areas in red is isis control and the yell is isis support and it extends into iraq and extends down to the border with jordan and general clark mentions the threat to jordan and also threat even saudi arabia. so key question, has the effort of kurdish and iraqi troops made a difference in changing the map. let's look to three months ago. this is february. if you can't tell the difference between the maps, you are not alone. this is may and february. the map largely unchanged. and in fact, during that time, isis gaining some ground in ramadi and the oil refinery and maintaining the key base of support in mosul. and let's look beyond iraq and syria. as they've held ground there they have expanded influence throughout the region. you have presence from libya, in egypt and yemen and support in afghanistan and pakistan. they were able to carry out an attack in tunisia and does isis extend influence into aurp as you have returning foreign fighters and carrying out attacks in europe and crucial concern for america, can they cross the atlantic and you've had a number of arrest of supporters he

>> this is the end of may, areas in red, isis control. yellow, isis support. the orange areas, where they've been able to carry out attacks. you see it extends from into iraq. extends down to jordan. general clark mentioned the threat to jordan. attacks in lebanon, also threatening saudi arabia. so key question -- has the u.s.-led air campaign, has the effort of kurdish and iraqi troops made a difference so far in changing this map? let's look to three months ago, february. if you can't tell a difference between those two maps, you're not alone. the maps are largely the same. again, this is may, end of may. this is february. the map largely unchanged. in fact, during that time, isis gaining some ground in ramadi. the oil refinery, maintaining their key base of support in mosul. let's look at the influence beyond iraq and syria. as they've held their ground there, they've gone to expand their influence throughout the region. you have presence and affiliate in libya, in egypt, in yemen, as well as areas of support in afghanistan and pakistan. they were able to c

ground zero in the fight against isis, a week before ramadi was overtaken by isis. i spoke with prime minister abadi. unfortunately, the current strategy in my opinion, relies too heavily on the shia militia as a proxy of iranen to defeat isis. we now have over 3,000 american servicemens there to advise and assist the iraqi national military but the president has restricted our ability to take the fight to the enemy because he's more committed to his campaign pledge to end the wars mt. middle east than he is to ending isis. the president has in fact made the situation more dangerous. his failure to negotiate a status of forces agreement and the complete failure of prime minister malaki to govern effectively created the vacuum that isis now fills. in syria the civil war continues to rage. there, too isis has fill the void. islamic fa that the -- fanatics from over 100 countries have traveled overseas to fight with groups like isis. thousands of these jihaddists carry western passports and can exploit security gaps to return to the west and the homeland where they plo

isis hates it. and they late in some of the most brutal ways possible -- hate in some of the most brutal ways possible. mr. speaker, many not realize that iraq and syria are homes to dozens of religious and ethnic minorities with ancient cultures with very deep roots and these communities are under mortal threat in their ancestral homelands. the mass execution of men the enslavement of women and young girls as concubines, the destruction of religious sites is part of the isis effort to destroy these communities. their pran is to make it as if -- their plan is to make it as if those societies never existed, those religions in those regions never existed. in fact, isis maintains a special betalon, they call it the demolition battalion, charged with destroying religious sites and artifacts that it considers radical. and isis has used the virtual caliphate on the internet to recruit foreign fighters at an unprecedented rate. some 20,000 of their fighters are in fact from off-shore, are foreign fighters

isis calmed it two of its soldiers. direct communication with isis' best known hacker. tonight a u.s. intelligence official tells cnn there are strong concerns in the intelligence community about a surge in the number of isis sympathizers inside the united states. the fbi is struggling to identify active consumers of isis propaganda. >> there's hundreds maybe thousands. it's a challenge to get a full understanding of just how many of those passive followers are taking action. >> reporter: the passive followers, people inside the united states who have been known to post pro-isis messages on social media. pictures of themselves wearing isis logos. there's this sympathizer who displayed and isis logo on the phone feet from the white house with a tweet, we are here america, near our target. >> it's done to kind of play off that isis is everywhere. they can reach their enemies. >> reporter: many of them analysts philip smythe says could be poser. experts point out there's been a spike in isis activity inside the united states recently. at least 32 court cases over the past

to know where the strong points of isis and weak points of isis. what to do. this is unfortunately unavailable unavailable. >> reporter: and visiting the front lines, commanders told cnn what they need is more weapons. they want more weapons. they know how to fight. another iraqi commander says he doesn't believe the united states is committed to defeating isis saying he has fought against the united states. he has been dealing with the united states on both sides. he says he knows the united states has the power and capabilities to defeat isis and he is saying he feels what is happening now is half hearted. >> ian, the big question can more weapons and training defeat isis? we know weapons and training is something the americans have been providing for some time now. a lot of training a lot of weapons. in many cases, you have those weapons falling in the hands of isis to be used against the people we trained. >> reporter: well the answer really is that no mount of weapons or training is going to defeat isis or at least keep them at bay forever. what really ne

whom side with isis so isis can recruit more sunnis. to jump into the fight reminds lieutenant colonel douglas alabat of the days in the mid-2000s when his militia were public enemy number one for u.s. forces. >> famously initially a battle with soldiers from my old unit the first calvary division in baghdad, in early 2004 in seder city this began a cycle of violence with the sadrists in baghdad and eventually in basra, there was a good four-year period from early 2004 to early 2008 where fighting against the sadrists was a daily activity. >> al sadr's fighters were tough enemies in urban warfare effective with bombings. al sadr was formidable enough to have a u.s. bounty on his head. his forces were believed to be battling isis in parts of northern iraq. >> it will be very difficult for al sadr and his militia supporters to reach baghdadi inside syria, also very difficult for them to reach him in the sunni ar arists of iraq. wherever he is he's going to be keeping his location incredibly secret it will be known to a few number of isis

the recent isis gains like the takeover of ramadi is just temporary and ultimately isis will be defeated. 2/3 of americans say they feel the strategy against isis is not going well. john and christine. >> thank you, michelle. there have been a series of developments. officials believe the wives of isis leaders may play a bigger role in the communications than previously thought. officials tell cnn that last month's delta force raid that killed an isis leader netted significant intelligence including information from the captured wife of the isis leader. >>> cnn has learned that the u.s. has had intelligence on possible locations for the head of isis abu bakr al bagdadi, but the information came too late or too vague or could not be verified and the u.s. was not able to launch raids targeting the isis leader. back in washington senators tim cain and welsh hope it will gain bipartisan support. in london the prime minister decided to add 125 new troops to britain's effort to train iraqi forces bringing that total to 300. >>> u.s. officials are talking about the claims of the oil town of bai

>> it's nothat isis is so it's that the response against isis is both limited and weak. >> reporter: his staff of 50 struggled to compete against isis' online army which posts videos and messages messages from around 90,000 twitter accounts. >> there's a fantasy which exists in washington which is this-- that somehow if you put magic social media or public diplomacy pixie dust on a problem, it will go away. >> reporter: to stop isis, he says the administration must understand its appeal. >> isis is psychopathic, but that doesn't mean that the people that are attracted to it are attracted to it for the sick perverse reasons. one of the challenges we face is that people are attracted to it for what we would call noble

and it has killed thousands of isis fighters. there has to be a second phase with boots on the ground. >> the second phase has not been well defined. >> president obama has expressly ruled out boots on the ground. >> i don't know understand why the coalition can't kick in 5,000 troops. 300,000. 5,000 times 60. that's 300,000. okay. wouldn't that be able to overwhelm isis anywhere in the middle east? >> that would be great if that were to happen but you can't count on saudi arabia to do that. >> why not? >> because they're counting on america. >> wouldn't that overwhelm isis? >> in theory, yes. in practice it's never going to happen. >> if 300,000 troops were assigned to this task, the sue sunnis and everybody else would get on that team. is it fair to assume that president obama is clueless in fighting the jihad? he has no clue what to do and the jihadists have gained power under his administration. would that be fair to say? >> that would not be fair to say. he has gained progress. >> if your opinion, why isn't he doing a lot mo

campaign to take down isis. martha raddatz with the men and women fighting america'ses most dangerous enemy. >>> plus the gop's man to beat. wisconsin governor scott walker is iowa's early front-runner. jon karl with the exclusive interview. and making history. >> american pharoah has won the triple crown! >> announcer: the first triple crown winner in 37 years. did american pharoah just put horse racing back on the map. from abc news "this week" with george stephanopoulos begins now. >>> good morning, i'm martha raddatz, we're coming to you from a persian gulf nation that we have been asked not to disclose. where the u.s.-led military operation against isis is being coordinated. temperatures here hovering here around 120 degrees. behind me you see one of the predator drones or as the air force calls them remotely-piloted aircraft. they fly 24/7 collecting intelligence and carrying out deadly air strikes. i'm about to take you inside the heart of the command center of the u.s.-led campaign to defeat the jihadist

. >>> isis terror attack. as more u.s. equipment falls into terrorist hands suicide bombers are starting to use a frightening and potentially unstoppable new tactic. >>> checkpoint failure. while tsa officers are often busy confiscating your shampoo and toothpaste an alarming new study from tsa says they're almost always missing weapons that could bring down your plane. >>> and missile plet. kim jong-un refines nuclear bombs, a new warning system saying they may not work. is the united states or west coast at risk? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> breaking news disturbing new developments in two of the biggest security challenges facing the united states. today, an isis suicide bomber attacked at a iraqi security base using a bomb-laden tank. reports say the iraqis couldn't stop it. tonight, there's growing concern that as isis gets its hands on nor u.s.-armor made the vehicles abandoned by the iraqi military more frequent deadly attacks may be on the way. following new flare-up in tensions between the

ten days later, isis took over.e given a choice. >> translator: either we become muslims or pay the tax money they want or they kill us. >> when he saw the mayor getting out of town he knew his time there was up. >> translator: i told my wife prepare the bags to flee. >> not a moment too soon. >> translator: i was told that isis took my house. my house became a military headquarters for isis. i have photos as proof. here it says isis property with the letter n. >> the n stands for nazarene. isis took over the property of christians across mosul and bombed their churches. >> translator: we left all our belongings. but we took with us our christianity. >> he does not expect to return to mosul. but hopes to someday join his brothers who reside near detroit, michigan. two other refugees i spoke to also held out until june last year when christians were given the ultimate matem, convert, pay a tax, or die. >> translator: i lost everything. my whole life's struggle to work and earn money got stolen from me. my furniture,

he believed the coalition, has killed as many as 10,000 isis fighters but the cia says isis has between 20,000 and 32,000 fighters and has been able to replace them through recruitment over the years. now it is important to keep in mind according to u.s. officials, isis has since the height of its expansion, has lost about 25% of its territory. keep in mind within the last month, isis has been able to make two stunning victories. one, of course, is the fall of ramadi. the other is the fall of palmyra. despite the loss of territory, isis doesn't seem to be stopping at the moment. john. >> ben wedeman for us. thanks. >>> this morning, baltimore police looking at new safety measures for prisoner transport vans. the changes come following the death of freddie gray. the changes include cameras and gps and roller coaster style harnesses. and what may be more significant development. anthony batts is asking for new federal resources to battle the spike in the crime rate. seeking help from prosecutors and law enforcement agents. let's get more from cnn's miguel marquez. >> reporter: john this i

and we have no strategy against isis.ou been in the senate today, how would you have voted on this compromised legislation? >> i would have voted for this law. but i think it would have been better if it had been amended so that the phone companies were required to keep phone records so that in appropriate cases nsa could access them. look at boston today. if in fact the person who was killed by the task force had been radicalized, had been communicating with others about attacking americans, i would like our intelligence to be able to go get a court order and find out who he to here in the united states who might want to carry out attacks. i'm not sure that could happen now. >> because under the new law, the compromise version that was passed today by the senate earlier passed by the house, phone companies like at&t verizon, they're supposed to keep all these records that could be accessed. but it's unclear how long they have to keep them for. >> that's right. and they're not required to keep them for any period of time.

isis hates it. and they late in some of the most brutal ways possible -- hate in some of the most brutal ways possible. mr. speaker, many not realize that iraq and syria are homes to dozens of religious and ethnic minorities with ancient cultures with very deep roots and these communities are under mortal threat in their ancestral homelands. the mass execution of men the enslavement of women and young girls as concubines, the destruction of religious sites is part of the isis effort to destroy these communities. their pran is to make it as if -- their plan is to make it as if those societies never existed, those religions in those regions never existed. in fact, isis maintains a special betalon, they call it the demolition battalion, charged with destroying religious sites and artifacts that it considers radical. and isis has used the virtual caliphate on the internet to recruit foreign fighters at an unprecedented rate. some 20,000 of their fighters are in fact from off-shore, are foreign fighters

here caught between the isis towns of ramadi and fallujah they face 1,000 isis they think, but here he says he sees only a few with long beards and a flag here. but soon isis fires back. this is what happens when you poke that snake. they speaking of readiness and glory to come yet seem busied by an enemy far too close. now, wolf one of the key issues we learned on that base regards the sunni fighters that the government is trying to get together to help them fight for that sunni hard land there, remember the division here we were told by one iraqi official that on paper there are 2,000 sunni fighters but he said in reality there's about 500. we're told they're out and around securing the air. that is a vital flaw in the strategy here. it's what -- sunnis fighting for that sunni area, not being some large shippa paramilitary force, but alongside the iraqi army sweeping in. barack obama surely member aware of that where his 'trying to completely strategy. . >> nick thanks very much. nick paton walsh reporting back from baghdad. glad you're back safe and sound >>> john kirby joins us fro

a lot of which end up in the hands of isis. then we have to go in and send our jets over to bomb them. >> when you have a half-hearted effort i think is he trying to run out the clock and hand it over to president clinton or president santorum. >> john the worst thing that really kicks any the gut is when you see isis guys running around in these -- our trucks that we spent a lot of our national treasure on god knows what kind of battles our own marines and soldiers were in when they were fighting isis themselves and you see the isis bums going around. that really hurts. >> we flatter a nonenemy when we take them seriously. the order about vanquishing isis the replacement will be full of thomas jefferson peaceful types. let's be serious and move on. >> we're not looking for thomas jefferson. we also cannot afford to have another nation ruled by terrorists. we saw what happened leading up-to-date 3 with the taliban and al qaeda taking over afghanistan. they planned and succeeded in hitting us. >> you can't leave to let them figh

now under isis control.ildren cross, refugees trying to get away from isis. but young men, the iraqi army not allowing them to leave. saying you have to go back to ramadi and fight isis. when you hear that kind of report what's your reaction to that? you served in iraq you're an iraq war veteran. >> wolf it's disturbing and it points again to a perfect example of how this she i don't militia is oppressing the sunni, the nonisis sunni tribes and why this continued that a so-called unified iraq is possible. really is not. when you look at the sunni, the nonisis-supporting sunni tribes many of them are not motivated to fight against isis. not vote serrated to fight against isis because of the suppression coming from this central shia government in baghdad. just imagine how many of those sunni families are turned away from escaping isis. driven back into the arms of isis understanding that they have nowhere else to go essentially and this is why it's critical it's important for the united states government to re

he was the mentor of the founder of isis.ng on to create havoc by having people massacring she is by the thousands. so you don't know what to expect. but when you meet him he is a very interesting guy. he is completely energetic enthusiastic almost childlike in his enthusiasm talking about almost anything. his hands foil over the place. he is thin. he is a sense of humor, which sort of throws you. qatada is this very large lumbering man and very tall. it is quite intimidating. it is hard to grasp just how big this guy is. he speaks very quietly and all must has like marlon brando in "the godfather" but slightly higher pitched. and he pauses a lot. they make an odd pair. when we went to speak with them they were both very upset. based in their lives work, basically, bringing to hotties under one banner. and for that, that was al qaeda. al qaeda is not just an organization, which we know has been incredibly ruthless and bloody and plotting away around the globe, there are also an idea. first, and we often look at this from the

. >>> let's get to the fight against isis in iraq right now. iraqi forces are scoring victories in northern iraq right now around the baiji oil complex. the refinery there is the large nest iraq. security officials tell cnn the iraqi military backed by shiite militia fighters now control the majority of the complex and the city. ben weed mandeman is joining us live from baghdad. ben, you've been there for a while. how fluid is this situation in baiji, this strategically important oil refinery? if you listen to pentagon officials, it seems to be changing hands every few days or so. >> well, there's been fighting in baiji, the refinery and the town for quite some time wolf. but iraqi security officials we spoke to today were fairly categorical. they say that as far as baiji the town goes that they control almost all of the city. it's just one last northern suburb that they're still encountering some problems with snipers and ieds which of course is the modus operandi of isis when it leaves an area they leave behind hundreds in some cases thousand

points of isis. what to do. this is unfortunately not available yet. >> reporter: what the iraqi government has been asking for is more intelligence. more surveillance. knowing where isis fighters are and moving. and in talking to ben wedeman, they need more weapons, not training. you talk to a general who has been in the army for 35 years, he said he did not believe the united states was committed to defeating isis. he says the u.s. has the abilities to defeat them, but he has not seen it yet. >> can more weapons and training defeat isis or is there a political component to this as well? >> reporter: ultimately it will be a political deal between the sunnis and shi'ites. a lot of mistrust there. this goes back for many years. so there is that divide that will be difficult for diplomats to try to get them to come together and see eye to eye. as you reported earlier, you said earlier that these weapons had been slow to getting to the sunni fighters. that highlights this mistrust that okay if they are

with other isis fighters.heard through sources what his jobs were and what he has been doing. i have searched for answers because i need to know what my boy has been doing. >> how do you believe that isis brainwashed your son? >> well if it's not isis it could be any other group that is down there. there are a lot of groups right now and they are fighting amongst each other. as for my son being isis i didn't know anything about that until he was allegedly killed and i think it's not hard to choose sides if an isis recruiter or fighter shows videos of beheadings or kids being slaughtered and telling them that this is a sad, then it's not that hard to choose sides because at the end of the day they want to do the right thing, but if they are told the right thing is the right thing under false pretensions, it's not hard to choose. >> what is the most effective tool that isis or other terrorists groups use to attract these young people? >> well they are using the religion, and they are using themselves against the

isis hates it. and they late in some of the most brutal ways possible -- hate in some of the most brutal ways possible. mr. speaker, many not realize that iraq and syria are homes to dozens of religious and ethnic minorities with ancient cultures with very deep roots and these communities are under mortal threat in their ancestral homelands. the mass execution of men the enslavement of women and young girls as concubines, the destruction of religious sites is part of the isis effort to destroy these communities. their pran is to make it as if -- their plan is to make it as if those societies never existed, those religions in those regions never existed. in fact, isis maintains a special betalon, they call it the demolition battalion, charged with destroying religious sites and artifacts that it considers radical. and isis has used the virtual caliphate on the internet to recruit foreign fighters at an unprecedented rate. some 20,000 of their fighters are in fact from off-shore, are foreign fighters

-led air strikes targeted isis positions.rate escape for people who've lived under the extremists for over a year. "if a woman went out without veiling her face or a man smoked a cigarette, they'd beat them with a stick" said this woman who covered her face to hide her identity because even now, she's still frightened of isis. she and her friends told us they grew used to seeing severed heads displayed in the street, left there as a warning after isis carried out executions. just 50 miles from the isis stronghold of raqqa, the loss of the border town is a strategic blow to the extremists. isis used this stretch of syria's border with turkey to spirit foreign fighters into the war zone and to smuggle the oil it uses to fund its operations. now tal abyad is controlled by kurdish fighters. in contrast to isis, many of their front line soldiers are women. but any suggestion of an isis collapse is premature. for syrians who have lived through four years of civil war, peace is a very distant hope. only a few hundred people crossed

to isis. whether rahim is tied to the group or not there are worries in the u.s. and across the globe that number of isis sympathizers is growing and there are concerns the fbi and other intelligence agencies won't be able to keep up with them. cnn's brian todd has that. >> reporter: boston terror suspect rahim raised in the united states. radicalized by isis according to investigators. killed before he allegedly was going to attack police officers. simpson and sufi also raised in the u.s., shot and called by law enforcement in garland, texas as they tried to attack a prophet muhammad drawing contest, isis called them two of its soldiers. simpson had direct communication with isis's best known hacker. now a u.s. intelligence official tells cnn there are strong concerns in the intelligence community about a surge in the number of isis sympathizers inside the united states. the fbi is struggling to identify active consumers of isis propaganda. >> there is hundreds, maybe thousands, it is a chall

a series of developments in the battle of isis. officials believe the wives of many isis leaders play a greater role in operations and communications than previously thought. officials tell cnn that last month's delta raid that killed an isis leader netted intelligence especially one from a captured wife. >> cnn has also learned that the u.s. has intelligence on possible locations of the man abu bakr al bagdadi. you rarely see him. this is the sermon he gave in mosul. this is only a few seconds of this clip where we see him. he is basically in hiding. the information the u.s. received was too late or too vague. the u.s. was not able to launch raids targeting the isis leader. back in washington senators have introduced an authorization for the use of military force against isis that they hope gains support. >>> in london the prime minister decided to add 125 more troops to britain's effort to train iraqi security forces bringing the u.k. total to 300. >>> u.s. officials casting doubt on iraqi claims that its forces have liberated th

isis is winning? >> yes, i think isis is achieving the objective that is they have set out to achieve. i think that they feel probably very emboldened. this trickle effect of sort of strategic drips, if you will just doesn't appear to be working. >> and that trickle, by the way, adds up. we've already spent more than $25 billion training tens of thousands of iraqi troops since 2003 and much of that equipment has ended up in the hands of isis where we've had to blow it up. does doing more of the same make any sense? welcome to "forbes on fox." let's go in focus with steve forbes rich carlguard, elizabeth mcdonald, mike, bruce jasmine, and john. steve, does it make any sense? >> absolutely not. this is just more of a strategy that's not working. isis is indeed winning. we don't have spotter on the ground. we're not arming sufficiently the curves. we're not doing more in terms of military helicopters and the attacks the iraqis do occasionally make against isis. you put it all together and the impression

now one story of a social media disaster for isis. a top air force general revealed that isis propagandists revealed the location of the headquarters building and coalition bombers blew it up hours later. we have nick paton walsh with the latest on this story. good morning, nick. >> reporter: the u.s. here i think, are desperate for good news in iraq. they have chosen to highlight this instance it appears where air force commander stated as a moron who took a picture of himself outside an isis headquarters. we don't know if they worked out if that was a headquarters. sometimes you can forget to turn off the geo tagging on your smartphone and topography. either way, 22 hours later we are told that $60,000 of ammunitions were taken into account to explode the building. this is one in which they show the instability of isis shows them to be targeted. this comes after a bad week for the coalition. the state department officials saying 10,000 isis fighters have been taken off the battle field. and it turns out as high as 13,000 according t

the isis strategy against isis in anbar is to seal off access to ramadi. now isis is going to be able to travel across the river at any point meaning more iraqi troops will be needed to halt it. drinking water supplies are threatened some of the last area held by pro-government forces in anbar. >> i was going to ask you about the humanitarian aspect. any idea the number of people who are going to have their water supply cut off? >> yeah, well, u.n. was already supplying emergency water to township to tens of thousands i believe. the fear is the situation now could get a whole lot worse with the euphrates water supply in jeopardy: iraqi forces are releasing some water from the lake downstream so the southern province will have some flow still coming through, this is a temporary solution only. it will only last for a few days. they are saying they need to either retake the dam, which is going to be difficult because it's in ramadi or maybe destroy it with ire strikes. -- air strikes. >> what is the plan? wait it out in if they can't go in and throw isis out

isis has claimed responsibility tunisia and kuwait have you seen a direct operational link to isis there at the moment although it wouldn't surprise me. i believe isis is interestingly claimed credit for two of the three attacks and didn't claim credit for the one in france, which affected air products an american company based in allentown, pennsylvania i wouldn't be surprised if the penitentiary who did the attack isn't of the ideology of hatred that isis preaches. it's interesting congressman king on one of the other shows chairman of homeland security pointed out it's actually both. we have to some degree the lone wolf actors and at the same time we have a certain degree of coordination among the different isis affiliates i wouldn't be surprised if it was a combination of the two. >> how does the u.s. gain the upper hand in the pr fight against isis? they are kind of driving this inspired attacks. what more could be done? >> that to me is kind of the most frustrating part. he was the country that in many ways invented the graphics and sort of masked media tools that isis, a group tha

isn't doing enough a defeat isis in iraq. the iraqi foreign minister has said they just need more. >> i don't think this has the -- frankly, the only answer. this may be part of the answer. and a small part of the answer. i know that we are in need of training. we are in need of equipment. we are in need of weapons. we are in need of intelligence to get intelligence -- proper intelligence, to know where the strong parts isis. where are the weak points of isis? what to do. this is unfortunately not available yet. >> rosemary, iraq's prime minister, haider al abadi has also said they need more intelligence to watch and see where isis is moving so they ask strike them on their own teams. ben wiedemann has been on the front lines talking to commanders as well. and what we're hearing from ben is they are saying forget the training. they know how to fight. they just need the weapons as well. one iraqi commander told him that he has worked with the u.s. military when they were occupying iraq and said that he knows the u.s. has the w

this was an isis bomb-making facility.filled with a sticky white poudser, low-grade explosives which is highly flammable. the ypg is busy clearing it out. half a bed of a truck filled with mortar rounds. at the rear of a mosque named as al qaeda founder, osama bin laden. tal abyad is a mine field of booby-traps. come take a look through here. it's hard to see through the great but stack aid long the wall -- snaking out. this was a park where children used to play. the local ypg commander says that something did not feel right. they put a warning on the gate and isis had booby-trapped it. >> do you see the juice thing? do you see the cable coming out of it? don't touch the door. isis no longer controls tal abyad but their terror lurks in every corner and the town is still cloaked in fear. a certain unease emanates from the adults. anger evident in their voices their answer short and sharp. this man says that isis forced him to purchase from them black clothing for his little girls. the three say they were sometimes scared.

i think this time around the isis claim, the local chapter of isis claim is credible because they puticture up of the gunman just a few minutes after the attack and the family has confirmed that that's one in the same gunman. so i think it is a credible claim from isis. the group is stepping up its attacks across the region during ramadan. we also saw that deadly attack in kuwait on friday. i think there's real real concern we're entering a period of maximum danger now over the next three weeks of ramadan with isis' spokesman last week saying to isis supporters all around the world "if you die for us during ramadan, you'll get ten times the refwhardswards in paradise." i think there's significant concern not just in the middle east but also here in europe and also in the u.s. in the leadup to the july 4 weekend with recent evidence that isis isn't just grooming followers over social media but actually providing bomb-making instruction to them as well. >> it's a good point you're making, a very scary point. colonel reese, as you know on friday there were these three terror attacks in t

one telling me the libyan isis those militants associated with isis in libya seem to have a strategy of focusing on training sympathizers in countries, neighboring countries like here in tunisia and in egypt. perhaps with the intention of drawing these two countries. for example nato interwar. and when you talk about the kuwait attack as well what we are seeing here is as much the militant group isis doing internal issues and aggravation within these countries as it is tachly targeting westerners and others at these mosques and hotels. >> well becky, yes. we don't have the information yet. we know that what happened yesterday is a strategic target. we know what happened in march in ton nis nis was a stra teej ic target. so this particular attack is strategic, not tactical. we also know that libya has emerged as a major source of supplies of weapons, of training and fighters. and even though they don't have the information, it seems to me that the message, the networks the militant networks whether al qaeda or the islamic state basically is really trying to paralyze the tunisian econo

. >>> encouraged by isis. the man police say planned to behead an activist communicated online with the terror group. new details emerge about why police decided they could no longer wait to take action. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it is 4:00 a.m. in the east. millions of current and former federal employees scrambling to check bank statements after a hack that breached their personal information. officials say nearly every u.s. agency was hacked affecting up to 4 million current and former employees. the investigators believe that the hack originated with the chinese government. cnn white house correspondent michelle kosinski has the latest. >> reporter: john and christine, we are hearing from the office of personnel management that this enormous hack has happened possibly the biggest government hack we have seen. affecting up to 4 million former and current government employees who may have had their personal information accessed. this office of personnel

charlie: fighting isis now are acharlie: fighting isis now are shia militias. you are saying that they are often as bad as isis was in terms of beheadings, in terms of pillage, in terms of violence against women? ben: exactly. you could spend half an hour on youtube and see the exact same crimes that they are committing. charlie: the argument is that if we do bring the militia in here, there is a hard choice, but what choice can you make if you need them to drive out isis? ben: the big question that i left with was -- i think isis could be defeated in iraq. the kurds are doing well against them. the tribes might do well. a the shiite militias are beating them. the big question is -- what happens next? it looks like they are set up ait looks like they are set up for another round of sectarian war, just like we were before. that was tens of thousands of in lives lost. him and people being killed just because they came across the because they came across the him and him and wrong checkpoint and answer the wrong questions about being shia or sunni. charlie: they di

isis rolls on. new enemy in a war-weary country, and the iraqi army keeps retreating, fleeing from isis, first in mosul last year, in ramadi last month. so now, it's these guys, shia religious militias fueled by faith and backed by iran who rushed into the breach. we're here to get a look at this new battle for iraq. we're taking the armored vehicles and going out to anbar province. that's almost totally dominated by isis. we're going to meet up with the shia militia that are so crucial on the battlefield. they, not the iraqi army, are the front line troops against isis now. on the road an iraqi army helicopter buzzes our convoy, an old russian-made tank rumbles by. and we reach the forward position of the militia, the biggest and most powerful of these shia forces. given this these guys are ready for a fight but we found out they don't want to just fight isis. >> if obama sends more american soldiers here, will you fight the americans, too? [ shouting in foreign language ] >> "we will fight isis an