imran kahn joins us liver from baghdad. are you hearing anything more about this, imran? does it play in to the general level of violence on the streets in baghdad and around? >> reporter: well, it's only adding to the general level of violence here on the street. let kneel you what happened. around 11:00, 11:00 p.m. on saturday night gunmen burst in to an apartment building and it was in a neighborhood of eastern baghdad, that's quite an upscale neighborhood. they attacked two apartments that they say were being used for prostitution purposes, they murdered something around 27 women at the last count and injuring a number of others. some of those women have succumb today their injuries in the early hours of this morning. they left a very clear message on the door of the apartment building as they left it says this is the fate of all prostitution within this country. eyewitnesses say that the prostitutes were warned for continuing business during the holy month of ramadan and they did know something like this might happen. but this has shocked the brutality of this attack

. >> now first to imran khan in bagdad. to you first of all imran.s the prime feel this is necessary to say right now? >> well, he's lashing out at the kurds. he is very angry at the kurdish government for this referendum they have about declaring independence. the relationships between the two has deteriorated completely as of late. they used to fight together against saddam hussein. it's clear that there are no fighters in arbill, all sides have said that, so he is likely referring to the sunni tribals who have been very critical against him. they said they are not going to fight on maliki's side or the government side, because he goes. they say he is completely responsible for the crisis because he has followed sectarian policies. he is accusing the curds of harboring those people who are against him. this is the strongest statement towards the kurds we have seen in a long time. >> so what is he going to do, not just say? >> well, this is what -- this is why everybody is asking themselves. what can he do? it's likely he will try to get the kurds t

imran kahn joins us live from baghdad.tart off with the violence before we talk about what is happening in parliament. what are you hearing about that? >> reporter: well, it's an attack that has shocked many people here. about 11:00 on saturday night, armed gunmen, unidentified, walked in to an apartment block and started shooting it up, killing a number of women. they then left a message on the door as they left saying this will be the fate of all prostitution. the eyewitnesses at the scene tell us that the flats were used as a brothel and this was -- they had been given warnings about not to do this particularly over the holy month of random. so it looks like it was an attack not a sectarian necessarily. and that's quite shock to go people here in baghdad. >> they must be feeling jinxed in parliament. what impact is this likely to have, imran? >> reporter: it's going to have a huge impact. you basically need all of parliament for show up for them to be able to move on with the political movement. the kurds are stuck, the

al jazeera's imran khan is there., it has taken quite a while to get as far as this. >> and this was the easy bit, adrian. this was something that all of the sunni political blocks agreed on. but he was agreeable to all of the sunni political blocks, but nobody knows much about him, other than his age, he is 43, the youngest person to hold the office in the history of iraq. and because nobody knows anything about him he was acceptable. and now 45 days is the big number. you have within that 30 days to choose the president and then another 15 on top of that to choose the prime minister. prime minister maliki faces many con tenders. one challenges has already launched a campaign that wasn't successful. so there is a lot of politicking going on right now. whether it all happens within 45 days remains to be seen. it's unlikely. it took nearly six months to form the government in 2010. >>> imran many thanks. imran khan live in bagdad. >>> libya's government says that 90% of the aircraft at tripoli's international airport h

imran khan has this report. >> the bombing took place three or 400 meerdz behin meters inded me. it was a check potatoes. 21 people injured and seven died. second tbhoa bombing in at lease last seven hours. hit another neighborhood here. after that bombing very early in the morning the islamic state claimed responsibility for this. they sent out picture of the man whom they say was responsible for that particular attack. this is a slightly different tactic than we have seen before. we have seen bombs here in baghdad for the last 18 months but now the islamic state are very quickly taking responsibility for it. they say it is part of the tit-for-tat that is going on. the islamic state and other sunni rebels are being squeezed in the area. >> that is imran khan in baghdad. >>> flood of migrant children acrossing the border into the united states. tomorrow obama administration is expected to give more details about the request for emergency funds to add more resources to the border. mike viqueria joins us live in washington. mike tell us more. >> john tough talk from the white house

. >>> let's speak to imran khan in baghdad. what is the latest on those air strikes on mosul. >> well, the air strikes continue. they happen at night. the question is why are they doing these air strikes. seemingly, according to the military airports, they are being - they are designed to soften up the targets so the ground invasion can happen. there's no sign of ground operations at the moment. so the air strikes continue. the big question, the other question is what kind of hardware is being used. the iraqis have two options when it comes to hardware. they have the cessna planes equipment with hellfire missiles, which is what they have been using. it's likely those have been used as well. we have spoken to sources within mosul who told us that drones, armed drones, are used. when you think of drones, you think of the americans and - because they have the kinds of technology to use drones. they are flying the - the americans are flying drones over baghdad, but are here for defensive purposes, for american assets in the country

. >> let's take you to our correspondent, imran khan, standing by in the capital baghdad. what has been the reaction to the kurdish call for independence? >> well, it's been very angry, and i think it goes along three separate lines, that's lot of anger over the fact that the kurds are doing this now. the iraqis, particularly those within the ruling party say, look, this is the wrong time. you are taking advantage of a situation where we are powerless to do anything. we need your help. iraq needs to stay together and be strong. by doing this you are showing weakness. the second one is people are wondering what the kurds will do with the territory. will they stop giving money from the oil in that part of the world to the federal government. will it be an independent. no one knows what shape the state will be in. the last thing, and this is interesting - people are saying by having the referendum, ush varying to the terms the islamic state are putting on. you are redrawing the map of the middle east. we know the islamic state of iraq and fighters want. they want the map of t

imran khan reports, the government forces are pushing back taking the fight to the rebels. >> reporter: this is what activists say is the aftermath of a barrel bomb. a barrel bomb is exactly that. war crime if dropped on civilians. local forces say the bombs were dropped by helicopter. but an iraqi military spokesman dismissed the accusation. he went on to say a senior military commander had died in another attack. >> the head of the sixth brigade was martyred while he was visiting the innocent unarmed civilians. it happened when the terrorists used mortar rounds from fallujah. the heroic martyr was seriously injured in addition to a number of civilians. he died and joined the other martyrs on iraq's war on terror. >> are the islamic state of iraq and the levant previously known as i.s.i.l, so does the political stalemate, last wednesday iraq's politicians met for the opening of rk parliament. at that opening they were supposed to have elected a speaker of the house. had they done that the 45 day meeting would have elected a prime minister. now scheduled for this wednesday it is now po

let's go to imran khan in bagdad. imam yet more violence in iraq.y still haven't worked out a power-sharing government. >> no, they haven't. they haven't worked out a power-sharing agreement or even a new government. they can't even agree on what date to meet. they met last week, all they had to do was elect a speaker of the house. and that was politically charged. they couldn't agree on a speaker of the house. they said let's meet on wednesday. that didn't happen, they have now postponed the meeting until the 13th. nobody can agree on who the speaker of the house should be, who the president should be, and therefore, who the prime minister should be. the prime minister is very unpopular not only in some parts of his own party but across the political spectrum. but no one candidate is uniting everybody. they just keep postponing this for longer and longer hoping time will let them get to a place where they can have an agreement. >> imran thank you very much for that update. there is more to come on this news hour, including a court released most of

imran khan, al jazeera, bagdad. >> we have the executive direct or who joins us in studio.on thanks for being with us. what makes this crisis different from the others? >> the crises are in some sense connected. obviously that's clear for everybody to see, and in some sense the strength that isis or isil is a direct result of the atrocities of the assad government in syria, but we have 2 million internally displaced people at the moment in iraq. at least 1 million of whom may have come originally from syria. it's a very grave situation. these people have no support. they called for $300 million in funding, of which they only have $25 million at the moment. >> is it complicated by the fact the united states had this war going on in iraq for ten years? >> yeah, of course. absolutely. and the american misadventure obviously is part of this story, but it's not the only part. the bigger part as i said the civil war in syria as the way that has leaked across the borders in iraq, and the is, or issa, or isil, has a mission to destable the area. >> there have been reports of crucif

imran khan joins us live from baghdad. talk us through what happened, imran. >> well, the parliament met and the speaker of the house announced there were not enough people, a quorum to be able to meet. that is because, as you say, the kurdish mps were stuck in erbil. they couldn't fly to baghdad. it's been postponed until tuesday. there's a silver lining about all of this. there may be an agreement for dr salem al-bajori to take over. that's a significant room. it ticks in a constitutional process where they are allowed to choose a prime minister by the end of 45 days. we have been here before in iraqi politics. in 2010 it took two months to choose a prime minister. this is the first stage. it looks like that first stage will happen on tuesday, as there is some agreement at least on the choice of the speaker of the house. whilst this is going on, of course, iraq faces its crisis in a town 70 miles outside of baghdad. rebels stay they have taken obvious, and have blown up a bridge. this is 70km outside of baghdad. on a pro

iraq's government is calling the video a farce and imran khan has more in baghdad. >> if it is confirmed, it sends out a strong message. the first message it sends out is that the i.s. will say, the cal i have is able travel within his own territories and not get harassed and not get hit by the security forces. he is clearly come from syria, across the border into northwestern iraq and and in a public place. >>, in itself, is a very big message. what did he actually say in his friday clip? it's consistent with what we have heard before from the audiotapes. once again he says to muslims, please come to the islamic kalif. it's our duty to win jihad. we are the only people who can bring peace to the islamic world. is this the abu bakr al bad dadi? semi official account says yes, it is him. others said it is something called al yemeni. we sent him there to gauge public reaction to whether -- to how they would react if he came and gave a sermon. it's an intelligence exercise for them. once again, we can't confirm any of this. i am just error what we know so far, also what we know is when he w

imran khan has the latest from baghdad. >> if this video in mosul is confirmed, it be sounds ute a strongessage. the first message it sends out is that the is will say that the kalif of the islamic state is able to travel within his own territories and not get harassed and not get hit by the security forces. he is clearly, they say, come from syria, across the border, into northwestern iraq and and in a public place. >> is a big message. what did he actually say in his friday sermon? it's consistent with what we heard from the audiotapes delivered by him. once again, he says to muslims, please come to the islamic kalif. it's your duty. it's our duty to fight. we will win jihad and we are the only people who can bring peace to the islamic world. it's consist owned with the messages we have heard before. but, is this abu bakr a abu bakr al baghdadi? we know the officials or semi official account of the islamic state said it is him. other twitter accounts have said, no. it's not. it's somebody called al yemeni. we sent him there to gauge public reaction to whether -- to how they would react

imran khan has the latest from bagdad. >> the air strikes continue for days now, and what military expertsthese air strikes are very useful to weaken targets inside the city in preparation of a ground force moving in. but we haven't seen any evidence of a ground force preparing to move into the area. there is a question of what kind of hardware is being used in these air strikes? the iraqis really have two options. one is the cessna plain which is equipped with hell fire missiles. also now they are using the su25, these are planes supplied to them by rush and iran. they have heavier weaponry, so that's another option for them. but we have heard that the iraqis are using drones. when you think of drones, you normally think of americans. there are american drones flying over bagdad, but they are here for defensive purposes for american assets within the country. so it's likely if there are drones being used they are either iranian or very low-grade iraqi ones. no one in the government is admitting to the use of either of those two drones, but that's what we're hearing from the people inside

. >>> imran khan is in bagdad. >> reporter: the political stalemate continues here in iraq.he parliamentary meeting today didn't happen. all they have to do is choose a speaker of the house. that triggers a constitutional process. and at the end of that is supposed to be the election of a new prime minister. it it's politically charged, nobody can agree on who the president, prime minister, or speaker of the house should be. backstage what is going on, lots of negotiations, lots of talking, but it seems the division is not just political, it is almost sectarian. the shiite parties say maliki is the one to lead them out of this crisis. his opponents say this is partly his fault. and that is what has lead to the current impasse. and the kurds say pretty much the same thing, but now they are talking about independence, and they say we can't be part of an iraqi state that doesn't respect our rights and has a strangle hold over us. so it looks likely when the session meets on the 13th, that they won't get another agreement, and it will be postponed yet again. nobody is hopeful th

imran khan has the latest from there. >> reporter: there has been a lot of angry reaction here from baghdadfrom across the political spectrum about those kurdish plans. a lot of people here are saying that the kurds are taking advantage of iraq's current crisis, that now is not the time to take a look at independence in any way, shape or means that iraqi must remain united in the face of the threat, they face from the islamic state. the other people are concerned about exactly what borders the new independent kurdistan would have. would it take over kirkuk? >> certainly something that the kurds would like. what about mosul, which is currently under the control of the islamic state and other sunni rebels? what happens to that territory? is it worth having a kurdish state? with the islamic state right on the other side of your borders? there has been criticism from some quarters, particularly religious quarters, saying that this is an islamic state fueled problem that we are having, that they want to redraw the borders of the middle east and what the kurds are doing is, in effect, by calling

says that while there may be russian citizens fighting against the eastern ukraine mill -- ukraine imranilitary in eastern easten ukraine, they are not being directed from the russian government. that has never convinced the ukrainian government and never convinced many people in the west either. there have been analysts that i have been talking to here who said that if russia were increasing its military involvement in ukraine that wouldn't be too surprising because it seems as if the rebels who are fighting there are on the verge of military collapse. and that is something that the kremlin here cannot countenance at all. so what's going on is the rebels fighting in the east are finding that they are being dominated by a massive ukrainian air superiority. essentially the rebels are amateurs fighting against what is becoming a much more experienced ukrainian army. and so if russia does not want those rebels to be defeated, it has to find some way of redressing that military imbalance. >> now to the crisis on the u.s.-mexican border. thousands are fleeing central america creating an immig

imran khan has more from baghdad. >> if this video of abu bakr al-baghdadi is confirmed, it send out a strong message, the first message is that the is will say this abu bakr al-baghdadi, the cal af of the islamic state is able to travel within his territories and not get harassed and hit by the security forces. he has come from syria across the border into north-western iraq and appeared in a public place, that, itself, is a big message. what did he say? >> well, it's stuff that is consistent with what we have heard before from the audio tapes. once again he says "please come to the islamic caliphate. it's your duty to fight, we will bring jihad and we are the only ones that can bring peace to the islamic world." what we know is the islamic state is pushing this heavily, saying this is abu bakr al-baghdadi, and this message is clear, we can travel where we like within the islamic state, a big message to put out and one that people can listen to here. >> prime minister nouri al-maliki fired the chief of iraq's ground forces and the head of the police. as part of a strategy to re-orga

imran khan has more from baghdad. >> if this video of abu bakr al-baghdadi in mosul is confirmed it send out a strong message. the first is that the is will say that abu bakr al-baghdadi, the cal af of the islamic state is able to travel within his own territories and got get harassed or hit by the security forces. he has come from syria, across the border into north-western iraq and appeared in a public place. it is a big message. what did he say. well, it's stuff that is consistent with what we heard from the audio tapes. once again he says "please come to the islamic cal af fate, it is your duty to fight and we are the om ones that -- only oning that can bring peace to the is lalic world." the islamic state are pushing this heavy, saying in is bagged. and the message is clear. we can travel anywhere we like within the islamic state. it's a big message to put out, one that people are listening to. >> two were injured when egyptian security forces fired at protesters protesting a hike in fuel prices. the government says it's necessary to fix the economy. there's widespread anger where h

imran chan reports now from baghdad. >> reporter: due to bad weather, the parliamentary session thatas supposed to begin at mid i day has been cancelled until ties. kurdish mps who were due to fly in weren't able to make their flight because of the sand storm that you can see behind me. so that parliamentary session postponed until tuesday. there is some good news. it looks like there is some agreement on the appointment of the speaker of the house. it's a key position. once they agree on the speaker of the house it kicks in a constitutional process that allows for 45 days to choose the next prime minister of iraq. now, it has been chondro versial but it looks like there is agreement that doctor salim. albujori will be the speaker of the house. we will find out on tuesday when parliament parlor meets. theits lammic state made more gangs taking over a town 70 kilometers outside of baghdad in a place called duli. a. they have broken up a bridge there. they are still making problems for the iraqi army. also, on pro-islamic state social media account, they are saying that there is a batt

imran khan reports from the capitol of bagdad. >> reporter: after months of political wrangling, iraqy on its way to forming a government. he has been chosen to represent iraq as speaker of the house. the sunnis agreed, their political block agreed that he was the consensus candidate for all of them. although i have said this took months of wrangling, this perhaps was the easy bit. what happens now is there are 30 days to choose a president and then another 15 days on top of that to choose the prime minister. this constitutional process is likely, though, to take a lot longer. in 2010 it took them nearly six months to get a prime minister and iraq didn't face the kind of crisis that it faces at the moment. and all this crisis seems to continue. up in tikrit there is fierce fighting between the sunni rebels and the iraqi army. the iraqi army saying they have gone into the town. they used artillery and air strikes and now they are inside the town. they have taken over key government buildings there. and the iraqi flag is waving on top of those buildings. however, the rebels say they are

. >> imran kahn in bag dads. meanwhile iraqi iraqis displacey the fighting are getting help. saudi arabian government is donating money saying it should be given to all iraqis regardless of relidge inning, o. on the ground more fighting after a tenuous ceasefire ended in ukraine. kiev says ukrainian forces control two villages. this is a video of rebels being detains. ukrainian and russian foreign ministers meeting today in enter linberlin trying to jump start e peace process. >>> the man accused leading attack on the american consulate in ben day benghazi. he's facing prosecution for the attack in libya. that killed the ambassador chris stevens. he said he provided information about the attacks but has not yet innin incriminated himself. >>> 24 california tempers reached the boiling point. residents forcing the caravan of undocumented immigrants to turn away from a u.s. border patrol station. erica reports. >> reporter: with their signs held high, protesters swarmed the street beginning the bus to his a standstill. the buses carrying undocumented central american families we

. >>> imran khan joins us. it's been called a land grab.the iraqi army in a position to get it back. >> no, they need to go throat the islamic state and then to kurdistan and those territories. the army is busy trying to take over the land that the islamic stayed take own, it's unlikely they'll go after the oil fields. the kurds are in movement. they want to take the land, feeling it will be part of the kurdistan state. the tough are the language used towards the kurds, the tougher they become. the relationship is deteriorated to the point where they are talking to each other through the media. there doesn't seem to be conversations between them privately to bring this to calm. prime minister nouri al-maliki is very tough, but the kurds are tougher. it's a stalemate at the moment. >> i want to go back to something you said, the indirect verbal shots fired. speaking of that, the u.n. special envoy says the country could plunge into chaos if the government is not forms soon. what can we expect tomorrow. >> the july 13th session is supposed to

imran khan joins us from baghdad. good morning to you. parliament has been deadlocked over who should leave iraq. what else is factoring into the decision on whether or not they'll chos malarky. >> certainly within nouri al-maliki's camp there are rising voices saying it doesn't matter if there's a deadlock k nouri al-maliki is the man for the job. everyone else is in disagreement. it's hard to find anyone from the potential that will support nouri al-maliki. he is belligerent, determined to stay in power. it's creating a deadlock. the international community is finding it difficult to come in with more help. iraqis are saying something needs to move otherwise we will not be able to battle the islamic state or territories. what about the regional power, speaking of territory. there's reports an an iranian pilot was killed in north-western iraq. what role is iran playing in iraq right now? >> this was a pilot killed on the ground in north-western iraq, bringing into focus what the rainian roll is. here is what we know. the head of one of t

. >> imran khan in baghdad. >>> 46 nurses held in iraq by the islamic state are back home. they were stranded in tikrit when the fighting between is and iraqi troops escalated. they were greeted by family members in a southern indian airport. the indian foreign ministry has not provided details on how the women were secured. the women say they were not harmed. the islamic state is on the move in syria. the islamic state is in control of syria's oil and gas fields. they have oil assets which could bruce 3500 barrels a day. the monitoring groups is in control of an area five times the size of lebanon. iraq's kurdish minority is pushing for more independence, it's the subject of our "deeper look", later in the hour. >>> moving to ukraine - a major win for the government forces. pro-russian separatists have been driven out of slovyansk. ukraine's president has given them until sunday to lay down their weapons. scott heidler has the day's developments. >> reporter: hundreds of separatist fighters on the move, pushed out by a major ukrainian offensive. many leaving the northern f

imran khan reports, dropping are barrel bombs on the city of fallujah. >> this is the result of aing dropping of a barrel bomb. local sources say the bombs were dropped by helicopter. but an iraqi military spokesman dismissed the accusation. he also went on to say that a senior military commander had also died in another attack. >> the head of the sik sixth bre was murdered. it happened when the terrorists used mortar rounds. the heroic martyr was seriously wounded. he died and joined the care van of the iraqi martyrs in iraq's war on terror. >> the grouping previously known as i.s.i.l, as iraq's crisis continues so does the political stalemate. last tuesday's iraq's prime ministers met for the opening of the parliament. 45 day constitutional protest which would have then elected the prime minister. that didn't happen. instead sunni and kurdish politician he walked out. it has been scheduled for this wednesday but now it has been postponed until early august. few are confident that the politician he will be able to agree on what comes next. internationally, the u.s. and the u.k. says

imran khan joins us from baghdad. i want you to pick up on a line about the loss of an iranian pilot. it shed light on the depth of iranian fighting going on. >> that's right. an iranian pilot was killed, and has thrown into focus the role of iran within iraq. iranians officially don't have a role. hassan rouhani said the iraqis need to ask for help. but we do know that the head of one of the forces and a germ has been in and out of -- general has been in and out of iraq, and has been advising the prime minister's office and the iraqi milt on tactics -- military on tactics op how to fight the islamic state. the alcutes force is here, at least one contingent, helping to advise the iraqi troops, making them advisors alongside the u.s., also with those advicing iraqi troops. there's a big role. it's kept quite. the iranians don't want to the escalate what they are doing, but they are keeping a close eye on the holy shrines. for them, any attack is an absolute red light and something that will likely cause an all af out s

imran khan reports. >> reporter: this is what activists say is the aftermath of a barrel bomb attack in the western city of fallujah. a barrel bomb is that, a crude explosive placed in a barrel. bombed were dropped by helicopter. but an iraqi military spokesman dismissed the accusation. he went to say that military advisor died in an attack. >> while he was visiting the unarmed citizens, it happened when the terrorists used mortar rounds to shell the area from the west side and from fallujah. the heroic martyr was seriously injured. he died and joined the care van of the grai great iraqi martyrs. >> since then there have been frequent skirmishes and the iraqi air force launched moring. >> at that session they were supposed to elect a speaker of the house. had they done that it would have triggered a 45-day constitutional process which would have then elected the prime minister. that didn't happen. instead sunni and kurdish politician he walked out. it was then rescheduled for this wednesday but now it's been postponed until early august. few people in iraq are confident that the poli

. >>> let's get the latest, imran khan is in baghdad. >> the air strikes continue for days. military experts say they are useful to weaken targets with respect the city and on the outskirts in preparation for ground force that might go in. we have not seen evidence of a ground force prepared to go into the city of mosul, or, indeed, other territories of the islamic state or the other rebels. there's a question of what hardware is being used in the air strikes. the iraqis have two options. one is the ses na plane, equipped with hellfire missiles. that's what they have been using previously. they are using the sukhoi su 25, supplied by russia and iran. they have heavy i don't remember weaponry -- heavier wepionry. speaking to sources in mosul, the iraqis are using drones. you normally think of americans. there are american drones flying over baghdad. they are here for defense if purposes for american assets. it's likely if there are drones flying over mosul and they are used, that they are iranian or low-grade iraqi ones. that needs to be confirmed. no one in the government is

imran khan has the latest from bagdad. >> a disappointing performance by iraq's parliament.here in iraq are wondering just quite what went wrong. they were supposed to meet, and elect a speaker of the house, that then triggers a constitutional process, giving them 45 days to elect a prime minister. they net -- not very long, but they didn't come up with speaker of the house. now both the international community and iraqis are going to be disappointed. the international community has been pushing hard, saying we need to get an elected government in place so we can move on and give you more help in the crisis that iraq faces. the iraqis themselves were looking forward to seeing a speaker of the house, giving them some hope that their government was going to be formed quite quickly. in 2010, it took them nearly eight months to form a government. this session has been delayed a week, so we'll see what happens then. but a lot of iraqis very disappointed right now. >>> there is a kurdish group fighting the rebels in iraq. here is our report. >> reporter: this kurdish general has b