ivan watson, cnn, reporting from northern syria. >> joining me now on the phone are ivan watson. know, ivan, the first thing that occurs to me is, we cannot exactly expect that at this point in this war, that there would be a geneva convention sort of agreement as to how to treat prisoners. how is it seen in aleppo? is it seen as harshly as it looks to us, as we look at those pictures? >> reporter: you know, some residents i've talked to, some inhabitants here in the north of the country have said, we think that the rebels are trying to send a message to these shibah militias that they're not invincible. that we can come hunt themown and kill them. we got mixed responses from some of the rebel commanders that we know. of course, a spokesman for this tawheed brigade that has claimed responsibility for the execution says, we investigated these guys and judged them and decided they should be executed. he was completely unapologetic about that. another commander we talked to said, i would prefer it if there was a court of law we could judge these guys in, but we didn't have one. so th

our ivan watson talked to some of the prisoners. we'll have more on that in a moment.t least 49 people were killed across syria today according to opposition activists. so-called free syrian army is also making new claims tonight. this video purportedly shows its fighters attacking a police station in aleppo. we can't verify the authenticity of the video. the so-called free syrian army says they now control this building. the video purportedly shows them taking control of the second police station again. we can't vouch for this, either. the fighters allegedly called bashar al assad's father the dog of the arab nation. keep this in mind. aleppo is syria's new york, essentially. 3 million people live there. imagine attack helicopters firing missiles into manhattan, battles raging in the streets. a mass exodus to escape. the bullets and the shells. we've seen that in aleppo today. ivan watson joins me. another day in the battle for aleppo. what's the latest on the ground? >> reporter: we heard the rebels were claiming to capture one more police station in aleppo even as s

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ivan watson is monitoring from i skr -- istanbul. what can you tell us about the situation?s to be deteriorating more by the day. >> reporter: there is no question that syria's largest city, large parts of it are being destroyed in the struggle for control of it. syrian state media is reporting that the neighborhood in the southwest of the city has been cleared out, as they put it, cleaned out. and that a number of terrorists, as the euphemism goes from the government, its description of the rebels and foreign mercenaries have been captured. rebel commanders are saying they are still battling for control of the key neighborhood. a neighborhood that the rebels first really moved into in force when they moved to infiltrate the city a couple weeks back, in part because it is a poorer neighborhood with a much more socially conservative population that tends to support the opposition. our own ben wideman just got out of aleppo, a dangerous journey. he saw fighter jets bombing neighborhoods and artillery shelling residential neighborhoods indiscriminately. >> we have been watching

ivan watson is in northern syria for us. him about this mass execution just this afternoon. >> i understand there's a bit of a back story with this execution. something about the shooting victims double crossing the rebels. can you tell me more about that? >> reporter: what the rebels have been telling the us is that family who many people in this region know about them. they're a large and power family associated with the assad regime and accused of organizing a p - pro-government malitia. these family fighters killed 11 of their fighters in an eastern neighborhood of aleppo earlier on monday. it seems that on tuesday the rebels were up for revenge and wounded up a bunch of these clan members and beat them up. they are admitting that they investigating them. they judged them and then executed them for what they said were crimes against the syrian people. they are not denying that the rebels carried out extrajudicial killings on the side of the battlefield. >> you're saying this is one family and you use the word revenge, wo

ivan watson, cnn, istanbul. >>> on to iran now. strong earthquakes jolted the northwestern part of the country and at least 87 people have been killed and 400 injured. the cakquakes measured 6.4 and . some buildings have been damaged and power and telephone lines are also down. >>> all right. she's brash, has movie-star looks and is one of the best-known athletes at the london games. how lolo jones says she's coping with the pressure she gets from all sides. [ ross ] in the taihang mountains of china, hand-carved on the side of a cliff is the guoliang tunnel. what?! you've got to be kidding me. [ derek ] i've never seen a road like this. there's jagged rock all the way around. this is really gonna test the ats on all levels. [ derek ] this road is the most uneven surface, and it gets very narrow. magnetic ride control is going to be working hard. the shock absorbers react to the road 1,000 times a second. it keeps you firmly in control. whoa! [ male announcer ] the all-new cadillac ats. ask me. is just fine... ask me what it's like

ivan watson, cnn, reporting from northern syria. >>> we have another story out of syria. again, we have to warn you about some of the video that we are showing out of syria. it is quite frankly brutal. it is very graphic. it appears to show people being killed, and some say executed. this is really at the heart of the conflict here, and this is the city of aleppo, and where things are rapidly deteriorating. [ gun fire ] >> you are hearing massive gunshots ringing out there. you are watching what apparently looks like some kind of execution. we cannot confirm this 100%, the awe then t authenticity of the video, but we are told that these are members of syria's rebel movement. what they are doing, and what appears to be is that they are lining up militiaen loyal to bashar al assad and these are the rebels killing them with machine guns and the crowd of rebels cheering and chanting. i want to bring in hala gorani to walk us through what we are watching and make sense of this, because now we are not talking about assad's forces, but talking about the rebels here on the ground

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ivan watson is following the story from istanbul, and i asked him if their claims add up. >> reporterfilmed a syrian mig fighter jet bursting into flames and then going down. and this seemed to stun the rebel cameraman. now, the rebels claim they shot this fighter jet down with a 14.5 millimeter anti-aircraft cannon highly unlikely. given the speed that cannon can move at. syrian officials are claiming that the jet was doing a routine training mission when we know they've been bombing syrian cities and towns for weeks now. but it said it went down due to a technical malfunction and the pilot was still missing. the rebels have now broadcast another video a man they claim was the pilot. he's clearly surrounded by armed men and he does not look happy to be in their presence. whether or not this plane was shot down, it is a moral victory for the armed opposition who have been unable to challenge the syrian military's complete dominance of the skies over syria. john. >> ivan watson from istanbul. >>> our fifth story "outfront" tonight, the scandal that has painted an embarrassing picture o

ivan watson, cnn, istanbul. >> very troubling.oment. >> joe's police scanner crackles to life just before midnight. moments later, he's rushing to the scene of a robbery gone bad. >> photo journalists chasing gunfire in one of america's most violent cities. cnn takes you along for the ride. ♪ anything 'cause you mean everything to me ♪ ♪ i'd know that i'd go anywhere ♪ ♪ for your smile ♪ anywhere ♪ yes, i'd do anything ♪ anything for you ♪ ♪ anything for you ari'm fine.y, babe? ♪ ♪ ♪ with a subaru you can always find a way. announcer: love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. a living, breathing intelligence helping business, do more business. in here, opportunities are created and protected. gonna need more wool! demand is instantly recognized and securely acted on across the company. around the world. turning a new trend, into a global phenomenon. it's the at&t network -- securing a world of new opportunities. ♪ >>> and coming up to the half hour now. let's get you up to speed on news making headlines. paul ryan firing kind of a

ivan watson reporting for us from northern syria tonight. ter: thanks, candy. >>> ahead, republicans raise new questions about transparency or lack thereof at the white house. they claim obama administration officials used their personal e-mails for work. just ahead i'll ask president obama's deputy campaign manager to respond. plus, the u.s. postal service set to default on a $5.5 billion payment to the federal government. what it could mean for your mail delivery. doesn't have to take . i'm done. i'm going to... drink this... on the porch! ♪ give me just a little more time ♪ [ female announcer ] mops can be a hassle, but swiffer wetjet's spray cleaner and absorbent pads can clean better in half the time so you don't miss a thing. swiffer. better clean in half the time. or your money back. and for dry messes big and small try swiffer sweeper vac. take the steps to reach yours, everyowith usgoals. with real advice, for real goals. the us bank wealth management advisor can help you. every step of the way. from big steps, to little steps. since

ivan watson is there. good morning. what did hillary clinton say the u.s. and turkey have actually agreed to do? >> reporter: good morning, randi. basically clinton's team requested this urgent team with the turkish leadership, a close american ally, to discuss syria, and in a joint press conference on saturday, she said that both countries had to work together to try to find ways to bring an urgent end to the ongoing bloodshed there and to prepare for a post-bashar al assad period in syria. but she also said they had to look at ways to try to speed up this transition without making bloodshed worse. she said now is an important time for analysis and said that the u.s. and turkey would set up a working group which would include the military and tin tell jens agencies to come up with contingency plans. i was, frankly, surprised to hear this, randi, because this is not a new problem. the syrian crisis has been going on for 17 months. more than 17,000 people by conservative estimates have been killed. around 150,000 rev gees. and now the u.s. secretary of state

. >> ivan watson joins us on the phone from turkey near the syrian border. t he will not put arms in the hands of rebels. so what is the united states giving to the rebels? >> reporter: i have no idea. i haven't seen any direct signs of u.s. assistance. one of the worst kept secrets among the rebels is that there are weapons, light weapons coming across the border from turkey believed to be funded and supplied by the turkogs and saudis. i've seen some of the weapons, they're basically ammunition for ak-47s, for heavier machine guns, and for rocket propelled grenades. i've heard that perhaps some type of surface to air missiles in very small amounts have come through, but that's about the extent of it. and the syrian rebels are constantly complaining that it is not enough to turn the tide of the battle in their favor conclusively, zoraida. >> so some of the things that we've heard also is that perhaps there's some more humanitarian support that is headed their way. have you heard anything about that? >> reporter: no, but united nations officials are sounding t

ivan watson, cnn, istanbul. >>> it's been delayed by protests, legal troubles, and vandalism.espite the odds a mosque in tennessee has opened its doors. but the security concerns remain. >>> tomorrow dr. sanjay gupta is celebrating robot week on his new show the next list. on the next list dr. sanjay gupta profiles ben kaufman, founder and ceo of quirky.com. >> i really enjoy the design and the creative process and pulling little levers and tweaking little details from a design perspective. what really gets me excited is when i literally hand an inventor their product for the first time. a product they can see on a napkin and post it on the internet. here i am some random dude handing it to them and it is a real life physical thing they'll be able to buy at target next week. that to me is the most special part of the project. [ male announcer ] it's a golden opportunity... to experience the largest, most efficient line of luxury hybrids on the road, including the all-new esh. ♪ while many automakers are just beginning to dabble with the idea of hybrid technology... ♪ ...it's a

ivan watson, cnn, istanbul. >>> update on the mission from mars.ion from nasa on the curiosity rover. we have details and pictures coming up. [ male announcer ] imagine facing the day with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine

ivan watson will tell the story. >> reporter: asma assad stood smiling by her man as the syrian presidenthis ballot last february in a constitutional referendum held in the a backdrop of escalatiing violenc. she remains silent even though it wasn't that long ago that she declared herself a local defender of human rights. >> this is a conflict that's been going on for too long. we have a choice. we can either sit by and we can sit and watch our tv screens and watch atrocities and see some horrific images or we can get up and do something about it. >> reporter: she issued that call to action in a 2009 interview with cnn during the three week bombardment of gaza that left palestinians dead. >> nobody is immune from what's happening. we've heard of women, children being killed, medics, journalists. it seems like it affects everyone. >> reporter: the trouble is for most of the the last year and a half, syrian security forces have been documented committing horrific abuses against syrian citizens. this month cnn recorded syrian war planes repeatedly bombing aleppo. cnn witnessed a hospital targ

i talked to ivan watson who has seen better armaments. but it's interesting to me even now they're still short of ammunition, short of weapons and short of medical equipment. >> well, i think everybody was just sort of hoping that assad would fall and there would be a coup and an easy solution to this. i don't think a failure of imagination that this could turn into a full-blown civil war and we would have to come down on one side very quickly, which we didn't do. so yes, anderson, we're coming late to the game. >> i think it's worth noting here. if we're going to only rely on covert action and clan destine activity, we were using treasury sanctions, that's good. we may be using clan destine activity. that's good. but you have to be willing to stand up and lead. you've got to pull together the resources of the arab governments who are willing to tribute, if turkey is willing to be useful on the refugee issue. you have to be willing to stand up with a strategic plan and pull the international community together and that's what's been lacki

i talked to ivan watson who has seen evolved tactics, who has seen some better armaments, though stillale weaponry on the part of the opposition, but it's interesting to me that even now, they're still short of am mu yigs, and sort of medical equipment. >> well, i think everyone was hoping that there would be a coup d 'tat. yes, we're coming late to the game. >> anderson, i think it's worth noting here. if we're only going to rely on covert action and clandestine activity of the intelligence community, we're not going to win this. we need to be willing to stand up and use all our powers. we use sanctions? that's good. we may now as we find out today using clandestine activity, that's good, too. but some of this means you have to be willing to stand up. you have to pull together the resources of the arab governments. you have to really be willing to stand up with a strategic plan and pull a community together. that's lacking. >> when you see that video of what appears to be a rebel group, opposition members lining up, regime supporters against a wall and shooting them unarmed, hands tie

cnn's ivan watson recently left northern syria.fighting there. he is now back safely in turkey. and i spoke with him minutes ago about this news of the annan resignation and also the escalating violence in syria. >> reporter: they basically failed to get either side to stop fighting. if anything, the fighting has escalated and gotten much, much, much worse since that peace plan was supposed to have gone into effect months ago. it was basically irrelevant. >> irrelevant and then the blood on the streets, which you saw with your own eyes. i know you're back in turkey, but just tell me, paint the picture for me, what's the last thing you saw as you were leaving syria? >> reporter: the last thing i saw, brooke, were refugee families, an old man with a cane, who couldn't stand up, in the middle of the night, 4:00 in the morning, by the border fence with turkey, wanting to escape with his family and a bundle of his belongings. that's what syria has been reduced to. massive portions of the population uprooted by this conflict. running fro

ivan watson is "outfront" tonight.ple are trying to escape the violence. >> reporter: erin, some two weeks of fighting in syria's largest city has put immense pressure on a society where already millions had been displaced. we've seen the number of refugees streaming across the border into turkey has jumped from some 47,000 to, now, more than 50,000. and today we've seen thousands more crossing the border at two separate checkpoints, crossing points, along that border. our own team that was in aleppo witnessed entire neighborhoods that appeared to have been depopulated in that city. they also saw the immense danger that the civilians continuing to live there face. one case, a man riding in a taxi shot apparently by a government sniper. in another case, a city park that had been turned into a cemetery. erin. >> well, thanks to ivan. >>> now to china for the trial of a century which mysteriously ended just hours after it began. the wife of a former top communist official didn't object to prosecutor's charges. the charges