. >> reporter: this is mogadishu's international airport.e abandoned it is now a beehive of activity. there is no let up in the number of somalis coming home. to deal with the growing number of passengers, new terminals have been constructed. this is somali's aviation minister. >> translator: we are always striving to improve services to international standards. once the new terminals are complete we'll make the airport operational 24 hours a day. >> reporter: this is part of a can do attitude that is gripping the capitol. there seems to be a new resolve to shed the image of destruction, and across the city life has slowly been returned. >> as people return, mogadishu's skyline is ever changing. demand for properties and accommodation far exceeds the supply. this boom and the need for reconstruction is also attracting somali professionals. this man is a civil engineer who returned to somali last year and started his own construction firm. >> i thought my experience was needed. so that's why i decided to come back, to help my country, and be

street cafes are even coming back to mogadishu. >> reporter: this is the mogadishu international airport. once abandoned it's a beehive of activity, there's no let up in the number of somalis coming home. 70 flights arrive dally. to deal with a growing number of possibilities, terminals are being construct next to the old crumbly ones. this is the aviation minister. >> translation: we are striving to improve services to international standards. once the new terminal is unique, we'll make it 24 hours a day. >> this is part of a can-do attitude gripping somalia. mogadishu's gripping city center is an influence. a reminder of what this country has been through. there has been a new resolve. across the city life is slowly been restored. >> those return, so too has construction. mogadishu's skyline is changing. demand for properties and accommodation. rental prices in some prime areas of the city. this bomb and the need for construction is attracting professionals. this man, a civil engineer, returned last year and started his own construction firm. >> i thought my experience was needed. that

how was it in mogadishu?> in mogadishu, the way it played out was we were sent there not as an enemy. we were sent there to capture and eliminate the people that were having the really brutal killings of innocents civilians. all they wanted was to have food and take care of their families and we were there to help that get better. that's what we were supposed to be doing and liberia, too, but until we have the first shot fired, it's okay. but if the first shot is ever fired at american soldiers over there trying to help, what is the plan? is there a plan in place that is going to get them out of there or a plan to where they fight? not fight, they have to leave. >> it's scary stuff. you always remind us of what happened and how we forget history. colonel, always an honor. >> thank you, neil. >> thousands of mexican citizens are flooding into our country and now it's mexico's president ripping us for not being okay with it? senator john mccain all over it after this. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ great rates for great rides. geic

forces get into a fight with forces in mogadishu. 18 get killed ultimately.this had repercussions unfortunately that they stripped these bodies and desecrated them. mutilated them. dragged them behind vehicles through the streets of modadishu with the cameras of the internainte international community rolling. this became a paradigm of course, for what happens or a lesson for what happens when the international community tries to intervene in the developing world or more specifically in africa, right? this becomes a caricature of africa. of course the chapter seven intervention is going on in the former yugoslavia as well. as we talked about this this class is a different situation. >> just about to finish the point how this is related to 9/11. people like osama bin laden were watching the events unfold in mogodishu and the perspective was the western world does not have the will to fight. when they are punched in the mouth, they will turn around and walk away. so the idea was if they punch them in the mouth they will not retaliate. the punch in the mouth ult

as mohammed reports, even street cafes are coming back to mogadishu. >> reporter: this is mogadishu'snational airport. it is now a behive of activity. there is no letup in the number of somalians coming back home. to deal with the growing number of passengers, new terminals have been constructed next to the old and crumbling ones. this is somali's aviation minister. >> translator: we are always striving to improve services to international standards. we will take the airport operational 24 hours a day. >> reporter: this is part of a can do attitude that is currently gripping somali. this buss ling city center is in ruins. yet there seems to be a new resolve to shed the image of destruction and across the city life has slowly been restored. as those return, so too has construction. mogadishu's skyline is ever changing. demand for properties and accommodation far exceed supply. racing rental prices in some areas of the city. this boom and the need for reconstruction is also attracting somali professionals. this civil engineer returned to somali last year, and started his own constructio

the group was forced out of mogadishu. the next blow was the loss of the port of kiss mall in september 2012. the rebel group used to take a portion of the charcoal trade. >> the region's main road leads to mogadishu and parts of kenya. al-shabab controls much of rural somalia, and connecting government-held towns. katherine soy has been travelling with troops. >> al-shabab has been treating. they have been taking major successes, particularly by taking this along the coast, which is the main aid. the defensive, operation indian ocean, cut off the al-shabab supplies from the ocean. they did it well. a lot of people are saying it's not really time to celebrate just yet. al-shabab takes the weekend, but they come back, and because they have adapted this warfare, it makes it more dangerous. they have blended into the population, their fears that they can cause attacks. when talking to the brigadier general - when they took the city he said that is not phasing them. they have the technical capacity to separate the fighters fro

we have this report from mogadishu. >> soldiers advanced to a support town, 200km north of mogadishu. this is a village close. this solder belongs to african union mission. what is known... the village had been controlled by al-shabab fighters. alongside the army, it was captured without a fight much >> translation: and we are liberating more towns. this is a joint operation. we are taking the lead. >> the african union commander tells me that uganda soldiers are within striking dance. it's a stronghold and the fall is imminent. >> after this offensive, we know that al-shabab will continue to conduct guerilla warfare. what we are doing is return the army to be able to confess to this warfare. >> further south the troops advance to three strategic up to s in an operation called indian o. al-shabab controls most of the country side and major roads in south and central somalia. the aim is to cut off supply routes that the group uses it bridge in fighters, weapons and export. >> the money made from selling charcoal helps to pay for selling weapons. it changed tactics and may not need larg

we think it will be a-achievement barae is a port you see next to mogadishu.e demonstrators have started pulling back. worried about a police crack down. government officials say they are ready for talks with the protest orders as long as they end their blockade of government offices by monday morning from hong kong adrienne brown reports. >> china's government says hong kong's protesters are on a road nowhere. the one in the central business district remains blocked. at first, the students refuse to let this driver through. but he is so angry, thenlt give in to his demands now the government is demanding that those blockading relent. among a deadline for them to leave is now localing. if it's only tear gas, we will stay here. if it's bullets we will find some evacuation plan and we will come back. the city could be on brink of tragedy saying most pressing need is for the students to end their blockade of the september tral government offices so more than 3,000 civil servants can return to work on monday morning leaders i know cest the building is still access

we have reports from mogadishu. >> the last 200 kilometers. these soldiers belong to the african mission somalia. the village had been controlled by al-shabab fighters, but the sna captured it without a fight. >> this is a dutiful operation. >> the african union commander in mogadishu tells me that the soldiers are within striking distance of the port city. if al-shabab lays stronghold and it's form is imminent. >> we know that al-shabab will continue to conduct guerrilla warfare. what we're doing is to to be able to face this kind of pa warfare. >> al-shabab still controls most of the countryside and major roads in south and central somalia. the aim of operation in indian ocean is to cut off supply routes that the group uses to bring in fighters, weapons. the money made from selling charcoal helps pay for weapons. >> the question is whether they need thos because they ceased to exist as a rebel group a long time ago. >> african unions say al-shabab has been significantly weakened. it does not have the numbers or strength to advance the forces

. >> we'll find out more about what has been going on in mogadishu from the after. joining us live in london, but it seems that he has been stopped in his tracks, and what happens next? >> for now, it's worth listening to what officials from the armed forces are about to say. leaders from the opposition and the armed forces have been discussing possibilities for transition throughout the day. they met with the king of the mossy people, and so the ec nick leaders are getting involved as well. i was listening today, and they were discussing how the former general would possibly fake the reins, seen as a facilitator. so he'll give us more information on what is to come in the next few hours. >> looking at the pictures that we have been viewing for the last couple of days, looking at people on the streets, in the thousands, and even setting parliament to blame, how organized would you say this political uprising is if you like? do you think that it might form itself into a coherent political force? >> this has been brewing for the past few months between the government

. >> reporter: it starts here in mogadishu, a port city. it is 120km to the south. we are told that the african union forces and troops have surrounded the town. it's a major economic hub. the group uses it to bring in supplies. this will be the first time in decades that the town is under the control of government. so we are taking this, witnessing a significant moment history. several towns and villages are under government control. the possibilities of ambushes, snipers. roadside bombs. it got moving in armoured vehicles. we are hearing that most of the fighters have left. elders are reaching out to the joint forces, trying to negotiate a peaceful hand over. everything remains fluid. everyone is being careful about how this plays ou. >> the president of niger says he will not be intimidated into pulling peacekeepers out of mali. nine were killed by gunmen on friday. they were part of a force in northern mali, controlled by separatists. >> the first person to be diagnosed with ebola in the u.s. is in a critical condition. the man travelled from liberia in late sep

the main road links to mogadishu. al-shabab controls most of rural somalia, and transport routes. richard bytes is with the hudson institute in washington d.c. and said al-shabab could launch retaliatory attacks. >> the insurgents, what they normally do is engage in acts of terrorism. if they do well gain a lot of support, capture the troops. then they will engage in a guerilla war, seize territory and establish a government and so on. they have now failed to do this, and are forced back to the terrorism strikes basically hanging out in remote locations, establishing logistic base there is and so on. that means that we could have more incidents such as the kenyan shopping mall, which was a bloodied attack that they helped to organise. i think the main thing that the government forces need to be concerned with is that in the military victory, they, and the strong community now need to consolidate that by making the political, economic, social reforms to establish a secure government, something that can rely on fewer au forces. >>> i.s.i.l. fighters have taken over part of a hill ov

. >> reporter: this is here in mogadishu, the port city. it's 220km to the south. we are told that african union forces and somali government troops surrounded the town. it's a major economic hub for al-shabab. the group uses it to bring infullies. this will be the first time in decades that the tonne it under the control of governments, so we are taking to the streets to witness a significant moment history. several towns and villages are under government control. some of the roads are dangerous, possibilities of ambushes. there are roadside becomes as well. we pretty much have to keep moving in armoured vehicles and convoys. we are hearing that most of al-shabab's fighters have left this area. elders there are reaching out to the joint forces, trying to negotiate a peaceful handever. everything is fluid and everywhere is being careful about how it plays out. >> the president of niger says he will not be intimidated pulling peacekeepers out of mali. >>> the first person to be diagnosed with ebola in the u.s. is in a critical condition. the man travelled from liber

the main road linking to mogadishu and parts of kenya. somalia, as well as transport routes connecting government-held towns. let's go to katherine soy on the phone, who has been travelling with the african union truth. what is the latest on the ground at barra which. >> the governor of, and some troop leaders had a meeting. they tried to build up confidence. it's been years since the people have seen government presence. so there's still a lot of fear. like you said before, special forces curing the city from a building. having people open the doors, so they are securing the city. they are looking for al-shabab elements. there's a lot of concern. most of al-shabab fighters and commanders - there was a lot of movement with boats heading south towards a town, tikrit, one of al-shabab's strongholds. >> you have been travelling with the au. what is the moral like, do they think they can beat al-shabab. >> they are very confident. they say they have the numbers. they have been picking a major success, particularly by taking this port along th

death of command sergeant major bob gallagher, the decorated veteran of the invasions of panama, mogadishuncluding blackhawk down and war in iraq died at home in georgia of a heart ailment. he was 52 years old. and with his death the u.s. army has lost one of its very best. >>> reynolds american tobacco, the makers of camel cigarettes, banning smoking in their offices and buildings. starting 2015 it will be banned from all indoor areas except designated smoking lounges. company says it's keeping with "the realities of what you're seeing in society today." >>> mark zuckerberg wowed an audience in beijing yesterday by doing this. [ speaking in a foreign language ] >> he started speaking in mandarin. while he started by saying my chinese is terrible, the college students gaffed when they heard him speaking their language. he explained his wife is chinese and grew up speaking it at home. he says his chinese is terrible, but he likes a challenge. he would also of course love to reopen facebook in china where it's been banned since '09. >>> if you watched last night's world series game, then you

the lucrati lucrative charcoal trade and this was followed by somali trips and links to kenya and mogadishu it connects with government-held towns and catherine sawyer has been traveling with au troops. >> reporter: al-shabab has been retreating and has been making a major success taking this particularly by taking this port along the coast which is the main offensive operation in the indian ocean aimed to cutoff al-shabab supply from the ocean and things have been going well and al-shabab are saying people say it's not time to celebrate just yet and al-shabab still has the capacity to improve and come back. and because they adapted this warfare and the bomb barrel in the population it could cause frustration to the uganda troops who have taken this and say that is not phasing them. they have the technical capacity to separate the fighters from the civilian population but it's still a big concern. >> reporter: syrian kurds pushed back fighters from islamic state in iraq from a hill in kabali and turkey and this shows advancing to the town and they fled after weeks of fighting between isil a

security forces have sealed off the area in mogadishu. twelve people were also injured.y have been taken to hospital. we will bring you more details on this as soon as we get it. still to come on al jazeera, a smooth ride to a better education. why getting new wheels is getting south african kids back to school. >> you've witnessed their incredible journey. >> i'm ready to get out man... i'm ready to get out of high school. >> the triumphs, trials and struggles. "on the edge of eighteen". don't miss the class reunion. were the right paths chosen? >> it was absolutely devastating. >> have family wounds begun to heal? >> our relationship still is harsh. >> are their dreams coming true? >> it wasn't my first choice, but i'm glad i made a choice. >> the edge of eighteen class reunion. immediately after the final episode. only on al jazeera america. >> welcome back. let's recap the headlines now. 29 iraqi soldiers have been killed in multiple suicide bomb attacks. military compound in diyala province was starred and the chief from anbar died by isil fighters: leading the way,

groups have control of major accounts of al-shabab's cities, it was forced out of the capitol of mogadishu in august of 2011. the next major blow was the loss of kismayo. and in the same year they retreated from the town baidoa. al-shabab still roles:of much of rural somalia. we go to the director of the think tank which specializes in peace and security issues. he explains why barawe was a major town for al-shabab. >> it was a major set back. symbolically barawe was the last headquarters of al-shabab. this was the main operating base from which they planned and staged attacks in somalia and around the region. financially it was a major loss. barawe was a significant port for the transport of charcoal, so their revenue is also going to take a significant hit as well. i think the loss of barawe alone is going to add to the pressure's on the group's leadership, and raise questions in al-shabab of whether it's current leadership, which is aligned with al-qaeda, is aligned in the right path. we'll see the leadership within that group deepen and affiliate itself with the group that calls itself

. >> reporter: the africa union commander in mogadishu tells me that somali soldiers are also in striking distance of the port of barawe. he said its fall it imminent. >> after this offensive we know that al-shabab will continue to conduct guerrilla warfare, so what we are doing is to be able to this kind of warfare. >> reporter: further south troops are about to start advancing to three strategic towns in an operation called indian ocean. al-shabab still coles most of the country side and major roads. the same for the indian ocean is to cut off supply routes that they use to bring in fighters, weapons and export charcoal. the money made from selling charcoal helps to pay for weapons, but they they have changed their tactics, and may not survive. >> al-shabab needs major supply routes these days because it ceases to exist as a conventional rebel group some time ago. >> african unions say al-shabab has been significantly weakened. it has not have the numbers or strength to meet the coming forces. it's leader was killed and the new leader is still new to his role. but many people hearsay th

, and they called him bob gallagher, he parachuted into panama, served as a task force ranger in mogadishuht on despite being wounded as task force third battalion made its way into baghdad in '93. we remember him tonight, and very proud as a country for his service. greg? >>> all right, it's time for -- well, are you going to roll it or not? greg's medical tips. boy, somebody fell asleep. my medical tip today, if you want to live longer, don't assume old guys can't fight. roll it. so the guy in the interesting cosby like sweater, his name is ernesto bergamasto, a cab driver, lives upstairs, borrows a lot of your milk, and the young guy's going, what the heck did i get into? and look at this guy, destroying him. and the young guy is going, what the heck just happened, which is the bill o'reilly segment i did tonight. just to you know, ee eknow. >>-it's been a long campaign season, this guy, the south carolina gubernatorial candidate is running 17 points behind nicky haley, i know he's tired at the end of a long race, look what he said today. >> she vetoed our public policy pay races the sa

. >> you talk about a case in mogadishu, where you saved who nose how many lives because you identified a bad guys, you took a quick shot. you didn't know he was until it was almost too late. dealing with the rules of engagement are strict. >> we know what the rules of engagement are. we have the best weapon, and even times like then, you have to make a split second decision. you can't wait. if a gun is point at someone else, he is ready to pull the trigger. i have to make a decision with time. >> do you guys get training, you have to deal with the fact that you are killing someone? >> all the training in the marine core - basically all the training leads you to this point, for how you shower in boot camp, how you get dressed and go about your daily activities, everything prepares you are for every decision you make on a battlefield. you already know this is not your decision to make, it's your job to do. >> there's no psychological training. if you need help after the fact, it's cable. >> you feel no remorse, you did your job. i mean, you can say i feel no re remorse. i wish i didn't h

they are a port at the sea next to mogadishu. it's a great achievement once it's under our control. >> katherine soy reporting there. >>> a mass grave mass been found not far from where 43 mem cans students -- mexican students disappeared. it's not clear if the two event are rejected. adam raney has more. >> reporter: this is where a series of mass graves have been unearthed outside the town of iguala. forensic experts have been called in to exhume the graves. it's expected they'll do d.n.a. tests to see if the bodies exhumed are those missing for a week. they are a few kilometres from the spot where they were last seem. officialsio in the been able to identify the bodies. >> translation: it would be unfair of me to say it's linked to the students. we know that they have human remains, i reiterate, we have to wait to see what the experts find when it comes to genetic forensics. >> a member of the human rights commission told al jazeera the bodies were pushed and appeared to have been buried recently. after being criticized for no

. >> reporter: this mere in mogadishu is a port city. it is 220km to the south. african union forces and somali government troops surrounded the town. it's a major hub for al-shabab, the group. it uses it to bring in supplies. this will be the first time in decades that the town is under the control of government. so we have taken the trip to witness a significant moment history. several towns and villages are now under government control. some are dangerous, possibility of ambush, snipers. we pretty much have to move in armoured vehicles and in convoys. we are hearing that most al-shabab fighters and commanders have left. elders are reaching out to the joint forces, trying to negotiate a peaceful handover. everything is fluid, and everyone is being careful about how this plays out. >> reporter: the first person in the u.s. to be dying most is in critical submission. the centers for disease control is continuing to monitor nine people who came in contact with him. 3,700 children have been orphaned by the ebola virus. many surviving relatives refuse to take care o

reporter: this is the latest in a steady push going back to 2011 when al-shabab lost control of mogadishuanalysts warn al-shabab remains powerful, especially in the countryside, and they have a reach that now covers the horn of africa. in the past al-shabab said it was focus more on launching attacks than holding land. some worry its influence may grow in africa even if it does appear to be losing ground in somalia, john. >> thank you. >>> coming up your inner gps, the science behind the nobel prize discovery. >>> good evening, i'm meteorologist kevin corriveau. well today. we saw some very stormy weather. this is what we would normally see in the fall, very similar to what you would see in the spring when you have two different air masses clashing in the spring. i want to take you to louisville, kentucky. this is what we saw earlier this morning. nickel-sized hail coming down in the area. it lasted about 20, to 30 minutes. fortunately it didn't last too much longer. once the thunderstorms pushed through, the temperatures came back up, and we saw most of that hail go away. we did see powe

percentage of the lucrative charcoal trade and after assault by ethiopian troops and this leads to mogadishuenya and it controls much of rural is a somalia and government-held towns and we will go catherine travelling with the union and what is going on here and what more has been happening here? . >> reporter: darren, we just came back for the base. we have been here since two hours ago and basically it remains quiet, security forces, special forces are going through buildings looking for elements of al-shabab and explosive devices as well. earlier when we were in barrow where the new administration and somali army leaders met with the civilians there, a few of them trying to build their confidence. there is still a lot of fear. we tried to talk to several of them and afraid some of al-shabab fighters blended in the civilian populations because it can carry out attacks and could be sniper and that is why they are careful going door to door making sure that city is safe, darren. >> has al-shabab been putting up resistance at all, where have they gone? >> they haven't really put up much of a

been working towards for so many years and all of a sudden the ethiopians had taken the airport in mogadishu and this was late 2006 and you go home with all of the equipment that you bought and you wanted to bring and you get into a group which later became al shabab. and you went in and went on a computer. what happened? >> well, i did something naughty and i punish my face. i guess that i must have had [inaudible] i wondered what actually triggered that. so i thought, why is it this would prevent me from doing this. why don't people like me when i'm doing everything i can to please them. i'm doing everything. and i just couldn't figure it out. and i know that one of the things that i had used in the united kingdom was i will use the two contradictions in the bible. so this time i typed contradictions and for that i [inaudible] it was a surprise because if there was any contradiction here it would be from someone other than ahmad. and so i researched the contradiction and to my discovery [inaudible] and i decided that for that very reason i suddenly looked at the whole world differently. >>

. >> when fahima was about 7 and living in mogadishu, she was held by four adults and cut.t 35, the memories are still raw. >> i remember it now as i felt it then. if that makes any sense. the flashbacks come back i will remember the cutting of it, what felt like, even though it was supposed to be numb, it was still seeing blood and it was somethi out of a horror movie. >> it can leave women with many physical action sexual and psychological problems. at a clinic in central london, doctors try to help survivors overcome some of those issues. it is now possible for some patients certainly for many so they can have sex without pain, they have lesser chance of having repeated infections but i think it goes far beyond that there are many women who report they feel much better about themselves as far as having the procedure. trying to raise awareness about fgm here and countries where it is prevalent. the taboo surrounding fgm make it difficult to detect and deal with. >> communities don't talk about this. they don't talk about it amongst themselves and certainly don't talk to t

i'm afraid of a mo mogadishu incident that does not play well internationally and at home.s a significant problem if we do this. >> woodruff: i want to come back to his comment that folks in the military are telling him there is capacity left on the table by the u.s. >> i think that's often true in operations. the question is, you know, aligning that with a strategy, and i think here there has to be a discussion about whether there's more we should be doing, whether the risk of doing more is acceptable, and whether it really fundamentally changes the timeline. can we get to real progress against i.s.i.s. on the ground inside of a year? not a full year, but bringing the time line forward, that's the real question. >> tough questions. michele flournoy, colonel derek harvey, we thank you. >> thank you. >> ifill: now, to gay marriage, an issue that's once again roiling republican politics for the mid-term elections and beyond. federal courts have been striking down gay marriage bans right and left, and then on monday, the supreme court stepped in, again. the justices refused to

towards, up towards for many years, and all of a sudden the ethiopians had taken the airport in mogadishu. this was very late in 2006. and you're completely deflated. you go home with all the equipment that you bought that you wanted to bring and give to the islamic cause, a group which later became al-shabaab. you threw it in the bedroom, and then you went in to the computer. what did you do on the computer? >> well, first of all, i did something -- [inaudible] which was i -- [inaudible] i guess i must have had, i must have had some issues before, and i identified now when i'm looking back at all of it, i can see what i think triggered that. so anyway, i thought why is it that allah would, why would he prevent me to do something that he orders and commands us to do in the quran? why dud he don't like -- why does he don't like me? i'm doing everything i can to please him, you know? i'm doing everything. i just couldn't figure it out. and i know one of the things that i have used as a tool to spread islam in europe is, particularly in united kingdom, is speak on a corner. it would be one o

there were a series of raids in mogadishu, all happened a number of days apart. you gather intel, get it together, make a decision. when you set yourself criteria to launch when those criteria come, you launch. but it is a pretty centralized, pretty deliberate process. when we got in iraq we were originally doing that. we would have this precise thing. what we found is we were having that effect but very narrow effect, very slow effect. when we would go on a target, for example, we would go to pick up an individual and there may or may not be a fight. if we captured him and his computer and his phone and documents and other things, we'd capture all those things, but the force, one of our small forces around the country would do the operation. then it might take a day or two for them to send the individual back to our headquarters where we could begin effective interrogation. and the stuff that was captured would typically go in a plastic garbage bag. and it would be written in arabic typically and then there would be a computer. and it would come back and it woul

if it wasn't for al shabab, we'd be in mogadishu. so, we are building infrastructure in those countries. today our focus is ensuring that these networks can now create an overlay where we can provide education, health. we can provide agriculture extension services to women farmers. this is the future creating digital jobs for young people so that we can employ the young africans as well as providing health support and other things that it is as much as infrastructure today as it is to build the physical inf infrastructure that we are building. perhaps i'll stop there. i would ask you to elaborate. have you been a huge proponent in the investor in africa's human capital, and particularly its young people. and you've also been a great supporter of the young african leaders initiative, which president was proud to host last week during an extraordinary summit of our washington fellows. but your perspective as someone so deeply involved in the digital sphere as to how we can use both partnership between the united states and africa and i