imran khan, al jazeera baghdad. >>> details are now coming out about a boko haram attack in chad. seven people were killed including a village chief in mubra, an area where boko haram is active. footage shows the entire village burned down. >>> sri lanka's new president is set to arrive likely to bring up the issue of thousands of have isrilankan tamils. >> for the last 25 years he has had to live in this camp in malak in jafna large tracts of land like this taken over during the 30 year conflict. >> translator: these rights and rituals that my family have performed, i'm pleading to the gods to take us back to our lands. >> lack of proper facilities and ostable technical have been difficult. >> translator: even when they go to play our children are identified as camp kids. no matter how well they do in school the label sticks. and they always belittled. >> sri lanka's new president has promised to give people their lands back if they've not been used to safeguard national security. >> people here are cawrks. cautious. they've heard this promise before. now there's hope, hope that

imran khan al jazeera reporting. >> three members of an islamic family were shot dead in their home on tuesday in north carolina. police initially thought a dispute over parking spaces had led to the killings. andy gallagher is at the location of the funeral. >> an incredible show of sol dairltsolidarity is in north carolina. they are now in the sports field behind me to pay their respects to the two families and three victims. despite this being a day of mourning muslim civil rights leaders are still calling for law enforcement officials here to investigate this crime as a hate crime. they said that craig steven hicks picked on thee thretion people because -- thesethree people because of their faith. his family says it was over a parking space. chief of police and city officials come to show their solidarity. three or 4,000 students simply stood in silence. >> apologies for that, losing our correspondent. south african leaders have been demanding that the president answer question about $20 million of state money that was spent on his private home. in protest of the ejection of the fr

let's go to imran khan our correspondent in baghdad and tell us about what is happening down there? >> this is a serious situation. americans said there are squirmishes close to the base where the marines are based. it hasn't come under attack yet. we have seen this tactic via i.s.i.l. time and time again. when they want to make an attack on an iraqi army base - the first time in anbar province - every time they want to attack what they do is they take over towns and villages on the outskirts and use it as a launching pad. they have been successful. i.s.i.l. nose the territory really. a lot of fighters are were anbar, fighting it for a number of years. so this will be a formidable challenge for the americans. what the americans have is clearly airpower and they'll be relying on that if there is any attack. what the americans want to avoid is a direct attack. that will involve their soldiers on a war with i.s.i.l. this will be an iraqi led operation if there's a move towards the base. if we see a move. in previous times we see it within the day or so of them taking over the towns or

let me ask you about unintended consequence, it seems we know imran khan was reporting. with air support, ground action does work a little better. we see it in mosul, diyala, we see iraqi troops and the peshmerga pushing back i.s.i.l. what are the unintended consequences. what about the numbers that we are talking about, what do we have to look at in the region, that we are not thinking about, causing a resurgence of i.s.i.l., including pakistan. we are in danger of taking the eye off the ball. it's another hot bed. >> that's a reason to maintain the appearance in afghanistan because pakistani issues will be with us for generations. the good news here is i.s.i.l. are jerks. they burnt on camera a devout muslim jordanian pilot and flamed public opinion. they are chipping away at support with respect the muslim world. i don't think the united states, the west will have a problem getting moderate muslim support. the vast majority do not want i.s.i.l. to have control. don't want i.s.i.l. to have the possession of the territory it has in syria. i believe it's doable. we've co

you heard imran khan's evaluation of what the iraqis are saying. they want to take the battle to i.s.i.l. themselves and promised not to cut and run like last time. they need american help they want american weapons and advisors. they don't want americans leading the battle on the ground. does that jibe with what you understand to be the case? >> it does. they want more american help than they have gotten today. currently 2,600 advisors we need to multiple it by five if we take mosul back in anything like a reasonable period of time and with casualties and costs that the trouble iraqi forces can bear. >> we are not sure we are out of the woods on there being a troubled iraqi government. can i.s.i.l. be defeated with the iraqi forces in the lead and support from the west and other countries. >> they han, with the proper thought. they have -- they can, with the proper support. they do not have that. president obama is correct, the problem is that given the seriousness of the threat he is not willing to devote sufficient resources to defeat the threat

imran khan can tell us more. n, we have been expecting some sort of assault by isil on this base for several days now. >> reporter: that's right. and there was an attack at 7:20 am local time this morning against the base. it was repelled according to the local iraqi security forces. 300 within the air base were kilometers away and never under attack. the americans very much saying their troops were secure and this was a victory for the american security forces. this attack started at midday on thursday. what they have told us is that in the town just outside of that air base they -- sleeper cells were activated by isil which [ inaudible ] a number of buildings. there was a standoff between iraqi security forces and isil for about 13 or 14 hours. we were told at that point that the base was never under threat but now we're hearing the days bied come under attack. the isil fighters were backed up from the west through the countryside, and the iraqi security forces say they did beat them back. we have spoken to loca

. >> imran khan has koran has the story. >> tell me they were unaware of the fact that hezbollah fighters are here in any number. but under the auspices in iran. hezbollah does play a role in iraq, they are here to play a role in the shia shrines in iraq. there may be a small contingent of hezbollah fighters in advisory training role in shia militia but not a front line fighting force from the people i've spoken to. hasan nezrulla says, they were accused of beating a senior. and killing several sunnies. the sunni block has wend their part in parliament, decide whether to go back to parliament. what they're looking at is a need of investigation into why this attack took place sorry an whether there's a need to disarm the shia militias here in the capital baghdad. >> t.j. house of afghan refugees are now being deported, from pakistan. at the time the pakistan government said it would immediately begin expelling all undocumenting afghan refugees. 1500 were deported in january twice the number deported from the prefs prevention month more than all of 2014. afghans report incidents of police c

imran khan has more from bagdad. >> reporter: what we have seen in the last 24 hours is coalition airmainly the americans and the british, help kurdish peshmerga forces take over three key bridge heads. we're seeing a big push now between -- from the kurdish peshmerga fighters and the isil fighters being put under pressure in mosul, and it feels like there is a preparation for a ground offensive going on now. iraqi officials say they expect a ground offensive to take place within the next three weeks. we have also heard one of the top u.s. military commanders say the taking of mosul will be a key morale boost for the iraqis and the kurds, and when that happens they will need ground support. so there seems to be a real push now to take back mosul city which was taken over by isil in june. in syria we're also seeing the jordanians mounting at least 67 different air strikes on -- isil. however, critics say the sunni tribes in particular need to be brought much into the political process here. however, it does seem there is going to be a push towards mosul in the next few weeks and the gr

imran khan reports. >> cent com was to attack around 7:00 friday, it was quickly they say beaten back by iraqi security forces now they have about 300 u.s. soldiers within that compound they say those u.s. soldiers never came under any kind of threat. now this attack actually began on midday on thursday, according to iraqi security forces. sleeper cells from i.s.i.l. they called them took over parts of the center of the town and mounted attacks further on with the aim to getting to the air base. what we're hearing is that the area has been cleared by iraqi security forces of those fighters but according to local sources there are a number of i.s.i.l. fighters still within the center of the town itself. also what we're hearing is reenforcements have been sent in by i.s.i.l. from the west and that's becoming a problem as well. so to wrap up, what cent com told us there was an attack on the base. that is the first time i.s.i.l. got so close to a coalition air base. but iraqi forces dealt with those i.s.i.l. force he coming in. >> seven of the world ass wealthiest countries including the

are the pictures that we are seeing on television coming from imran khan, and people that support theing and the counter order in jordan. is there more to the story than meets the eye? >> i think that there was. right now it's understandable. there's a ground as well of support for the king and unity in jordan. i think in the near term we are going to see growing sentiment opposed to i.s.i.s., as we saw in 2005, in jordan, when there were attacks by al qaeda. the question is where will this lead, because there's hostility to i.s.i.s., doesn't mean there's increased support for the policies in the region. >> what do you think, did that public sentiment that was not sure that jordan should be supporting the american coalition in iraq and syria, did it evaporate with the killing of the pilot. >> you have an evaporation. ambivalence that we saw among the popular u.s.-led coalition in iraq and syria. the evaporation of the ambivalence was a gruesome murder of a lion, or a representative of the jordanian air force, and that touched people. the ambivalence is about what i.s.i.s. did to that

. >>> imran khan has more now on what could be a street by street battle for mosul. >> reporter: forast month or so the ground has been prepared for an all-out assault against mosul city itself coalition air strikes have cut off a major supply route. and kurdish peshmerga forces have taken key bridge heads in preparation for the assault. however, getting 25,000 troops for this assault up in place will take a little while. also the iraqis from learned from the defeats they have faced against isil and they say they are much better prepared now to take on isil fighters, but there is a big issue that nobody seems to be talking about, and that is one of civilian casualties. there are a million civilians within the city of mosul itself effectively being held hostage by isil. this is going to be a street-to-street battle and we have seen isil be able to repel iraqi forces before. so civilian casualties are going to be a big issue. the prime minister at the outset said we do welcome this help but we need to avoid civilian casualties. >>> one of the major opposition leaders in venezuela is in

imran khan reports. >> reporter: after 103 days under siege, this iraqi special forces unit is finally in mid november iraqi forces retook the town of beiji just 15 kilometers from one of iraq's largest oil refineries but the sources were stretched, and unable to hold the center of the town. isil took advantage and pinned this unit down. every day for 103 days they fought. but neither side advanced. it was a stale might -- stalemate. then just three days ago, a break through. >> translator: we have managed to cut the enemy's supply line from the current central point of terrorism. we have advanced further towards the front and now the corridor is under our control. >> reporter: both of the towns are important if iraq's army is to successfully retake the all of beiji, but it won't happen soon. >> translator: the people know how crucial these two regions are. now we have made good gains by making the separation and we're still pushing through. >> reporter: these holes in the road are caused by isil's improvised explosive devices. a frequent tools on the road this construction equipment t

the latest from imran khan in bagdad. >> reporter: according to the u.s.itary command responsible for the middle east there was an attack around 7:00 am on friday. it was quickly, say they beaten back by iraqi security forces. now they have about 300 u.s. soldiers within that come pound, they say those u.s. soldiers never came under any kind of threat. this attack began on mid day on thursday. sleeper cells from isil activated themselves. they took over parts of the center of the town and mounted attacks further out with the aim of getting to the air base. what we're hearing is the area has been cleared by iraqi security forces of those fighters. but according to local sources there are a number of isil fighters still within the center of the town itself. also we're hearing reinforcements have been sent in by isil from the west. there was an attack on the base. it's the first time isil have got so close to a coalition air base, but they say their soldiers weren't under threat and the iraqi security forces dealt with those isil fighters coming in. >>> saudi

imran khan has more from bagdad about what could be a street-to-street battle for mosul. >> reporter:und has been prepared for an all-out assault against mosul city itself. coalition air strikes have cut off a major supply route between an isil strong hold and mosul itself. however, getting 25,000 troops that are needed for this assault in place will take a little while. also the iraqis have learned from the defeats they have faced against isil and they say they are much better prepared to take on isil fighters. but there is an issue that nobody seems to be talking about, and that is one of civilian casualties. the civil population had fled in other areas, but that is not the case with mosul. there are a million civilians effectively being held by isil. we have seen isil be able to repel iraqi army forces before. so civilian casualties are going to be a very big issue for the iraqis. the prime minister at the very outset said we do welcome this help but we need to avoid civilian casualties. >>> rival factions in yemen have agreed on a transitional council to help govern the country. t

imran khan. >>> japan has reportedly offered $15 million in aid to fight armed groups in the middle east africa. the increased funding comes after two japanese hostages were murdered by isil fighters. tokyo has already promised $200 million to help refugees from isil-controlled areas. japan said the money will go to international organizations, to countries including those bordering syria and iraq. the syrian army says it is being ignored by the international community which it believes is not concentrating on combatting isil fighters. at a meeting, they cried for greater unity. dominic kane has the story. >> reporter: this is eastern houthi. the area has been bombed by syrian government forces. in the chaos, people try to rescue the wounded. before the civil war began, more than 100,000 people lived here but now many are homeless. the u.n. believes more than 3 million people have left syria since 2011. some like yisha have gone to camps in turkey. >> if they gave me all of the money in the world in turkey kilos of gold i still wouldn't feel at home. how did one leave their home land? i

our correspondent, imran khan reports. >> reporter: 35 kilometers is tikrit city and surrounding areas mainly under the control of the islamic state of iraq in the levant this is zirga, the front line marked by a trib u terri of the ueuphrates river. it's mission is to keep the area clear of isil fighters and to prepare for an assault on tikrit. they are backed by iran and made up of civilians, not professional soldiers. some have been accused revenge attacks in the areas they have taken from isil. an allegation this commander denies. >> i am a civil engineer and i have answered the holy call from the grand ayatollah ali sistani, part of the mobilization forces. i am a witness for everything that has taken place here. i can tell you that hasn't happened. >> now this malitia wonder what they will face when they eventually attack. tikrit has long been a stronghold of anti-government sunni rebels. isil say they control the town, itself, in fullactual fact, it's the army until control. they are a group of saddam hussein loyalists. salad am hussein was born in that town. they don't necessar

imran khan has more from bagdad. >> reporter: for the last month or so the ground has been prepared forl-out assault against mosul city itself. coalition air strikes have cut off a major supply route, and mosul itself and kurdish peshmerga forces have taken key bridge heads in preparation for this assault. however, getting 25,000 troops that's how many the u.s. say will be needed in place will take a while. also the iraqis from learned from the defeats they have faced against isil and they say they are much better prepared now to take on isil fighters. but there is a big issue, one of civilian casualties. in the places that the iraqi army has taken from isil fighters, the civilian population have fled. that's not the case with mosul. there are millions in the city of mosul itself effective lilyly being held by isil. so civilian casualties are going to be a very big issue for the iraqs. the prime minister said we do welcome this help but we need to avoid civilian casualties. >>> rival political factions in yemen have agreed on a people's transitional council to help govern the country. t

imran khan reports. >> tikrit city and the surrounding areas is mainly under the control of islamic state of iraq and the levant. this is the front line, marked by a tributary of the euphrates river. it's the base of a shia militia. its mission is to keep the area clear of isil fighters and prepare for an assault on tikrit. she that militias are backed by ran and made up of civilians. some are accused of revenge attacks against sunnis in the areas they have taken from isil, an allegation this commander denies. >> i'm a civil engineer, and i've answered the holy call from the grand ayatollah. i am a witness to everything that has taken place here and i can tell you that hasn't happened. >> for now this shia militia wait and wonder what resistance they'll face when attacked. tikrit has long been a stronghold of rebels, although isil say they control the town itself in actual fact, it's a group of sadaam loyalists in control. he was born that in town. they don't necessarily share the same goals as isil in establishing the islamic caliphate but want regime change here in iraq and should note

imran khan reports. >> reporter: 35km behind the valley is tikrit and surrounding areas, mainly under the control of islamic state of iraq and levant. this is the front line marked by the river. it's the base one of many fighting in the area. the mission to keep the area devoid of fighters. some have been accused of revenge attacks. in the areas taken against i.s.i.l., an allegation that this commander denies. >> i'm a still engineer i answered the call from the grand ayatollah ali his tanny. i'm a witness for everything that has taken place here, and i tan tell you that hasn't happened. >> reporter: for now, the militia wait and wonder what they face. tikrit has been a strong hold of anti-government sunni rebels. i.s.i.l. say they control the town. in actual fact it's the army who are really in control. they are a group of saddam hussein loyalists, and he was born in that town. they don't necessarily share the same goals as i.s.i.l. but they want regime change here in iraq and sunni. when i.s.i.l. and rebels besieged the area in mid-june it was this town amerli that became the vocal

imran khan has more. >> reporter: what we have seen in the last 24 hours, is coalition air strikes helpeshmerga forces take over three key bridge heads near the dam itself. we're seeing a big push now between -- from the kurdish peshmerga fighters and the isil fighters being put under pressure in mosul, and it feels like there is a preparation for ground offensive going on. now iraqi officials say they expect a ground offensive to take place within the next three weeks. we have also heard in the last three days general john allen say the taking of mosul city will be a see more alboost. so there seems to be a real push now to take back mosul city which was taken over by isil in june. in syria we're seeing a lot of pressure being put on isil. the jordanians have mounted air strikes, and isil are coming under tremendous amount of pressure. however, there are critics saying the ire strikes simply aren't enough that there still needs to be a political solution. the sunni tripes in the west of iraq need to be brought much more into the political process here. however, it does seem there is go

warnings that imran khan's report contains images some viewers may find disturbing. >> iraq's plunged into political turmoil as two parties in parliament after 12 sunnis were found. one mp warned the government of dire consequences. >> we warn against those trying to conceal the perpetrators this will be considered as a message that the crime happened opening the gate to a full-blown war that will never end. >> the united nations assistance in iraq also responded, issuing a statement saying: whilst there's no indication who might be responsible, it sent shock waves through baghdad. it's alleged the men were kidnapped by militia, at a checkpoint and tape to an unknown -- taken to an unknown location. one was released. 12 bodies were put in separate elections across the capital. the government launched an investigation with tensions running high. and blame on the shia militia for the murders. that will do little to placate the sunies. -- sunnis. >> let's look at the iraq situation. the new parliament is made up of 328 seats. the withdrawal of the main sunni alliance represents a fifth o

imran khan reports from zagr. >> 35km behind the valley is tikrit city and surrounding areas. it's under the control of the islamic state of iraq and levant. this is the front line marked by a tributely of the euphrates river. it's the base of a shia militia, one of many fighting in this area. it's mission is to keep the area clear of i.s.i.l. fighters and prepare for assault on tikrit. shia militias are backed by iran made up of civilians, not soldiers. some have been accused of revenge attacks against sunnis. allegations that this commander denies. >> translation: in part i am a witness to everything that has taken place. i can tell you that has not hopped. >> reporter: for now they wait and wonder what resistance they face when they attack. >> tikrit has been a stronghold of anti-government sunni rebels. i.s.i.l. say they control the town itself in actual fact it's the army that is in control. they are a group of saddam hussein loyalists and he was worn in the town. they don't share the same goals as i.s.i.l. in establishing the caliphate. they do want regime change here. w

imran khan filed this report. >> reporter: iraq's plunged into political turmoil as two parties suspend the participation in parliament after 12 sunnis were found killed. a senior sunni mp warned the government of dire consequences. >> translation: we warn against those trying to seal the identity of the perpetrators. it's a message that the crime happened with the knowledge of the government. opening the gate to a full-blown war. the assistance mission in iraq responded with specialist envoy issuing a statement saying: . >> whilst there's no indication what may be responsible for the murders of the 12 it sent shock waves through baghdad. it's alleged the men were kidnapped by militia at a checkpoint in baghdad and taken to an undisclosed location. >> one mp was released. 12 bodies were found in three separate locations across the capital. the government launched an investigation. with sectarian tensions running high it will do little to implicate the sunnis. >> pope francis welcomed 20 cardinals into the church. the new prisons or the church received a red hat from the holy father. the

imran khan sent this report from the battle region. >> 35km beyond the valley is the city and surrounding areas, under the control of the islamic state of iraq and levant. this is the front line marked by the attributy. it was a base one of many fighting in the area. it's mission is to keep the area and prepare for an assault on tikrit. shi'a militias were backed by iran. some of them have been accused of revenge attacks. allegation that this commander denies. i'm a civil engineer and i answered the call with the grand ayatollah, and am part of the population forces. i'm a witness to everything that has taken place. that has not happened. this militia wait and wonder. >> tikrit has been a stronghold of anti-government sunni rebels. i.s.i.l. says it controls the town it's the army in control. they are a group of loyalists, and they were born in the town. they don't share the same goals as i.s.i.l. but they want change in iraq and sunni. >> when i.s.i.l. received the area, it was this town amerli, that was the focal point of the fighting. it took three months to break the siege, offed of ho

imran khan reports on the town of zagar.eporter: the surrounding areas are mainly under the control of the sys lammic state of iraq in the levant. this is gzarga, marked by a tributary defendant euphrates river. it's mission is to keep the area of clear of isil fighters and prepare for an assault on tickkrit tikrit. they are made up of civilians, not professional soldiers. some have been accused of revenge attacks against sunnis in the areas they have taken from isil an allegation this commander denies. >> tim a civil engineer and i have answered the holy call from the grand ayatollah ali sistani and part of the popular mobilization forces. i am a witness for everything that has taken place here and i can tell you that hasn't happened. >> for now this shia militia wonder what they will face when thement attack. tick rit has long been a stronghold of anti-government sunni rebels. although isil say they control the town, itself, it's the nuksha bandi army saddam hussein outists, who was born in that town. they don't share the

imran khan reports. >> reporter: of this the most rebate protest against the detention of al jazeerataff in egypt. at the end of december, marking a year since their arrest journalists rallied in london and around the world. sydney, the hague, sarajevo. it had been a year offing a me for the families of the men. peter greste's family were in cairo hoping for his release by christmas. he is a giving. it was quite difficult just to say goodbye and to leave him for the rest of the day knowing that, you know it's not the best place to be. >> no one expected it to go on this long. >> i believe there is a misunderstanding and it needs to be corrected. so, i am still hopeful and still fighting with mohammed for his freedom. >> the arrests of peter greste on december 29th, 2013 were initially assumed to be short-lived, a mistake over media accreditation. it became clear the egyptian authorities under the new government of abdullah he will fatta he will sisi had other intentions. >> those who no greste could make little sense of the charge that he was somehow linked to what the government des

imran khan baghdad. >>> gulfnize have condemned what they have called a coun in yemen.eign ministers from the gulf cooperation council urged the u.n. to take action to ends the takeover by shia houthi rebels. talks are beg held between them and the presidential dub at arish a. r. the details. >> reporter: angry protesters set fire to a shia houthi vehicle in yemen's third largest city. they say the car was being used by the houthis to prevent them from holding a demonstration. it is one of the predominantly sunni regions where anti-houthi sentiment is on the rise. this is a city south of the capital sanaa. they are in control of parts of the city. people are worried. protesters are out on the streets to deny ounce what they say is a houthi crackdown on activists and opponents. >> they kept beating me torturing me for hours. they wanted false confessions, things that i was never involved in. they wanted me to lie and say that noble laureate karman were paying us to protest against them that american and british organizations are instig gating the youth in yemen against t