as if seen here, all the way down, to what we call the middle euphrates river valley. that's basically the river valley downstream to the iraqi border. we are pushing against that. as you do that, you are compacting what is left of isis. the fighting becomes tougher at that point. plus, you've got the distraction of what's going on, what's drawing off some of these democratic forces which have got about 50%. that's probably not a firm percentage. could be less, could be more. they see people under attack. that is causing their attention to shift in some cases. some of the troops have drawn off. not a significant number right now. between the concentration of isis and the distraction, you've got them fighting down the line, what we call the middle you -- euphrates river valley. >> you said it would be key to the discussion of nato. >> last august i think it was, we have rolled out a new strategy. we will start with a regional view. i was at fort benning, discussing with people who are going in. to drive them to the reconciliation table. sec. mattis: even before we got an

took hold of the strategically aboard oil fields north of the euphrates river is september or they had previously be deisel control forces loyal to the syrian government control the lead to the south wall for paired to good corresponded particle hades. i said at a briefing with secretary of defense jim that is he was off camera but on the record and he called what happened in syria a quote perplexing situation and he said because for years the euphrates river has been a kind of do not cross line that if the u.s. or u.s. backed forces or russian or russian backed forces were going to cross it they talk about it before and he said that didn't happen this time he said u.s. forces were embedded along with the s.d.f. and they saw tanks and artillery start rolling in and say that one shell got within five hundred meters of the s.d.f. headquarters says that is when they picked up the phone they called their russian counterparts and he says he doesn't think that the group that moved in is actually controlled by russia he called this a great success story because in his words two great powers d

led coalition near the euphrates river coalition says it was responding to an unprovoked attack on the syrian democratic forces headquarters there who are fighting the government these are some of the survivors being treated at local hospital. to france now they're out of almost two thousand known citizens who traveled to join islamic state in the middle east intelligence sources say that sixty seven came from one particularly paris suburb tried to travel there for us. a short train ride from paris is trapped on the surface there's nothing much to set it aside from the thousands of other towns in the country but you don't have to scratch very deep to see that trap is very different where you won't see any non how the butcher shops there were i think at the moment over fifteen hundred prayer rooms and five mosques if you look at people on the street you won't see couples holding hands you'll see the women are dressed in strict islamic dress. there's a lot of home schooling so you couldn't really consider trap. typical french town anymore it's a little bit like a state within the state f

the nothing and nobody can stop us supplies to efren as well as man into the east of the euphrates river. and that is the fear that many people are afraid of what is going to happen in africa and what will be the structure of the syrian forces from syrian state media we know that it will not be regular syrian forces which will be entering our freend and which has been confirmed by the press release that the first batch of fighters are in fact goodish fighters which are backed by the syrian government and according to the release by the syrian state media it will be the popular more popular forces or forces which we knew as the regular or paramilitary forces part of the syrian government forces are going to be taking part in the operations an effort in which appears to become a really a much larger flashpoint if to direct governments get involved in and out the sama did this deal come about do we know. but in the last few days we've been hearing about these talks going on between the buy p.g. and the syrian government there were sticking points including the matter of. the ending giving u

led coalition near the euphrates river the coalition says it was responding to an unprovoked attack on the syrian democratic forces headquarters there who are fighting the government these are some of the survivors being treated at a local hospital. in france out of almost a two thousand non-citizens who travel to join islamic state in the middle east intelligence sources say that sixty seven came from one particular paris suburb or to travel to bensky travel there for us. a short train right from paris is trapped on the surface there's nothing much to set it aside from the thousands of other towns in the country but you don't have to scratch very deep to see that trap is very different so you won't see any non butcher shops there were i think at the moment over fifteen hundred prayer rooms and five mosques if you look at people on the street you won't see couples holding hands you'll see the women are dressed in strict islamic dress. there's a lot of home schooling so you couldn't really consider trap the typical french town anymore it's a little bit like a state within the state for

led coalition near the euphrates river coalition says it was responding to an unprovoked attack on the syrian democratic forces headquarters there who are fighting the government these are some.

took hold of the strategically important oil fields north of the euphrates river in september but they have previously been the eisel control forces loyal to the syrian government control not to the south from washington to get correspond to particle haid house will of the u.s. strikes i said at a briefing with secretary of defense jim met us he was off camera but on the record and he called what happened in syria a quote for plex in situation and he said because for years the euphrates river has been a kind of do not cross line that if the u.s. or u.s. backed forces or russian or russian backed forces were going to cross it they talk about it before and he said that didn't happen this time he said u.s. forces were embedded along with the s.d.f. and they saw tanks and artillery start rolling in saying that one shell got within five hundred meters of the s.d.f. headquarters he says that is when they picked up the phone they called their russian counterparts and he says he doesn't think that the group that moved in is actually controlled by russia he called this a great success story bec

g they want east of the euphrates river and confront isis before the u.s. and its allies moved too far down the valley. now that that has been stabilized on that side of the euphrates, they see an ocportunity to clean the pts around damascus and elsewhere, and they are using tactics every bit as brutal as we saw in easteraleppo. jane: as you saywith russian support. presumably the russians could stop it. two they have that -- do they have that kind of leverage with the assad regime? >> if they were determined to stop it, perhaps, but they hav own no inclination to do so. we see this medieval siege going on in places like ghouta, butwe noill probably see the collapse of the resistance in eastern ghouta.al we will see where we may say -- we may e e a deal wherrviving fighters are allowed to go to another province such as idlib in the north, and family relief gets to civilians who have not h y much in sevears. ne: what should the u.s. policy be in syria now? >> wt it should be and what is maybe our -- are two different things the u.s. is playing a very weak han

not believe syria's territory turkey will move their two and two was the eastern areas of the euphrates riverast as long as it is necessary, it is a long—running fight. very different words from yours. we are paying maximum attention to make sure the operation is surgical and we do not have civilian collateral damage. that is why it is moving very slowly. as far as that area is concerned, prior to recent conflict, was 95% populated by arabs. most of that arab population is now refugee in turkey. this subsidiary of pkk... so you say, the americans clearly... they did not accept the characterisation of it as a terror organisation. they have trained them and offered them support and we know the americans, who have a base close by look at incorporating elements of the ypg into a so—called board up force. the us has initially denied they were working with a subsidiary 01’ they were working with a subsidiary ora direct sun they were working with a subsidiary or a direct sun should of pkk. they camouflage that as a syrians democratic force but it is dominated by pkk leadership and militants. you can

into the east of the euphrates river well our friend is part of northern syria and has an extremely complex mix of alliances with several regional and international players all involved last month the us led coalition announced it was intending to build a border security force in northern syria it would consist of thirty thousand mostly kurdish fighters who've been helping in the battle to get rid of eisel but that strained u.s. relations with turkey of course a key nato ally turkey launched an offensive to secure its border and clear a friend of the y p g the kurdish fighters it considers to be terrorists ankara says the group's an offshoot of the p.k. k. the kurdistan workers party with which turkey has been in conflict for three decades russia controls the airspace over threaten but ahead of the turkish operation it withdrew hundreds of its soldiers from near the city kurdish fighters held after in six years ago after the syrian president bashar al assad's soldiers left northern syria let's go to our guests now joining us from istanbul messmate the yangon and affiliates of the political

led coalition near the euphrates river the coalition say as it was responding to an provoked a tug on the syrian democratic forces headquarters there who are fighting the government but these are some of the survivors being treated at a local hospital. here we spoke earlier about another shooting incident in the u.s. this is our update you on our breaking news in just a moment but first police in the u.s. city of boston are facing a barrage of criticism for their choice of person to honor during black history month they picked a white baseball coach who promoted block players. and around six thirty tonight p.p.d. post a tweet saying in an array of black history month we pay tribute to celtics legend red are back the first n.b.a. coach to draft a black player in one nine hundred sixty. below world your couldn't think of a single black person to honor can do you know missing the whole point of black history month what part of black history month don't you understand. b p d realizes they don't know their tweet may have offended some and they apologize for that our intentions were never t

led coalition of the euphrates river the coalition said it repelled an unprovoked attack on u.s. backed syrian democratic forces h.q. who are fighting against the syrian president saw me here we can see survivors being treated in the local hospital. now for the world police in the u.s. city of boston facing a barrage of criticism for their choice of person to want to black history month the pick the white baseball coach who promoted black players. and around six thirty tonight p.p.d. post a tweet saying in arnor of black history month we pay tribute to celtics legend red are back the first n.b.a. coach to draft a black player in one nine hundred sixty. zero zero zero your couldn't think of a single black person to honor can do you know missing the whole point of black history month. part of black history month don't you understand. realize is that i know the tweet may have offended some and we apologize for that our intentions were never to offend. the people of boston deserve an apology and now between that says may have offended some. people need to be understand that what has

and nobody can stop us this applies to efren as well as ma'am specious and to the east of the euphrates river the developments when set behind the scenes negotiations the details of which are unclear if there are going to accept the major conditions of the syrian regime will decide on that of their heavy weapons. rocket launches will they be exiting the city because the syrian regime is syria democratic forces to exit the city and to move it to the east of the euphrates the kurdish y p g holds the areas in yellow which include the region of africa in the green areas land controlled by the syrian opposition supported by turkey and they're advancing on africa and under the turkish operation olive branch president assad's government controls the area to the south and the i.p.g. is territory to the east of the euphrates is where the u.s. has military bases and personnel on the ground syria's seven year war seems to have entered a new phase with a foreign power is who have long backed different sides trying to solidify their spheres of influence stephanie decker al-jazeera the presidents of turkey

led coalition near the euphrates river the coalition says it was responding to an unprovoked attack on the syrian democratic forces headquarters there were fighting the government here we can see some of the survivors being treated at a local office. the dutch foreign minister has been forced to resign after admitting he loyd over attending a meeting with president putin in two thousand and six but in a fall over. so many don't. i mean if the boat was did. it's good. for. an emotional resignation for a. departure comes just a day before he was supposed to meet his russian counterpart in moscow let's look at whether those false claims were actually worth it because. in early two thousand and six i was advised to meet putin's country side house i stopped at the back of a room or a meeting was being held but i could hear very well vladimir putin talking about a greater russia he said this included russia reuss ukraine and the baltic states and that kazakstan would also be nice to have. has now acknowledged that it was a lie that he wasn't even in russia in two thousand and six you know de

river -- euphrates river. they moved in a battalion-sized unit formation, supported by artillery, tanks, multiple launch rocket systems, and mortars. after 20 to 30 artillery and tank rounds landed within 500 meters of the headquarters location, syrian democratic forces supported by the coalition targeted the agressers with a combination of air and artillery strikes. coalition advisors were with the s.d.f. and this action was taken in self-defense. pro-regime vehicles and personnel were turned around and headed back west, were not targeted. the coalition observed a slow buildup of pro-regime forces over the past week. coalition officials alerted russian officials of the presence via the de-con fliction line in advance of the attack. the de-confliction process served its purpose. coalition officials were in regular communication with russian counterparts before, during and after the attack. russian officials assured coalition officials they would not engage coalition forces in the vicinity. one s.d.f. soldier w

called what happened in syria a quote for plex in situation and he said because for years the euphrates river has been a kind of do not cross line that if the u.s. or u.s. backed forces or russian or russian backed forces were going to cross it they talk about it before and he said that didn't happen this time he said u.s. forces were embedded along with the s.d.f. and they saw tanks and artillery start rolling in saying that one shell got within five hundred meters of the s.d.f. headquarters says that is when they picked up the phone they called their russian counterparts and he says he doesn't think that the group that moved in is actually controlled by russia he called this a great success story because in his words two great powers did not fight each other still the russian ambassador to the united nations was less than pleased i asked him to remember the. illegal effect. they would look like. they claim. they fight international terrorism but we see that. to confront. the. decided say is he's given secretary mabus didn't speculate on how many casualties were caused by the firing from u.s

led coalition in the euphrates river you may recall that coalition said the time was responding to the provoked attack on the syrian democratic forces h.q. the fight to the government here will you look at pictures of some of the survivors being treated at a local hospital. three has been speaking in north korea has renewed its threats against the u.s. in response to a new nuclear policy that washington of elderly this month pyongyang says it increases the risk of a nuclear war that. would perish in flames as the rhetoric goes there which might be a reference to donald trump's threat made buck last august. they will be met with fire. like the world has never see. trump's nuclear posture review which is the first rethink of u.s. policy of its kind in seven years includes an option to unleash nuclear weapons in response to a non-nuclear attack that's new it also calls for the development of less powerful weapons again that's new critics say that could trigger a new arms race but pentagon officials appear to be showing that the u.s. is actually liking behind its perceived stories in order

command pro assad fighters attacked the headquarters of the syrian democratic forces near the euphrates river the s.d.f. is a kurdish led rebel group which is armed and supported by the united states or closely following the developments and we'll keep you updated. now the twenty eighteen winter olympics get underway in sas career on friday but there's still some data over who will complete the court of arbitration for sport has heard the cases of dozens of russian athletes who've been found despite being period of don't think charges. reports. the olympic dreams of almost fifty russian athletes right now depend on the court of arbitration for sports and for the young chang games this is their new home. the court convened for a few hours on wednesday but there was no decision we resumed hearing tomorrow. or simply a final decision can be rendered at the end of the day tomorrow but a decision after the opening ceremony the goal is really to finish before printing and well it was so i would say that so for me the last moments for the announcement should be arriving new but possibly. it is a hug

called what happened in syria a quote perplexing situation and he said because for years the euphrates river has been a kind of do not cross line that if the u.s. or u.s. backed forces or russian or russian backed forces were going to cross it they talk about it before and he said that didn't happen this time he said u.s. forces were embedded along with the s.d.f. and they saw tanks and artillery start rolling in saying that one shell got within five hundred meters of the s.d.f. headquarters he says that is when they picked up the phone they called their russian counterparts and he says he doesn't think that the group that moved in is actually controlled by russia he called this a great success story because in his words two great powers did not fight each other still the russian ambassador to the united nations was less than pleased i asked him to remember that. in syria illegally in fact. they were looking like the. they claim. they fight the international terrorism but we see that it goes beyond that. to confront those who really fight the traditional terrorism of the grab with the syrian

and most of them are now hiding in southeastern syria along the euphrates river valley. in iraq and syria there are 15,000 fighters. we reclaimed the lost territory and why the administration made the right decision to keep forces inside of syria and not walk out of there because isis would reemerge just as the al qaeda reemerged in iraq when we abandoned iraq in 2011 based on president obama's decision. >> julie: thank you for coming on. >> good talking to you. >> eric: another tragedy for law enforcement to tell you about. a well-known police commander shot and killed while pursuing a suspect in downtown chicago. we'll have a live report coming up. you see this? panic over the pacific. you don't want to see this when you are flying in midair. your airplane's engine breaks apart and passengers told to brace for impact as they get ready for an emergency landing. >> a really loud bang. >> the engine right where we were sitting, which would have been on the right -- well, the right side of the plane was completely blown. who's the new guy? they call him the whisperer. the

the euphrates river has become the demarcation line separating u.s. and russian-backed syrian forces. >> the coalition observed a buildup of pro regime forces over the past week. >> artillery, tank, and mortar rounds landed five football fields from u.s. troops. american special operations forces on the ground called in an air strike killing 100 syrian fighters. secretary mattis pushed back on accusations the u.s. is getting sucked into a broader fight in syria. he could not say whether pro-regime russian or iranian forces had been killed in the u.s. air strike. >> chris: jennifer, i understand and other action that there's been a major capture of isis militants in syria tonight. >> that's right. u.s. officials tell us the last two british jihadists known as the beatles were captured by syrian kurdish forces last month. these four brits from london appeared in multiple isis propaganda videos. "the two are believed to have acted as guards and interpreters involved in isis a legal captivity of western hostages and i thought to of links to the british te

nothing and nobody can stop us the supplies to efren as well as members and to the east of the euphrates river the developments when set behind the scenes negotiations the details of which are unclear if the kurds are going to accept the major conditions of the syrian regime will decide on that very heavy weapons. dance artillery and rocket launchers will they be exiting the city because the syrian regime is all skiing syria democratic forces to exit the city and to move to the east of the euphrates the kurdish why p.g. holds the areas in yellow which include the region of the green areas land controlled by the syrian opposition supported by turkey and they are advancing on africa and under the turkish operation olive branch president assad's government controls the area to the south and the i.p.g. . to the east of the euphrates is where the u.s. has military bases and personnel on the ground syria's seven year war seems to have entered a new phase with the foreign powers who have long backed different sides trying to solidify their spheres of influence stephanie decker. at least twenty seven

the heavy and sustained lift required to stabilize syria east of the euphrates river, land that's beennd the heavy lift that is going to be required to protect syrian civilians. because the lack of protection is a humanitarian and geopolitical catastrophe. >> brennan: for americans when they hear u.s. involvement they want to limit u.s. intervention for their own thinking. why does this need to matter if why do people need to know what is happening right now outside damascus? >> margaret, nobody that i know of is talking about violent regime change or united states invading and arc could you pieing the assad part of syria. the u.n. resolution passed yesterday said that ongoing violence directed against civilians is a threat to the peace and security of the region. this kind of mass homicide campaign encourages extremists, it undermines our friends and allies in the region and beyond, witness the migration cries in europe. 2015 the refugees and this really roiled european politics, all to the delight of mr. putin and the kremlin. >> brennan: is president trump's calculus can work with v

parts of syria held by the government, and then over to the east, over the buffer zone of the euphrates riverbel syrian democratic forces backed by washington. it's also worth knowing that there are both oil and gas fields over there — valuable sources of cash. what we are seeing, both sides, the americans and the syrians, trying to do marco reus, the syrians are saying they are trying to recapture —— trying to d—mark areas. saying they are trying to recapture -- trying to d-mark areas. and that is the key, much of this territory was held by the self—styled islamic state and if they are pushed out there is something of a vacuum. exactly. both sides are trying to exert control and the us allies on the ground, they want to establish autonomy in the north and they have the support of the americans while this is happening, but the syrians, the syrian government and its allies, would like to recapture all of the syrian territory and we have been watching them do this over the last seven years, and as they are inching slowly slowly, this is what we have been seeing, especially in dair uzhor. we sho

nothing and nobody can stop us this applies to efren as well as ma'am and to the east of the euphrates river the developments hence said behind the scenes negotiations the details of which are unclear if the kurds are going to accept the major conditions of the syrian regime we'll decide on that very heavy weapons. dance artillery rocket launchers will they be exiting the city because a syrian regime is. a democratic forces to exit the city and to move to the east of the euphrates the kurdish why p.g. holds the areas in yellow which include the region of the green areas land controlled by the syrian opposition supported by turkey and they are advancing on africa and under the turkish operation olive branch president assad's government controls the area to the south and the i.p.g. is territory to the east of the euphrates is where the u.s. has military bases and personnel on the ground syria's seven year war seems to have entered a new phase with the foreign powers who have long backed different sides trying to solidify their spheres of influence stephanie decker al-jazeera. john kass apolo i

five miles east of the euphrates river not far from raqqa and near the oil fields that were, until recently, controlled by isis. this river has become the demarcation line separating u.s.-backed fighters and russian-back syrian fighters. not clear whether russians were killed in the u.s. counter attack. u.s. officials say they had been observing the build-up for a week. the russian-backed fighters attacked using tanks, artillery. there was a massive air strikes with gun ships, f15, f22 and marine artillery. all u.s. jets available in the area killed 100 fighters. 20 to 30 rounds landed five foot ball fields from u.s. troops one u.s. allied fighter was hurt. american military officials called their russian counterparts on a special hotline. they had been making similar calls all week. the russians reassured the americans that no attack was imminent. the pentagon believes the russian-backed forces wanted the take back former isis oil fields in the area now guarded by u.s.-backed syrian fighters. how easily the syrian conflict could turn into a proxy fight between the u.s. and russia endangeri