doesn't for the militia, but supports the armed forces which back the militias. critics of the militia say the reason they recruited so young was because of losses on the battlefield, a charge denied. by no means is this a new thing. saddam hussein, former dictator used to use young recruits. he called them his lion cubs, for many, it's a continuation of that tradition, it's a show of loyalty from iraq. >>> china said it recovered more than $6 billion of money and assets lost to corrupt officials, part of an anticorruption drive by president xi jinping, who promised to tackle the matter at all levels of government >>> bangladesh supreme court upheld a death sentence given to a leading opposition politician. he was ground guilty of abduct abducting and killing minority hindus. we have this report from the capital dakar. >> reporter: for are for a man that used to be a trusted and powerful advisor to the prime minister, it's been a high fall from faith. he was sentenced to death in 2013. for helping the bangladesh army. those defining him say it charges are all abo

the militia leaders run these individual militias. there's about a half dozen big ones and a couple dozen small ones. what the federal government i think is trying to do is captain lies on this, essentially make the best it can of a very disorganized situation. >> ok, thank you so much. >> thank you for having me. >> coming up in the news hour: >> they killed my brother and my sister and her son. this is tragic. how is any of this their fault? >> fighting continues in yemen despite the announcement of a humanitarian ceasefire. >> strength in numbers pope francis holds the biggest open air mass of his south american tour. >> in sport the world number one in tennis celebrates a third title success at wimbledon. >> france's foreign minister expect some form of statement on the nuclear talks. within hours a deadline expires on monday. word powers have been trying to reach a deal limiting iran's nuclear program in exchange for easing sanctions. our diplomatic editor has more from vienna. >> there have been quite a bit of optimism here that

the prime minister has control over the army units and the military and the individual militia leaders run these individual militias, and there are a half dozen really big ones and half a dozen small ones. the federal government i think is trying to do is capitalize on this essentially make the best it can of a very disorganized situation. >> the iraqi air force is also involved in the new offensive. an iraqi air force has just been given the boost. it has received the first four of the consignment of 36 f-16 aircraft from the u.s. now they've arrived at the air bass, and the iraqi air force will be hoping hoping that they will help to deliver a decisive blow to isil fighters. but in anbar province they have empathy from some of the sunni tribes there. because of that they've proven to be a very tough fighting force. >> ongoing iran nuclear talks france foreign minister expects some statement between iran and world powers within hours. the deadline to reach an accord expires on monday. they have been trying to reach a deal to limit tehran's program in the easing of sanctions. james bay

forget about all the militia ideas.>> he started slowing down. we could see him looking around left to right. i thought, okay, this is it. he's going to get out and start shooting, but he pulled hard to the right and just went offroad. on top of the hill, burgert stopped and jumped out of his vehicle. he got up that hill. i started running up the hill with my rifle. he had a gun pointing at me. i was looking down the barrel of his gun. then i saw the gun go off. he shot directly at me. i fired off five rounds. i assumed we'd hit him or he was hiding behind his jeep. so we slowly worked up the hill. when we got to the point we could see behind the vehicle, he wasn't there. he was gone. that was the moment that i knew he'd just tried to kill me and i had no idea where he was. it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. >> the fbi and u.s. marshals joined in the hunt for a known militia man, david burgert after he shot at sheriff's deputies. he's armed, at least with a handgun, and is considered extremely dangerous.

the american insurgents control the press, the militia, and a militia was often used to punish loyalistsen when the british succeed when they did in 1776 and 1780, rather than tell the americans that makes it americans angrier. the fifth factor, and this is related -- if the british are to win popular support, it is tough to win popular supporters and use force. it does not help that the british are using germans blacks, and indians as allies. this is the kind of thing that is angering white americans on different levels. every time the british do it and all the are doing is making more enemies. the british are having this problem. maybe they would have been able to overcome all of these difficulties if they had had a good solid base of loyalist support. this is what the british are constantly hoping for. every time they launch a campaign -- not necessarily in new england, but in the middle colonies and the south, they think the loyalist will rally to their banner and they will have greater numerical support. this never happened. the loyalists units that do develop in america developed s

the number of militia casualty is high. the united states is prohibited by law from supplying military aid to any regime that back underage militias. critics of the militias say the reason they are recruiting people so long is because of losses on the battlefield. that is a charge that the militias deny but by no means is this a new thing. saddam hussein used to use young recruits he called them his lion cubs. this is simply a continuation of that tradition. the iraq fight against i.s.i.l. imran khan khan, al jazeera baghdad. >>> coming up the future of the taliban as u.s. involvement in afghanistan dwindles. also the wife of convicted spy jonathan pollard reacts to his upcoming parole, 30 years after he went to prison for stealing secrets for israel. israel. >> in context tonight, the taliban. born in the chaos of afghanistan during the soviet war the fighters who became the taliban used weapons received from the united states to take control of the country in the mid '90s. mulla omar's protection led to the taliban's down

shia militia, special forces and tribes are advancing towards the target. the military provisions have been continuing but are predominantly concentrated on ramadi. tens of thousands of troops are used within the new offensive. 500 within anbar. the operation will focus on liberateing fall usualingee. ricky fighters hoped to open a corridor. fighters have an advantage, they control border crossings. allowing them to use safe havens to great advantage. iraq has a real challenge to defeat i.s.i.l. but it is notable, because it involves pro-government fighters who said the key to defeating i.s.i.l. >> the prime minister has control over the army units and the interior ministry runs the police units and militia units run the individual militias and there's half-a-dozen big one, and smaller ones. what the federal government is trying to do is capitalize - make the best it can of a disorganized situation. >> the iraqi air forces are involved in the new offensive. >> the iraqi air force has been given a boost, receiving the first four of a consign. of 36 f-16 airc

there are shia militias in iraq.m showing you a very short collection of dozens and dozens of rockets that are all gearing up to fight isis to take a part of iran the person park of iraq taken by isis. now, talking about creakivety in syria, the local rocket production and sits here for two hours with all this fascinating stuff. for me as an engineer, fascinating stuff. but here the warhead is a canister commercial canister of -- gas. there is a short video showing it being tested. believe me it's a fuel airborne. it destroyed buildings. it's amazing. so the creativity here is really -- here it's being loaded into the launcher of this pipe. is not a tube. it's not a gun. it's just to stabilize it when it goes out. the syrian army is increasing its firepower with the help of outside for hiss. we see this russian made 220 millimeter organ. the last time we saw it in action was in 2008. very impressive firepower. look at this em brem here. this is a syrian office and this is the emblem you find in google of the russian

that is what they meant by a well-regulated militia.nd you can see later on in the whiskey rebellion washington's administration the debate over when can the federal government call out other malicious. they passed a law that says okay if there's an uprising against the government and the governor of the state asks you to then you can send in a militia so there was no discussion of individual -- but there is a hilarious discussion and they know maybe it says something about historians that we would find this riotously funny but there is a hilarious discussion about whether you should include in their that if you have a religious injunction or pacifist religion, whether you are exempt from service in a militia, so they have this long debate and someone says what we need to name their religions. someone else says well put a few are a quaker and he wants to fight? one with nathaniel green who is a general and the revolutionary war. are you saying that he can't fight? there is little discussion should we name them and there's another group

the states wanted to maintain their own army, their own militia in case the federal government becametyrannical and attacked them. they wanted to be able to defend their own borders. this was critically important time not just against native americans or the british were the spanish but really they wanted to have their own army and that's what they meant by a well regulated militia. they see during washington's administration the debate over when can the federal government called out to pass the law that says okay if there is an uprising and the governor of the state asks you to then you can send the militia so there was no discussion of individual ownership of guns but there was a hilarious discussion, and i know maybe it says something about historians that we would find this funny but there is a serious hilarious discussion about what you should include if you have a religious injunction against or our pacifist religion whether you are exempt from service in the militia so they have a long debate. someone else says what if you are a quaker and one to fight like nathaniel green in t

the numbers of militia casualties is hay. the united states is prohibited by law from supplying military aid from anyway regime which recruits underage soldiers. the u.s. supports the armed forces backing the militias. critics of the militia say the reason they recruited so young was because of losses on the battlefield, a charge denied. by no means is this a new thing. saddam hussein, former dictator used to use young recruits. he called them his lion cubs for many it's a continuation of that tradition, it's a show of loyalty from iraq. >> cam bode i can't is enduring -- cambodia is enduring its worst drought for 30 years. farmers say they are facing an imminent crisis because of weak monsoon rains. we have this report from one of the worst-affected provinces. >> the people here are worried. by now these farmers should have finished planting their rice, but the rains have been week, and there's not enough water to cultivate the crops. like many here, this person is concerned that she will not be able to harvest anything this

doesn't directly support the militias, it does support iraqi's armed forces, which backs the militias. >> critics of the militias say the reason they are recruiting people so young is because of loss on the battle fields, a charge they deny. sadaam hussein used to use young recruits. he called hem his lion cubs. for many, this is simply a continuation that have tradition, that this is a show of loyalty from the young for iraq in the fight against isil. al jazeera baghdad. >> coming up on the program, one man killed as over a thousand migrants try to cross the channel tunnel in calais. >> i'm in london, where it's hoped the trial of d.n.a. inspired sculptures will raise millions. >> in sport hearing from the woman proving dreams can come true in the nfl. >> there is an emergency meeting in the u.k. after migrants tried to storm the tunnel connecting britain and france. one man was found dead after 1500 migrants tried to enter the terminal in calais. they've been trying to cross through the tunnel, some tried to hang on to trains. thousands of migrants are camped out, hoping to get to t

the american insurgents controlled governments, the press, the militia, and the militia was often used to punish loyalists. even when the british succeeds in some campaigns rat that makes the americans angrier and helps achieve success. the fifth factor, if the british are going to try to win support, it is tough to win support and use force. an invading army creates unpopularity wherever it goes. it does not help that they are using germans and blacks and indians and allies. this is the kind of thing that is angering white americans on different levels. every time the british do it they are making more enemies. the british are having this tricky problem. they would have been able to overcome these difficulties if they had a solid base of loyalist support. this is what the british are constantly hoping for. every time they launch a campaign, they are not -- in the middle colonies or south, they thought the loyalists would rally to their banner. this never happens. the loyalist units that develop in america develop slowly and never get the initiative. to compensate for the lack of manpo

for instance, a militia here in topeka goes to lawrence to defend lawrence. and so people -- and john brown and his family come up from -- to lawrence to help defend lawrence. so you have all of these people in the kansas territories that are coming together at lawrence and they -- and the pro slavery people sort of reinforce one another and the anti-slavery people all reinforce one another. and that new network is created and as a result of the various anti-slavery people coming together. john richie, for instance, meets john brown. they become associates in this whole resistance to the efforts of the missouri institute to control the territory and promote and extend slavery. this house was -- i think this house -- we don't know exactly when it was built, but this house was built in that summer and fall of 1856. this wall, which is right behind me, is an example, i think, of the intense conflict that was going on. structurally, the wall does not do anything for holding the floors up or anything like that. but it's -- someone went to a lot of trouble to haul

>> i don't know. >> rose: the shia militia supported by iran is an issue. >> right and shia militias in iraq the most extreme have had a mixed record militarily on the ground against i.s.i.s. so i understand the concern and the reality they're kind of parallel interests here in the sense that iran and its allied shia militias don't want to see i.s.i.s. have success, and we're certainly working hard to defeat i.s.i.s. but that doesn't necessarily mean you will see close coordination. >> rose: when the history is written to have the two terms of the obama administration, is it possible that history will say this president because he came to power when the u.s. was withdrawing from iraq and he was committed to that to seeing it through, even to the fact that he left no troops there, and the afghanistan were, which he both surged and then began to reduce that he was so conscious of the lack of success in our military involvement that he made decisions that were too cautious too conservative and in that circumstance, i.s.i.s. grew, and part of the responsible has been that we didn't do en

shia militias are advancing on isil territory. the militias say they've already retaken some isil positions in villages nearby. in neighboring syria activists say there's heavy fighting on the outskirts of the cities home to the historic palmyra word heritage site. >> a drug king from mexico escaped digging a tub necessarily 1.5 kilometers long. it's his second jail break. >> the tunnel has p.v.c. pipe for ventilation. >> the last time he escaped from prison, it took the mexican military 13 years to find him. his capture in february, 2014 was hailed as one of the biggest blows to the drug trade in decades. el chapo translated at shorty in english is short in tuesday touch but large in drug trafficking. he's made forbes magazine's billionaire list. his cartel controls some of the most lucrative routes from mexico to the united states, trafficking heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. >> his expertise is logistics. he is able to move cocaine from south america to mexico to move chemical precursors used from russia to mexic

of the al rafadan party say christians are being kidnapped and having their homes seized by outlaw militia. from the prime minister hardy haider al-abadi. thanks so much for being on the program. what more can you tell us about the christians who are being targeted in the iraqi capital? >> well, in general we are suffering same as other iraqis. today, almost 3 million iraqis are out of their homes from three major provinces plus some more in be kirkuk and di diyalla. to aman and beirut, so we are suffering too much, especially recently these days. there is a very dangerous situation, some people the cover of the popular mobilization, thet arethey are gangs and mafia for money, kidnapping doctors or rich people, we have two people killed within last two weeks in baghdad and four case of kidnapping for money. so today the president prime minister treas a address a very strong message against them, for the last two days there have been military region in treatment in the region against militia so i can't say people are that confident and people are disappointed, know enough care of them those

our militia and whoever militia was controlling the airport. the bigger militia so we got through. >> you have a smaller airplane. it's not exactly big for everybody. load you guys up. >> they're starting to pull me off and i walked into benghazi, i'm going to walk out of here. and i get up slide to the edge and stand up. there's still blood dripping down my arm. and the -- because it was a private jet and there was a flight attendant. and her eyes just get as big as saucer plates. and she's laying towels down because she's worried about her boss's airplane getting messed up. and then they bring in dave. and he was in >> in the plane? >> in the plane. >> and a round goes off. and the pilot is he wasn't going to take off until confirmed whether or not fuselage had been breached. >> there was another delay, he probably would not have made it. he was down to about as much blood as a person could lose before they die. >> you're taking off in the plane the rest of you guys are going to wait for the next plane. >> yes. >> bodies and the body of ambas

and hezbollah militia and some other iraqi militia to support assad and back him up, assad's regime would have collapsed from the middle of 2012, but what we are seeing now with days recently on the ground is that like assad's regime forceles are suffering to much, there is a lack of manpower to fight for him. that's why assad's regime lost the whole provision of idlib. they are losing other areas, as well. even so close to damascus, it's not that big area, they are losing, as well. they are unable to take control or overcome the tree syrian army at any point or any piece of land in syria on the syrian ground. >> it's quite arable, basically he's ceded control of parts of the country and he's concentrating only on the capitol, damascus and perhaps holmes. >> yeah, i think that's assad regime knows very well that as long as he keeping controlling damascus area, and even like the center of damascus, that means for the international community that he is the president the syrian president, the president of syria and this is more than enough for him i think. the only thing that assad's r

they recognize there's a distinction that must be made between the shia hard line militias under the influence of iran and the large number of shia who answered the fatwa of grand ayatollah ali al sistani last summer and they came to the rescue by the tens of thousands. i believe i'm better qualified than most to understand the destructive and destabilizing role that sectarian militias can play. from our own insurance in i experience in iraq. as someone who is deeply committed to this coalition's campaign and to iraq's success i also understand the error in seeing iraq's fighters and iraq's communities and iraq's future through a narrow and sectarian prism. in fact enabling iraqis to move beyond these divisions is part of why stabilization efforts in the liberated communities are so important as the campaign continues to unfold and why the coalition support for these activities is one of our central lines of effort. as i see it there are four components to the counteroffensive under way that require these efforts be closely synchronized. first, the clearing element. when the iraqi ar

back in may, there is an operation ongoing at the moment in anbar province by iraqi troops, shia militia and sunni militants also to take back anbar province. let's return to the discussions in greece. and speak to jacky rowland who is in brussels there. so question finally have a deal, jackie, finally, but still a long way ahead. >> reporter: yes, we do have a deal after talks that went on all night. the question is at at what price the deal and what price to greece since that's what it's all about. certainly at stages during the night there were concerns, one stage an official actually described what was going on in those closed rooms is the mental water boarding of alexis tsipras. a very graphic image suggesting the kind of pressure brought to bear on the greek prime minister, now as all the individual leaders individual national leaders are holding their briefings to give their analysis of what happened clearly everyone is trying to presents the idea an agreement that was unanimous, take nene taken in a collegial way. it was interesting listen to merkel saying this was all consensus

they are shiah militias in iraq. look at this strange beast here. i am showing you a very short collection of dozens of rocketses that are all gearing up to fight isis in western iraq. not very successful as of now. talking about creativity in syria local rocket production goes on. here i am showing you picks out of a huge selection. i could sit here and show you for two hours all this fascinating stuff. you see home made rockets in northern syria. the added zest is the warhead is a canister of cooking gas. >> there is a short video showing it being tested. it is a fuel airborne. it destroys buildings. it is amazing. their creativity is noticeable. here it is being loaded into the launcher. this pipe is not a tuiasosopo or a gun. it is just a pipe. it is flying on the rockets of its own. while they are doing that, the syrian army is increasing its firepower with the help of outside forces. the latest edition that we see is this russian-made 220 millimeter mlrs. the last time we saw it in action was in georgia in 2008 very impressive firepower. but l

leaders run these individual militias and there are a half dozen big ones and a dozen small ones. the federal government is trying to capitalize on this essentially make the best it can of a very disorganized situation. >> the iraqi air force is also involved in the offensive. the iraqi air force has just been given a boost. it has received the first four of f-16s from the u.s. the iraqi air force is hoping to deliver a decisive blow to isil fighters. but in anbar province isil fighters have any from some of the sunni tribesmen. because of that they've proven to be a very tough fighting force. >> activists in syria say at least 35 people have been killed after the government bombed the town of al bab. 50 others were wounded. this video is showing the aftermath of that attack. activists say that barrel bombs hit a market in a residential area in the isil controlled town. the syrian governments have chose an new military general to lead the fight against isil. the city is home to the unesco heritage side. there has been heavy fighting on the outskirts on friday. still to come on al

in tikrit the shia militia moved on to create and then got stalled. and us air power came in. they finished that fight. but tikrit still from what i know i know is largely impossible to move enough people back in to get the clear, get the whole -- hold and build part going. you could argue the same in the anbar province. the terrible setbacks in the loss event or solvents. so how us and coalition operations work with iran will be shaped in a time after the nuclear deal is reached, reached, assuming that in the next couple weeks by july 9 that can be done is one of the real challenges for us and iranian officials. will it be possible to have some more effective alliance that draws in sunni countries? saudi arabia is going to have to be comfortable with that. is that going to be possible? i don't know but i but i am sure we will try to find out. >> i have been a long believer, and engaging with iran. it is essential. i do not think we can go through life and not have engagement with a country like iran. i am hopeful there is agreement. i don't want to see a disconnection. i i am

. >> reporter: pushing slowly this militia group inches forward in beiji town.s isn't any ordinary militia it is one of the groups who have joined the popular mobilization forces. but things aren't going to plan. further south, sunni groups complain they are not getting the training or support they need. >> translator: we're not getting anything tangible from the authorities. so far just empty promises. we want weapons to fight. we are not here just to stay at these camps eating and sleeping. >> reporter: for many sunni tribal fighters may be the key to defeating isil fighters in anbar. >> translator: we didn't get any useful weapons from the central government nor from the u.s. the americans have only trained 200 sunni recruits. we need at least 20,000 well-trained fighters to defeat isil. >> reporter: getting them to join in the fight has been tough. there has been a lack of trust between the tribes and the central government for a number of years now. >> translator: there is a presents to all of this. it was the american-backed sunni tribal fighters that defe

shia militias, sunni forces and government are all taking part. we have this update from baghdad. >> the operation was announced on state tv, they said that it began at 5:00 a.m. now this involves at least 5,000 troops within the province,s are they're saying there are 6,000 troops surrounding to stop isil fighters were getting out of the province and towards baghdad. now, it is a little bit confusing because they've been fighting in ramadi for a number of months now. that town fell to isil fighters in mid-may. and there has been an operation to retake it from isil fighters. they are likely to come towards the town of fallujah under isil occupation for a number of months. the iraqis will be looking for propaganda victory to announce. this may be it for them. but while all of this was happening coalition airstrikes reportedly hit an isil radio station and media base west of ramadi as well. so there is a number of things happening. this operation does seem like it's quite big bigger in nature than perhaps we've seen in recent months to try to retake

this whole force will likely be combination of the beliefs, local tribes and even some militia elements. behind the effort by the central government and provincial headquarters in capitals to extend governance to the populations that have recently been liberated and have suffered so much. in the stabilization effort itself well for a provision of the services include immediate humanitarian assistance to address life-threatening issues as well as short-term restoration of services like healthcare and fresh water and electricity. on the elements the coalition is surging technical support and assistance to our iraqi allies. while the germans are helping organize these stabilization activities of others are providing significant support. the training and effect of police forces that are being reconstituted in several nations including the united states have made sizable contributions to the stabilization fund and this will allow them to make immediate investments to meet the urgent needs of those that suffered the dalia deprivations for so many months and to restore critical infrastructure

the shia army and militia and irani forces don't have advantage to go and fight there. the others are the only ones with the dog in the fight. >> you have identified what you see as the shortcomings in the syrian strategy. is the battle frond different there to iraq. >> it's different. completely different. the kurdish component. there's a limit, unlike peshmerga in iraq. there's a limit do where and how much territory the kurdish can transgress. they are divided among themes. other kurds are opposed to them. there's a limit. in some areas, i.s.i.s. upgrades in sunni areas. and you need to work with those sunnis in the areas. who are locked in. unless you do that, you can only clear a small strip, but not be able to push them back. the problem with us is we have an approach that is different. where the islamic state of iraq and syria - we don't recognise the borders, we demolished them. the situation in the white house, they exist on paper. >> are we seeing limits of what you can do from the air. there have been hundreds, thousands of sortees, can you defeat anyone from

who has organised militias in an effort to beat back the cartels. >> we had to defend ourselves. the questions forces that we created were created to fight because we can't work with the cartels. they controlled everything. >> this was one of 11 people killed, dying at the hands of those loyal to a vigilante known assel americano. he earnt the nickname after spending several years living in the united states. while it's not clear if the american came to mexico like el salvador, there's concern if the kids are not better integrated into the schools, they could add to the problem plaguing the region, as deportations rise, the ranks of america's lost generation are growing. >> david joins me now. david, who is working on any solutions to the problem. >> that is the difficult part. you have different n.g.o.s, this is dangerous. the drug infested areas of north and western mexico. they are no-go areas. in terms of tracking individuals and finding the kids, needles in hay stacks, it's hard to get good information. once you get them you get them to the u.s. embassy, processed, some can

sarah: in ukraine itself there is growing concern over an extreme right-wing militia. it saw two members killed in recent clashes with police as the group called for the resignation of top government officials. so far, kiev has been reluctant to crack down on the militia. >> just past 9:00 a.m., rifle practice. he is one of the recruits at right sectors training camp in eastern ukraine, 100 kilometers from the eastern front. he and the others are anxious to see battle. they are getting ready to fight for ukraine, but not the country's leaders. >> i am here because i aim for the truth. the powers that be have not built a functioning state. there is nothing but chaos in our country. i am here because these guys think the same way i do. reporter: he and his comrades are learning to fire into italy. their instructor joined win nationalists and right-wing extremists formed the group during last year's revolution. >> we have many demands for the government. they really have not gotten anything done. we elected them. now we have to get rid of them. it would be better if they

sarah: in ukraine itself there is growing concern over an extreme right-wing militia. it saw two members killed in recent clashes with police as the group called for the resignation of top government officials. so far, kiev has been reluctant to crack down on the militia. >> just past 9:00 a.m., rifle practice. he is one of the recruits at right sectors training camp in eastern ukraine, 100 kilometers from the eastern front. he and the others are anxious to see battle. they are getting ready to fight for ukraine, but not the country's leaders. >> i am here because i aim for the truth. the powers that be have not built a functioning state. there is nothing but chaos in our country. i am here because these guys think the same way i do. reporter: he and his comrades are learning to fire into italy. their instructor joined win nationalists and right-wing extremists formed the group during last year's revolution. >> we have many demands for the government. they really have not gotten anything done. we elected them. now we have to get rid of them. it would be better if they

it's fighting along side shia militias known as the mobilization force to push isil out. isil fighters are using suicide attacks to push them back. many soldiers were killed in two car bombs that hit the northeast of the city. on friday the iraqi defense ministry said that the army killed a number of isil, and evacuated houses safely safely safely detonateing bombs. a few days ago 3,000 iraqi soldiers trained by u.s. coalition joined an operation to retake ramadi for the first time. the u.s. army said that coalition airstrikes in fallujah deliberately hit cars with explosives they had inside, and they'll continue to target isil forces and resources to help the iraqi security forces operation and protect civilians. caroline malone, al jazeera. >> syria's president has announced an amnesty for military deserters. state television said that bashar al-assad's decree will lift penalties against thousands of people both inside and outside of syria. the syrian army is the region's largest but overstretched by the civil war. many have left syria or have found ways to avoid servin

i think what they have been careful about is being the air force for iranian backed militias. it's no jet that the iranians used their own revolutionary guard corp to stand up militias in iraq to fight i.s.i.l., that have, themselves, been engaged in mass killings of areas that they liberated from the islamic state. they are quite anti-american. despite what leading iranian officials say, there may be an interests. but i don't believe it will be involved in coordinating iranian backed forces in iraq. >> always a pleasure to talk to you. steven cook is with the council on foreign relations. that is our show for today, i'm ali velshi, thank you for joining us.

militia run individual militias. there's half-a-dozen big ones and a couple of dozen small ones. the federal government is trying to make the best it can of a disorganised situation. >> the iraqi air force is involved in the new offensive. >> an iraqi air force has been given a boost. it received the first four of a consign. of f-16 aircraft from the u.s. they arrived at the air base. the iraqi air force will be hoping they'll deliver a decisive blow to i.s.i.l. fighters. in anbar, they have sympathy from some of the sunni tribes. because of that they prove to be a tough fighting force. >> nearly 15,000 civilians were killed in iraq over a 16 month period according to a new report from the u.n. human rights office. 30,000 civilians have been wounded and 3 million iraqis fled their homes because of the fighting. the report sites gross human right abuses like i.s.i.l. possibly genocide >>> the pentagon is set to lift the ban against transgender people serving in the military. defense secretary ash carter issued a direction ordering a 6-month study into the details of allowing trans

. >> starting at 5:00 this morning, armed forces, shia militias are now conducting pitched battles. >> ten to 11,000 troops are to be used in this new offensive. 5,000 within anbar and 6,000 to secure the borders of the province. fallujah second largest city in iraq's province, hope to open a corridor to cut off i.s.i.l. from ramadi. however, i.s.i.l. fighters have an advantage. they be control be the town of trebil. iraq has real challenge on its hands to defeat i.s.i.l. it does include pro-government sunni fighters. the interior ministry runs the militia units about half a dozen really big ones and then a custom dozen small ones. so what the federal government i think is trying to do is capitalize on this, essentially make the best it can of a very disorganized situation. >> reporter: iraqi air force is also involved in the offensive. received the first 4 of a consignment of 36 f-16 aircraft from the u.s. they have arrived at ballard air base in salad adin province. hoping to deliver a decisive blow against somewhere i.s.i.l. fighters. because of that they've proved to be a very tou

it's traditionally said to have been the standard carried by the -- a unit of the essex county militia in -- north of boston, northeast of boston in 1775. it descended in that family directly until 1975 when it was acquired by the flag research center in massachusetts and then just two years ago, i believe, was sold at -- actually, it was not sold at auction, i believe it was acquired through private sale so it's now in a private collection but on loan for our display today. now, the forster flag is interesting and i hope you're able to see this in the light. if you look at the canton area in this earlier photograph you can see the darker area here. it's also visible where i've indicated where the arrows. so the canton has been altered early in the life of this flag. this is a conserveatorconservator's diagram of the stitching and the pieces that compose it. so it's basically composed of two full widths of silk but then it's had some monkey business up here. this is the original set of stitching for the hoist but where it gets loorjer here it's been cut and opened up and it's had a rep

. >> a patchwork much different tribes and militia have been involved in south sudan's civil war. one of those is the white army. a largely civilian force that has been fighting government troops along side the rebels. >> in times of trouble they call themselves the white army. >> i'm not afraid to go back. when children, women and people like me are being killed. how can i be afraid? >> he told us why he and many others were not officially join the resistence army. >> what i like about the white army is that when they're ready they go to war. we're not like the regular soldiers who have to stand in military formation and wait for orders. >> they mobilize from different villages from community leaders like these elders in the village. >> when we're going to war, no one helps us. we go with one gun. when we kill the enemy we take their gun and we go on taking their guns until we defeat them or they defeat us. >> what started out as a political quarrel turned into a war between the two largest describes. >> many people you talk to here will tell that you they're fighting those who c

and iran could work against violence, against radicalism, against militia in this part of the world. you'll forgive me, some in my audience associate iran with those things, say that iran can help solve rad illegalism and militias in this part of the world. what do you mean when you say that? >> speaking realistically, we have to see things in the broader context. we can't get important parts of our history, our joint history. the united states had a long history of interference in this part of the world, particularly in iran. the cout d'etat staged against the popular prime minister, by the c.i.a. - it's still well remembered. not only in iran, but in this part of the world. we can't ignore those realities. but we also have to look forward. we have to look for the future. we have to see the realities that we face in this part of the world. today iran emerged as a major player. the islamic resolution has a lot of influence. there's a lot of different areas where iran can play a prominent role in sorting out different conflicts. reselfing sung issues, particularly deal with peace and

. >> south sudan's militia, the white army has been involved in a conflict leaving thousands dead and 2 million displaced. the largely civilian force has fought government troops alongside the rebels. catherine wambua-soi met some of them gaining action to the upper nile state. >> reporter: in times of trouble, the young men are called to the frontline, and the -- and me call themselves the white army. this person was injured in may, fighting in the north. once he gets better he'll return. >> translation: i'm not afraid to go back. when children, women an people like me are being killed, i'm not afraid. how can i be afraid. >> reporter: he told his wife others would not join the resistance army. >> what i like is when we are ready, we run to war. we are not like soldiers standing in military formations and waiting for orders. >> they mobilize by villages and community leaders. >> no one helps us when we go to war. we go with a gun. when we kill the enemy, we take their gun and go on taking their gun until we defeat them, or they us. >> what started out as a political quarrel in juba t