imran khan, al jazeera, iraq. >> 43 people in the southern suburb of beirut, one hit a community, the other a niche bakery, hezbollah has seant hundreds of troops into syria. i.s.i.l. has claimed responsibility for the blast. the pentagon says i.s.i.l.'s leader in libya has possibly been killed in an air strike. anu naja, a long time al qaeda operative before he joined i.s.i.l. >>> commitment to a peaceful transition of peace, t ien sen said it was opposition to reforms. the opposition party first in poll for 25 years. >>> supposed to put israel on a track to energy independence but a larger find in egypt and within the israeli parliament has put that dream in doubt. have scott heidler reports from west jerusalem. >> five years ago, a discovery of gas deposits, just 150 miles off israel's coast. it's estimated that the untapped leviathan gas drill, enough to supply a country as big as turkey for more than a decade. political infighting and delays in israel have tempered the excitement. >> if there continues to be a deadlock in local politics and regulation, regarding the development o

from the city of er erbil, imran khan has the story. >> winter has arrived. few days of rain have turned refugee camps into muddy parts. she and her family are freezing in this camp. >> other times in the bathroom we have no place to go because of the rain and the storms. the other day our tent collapsed on the kids. >> typical, struggling to cope with the winter weather. the u.n. refugee agency, u.n. hcr, has cut back on the cash it provides. money's scarce and falling oil prices mean the regional government is struggling to provide basic needs. the biggest challenge for this camp and many others isn't the cold. it's the rain and as you can see it can come down very heavily. now for most vulnerable the children this is a real challenge. if disease takes ahold in this camp it can spread very quickly. the general manager of the camp doesn't have enough funding or infrastructure. >> we are much concerned from rainstorms. we are doing our best to overcome such harsh cns by providing waterproof covers for these tents. but frankly speaking these tents can't surviv

imran khan reports. >> overnight coalition strikes hit i.s.i.l. strongholds in and around sinjar town. the operation is on the south, the west and the east. iraqi commander is confident they will prevail. >> today it is our duty to liberate sinjar, this is the duty of every iraqi citizen. god willing we will help people return to their homes. >> while the morale is high, the operation is not easy. kurdish regional president will monitor progress. sinjar is considered kurdish territory and success here will be seen as victory against i.s.i.l. but i.s.i.l. fighters have proved themselves to be knowledge strong. when the armed groups control the town, it killed between 3 and 5,000 yazidi men according to rights organizations. that pushed the u.s. to launch air strikes in iraq and a month later into syria. if this operation is successful it could cut off i.s.i.l.-held raqqa in syria and mosul in iraq. denying them critical supply routes. use them as a staging post for final push but it's not clear if that will happen in the coming days. i.s.i.l. fight

imran khan joins us. what is the latest, what are you hearing is happening right now? >> well, we are seeing a number of air strikes take place around the town of sinjar. after hitting i.s.i.l. targets. we are seeing kurdish peshmerga going in towards the town. what they are doing is attacking it on three fronds - the south, the east and the west. and taking the little villages outside of the town of sinjar. it's a common tactic. you take the villages and use them as a staging ground for the offensive, a push into sinjar. when it takes place, we don't know. it's likely to be a few days before they get nth. they are facing resistance. i.s.i.l. knew they were coming and booedy trapped a lot of villages, it's slowing the offensive down slightly. as the peshmerga said they are taking the villages and are confident to get in. the game-changer is the air strikes and support that kurdish peshmerga forces are getting. i.s.i.l. fighters know the area, they nut the offensive was coming and dough in. they say they have enough swepons and ammunition to fight for a year. imran khan

imran khan, al jazeera. sinjar. >> let's take you straight to paris. can hear there the bells of notre dame, ringing to mark the start of the vigil that's beginning there, and, of course, heard across paris to mark the killing of 129 people who died in the paris attacks on friday. today is also the first day of three days of mourning that will be marked across paris and france. we've also heard that the president of france wants the state of emergency in the country to last three months. that's according to political sources on this now the second day after the attacks on friday. the bells of notre dame to mark the start of that vigil in paris. to egypt where police have found the bodies of 15 african refugees who have been -- who were shot in the sinai peninsula. officials say police opened fire on them after they ignored warning shots and sprint toward a boarder fence with israel. eight other people were found injured. >>> police in lebanon arrested nine people in connection with bombings in beirut, being held on suspicion of being involved in planni

imran kahn reports. >> reporter: he always dreamt about becoming a teacher.his chosen career would be secure and fulfilling. now he's not so sure. he still loves his job but he hasn't received his government salary for five months. he used to drive to school in us own car. now he drives a tax toy make end meet. once he's fi finished in the classroom. >> translator: we are forced to work after government hours because the central government has stopped their funding of the politicians bicker with each other and we suffer. there is a large segment of the government workers seeking part-time jobs to provide for their families even those jobs are scarce, we are hammered between delayed salaries and part-time jobs don't pay much. i became a teach tore help future generations and i can't even help myself. >> reporter: the kurdistan regional government is supposed to receive about a million dollars a month from iraqi oil revenues and they share the lion's share of the budget. but the money hasn't arrived oil prices have fallen government lead nurse baghdad also accu

imran kahn now reports. >> reporter: isil fighters are said to have killed 1500 iraqi soldiers in a camptside the ca crete in june last year. this is one of the men killed. for his family the upcoming trial isn't enough to heal the pain. >> translator: the government keeps saying it will capture those that killed our sons. yet i did not receive the remains of my dead son. nor did the perpetrators be brought to justice. we want justice to be served quickly. >> reporter: in july, 24 men were sentenced for what the iraqi government said was their partial responsibility for the massacre of the soldiers. human rights groups said the trial was flawed and the evidence was lacking. that is a charge the iraqis have denied and are hoping that justice will be served in this latest trial. >> translator: those who were accused of the massacre have confessed the judiciary that they carried out mass killings. the case has been looked out carefully and now it's in process. >> reporter: the families of dead are angry at the ey iraqi leaders and have had regular protests. >> not 10 iraqi politicians are w

imran khan, sinjar. >> still ahead on the al jazeera newshour: i am john hendren. >> in sports, mercedes driver nickel rosberg got his 6th successive poll position. all of the action from the brazilian grand prix coming up. >> our american story is written everyday. it's not always pretty, but it's real... and we show you like no-one else can. this is our american story. ♪good to have you with us on the al jazeera newshour. i am elizabeth rurman. the french say three coordinated teams were behind the attacks in paris. six different sites were started. police say they know of several attackers. all are dead. investigators say there may have been accomplices. hundreds of people have gathered at the plaza de republic to honor victims 69 attacks. at least 129 people were killed and 352 others injured in the violence. >> moderators say they will shift the emphasis to security. the final degree democratic candidates will faceoff in a couple of hours. world leaders were supposed to condemn the attacks in paris. millions have been showing support for the people of france. some of the most famous

imran khan, al jazeera. >> from the u.s.'s role in this operation [ inaudible ] >> first the u.s.very c confide confident, [ technical difficulties ] >> more air strikes have been conducted in the last 24 hours. at least 20 [ inaudible ] special forces is [ inaudible ] but they stress these americans are not on the front lines. but they do say that there is this on the ground support, well back to make certain that the peshmerga are successful. >> thank you for that update from washington. health officials say a palestinian man was shot dead by undercover israeli soldiers in the surgery unit of a hospital. a warning the images [ inaudible ] disturbing. >> reporter: have a look at the second row to the left. what looks like a man dressed in an abya [ inaudible ] >> translator: so what do you think when a unit of undercover security raid your hospital. they came undercover, not even as socials to arrest one of the patients lying injured in his bed. the crime even became uglier when they surprised the companion of the patient and shot him with five bullets and executed him in the hos

imran khan, al jazeera, sinjar. >> taxes are going up across the greek islands as athens i am mrenltsew measures to pdebts. sc scan. >> cheese has created an $11 million dairy industry feeding hundreds of families. but farmers here are worried that they may now go out of business. a law passed last month abol issues a consumer tax discounts for greek islands. noxos is among the first to enforce it. >> i estimate cattle feeds will go up by 14 points. nobody here can make ends meet that way. my cost for feeds and medicines will go up by 500 or 600 your os a day. it may prove catastrophic. >> means my total costs will go up by a 5th. >> margaretis grows his own c n cornmeal. po ta the owes, another export will suffer from a hike in fertilizer and seed costs. the farmer's cooperative says there is no room to raise prices or cut costs. >> it's very difficult for us to pay farmers more. these are family businesses. everyone is already pushiitchin. i think people are just going to leave. tourim doesn't offer a safe harbor either with a 23% tax on ferry tickets and restaurants, people here fe

imran khan joins us. key strategic area, as we say. what is happening right now? >> well, what is going on right now is the peshmerga forces have gone in with close air support and taken at least five villages, as you say. this is a key strategy. they take the villages and use them as a staging post to go into the town of sinjar itself. they have faced resistance. a lot of vehicles have improvised explosive devices, car bombs, inside them, and booby trapped houses. this is an i.s.i.l. tactic used to slow an offensive into the town that they control. now, the strategy here is to fight on three fronts. they are taking the south, east and west and pushing towards the town itself. now, when they get into sinjar. they face a tremendous amount of resistance. i.s.i.l. have been there for a year, they knew the offensive is coming and are well prepared for it. according to i.s.i.l. sources. they are prepared to take another year? sinjar, and not -- another year in sinjar and not allow the peshmerga forces to overrun them. we see a push towards the town, taking the key vill

imran khan, al jazeera. >>> iran has called on all sides to join u.n.nsored peace talks to bring an end to the war in yemen. there has been more fighting in yemen's southern city of ta'izz, and forces loyal to president hadi took over houthi positions. 17 houthi fighters were killed. >>> a libyan man has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder a british policewoman three decades ago. she was shot outside of the libyan embassy in london in 1984. they described the arrest of the man in his 50s as a significant development. >>> talks have wrapped up in manila, but security concerns have overshadowed trade talks. >> reporter: calling the summit a success, the leaders of a-pac showed a united front despite their in political differences. they agreed to keep working together towards inclusive and sustainable growth. they also promised to make separate regional trade agreement compliment each other, and to eradicate poverty, all part of what the host leader called a people-centered agenda. >> these past couple of days we discussed the critical regio

we spoke to a widow of dick mallory, a congress imran, he took his own life he was in a state where they did not have right to die legislation at the time. >> heartbreaking for their families as well. "america tonight's" adam may, thank you. >>> next on "america tonight," a fight for rights and the dividing line that goes beyond the restroom door. later brothers in arms and beyond, support that no one other than a fellow vet can offer. offer. >> in the end the line between transgender rights and a conservative community came down to just one thing: the bathroom. houston voters struck down a bill, that would allow men into women's bathrooms. questions about transgender rights, it can start at an early age. christof putzel found when he met young people in transition at 12. >> he rides scooters and rough-houses with his friends. but unlike most boys he is biologically a girl. evan has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a condition where one's psychological identity is opposite to one's sex. like many transgender children evan suffered from depression, even at times felt suicidal. the fe

imran khan has more from erbil. >> iraqi forces say they have entered the outskirts of ramadi. connecting supply route between ramadi and fallujah, a bridge, managed to take that bridge and that means that i.s.i.l. are effectively cut into two and cannot reinforce their fighters in ramadi. so now what iraqi security forces are doing is going into neighborhoods very slowly very methodically. those air strikes have been key in recent days, however they've weakened i.s.i.l. forces and allowed iraqi security forces to go in. now what we're also being told is any civilians still trapped in ramadi are able to leave if they wave a white flag. we have not seen any white flags. if ramadi is taken in the next few days it will be seen as a very key victory against i.s.i.l. particularly in anbar province. >>> the new administration of burkina faso will take over ma m the government put in place earlier this year. mohammad adow reports. >> proarcheprovinces of burkinao far they have declared the results of nearly 50% of election constituencies in burkina faso and those polls show a lead for

we spoke to a widow of dick mallory, a congress imran, he took his own life he was in a state where they did not have right to die legislation at the time. >> heartbreaking for their families as well. "america tonight's" adam may, thank you. >>> next on "america tonight," a fight for rights and the dividing line that goes beyond the restroom door. later brothers in arms and beyond, support that no one >> we're here to fully get into the nuances of everything that's going on, not just in this country, but around the world. >> ...as if there were no cameras here, would be the best solution. >> this goes to the heart of the argument >> to tell you the stories that others won't cover. how big do you see this getting? getting the news from the people who are affected. >> people need to demand reform... >> we're here to provide the analysis... the context... and the reporting that allows you to make sense of your world. >> ali velshi on target only on al jazeera america >> in the end the line between transgender rights and a conservative community came down to just one thing: the bathroom. hou

. >> -- imran khan reports from erbil. >> these children's father was killed by i.s.i.l. when the armed group took control of sinjar. their mother saw the fighters kill her husbands and with that shot her life changed >> translation: after they killed my husband i.s.i.l. unloaded the women and children in pick-up trucks and put us in abandoned buildings. they came from time to time and selected the beautiful girls and took them away. we were in those buildings for two weeks. it was horrible. the kids were crying and were afraid. there was fighting and bombings around us, and air strikes hit the fighters and we escaped. there was no one to look after us, everyone was desperate to look after themselves. >> in iraq, the definition of an orphan is a child that lost one or both parents. there's no accurate numbers, but the effect is immense. they live for from the. 712 orphans have been registered. the u.n.'s children agency, u.n.i.c.e.f., finding and recs tearing is a challenge. the work this they are doing is of violence. they deny access to large portions of anbar. >> repor

imran khan reports from erbil, on what happened so far. >> reporter: in the early hours of thursday morning the operation to take back sinjar began. overnight coalition air strikes hit targets in and around the town, which i.s.i.l. controlled since august. the operation is on three nonts, the south, the west and the east. iraqi kurds are confident they'll preseparately. >> tiaz it's -- prevail. >> translation: today it's our duet yoi to liberate -- duty to liberate sinjar, god willing we'll help the people return back to their homes. >> reporter: the moral may be high, the operation is far from easy. importance has been underscored by the arrival of kurdish presidents to monitor progress. sinjar is considered kurdish territories. success is seen as victory, i.s.i.l. fighters proved resilient and booby-trapped houses and rigged car bombs. it is important because it's home to the yazidi, who practice an ancient religion, which i.s.i.l. views as heretic. >> it killed between 3,000-5,000 men. >> that pushed the u.s. to launch air strikes in iraq and syria, leading to kurdish peshmerga forces. i

university of missouri and perhaps others are the headed for trouble, when they bring in a business imran, who thinks he has to bring in more money and build more buildings. >> this makes michigan look like bo diddly tech, that's university of texas. they brought in a business guy named steve patterson, to run the operation and he began to monetize everything. global branding of the texas and orange colors and when he did they rubbed two factions the wrong way. he rubbed the wrong way the traditionalists, around the faculty and students who think football has gotten too big and toocommodified and too much of a big business. when you bring those two factors together even the most haughty of ceos does not stand on a college campus. >> going back to the 1968 salute at the mexico city games what sort of impact what sort of ripple effect does this kind of action have across the world of sports? >> massive. because one thing about players when they take involved in this collective action at the collegiate level, i think right and popular sentiment on their side. saying that an nfl strike does n

. >>> kurdish fighters captured the raik yoi town of -- iraqi town of sinjar, as imran khan reports, that cooperation it proving to be a hallmark of the continuing fight against the armed group >>> kurdish peshmerga fighters captured the town of sinjar without much resistance, and celebrate on the streets - or at least what is left of them. air power was a major victory. in the days leading up to the offensive u.s.-led coalition air strikes hit several targetses. >> translation: we cut the road into sinjar in the days before and coordinated efforts with our partners, we didn't see resistance from i.s.i.l. air strikes played a crucial role. a local journalist we spoke to said i.s.i.l. fighters were perhaps retreating to reinforce the city of mosul which they controlled. what gave the advantage was u.s. led coalition air strikes. the building was likely to have been hit by an air strike, you can tell because it's almost constantina said in. what the peshmerga are saying is they need to go around. taking over the town was a first step. that first step took months of planning. peshmerga

al jazeera's imran khan has more from erbil. >> reporter: isil have been expecting this attack sincehey took over the town in august of last year. now what they have been doing is embedding themselves within the town itself, and also on the out skirts of the various little villages. they have abandoned those villages, but they have left behind booby traps and explosive devices. one truck bomb went off a few hours ago, it was so large that many in the location thought it was an air strike. this is a tactic we have seen isil use time and time again. and once they get into the town, isil will use urban warfare to try to defeat the forces. they have something like 7.5 thousand troops. they have cut the road off, and they are looking to go into sinjar sometime soon. it is going to take several days. and they say we need to go in very slowly because of the booby trapped villages and towns, and make sure that the isil elements can't escape from any other route. cutting off the -- the town is key. and that's what they have been doing. so it could take several days, and that's what we're hear

imran khan reports. >> reporter: this three-year-old and one year old, their father was killed by i.s.i.l. fighters last year when the armed group took hold of sinjar mountain. their mother saw the fighters kill her husband and with that one gunshot her whole life changed. >> translation: after they killed my husband, i.s.i.l. took and loaded the women and children in pick up trucks and put us in abandoned children's. i.s.i.l. then came from time to time and selected the most beautiful girls and took them away. we remained in that buildings for two weeks. my kids were crying and this were so afraid. there was fighting an bombings all around us and air strikes hit the i.s.i.l. fighters and we escaped. everybody was desperate to look after themselves. >> reporter: in iraq the definition of an or fan is anyone who has-- any child who lost one or two parents. there are no numbers. aid agencies say the families are struggling to cope with the extra mouths to feed. it's only the tight-knit spirit that keeps these families together. the orphans don't get given the help that they need. at least o

air strikes were crucial to their success and as imran khan reports from inside sinjar, that is proving to be a hall mark of the continuing fight against the armed group. >> reporter: kurdish peshmerga fighters captured the town of sin skrar without much resistance. they celebrate on the streets here or at least what's left of them. air power was a major reinfor the peshmerga victory on the ground. in the days leading up to the offensive, air strikes hit several targets. >> translation: we cut the road into sinjar and coordinated efforts with our partners. we didn't see any residents from i.s.i.l. air strikes played a crucial role. >> reporter: a local journal afloat we spoke to said i.s.i.l. fighters were, perhaps, retreating to reinforce the city of mosul which they control. which gave the peshmerga advantage was air strikes. this building is likely to have been hit by one of those air strikes. you can tell because of how it looks. will the peshmerga are saying they need to go around and clear these buildings before anybody can go back in. the first step was taking the town which took

imran khan has more. >> reporter: the kurdish peshmerga forces keep watch. the front line, soldiers from the 14th division hold the village here. the local captain shows al jazeera the front lines and says the successful operation to defeat isil in the town of sin yar last week has given them hope. >> translator: we are waiting for an agreement between the iraqi central government and the coalition and the kurdish regional government on a plan to advance and air support will be key. >> reporter: that air support is problematic. about a kilometer and a half that way are elz-held front line positions. this base comes under regular attack by them, shelling and small arms and sniper fire that are a real problem for the forces here, especially in this type of weather when they can't fly drone strikes in support of the kurdish peshmerga. there is a fear that once isil is defeated the kurds will take over the area the commander of the front says iraqis security forces aren't capable of holing the area. >> we liberated this air. now we are liberated. now we are resp

going back to imran kahn in northern iraq which is long one of the main sly routes for that offensive on the town of sinjar nearby. what's the latest? >> reporter: i can tell you that the last few hours kurdish peshmerga forces walked into the town of sinjar. they first took the governor built there and declared that the rest of the town was in their hands. the north of sinjar mountain has been in kurdisher peshmerga hands allowing those to flee from the town, the majority of the community in sinjar. they haven't come in through the south-east and the west and that's where the major pushes were coming and the fighting that took place on thursday, but they do say they are in control of the town. we were expecting i.s.i.l. to mount quite a major fight back. that seemingly hasn't happened. there is something odd going on that we are seeing through social media. a lot of the media, particularly linked to i.s.i.l. here in iraq have been on blackout. there has been no news coming out from them. i've spoken to a pro i.s.i.l. journal afloat who told me that i.s.i.l. fighters left on november

imran khan reports. >> reporter: this three-year-old and one year old siblings' father was killed. their mother saw the fighters kill her husband and with that one gun shot her whole life changed >> translation: after they killed my husband, i.s.i.l. took the women an children and put us in a track and put us in an abandoned building. from time to time they chose beautiful girls and took them away. we remained there for two weeks. it was horrible. my kids were so afraid. there was fighting and bombs around us. we escaped. there was no-one to look after us. everybody was desperate to look after themselves. >> reporter: in iraq the definition of an or fan is any child who has lost one or both parents. there's no accurate figures, but the effect on the children has opinion immense. aid agencies say the families are struggling to cope with the extra mouths to feed. this person lives far from the camps that provides services. the orphans don't get the help that they need. at least one ngo said that 712 orphans have been registered by them. that's only a tiny fraction of all the orphans

imran khan reports. >> reporter: kurdish peshmerga fighters captured the town of sinjar without much resistance. they celebrated on the streets here or at least what's left of them. air power was a major reason for the peshmerga victory on the ground. in the days leading up to the offensive, u.s. led coalition air strikes hit several targets. >> translation: we cut the road into sinjar and the days before in coordinated efforts with our coalition partners of the we didn't see any residents from i.s.i.l. air strikes placed a crucial role. >> reporter: a journalism said i.s.i.l. fighters were pretreating to reinforce the city of mosul which they control. what gave the peshmerga advantage was u.s. led coalition air strikes. this was likely to have been hit by one of those. they're saying they need to go around and clear all of these buildings before anybody can go back in. taking over the town was just a first step. that first step took months of planning. peshmerga commander says the air strikes will be a useful tool in future operations. >> translation: the coalition air strikes are t

from the city of erbil, imran khan reports. >> winter has arrived at the harka camp in northern iraq.ays of rain have turned makeshift streets into muddy parks. jabar is desperate. she lived here for 18 months after escaping isil fighters who seized her home in mosul. now she and her family are freezing in this camp. >> translator: sometimes, we sleep in the kitchen. other times, in the bathroom. we have no place to go because of the rain and the storms. the other day, our tent collapsed on the kids. when it rains, the power goes off. >> this camp is typical of many others across northern iraq which are struggling to cope with the winter weather. the u.n. refugee agency, unhcr has a cash crisis and cut back on the services it provides. winter is making the crisis worse. money is scarce and falling oil prices mean the regional government is struggling to provide basic needs. the rain came down ver heavily. children, this is a real challenge. if disease takes a hold in this camp, it can spread very quickly. >> the general manager of the camp doesn't have enough funding or infrastructure

ing al jazeera's imran khan has more from erbil. >> iraq's largest province anbar, this operation hada brake through on thursday, authorities say, connecting supply route between ramadi and fallujah, that means i.s.i.l. are effectively cut into two and cannot reinforce their fighters in ramadi. now what iraqi security forces are doing is going through neighborhoods very slowl slowlyd iblg. ickily. methodically. now iraqi security force he to go in what we're also being told is that any civilians still trapped in ramadi are able to leave as long as they wave a white flag. we haven't seen any pictures ever waving a white flag or civilians able to leave, but it will be seen as a very key victory in the fight against i.s.i.l. particularly in anbar province. >> two israeli miners are found guilty of killing a palestinian teenager last year. 16-year-old was burned alive after being kidnapped from east jerusalem. admitted orchestrating it all. his sentence has been delayed due to a last minute insanity plea. the currency of china is expected to join the international monetary fund status, on

al jazeera's imran khan reports from the bajarka camp. >> a few days of rain have turned makeshift streetso muddy paths. she's lived here for 18 months after escaping i.s.i.l. fighters who seized her home in mosul. >> sometimes we sleep in the kitchen, other i times in the bathroom, we have incorporate to go when the rains come. whether the rains come,. >> the u.n. refusing agency, u.n. hcr has a cash crisis and is cutting back on the gasoline it provides. the biggest challenges for this camp, the emothers, it's if it's not the cold it's the rain. for the most vulnerable the children this is a real clalg. if disease takes a lott hold in this camp it can spread very easily. the. >> we are much concerned from rain storms. we are doing our best to overcome such harsh conditions by providing waterproof covers for these tents. but frankly speaking, these tents can't sphierve strong rainstorms. >> it's been eight months since the head of the u.n. aid agency said the organization is at a tipping point but these refugees continue to suffer. >> through the eyes.cartoonists. also the struggle of par

imran karen reports. >> reporter: after the peshmerga advanced swiftly into sinjar, evidence of i.s.i.lbrutally comes to life. items include bones and personal items found at this site. this is a person who says members of his family and relatives are buried here. he is angry at what happened. >> translation: we understand this is war. we know people will die, but this is more. we will never forget what they did here. we will have our revenge. >> reporter: according to the u.n. i.s.i.l. killed at least 3000 yarzidis men and women. the community practiced an ancient relative edge and i.s.i.l. considered them to be heretic and forced them to revert to islam or be killed. according to authorities there on could be hundreds of sites like this across the region. as the kurdish peshmerga go further into the town and clear different areas, it is likely that they will find more mass graves. the head of the local intelligence department says it's further evidence of i.s.i.l.'s violence. >> translation: we keep finding evidence of the actions. this needs to be documented and recorded. >> reporter

imran khan is in the former stronghold. >> reporter: kurdish peshmerga fighters captured sinjar withouttance. they celebrate on the streets, or what is left of them. air power is a major reason for the victory on the ground. u.s.-led air strikes hit the targets. >> we cut the road into sinjar into days before and coordinated effort with our coalition partners. we didn't see residents from i.s.i.l., air strikes played a crucial role. >> a local journalist said i.s.i.l. fighters were perhaps retreating to reinforce i.s.i.l. what gave the peshmerga the advantage was coalition-led air strikes, the building a likely to be hit. it's concertinaed in. what the kurdish peshmerga are saying is they need to clear the buildings before anyone can go back in. taking over the town is the first step. >> reporter: that step took months of plans. the peshmerga commander says the air strikes will be useful in future operations. coalition air strikes are an important factor. without air strikes a ground offensive will stall. >> certainly it's made a difference in sinjar, while the soldiers cover a pro-i.s.

imran khan says that is proving to be a hallmark of the continuing fight against the armed group kurdish peshmerga fighters captured sinjar without would you much resistance. they celebrate on the streets or what's left of them. air power was a major reason for the victory on the ground. in the days leading up to the offensive, u.s. led coalition ausch strikes. >> we cult the road and coordinated efforts with our coalition pez. we didn't see any residents from isil. airstrikes played a crucial role isil fighters were retreating to perhaps reinforce mosul. >> what gave the advantage was u.s.-led coalition air strooiningz. this building was likely to have been hit by one of those airstrik airstrikes. what the peshmerga are saying is they need to go around and clear the buildings before anybody can go back in taking over the town was just a first step the air strakz will be a useful tool in future operations. >> the coalition airstrikes are the most important factor against isil. the coalition bombed the main roads and the main supply line between raqaa and mosul. without airstrikes, a grou

imran khan reports. >> reporter: meet three year old and one-year-old siblings. their father was killed by i.s.i.l. fighters last year when the armed group took control of sinjar mountain. their mother saw the fighters kill her husband and with that one gun shot her whole life changed. >> translation: after they killed my husband, i.s.i.l. took and loaded the women and children in trucks and put us in abandoned buildings. i.s.i.l. then from time to time came and selected the most beautiful girls and took them away. we remained in those buildings for at least two weeks and it was horrible. my kids were crying and they were so afraid. there was fighting and bombings all around us and then air strikes hit the i.s.i.l. fighters and we escaped. there was no-one to look after us. everybody was desperate to look after themselves. >> reporter: in iraq the definition of an or fan is any child who has lost one or both parents. there are no accurate figures for how many orphans there are, but the effect on the children has been immense t families are struggling to cope with

imran khan tsinjar. >> the pentagon says a u.s. strike killed the head of isil's libyan branch an iraqi national and previously associated with al-qaeda. five syrians and one palestinian have been arrested in connection with thursday's double bombings in beirut according to lebanese security forces. the attacks killed 43 people in a southern suburb of the city controlled by hezbollah which has been fighting alongside president bashar al-assad's forces in syria still ahead here on the al jazeera newshour: as paris mourns for the victims of friday's attacks, we explore the details of the violence plus: in the republic of the congo, large forvests been cut to below grow palm oil. >> that's great ape has been at that time. >> we will have qualifiers. raoul will be here with those a little later. >> the only live national news show at 11:00 eastern. >> we start with breaking news. >> let's take a closer look. >> a reminder of our top stories here on al jazeera. the french president, francois hollande described friday's attacks as an act

imran khan reports. >> reporter: this person dreamt of becoming a teacher. he thought his career would be secure and fulfilling. now he's not so sure. he loves his job, but has not received a government salary for five months. he used to drive to school in a car. now he drives a taxi to make ends meet, once he's finished in the classroom. >> we are forced to work after government hours, because the central government stopped funding. politicians bicker and we suffer. there's a large segment of government workers seeking part-time jobs to provide for families, we are hammered between delayed salaries and part-time jobs that don't pay: i became a teacher to help future generations but can't help myself. >> the kurdistan is suppose the to receive $1 billion from the iraqi oil revenues, the money has not arrived. oil prices fell to under $50. government leaders in baghdad accuse the kurds of selling oil illegally. >> a main reason is due to the lack of trust between the central government and k.r.g. over financial due us. this overshadowed the economic sector in

as imran khan reports from there, the grave could be one of many. >> reporter: after the peshmerga advanced swiftly into sinjar evidence of i.s.i.l.'s brutality comes to light. a peshmerga soldier places items that investigators say that were found on this site. they include bones, hair and personal items. this is a person who says members of his family and relatives are buried here. he is angry at what happened. >> translation: we understand this is war. we know people will die, but this is more. we will never forget what they did here. we will have our revenge. >> reporter: according to the u.n. i.s.i.l. killed at least 3000 yazidis men and women when it took control of this region on june 2014. they practiced an ancient religion. they forced them to convert to islam or be killed. they also enslaved young women. that sparked international condemnation. according to authorities there could be hundreds of sites like this. as peshmerga go further into the town and clear different areas, it is likely that they will find more mass graves. the head of the local swellings department it is furthe

it looks like it will be a quick push, but the strikes were a game-changer >>> imran khan joining us from erbil, iraq. thank you very much >>> back in the u.s. racial tensions are high on the university of missouri campus. a student arrested for making online threats against back students and faculty may be in court. authorities are looking at a similar post online. al jazeera's correspondent is live in columbia. what is happening on campus to ease the tensions and couple of fears? >> well, last night, stephanie, a couple of dozen students held what we called a we are not afraid rally. they are trying to ease fears, and it game 24 hours after a lot of fear, especially on social media and one post in particular. it popped up tuesday night, an anonymous message on yik yak: security on campus was beefed up. six hours later, this 19-year-old student was under arrest. police managed to track down hunter park at his door room at the university, 75 miles from the main campus in columbia, he's a sophomore in computer science. >> i was fearful and look around on higher alert. it's something w