if isil is defeated in hasaka and sinjar, it would severely restrict it's f hasaka defeating it here would weaken them elsewhere. al jazeera beirut. >> four frenchmen in what has been called a personal trip according to one of the mps the group spent over an hour with bashar al-assad. it's the first such meeting since france closed its embassy in syria in 2012. >>> now to yemen where houthi rebels have used tear gas to disperse protesters. there have been demonstrations across the country in support of president hadi. there has been support for hadi. >> i talked with his excellency, as for support, it's going to continue as before. the gcc leaders are happy for his excellency's escape. >> life out of aden, mohammed, what is the latest? >> we see a growing number in size. saa september. as a result of what has happened here the last few days. they gave protest to the outies. the outies have used live ammunition and cut down before on protests. the houthis are trying to really control the army. yesterday we have seen they have taken one of the most strategic. after several hours of fig

hasaka is a pro province home to kurds, and christians. it is strategic for isil and the fight against the armed group. there is a supply line used to the iraqi city of mosul one of its strongholds in northern iraq. >> what is happening now that there is a fight against isil. it controls about 30% of the province. puts are fighting on one front and regime soldiers are also attacking them from another front. >> hasaka also boards sinjar where iraqi kurds have been engaged in fierce fighting with the islamic state in iraq and the levant. they cross in sinjar. it connects syria to iraq, and it is being used by isil fighters. it seems the offensive against the group is part of a broader military plan. if isil is defeated in hasaka and sinjar it would seriously restrict it's freedom of movement between iraq and syria. they need to cut the group's supply lines before any major military assault. >> hasaka is a hundred kilometers from mosul in iraq. but defeating it here would weaken them there. al jazeera, bay root. >> three men have been arreste

raids houses along the river in hasaka province. where the syrian forces have launched a major offensive against the group. in neighboring iraq the army released this video after capturing the town of anbadi. as they return to the ein al asar air base. central library including 8,000 rare books manuscripts have been destroyed. zeina khodr reports. >> dozens of families fled their villages in the northeastern problemsprovince of hasake after they were overrun by the islamic state of iraq and the levant. >> they struck our houses, our churches, we had to leave we were scared. >> in these difficult times we appeal to all organizations and the international community to help these innocent people, do not commit any crime. they are helpless. >> reporter: but not everyone managed to escape. according to human rights groups dozens of syrians were captured by i.s.i.l. their whereabouts are not known. they don't know if they're still alive or whether i.s.i.l. plans to exchange them as part of a prisoner swap. its leaders are appealing for he

. >> hasaka also borders sinjar where iraqi kurds have been engages in fighting with the islamic state in iraq and the levant. the crossing is in sinjar, and it text syria to iraq, and it is being used by isil fighters. it seems that the offensive against the group is part of a broader military plan. if isil is defeated, it would severely restrict it's freedom of movement between its strongholds in iraq and syria. the u.s.-led coalition and it's partners on the ground need to cut supply lines before any major military assault. hasaka is hundreds of kilometers away from other strongholds in iraq, but defeating them here would weaken them there. meanwhile, a group of french politicians has met the syrian president during a private trip to damascus. the members of parliament spent an hour with bashar al-assad although the purpose of their trip is unclear. the french foreign ministry says that they went of their own accord. france cut diplomatic ties with syria back in 2012. >> let's go to the democratic republic of congo now where the government has launch admit assault against rebel forc

hasaka is largely controlled by kurds. so it is strategically important in the fight against the militants. syrian kurdish forces backed by u.s.-led airstrikes continue to advance into islamic state-held territory. christian and iraqi kurdish forces are taking part. islamic state militants attacked the yazidi minority community last year in iraq. they abducted and enslaved women. they've also threatened to kill christians who refuse to convert to islam. british authorities are working with their counterparts in turkey to try to bring three teenagers back from syria. they believe the schoolgirls went there to join the islamic state group. thousands of young people from a number of nations have fallen under the militant's spell. it's a problem governments around the world are confronting. more from nhk world's craig dale. >> reporter: spanish police led away one of four people accused of recruiting young muslims to join radical groups such as islamic state. the suspects allegedly targeted women, in particular using social me

the offensive against the group in haas abbinga is part of -- hasaka is part of a plan. if i.s.i.l. is defeated. it would restrict freedom of movement between the strong holds. u.s. coalition and partners need to cut the supply lines. >> hasaka is hundreds of miles from many strongholds. defeating them here would weaken them there >>> in the u.s. three men have been arrested and charged with conspiring to support i.s.i.l. two men were custody. a prospect is believed to have helped organise the trip from florida. they were allegedly threatening to shoot the president. >> the men intended to launch attacks in the u.s. >> it was alleged in the filing the idea that it was plain on the statement. if they were not able to go and seek to acquire weapons here handguns, machine guns and seek to attack police officers. they are made clear. >> state news agencies say members of the u.n. recognised parliament are in cairo. a delegation is there, expected to meet egyptian president abdul fatah al-sisi tomorrow. >> the government is competing for power with a rival parliament in tripoli, recognis

. >>> three strikes hit syrian hasaka area. syria and iraq and lebanon are not only worried about the effect of those captured but the survival of those in the region. they >> some of these people are refugees from iraq. others are from syria and the rest of their lebanese hosts. but all of them are a syrian christians. they gathered in beirut to speak in one voice. their message was clear. this minority community in the middle east believes it's future is threatened. >> this is a conspiracy to put the the indigenous people of this region, the assyrians from their homeland. terrorists are taking our lapped. but we'll fight back. we won't surrender. >> there is a heightened sense of concern after hundreds of assyrian christian families were displaced in recent fighting in the northeastern syrian province of hasaka. and more than 200 of them were captured by the islamic state in iraq and the levant. some managed to escape to tell their story. >> there was a massacre. they came to our villages at night. they burned people in their

if isil is defeated in hasaka and sinjar, it would significantly restrict movement. they need to cut the group's supply lines before any major military assault. haska asaka is important and weakening them here would weaken them there. >> supporting a fighting freeze in aleppo but the fighting does continue there. rebel fighters have managed to recapture parts of the province. individual has been put up online showing the bodies of 70 government soldiers. >> reporter: some of the casualties. these are the bodies of regime soldiers killed by rebels while fighting in aleppo province. >> the head of forensics started to receive the bodies of those killed in the north countryside since wednesday. >> there have been many casualties here. many want to take control of their province, forces took over parts northern parts of aleppo. there are different rebel groups. here members of the free syrian army use anti-tank rockets. some rebels belong to al nusra front, which is linked to al-qaeda. and other fighters withdrew from the suburbs but still remain a threat from positions

not known there are conflicting reports some say that isil took them to their stronghold south of hasaka city. they are worried about their fate don't know if they're alive or dead. isil has still not made demands and it's not clear if isil will agree to exchange them in a prisoner swap. what we understand is that arab tribal leaders on the ground are trying to mediate some sort of deal to release these people. this is not the first time isil has captured people. they've captured hundreds if not thousands both in syria and in iraq, but this was the first time that they captured such a large number of christians at once. >> south african agents are spying on russia for details on their own joint satellite project. that's according to a top secret cable obtained by the al jazeera investigative unit. the plan is so secretive, even the spies aren't sure what's going on. >> high above south african government buildings, a satellite watches. it's a joint south african and russian project code named condor. while it monitors all of africa, it's creators are struggling to monitor it. few in gove

the air strikes were centered on hasaka isis capital raqqa.an pilots including females had choice words and a message that they wrote on the body of the warplanes flying over syria today. jordan's f-16s are not, however, striking inside iraq despite jordanian official claims to the contrary because iraq has barred jordan from doing so according to a coalition spokesman. remember, the u.s. provides refueling for jordanian war planes so it is unlikely they would be flying over mosul, for instance without u.s. help. i'm told by multiple u.s. military sources there is no shortage of assets despite complaints by the uie whose planes stopped flying in december after the jordanian plane went down. all officials who i have spoken to about the downed jordanian pilot tell me was grabbed by isis fighters within minutes. even if they had search and rescue assets in raqqa at the time they could not have gotten to him fast enough. the pentagon has moved some additional search and rescue assets to northern iraq this week. the state department today rebutted