and let's begin with keir simmons in amman. what is the jordanian government saying about the claims regarding isis? >> reporter: they've just issued a statement. let me read it to you. the jordanian official from the government is saying we are looking into the claims but they are illogical and we are highly skeptical about it. it is part of their -- meaning isis' -- criminal propaganda spinning campaign. they have lied this spokesperson said that our pilot was aliveing during the -- he was alive during the negotiation and we must be diligent when dealing with information generated by them -- meaning isis. what they are saying there, you'll remember that the jordanian pilot captured by isis was executed by isis in a video of whoeffic -- a horrific video where he was burned alive. jordanians say that took place a month before and that during a period of weeks isis was claiming that the pilot was still alive while, in fact they had executed him. that is what the jordanians say and that is their case now with the way we should vi

ction or confirmation about that, keir? >> reporter: well we want to be incredibly cautious and careful about this for obvious reasons because it is so sensitive and because we are only just hearing about this. as you rightly outlined what we are hearing are reports that isis is saying that an american female hostage has been killed in jordanian air strikes as you rightly say, we have absolutely no confirmation of this. no verification but that is what is being claimed. those air strikes as we understand it or air strikes have continued today by the jordanians. f-16s flying over target that will have been we think, chosen by the u.s. military including we know yesterday around the area of raqqa, which is an isis stronghold in syria. those airstrikes have in part been because of a real change in mood in jordan after their pilot was killed by isis in that horrific execution where he was burned to death. that is broad public opinion, more in favor of confronting isis and the jordanians are taking advantage of that if you like

that's where we get our report from keir simmons. hi, keir. >> reporter: good evening, lester. tonight, there are reports of arrests. the detectives have not found evidence yet that their suspect worked with anyone else. candles on a cold night in denmark. for two more victims, of two more attacks in another european city. as detectives investigating the killings raid an internet cafe searching for clues. this morning amid panic, they confronted the 22-year-old lone suspect and shot him dead. after he opened fire on them. his body lying in the streets. just over 12 hours earlier, the shooter had burst into a cafe, firing 30 times. leaving more than 20 bullet holes in just the front window. there he left one dead and wounded three police officers. inside an event was promoting free speech. >> i could hear the gunshots approaching. i could hear arabic and shouts. >> reporter: the possible target, one of the event organizers lars vilks, sketching a dog as mohammed. last month, "charlie hebdo" was targeted. it printed similar cartoons. >> it's possible this individual was a copycat

keir what do we know about the victims of this attack?rts unconfirmed that they are members of iraqi security services. it is one of the, a colonel there, member of the police force, who

lester. >> keir simmons in copenhagen. thanks. >>> trial resumed for the man accused of killing american sniper chris kyle. the jury has listened to witnesses describe the confession from the stand. today they heard it in his own words. here's jacob rascon in stephenville, texas. >> reporter: for several minutes eddie ray routh doesn't move. the jury hears the nearly hour-long recording the media ordered not to broadcast to media. when the question begins routh doesn't answer directly. rambling about flying pigs and people feeding on his soul. but then he confesses he shot chris kyle first saying "i knew if i did not take out his soul, he was coming to take mine next." routh describes the guns he used, admits to stealing kyle's truck and trying to escape. at least three times the investigator asks routh as he understands that what he did was wrong. right, routh answers. yes, sir, he says later. at one point routh interrupts the interview to ask about his parents saying "i'd like to see them, at least hug my mom one last ti

keir what do we know about the victims of this attack? >> ronan, we understand from reports unconfirmed that they are members of iraqi security services. it is one of the, a colonel there, member of the police force, who is saying that they appear to come from a compound of security personnel, and local officials that isis has attacked near this town which is a crucial place, there is an important base there for example and it has been fighting around this area for some time an area where there's a large number of sunni muslims living in that area so isis has been in this region of iraq for some time and then across iraq over in erbil overnight we had fighting between isis and kurdish forces that continued for hours, close combat there. senior iraqi official said tens of isis fighters were killed and some of their vehicles were destroyed, and local sources told nbc news that isis launched several waves of attacks before being repelled by reinforcements and air strikes. ronan, you remember that erbil is a crucial city. there are u.s. offic

nbc's keir simmons joins me now from amman, jordan. keir, that's my question starting with the jordanians. how strong an attack are they mounting? how long will they sustain it? >> reporter: they're definitely mounting a strong attack, chris. this has been a sustained air offensive over many, many days. they describe themselves, frank list, as pounding isis positions, hitting their fuel depots, hitting their ammunition depots, and they say they are deflating isis forces. they're also very proud that they believe that the uae could get substantially involved. we saw the uae f-16s and uae f-16 pilots alongside jordanian f-16 pilots just today. so they do think that they are making a real difference depleting isis by 20%, they claim, but as you rightly suggest, the question then -- who will lead that ground offensive and how effect it can really be, chris? >> keir, one jordanian general told you, i hear, the leader of isis is frightened. let's listen to that conversation right here. >> we have assets in the air. like al baghdadi and his g

want to go to keir simmons in ayman, jordan.nues to develop as we speak this morning. this is such a tragedy that effects so many people. just, you know what do you do? what do you say when a family like this is grieving when they get apparently confirmation that their daughter is dead. >> it is heart breaking in fact a couple months ago i was there in turkey where richard is spending time with syrian refugees families and children the kind of desperate people that she was there to try and help and traveled to the region to try and help and it says so much about who she was that she wanted to go there and help those it will compound the sense of loss. here they're already grieving over loss of pilot who was horrifically killed by isis. they will share in the grieving what we are seeing is extraordinary build up in the coalition against isis partly in response to that horrific death of the jordanian pilot. saw the uaef-16s bombing positions today, getting back safely. there are reports that the jordanians sent thousands of troops

keir simmons, nbc news, jordan. >> the war against isis is also being felt here at home as the family of a captured american aid worker remains hopeful their daughter is still alive. tonight the obama administration says there is still no evidence to support isis claims that kayla mueller was killed, and that extra resources are being directed to find out where she is and what happened to her. nbc's joe fryer has our report tonight from her hometown of prescott, arizona. >> reporter: here in prescott there are skepticisms that kayla mueller was killed in a jordanian air strike. u.s. officials say they've seen no proof. >> i just hope that, you know, that it could be possible that she's still alive. >> reporter: mueller's parents say this news leaves us concerned, yet we are still hopeful that kayla is alive. in a statement directed to her captors, they said we have sent you a private message and ask that you respond to us privately. adding, you told us you treated kayla as your guest, as your guest her safety and well-being remains your responsibility. >> i'm sure that the family is r

nbc's keir simmons reports. >> reporter: candles on a cold night in denmark. for two more victims of two more attacks in another european city. amid panic, they confronted the 22-year-old lone suspect and shot him dead after he opened fire on them. just over 12 hours earlier, the shooter had burst into a cafe, firing 30 times, leaving more than 20 bullet holes in just the front windows. there he left one dead and wounded three police officers. >> i could hear the gunshots approaching. i could hear the shouts. >> reporter: the gunman's possible target, one of the event organizers, swedish cartoonist lars vilks who sketched the prophet muhammad as a dog in 2007. the next target was copenhagen's jewish committee. outside a 30-year-old guarding a bar mitzvah was fatally shot. another two police officers wounded. >> that was keir simmons reporting. >>> an international hacking ring has stolen up to a billion dollars from banks all around the world, according to a new report from a russian cybersecurity firm. most of the targets are believed to have been in the u.s.

nbc's keir simmons has this report. >> reporter: the isis executioner now not only has a name, he has a face. this is mohammed emwazi several years ago at london's university of westminster. and as a grade schooler in 1998 who wrote in his yearbook that he liked the "simpsons" and playing playstation. his favorite computer game duke nuke 'em, time to kill. he went on to join the most notorious killers in the world. tonight, his victims' families want justice. >> it's going to take time to bring him to a court of law and to prosecute him. >> reporter: mohammed emwazi was born in kuwait. a kuwaiti source tells nbc news the family was rejected for citizenship. they moved to britain in the mid-'90s. the emwazi family home is just over a mile away from the scene of a dramatic terrorist arrest a decade ago. the suspects have been hunted by police after a failed bombing. emwazi was then 18. but the british security agency believed that the men who were arrested here were linked to an associate of mohammed emwazi. that associate spent time in terrorist training camps in somalia. court papers

lester. >> keir simmons in london tonight. thank you. the dangerous reach of isis extends all around the world including into this country using the power of social media. the arrest of three men from new york in what the fbi says was a plot to support isis seems to be the latest example of a rapidly growing trend. and a top fbi official admitted today that we are, quote, losing the battle to stop the spread online. our justice correspondent pete williams is monitoring the latest from our washington newsroom. pete, good evening. >> reporter: lester, good evening. the latest is federal authorities are questioning a man in norfolk, virginia tonight to see if he played a role in raising money for the plan to travel to syria. no charges yet officials say as they continue their investigation. in the brooklyn neighborhood where the men charged with supporting isis lived and worked, a community leader says he'd tried to talk one of them habivoev out of becoming radicalized. >> we had an argument with the gentleman about understanding of the way

keir simmons live in london for us. thank you. >>> the parents of apn american journalist killed by isis says the u.s. government needs to do more. diane and john foley said the government kept them in the dark and failed to help them when their son was being held captive. >> we really feel that our government needs to have a clearer policy and be more up front about what they can and cannot do or will and will not do. >> foley's parents say the government intentionally did not provide a network for families in this situation. foley was kidnapped in syria in november 2012 and executed in august of 2014. >>> next on the "today" show keir simmons will have more on the background of the man known as jihadi john and why authorities are having trouble tracking him down. >>> there are a lot of people with overflowing dumpster trash cans. take you a look this is the scene playing out all over the city now. trash bags spilling out over the top of the trash cans and this morning trash collectors are starting an all out blitz to

peter. >> keir simmons in london tonight. thank you. >>> in this country more uncertainty tonight over funding for the department of homeland security after congress was able to extend financing and avoid a shutdown of the department for at least one week. for more on this we're joined by our political director and moderator of "meet the press," chuck todd. congress basically kicked the can on this down the road another week. aren't we facing another shutdown next friday or can house republicans behind speaker john boehner untangle this dispute with the president and fully fund homeland security? >> here's what john boehner is hoping for at this point. he's hoping to get some resolution in the courts. why do i say that? there is of course the president's action on immigration was called unconstitutional by a federal court in texas. the administration is seeking a stay on that ruling so that they can begin implementing these new immigration policies right away. if the fifth circuit does not grant the administration that stay a

any reaction or confirmation about that, keir?to be incredibly cautious and careful about this for obvious reasons because it is so sensitive and because we are only just hearing about this. as you rightly outlined what we are hearing are reports that isis is saying that an american female hostage has been killed in jordanian air strikes as you rightly say, we have absolutely no confirmation of this. no verification but that is what is being claimed. those air strikes as we understand it or air strikes have continued today by the jordanians. f-16s flying over target that will have been we think, chosen by the u.s. military including we know yesterday around the area of raqqa, which is an isis stronghold in

nbc's keir simmons has our report tonight from copenhagen. >> reporter: thousands rallied in copenhagen tonight. coming together after a weekend of violence. the city's mayor was embraced by the mayor of paris, where attacks last month killed 17. the u.s. ambassador, a boston native, visited the cafe where supporters of free speech had gathered saturday. an audio recording captures the moment of the attack. [ gunfire ] more than 30 shots leaving one man dead. >> i could hear arabic and the shout. >> reporter: hours later the gunmen attacked a synagogue killing a security guard before being gunned down by police early sunday. >> denmark was hit by terrorism. >> reporter: the shooter is said to be this man, abdel el hussein, reportedly released from prison two weeks ago. tonight, the jewish community here is defiant. >> we wanted to change our way of life, and we will not give them that triumph. >> reporter: but anti-semitism in europe is on the rise. this weekend a jewish cemetery in france was desecrated. israel's prime minister netanyahu has called on european jews to immigrate to isra

with more here's nbc's keir simmons. >> we are an islamic -- >> reporter: his british accent was one of the few clues to his identity in isis propaganda videos only his eyes showing from behind a hood. but today he was identified. he is mohammad emwazi came to kuwait in 1994. the son of a well-to-do family that reportedly lives in this middle class home where police gathered far from the desert where emwazi was the front man. american journalist james foley, then journalist stephen sotloff, american aid worker pete kas kassich. this man knew emwazi in london. does that sound like the man you knew? >> i'm not certain but i can't deny the fact there are a number of similarities for sure. >> reporter: the reporter who identified emwazi says he wasn't always violent. >> he was a shy person. he was very devoted to religion devoted to family. >> reporter: he studied computer programming at westminster university. leaving in 2009. emwazi did have connections to extremists in somalia and was known to the british security agencies. but he left britain in 2012 for syria where he joined isis an

where does his situation stand right now, keir? the weekend and past week that it was prepared to hand over a militant -- a failed suicide bomber a woman that isis had said it wanted handed over in exchange for the japanese journalist and for this jordanian pilot. jordan is saying it still is prepared to do that. but looking for proof of life that the pilot was still alive. so far it doesn't appear to have been given that. the concern in jordan will be if it does turn out that pilot has been killed there will be great unhappiness on the streets of jordan. >> nbc's keir simmons, thank you for that sobering update. >> there's at least one other known remaining isis hostage, one received less attention from her own safety an unidentified american woman. savannah guthrie spoke with president obama in an exclusive interview and asked how the united states is handling her situation. >> we are deploying all assets that we can, working with all of the coalition allies that we can to identify their locations. we are in very close contact wi

can keir simons in is amman, jordan, where there is a mix of despair and defiance tonight. >> reporter: that is right. because today we saw a surge of public support for the air-strikes led by the jordanians. here on the streets thousands on the streets protesting and saying they wanted revenge. one young woman who i spoke to said to me jordan is now at war with isis. but then tonight this terrible news if it turns out to be true which is clearly aimed by isis at shifting public opinion back in their favor, if you like, in this region and possibly shifting public opinion in the united states. we have simply been saying we do not know what the truth is. but what the jordanians are saying, just remember that this is a group that ruthlessly beheaded a number of innocent hostages that burned alive a jordanian pilot. we cannot trust anything that the group is saying, the jordanians say. and bear in mind as they have been mentioning, they will see announcements like this as to their advantage in the propaganda war that continues with the air and ground war against isis rages on. >> keir simm

thanks to keir simmons and richard engel. joining me now is steve clemons, you know a lot more than you were able to report about the whole process because you were involved in the very early efforts on behalf of kayla mueller's family to try to find her. >> i think that in throughout these episodes with a number of hostages, that it is a horrible thing to see such bright lights. kayla's letter will be historic. it is such a flash of brilliant humanity amidst some of the most horrible scenes that we've seen. and i think it is excruciating talking with any of those that have been involved with this effort to get these various hostages away. peter theo curtis was involved with qatari captors, these isis group has yet to -- at least with any americans has not released a single american hostage. they have ransomed out other hostages but no americans. this is just a terrible terrible situation. >> we should remember james foley, steven sutloff and they were with kayla mueller and they were beheaded horrifically. what do we know ab

joining me from scotland yard in london is keir simmons.good day to you, what's the latest from there? >> reporter: well alex the british prime minister has been forced to defend the security agency over suggestions that it didn't do enough to stop jihadi john as he was known from heading to syria and joining isis. he said the british prime minister has done to stop the attacks. but could more be done for the man who has become known as jihadi john. >> unmasked. his network of extremists uncovered. the prime minister vowed to pursue. >> when there are people anywhere in the world who commit appalling and heinous crimes against british citizens we will do everything we can with the police with the security service, with all that we have at our disposal to find these people and put them out of action. >> reporter: mohammed emwazi was a computer student at the university of westminster. at the time it's alleged extremist groups met a campus. >> we have evidence of jihadist videos being showed at the islamic society at the university. >> this i

and keir simmons is live at amman, jordan. and how do we know it is a jordanian air strike and the u.s. saying they still cannot verify that fact? >> reporter: well, i think it is extremely difficult to verify because nbc news understands from a senior u.s. official that the family learned that she had died because they were sent a photograph of her and that indicates that she did -- those pictures aren't inconsistent with traumatic injuries. but of course it is very difficult from a photograph to be more specific than that. the family once they got that corroboration, issued a statement describing themselves as you can imagine, as heartbroken, talking about the incredible work that kayla was doing, going to help syrian refugees in turkey and then in syria. and they actually released a letter that kayla had smuggled out to them from her captivity by isis. and just to read a few excerpts from that because it gives you a picture of what kind of young woman she was. she says in that letter i have a lot of fight left inside me. i'

thank you so much keir simmons. thank you for your reporting this evening. >> reporter: you bet. >>> joining me now are michael sheehan, former head of special operations at the pentagon and harden lane an isis expert from the center of american progress. thank you both for being here. >> good to be here. >> my pleasure. >> michael, there's no proof either way here. how do we verify this? i mean what can they do? >> well it's going to be difficult for us to verify it but the history of isis normally when they verify someone's dead they'll show the body or the killing, and i think this -- i'm very skeptical in this case that they've actually that this bombing run killed this woman. she may be already dead as was the case with the jordanian pilot. negotiating when he was already dead or perhaps still holding her. i'm very very skeptical, this convenient claim this jordanian bombing raid killed this very innocent young aid work. >> why so skeptical? why? >> because it's convenient. they're trying to blame the jordanian

right now jordan seems united resolved to deal with this. >> keir simmons, thank you so much. washington now. another huge fight in congress could force the shutdown of the department of homeland security. lawmakers have until february 27th to fund the department. right now there is no clear path to a resolution. the spending bill is part of a strategy to pup issue the president for his executive action on immigration last fall. the house passed its version of the bill that undoes the immigration move. it is now up to the senate and majority leader mitch mcconnell. here's house speaker john boehner. >> the house did its work. we won this fight. now it is time for senate runs and senate democrats to come together and hold the president accountable. >> listen, he has a tough job. a tough job over there. i have a tough job over here. god bless him and good luck. >> ed o'keefe, good morning to you, ed. >> good to see you, alex. >> the first questions that come to mind, will the department of homeland security be forced down? could national security be as a result? >> we have three

joining us from copenhagen foreign correspondent keir simmons. keir, we've named the gunman. more about who we believe that he was. it's being reported had just come out of prison just a few weeks ago. that he was somebody that had been in trouble with the police for a street crime, but then and this is the frightening thing, appears to have moved very very quickly towards islamic extremism. that process was fast perhaps and it's happened in the past perhaps it was a question of radicalization in prison, and there is a real sense of shock here mika as you would expect. a sense of normalcy shattered. you only have to look at the windows of the cafe behind me to have a sense of what it must have been like. remember, people are in there for an event, discussing free speech and you can count the bullet holes in this window. i count 27. there were reports that 30 shots were fired and this was just the first of those two attacks. so in europe again, mika, people are trying to understand how this has happened again. >> keir simmons, thank you so much. >>> and we turn now from that t

we have nbc's keir simmons in jordan. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, erica. the jordanian f-16 was not involved in the bombing campaign today. it is the 500-pound bombs attached to the wing there. all morning, we have seen the fighter jets taking off from here. the jordanians are utterly rejecting the isis claims their bombs killed kayla mueller and all morning, as i say, we have watched the bombing campaign continue. one by one, jordanian jets took off this morning. their target? isis fighters and bases. the unconfirmed claim from isis that an american hostage has been killed in the bombing raids has not shaken jordan and resolve. f-16s are taking off from the air base here head for isis targets in syria. there goes another one. we were invited to see for ourselves the professionalism of the jordan air crews. the fighter pilot, mu'ath al kaseasbeh, burned to death by isis had taken off from this very base. jordan's leader say the retaliation will be relentless. >> we have to increase this and step up this not just air campaign but as we said and we promised

keir simmons, richard engel, chris jansing at the white house. let's go to the capital of jordan where it is 4:00 in the afternoon, that's where we find keir simmons. we're just seeing the leading edge of jordan's assaults on isis. >> i think you're right. the minister here saying they plan to throw everything they've got at isis. 30 air strikes. more we believe today that haven't been confirmed and there are reports of further strikes around that area of iraq in which isis' stronghold in syria. an extraordinary show op public opinion here in jordan. thousands on the streets. as you said that protest headed up by queen rania herself. young people say we will not be frightened by isis describing this as now a war between jordan and isis. the crucial question jose will jordan send ground troops in to take on isis on the ground? this, of course is a majority far, far majority sunni country. if there is that kind of shift, it will be a crucial turning point and we'll see whether or not that is the kind of decision that they make. but at the moment it

nbc's keir simmons is in london for us this morning. keir good morning. >> reporter: erica, good morning. the u.k. prime minister has been forced to defend the security agency saying the organization has done so much to protect britain from terrorists attacks. at the same time, u.k. lawmakers are questioning whether more could have been done as we learn more about the man who came to be known as jihadi john. the isis executioner unmasked. while this morning, his network of london extremists is uncovered. britain's prime minister vowed to pursue the jihadists. >> when there are people anywhere in the world who commit appalling and heinus crimes against citizens we will do everything we can with the police and security services and all we have at our disposal to find these people. >> reporter: mohammed emwazi was a computer student at the university of westminster. at the time extremists groups met on campus. >> we see evidence of jihadist videos seen on the university. >> reporter: and this is emwazi as a grade schooler in 1998. he wrote

kooer sim keir simmons has more. >> u.s. officials have confirmed that a london man, muhammad muwassy is the person known as jihadi john in the isis videos. a number of officials have refused to give guidance, but they have not dismissed the reports out of hand. nbc confirmed british officials believed he had been identified and the fbi director confirmed u.s. officials have identified him. sources tell us he's of somali origin and known to have lived in london. he's responsible for the execution of americans james foley and stephen sotloff. each killing has been the subject of a well publicized and slickly made video, usually featuring the victims dressed in orange jump suits while their killer brandished a knife and beerates the west. the concern is for those still held by isis even while the reporting is emerging, isis is attacking christian villages in northern syria. 33 villages have been targeted according to a local group of syrians who live there, and as of this morning, one monitoring group said a total of 220 chris

it didn't quite work out for keir.s this is such early days for this kind of technology. that's why it's making headlines and getting gee whiz reaction that you're not doing this being really awkward, ujust waving your hand and making a payment or scanning something you need to scan without it being a whole. >> julie ann, thank you on for your time tonight. >> thank you. >>> still ahead, controversy over the new covers of the "sports illustrated" swimsuit addition, and seahawks coach talks about the infamous call that lost the super bowl. and buzz about sarah palin's return to "saturday night live." conversation nation is next. at ally bank no branches equals great rates. it's a fact. kind of like mute buttons equal danger. ...that sound good? not being on this phone call sounds good. it's not muted. was that you jason? it was geoffrey! it was jason. it could've been brenda. introducing... a pm pain reliever that dares to work all the way until... the am. new aleve pm the only one to combine a safe sleep aid plus the 1

keir simons is in jordan talk about the confirmation that the pilot has been killed? >> reporter: there was tension in jordan over what happened to their pilot. his family have been raising a deep concerns about what they feet were not enough being done to secure his release. as you mentioned, joy, now there are protests in amman, jordan. the officials there are swearing revenge for his death. and there are reports that three prisoners who were to be -- jordan has planned to be possibly used in exchange for their pilot to be handed over to isis they have now been transferred to a prison and they may be executed tonight if king abdullah of jordan gives his permission. so there is a swift reaction. and part of that joy, is because of the real concerns about how the jordanian people will react to this how the pilot's family will react. this is a 26-year-old young man flying a jordanian f-16 over sear and he crashes over the strong hold of isis and fell into the hands of isis. there were negotiations for his police but as you mentioned state tv in jordan now saying that t

as a war, propaganda war between the different sides and isis is very much part of that. >> nbc's keir simmons, we looked at the rks in the defense department and also reacting right now is the white house. kristen welker is following how they are dealing with the accusation. what's the latest on this claim and how credible white house officials find it? >> reporter: the white house is not able to confirm this claim. i can tell you eric shultz briefing reporters aboard air force one moments ago said the administration is working to determine whether or not it claim is credible. i have this statement from nsc bernadette meehan we are deeply concerned by the reports. we have not at this time seen any evidence that corroborates isil's claim. but they are clearly tracking this quite closely. president obama on his way to indianapolis as we speak. he is scheduled to speak about the economy. but yet again, these events in the middle east and syria are overtaking the focus here at the white house. now, this comes as susan rice in just moments from now will talk about and unveil president obam

thanks so much keir.xt back home polar express, bitter cold for much of the country with snow expected from nashville to new england. and that's only the first part of the week. this is andrea mitchell reports only on msnbc. start the interview with a firm handshake. firm, but not too firm. make eye contact...smile. ay,no! don't do that! try new head & shoulders instant relief. it has tea tree and peppermint that cools on contact. and also keeps you 100% flake free. i use it for cooling scalp relief in a snap. mi bebé ha crecido tanto. try new head & shoulders instant relief. for cooling relief in a snap. ring ring!... progresso! it's ok that your soup tastes like my homemade. it's our slow simmered vegetables and tender white meat chicken. apology accepted. i'm watching you soup people. make it progresso or make it yourself there's something happening right here in this country. it's the sound of america... working with american materials... in american factories. at weathertech all we do is create the h

joining me from london keir simmons. what more do we know about this video? the entire world recoiling in horror at this. >> it's 20 minutes long and clearly as you would expect people are being cautious. it has been put online by a known organization that is linked to isis part of isis. so the assumption is that this is what it purports to be. we're also hearing the head of the jordanian armed forces has told the family of the jordanian pilots that he has been killed. that's being reported by reuters. reuters says a member of the pilot's family has told that organization that so it's absolutely horrifying shocking and a change in the way that isis has executed its hostages up until now, they have been beheaded, on video too. this time this pilot, burned alive, 26 years old. he was flying an f-16 jordanian f-16 and crashed in syria. that was an incredibly difficult place for his plane to go down because it is the center of power for isis in syria. and although he survived that crash, he was taken by isis. as you mentioned, there have been negotiations if you

joining me now from amman, jordan, is nbc news's keir simmons.this mission. how much activity did you witness there today? >> reporter: that's right. we were at an air base where wave after wave of f-16s took off heading for isis targets. we believe in syria, jordan replying to isis with a roar of jet engines loaded with 500-pound bomb each of these f-16s accompanied, we understand as they have been in recent days by u.s. forces. in fact we saw two u.s. f-22s land at the air base as the other planes came in to land after 2 1/2 hours. and as far as we could tell in almost every case each of the planes had delivered its deadly message, its payload, each plane's payload was empty. this appears to be a real shift in opinion. certainly a shift in tone from jordan with the outrage here that we have seen over the killing of their pilot who was downed near raqqa in syria. and then you'll remember in those horrendous video, burned to death by isis. uae, we understand is also now sending planes to that same air base to join in these air attacks. and the me

let me bring in keir simmons in london. this is just a continuation of a horror and as you know the people in amman and the tribal family of this lieutenant had been protesting wanting the immediate release even of that attempted suicide bomber who was offered to be released if they could prove the pilot was still alive. >> they had been and the jordanian government has been trying to manage its own people if you like their own reaction to this particularly because the family have been so public. andrea, what we are hearing the head of the jordanian armed forces told the jordanian pilot, the family of the jordanian pilot, according to reuters, that he has been killed. that according to reuters is coming from a member of the family. but what you're alluding to is absolutely correct, that people will be watching now to see what the reaction is in jordan. in particular because this killing, if what this is turn out to be confirmed, is so horrific. we of course have heard and seen horrifically the beheading of a number of isis

. >> joining me now is nbc's keir simmons from london and ayman mohyeldin from new york.ve got the isis conflict i want to talk to you about ukraine also. but first, isis what are the options as savannah was pressing the president because he said we were making progress against isis in iraq and syria and critics are saying to me and other people there's little evidence of any progress? >> well there is little evidence in the sense that most of the territory that isis took in this push across iraq last year isis is still holding. there have been 34 coalition air strikes just in iraq and syria against isis. they are if you like ramping up the pressure. there are reports as well that isis has lost many many fighters, that they have been seriously depleted by this campaign that includes those air strikes and also on the ground fighting in iraq by local forces. but it is a difficult to say that there's a break through at this point. when you talk to some of those in baghdad, for example, i was listening just last week to the iraqi prime minister saying that he believes that th

more, i'm joined by keir simmons, nbc news, in amman, jordan. thank you for joining us. personally i got to tell you up front that however she died if she died, she died as a victim of her captors. they captured her, they put her in a spot where she was killed. i don't care what cover-up story they've got, what evidence do we have right now hard about what happened to this wonderful person? >> reporter: chris you're right, and really what isis is trying to do whatever the truth is, in making this announcement is they're trying to really kind of shift the blame on to the jordanians, on to the u.s. on to the coalition, but let's just be absolutely clear. it was isis that captured her and held her hostage, if the facts of all of this are true and the facts are not easy to be sure about. i mean the jordanians, chris, describing this as part of isis media propaganda criminal campaign. and they are saying here that they can't be sure that she has indeed been killed or how she has been killed. in isis you are talking about a group that beheads innocent hostages, as you point ou

keir simmons is at an air base outside of amman, jordan. >> this is one of the f-16s using to target isis. this is a 2,000 bomb they have been dropping on the isis targets that the secretary of state was talking about there. targeting fuel depots ammo depots targeting the isis fighters themselves. one military leader said here that he believes that these f-16s have managed to kill 7,000 isis fighters. so they do think here in jordan they are having an effect. we have been here for two days and seen many many flights take off, both jordanian and u.s. f-16s, also usf-22s coming in to land here and uae planes gathering. so this does appear to be increasingly incentive for the air battle against isis, if you like. while that is said, as i mentioned, in the end it may come down to ground forces. and that may well be down to the iraqis. it was the iraqi army that withdrew when isis pushed into mosul and into that part of iraq. so we are looking at potentially relying on that same army to take that territory back. >> keir simmons thank you for that. >>> for more, daniel benjamin from the st

for more we turn to keir simmons in amman, jordan. >> reporter: the jordanians have been using these f-16 fighters to pound isis targets and at the same time king abdullah has been pulling together more nations to join him, in particular the uae has sent a number of their own f-16s like these to his base and they were persuaded to do that by the jordanians who are leading this fight now using these planes to pound isis targets in three days, 56 air raids were carried out. remember that it was a jordanian pilot flying an f-16 like these from this very base who had to eject who was captured by isis and then so who ifric ic-- horrifically killed and that has changed sentiment in this region and country, and galvanized people against isis and brought about this renewed and stronger air campaign. the question now is whether there will be a ground defensive and if there is, what army will lead that? it will be the iraqi army, the same army that withdrew so spectacularly when isis stormed across northern iraq? if that is the army relied upon to take back mosul, even with this kind of air po

keir simmons in amman. let's turn to jam borger from the brookings center with u.s. relations. welcome, sir. media has been -- and up coming author of isis the state of terror. media has been important to isis so i'm curious as to why you think that with the kayla mueller situation, they would skip the opportunity to create another video? >> well we don't know the circumstances that kayla mueller died under but there are hazards for anybody in that region whether it is being hit by an air strike or death by disease or by accident or an attempt to escape. so what we've seen in the past is when isis can control the circumstances of hostages' death, they do it and they use it to theatrical effect and since that didn't happen this time, i would speculate without firm knowledge, they lost control of the situation in some way. >> and so when you think about the head of isis al-baghdadi, we've heard reports, unconfirmed, he's been injured. can you tell us about him. he's a shadowy figure and he's not seen often and what is his impact and how that impact will hurt them? >> he has been