the governor of mosul says baghdad plans to use shia militias in the battle for mosul and that woulde. >> i need the weapons first, the training, and the financing these fighters. and also i need the air force support when we enter mosul. especially to cut the supply off isis from outside the city. >> reporter: for now, the men train on. their plight is just one example of how rebuilding iraq may rest less in the air power and bombing runs of the united states and its allies than in bridging the differences between the central government and local leaders. mohamed adow al jazerra, outside mosul iraq. >>> security officials say five bombs have exploded in the capital sanaa killing one and wounded many others, witnesses say one of the bombs exploded after a houthi rebel tried to dismantle it. >>> pakistan's prime minister wants to fast track death row executions, 55 inmates now face the death penalty within the next six weeks, six men have been hanged since friday after the country lifted its freeze on capital punishment from what it calls terror-related cases. the decision follows a t

the governor of mosul says that baghdad plans to use shia militias in the battle for mo l mosul. that would backfire. >> i need the weapons first, the training, and financing the fighters. and also i need the air force support when we enter mosul. specially to cut the supply of i.s.i.s. from outside the city. >> for now, the main train on, their plight is one example of how rebuilding iraq may vest less in the airpower and bombing runs of the united states and allies, than on bridging the central government and local leaders >>> ukraine's parliament abandoned to bandon the non-alliance status. it could help with a step towards n.a.t.o. membership. a bill was passed. 303 in favour, eight against. more from peter sharp, who is in moscow. was this expected? >> it was always possibly inevitable, russia would say, that ukraine is tipping towards n.a.t.o. the timing, trying to settle the con nict in east ukraine came as a surprise. ukraine had been a declared non-alliance state since 2010, under the presidency of viktor yanukovych. at the end of that time they said basically that right

mosul, i was not far from mosul when isis attacked. of course, i left with a lot of people from around the city. but what to do with moes? you're right. it's a strategic city. you cannot break isis in iraq without taking back mosul. the problem is the way of our u.s. are dealing with mosul right now with the iraqi army. booming isis, it's not the solution. the program is political. you have to deal with the sunni arabs but also on the field with the different groups. i mean, when you bomb mosul, when you try to kill them in this way, of mass bombing, you know, you kill off a lot of civilian. you destroy mosul, the local elite. it's impossible to dream about -- to stabilize the situation by -- then the second point is which forces do we have on the field? kurdish are not effective. they're very dividing among them. you need maybe to train them for two, three years and then what will happen probably is that they will try to make a competition between them to know which one could increase -- they are not convinced at all that they have to

iraqi officials now want to push for a winter offensive in mosul.nd american officials, it's been reported, are concerned that this schedule is a little too ambitious. can you explain that? >> let me first say on the peshmerga -- one additional point i want to make addressing your question in about how we're kind of in a new era here. part of our plan is to train and equip, as you know, 12 iraqi ber -- iraqi brigades. three will be kurdish. and those units will receive the same western weapons vehicles equipment as the iraqi units that we're training and equipping. this is all done in cooperation between baghdad and urbil. in terms of mosul, it's an on going discussion we have with the iraqis about how best to prosecute this campaign. i would just caution that i think we have to be very prudent in our expectations and the the one thing we want to do is manage expectations. i have said repeatedly the president has said, the secretary has said this will be a multi-year campaign. and nobody wants to rush into mosul or a city that is held by isil before

think and what could be the biggest urban fight. >> i think the key is mosul.t's where mosul security forces collapsed or evaporated and this is where this was determined and it would be in mosul where they should be defeated and where we, the iraqi coalition should declare victory among them. iraqi government has set up an operation and room for liberation of mosul, okay? and this can only be done in concert of course and in coordination with coalition of this separately sglfrmg given . >> reporter: given the state of the economy, can i raq afford the battle. sorry that is one of many helicopters overhead with surveillance. wait a second. it's part of the increased security measures here due to when millions of people are conjugating on karbola and in baghdad the officials including the finance minister have their eye to financial crisis as well. the last budget was based on projections of oil prices that were much higher than they actually are and iraq has been looking at multi-billion dollar budget deficits and that left the country according to the finance

in mosul it is not as easy. they have killed thousands of shias, the rest have been forced to leave. 130,000 people have been forced to flee and run away. the rest have been killed or forced to go away, too. we have only sunnis now in mosul, and they are discriminated, and have had a very, very hard time during the last 11 years. >> how many foreign fighters did you see alongside the iraqis and the syrians who were already there? we have a lot of reports in french about french nationals fighting with the group. did you see that first hand? >> many europeans. i saw many europeans in streets of mosul. i saw swedish guys, french people americans. i saw a guy from the caribbean. he just had passed his law exam, and he got a job as a judge or as a lawyer, but i think he was accepted as a judge, and he preferred to fight for the islamic state instead of making a brilliant career in a caribbean country. i spoke to them. they don't give you details. if you ask too detailed a question then they put their mafpk on and say

shortly after isil seized mosul in june the government cutoff the officer's salaries and that is alsopport of efforts to reconstitute the force. >> translator: we have not been paid several months and family displaced and payment of salaries really have increased. >> reporter: complicating the revival of the force is the political conflict between officials and baghdad and he is the governor of mosul and says he plans to use malitia with mosul and that would back fire. >> i need weapons first, the training and the financing these fighters and also i need the airforce support when we enter mosul especially to cut the supply of isis from outside the city. >> reporter: for now the men go on and apply to one example of how rebuilding iraq may lesson air power and bombing ramps of the united states and bridging the central government and local leaders, mohamed with al jazeera, outside mosul, iraq. >>> yemen security officials say five bombs exploded in the old town killing one person and wounding many others and witnesses say when the bombs exploded after houthi rebel tried to dismantle it

iraqi officials now want to push for a winter offensive in mosul. and american officials, it's been reported, are concerned that this schedule is a little too ambitious. can you explain that? >> let me first say on the peshmerga -- one additional point i want to make addressing your question in about how we're kind of in a new era here. part of our plan is to train and equip, as you know 12 iraqi ber gads. three will be kurdish. and those units will receive the same western weapons vehicles equipment as the iraqi units that we're training and equipping. this is all done in cooperation between baghdad and ir bill. in terms of mosul, it's an on going discussion we have with the iraqis about how best to prosecute this campaign. i would just caution that i think we have to be very prudent in our expectations and the the one thing we want to do is manage expectations. i have said repeatedly the president has said, the secretary has said this will be a multi-year campaign. and nobody wants to rush into mosul or a city that is held by i-s-i-l before the co

>> reporter: the push in to mosul is a different matter altogether.are not seeing pockets a it's a whole city being held by isil. we are hearing that the isil fighters are digging trenches a few meters deep all around the city, so i suppose you could say their digging in there we have spoken to many people around erbil to the krg. to various groups trying form a kind of national guard that can be trained which they decide to push down on to the mosul city area. they are saying that's a long way ahead. they are saying it's not imminent. they are watching the pub to see how the push to the sinjar mountain goes and if there is any backlash from isil. and then we'll be looking in the coming months i think everyone they even consider trying to negotiate a way of pushing in to mosul city and to that main military base to the west. >> thanks very much, sue. >>> air strikes have been backing the kurdish forces the pentagon has confirmed the raid has killed three high-profile isil leaders one the deputy to the isil chief. u.s. defense officials see it as a sig

iraqi officials now want to push for a winter offensive in mosul. and american officials, it's been reported, are concerned that this schedule is a little too ambitious. can you explain that? >> let me first say on the pesh mer ga -- one additional point i want to make addressing your question in about how we're kind of in a new era here. part of our plan is to train and equip, as you know, 12 iraqi ber gads. three will be kurdish. and those units will receive the same western weapons vehicles equipment as the iraqi units that we're training and equipping. this is all done in cooperation between baghdad and ir bill. in terms of mosul, it's an on going discussion we have with the iraqis about how best to prosecute this campaign. i would just caution that i think we have to be very prudent in our expectations and the the one thing we want to do is manage expectations. i have said repeatedly the president has said, the secretary has said this will be a multi-year campaign. and nobody wants to rush into mosul or a city that is held by i-s-i-l before the

he says mosul holds the key to defeating isil. >> when isil swept into northern iraq, it didn't just capture territory, it seized assets, property, gold and cash from citizens, business people and banks. iraq's finance minister says over half a billion dollars was stolen from banks in mosul to crete and other cities. isil is believed to be the richest such organization in the world. revenue comes from iraq oil fields. the group has retained control of major oil fields in the north of iraq. from there, it smuggles oil to turkey where it sends to refineries in syria. >> >> we can target them to deprive them of this revenue, but they have enormous financial resources, paying their fighters good salaries, better than what we can afford to pay ours. >> that's partly because iraq has a serious financial cries. the economy is expected to shrink this year, because of lower oil output due to the war and unchecked government spending, including on the militiamilitias propping up secy pores. the government believes fire months of airstrikes and more effective ground forces of put isil on the de

i was in northern iraq on june 10, six months ago today when mosul collapsed. during the next 72 hours, other cities fell, isil's -- to the west, a lesser noted but equally devastating offensive took place from across the syrian border with isil capturing the strategic border city, isis then poured down the euphrates valley. in baghdad during this period, just six months ago this week, there was a growing panic within the population, the government, security services and the diplomatic community. at the embassy we prepared for the worst-case scenario and evacuated 1,500 people moving them to amman, kuwait -- the president ordered four initiatives to hold the line and set the condition force a possible counter offensive. first we served intelligence over the skies of iraq, we went from flying o iningflying -- se established joint operations centers in baghdad and irbill restoring critical relationships with iraqi and kurdish commanders. third, we deployed special forces team with a focus on the defense of baghdad. and finally and perhaps most importantly, we sup

this is the governor of mosul. he says baghdad plans to use shia militias in the battle for mosul, and that would backfire. >> i need the weapons, the training, and financing these fighters, and i need air force support when we enter mosul, especially to cut the supply of i.s.i.l. from outside the city. >> the plight is one example of united states and it's allies, than in bridging differences between the central government and local leaders. >>> one person had been killed and a second wounded whilst trying to dismantle an improvised ex-please idevice. it was in the home -- explosive device. it was home to houthis. they had been home to the fighters since september >>> the ruling hindu nationalist b.j.p. party won 69 seats in an elected cashier. >> it's a better than expected result for the party. v.j.p. is lagging behind the people's democratic party who are emerging as the dominant force in the region. we have more. >> with no party gaining a clear majority it's a hung assembly with all options on the table. the

the amir of mosul.nd has been embedding itself within some of these tribes in iraq and the allegiances from tribal leaders. how significant is it that somebody who is at the, you know, top leadership end of mosul, very significant city. how significant is that? >> that's very symbolically important. and you put it in perspective of what happened this summer. from a perspective of this past summer when isis really emerged on the world scene, it was after they managed to overrun the second largest city in iraq, which is the city of mosul. and that's when we started hearing his name. that's when he became this very prominent figure. now, keep in mind before this summer, isis was really concentrating on fighting inside syria, but then they kind of shock and awed their way into iraq by overrunning mosul. symbolically has a tremendous impact on the morale of the group, on the morale of the leadership. and there's also a kind of difficult point here. and that is many of these leaders seek what they call martyr

what is going on in mosul?> there's a feeling that there is an attempt imminent by the iraq military to retake mosul. they set up a command operation center to liberate mosul, and they're trying to figure out the best way to do that. it's a very complicate operation they're looking at. it's not clear at all that it is imminent, but people in mosul say that in recent days, they've been told that if they want to leave the city, they have to leave a member of their family there to make sure that they return. phone lines have also been cut. iraq officials here have been saying that they are going to press ahead very soon with that attack on mosul, but to actually succeed, it's not just a matter of airstrikes. it is going to take turning around the sunni population, reactivating filterings and a whole host of other complicated issues that are to be dealt with before they go into iraq's third biggest city. >> as part of the u.s. spending bill, there is more money for the fight against isil. how might that change effo

mosul, iraq's second-biggest city, is in.s. heartland. no westerner has been here since they took over. he found them entrenching a brutal bureaucracy, apparently unperturbed by the threat of air strikes. shia muslims fled in terror. everyone left must abide by strict shari'a law. he found women virtually invisible, forced to cover their entire bodies. men are even instructed on how to position themselves when they pray. now safely back home, he told me of a terrifying trip. >> i thought i would meet a brutal terrorist group, and i met a brutal country. the leaders are fighters of a very brutal and very powerful country. >> reporter: in mosul, he heard the police no longer need to carry out violent punishments. fear, it seems, is a powerful deterrent. the local police chief claimed that mosul was the most powerful place on earth. managing to get paperwork from the so-called office of the caliph promising his safety. >> i had the impression that they want to show that their islamic state is working. >> reporter: he saw how they're pumping

they do different kind of dealing with the other minority in mosul. they kidnap a woman, and also as a gift, but with the other they don't do that. they kill more than 3,000 people from thepeople, and sinjar especially south of sinjar. one of the massacres to happen, until yesterday and this morning, the yazidis fight, and peshmerga liberate north of sinjar, they find more mass grave of civilian people who have been killed by isis. if you see isis, they have a plan to just finish or clean the area from yazidis. so it's a really big genocide and tragic area that still continues. even the peshmerga, they control the north of sinjar. but it is the north of the area and south that is surrounded by isis. >> are there places in iraq that have been home to yazidis for a long time that now it's hard to see them from ever going home. they have yazidis have been wiped out, and it's unlikely they'll ever go home again? >> you know, the home of the yazidis in the south of kurdistan, especially in kurdistan region and iraq, but most of the yazidis in iraq they liv

there's a diary there for you, diary entries from mosul.fuel let alone basics like clean water and food. that's at bbc.com/news. >>> after kick starting the arab spring of tlech, tunisia has taken its first steps into full democracy after the first free vote in the country since it gained independence in france in 1956. his rival has as yet refused to admit defeat. let's take you to tunisia. mr. essebsi claiming victory, but what do the exit polls say and when can we expect the official announcement? >> reporter: in the last couple of hours, we've actually also had some news from an independent organization, they're putting mr. essebsi ahead. they're putting him between -- they think he managed to score between 53% and 58%. we are expecting these results to be announced either later today or tomorrow. >> many people must be asking around if world right now, why has tunisia managed to succeed? it was the first country that kick started the arab spring, but other countries have so dramatically failed. >> reporter: yes, that is the mlg doll mi

the city of mosul is the key to defeating the armed group about that we have a report from baghdad. >> when isil swept northern iraq in june, it seized assets, property, gold and cash from citizens, business people and banks. iraq's finance minister said over half a billion dollars was stolen from banks in mosul, tikrit and other cities. isil is believed to be the richest such organization in the world. a lot of that revenue comes from iraqi oil fields. the group retained control of major oil fields in the north of iraq. from there, it smuggles oil to turkey or sends it to refineries in syria. >> i have targeted them in order to deprive them of this revenue, but they have enormous financial resources. they are paying they're recruits, soldiers or fighters good salaries, better than what we can afford to pay ours. >> iraq has a serious financial crisis. the economy is expected to shrink this year because of lower oil output due to the war. the iraqi government believes five months of airstrikes and more effective ground forces have put isil on the defensive. it's apparently planning to

but it's apparently planning to push on with an attack on mosul to recapture the city taken by isil in >> the iraqi go has set up for the liberation of mosul, and this can only be done in concert and in coordination with the coalition, of course, not separately. but i believe it's doable. and contrary to what many people believe or think, i don't think it would be a long-fought battle. >> reporter: he and other iraqi leaders aware strikes won't be enough. it will require tribes who have been on the sidelines to fight as well. now the iraqi government is struggling with a serious financial crisis at the very time it needs money most. iraq's new finance minister says with the fallen world oil prices, the government will have to make some tough decisions on cutting spending, while being able to continue this fight. >>> violence has broken out between israeli security forces and hamas supporters in a demonstration in the occupied west bank. palestinian activists say israeli police stormed the rally, firing tear gas at the crowd. they say officers destroyed a stage set up for celebrations m

as is nearby mosul. that, of course, is one of the country's biggest cities. overall, though, this operation being seen very much as a success. >> 53 precision strikes that have resulted in allowing those forces to maneuver and regain approximately 100 square kilometers of ground. combined efforts like these are having a significant effect on the able to command and control, to resupply, and to conduct maneuver. >> that is the view from the pentagon. our correspondent jim muir in beirut has the details on the military advance. >> well, basically a corridor has been opened up to them, so yazidis have been trapped on the mountain top. a lot of them have actually taken up arms. a lot have managed to escape. they now have the option of staying put and having humanitarian supplies brought in much more easily over land than the very perilous helicopter trips that were the main lifeline. or they could leave. so that there's the option. the kurds are extremely pleased with that operation. they say it achieved its goals. its goal was to break the siege. but of course,

he spent ten days in mosul and iraq.oute into mosul, past border post buildings obliterated by i.s. fighters. this was once the internationally recognized frontier between syria and iraq. now in.s. territory straddles both states. mosul is i.s. heartland. no westerner has been over since he took over. he found i.s. fighters busy entrenching a brutal bureaucracy, apparently unperrer then -- unperturbed. everyone left must abide by strict shari'a law. he found women virtually invisible. men are even instructed on how to position themselves when they pray. now safely back home, he told me of a terrifying trip. >> i thought i would meet a brutal terrorist group, and i met a brutal country. the leaders are fighters of a very brutal and very powerful country. >> in mosul, he heard the police no longer need to carry out violent punishments. fear, it seems, is a powerful e deterrent. he negotiated access with the german jihadi for months, managing to get paperwork from the so-called office of the kalif. >> i had the impression t

my georgia public education, let me start with mosul.. role be maybe on the ground? >> we essentially 24/7 work with iraqi security forces. a large part of that goes into the planning but also part of that planning has to be how you generate force to do operations. up to this point, the iraqi security forces have been challenged with continual redistribution forces out there i guess is the best way to say it. so now how do you get into a place where you can generate some capability, pull some units back so that you can make them better and then now start to put those against operations down the road in a more campaign plan-like fashion. i don't want to disclose any timelines, but certainly i think part of the capacity effort that we're doing right now will certainly play into resourcing those capabilities and moving the iraqi security forces forward. two places not just mosul but you ask about contested places, there are places in anbar that are certainly contested. the reports i'm seeing certainly indicate places like ramadi are contest

i was in northern iraq on june 10th, six months ago today, when mosul collapsed. over the next 72 hours isil formations poured through the tigris valley, entire army divisions collapsed and isil threatened the northern approaches to baghdad. to the west, a lesser noted but equally devastating offensive took place from across the syrian board we are isil capture the strategic border city of al kind. isil poured down the western valley. in baghdad during this period, just six months ago this week, there was a growing panic within the population, the government, security services, and the diplomatic community. at the embassy we prepared for the worst-case scenario and e c evacuated 1,500 people moving them to imam, kuwait, or irbil. we also prepared to help the iraqis fight back. within 72 hours of mosul's collapse, the president ordered four initiatives to hold the line and set the conditions for a possible counteroffensive. first, we surged intelligence over the skies of iraq. we went from flying one platform per month to 60 per day, gaining a more granular picture

we struck targets in iraq in mosul, cure could, ag samarra. so, to say we are extremely serious about that and taking the fight to isil every single hour. >> would we be in a better position to play monday morning quarterback here and be in a better position to leave troops in iraq instead of pulling them out? >> i will let the historians sort them out. i'm really focused on where we are right now. >> there's no doubt in my mind. it's the president's agenda and now he realizes we're up against the wall here. so with that, i yield back the time. >> please, go ahead. >> it is significant to point out that we left in 2011 under an agreement in 2008. one issue from the moment we invaded iraq is that we invaded iraq. what is significant about right now this is really apparent to me when i was in iraq last month that the iraqis have now invited us in to help them. it's a totally different environment than our presence in the past and it gives us a kind of a new foundation in which to operate. right up until a presence in iraq, was extremely controve

s stronghold in mosul.ershmerga believe if they can take control of the village they will be much nearer to mosul. equally they believe that reason will make i.s.i.l. fighters do whatever they can to retain the village. >> translator: one of the most important keys to mosul and one of the city's suburbs and we are worried because i.s.i.l. places ieds in village's and towns before leaving them and according to information hundreds of ieds have been left in the village. >> reporter: and the population was once diverse, but not since i.s.i.l.'s occupation. now the pershmerga home to end that, dominick cain with al jazeera. >>> activists say they attacked sooil fighters with chlorine gas and says forces used the gas to repeal an i.s.i.l. assault on the dara base killing at least 68 fighters. security forces in saudi arabia have arrested 135 suspects on terror charges and said 26 are farmers and arrested in various parts of the gulf kingdom and accused of helping groups and harming the stability of saudi arabia.

. >>> the terrorists appointed governor of mosul was killed in an air strike. at the same time isis has a valuable bargaining chip. >> the u.s. would support any effort to recover the pilot. >>> "the interview" has finally made its debut. >> i think i got what i paid for. >> if it wasn't for theaters like this and for people like you guys this literally would not be happening right now. >>> good morning, everyone welcome to news room it is friday december 26th 6:00 in the east i'm christine romans along with poppy harlow and pamela brown. we're so glad you're with us this morning. seven people hauled off in happened cuffs for allegedly making threats against new york city police officers in the days following the execution-style murders of two officers. >> a public wake for one of the officers rafael ramos taking place today ahead of his funeral, which is tomorrow. people across this nation are coming to pay respects to both of the slain officers from the nypd. as a memorial to the pair grows in brooklyn. let's get to miguel marquez, live at the church in offic

they are from mosul. when militants took over their village this summer, they fled. "i can't describe how terrified i was," she tells me. these extremists don't act like human beings. they chopped their heads off. >> reporter: and you can hear a lot of similar stories. that's because more than 5,000 have moved here in just the past few months. there are really feelings of diss disspe. >> dineen celebrated her engagement in mosul earlier this year. now she's getting married in amman. her wedding day is bittersweet. it's brought loved ones together but only briefly. >> we won't go back to iraq, says the groom. the couple want to leave this troubled region and start a new life, and they're not alone. hundreds of thousands of christians have emigrated in recent years. the trend worries church leaders. >> it's very important for christianity, for the principles, the ideal and the teachings of christianity to find and to have photo ops of christian -- >> the church is packed for an iraqi codil service. the christmas message is about peace and hope, but right now in the mid

this land stretches from zuma south of the mosul dam to the sinjar mountains and the syria border andmade up of pockets of villages and towns i.s.i.l. has been holding and the question is where the i.s.i.l. fighters have been gone or they may go to mosul city and the question is if there is backlash and we have seen switching from fight line fighting to insur -- insurgence fighting and suicide bombers came in dressed up as peshmerga and killed many peshmerga forces. at the moment the main fighting is north of the mountains about four kilometers to the north, a town we passed just a week ago which was very much held by the i.s.i.l. fighters and that is really turning into what i'm told a very big fight, the lieutenant we have spoken to on the top of the sinjar mountains they have imagined to push in the sinjar mountains area they are not able to hold it and let the ten,000 leave if they want to but the battle is ongoing and hoping that will happen in the coming hours and days. >>> sierran government accused of killing dozens in the northwestern city and fighting has been going on there

the governor of mosul says baghdad plans to use shia am bushes in the battle for mosul and that would backfire. >> i need weapons first, the training, and financing these fighters and also i need the air force attacks or air force support when we enter mosul, especially to cut the supply of isis from outside the city. >> for now, the men train on. their plight is one example of how bridging the differences between the central government and local leaders affects the fight. >> as the kurds fight isil, hundreds of young kurdish men have joined isil influenced by propaganda or receiving encouragement from local fighters. >> the world health organization said more than 7500 people have died from ebola, more than 19,000 infected after returning from a week in west africa. dr. thomas frieden said there is a long hard fight ahead before the outbreak will be stopped. sierra leone has the large effort number of infections. some health care workers have walked out of a treatment center, worried that patients are being given an untested heart drug as part of treatment. >> france is urging calm a

i had the impression that in mosul their support is stronger because in mosul now you have only sunnisause the shi'as, the yazids and christians have been killed or forced to flee. and that in raka, bashar al-assad is still at least as strong as is. what is told me. and assad is working also with a trick. he is still playing-- paying salaries to his people in raka and it seems to work. so the situation in raka is not very clear. >> ifill: how does is compare in your impression to al qaeda. >> al qaeda is a non-- an empty shell beside i-s. i-s is much stronger. there is no comparison. al qaeda has never been as strong, even in the times of osama bin laden, has never been as strong as al baghdadi. and even if this al baghdadi, this so call caliph will die, the next one will come. because they think they have this historical mission. and they see that the west doesn't have a successful strategy. there is no strategy. you cannot bomb-- you cannot knock down these 5,000 fighters i-s fighters in mosul in a city of 3 million inhabitants, residents. because they don't live in one apartment or

mohamed, al jazeera, outside mosul. iraq. >> algerian forces have killed the leader of an armed group behind the killing of a french tourist. abdul was killed 30-kilometers east of algeria. he is accused of abducting frenchman and beheading him in september. he headed an armed group that had sworn ahe jens to isil. let's get more from lauren who is a former u.s. secretary of defense, and a senior fellow, he joins us live now from washington, thank you very much for being with us. >> you're welcome. >> explain to us why would the group align itself to isil? would this have been a military or an ideological strategy. >> well, i think the combination of both, a lot of people are turning to isil, you have people in europe, and in the wrights, because they think it presents the correct vision of the way that islam should function. it is an incorrect vision, but they have so much hopelessness, and frustration in the societies in which they live, they think this is a solution or a way out. >> it is interesting you say incorrec

you know, mosul is under the rule of isis. what is the reaction to people that follow islam to isis continuing to come out with just unbelievable deeds and words and acts? >> reporter: isis says they are doing this out of justification from the koran islamic law. leaders around the world are calling it a grotesque interpretation calling it medieval and it isn't an interpretation of the koran or islamic law. when cnn was talking to the people in mosul, once the pamphlet was released, people were gathering around to look at it. most were shocked, but what can they do? anyone that tries to go against isis is punished or killed. really, this seems to be the law of the area they control for quite some time. natalie? >> absolutely. any idea how many people are at risk? how many women and girls are at risk, how many have been taken? >> reporter: well, that is a good question. we don't know the exact number. as isis has been expanding their territory, going after different minority communities, they are all victims, they are all vulne

everyone here is from mosul. when islamic militants took over their village. >> translator: these people chop people's heads off. we left behind our house, our home, our whole existence. we took a children and . -- charities are doing what they can do to help. most of these refugees can't see any way they're going to be able to return home any time soon. this woman celebrated her engagement in mosul earlier this year. now she's getting married in. it's brought loved ones together but only briefly. we won't go back to iraq, says the groom. there's no future for us there. the couple want to leave this troubled region and start a new life, and they're not alone. hundreds of thousands of chryea. the trend worries church leaders. >> it's very important for christianity for the principals, the ideal and the teachings of christian i christianity. >> reporter: the church is packed for an iraqi service. the christmas message is about peace and hope, but right now in the middle east, there's a lota lotage. >> reporter: in

. >> the great -- the gateway to mosul in the caliphate.s militants are react -- relaxed and his young. xed and young. christians and shiite muslims fled in terror. women are virtually invisible. men are instructed on how to pray. it was extraordinarily risky to come here as of the only other westerners in the territory are hostages or dead. had negotiated for months with the german jihadi to get the paperwork. >> i had the impression that they wanted to show that the islamic state is working. lead to theat would brutal -- i thought i would meet a brutal terrorist group and i met a brutal country. >> it is an active propaganda machine. populationains the how to treat slaves, women, how to pray, and so on. >> no one would dare criticize islamic state. they said what it was like living under the rule. >> it is more difficult. there are shortages of water and power. they banned students from sports and painting. they banned the use of colored pens. >> he encountered militants from around the world. they travel in convoys to avoid airstrikes. c

dineen celebrated her engagement in mosul earlier this year. now she's getting married in amman. her wedding day is bittersweet. it's brought loved ones together but only briefly. "we won't go back to iraq," says the groom. "there's no future for us there." the couple want to leave this troubled region and start a new life, and they're not alone. hundreds of thousands of christians have emigrated in recent years. the trend worries church leaders. >> it's very important for christianity for the principles, the ideals and the teachings of christianity to find and to have photos of jesus christ in this part of the region. this is the birthplace. it's so important. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: the church is packed for an iraqi service. the christmas message is about peace and hope but right now in the middle east there's a shortage of both. >> still to come here, to many he's the big jolly guy who brings us presents. but what are the origins of father christmas? we'll go to turkey to find out. ♪ wellllll... ♪ earlyfit ♪ latefit ♪ risefit ♪ fallfit ♪ ballfit ♪ wallfit ♪ pingfit ♪ pongfit ♪ pingfi

what is the reaction, ian, to this from the muslim world and from those living in mosul that's under the direction of isis that were handed these pamphlets after their prayer session? >> well, the muslim world has condemned isis, really, from the very beginning. their practices are not those that are followed by mainstream muslims. so we've had that strong condemnation. doesn't seem to have any effect at all on areas that are controlled by isis. residents in mosul told cnn that when they got this pamphlet, they gathered around, they said -- people were shocked. they did not like this. anyone who goes against isis will be severely punished or killed. when we look at how they treat these captives from the males who are usually executed. we have seen executed prisoners, and executed journalists. and then for the females, it is going right into flavoring and right into, for most of them, many of them, going into sexual slavery. there's a lot of shock. but i don't think a lot of people are very surprised that this is coming out as we've heard about this before. >> right. but as we see the

we have a new minister of defense, from mosul. he went to see the president. and he has committed to getting the supplies to the kurds that they need. i was just in berlin last week. the germans are supplying the peshmerga significant anti-tank munitions. so we are very focussed on this. we're acutely focussed on it. but what is important is that unlike some of the tension we had with the last government, we have very strong cooperation now. there's been about 40 cargo flights. they land in baghdad first but then they immediately go to supply the peshmerga with the weapons and supplies they need. we're working on this everyday. we have joint operations centers set up in the kurdistan region. i've been to them. i went to dehook to see the president when he was commanding some of his units in an offensive near the border crossing. we're working with them everyday, but we work through this and our military colleagues work through what are the requirements, what do you need, how do you get them? we've went around the world to source getting t 62 tank rounds to mak