we caught up with prime minister haider al-abadi at the reopening of the museum on saturday. that was reopening after distribution of antiquities in mosul by i.s.i.l. i asked the prime minister whether the government was, indeed going to take back the territories, this is what he said. >> i think we are now discussing the whole operation. by kicking daesh out of iraq. i -- d.a.e.s.h. out of iraq i can't give timetables but we are working with people in these places and other areas. they'll be with us. i think there is - i'm overseeing the whole organization of this military organization. it has to be military security to save other people and look after the well being of the people. >> ail of that the planning that has to go into this. not just the ground operations and the police force, all of these things that take time. the sfoction a little closer to baghdad. troops are massing in samarra and other pleases due to be a major offensive due to other officials in the coming days. >> in the news ahead - we meet the senegalese migrants returning home from libya after failing to

the white house announced yesterday that iraqi prime minister haider al abadi will me

prime minister haider al-abadi trying to assure leaders that their people will not be targeted by militia but told governments that those that did not support the government fight were supporting i.s.i.l. >> in this battle there shouldn't be anyone standing on the other side. in this battle we have you be united. anyone claiming to take a nuclear side, it means they'll be standing with the other side those killing the people turning them in widows orphaning our children. >> in this fight and previous ones iran is playing a previous role. iraqi militias are considered more effective than most iraqi army unit. sources on the ground say the commander on the ground is helping to coordinate from the front lines. in the air, it's only iraqi aircraft according to the military. the united states is helping in other way but is not backing this major offensive with the u.s. air strikes. about 2,000 sunni tribal fighters joined the bat. -- battle. >> some military leaders see the battle as a launching point. but as the battle moves further into sunni province there's deepening iranian involvement. s

can do because the iraqi government haider al-abadi has not invited the u.s. to help in tikrit. in a separate hearing. the top people battling i.s.i.l. denied the pentagon was out of the loop. >> we have good overhead imagery and those types of things. so the activity in tikrit was no surprise. i saw it coming. >> pentagon officials say iran has some advantages over the u.s. when it offers military assistance. the sir strikes are not as constrained by strict rules and has no self-imposed limit on boots on the ground. will the offensive be successful. if it is, will control of the area behis honoured to the sunni minority. some are bristling at the perception of why the u.s. is slowly and methodically trying to get the brigade ready the iranians are moving name bli. -- moving name bli. >> i.s.i.l. fighters have bulldozed one of the world's oldest sites. the ministry of tourism and antiquities says i.s.i.l. destroyed the site south of mosul. last week it destroyed artefacts at the museum. the fighters say the statue promotes idol worship. >> questions in argentina over the death o

it is the sunnis that prime minister haider al-abadi appealed to saying those who had been misled would be pardoned if they lay down their arms. he reached out to the iraqi parliament going had and talking to sunni members of parliament who ended their boycott. on the ground, military forces have approached the city from three fronts and in the town of andur they have taken it back after street to street fighting. there are major worries still. not only taking back that city which has been rigged by explosives by i.s.i.l. but revenge killings which might happen in conjunction with the fighting. this city is important not just militarily but because it was close to a camp spiker, where 1,000 recruits were killed by i.s.i.l. a huge political issue. >>> nadim baba takes a look at the issue. >> by june 2014 it was declaring a caliphate and held territory stretching all the way from aleppo to diyala province in iraq. army officers from the saddam era and tribal officers. in april u.s. led air strikes helped kurdish forces break the siege of mount sinjar. pro government force he recaptured be

the white house announced yesterday that iraqi prime minister haider al abadi will

prime minister haider al abadi instructed them to ensure the safety of residents. defense minister haled al obeyedi also suggested that troops should avoid harming the hundreds of civilians still trapped in the heart of tikrit. he noted it will take several more days to gain full control of the city. islamic state militants captured tikrit last june. the operation to take back the city involves iraqi soldiers and shia muslim militiamen. the u.s. and other governments are concerned the fighting could rekindle conflicts with the mainly sunni muslim population. >>> officials at the world health organization say the ebola virus may be responsible for more than 10,000 deaths since the outbreak. was first reported in west africa one year ago. health officials say the total number of ebola infections including suspected ones has exceeded 24,000 in the three hardest-hit west african nations. they say the pace of the spread has dramatically slowed in some areas. in liberia the last-known ebola patient left hospital earlier this month. but guinea and sierra leone each regist

a round assault which iraq's prime minister, haider al abadi tells me the americans have not been needed. >> the only way to take back the city is by having troops on the ground. >> reporter: those are the sounds of the howitzers aimed right over there. >> reporter: another front in the war against isis, al anbar province, the u.s. is conducting trackstrikes there. traveling with iraqs defense minister he tells me they are making progress in this region, but that the battle for tikrit is just beginning. but u.s. officials say the fight into the city will be bloody, with fears that isis fighters are hidden in homes, armed with suicide vests and laying booby traps. the battle in tikrit and the one in anbar, are a test for the biggest battle to come in mosul. >> mosul represents a symbol. once we take it back, we would have killed their own ambition. >> reporter: and taking it back, the prime minister tells me will be on iraq's timetable, but says it could happen even before summer begins. martha raddatz, abc news, baghdad. >> our thanks to martha and to california now, where actor harrison

it is the sunnies that haider al-abadi appealed to saying they would be pardoned if they laid down their arms. going there the today and talking to sunni members of parliament who ended their boycott. on the ground, the tribes have approached the town from two fronts. where saddam was found hiding. not only taking back that city which was rigged with explosives from i.s.i.l but in conjunction with the fighting, this city is important not just militarily but near tikrit, a camp spiker where more than 1,000 troops were killed by i.s.i.l. there is so much potential to deepen the sectarian rift, that u.n. has warned everyone they must adhere to basic humanitarian rules. >> jane arraf from baghdad. jamie mcintire, not a part of this operation is the u.s. coalition, why not? >> as you heard stephanie there is concern that there could be increased sectarian alienation in the city of tikrit. the u.s. wants i.s.i.l. out of tikrit as much as anyone but also concern that having iranian backed troops could further alienate the sunni minority. >> offered i.s.i.l. fighters what he called one last chan

in his address haider al-abadi thanks the u.s. for its assistance had launched air strikes against i.s.i.l. targets mr. tikrit. until now the u.s. had had no role in the operation there. >>> officers in the south have taken control of basra al sham. syrian military forces have been trying the reclaim territory along the border with jordan. in the north rebel fighters have teamed up in the city of idlib. kim vanel reports. >> ot the outskirts of idlib rebel fighters take over checkpoints. joint forces to try and take over the city in syria's dmeft. activist video purports to show rebel fighters getting ready for battle. regime forces reportedly closed off the city, stopping residents from getting in or out while transferring command centers. taking idlib would be an important victory for rebel fighters allowing them to cut off vital government supply lines. to the east, in derazor government forces are targeting i.s.i.l.-controlled areas i.s.i.l. fighters control large portions of syria and iraq. after meeting with president bashar

haider al-abadi. >> we are now discussing the whole operation of the taking daesh out of iraq, i cannot defend tables but we can work within this year to the people of other areas, they will be with us and they are with us at the moment. >> the prime minister says the campaign to fight i.s.i.l. include plans to maintain security when the fighting ends. i.s.i.l. fighters have released 21 assyrian christian hostages last month. the christians were drpped off earlier. the release captives are roughly 50 years of age or older. i.s.i.l. is still holding 235 other assyrian christians. >>> a video shows three teenage girls recruited by i.s.i.l on february 17th. it's the same day the girls traveled from london to turkey. the three are believed to have made their way across the syrian border. one is 16, the others are just 15. >>> nato leaders are gathering in qatar for a summit on weapons of mass destruction. as tom ackerman reports the issues are high on the nation's list. >> some participants showed up with this mock up of a cruise missile, to be delivered personally to obama. approaching the

about 2,000 of them it's the sunnies that prime minister haider al-abadi appealed to in the start of this operation saying those that had been misled and aligned themselves with i.s.i.l. would be pardoned if they laid downtown their arms. he has reached out to the iraqi parliament talking to sunni members who ended their boycott. military forces have approached the city from three fronts. in the town of abdur they say they have taken it back after street to street fighting. there are major worries still. not only taking back that city which has been wigd rigged with explosives by i.s.i.l this city is important not only militarily, but it's near tikrit, a camp where more than 1,000 young recruits were killed by i.s.i.l a huge political issue. there's so much potential to deepen the sectarian rift that the u.n. has warned earn that everyone that they must adhere to basic human rights. a difficult task many fear. >>> infighting causes one side to addition band. south africa's ambitions to host the continent's first olympics. first, i.s.i.l. last released 21 christian hostages who were a

we spoke with prime minister haider al-abadi at the opening of the iraq museum following the destruction of statues in the area. this is what he had to say. >> i think we are discussing the situation of kicking d.a.e.s.h. out of iraq. we are working within this year with the people of these places. people of anbar and other areas. they'll be with us and are with us at the moment. i think there is overseeing all organization of this military operation. it has to be military security and civil operation for the people, and to look after the well being of the people after liberation. >> still to come on the al jazeera newshour. kidnap of course murder and extortion. the criminal gangs of afghanistan who target businessmen and their families. >>> plus the graffiti artist that made his mark on the wall that divides gaza and the rest of the world. >>> and has england salvaged some dignity in the world cup. details with jo coming up. >>> israel's prime minister binyamin netanyahu is heading to the u.s. to address congress on the agreement being negotiated between iran and several world powers.

the white house announced yesterday that iraqi prime minister haider al abadi will meet with presidentma in april, even though haider has criticized the u.s. for not doing enough to help the iraqi military. when obama heard that, he was like, "well, what you gonna do, haiders gonna haid." [ laughter ] and you go, "yeah, i know but you got to meet with him anyway." get this story, in a recent interview, the president revealed he doesn't always get enough sleep. [ laughter ] i think i speak for everyone when i say, "good." yeah, that's -- we pay you money to do that, so we can watch "dancing with the stars" and go to sleep. that's what we pay you -- you're the president. yeah. yeah. bummer, yeah. bummer. yeah. president obama admitted he doesn't get enough sleep. doctors said that he should find little tricks to doze off. you know, like maybe for instance counting intruders jumping over the white house fence. [ laughter and applause ] just stuff like, one, two, three, four. it's like, enough. this is cool. i saw that they held the fifth annual science fair at the white house yesterday. i

. >> reporter: for prime minister haider al abadi it's a critical test of his country's military power we have to stop them for our own sake, and i think the world has to stop them for their own sake. >> reporter: we spoke to a.m. abadi in a former palace of dictator saddam hussein. abadi took office six months ago as isis solidified its hold on a third of his country from across mosul in the north to al anbar province and coming within 20 miles of the capital baghdad. do you have a sense of what it's like in those areas? >> i think it's undescribable and that's why we're very eager to liberate these areas as soon as possible. >> reporter: one key part of that strategy is reclaiming tikrit. >> the only way to take back the city is not by bombardment, by having troops on the ground take back the city. >> reporter: do you wish you had american ground troops, ground combat troops to help? >> it doesn't help whether i wish or not. i don't think that's going to happen. this administration understands the u.s. public are not eager or they don't want to send their own sons and troops outside

a real life jekyll and haider al abadi who at one point supported women's causes but later on went onck them all over the country. he this is a super bowl champ. >> i've been able to help teams win. >> reporter: earning millions over 14 nfl seasons. and later shining as an nfl tv analyst. >> you don't want to have bad team chemistry. >> reporter: but this morning he's suffering a staggering fall from grace. >> how do you plead to the charge? >> guilty. >> reporter: after admitting he's been leading a double life as a serial rapist. authorities say sharper sexually assaulted or attempted to assault at least nine women in four states over five months after rendering some of them unconscious by lacing their drinks with a generic form of ambiem. >> the effects can be felt within a few minutes especially when combined with alcohol. >> reporter: the attacks starting in new orleans. then california arizona and finally nevada. sharper was returning from that trip when his horrifying spree finally comes to an end. police arresting him at the los angeles airport after one of his alleged victims