we are hearing of attacks in fallujah. it looks like they are going to really take the fight to the iraqi security forces and their anger boiled over into violence. >> could this be a sign of other developments coming? >> it depends on how much influence a lot has. a lot is a tribe. they have several thousands under the tribal name. it depends on how much influence they have on the other tribes. there's a number of pro-government tribes fighting. they'll want to reach out to their brethren their people that they know and get them to swap sides. there's a lot of politics what is happening is the idea of the sunni anger getting to the point where it means they are taking sides. that is crucial. haider al-abadi's government is going to have to work overtime in getting the sunni shakes to swap sides. >> imran khan live from baghdad. thank you. now to revelations from f.i.f.a. scandal. former top executive chuck blazer admitted taking and arranging bribes for the 19982010 world cups -- 1998 and 2010 world cups and so did others

fallujah has been the center of major battles before including the u.s.-led iraq war and looks poised for that again. >> yes, it does. and it's important to keep in mind that fallujah is very close to the iraqi capital of baghdad. it's just one and a half hour's drive away from here. and that might be the reason why the shia popular -- these paramilitary units are refocusing on fallujah as opposed to ramadi. but it's important to keep in mind that on the one hand, these paramilitary units led by the shia seem to be better motivated and better trained and better armed than the iraqi army itself which in the war against isis seems to be taking a backseat. motors rev. the fighters are ready to move out in the desert of anbar province. there's with the shia-led paramilitary popular mobilization communities. for weeks now the focus has been to drive isis out of ramadi the capital of anbar. now senior commanders say they are changing direction and preparing to cut off the city of fallujah. under isis control since january of last year it's an hour and a half dr

and in fallujah are working in solidarity with i.s.i.l.'er and this was a long time coming for frustrated sunni leaders who have been asking for help in resisting i.s.i.l. for years. >> this was not a surprise and anybody who has been watching the political scene will tell the sunnis has felt has risen and risen and feel they have been ignored but not only by this government but by the previous government as well and say they were promised jobs in the army and development for the province and none of that lap happened and a year ago fallujah was occupied by i.s.i.l. fighters and a turn around at that point and said you need to arm us we are the only people who can get rid of i.s.i.l. fighters and causes for the i.s.i.l. fighters being here in the first place, we are the only people who can do this and done this with al-qaeda in iraq in 2008 which is a predecessor to i.s.i.l. and those pleas fell on deaf ears and they reached out to sunni tribes but clearly not able to get through to all of them and this announcement on wednesday is crucial.

and of course, any attempt to retake fallujah could be very bloody.derstand that at the moment, there are as many as 100,000 civilians still in that city. now, irlsie officials have appealed to isis to let them leave, but isis is more likely to use them as human shields. george? >> ben wedeman live in baghdad. ben, we appreciate your insight and efforts to bring us the reporting from that region. thank you. >>> you are watching "cnn newsroom." ahead, a group of hikers learn their fate in a malaysian courtroom after being arrested for their naked photo shoot atop a sacred mountain. you wouldn't take medicine without checking the side effects. hey honey. huh. the good news is my hypertension is gone. so why would you invest without checking brokercheck? check your broker with brokercheck. >>> welcome back to "cnn newsroom." i'm george howell. four western tourists are expected to leave malaysia for home today after serving jail time for stripping naked and posting photos on top of a sacred malaysian mountaintop. all four backpackers pled guilty to obsce

they did not speak to the marines who were outside of fallujah who were having trouble in fallujah at that point. of course, this is already a year after we've had the mission accomplished moment. so put that into the context here. this is supposed to be a war in which major combat is over according to the president. what happened, though, is that once those four men were killed, the united states army and the marines have to go in to suppress what is now becoming an insurgency in fallujah. they go in as the men in the first chapter, the chapter about yorktown go into yorktown with cold steel or fixed bayonets. the marines in 2004 go into fallujah with fixed bayonets. that's one thing about war that hasn't changed, and i think it's a kind of neat irony of sorts. but the marines go in, and very quickly it's a brutal fight. and the casualties, especially civilian casualties, are mounting in fallujah. and so the word comes down from washington to pull out even though the marines are very close to completing their mission. what that means is that they have to go back in about six months l

now, fallujah fell to isis back in january 2014.rst major town to be controlled by isis in iraq, so it's a huge, symbolic importance in the fight against isis. but of course, given its importance to isis and the fact that it's only an hour and a half drive from baghdad itself, it's likely to be a very long and difficult battle. now, we understand there are as many as 100,000 civilians still in fallujah. now, some iraqi officials have called for isis to let those civilians leave the city out of fear that they're going to be used as some sort of human shield. so, it's a very difficult situation. now what we heard yesterday was an intention to start focusing the efforts of these paramilitary groups on fallujah itself. we haven't yet actually seen it in action, however. george? >> the shia fighters, you know, they're getting support, certainly from the u.s., but also from iran. and many compare the help that they're getting from the u.s. negatively to what they get from iran. >> reporter: actually, let me clarify something. the u.s. kee

fallujah has been under the occupation of isil for over a year now.e of their strong holds and it is a place where they do command a large amount of influence. now, if this a willing move, then that's very worrying for the iraqi government. because like i say this could be a false multiplier for isil, giving them a number of fighters at their disposal who know the terrain very well, know anbar province very well and also will be able to influence other tribes. this whole thing is coming as quite a shock to a lot of people here in iraq. but in people say it's to be expected given the policies. previous government. >> all right imran kahn, reporting for us there. so it seems you are saying that things were kind of headed in this direction? >> reporter: that's absolutely right. a lot of the tribes for nearly two years now have been complaining particularly against the maliki government, the previous government that they were ignored they knew there was a threat coming from isil. they said if you arm us, if you allow us to fight as sunnis we'll be able to

air and artillery attacks on fallujah and surrounding villages.nesses tell cnn at least 30 people have been killed and 82 wounded. while that is going on in iraq officials are now concerned that isis is gaining ground in libya. cnn's correspondent ian lee with the latest now. >> reporter: john that's right. isis is feeling the full force of the iraqi military as they unleash air strikes and artillery outside of fallujah. it has been slow go for most of the part as isis had the roadside bombs and mines they laid down to slow down the iraqi forces. they have killed some people, but for the most part we are seeing engineers from the iraqi security forces disarming them. this taking place not only outside of fallujah but also in the province near the oil refinery where iraqi forces are trying to cut off the supply lines between the province and anbar province. then there again, slow going as isis has dug in. as we have seen in the past the air strikes are crucial. they are what finally destroyed isis in tikrit. we are going to see more of those. when

they were aiming missiles at fallujah.e is leaving. >> reporter: she says there are no doctors left around fallujah. the area is under isil control. and there is no electricity or government services either. despite the risk and hardship in staying, the decision to leave is almost as difficult. iraqi security leaders worry that isil fighters wilin fill trait baghdad just 10-kilometers from here. to get to baghdad those escaping anbar need someone in the capital to vouch for them. isil control more than 80% of anbar province, including most of the border crossings. and almost all of the major highways. so this small bridge has become a lifeline between anbar and the rest of the country. and the only way out for many families trying to escape the expected fighting. for security reasons cars and trucks aren't allowed to cross the bridge without special permission. this crossing on the river is the only route left to eastern anbar, everything comes across by cart. he had to leave his car behind. but he lost so much more than t

we're hearing of attacks in fallujah taking place already.oks like the tribal cheikhs are really going to take the fight to the government. >>> there are questions about the claim that u.s.-lead air strikes have killed thousands of isil fighters. >> reporter: tony he is a harvard educated veteran of the clinton and obama administrations. he has been in france this week standing in for an injured john kerry. but it was in an radio interview that he made his controversial claim. as a high-level conference on combatting isil wrapped up in paris this week the u.s. sought to change the narrative. >> i am confident we will defeat them from our unity, determination, and commitment. >> reporter: tony blinken, said despite recent setbacks the focus should be on the bigger picture, using the group's arabic name. he said, quote,: since last august the anti-isil coalition has carried out more than 4,000 bombing raids, but the defense department says it can't confirm the figure of 10,000 dead. the military has avoided so-called body counts for decades. th

took over the city of fallujah that they needed to be brought into the government. they needed the jobs they were promised in the army. they were promised a number of things that would never materialize for them. anger levels have been building for a long time. the reason that they have pledged allegiance to the i.s.i.l. leader abu bakr al-baghdadi, is because they feel that the shia militias that come to anbar province brought with them a sectarian war. they referred to the militias as being part of their empire and refer to it as being part of iran. there's an historical precedent here. the sunnis say they were able to, with the help of americans, to defeat i.s.i.l.'s predecessor al qaeda in iraq. this time around they are ignored and without really understanding the sunni problems and plight you will not be able to get rid of the root causes that brought about i.s.i.l. in the first place. pledging allegiance is a big move for the subi tribes. we are not sure if they did it under duress and fall usualing e did it under occupation of i.s.i.l. a lot of tribes pledge

we're hearing of attacks in fallujah taking operation already. it looks like the tribal sheiks are going to really take the fight to the iraqi security forces and their anger has boiled over enough into violence. >> there are questions surrounding the claim that some 10,000 isil fighters have been killed since u.s. led airstrikes started. this is secretary of state john kerry's deputy saying this. >> harvard educated, veteran of both the obama and clinton administrations. as deputy secretary of state he's been in france, stand i go in for john kerry at international meetings. it was issue a radio interview that blinken made this controversial claim. >> as a high level conference wrapped up in paris this week, the u.s. sought to change the narrative. >> i emerge from this meeting confident that we will defeat them through our unit and commitment. deputy secretary of state tony bringen said despite battlefield setbacks like the loss of ramadi the focus should be on the bigger picture. using the group's arabic name he made an attention-grabbing clai

on the other side are the outskirts of baghdad and they left fallujah three months ago for the countrysidehey are heading further to the kurdish region. >> translator: they were ready to attack from if first day of ramadan and aiming missiles at fallujah and everyone is leaving. >> reporter: no doctors in fallujah and no government resources and the decision to leave is almost as difficult. iraqi security leaders worry that i.s.i.l. fighters will infiltrate baghdad, just ten kilometers from here. to get to baghdad those escaping anbar need someone in the capitol to vouch for them and controls 80% of anbar including almost all of the border corrosioning and almost all highways and this small bridge has become a lifeline between anbar and the rest of the country and the only way out for many families trying to escape the expected fighting. for security reasons cars and trucks are not allowed to cross the bridge without special permission. this crossing on the river is the only route left to eastern anbar, everything comes across by cart. and he had to leave his cart behind but lost so much m

breaking news coming out of iraq to tell you about, a suicide attack has taken place just north of fallujahany people are dead and we are live from baghdad with the latest on what more do we know about this? >> reporter: we know this took place at 3:00 a.m. local up by the lake which is north of anbar province at a military base used by iraqi federal police forces. and it was said to be a humvee american made carrier and this is i.s.i.l. and they stole a number of the humvees with devastating effects with abadi saying there were 300 of these vehicles that have been stolen and have been used and the reason they use them as suicide car bombs is because of their protection and they are armored and iraqi hardware has these and we are seeing more and more of these car bombs and i.s.i.l. has not claimed responsibility for the attack but we have seen them use this type of tactic before. >> all right, for the moment reporting to us there from baghdad on the latest attack north of fallujah that has killed a number of iraqi soldiers. now, u.s. laws that allow security services to spy on american citi

after meeting in fallujah they pledged support to the head of i.s.i.l. abu bakr al-baghdadi. >> translation: we announce our support to the caliphate state sheikh abu bakr al-baghdadi. we tell him we'll adhere to and follow his path and stand by him to fight the enemies of religion >>> with the latest from imran khan. what are the factor that made this happen what else do you know? >> all i can tell you this has been brewing for two years, there has been a lot of sunni anger in anbar. they feel they were impact beat al qaeda in iraq but after that they were forgotten. things calmed down for a bit in anbar, but when i.s.i.l. made the moves, they took over the city of fallujah over a year ago, and it was then that the tribes and the anbar fallujah council reached out to the government saying there were i.s.i.l. fighters within the ranks of ranks of our people and we need to get rid of them. will you help. that was the background. the sunnis feel the baghdad government ignored them. the catalyst, the reason they are doing it is the sunni tribes particularly

this family left fallujah three months ago for the countryside.hey're heading further to the kurdish region. >> they were ready to talk fallujah from the first day of ramadan. everyone is leaving. >> she said that there are no doctors left around fallujah. the area is under isil control and there is no electricity or government services heater. despite the risk and hardship. staying, leaving is almost and risky. those escaping anbar needs someone at the capital to vouch for them. >> isil controls 80% of anbar province, including most of the border crossing, and almost all of the major highways. so this small bring has become a lifeline between anbar and the rest of the country. and the only way out for many families trying to escape the expected fighting. for security reasons cars and trucks are not allowed to cross the bridge without special permission. this crossing on the euphrates river is the only route left. this man had a to leave his car behind, but he lost so much more than that. their tent collapsed two months ago, killing his young daug

shortly after it captured the iraqi city of fallujah. anybody who thought the i.s.i.l. was going to be easy didn't listen to john nagle. even then, he wasn't sure the u.s. was prepared for it. with no end in sight to the fight against i.s.i.l, nagle foresite is proving prophetic. he's an author and co-wrote the army and marine counterinsurgent field manual. he understand counterinsurgency. he joins me from philadelphia. john, reports say the u.s. is sending more military trainers 450, aol jamie mcintire says many will be security for the advisors, they are considering opening up a base in anbar province. but on monday president obama indicated the u.s. had no particularly strategy for fighting i.s.i.l. what do you think has changed in the last 24 hours? >> the president was incorrect. we have a strategy. it's actually the right strategy. the president has chosen not to resource that strategy. and the 450 advisors being sent to tq air base, where i spent 2003-2004 are laughably insufficient to do what the president has correctly said needs to be done, defeat and ultimate

seizing mosul, iraq's second largest city and fallujah. a city u.s. marines once subdued after a brutal campaign of house to house fighting. but more than a year later both mosul and fallujah are still under isil control. part of territory including large swaths of both iraq and syria. one major reason, isil is adept at replenishing their ranks through social media. >> they can get the west to react simply by a tweet. >>reporter: patrick skinner is a former cia case offerser. now he tracks isil online. he says the group's online recruiting is like nothing the intelligence community has ever seen before. >> i think it's unprecedented. i mean, mostly because of the timing. they came along right when social media exploded. so if it had not been them, it might have been somebody else. >>reporter: last week an assessment first reported by the new york times times said isil propaganda and brutal videos and its thousands of twitter followers has so far trumped coalition efforts to present an alternative narrative. branding. >> they have an iconic isis look.

fallujah is around 70km from baghdad in anbar, where i.s.i.l. fighters are battling government forces and tribal allies. >>> to return to the breaking news from somali a car bomb target a military vehicle killing three people happening in the capital, mogadishu. seven others have been winded. fighters have in the fast claimed responsibility for the attacks. sunday, the group detonated the car bomb in the capital, shooting into a national intelligence agency training site. al jazeera journalist joins us here on set to talk a bit more about this. great to have you with us. this is another blast in mogadishu, soon after sunday's blast. is it likely to be the work of al-shabab. >> just before we came on air, i spoke to the official spokesman, and they claimed responsibility for the attack and we targeted enemies of somali. what we know is the bulletproof car that was targeted. what we know is a list of those injured, and some found dead. from witnesses, all three are civilians. what we know before the start of ramadan, al-shabab said they'd step up

to north of fallujah, government forces repel forces north of fallujah. 22 iraqi soldiers and shia fighters were killed in an isil attack. meanwhile the aftermath of an attack on the al habbaniyah air base where they came to show that their advance against ramadi has not slowed down. 22 people have been killed. so the plan continues to the west of is samara they're entering the second phase. they continue to regain control of pockets of terrain. >> we reached the pocket much of terrorists. we've seized control of the area we're standing in. we are providing security to the residents. we're backed up in the operation by jet fighters. it was a surprise to the terrorists that we managed to accomplish the mission in a few hours. >> the task now included patrol, a dangerous mission in this barren land that borders anbar province. attacks have killed dozens in the past few days. isil has shown it's it's ability. >> control for roads and smaller towns and villages. now the iraqi security forces have had some success in taking back those roads in the smaller towns and villages. they're using those

around fallujah and the area is under i.s.i.l. there is no electricity or government forces. despite the risk and hardship of staying the decision to leave is almost as difficult. iraqi security leaders worry that i.s.i.l. fighters will infiltrate baghdad, just ten kilometers from here. to get to baghdad those escaping anbar need someone in the capitol to vouch for them. i.s.i.l. controls 80% and border crossings and almost all major highways and this small bridge has become a lifeline between anbar and the rest of the country and the only way out for many families trying to escape the fighting. for security reasons cars and trucks not allowed to cross the bridge without special permission. this crossing on the river is the only route left to eastern anbar, everything comes across by cart. now he had to leave his cart behind but he lost so much more than that. their tent collapsed two months ago killing his young daughter. >> translator: a stone came up at 10:30 at night and the bars of the tent were falling down on us there were

it follows another suicide attack authorities of fallujah that left 42 policemen dead.ewhere in alan bar province at least 33 iraqi government fighters were killed in an ambush by isil east of ramadi on sunday. 40 others were wounded in that attack. iraq's air force struck back against isil in anbar and other provinces. it comes as iraq's prime minister hyder allah hyderal al abadi said that they ran over mosul this year. now they have asked to supply them with more arms. we go live in baghdad. so as if it wasn't enough, now we've also got things unraveling from the north of baghdad too. >> that's absolutely right. what we've seen here is a brazen and very surprising attack using a suicide tank. now we haven't heard of tanks being used in this kind of way before. now hyder al abadi was talking about humvees that isil had stolen. they also stole things like tanks as well. but we haven't seen those used as suicide bombs. this is the air base near samara. it is crucial because it is home near a shrine and has always been seen as a red line for iran. they said if they are a

. >> translation: they were ready to attack fallujah. they aimed missiles at fallujah. everyone was leaving. >> reporter: she said there are no doctors left. there is no electricity or government services either. despite the risk and hardship of staying the decision to love is almost as difficult. iraqi security leaders worry that i.s.i.l. fighters will infiltrate baghdad, 10km from here. to get to baghdad those escaping anbar need someone in the capital to vouch for them. >> i.s.i.l. controls 80% of the province and the major highways. this bridge has become a life line between anbar and the rest of the country, and the only way out for many families trying to escape the expected fighting. >> for security cars and trucks are not allowed to cross the bridge without special permission. this crossing is the only route left to eastern anbar. everything comes across by cart. this man had to leave his car behind. he lost more than that. the tent collapsed two months ago, killing his young daughter. >> a storm came up at 10:30. we felt the bars of the tent falling. there were

nick paton walsh cnn amiriyat al fallujah >> reporter: sure england may have stonehenge.but coming up, we'll show you new york city's 'manhatten- henge." >> reporter: this gadget helps this kid speak for the first time for. >> reporter: the weather coming up. >> reporter: new yorkers tried to take pictures of the sun setting.right down the center of manhattan's streets this weekend. even though the end result was a little bit hazy.people flocked to capture the phenomenon that is dubbed "manhattanhenge". after england's stonehenge. there are only four days a year when the sun sets right down the middle of the east-west streets. >> reporter: friday and saturday were two of the whether will stay in the '60s for the entire work week. there is a cold front approaching. temperatures for tonight will cool down to the '50s. by lunchtime we will see fifties for the coast and '60s indicating by the grain. the cool down does continue and we will be below average. here's a look at our high as. heading down south alatas '70s here. here's your storm tracker your seven dead day-. we mig

iranian-backed shiite militias are leading the fight in retaking fallujah. major operations. we haven't gone under way yet. close by, warfare these lily pad outposts where the united states is training iraqi forces. they are training the iraqi military and also the sunni tribal fighters which will be crucial in retaking the cities within anbar province which is predominantly sunni. >> ian, thank you so much for your reporting there. >>> turkish soldiers are trying to keep some 1,500 syrians from crossing into turkey. the soldiers fired water at some of the syrians who approached on the border on saturday. meanwhile, syrian kurds say they are advancing toward militants in an isis-held town. >>> police in the city of dallas, texas, are trying to figure out a motive on a terrifying shooting attack on their police headquarters. the suspect was killed in by a sniper hours after attacking officers, all from an armored van. >> late saturday, the fbi, atf and dallas police department continue to digitally map the crime scene. we were told by police investigators they believe the firs

beji following a suicide attack leaving 42 members of security forces dead north of the city of fallujahn anbar, 33 iraq fighters were killed east of ramadi, the largest city in the province and 40 others injured in the attack and that comes as iraq's prime minister says his military lost over 2000 armored vehicles to i.s.i.l. and the group over ran mosul last year. and we are live in baghdad and what more do we know about the latest fighting on the ground right now? >> well one of the latest attacks took place at 3:00 a.m. local in the region in anbar province and this was an attack against a police station where iraqi federal police forces were based. an i.s.i.l. humvee allegedly i.s.i.l. humvee drove to the gates of the base and exploded deadly cargo and because there was an armed cache there the death toll was quite high and 42 iraqi police forces lost their lives this the attack and keep hearing about the humvee and armored vehicles that i.s.i.l. are using for suicide bombings and the reason for that is the humvee is a very large vehicle and you can pack it full of explosives and yo

fallujah also held by isis. isis seems to be letting a bit of water out so it can head down to fallujah and service the people there. drought, agriculture, basic daily life being punished between the two isis held towns and one of the fears if that water level drops fast enough and it seems to be happening pretty quick, then it deprives pro-government forces defending the river bank a natural moat between them and isis and could make isis' job of attacking them easier. this one use of water as a weapon seems to be undermining what the government have long been talking about for weeks now as their bid to liberate anbar of isis. wolf? >> nick paton walsh, be careful over there, thanks very much. an isis mistake apparently turned into a game for the united states air force. airmen in florida were combing through social media posts by the insurgent group when they discovered a picture of an isis fighter standing at his command post. they found comments in an open forum bragging about command and control capabilities

troops sent to a key area in iraq anbar province between ramadi and fallujah. they will be on a military base but not in a combat role. the job is to advise assist and train iraqi forces and help the iraqis help themselves. the u.s. wants to stream line and get recruits they need. especially from sunni tribes. the question is if these problems have existed for some time within the iraqi army and this assistance and more has been considered for some time, why wasn't this done before the fall of ramadi? and sending more u.s. troops doesn't that indicate there were under estimations? we just got from the white house as much of an admission of the problems. u.s. officials said the fall of ramadi was a setback. forces need to be more nimble in fighting isis, which has been nimble. they need to react more quickly when there are shortfalls. the u.s. says this is a problem they are trying to solve. criticism coming from the officials. the president needs a more detailed strategy and how good the u.s. troops will do. christine. >> thank you for that michelle. the emphas

says that those figures also includes more than 2000 iraqis from the cities of mosul, ramadi and fallujaht's get more from bernard smith who is on the turkish side of the border. inter tell us more about refugees and how is turkey coping with the influx? >> well, turkey is hosting 1.7 million syrian refugees those extra 23,000 that have come in the last about within the last couple of weeks will be hosted in already existing some of the existing refugee camps but most of them actually go and join families who are already on the turkish side of the border and live in private accommodation of the 1.7 million refugees here in turkey only some 350,000 are actually in refugee camps. but what forced them across the border in the end from talapia was the intensity of the fighting particularly the bombardment that ended up yes removing i.s.i.l. from the town but also destroying people's homes homes. syrian town on the border with turkey not any more. these are fighters from the syrian kurdish ypg. their flag now flies over this border crossing. three-week assault by wpg forced thousands of people

it will be crucial when trying to take fallujah and ramadi. they will be working on command and control and supplies, keeping supply lines open. some of the factors that led to the fall of ramadi. fa luge you can't when you look at it, it is 40 kilometers away from baghdad. that's a city of control of isis that worries iraqi government officials. it they want to retake that. they want to retake every city in anbar province but it has been very slow. >> as the fight continues against many different groups against isis, what is happening with the many, many civilians, just the people who are caught in the middle of this trying to get out of the way of that group? >> well, that is one of the real tragedies of this whole conflict, is you do have tens of thousands of refugees fleeing in the front of isis' advances and there is mistrust between the refugees and the central government in baghdad because these refugees are predominantly sunni and the government is afraid the isis fighters could be hiding among them. the government is afraid is that th

. >>> iraqi troops hitting the isis strong hold hard on fallujah and surrounding villages. at least 31 people have been killed and 82 wounded. officials in the west are on edge as isis gains ground in libya. we have cnn's correspondent ian lee with the latest from cairo. the advance is moving slowly, i think it is fair to say. >> reporter: you are right, christine. they are moving slowly because isis is very good as digging in and slowing down iraqi forces. they leave the roadside bombs and mines which iraqi forces are careful to avoid. they hit them from time to time but a lot of it are the engineering teams trying to clear the road. we're seeing these air strikes and artillery which has been crucial in the past to dislodged isis from the areas that they hold. don't expect this to be a quick battle. isis knows how to dig in. they will fight until the last man. they are, though going up against the shi'ite militias which have proven to be effective in the past although controversial. another force we are watching are the sunni tribes claiming they are not getting the weapon

fallujah is around 70km from baghdad in anbar, where i.s.i.l. fighters are battling government forces and tribal allies. >>> france summons the united states ambassador after wikileaks said the u.s. spied on the last three presidents. francis hollande called a meeting and the he will not tolerate anything interfering with security >>> speaking on the issue the french defense council said: >>> a security analyst and founder of terror risk a risk consultancy firm joins us from paris. thank you for being with us. we have france reacting with outrage. should it be surprised that its leaders were spied on? >> well you know. there's different legal understandings in let's say, the kind of overroked on the french site. there's a legitimacy. you have not only a diplomatic issue, you have a national issue as we have as you know been slow definitively this evening, and there's a debate inside the opposition as well as within the opinion. that we don't want in france to do like the n.s.a. does in the world. so if you want there is also that issue, which is

we are thinking of liberating the city of mosk from fallujah, from are daesh. >> fallujah has been held by i.s.i.l. for more than a year now. >>> meanwhile in baghdad a series of deadly car bombings racking the iraqi capital this week on tuesday 22 people were killed in and around the city. as a result of the attacks many iraqis are living in fear constantly. imran khan has the story. >> this is satr city, home to a large shia community. it'salities been shia but even here people are too scared to leave their own neighborhood. >> translator: life in baghdad is a nightmare. we only leave the neighborhood if it's a life or death matter. it's good to keep our movement to one place now adays because security is unpredictable. >> reporter: suspicious of even traveling across the capital. >> last month this car bomb blew up, look at the damage, we don't leave the neighborhood as all. >> the situation is the same for baghdad sunni muslims after 2003 were forced out of their traditional homes and live only in a few neighborhoods. >> we only feel safe in our neighborhood of doomea. >> it is not

downstream further you have fallujah also under isis control. to these guys without affecting these guys but sit something they could use if they were able to assault fallujah down the road. this is one dam we talked about earlier in the year. you remember the fight for the mosul dam up here. why is that important? because behind the mosul dam is an enormous reservoir. this is why u.s. forces as well as iraqi forces were intent on getting this back. if you were to breach that dam it would put all hof these cities downstream not just mosul, but that gets you into baghdad which is just downriver as well. the mosul dam is in the control of the iraqi forces. but it's the kind of infrastructure that is extremely important in this country and one of them is in isis hands. >> all right. thanks very much. >>> i want to get more on what's going on. joining us now is the state department senior adviser for strategic communications marie harf. thanks for coming in. is this going to change u.s. strategy the fact that isis controlling this area in ramadi thi

reports indicate at least 41 killed by acts of suicide bombing north of fallujah. and t of isis militants ran a humvee into the base. this base is recaptured by the iraqi armed forces days ago. and cut isis supply line into ramadi. there was a massive wave of suicide bombings last week. these are now a daily occurrence. greta? >> why this base? was it somehow threatening to ramadi or mosul or why this particular base? >> why iraqi finding of this isis has been getting reinforcement from -- [ inaudible ] and to the north of fallujah the idea is to cut the supply lines -- [ inaudible ] >> killing 41 i imagine that is a huge loss to the iraqi military force and the police. what is the morale like of the iraqi forces? >> reporter: exactly. i think the morale is the most devastating part. and the fact they are so difficult to defend against. these are american-supplied armored vehicles and a lot of munition is ineffective against them. rocket propelled grenades often don't stop these. they are very difficult to stop. it it is hard for the iraqi armed forces to defend ag

the first near ramadi and fallujah.s training sunni fighters and iraqi security forces on everything from communications and how to shoot as well as control of the combat environments and how to navigate around it. that will be crucial when they retake the populated urban centers and how to move through them. they will be working on command and control and logistics and resupply. these were three things that contributed to the fall of ramadi. the things that the u.s. troops won't be doing. they will not be going to the frontlines. they will not be calling in air strikes. they do hope the closeness to iraqi security forces makes it easier and quicker to call in air strikes. christine. >> if they won't be at the frontlines, but still where there is a lot of fighting and potentially become targets. that is why so many people get concerned when they hear about more u.s. commitment to the region. ian lee, thank you. >>> president obama made a surprise visit last night to the ballpark. he went there to watch the congressional

rrkky military says, fighters, have blown up three car bombs at at army base in the village south of fallujah, and 13 soldiers are reported had to have been killed. >>> in syria two bombs have exploded indeed government held neighborhoods injuring 30, the first one went off in a busy street and, other other on the city's outskirts. >>> almost 350,000 syrians are living in turkey, and offers are struggling to survive on their own. >>> this is one the lates businesses and most are syrians. >>> he is catching up with his family before going back to his new job. >>> he is taking a break from his turkish language course. >>> the government defines them as guests. rather than refugees, they're expected to go home. >>> but learning turkish is one example of how they're having to put down roots here. >>> as long as there is no international way to remove isil despite the hundreds of thousands of people, tune knee shans have been kidnapped, and that's after the abduction of ten . >>> people here are afraid, and put up roadblocks, to stop advances and more than one dozen people have been killed and, de

it's the only hope we have of getting -- i was in ramadi and fallujah. i saw pickup trucks full of dead gis. we can't go that route again. there's no sterile war. kosovo was the only one as far as i know where no americans died. it's very hard to conduct war where we don't die. and i just think what's the prize at the end of this? to have a corrupt regime in baghdad that is suppressing the sunni minority and the kurdish minority. >> we know the prize. that is the destruction of isis. what is the end goal of isis? an islamic state. >> caliphate. >> if they're seen as powerful they will get it. the only people that can stop that is hopefully our allies there but we have to run it. we're the only people that can run it. the less it's pushing back on everything we've been saying the fact obama didn't have a strategy. they're saying that was taken out of context. when he said he didn't have a strategy he was talking about training iraq soldiers. the fact is that is the strategy. if you don't have that you don't have anything in my view. it's like saying i did

of course like all veterans who serve there, i'm heartybroken when i see places like fallujah ramadil to the islamic state. that means in my mind we have to redouble our effort to make sure we don't squander the victory we had in hand a few years ago, and we commit to defeating the islamic state. >> what do you say to the families of the 450 troops that are about to be deplied though this dangerous area the 3,000 other troops who are there right now? >> well i say they and their loved ones serving, they are in my prayers and the prayers of they are fighting in a noble effort. i think we need to send a few more troops with more specialized skills but the 450 troops who are going there are going to iraq not just to fight over a piece of land but protect a way of life our life here in america, and i'm grateful as all americans are. >> senator tom cotton thank you for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. >>> >>> the man hunt continues into vermont. the governors are warning the public to be very careful. >>> the am track mystery deepens. the passenger train's engineer wasn't texting or speaki

. >>> iraqi military says fighters from isil -- south of fallujah. 13 soldiers are said to have been killed including an army commander. >>> the fighting in iraq has evolved in recent months. one of the defining trends has been the rise of shia militia groups. forces have been effective and controversial. >>reporter: it's a year since the religious authority in iraq called all iraqis regardless of sect to arms. tens of thousands heeded his call if the most who joined were shia muslims. the army's reputation was in tatters. isil overran them with ease taking a third of the country. that happened while the prime minister was there who has blamed the u.s. government for the collapse of the army saying much needed weaponry was never delivered. >> the war effort most focus on mobilization forces until we get rid of isil and can go back to building the army with new rules and not on a sectarian basis. >>reporter: but sectarianism remains in the headlines. over the last 12 months militias have been accused of revenge attacks burning the bodies of isil fighters and pushing a sectarian agenda

one thing we need to take into account as well, is that fallujah is also down stream of ramadi and thatontrolled by isis so they cannot completely cut off the euphrates river and cut off the water for their comrades down in fallujah. they are allowing some water to go through. also because it is a dam. you can't completely block off a river. it would destroy the dam ultimately. they do have to let some water through. but it is creating a crisis there. as we have seen, there have been thousands of people fleeing ramadi. more people are fleeing the towns down stream just because they believe this is the sign of an inevitable attack. >> absolutely. and isis tries to use so much to its advantage. it certainly uses social media as we all know in its recruiting and empowerment, if you will. but there has been a report now that indicates that the u.s. military uses isis's love of social media against it. what is it doing there? >> that's right. we all have seen their glitzy videos they're very big on social media. that's how they get their recruits. they like to brag about how well they are do

. >>> more women and children among the dead in isis controlled fallujah.apital baghdad. witnesses tell cnn that at least 31 people were killed in the last three days of ground and air assaults. and with some 100,000 civilians still trapped inside the war-torn city, sunni tribes are pleading for america's help fearing they can't defeat the extremists with their cheap weapons and volunteer army. cnn's nick paton walsh live in baghdad for us. >> near fallujah held by isis the center of the current government advance against them. so much lives being lost there, so much bloodshed. but at the same time the southwest of that key city there are sunni tribesmen, isis are also sunnis but these are moderates who oppose them struggling to get the weapons they need to hold isis off. >> the sandbags exactly what iraq needs to stay to the as a country. meters away you can glimpse the flag of isis extremists from iraq's sunni minority. but holding them off here the men the u.s. says are key to victory. moderate iraqi sunnis who will die to rid their hometown of isis. >>

between ramadi and fallujah. they will be on a military base but the white house says not in a combat role. their job is to advise assist and train iraqi forces. help the iraqis help themselves. the u.s. also wants to stream line the process of getting more equipment to the iraqis. help them get the recruits they need. especially from sunni tribes. the question is there that if the problems have existed for some time within the iraqi army and this kind of assistance and more has been considered for some time why wasn't this and more done before the fall of ramadi? and sending now significantly more u.s. troops doesn't that indicate there were significant underestimates if what was needed in the first place? we got as much of an admission of the problems we will get. u.s. officials said yes, the fall of ramadi was a setback. yes, forces need to be more nimble in fighting isis which has been nimble. they need to react more quickly when there are shortfalls. u.s. officials said this is a problem that they have been

. >> hospital sources in iraqi city of fallujah say government air strikes have killed 12 people and injured at least 12 others. a number of children are major the zed and injured. >>> the syrian army says it's captured territory from the islamic state of iraq and the levant in the naivete city of hasaka. launched an offensive on thursday but kurdish forces say they are making gains in the east. the u.n. says more than 60,000 people have fled the fighting so far. houthi rebels in yemen have shelled a major oil refinery in yemen for second time in three days. a massive fire broke out witnesses say more than 14 people were killed. rebels are battling for control of yemen against forces loyal to the president abd rabbu mansour hadi. the u.s. territory of puerto rico is facing economic troubles. report by former imf economist says major reforms need to be made to cut its debt. raising property taxes and cutting the number of teachers. the island is facing collection of bond indebtedness. al jazeera am andy gallagher is live for us in the puerto rican city of san juan. just house serious

. >> hospital sources in the iraqi city of fallujah say government strikes have killed ten people and injured at least 12 others. strikes carried out in three neighborhoods in the city. a number of children are among the dead and injured. >>> and iraqi army's chief of staff has been forced to resign. general babaka, has been occasionally at odds with the political leadership. military sources say the kurdish general anwar.hamin is expected to replace sabar iferg. still ocome. burundi's parliamentary election boycotted by the option. >>> u.s. territory governor of puerto rico says the island cannot pay its $73 billion of debt. >> welcome back. a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. one of the key figures in the egyptian judicial system has decide after a car bomb targeted his convoy in cairo. hisham barakat played a key role. and alexis tsipras says he will not cling to his post if his country rejects the referendum on sunday. >>> former imf economists say major reforms need to be made to cut its 73 billion debt, it is suggested cutting the salaries of teachers. several bond paym

when ben just reported that we're going to be basing the trainers between fallujah and ramadi that's sunni tribes are. they are having difficulty getting to other bases where they are being trained. this shows the iraqi government is taking the seriousness of getting those sunni tribal members trained, which prime men ster minister has been trying to do. >> the total is 3,500. is that enough? is that the right strategy? >> i think it's political cover for what the president said last week at the g7 when he talked about that they didn't have a complete strategy for training the iraqis. i think it's essentially a band-aid on an agreasegressive cancer. it's good if you can get the troops trained and willing to fight. even the u.s. defense secretary ash carter said he has concerned. he said it publically. he has questions about their will to fight. you can train them forever. if they're not willing to take on isis you have a problem. >> general, not only did the secretary of defense say that to our barbara starr, that they didn't have the will to fight, you heard ben wedeman reporting th