mosul. why is it taking so long? look, there are three main reason, the first the is the terrain in the ole city. we were down there the other day. it takes hours and hours just to move a few blocks. that's partly because so many of the buildings have been badly damaged, many of them have been destroyed. the second reason is the resistance of isis. don't forget they're taking on an enemy who's willing to stand and fight to the death. and the third key factor here is that there are still hundreds and hundreds of civilians trapped inside the old city. they're fighting from house to house from alleyway to all

in erbil as well. whenever you're watching from around the world, thanks for joining us. >>> up next, if you questions about a meeting between a russian and the trump campaign. donald trump jr. gave two statements that differ. besides jnt jrdonald trump jr. son-in-law jared kushner also attended that meeting held over at trump tower in new york city on june 9th of last year. first reported by the netanyahu. t "new york times." and damaging information about hillary clinton before the meeting. and bring in cnn's jeff zeleny. we're learning more about the setup to the meeting. >> reporter: wolf, we're learning who set up the meeting, scheduled this meeting, an entertainment executive by the name of rob goldstone who set up this meeting to happen last june, a year ago in june at trump tower in new york city. now, rob goldstone is someone who was working on the miss universe pageant, familiar with the trump family and donald trump jr. indeed. he arranged to set up a meeting he tells in a statement to cnn c

iraqi city of mosul, and abc's ian pannell recently spent time on the front lines and joins us from erbil. >> reporter: paula, dan, iraqi troops now say they've just got a few hundred yards left and then this battle is done. in fact, they say that isis now controls less than half a square mile of mosul. but with civilians trapped and the terrain tough, the going is a slow as it is dangerous. this morning, isis cornered as iraqi troops close in finally taking back mosul after nearly nine months of all-out war. just look at the devastation. >> go, go, go. >> reporter: we went into the heart of the old city on the front lines with iraqi special forces. civilians have suffered the most here. this is almacmed whose family was caught in the cross fire. her husband is dead and this is what remains of the family home. this was the bedroom of the young girl. she is only 15. this is literally the roof of the house that's come in. when the rocket struck and there were fragments of the rocket around the house. delau lost a hand in the fighting, but she's strong, now planning to teach children denied

he joins us now from erbil iraq, 50 miles from the liberated city of mosul.w under control. give us a sense what happens now in iraq. >> reporter: well, there are big questions about what happens to the city of mosul, what happens to this country. if you talk to iraqi officials and talk to some u.s. military officials, they will tell you that mosul is now on a path to success, that isis has been driven out and that the isis experience, three years of isis occupation will only serve to bring the people of mosul together because they don't want to go back to the horrors they just lived through. but the history of the city, the history of the country and history of the american involvement in iraq suggests that is not going to be the case. the sectarian divisions in mosul are perhaps greater than ever. there are now shiite militias in a hard line sunni city. the kurds who are controlling the area where we are right now, have decided they are going to hold a referendum in a couple months about independence, about breaking away from iraq once and for all and defin

iraqi city of mosul, and abc's ian pannell recently spent time on the front lines and joins us from erbil. >> reporter: we have breaking news for you. the iraqi prime minister has just arrived in mosul. he's congratulated the troops and declared victory in the battle against isis. the celebrations starting shortly but that doesn't mean the fighting is done. this morning isis cornered as iraqi troops closed in finally taking back mosul after months of all-out war. look at the devastation. we went into the heart of the old city. on the front lines with iraqi special forces. civilians have suffered the most here. this is almacmed whose family was caught in the cross fire. her husband is dead and this is what remains of the family home. this was the bedroom of the young girl. she is only 15. this is literally the roof of the house that's come in. when the rocket struck and there were fragments of the rocket around the house. delau lost a hand in the fighting, but she's strong, now planning to teach children denied education by isis. her sister was shot seven times. it's a miracle she's alive.

joining me now from erbil is amy christian, communications advisor at 0xfam.t been retaken from isis will inspire a lot of hope in a lot of iraqis, there is still a long way to go before this is over. there are still 700,000 people, over700,000 people who are displaced from their homes. living in camps sheltering in accommodation in villages and towns in nearby areas. there are still people leaving the city you have been through unimaginable trauma. they have seen loved ones killed, they have lost their homes and businesses, everything they own. now they face the long journey of recovery and rebuilding. mosul, a huge and once beautiful city, it is the level of destruction that has caught many by surprise. if you are resident there, that means... well, how long will it be before even running water or anything like is possible? it's really hard to say how long it will take. as you say, in the last few months we have seen a huge amount of destruction in the city. the fighting has caused lots of buildings, infrastructure like water systems, homes, of buildings, in

in erbil, which is around two and a half hours' drive from mosul, is campbell macdiarmid, a freelancewas in the city at the end of this week and will be returning to mosul in a few days. and from mosul we have stephanie remion, who is currently working as an emergency coordinator at a hospital in west mosul for medecins sans frontieres. stefanie, tell us about the devastation of the city and about the lives of civilians who have survived this battle? we are located about three kilometres from the last active fighting area, so what i can tell you is not really what is happening on the front line or in the old city right now. but as you said about the civilian patients who arrived to us from the old city, they come with war trauma related injuries such as blast wounds, explosion wounds, shell wounds, trauma wounds etc. they are in a desperate state. they tell us they have been waiting for days under the rubble until they were able to be brought to a hospital. so it is a world of devastation. sarah from the red cross, sarah alzawqari, you were in mosul last week. what help were you givin