john huddy is live in our mideast an bureau with more. hi, john. >> well, arthel, yeah. along with all of that the battle also continues for that are massive oil refinery in northern iraq. this is a key fight. i explain why in a moment. first, take a look at this. this is video that was taken earlier today of a new group of militants that are also now jumping into the fray. now, the several thousand heavily armed shiite fighters basically paraded through sadr city today in southern baghdad. the shiite militants are supporters of a radical cleric named muqtada al sadr. you're going to hear his name a lot. he's aligned with ayatollah ali sistani who warned the 300 u.s. military advisors being sent to iraq would be attacked. fox is being told so far those advisors have not yet arrived in baghdad but they are supposed to be on their way. and all of this as al qaeda-linked isis militants have reportedly taken over two keyboarder crossings along the iraq, syria border in northwestern iraq. as i mentioned, the battle also continues for that massive oil refinery in the northern

john huddy is live with the latest on thissen battle from our middle east bureau where it is just now the 11:30 at night. john? >> yeah, and leyland, this is going to stretch well into the overnight hours into early tomorrow morning. that's when actually the fight started in tikrit was at dawn this morning when the alliance launched that counter offense against those isis militants. having said that, you mentioned the helicopter gun ships, thanks, also special forces troops are on the ground trying to push the militants back so they don't continue the march towards baghdad. now, having said that, air strikes have been critical in other battles including the battle for control of the badge ji oil refinery north of tikrit. we saw that last week. and also at this point, along with tikrit, you know, they're launching, of course, the fight there, but north of that mosul still remains a major battleground, as well. again, today's fight in tikrit started before dawn and iraqi tishls said the air strikes were targeting the militants attacking troops on the campus of tikrit university. and ira

fox's john huddy has an update now. >>> more developments in iraq as the battle continues to rage oneral front. this as new group is now joining the fray and that could be problem for the united states. several thousand heavily armed shiite fighters parade paraded h sadder city in surgeon baghdad. shiite forces are forces of al sadder. he's aligned with i toll yahoo said yesterday u.s. military advisors being sent to iraq would be attacked. now fox is being told those military advisors have not yet arrived in baghdad. meantime, the al-qaida link isis militants have reportedly taken control of two key border crossings along iraq syria border in northwestern iraq. this as iraqi forces continue to battle for control of a major oil refinery in the northern part of the country. it continues to be a key battleground that's because if isis fighters took over, it would continue to fuel their fight. all of this as the calls for iraqi prime minister nori al maliki resign continue to grow louder. u.s. forces remain in the persian gulf awaiting orders from president obama about whether to start

fox's john huddy is monitoring the situation from jerusalem. >> reporter: secretary of state john kerry continuing his call for a new iraqi government today. the secretary mee meeting with curdish regional president who says the visit comes tikrit cal time for the country and the region as whole. >> we are facing a new reality an new iraq. >> reporter: sit down comes a day after around of high-profile meetings for the secretary. secretary kerry meeting with prime minister nori al maliki whose facing pressure to step down as his shiite led government is accused of discriminating against other secretaries. secretary kerry also meeting with other leaders including the countri' parliament speaker who is a sunny. >> the government formation and challenge is search challenge that we face. >> reporter: sectarian tensions leading to the rise of isis iraqi security forces abandoning their posts as the sunny militant groups seize control of cities around the cun treatment al-qaida inspired fighters vowing to take baghdad raising fears of a bloody civil war. u.s. military now back in the country i

john huddy has the latest from the middle east. >> reporter: the flight for tikrit continues and it's critical one, giving iraqi military forces a chance to stop isis militants from marching any closer to baghdad. iraqi military officials say helicopter gunships are honing in on and attacking the sunni led militants with help from special forces ground troops. air strikes had helped the iraqi military stopped isis from taking control of the oil refinery just north of at this tribute. last week the fight not guilty mosul was some of the bloodiest thus far. new tikrit has become one of the bloodyiest battle grounds. at this point, however, iraqi officials are reporting the military has regained control of the city. tikrit's location is a critical one in the fight. it sits in the middle of mosul and baghdad. mosul remains under isis control. the fight for tikrit not only has strategic military significance, but also historic significance as well. it was saddam hussein's hometown and it's where u.s. military forces captured him in 2003. leland. >> john huddy in the middle east. >>> speaki

john huddy is live in our mideast an bureau with more. hi, john. >> well, arthel, yeah.th all of that the battle also c

john huddy is in the mideast bureau with more on that, john. >> reporter: the search for three teensrs to come to a tragic end. they were hitchhiking home when they disappeared and israeli army conducted an exhaustive search arresting hundreds looking for the teens. family members of the teens, israeli officials hoped they were alive. but they found the bodies and unclear exactly. we talk about the location we are hearing various things in terms of where those bodies were found. even last night talking about the hope they would be found and it was a massive rally in tel aviv calling for their release. israel military officials blamed hams in the west bank and unclear the violence we have seen is going to increase more. at this point, it is looking like the search for three teens is coming to a tragicen. back to you. >> john, thank you. >> and more on that breaking news as we get it. hostilities of the branches of the muslim faith go back centuries. and now word of a civil war in iraq. what is the major difference between sunnis and shea. >> and a robby suspect and how a couple of ord

in injury all almost, john huddy, fox news. >>> a factory in israel is engulfed in flames.kets from gaza. one person was hurt. now, tension in the region has been even hire for the past three weeks, after three israeli teenagers disappeared. , last seen hitchhiking near a settlement in the west bank. >>> the national weather service confirms a tornado touched down in the village of coalfax wisconsin. downed trees, debris, left scattered everywhere, the storm also caused damage to the roofs of the middle school and elementary schools. so far there have not been any reports of injuries. >>> now, checking in with the weather in our area. here's meteorologist, dominica davis. hi, dominica. >> reporter: hi, joyce. nothing like that around here this weekend. we are looking at dry skies. we did have a little bit of cloud cover around today. probably noticed those clouds coming in and out. they've been do you have leave thus evening. and that has been really keeping temperatures on the warm side. so we haven't seen much movement. and i don't think we'll see much movement in these t

john huddy has the latest from the middle east bureau. john?harris, isis militants continue their assault while iraqi forces try to push back. this is video of iraqi army air strikes against isis position in northern iraq trying to stop the militants in their tracks as they continue their assault on the ground. iraqi soldiers did manage to capture some weapons and vehicles, but the sunni militants continue to storm through the country taking over a total now of four towns along the syria and iraq border. opening an even wider supply line while occupying a huge swath of the northwestern part of the country. meanwhile, u.s. secretary of state john kerry arrived in the middle east today hoping to restore stability through diplomatic channels. his first stop was egypt. now he's heading to jordan to meet with leaders there before at some point soon heading to baghdad and we're also waiting on the first group of u.s. military advisers to arrive in baghdad as well. secretary kerry, meanwhile, echoed president obama's warning about the quote-unquote sp

jon: john huddy, joining us live from the israel-syria border. thank you. jenna: back here in the united states we're getting some new reaction from our political leaders to what's happening on the ground in iraq. take a listen. >> an increase sieve country for its future. that is not iran's goal. to do nothing and allow isis to establish a base of operation like al qaeda had before afghanistan places us in a very dangerous position. >> we're on verge of something very series and i think we have to meet it. our allies have to help us and i think iran can play a major role in moving out maliki and developing a reconciliation government. that is if there is the desire to maintain iraq as a state. >> i wouldn't wait. it is not whac-a-mole. this is in our national security interests. bumper sticker phrases aren't going to win thing this. we've got to be dug in for the long haul because they're dug in for the long haul. jenna: jonathan schanzer, vice president of research fors defense of democracies and former terrorism analyst at the treasury department. a long

john huddy reporting from jimmy johnson, thank you. >>> u.s.en's soccer star and olympic gold medalist has landed this jail after police say she assaulted her sister and 17-year-old nephew. officers were responding to a report of a woman who was hitting people and refusing to stop and leave. police say they found solo intoxicated and upset and they say the victims are injured. solo is now facing four counts of fourth degree domestic violence, assault. her court date set for monday. >>> a major milestone for one of the victims of the boston marathon bombings. jeff bauman photographed in this image is now back at work. returning to a costco store in new hampshire 14 months after the attack. he described one of the bombing suspects to police following the attack. he also lost both his legs above the knee. >>> starbucks lately? one of many chains in which the prices are going up. yep, price increase. the coffee giants says hiking some of the lattes and big mochas and all that other fancy stuff by as much as 20 cents and at the same time prices for

john huddy is standing by with more. >> reporter: uma, this is an important battle because it could stop those isis militants from getting any closer to baghdad. iraqi military forces say they're using, as you mentioned, helicopter gunships to attack the sunni-led militants. air strikes like this have helped in other recent battles as we've seen as ground forces also continue the fight. at this point iraqi military officials say they have control of tikrit, which has been one of the bloodiest battle fronts so far. that's because it's where al qaeda-inspired militants. the isis militants reportedly executed 160 people just about two weeks ago. the fighting, by the way, has raged on there since thursday. much of the battle centered on the tikrit university campus. locationwise just to give you an idea, tikrit is south of mosul and about 100 miles north of baghdad, almost in between the two cities. mosul, as you know, remains under isis control. so not only does this fight have strategic military relevance, but historical as well. tikrit is considered saddam hussein's hometown, and it's whe

. >> john huddy in jerusalem. thanks, john. >>> accusations now of a coverup and officials lying.as the tea party targeting scandal has gotten bigger this past week. did you see the hearing on capitol hill with the irs commissioner the anger and accusations. he is facing questions and why more than two years worth of e-mails from lois lerner disappeared. the e-mails just happen to be covering a critical period of the congressional investigation. they say a hard drive was destroyed and vanished. more from washington. >> reporter: rithe irs commissioner remained adamant as he told lawmakers the agency is not guilty. ex-official learnes's hard drive crashed before getting recycled and destroyed. backups e-mails were kept for six months. he pointed to a report about inspector general of the freshry department concluding while agency employees had acted improperly, there was no evidence of political motivation. >> i don't think that an apology is owed. there is not a single e-mail that has been lost since the start of the investigation. >> reporter: while agency says hard drives belong