reporting from erbil in iraqi kurdistan thank you very much. the united nations has expressed outrage at the plight of children of a siege region of syria it says if damascus is using starvation as a weapon against rebel held eastern how it could constitute a crime against humanity government forces have blocked eastern houten near the capital damascus for four years but new pictures from the area have shown the full impact for the first time we want to warn you that you might find the images in this report to starving. was already close to death when her parents brought it to the doctor her mother house no milk she has hardly any food herself so hot died the next day in eastern how she was only thirty four days old. dr house and how that works in eastern how-to via skype he tells us there are sixty thousand children under five years old there's no vaccine no drugs and hardly anything to eat. some people have had no outside help since last year. this footage is from syrian opposition activists it can't be verified but there's no doubt that east

well is this the end of that confrontation funny foster joins us now from iraqi kurdistan she's in her bill the capital of that region a fatty first off is the regional government still even in control of iraqi kurdistan with baghdad's troops now having taken key areas in cities. good morning from ariel the regional government is in control of the ultimate region here obviously have been a lot of tensions over the course of the past weeks since the since the independence referendum a non-binding referendum and of september you have seen of course the airspace close here over arab real initiative both by a bag that but of course in accordance with turkey and iran is about who do not support a iraq kurdistan break away from iraq also there is discussion going on just how much and how many parts and entries land and trees the borders going to be controlled by the central government the entries through syria the entry through turkey and iran to the kurdish region so i would rather say bugout the central government wants to keep a tight rope around the regional government around our bill ju

there now we have to drive to the capital city of the kurdistan region on the way we come upon this market which is usually. the clashes between iraqi forces and kurdish peshmerga fighters since the referendum have kept people from going. the marketing kurdistan has grown to a halt trade is down to zero. but the referendum was the will of the people it's our natural right to demand independence. a right to have a nation what does that mean we are about to meet someone who helped organize the referendum. to talk about the struggle for identity this is a very typical kurdish. what does it mean to you at the. very. being. without a food. we won't have a culture without a culture they won't be a kurdish nation. during our conversation ari can stop himself from following the news about the conflict the fighting over territory and oil for it's a story of being oppressed for generations. to be kurdish when i was in my mother. because her brother and her nephews were missing as part of the genocide she was a space when i was in. the us when i have been. in heavy things the kurdish side and. he tells me about his family being displaced durin

is funny fatah reporting from erbil in iraqi kurdistan thank you very much. now syrian activists say government bombing has killed at least eleven people in rebel held eastern how-to the area is north of the capital damascus and is part of an internationally brokered deescalation zone that was declared earlier this year but the government has laid siege to how to promise prompting the united nations to warn of a humanitarian crisis there. was already close to death when her parents brought her to the doctor her mother has no milk she has hardly any food herself so hard died the next day in eastern how to she was only thirty four days old. doctor has and how it works in easton how to fire sky he tells us there are sixty thousand children under five years old there's no vaccine no drugs and hardly anything to eat. some people have had no outside help since last year. this footage is from syrian opposition activists it can't be verified but there's no doubt that eastern how to has been under syrian government siege for four years there were more tests on sunday.

in other words, not an independent iraqi kurdistan.atement, as well, because this is the expression of the will and the desire of a nation, of how they want to live. we don't think that it is right to impose any sort of mechanism or systems against people that in fact have not been even respected. we had a constitution, we wanted to be a part of this government, we wanted to be a part of this country. but unfortunately this government, and the government before that, i mean, they've moved away from implementing the constitution, and respecting the commitment. ok, i think you have made that point several times. i only interrupt because i'm conscious of time, and i want to cover some more ground. i just want to be clear about this. were you expecting a different response from washington? you must have given warning that you were planning to do this. you have very good links, not least because of intelligence, with for example the cia. you have very good links with the administration. were you saying to them, look, it is going to be fine?

well could we be seeing the end to the confrontation funny joins us now from iraqi kurdistan she's in erbil the capital of the region good morning to you a funny is this the end of the kurdish iraqi push for independence. no that would be really i know it's too early to tell at this point but what we can say at this point that a post referendum since that's a non-binding referendum that took place end of september there is a rift among those actually who voted for us in the independence because they're worried where this conflict erupted after the referendum may lead to some say actually it's really good that president barzani the regional president here in iraqi kurdistan is stepping down in two days to make sure somebody else steps in and is going to lead iraqi kurdistan and iraq itself basically in a corporation where the central government leading both of them out of this crisis that again the others who say of course this is the right time because once again your rock is proving that they want to take control over the regional government over iraq kurdistan so this is the time to

masrour barzani, in erbil, iraqi kurdistan, thank you for talking to us on kurdistan, thank you for talkingyou. hello, good morning. the weather is much, much quieter now. it is actually turning chilly out there, under the clearer skies. but, for a while on wednesday, we had severe weather in cumbria. heavy cloud, low cloud as well, producing a lot of rain, feeding into the rivers as the water drained down from higher ground. and it was in the highest ground that we had some of the heaviest rain. honister, for example, over 200mm of rain falling in about 24 hours. the rain was quite localised, but heavy for a while on a thicker, a more active weather front. but, as that swept south eastwards, so the cloud thinned and narrowed, and the front weakened. we're into a bit of a flat ridge, if you like, for today as this deepening low pressure is waiting in the wings by the end of the week. but a quieter day on thursday. a little bit chilly out there in the morning, one or two mist patches in the south. but a lot of dry weather, and some sunshine too. as you had further north, though, the winds ar

initially hints of this came last week by his nephew and prime minister of iraqi kurdistan region that should represent when he said when his term expires he does not intend to renew it so the two happen to coincide together and after two days i think he will cease to be president of the region but he will remain as the leader of his party and as he always says i'm always a push medicare he will stay involved i think in the kurdish movement but not in his capacity as president nor thoughts on why he is stepping down now. well. on the first on the issue whether he's stepping down or ok i really not he's not extending his term he's not going to remain as president because legally that's not going to be a possibility however when you look at the history when it's finished four years ago and then it was extended for two years and then parliament was shot in two thousand and fifteen when his tenure and new fresh election and constitution was discussed in two thousand and fifteen parliament was shot and it's been in a limbo since then and listening to his advisors and people close to preside

business is humming at the ybor he included border crossing between turkey and iraqi kurdistan three weeks after kurds in iraq voted for independence a little here seems changed the shops are filled with goods products like these still rods await further transit turkey is now threatening to close the crossing leaders there angry over the independence vote and fearful of the ripple effect it could have amongst its own kurdish population such a move wouldn't be easy some traders here say many of the goods are only passing through and that's not good idea meant to get that anybody about seventy to eighty trucks loaded with commodities travel from turkey to iraq on a daily basis about ninety percent of those trucks go to iraqi cities like baghdad . so the kurdistan region is really just a transit point but of course the sinai message has stopped at onset one of the quickest on it's the tricky part of isolating a region in the middle of the middle east iraqi kurdistan neighbors can't tolerate an independence bid but if they close the borders into the region they block major trade routes i

stopped the flights of iranian airplanes to bill and so the money added two airports here in iraqi kurdistan and they stopped the flow of petrol by stopping the the tankers that go across the border but those are the two main sanctions really. how worried is the. regional government about the steps that have been taken by turkey and iran so far. well of course there are a lot of. reactions that much of what we see were expected. but if they do cause inconvenience as they are causing worries people are worried about escalation into military action although this is increasingly unlikely given the statements made and given the complexity of the dynamics on the ground but that doesn't stop these countries to gradually incrementally impose sanctions that will go into economy into politics and diplomatic diplomacy and international connections and the kurdish government and the political parties do not wish to see that because at the end of the day they have been engaging all sides to to reassure them to say that their independence will not affect these neighboring countries and is actually going

a new push to de—escalate tension between iraqi kurdistan and the iraqi government.at is a colleague from bbc arabic. this is part of a government push to retake disputed territory. and that was triggered by the kurds holding an independence referendum, to the fury of the central government. well, look at this. iraqi kurdistan is now calling for a ceasefire so both sides can start an open dialogue. it's also offering to freeze the yes vote for independence, although baghdad never recognised it anyway. this is the region in question in northern iraq. the disputed areas, around kirkuk, is outside of iraqi kurdistan — which is autonomous. and this is of all of great interest to syria, turkey, armenia and iran. i asked rasha qandeel from bbc arabic on this latest development they are trying to put everything in perspective for baghdad but baghdad refused the freezing of the referendum results, it once it cancelled altogether. it's difficult because with the military escalation between both sides, in kirkuk and other places, there is a difficult situation for the united s

nation gears up for another debate on gun control and security and turkey threatens to blockade iraqi kurdistan as saudi arabia's king visits moscow and agrees to buy the advanced x. four hundred missile defense system and the struggle between barcelona and madrid continues as spain's government suspends the for a session of the catalan parliament. i'm going to chance sitting in for ed schultz tonight in washington d.c. you're watching our team america. including we start tonight in las vegas where the investigation into sunday night's shooting continues while americans are mourning the tragedy officials are already rethinking the security situation in the city and throughout the country r.t.s. natasha sleep has more for us live from las vegas. i will as investigators are still trying to seek a motive from steven paddock authorities have found his and some of his last steps they found out in addition to the troops that he rented at the mandalay bay hotel this past weekend that he's rented other rooms overlooking other hotels. yeah ok after sunday's horrific massacre. there's a painful silence i

the president of iraqi kurdistan steps down, saying nobody stood up for the kurds after their vote on independence last month. the british prime minister calls for new measures to deal with sexual harassment in parliament after a minister admits asking his secretary to buy sex toys. welcome to bbc world news today. prosecutors in spain are preparing to file charges against the sacked catalan leader carles puigdemont. he's refused to recognise the order from madrid that removed him from power on friday. hundreds of thousands of people have been demonstrating in barcelona in support of spanish unity. local police say 300,000 people attended. the organisers say it was around a million. this comes after madrid's decision to take direct control. mr puigdemont has called o, his supporters to show "democratic defiance". the bbc‘s james reynolds has this report from barcelona. catalonia's pro—spain movement is emerging from its recent quiet. these are the people who want to stay inside spain. they make up around half of the population of this region, and they insist that they are both catalan

business is humming at the ybor him clear border crossing between turkey and iraqi kurdistan three weeks after kurds in iraq voted for independence a little here seems changed the shops are filled with goods products like these still rods away for the transit turkey is now threatening to close the crossing leaders there are angry over the independence vote and fearful of the ripple effect it could have amongst its own kurdish population with such a move would be easy some traders here say many of the goods are only passing through and that's not good idea meant to get that anybody about seventy to eighty trucks loaded with commodities travel from turkey to iraq on a daily basis about ninety percent of those trucks go to iraqi cities like baghdad . and not so the kurdistan region is really just a transit point but of course the sinai knesset has stopped at onset morning christiane it's the tricky part of isolating a region in the middle of the middle east iraqi kurdistan neighbors can't tolerate an independence bid but if they close the borders into the region they block major trade route

kurdish—held sites in kirkuk province, as tensions rise between the two sides over the future of iraqi—kurdistanforces have already taken control of large areas of the region, apparently without having to fight, but there is no independent confirmation of that. meanwhile, the us state department has said it is "very concerned" about reports of a "confrontation." warren bull reports. kurdish security officials say the iraqi forces have advanced from south of the city of kirkuk and intend to take control of oil fields in the k1 air base held by the peshmerga. they say the deadline has passed the handover key sites. earlier, the central government of iraq accused the kurds of deploying fighters from the kurdish worker party to kirkuk. but the kurdistan party to kirkuk. but the kurdistan party denies this tensions between baghdad and iraqi kurdistan have been high since they held a referendum on independence last month. warren bull, bbc news. you are watching bbc news. still to come. down‘s syndrome: the musical. how one family's story inspired a very special show at the london palladium. parts of s

. >> reporter: turkish and iraqi troops held military drills along want iraqi kurdistan's northern border this week, and from its main airport yesterday, people took the last planes out, after iraq's national government canceled international flights. federal iraqi authorities are ratcheting up the tension, pressuring the leaders of this region to cancel the results of monday's referendum in which over 90% of voters chose full independence. most are members of the kurdish ethnic minority, and they already rule over their own autonomous region. iraq's national government says the referendum was illegal. turkey, which has a kurdish population of its own, condemned the vote, and the u.s. also opposed it, worried it could disrupt the fragile cooperation between the kurds and the iraqi government in the fight against isis. the kurds of iraq have battled bravely against isis. close american allies who have laid down their lives to defeat the extremists. hazar nadar hassan lost both his legs to an isis bomb in 2014, and told us doctors only gave him ray 2% chance of survival. when you realized t

kurdish—held sites in kirkuk province, as tensions rise between the two sides over the future of iraqi kurdistan control of oil fields and an airbase, near the city of kirkuk — seen here. tensions between baghdad and iraqi kurdistan have been high since the kurds held a referendum on independence last month. us—backed militias have launched what they describe as a "final assault" on the remaining militants from so—called islamic state in the syrian city of raqqa. some is fighters have withdrawn under a local deal, freeing three thousand civilians they'd held as human shields. typhoon khanun has made landfall in southern china with destructive winds and heavy rains. flights and ferries were suspended after eight cities issued alerts for the typhoon. the weather system is expected to move back over open waters in the next day. it's the 20th typhoon this year. staying with the extreme weather theme. britain and ireland are bracing themselves for the arrival of hurricane ophelia. it's the most powerful storm ever to have formed so far east in the atlantic. the met office has warned of "potential dan

funny for char with our series on new nationalism reporting from erbil in iraqi kurdistan to thank you so much funny. now it has been more than a month since the elections here in germany and it is still not clear which group of parties will leave the country the conservatives the greens and the free democrats resumed exploratory talks today after a meeting over the weekend with chancellor angela merkel to iron out some of their differences today's discussions the first of four sessions this week will focus on the issues of pensions and the labor and domestic security and digitalisation well let's talk to our chief political correspondent linda crane she is outside of the german parliament here in berlin covering this for us good to see you what are the biggest hurdles on these issues. the biggest hurdles are absolutely immigration and climate and climate goals particularly under the paris agreement as you may remember even within the chancellor's conservative party and its bavarian sister party it was very very tough getting any kind of consensus on migration that the varian sister pa

the president of iraqi kurdistan, masoud barzani, has confirmed his intention to step down.f parliament he was resigning, as the fallout from the region's independence referendum continues. his current term had been due to end in four days. we can talk to our arab affairs editor. mr barzani was in a sense the champion of the independence.- drove it through against some opposition within kurdistan. although it received a huge majority from the people, it was not something everyone their politically believed in and it was his cherished projects for many years, as it is with many kurds, but he obviously felt this was the moment the kurds had ina felt this was the moment the kurds had in a sense got themselves in the driving seat thanks to what they had donein driving seat thanks to what they had done in the battle against isis. they had ta ken done in the battle against isis. they had taken control when iraqi forces fell to pieces and it left them in control of this important area outside kurdistan. with so many oilfields. exactly. he felt it was the moment. he sold the referen

that is outside of iraqi kurdistan, which is marked in darker purple, which is an ed holmes region. fired at again by iraqi troops. —— it is an autonomous region. what we know so far is that both sides continue to accuse each other of file nations and attacking their locations. now, when we talk to the security forces, one source told us that basically, the iraqi federal troops are advancing towards a crossing point between iraq and syria north—west of the country, and thatis syria north—west of the country, and that is part of the plan that started last week to retake control over the disputed areas that had been taken over back into those in 13 when the so—called islamic state entered the iraqi cities. —— in 2013. in this situation, it is not clear exactly what is happening on the ground, it does not help the political crisis that has went roaring over the past few days particularly after the announcement this morning that the kurdish offer has been refused and it is being insisted that they should cancel the result of the referendum. while that is happening in the north of iraq, w

so as we just said turkish president part of one he's now considering the closing blockading iraqi kurdistan closing airspace but this also comes on the heels of the iraqi pm applauding the kurdish peshmerga forces for for aiding and driving out isis in how we are in our one's mind are the kurds heroes or are they do they pose a threat well for everyone the kurdish referendum is. either good or it's bad but in terms of trying to institute a blockade he's got to think twice because he gets a lot of oil from from northern iraq and they depend upon that oil so he's going to have to tiptoe a little bit and but but the consensus among analysts is that he's probably not going to enforce anything because of pressure that would be coming not only from. russia but also united states do you see earth i want as a guy that would cut off his nose to spite his face to a point but he's not going to do this because they have a heavy reliance on that oil plus he has other intentions for dealing with the kurds in northern iraq he has troops there now and i think ultimately he might want to establish a base th

the flights of iranian airplanes to our air bill and so the money added two airports here in iraqi kurdistan and they stopped the flow of petrol by stopping the the tankers that go across the border but those are the two main sanctions really. how worried is the. regional government about the steps that are being taken by turkey and iran so far. well of course there are a lot of. reactions that much of what we see were expected. but if they do cause inconvenience as they are causing worries people are worried about escalation into military action although this is increasingly unlikely given the statements made and given the complexity of the dynamics on the ground but that doesn't stop these countries to gradually incrementally impose sanctions that will go into economy into politics and diplomatic diplomacy and international connections and the kurdish government and the political parties do not wish to see that because at the end of the day they have been engaging all sides to to reassure them to say that their independence will not affect these neighboring countries and is actually going

for independence in a referendum last month and that vote was held in the autonomy's region of iraqi kurdistan and also in some disputed areas outside of its official borders like in kirkuk the iraqi army's retaliating and retaking what it considers its last air dream the kurds had occupied those areas when so-called islamic state advanced across the country kurdish forces have been redrawn voluntarily in some areas but other reports say they have been clashes we have this report. celebrations in. iraqi forces role in. supporters of the iraqi central government could contain their joy. oh as olea thousands of kurdish residents fled the city ahead of the advance. of the world you were heading to irbil because the situation is getting worse the iraqi troops have entered and there's no way we could stay. on the line our children are terrified we were afraid that there would be clashes and mortar rounds would have told us that's what i'm worried about. can't cook an oil rich province claimed by both kurds and the iraqi government had been under kurdish control since iraqi forces fled when the slim

now to some other stories making news around the world iraqi kurdistan veteran leader must food barred sonnie will not extend his presidential term beyond the first of november but it has been under pressure from the iraqi government to step down after he defied baghdad and held an independence referendum in the kurdish autonomous areas of the country pope francis has urged the european union to rediscover unity in a major speech on saturday the pontiff called on political leaders to welcome an integrated migrants and promote europe as an inclusive community francis has also warned against the dangers of populist anti immigration party's. the german anti islam of mint marked the third anniversary of its founding by marching through the streets of the eastern city of dresden several thousand figure supporters gathered in front of the iconic semper opera house where they were met by hundreds of protesters police were on hand to maintain the peace. for years and icebreaker called the polish stand has been at the forefront of german climate research the vessel's a recently returned from it

thank you very much you're welcome now on to some other stories making news around the world iraqi kurdistan veteran leader must sudarsan it will not extend his presidential term beyond the first of november but it's only has been under pressure from the iraqi government to step down after he defied baghdad and held an independence referendum in the kurdish autonomous areas of the country pope francis has urged the european union to rediscover unity in a major speech on saturday the pontiff called on political leaders to welcome an integrated migrants and promote europe as an inclusive community francis also warned against the dangers of populist anti immigration parties. in thailand the year long mourning period and elaborate five day funeral for the late king officially ends today. that's relics and ashes are now enshrined in the royal palace and to temples he was regarded by many as a unifying presence in a country regularly by set by political upheaval. as much as he was in saturday's top game in the bundesliga by and minton locked horns with the two teams needed one hundred twenty minut

and the iraqi region of kurdistan is an important hub.urkey, iran and iraq move goods through the a thomas region. the kurds are pushing for independence, still the region's location makes it difficult for the neighboring countries to make good on threats of closing the borders. but is the region so invulnerable? correspondent: business is humming at the border crossing between turkey and iraqi kurdistan. three weeks after the vote for independence, little is changed. the shops are filled with goods, and products are waiting for transit. turkey is threatening to close the coffee and leaders are angry over the vote and are worried about the ripple effect it could have on the kurdish population. such a move would not be easy. many of the goods are only passing through. >> about 70-80 trucks loaded with commodities travel from turkey to iraq on a daily basis. about 90% of the trucks go to the iraqi cities like baghdad. so the greatest dan region is only a -- kurdistan region is really just a transit point. correspondent: it is the tricky par

trump said that he was making the move after quote strict consultation with his chief of staff iraqi kurdistan veteran leader must depart sonnie will not extend his presidential term beyond the first of november parts on he has been under pressure from the iraqi government to step down after he defied baghdad and held an independence referendum in the kurdish autonomous areas of the country. in thailand the year long mourning period an elaborate five day funeral for the late king officially ends today king death relics and ashes are now enshrined in the royal palace and to temples he was regarded by many as a unifying presence in a country regularly beset by political upheaval as much as for years an ice breaker called the polish has been at the forefront of german climate research the vessel's recently returned from its latest trip to the northeast of greenland with some sobering findings there were numerous polar bear sightings on the polish dunes latest expedition well nourished and curious he accompanied the icebreaker. but his shrinking on the newest research shows the phenomenon is getti

officials in the iraqi kurdistan say that the president will step down at the end of this month, just after he held a controversial referendum on independence. and oil crewmembers on submarines are to undergo drugs tests. now coming up on bbc news, we have the firing line. now, the firing line pays tribute to the skill of the freelance journalist nominated for the rory peck awards. some scenes some viewers may find disturbing. extraordinary scenes from some of the most remarkable events of the year. captured, often at great risk, and after much endeavour. who are the journalists who bring as these films? and what motivates them to tell such tories? —— stories. some of the most striking news footage we see on screen doesn't come from mainstream media and reporters. some journalists operate independently working in places few are willing to visit to bring as some of the most important are willing to visit to bring us some of the most important these freelancers are honoured by the rory peck award named after the freelance cameraman who was killed in moscow covering the october coup in 1

. >>> still ahead, kurds protest the united states in iraqi kurdistan, why they're so angry with theirlly against isis. stay with us. my advice for looking younger, longer? get your beauty sleep. and use aveeno® absolutely ageless® night cream with active naturals® blackberry complex. younger looking skin can start today. absolutely ageless® from aveeno®. with some big news about type 2 diabetes. you have type 2 diabetes, right? yes. so let me ask you this... how does diabetes affect your heart? it doesn't, does it? actually, it does. type 2 diabetes can make you twice as likely to die from a cardiovascular event, like a heart attack or stroke. and with heart disease, your risk is even higher. you didn't know that. no. yeah. but, wait, there's good news for adults who have type 2 diabetes and heart disease. jardiance is the only type 2 diabetes pill with a lifesaving cardiovascular benefit. jardiance is proven to both significantly reduce the chance of dying from a cardiovascular event in adults who have type 2 diabetes and heart disease and lower your a1c. jardiance can cause serious

this the president of iraqi kurdistan, masoud barzani, has stepped down, after an independence referendumed and triggered a regional crisis. in a defiant television address, mr barzani said that nobody had stood up for the kurds after their vote on independence last month, and accused his rivals of treason. photography. for the kurds, it is an end without triumph. as protesters attempted to storm its parliament, behind closed doors, an era was coming to an end. inside, the deputy speaker read the president's resignation letter. translation: i refuse to continue in the position of president and i will serve kurdistan as a peshmerga and i will continue to fight for the rights of the kurds and preserve the achievements of the kurdish people. president massoud barzani had hoped to leave office as father of an independent nation of kurdistan, but instead, the kurdish region and his legacy are diminished. in a televised address, he spoke of betrayal. "3 million votes for kurdistan independence created history and cannot be erased," he said. "nobody stood tall beside us other than our mountains.

the p uk, one part of iraqi kurdistan.ain state department person in charge of iraq was as clearly about that and said he had no concern because he does not see this as an iranian war but more iraqi domestics incorporation with the prime minister of iraq. but for social media yes there is an animosity in washington about iran and they a lwa ys washington about iran and they always try to view iraq from the prison. we have been telling them that this is more domestic but the kurdish issue is a question for iran, turkey, syria and elsewhere. it has a regional ramifications. we need to take that into account. as islamic state start to disappear from the battlefield, you're back to the same conundrum in iraq, what kind of country you're going to be. how are you going to unite these different groups, if you look at kirkuk it is a perfect example with arabs, turkmen and kurds all in one city. certainly kirkuk is a good acid test to what we can do together. unfortunately so far the short—term, that has prevailed and we have clean

the reason baghdad is sending in troops now is that three weeks weeks ago iraqi kurdistan region heldce referendum. the iraqi government condemned the vote at the time — and iraqi prime minister haider‘s said this on facebook today: "my duty is to...protect the unity of the country, which was in danger of partition due to the insistence on holding the referendum." the bbc‘s orla guerin and cameraman duncan stone are with kurdish forces on the front line just outside kirkuk. this is their latest report. pledging to defend kirkuk, this morning, still defiant. a handful of peshmerga fighters with a few guns and grenades. and locals with whatever came to hand. we lost 2,000 men fighting is, he says. "we're not afraid of the iraqi prime minister." but further on, fear had emptied the streets. remnants of unity on display with kurdish and iraqi flags. but this checkpoint now a frontline. no—one seems sure how to defend it. locals said iraqi forces were closing in. shia militia units, linked to the government, out of sight behind these buildings. then this... gunfire we had to scramble for c

independence from iraq in a referendum last month the vote was held in the autonomous region of iraqi kurdistanand also in some disputed areas outside of its official borders like in kirkuk and the kurds in occupied kirkuk and it's surrounded areas when so-called islamic state advanced across the country kurdish forces have been withdrawing voluntarily in some areas but other reports say there have been clashes the iraqi army says it is now retaliate and retaking what it considers its last territory we have this report. celebrations in camp cook as iraqi forces roll in. supporters of the iraqi central government could contain their joy . thousands of kurdish residents fled the city ahead of the advance. you were heading to where bill because the situation is getting worse the iraqi troops are ventured and there's no way we could stay one up on the run our children are terrified we were afraid that it would be clashes and mortar rounds would have us that's what i'm worried about. can't cook an oil rich province claimed by both kurds and the iraqi government had been under kurdish control since i

for independence in a referendum last month now that would was held in the autonomy region of iraqi kurdistan but also in some disputed areas outside the official borders like in kirkuk the kurds had occupied those areas when so-called islamic state advance across the country now the iraqi army is retaliating and retaking what it considers its lost territory goodish forces have been drawing voluntarily in some areas but other reports say they've been clashes we have this report. celebrations in kirkuk as iraqi forces roll in. supporters of the iraqi central government couldn't contain their joy after an intense day in which troops re talk cancellations including an oil and gas field and a military base. cook an oil rich province claimed by both kurds and the iraqi government had been under kurdish control since a rocky forces fled an islamic state militia and swept through the region in twenty fourteen. it comes three weeks after residents in the kurdistan region voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from baghdad in a controversial referendum. thousands of kurds fled the city ahead of

trained financed by its iran and iran is also giving its support to baghdad against the region of iraqi kurdistan and its push for independence also iranian foreign minister also commented on the situation saying the militants shouldn't have to leave because they are already home we're joined now by. who is a political analyst to talk more about this good afternoon. what do you make of tell us and state and then calling on the around backed mobilization units to actually leave iraq. it's known that there are certain. finds himself in washington find itself. to please the saudis and the rest of the gulf countries the sunni majority those countries and this. war between iran and the rest of them and of course many players in the region are quite upset by the growing growing leverage iran has an iraq and different countries in the area so this is on one hand on this on the other hand after the tantrum president charm thrown against rein in agreement us iranian agreement. it's also a way to put pressure on iran which of course when when they signed this agreement they invested their. invested a lot i

. >> going back to the situation of iraqi-kurdistan. the coalition is really unable to keep all the partners in line. the department repeated statements that the coalition is cohesive. is there any response to those comments? dana white: the coalition is very strong and again, i think the fact that we have worked very closely in niger with the french to ensure the rescue of our service members, i think the relationship is very strong. general mckenzie: no, i think we support a unified iraq. that has been our position. we don't think the recent election in kurdistan was helpful to that end, but there are still avenues ahead of us that will help us to resolve that situation. >> they said they did not know about the operations in niger until they happened. as the pentagon provided outreach in advance of this to notify lawmakers that this was going on? dana white: we did. the leadershiph and their staff. we also updated them via phone calls and emails throughout the situation. we also had a general that briefed today in a closed session. >>