just day one inside mosul. katty: only one week to go before america votes in one of the most extraordinary elections in history, and states like north carolina are getting a lot of attention. it may the hard to believe, but elections used to be something to celebrate. at one bakery they are dusting off an old recipe to revive the tradition. katty: welcome to "world news america." 2 years after being driven out by so-called islamic state, the first iraqi forces have reentered mosul and tonight they are within the city limits. the assault, now in its third week, involves hundreds of troops in heavily armed vehicles. but there are concerns for more than one million civilians who are thought to be trapped inside mosul. our correspondent and cameraman are the first western broadcast team to enter the city. they sent us this report. reporter: slowly and relentlessly, the territory of the so-called caliphate is being taken back. it is all two and a half years since militants swept across these planes with ease. today

this is the second day iraqi forces are inside mosul, the outskirts of mosul. so far i think it's going very well. the combination of the forces that are supposed to go inside mosul are the right forces. so i think so far there's cause for optimism. there are problems we can in the conversation later on. there are fault lines and problems that are starting to appear and emerge in the first few weeks and this is the third week of the campaign. >> certainly, i would like to echo first that the coalition that is attacking isis in mosul is impressive. isis is expert at trying to exploit seams among enemy coalitions and this coalition is going to outlast isis' efforts. i do think they're going to take the city center. there are neighborhoods in mosul from which aqi was never cleared, so the clearing operation for the full extent of the city is a measure of success beyond taking the government buildings and the basis back. isis' defensives have been formed in rings. when forces began to approach mosul on the south, the east, and the north of the city, they ran into s

this is the second day iraqi forces are inside mosul. they are on the outskirts of mosul. i think so far it's going very well. the composition of the forces that are supposed to go inside mosul are the right forces, they are professional iraqi forces, the counterterrorism force and the federal police with tribal fighters from sunni fighters. so i think so far there's cause for on optimism. there are problems we can discuss when we, you know, in the conversation later on. there are programs that are starting to appear and emerge in the first few weeks. this is third week of the campaign. >> certainly. well, i would just like to echo, first, that the coalition that is attacking isis in mosul is impressive. isis is expert at trying to exploit seams among enemy to coalitions, and this coalition is going to outlast isis' efforts. i do think they're going to take the city center. one of the challenges we're going to face is that there are neighborhoods in mosul from which aqi was likely never cleared, so the clearing operation for the full extent of the city is a measure of succ

this is a radio station that takes phone calls from anti-isis people inside of mosul. they phone in and let people on the outside know exactly what's going on in the city, and it's really dangerous. if isis catches them they could hang them. apparently they just hanged four people for doing things like that. before they set out to retake mosul last month, the iraqi army and the kurdish fighters known as the peshmerga, both with support from the u.s. military, began liberating small towns on the way, including several majority christian towns like batnaya that had been occupied by isis. and when did they leave? >> three days ago. >> reporter: three days ago? this is fresh. we walked through batnaya with father emanuel youkhana. we've got to watch our step, because there could be ieds around here. youkhana is a leader in the assyrian church. he runs a local christian charity. he was anxious to inspect the town's historic church to see what damage isis had done. this was his first time back in two years. is there one word to describe how you felt when you stepped through

that is why mosul is very important in defeating isil and mosul. also, you mentioned what are we doing in syria? we are engaged in our partners there. when we are going to do is go down there and take raqqa and liberate raqqa take it back from isil. what this will do is come i think, do a lot to discredit, destroy the narrative of isil, which is their mythology has depended a lot on having this physical, qualify state. when they lose their capital in iraq, they lose their overall capital in syria. it goes to discredit their narrative as a terrorist organization. this, what happens after mosul? i don't think i sold -- i don't think -- isil postal purses here. our partners in in iraq and syria will have to keep working to reduce the threat. who what we are ultimately working towards is reducing the threat of isil and building of the local security forces to a level where they can handle in the persistent threat that remains on their own without a lot of help from the coalition. host: just one follow-up, you talk about that after we kicked them out of

he is in the iraqi city of erbil, about 50 miles east of mosul. alex, we understand from the world health organization, people have fled mosul. where are they going? >> at the moment they have over 50,000 people that have fled the surrounding mosul sea. two-thirds are leaving towards the camps and the remaining are living with host community gllz is the islamic state allowing people to leave? there have been reports want idea is to use civilians. their idea is to use civilians as human shields. >> unfortunately, the civilians not allowed to leave the mosul city. they are being used as a human shield and our concern goes to the people of mosul city who are now trapped in a very difficult situation. they are basically trapped in the nighting zone and they have a hard time fleeing and finding safety. >> stewart: and how are the conditions for the people who are still in mosul, the citizens, in terms of food, water, medical care? >> basically, mosul city has been under isis control control for the past two years. and during these two years, people hav

so, what happens next after isis is expelled from mosul? >> ( translated ): we want our independence. >> reporter: do you get that militarily, politically? >> ( translated ): we've been fighting, making great sacrifices for a century. we've already earned it. >> reporter: it's a sensitive question. he insists kurdistan should be independent, but he won't say how. but other kurds are more candid, like najmaldin karim, the governor of the oil-rich province of kirkuk. officially, it's outside the borders of kurdistan. but two years ago, when the iraqi army fled as isis approached, the kurds came to the city's defense, and they've been in charge ever since. >> the kurds have proven they could govern themselves. we have proven that we can defend ourselves. we have every right like any other nation to be independent. we have to work on this with the government in baghdad and talk to them openly. we want to be good neighbors. we need each other. we have to talk to the neighboring countries-- turkey, iran, even syria when there is a decent governme

>> it is very artistic to people in mosul at the moment. very few people are getting out from inside the city, but what we are able to do is speak to people coming out of villages around mosul. they tell fairly horrific stories that they have been living under deprivation for several years. now, they are telling stories about increased rates of execution, isis fighters used as up people, and human shields. increasingly part of the battle to take the city. genie: campbell reporting to us there. russia ordered a 10 hour truce to be held two days from now in the war-torn syrian city of aleppo. currentextend a moratorium on airstrikes on the city of aleppo until 7:00 p.m. friday by order of the russian president, vladimir bruton. -- putin. the extracts have been halted for over two weeks now since mid-october. what will this truce on friday do that will make a difference? >> not so much, it appears. more than two weeks have gone now that this moratorium on airstrikes has been carried out. syrian and russian airplanes have not been allowed withi

the fight for mosul has only just begun. quentin sommerville, bbc news, mosul. laura: the horrors of life inside mosul. as we have seen, so-called islamic state seems to have no shortage of weapons to fight inside mosul. much of the ammunition uses comes from western supplies, iverted into the hands of i.s. our security correspondent has this special report. a stack of mourners live ready to fire. this was a position used by so-called islamic state in a family garden in mosul. james and his team from the group conflict armament research carefully document the weapons, now made safe, to establish their origin. bombs.millimeter mortar few hundred yards away is a factory where steel was melted to make mortar cases. >> i would say this is the biggest one. gordon: these mortars were made locally by i.s., but for investigators, the real prizes evidence of material shipped into the country. >> machine, detonating fuses. gordon: at a church in a nearby christian town, there is evidence of i.s. making explosives. on the floor are raw materials and a set of instructions f

that's day one after mosul is defeated.that we're getting -- that, you know, the peshmerga and the iraqi counterterrorism forces and the federal police and the iraqi security forces are working so eautifully together to defeat mosul/ and then the day after we need to get these forces away from each other and out of the disputed territories so that we can avoid that conflict from happening. the other great risk is that the shiite militias have in many sections of the iraqi population , become very popular for defending iraq against terrorism and, you know, it's partly a function of how unpopular minute stream iraqi politicians are for the incorrupt -- being corrupt, and performing poorly. we have eventual elections next year and parliamentary elections that you're after, and there's a very real risk that pretty hard-line parties could do very very well in those elections and i think something else the united states could be doing is helping to support moderate accommodationist inclusive iraqi leaders who are capable of deliv

the mosul tv station is very significant, it means the city of mosul. and this is good news to the people of mosul, indicating th mosul has begun." voice of translator special forces say they're being met with fierce resistance as they advance on iraq's second largest city. it may take weeks, if not months, for the iraqis to reach mosul's center. dorrian says: "..this is an iraqi plan. the iraqis have been working on this for some time. we've been there with them planning this." the u-s military puts the number of isis militants in the city at three hundred more are believed to be on the outskirts. about a thousand of those are said to be foreign fighters. dorrian says: "..if da'esh stand and fight, they're going to be killed. there's no question about that. if they run, they will be either be captured or killed. they are not going to be allowed to escape." underlying sectarian tensions remain a concern, however. shi'ite militias are approaching mosul from the west as they try to close off an isis escape route. though sanctioned by the iraqi government,

because al-baghdadi used to be in mosul, i think mosul, they have to show they are going to fight. some of them will try to escape, although most of them have escaped -- and some of them will join the refugees. shave their beard and try to mingle. yes, but i think they have made a lot of preparations. don't forget that a lot of these people are zealots who want to fight. it is not a question of these people are thinking necessarily hugenally in the face of a enemy and say, look, i do not have a chance. i should escape. remember, these are people who do suicide bombings all the time. so, they don't look at life essentially the way we do. or any other iraqi does. >> there are reports out today the british foreign secretary boris johnson cites intelligence reports that it is believed al-baghdadi himself recently fled mosul. >> it's quite possible. if i was him, i would flee, too, because the city and has been surrounded and escaping would become very difficult. he wants to fight another day. they have still fairly large and elsewhere in syria. he may decide to continue to fight by hid

yesterday, donald trump speaking in grand rapids, michigan. >> even mosul, we're trying to retake mosul for a second time, because we essentially gave it up. so now we're going in, and we -- did we give them enough advance notice? four months is enough time. right? general, did we give mosul enough advance notice? i think so. four months, and i keep saying, whatever happened to the element of surprise? >> when a military expert was quoted, a u.s. military expert saying comments like that are off the mark. listen to how donald trump reacted. listen to this. >> the rezisistance is much greater because they knew about the attack. why can't they win first and talk late jer why do they have to say three months before the attack we're going in? so you can tell your military expert i'll sit down and i'm going to teach him a couple of things. >> trump tweeted about it last week saying, read the tweet, the attack on mosul it turning out to be a total disaster. we gave them months of notice. u.s. looking so dumb. here's your chance. what's your response to donald trump's assessment? >> wolf, you

and mosul is a perfect example because there are so many -- so many stakeholders are involved in mosul and many people want a piece of the pie in mosul. unlike fallujah. fallujah was a military challenge. a political challenge but more of a military challenge then. it was up to the iraqi government and the americans to sort out what's the best formula in fallujah. but in mosul it's not up to the iraqi government or up to the americans to sort out what's best there. there are the kurds there and different kurds involved in there. the krg, the regional government doesn't have the support of everyone inside kurdistan to back certain political agendas in mosul. for example, you know, you're an expert in this. the turkish involvement inside iraq is a perfect -- is a good example because while president supported it, others opposed it. and you have also that pkk is a major concern for turkey near talafar. it's a problematic area, it will be a big flash point. west of -- west of -- northwest of mosul. it's a turk dominated area. turkey said that the militia should should not be there, but the

government fighting mosul to expel isis from mosul. i think what is likely to happen, let's say mosul falls which isis is basically driven out. what happens then? i think a lot of the isis guys will retreat into syria. i think a lot of the iranian-backed shi'a coalitions fighting in iraq against isis are going into syria. so, essentially, that battle will move into syria. assad actually talked about that. charlie: what did he say? it was going to happen? dexter: again, he was kind of -- it was conspiracy, but he said the whole americans fighting isis is all theater. what they will do is push isis into syria. charlie: the iraqis are leading the fight in mosul? dexter: yeah, they are. the americans are in the sky dropping bombs. what is really problematic about what is happening in mosul is you have this really large number of shi'ite militias fighting on the side of the iraqi government, the united states. trained and directed by the iranians. the republican guard is on the ground in northern iraq. charlie: will they be on the ground in

special forces, they just entered mosul. is this really a disaster? >> no. what i would like to say is this. the problem that we have in the trump campaign has with president obama's national security policies is that under law, a president is required to draft a national security strategy every year. this administration has done this only two out of eight times. therefore, you don't have a plan from which the national -- which the pentagon -- >> so i want to focus just on mosul and what donald trump said about it, that it was a disaster and that the united states looks stupid. has that proved true? >> what he's saying is -- yes, i will focus on that. carol, let me just say this. when we invaded afghanistan in 2001 after 9/11, and i was the senior cia officer on the ground for that, we didn't announce in advance how and what we were going to do. donald trump has constantly complained about the fact that this -- >> how has that muddied the waters in mosul? i want to focus on -- >> it allows -- it allows the enemy to prepare in advance and set many, many, you

>> salam: from bartella all the way to mosul. >> logan: all the way to mosul? and how far is that? >> salam: about 25 kilometers. >> logan: 25 kilometers or about 16 miles long. and nine feet down lay the bodies of isis fighters his men had just killed. >> we try to know who they are. i mean, they are iraqi, arab. >> logan: the golden division punched through mosul's city limits last week. since then it has been engaged in intense combat and taking back a fraction of the city. major salam knows more about isis and its fighters than almost anyone. his elite soldiers fought them when the iraqi army wouldn't. in mosul, keeping the civilians safe is one of his main priorities. we saw hundreds of them-- women and children fleeing, carrying salam said isis has used a different strategy in every city but they always fight to the death. he told us they have killed 150 of his soldiers. >> logan: you almost were killed in fallujah. >> salam: the rocket go through the window and blow inside the vehicles. and i found myself bleeding. i didn't care if some part of my body got cut or something l

mosul because i cannot believe it. we had mosul. we should not have been in iraq, but we had mosul. clinton and obama did that crazy get out -- they got out the wrong way. four months ago, i start hearing, we will take mosul. whatever happened to the element of surprise? we had most all but we gave it sul but we gave it up. over iraq.ing when handed that to them with one of the dumbest deals i have ever seen. the $1.7 billion in cash that we gave these people. nation.er one terrorist now they feel emboldened. they harass our ships and humiliate our sailors. me, il never happen with promise you that. ul, we want to get isis leaders. if you want to get them, you do not talk about it. you go get them and have the news conference later. wouldn't that be nice? i always say, whatever happened to the element of surprise? meantime, they are using human shields. we have no choice but to take isis out. they are chopping off heads, doing things -- not since medieval times has anything like this happened. now hillary is saying, we will get isis. what the hell did she let it start for? isis is i

. >>> plus, another grim report from mosul. isis continuing to execute the innocent. >> welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. we're live in atlanta. i'm natalie allen. >> and i'm george howell from cnn headquarters. newsroom starts right now. >>> 5:00 a.m. on the east coast. for the third straight day, protesters have marched in the streets against donald trump. the protests are not having any noticeable effect on the president-elect. on tri, trump put his running mate mike pence in charge of that transition that will take place at the white house from the obama administration. >> demonstrators hit the streets. take a look at this in atlanta, georgia. miami, florida, san diego, california, and boston, massachusetts, and dozens of other cities. they have been peaceful protests for the most part, but authorities have made several arrests in los angeles. >> tensions were high in portland, oregon, as well as protesters squared off for a second straight night. the crowd was ordered to disperse after repor

this operation that continues to press into mosul. international reporter phil black live for us in erbil, iraq. thank you for the reporting. we wish you and your teams there continued safety. we'll be in touch with you. >>> at least four people are dead at an iraqi air force base. >> they say an explosive device was detonated at bagram air force base. the people killed were foreign citizens but their nationalities are not yet known. >>> also, now to south korea, thousands of protestors are demanding again that the president of that nation resign. this is one of the largest anti-government protests there. just about -- in about three decades. you see these images of the protests. president park un hey has apologized for sharing documents with a long-time friend. >> that confidante has been arrested. two aides have also been accused in the influence peddling scandal. park has reshuffled her cabinet but her approval rating remains at an all-time low. we'll have a live report from seoul in our next hour. >>> let's switch over to weather.

let's move on to the other top troops have entered mosul for the first time. the iraq he army say they are now in control of a building in the east of mosul, just a few hundred meters from the central district. they are facing fierce resistance from the i.s. group, as mark thompson reports. littered road to mosul with burnt out the -- vehicles and charred buildings. a result of the ongoing, two long offensive on the city by iraqi special horses, kurdish peshmerga fighters and shiite militias. soldiersnterterrorism retook a village east of mosul in a don assault on monday, clearing the way for troops to approach the city limits. x our troops have reached the mosul tv station, which is significant, because it means we have reached the city. it indicates that the real operation to liberate the city has begun. iraqi troops have come under fierce resistance from islamic state group fighters, responding to rocket propelled grenades, machine gun and sniper fire with heavy weapons and airstrikes by the us-led coalition. >> if they stand and fight, they will be killed,

mosul is so sad. we had mosul but when she left, when she took everybody out, she lost mosul.e're fighting again to get mosul. the problem with mosul and what they wanted to do was they wanted to get the leaders of isis, who they felt were in mosul. whatever happened to the element of surprise? okay? we announce we're going after mosul. i've been reading about going after mosul now for about -- how long is it, hillary, three months? these people have all left. they've all left. the element of surprise. douglas macarthur, george patton spinning in their graves when they see the stupidity of our country. >> trump's remarks didn't sit well with some actual military experts, including retired colonel jeffrey mccausland, former dean of the army war college, told "new york times," "what this shows is trump doesn't know a damn thing about military strategy." the colonel's opinion didn't seem to faze trump, who doubled down when he was asked about it in an abc news interview. >> the resistance is much greater now, because they knew about the attack. why can't they win first and talk l

in the battle for mosul, the victory for iraqi forces.the ancient ruins were devoid in nimrud. it is 20 miles from mosul. fighting in the area continues. cnn's phil black is following latest for us live in irbil, iraq. phil. >> reporter: christine, that ancient site nimrud is 3,000 years old. it has been considered a hugely rich site. that was before isis has demolished large areas of the site. to be honest, we don't know what remains. and the organization considers the preservation of the site as holy. as you mentioned, 20 miles south of mosul, what it shows there is still very tough fighting going on through the towns and villages and territory which surround mosul. before you get to the city itself, iraqi and kurdish and other militias are in tough fighting to clear isis. the toughest fighting is taking place in the eastern outskirts of mosul. in those neighborhoods where iraqi forces entered mosul. it is the only in that area and where they were being resisted very, very strongly. isis knew they were coming. they have been constructin

fighting mosul to expel i.s.i.s. from mosul which is the second largest city, but i think what is likely to happen -- let's say mosul falls, which i.s.i.s. is basically driven out of mosul which i think is going to happen. what happens then? i think what's going to happen is a lot of the i.s.i.s. guys are going to retreat into syria. i think a lot of the iranian-backed shiite militias that are now fighting in iraq against i.s.i.s. are going to go into syria. i mean, a lot of them came from syria to fight in mosul. so, essentially, that battle going to move into syria. assad actually talked about that. >> rose: what did he say? that's what's going to happen? >> yeah, essentially, again, it was a conspiracy, but he said, look, he said, this whole -- you know, the americans fighting i.s.i.s., that's all theater. he said, what they're really going to do is push i.s.i.s. into syria, so we have to fight him here. >> rose: they've retaken mosul and the iraqis are in that fight, aren't they? >> yeah, they are, but the americ

militias rolled through a key road in the battle for control of mosul.he fighters known as the popular mobilization still face pocket of islamic state group resistance. control they have taken of the root to the jihadis de facto iraqi capital. our goal is to cut off the roads surrounding most to the west of the city so they can't get any supplies. the peshmerga are barricading the north and the east is also blocked. mobilizationr dominated by iranian backed shia militias is a temp thing to isolate tal afar. to the east and south of the city iraqi force was are continuing their advance. some 5000 to 6000 islamic state fighters are thought to still be in mosul. isis is going to the rear and we will defeat them. >> us-led airstrikes have eliminated all but one bridge crossing the river tigris which flows into mosul, limiting the islamic state groups movements. that could also restrict civilians looking to flee the fighting. 1.5 million people are still thought to be living in mosul. tens of thousands are being displaced every week as the battle to retake th

right now you have competing entities in mosul.ncerned that the shi'a militia will go after sunni turkmen. they're poised for that. you have to turks also concerned about kurdish expansion into mosul. you have the shi'a militias worried about kurdish expansion, you have to iraqi government concerned about kurdish expansion and the only thing we don't have to worry about in the mosul operation is kurdish expansion because the peshmerga are not going into mosul, they are taking blocking positions, they have a limit of advance, they won't be going into mosul because they're more concerned about what's happening in kirkuk. they're concerned about president ha shad al shabby. you have the shi'a militias, the pmus and the pmfs, off force of 100,000 iraqis, there are christians in there, 1%, sunnis, maybe 3% of the force. the people joining the movement believe they are doing the right thing. they want to go after isis. the leadership has other intentions. the leadership is focused on winning in 2018, getting more leverage over baghdad mo

securing the outskirts of mosul. the bbc is with iraqi troops as they try to drive out so-called islamic state. and they have not partied like this since 1908. the cubs have won the baseball world series after more than a century of losses. four chicago, it is a very big deal. katty: welcome to our viewers on public television in america and also around the globe. there is just five days to go in the presidential race and at this point it is a test of stamina to see how many campaign stops hillary clinton and donald trump can make in the closing moments of the contest. it is not just the principals out in force. their key supporters are on the trail in hopes of bringing home a win on election day. the bbc's gavin hewitt is in the hotly contested state of north carolina with this report. gavin: donald trump supporters on a north carolina highway. they are going not to see the candidate, but his daughter, in these closing, frenetic days, campaigning has become a family business. here, ivanka trump doesn't address any p

right now you have competing entities in mosul. you have to turks concerned that the shi'a militia will go after sunni turkmen. they're poised for that. you have to turks also concerned about kurdish expansion into mosul. you have the shi'a militias worried about kurdish expansion, you have to iraqi government concerned about kurdish expansion and the only thing we don't have to worry about in the mosul operation is kurdish expansion because the peshmerga are not going into mosul, they are taking blocking positions, they have a limit of advance, they won't be going into mosul because they're more concerned about what's happening in kirkuk. they're concerned about president ha shad al shabby. you have the shi'a militias, the pmus and the pmfs, off force of 100,000 iraqis, there are christians in there, 1%, sunnis, maybe 3% of the force. the people joining the movement believe they are doing the right thing. they want to go after isis. the leadership has other intentions. the leadership is focused on winning in 2018, getting more lev

. >>> and slow but steady progress to the war to reclaim mosul. oliver north is on the front lines and beat ta s and we'll live. 45 low, i'm shannon bream. welcome to america's news headquarters from washington. >> nice to be where you. donald trump spending this sunday working on the transition from trump tower in new york, i'm leland vittert. good sunday. >> the clock is ticking toward inauguration day as president-elect donald trump mac faces his first big decision, his chief of staff. a his transition team is being led by mike pence. and they will pull together names for cabinet posts and top advisors. doug mcelway has more. >> reporter: good afternoon. one thing we know for sure, donald trump has been up to this morning cranking up the old twitter account and firing off a series of tweets. i'll read three of them. first one, john kasich of the great, great, great state of ohio called to con grat ligs me on the win. the people of ohio were incredible. and george h.w. called to express their best wishes. very nice. and mitt romney called to con

iraqi forces are now at mosul's doorstep.he pentagon says the fight against isis is going as planned, but donald trump calls it a total disaster. which one is right? we take you to the front lines of the fight next. >>> for every day that's left in this race, here at "new day," we want to examine the candidates' different positions on issues that are important to you. today we look at terrorism. so pentagon leaders say that the campaign to retake mosul the from isis is proceeding as planned and so far, isis is losing. but donald trump disagrees. he continues to say that officials are sharing too much operational information. >> about three months ago, i started reading that they want to get the leaders. and they're going to attack, also. whatever happened to the element of surprise? okay? if you look at what's happening, much tougher than they thought. much, much tougher, much more dangerous, going to be more deaths than they thought. but the leaders that we wanted to get are all gone, because they're smart. >> okay, so -- >>

the battle for mosul rages on. government forces make a gruesome discovery, the bodies of some 100 people, many of them decapitated. business, wer, in will be going to lisbon to get the latest from the web summit, an annual gathering of some of the biggest names in the technology industry. do stay with us for that on "france 24." there is much more coming up. first, the ballot boxes are out. polling stations are open across -- across america's east coast for the much-anticipated presidential election. hillary clinton and donald trump are in new york. they will be casting their ballots later this tuesday pretty in her closing remarks, clinton urged people to look for a hopeful, inclusive, and bighearted america. her republican rival ended his campaign with a foul to reunite to country -- with the vow reunite the country under "america first." philip crowther is standing by. the big day is finally upon us. philip: we cannot quite believe that we finally managed to get to this spot after almost two years of campaignin

-led coalition, began the campaign to re-take mosul from isis. city is the largest in either iraq or syria still held by the militants, and the fight for it has been vicious. special correspondent jane ferguson and videographer alessandro pavone have spent the last several days with iraqi special forces inside the city, and sent us this report. >> reporter: searching for enemy movement, major ziad leads his team of snipers. on the radio, reports that several isis fighters are rushing this frontline position. his men are ready. they have pushed this far into mosul city, and from a mosque, iraq's special forces fight off counter attacks. >> you see these guys? >> reporter: "a fighter just blew himself up just over there," he tells us. this tangle of wreckage is all that separates his soldiers from the suicide bombers. this is as far as the frontline comes here in mosul, in this neighborhood. just a pile of rubble, and beyond it, isis fighters. taking mosul from isis is the toughest mission these men have ever faced. brutal street-to-street fighting

katty: this has always been the fear in mosul. we know there have been something like a million civilians cap in the city and it was always a suspicion that islamic state militants would use them as human shields. as of course the iraqi forces pushed further into the populated areas, we will discover more of those citizens and what their life has been like under islamic state. for more on the push against islamic state both in iraq and syria, i spoke to short time ago with richard haass, the president of the council on foreign relations. richard: it is going slower than people thought after the initial couple of days. it is a question of when and not if. it is going to be costly. civilian atrocities are staggering. i really do think it is a question of when and not if mosul is liberated. katty: let's talk about syria because that is potentially more complicated, and the push into raqqa. the americans and turks have been meeting and they say they have devised a plan for taking raqqa and then governing it. but how complicated is tha