state of iraq and the levant have kidnappeded at least 90 people from christian villages in the northeast of syriathe syrian observatory for human rights says the villages were attacked on -- monday morning. they are working to find the missing people but have so far had no luck. >> translator: until now we haven't been able to contact any of the hostages as i said 90 to 150 people were kidnapped and two are missing so we think they have been killed. >> more now from zana hoda. >> reporter: the islamic state of iraq and the levant managed to push into a number of christian villages in the northeast of syria, and they captured at least 90 people. that is according to activists on the ground the syrian observatory for human rights telling us they are not even sure how many of the 90 people are women and children and the community is worrieded about their faith, because as of yet isil hasn't made any demands. now this is not the first time we have seen this group target a minority kidnap people from a certain sect. this has happened abbas the border in iraq. in mosul thousands of christians were forc

taken as many as 100 christians as hostage on tuesday when isis seized control of two villages in northeast syria activists say some 700 families managed to escape. most of them are now taking refuge in a nearby cathedral. >>> the tentacles of isis are now stretching. authorities say they translated isis materials and showed videos to would-be recruits. >>> british police believe three teenage girls who flew to turkey last week are now in syria. the fear all along has been that they were heading there to join up with isis. their families are horrified and continue to appeal for their safe return. >> for more on all this rick francona is a retired u.s. colonel. so a lot to touch on at this hour. i want to start with the syrians. first of all, how involved in the syrian christians involved in the fight against isis? >> well, there's a split between the kurds and the assyrians on this because generally, the assyrians are supporting the assad government because they're afraid of an islamic takeover. the kurds, on the other hand they're a different group. some support the government some are anti-gove

this time by kurdish fighters in northeast syria. local militia with the help of assyrian christians and coalition air strikes. they drove back the isis militants and took control of a key town along the syrian border with turkey and iraq. while in iraq there has been a new round of violence they say from the islamic state. at least 37 people have been killed in the latest series of attacks. for the very latest we go to john huddy. he joins us from the mideast bureau in jerusalem. >> reporter: there were a series of car bomb attacks today in iraq that killed close to two dozen people one with the continued fighting and also a major ground offensive that continues to rage on in iraq. iraqi forces at this point are in a pretty fierce battle for control of the city of samara between tikrit and baghdad. isis militants for quite awhile have been trying to push their way through to baghdad but have so far been stopped by those iraqi forces, with help from coalition air strikes, including more than a dozen during the past 24 hours. i have s

. ♪ we begin in syria where 90 people from a christian village in the northeast have been kidnapped byic state of iraq and lavonte, according to the observatory for human rights they attacked on monday morning and we are joined live from aman and what are the details you are getting about this attack? >> well at this point there are few details and syrian observatory a monitor on the ground in syria is at this point is only source that is talking about these kidnaps as being confirmed. it says at least 90 christians from the ancient syrian minority in northeast syria have been kidnapped by i.s.i.l. fighters and come from the syrian christian villages which also happens to be close to a town which is controlled by kurdish syrians and is also mainly a syrian town. we understand what happened according to the observatory for human rights is that i.s.i.l. fighters attacked early on tuesday morning and there were clashes that broke out between kurdish fighters and i.s.i.l. fighters and then the abductions happened. we also understand that the abductions also coincide with a major push by sy

now we understand that these kidnappings coincide with major push by syrian fighters in northeast syriae border of iraq and syria in resent days and compounded i.s.i.l. in the area and director of the syrian observatory for human rights said he believes that these kidnappings are a retaliation against the kurdish fighters to take revenge, get revenge from kurdish fighters for pushing i.s.i.l. from northeastern syria and weakening their position by kidnapping christians who work together with kurdish fighters and protected by the kurdish syrian fighters in syria. this comes after a week after i.s.i.l. released the video from libya showing the graphic execution of 21 egyptian coptic christians and we understand that the fate of these, around 90 syrian christians were kidnapped in the morning is still unknown until now. >> thank you for the update and we are live in aman. and also getting news of another kidnapping, this one happened in afghanistan and afghan officials aarmed gunmen of foreign origin kidnapped 30 people from ethnic community in southern afghanistan and they were taken from

those are christian villages in northeast syria, kidnapping scores of women, children and the elderlyds more christians have fleed for their lives. let's get the latest on the situation, turning to senior international correspondent ben wedeman. ben, any sense now of where these captives these hostages, have been taken? >> reporter: no idea john. that of course is the problem with isis within their dark kingdom. we have no idea where they take people. after this incident that happened at about -- began at about 4:00 in the morning yesterday, we understand from two organizations, the syrian observatory for human rights and the syrian human rights network say that at that time this group of isis fighters approached these two villages in northeastern syria. they overcame the few guards that were in that village and went from house to house, breaking in and dragging out around 150 people. according to the syrian observatory for human rights those 150 mostly women, children and the elderly. now, what we know from past experiences, when isis takes over these areas, oftentimes minorities are

. >>> a surge in isis abductions in northeast syria. more than 200 christian syrians in the past three days. in new york, meanwhile, authorities arrested three men suspected in an isis terror plot. each is accused of planning to wage jihad for isis. prosecutors say one man offered to kill president obama. two suspects from uzbekistan the other from kazakhstan. >>> now to politics and a showdown looming on capitol hill as the clock ticks down to a homeland security shutdown. less than 48 hours from now the department of homeland security will run out of money. that's if lawmakers don't approve new funding. what's the holdup? house republicans are tying their yes votes to president obama dropping his order allowing 5 million immigrants to avoid deportation. >> american citizens first, not illegal alien first. >> this is not the time to engage in activities that would threaten our capabilities. >> now, senate lawmakers are expected to vote on a funding plan later today. laura? >>> new marijuana laws in the nation's capital is stirring up a

. >> a christian leader in northeast syria has called for airstrikes object isil fighters where 220 people were abducted this week. they were taken captive as the group advanced in the province. more from beirut. >> on tuesday activists reported that syrian christians were taken. they put the number at 90. they are now revising it, saying that they've been in contact with community leaders, as well as activists on the ground, family members. they now say 220 syrian christians are hostages and their whereabouts are not known. there are conflicting reports that some say isil took them to the stronghold south of the city. the community as you can imagine is worried about their fate, they don't know if they're alive or dead. isil has not made demands and it is not clear if they will agree to exchange them in a prisoner swap. what we understand is that arab tribal leaders on the ground are trying to mediate some sort of deal to release these people. this is not the first time isil has captured people. they've captured hundreds if not thousands in syria and iraq, but this is the first time they

. >>> isis militants reportedly captured as many as 100 syrian christians from northeast syria today but in iraq the military says they've liberated the highly contested town from isis control. fox news correspondent has more from jerusalem. >> reporter: isis is reportedly on a new offensive against christians in syria in recent days an abducts 70 christians as hostages. the news brought pleas for help. >> translator: all of the political parties in the community want to issue a straight to strongly con-- statement to kongly condemn these actions -- strongly condemn these actions. >> reporter: ashton carter all but ruling out american, boots on the ground, to fight isis. critics say the obama administration isn't doing enough to counter the isis threat. >> frankly, we're paying the price now facing what we're facing with isis for being disengaged in iraq and syria. >> reporter: but the fight seems to be going better in iraq where the iraqi military has taken back the highly contested town from isis militants. and more help may be coming from oversea es. new zealand officials announci

of iraq and the levant have kidnapped at least 90 piem people from christian villages in the northeast of syriathe villagers were attacked on monday morning. the head of a syrian political party in iraq says that they are working to find the missing people, but have so far had no luck. >> translator: until now we haven't been able to contact any of the hostages, as i said 90 to 150 people were kidnapped and two people are missing, so we think they have been killed. >>> live now to beirut and zana hoda is following this story from there. what is the latest zana? >> reporter: well, we know that community leaders from the syrian christians, they have been appealing for help asking the international community for help. like you mentioned the islamic state -- islamic state of iraq and the levant captured up to 90 people. isil managed to control three villages in the northeast of the country, and they captured those people and according to the syrian observatory for human rights, they still don't know how many of the 90 people captured are women, children and there were some reports that priests were

this happened in the northeast of syria in the prof vince.t we know is that there was fierce fighting between isil and kurdish fighters who were in control of two villages where these christians were living isil managed to push them out many civilians fled, but isil did manage to capture 90 people, but according to human rights activists they don't have much information in the sense that they don't know how many of the 90 people are women and children. they don't know their fate, or whereabouts where did isil take them, and they don't foe what isil wants they don't know whether the group plans to exchange them in some sort of prisoner swap, or just kill them, or whether if everybody they are already killed. so there is little information, but community leaders are worried they are appealing for help from the international community. from the u.s. led coalition to do something but this is going to be -- very difficult at the end of the day over recent years isil both in iraq and syria, they have captured runs if not thousands of prisoners, the

from the islamic state of iraq can kidnapped at least 90 people from christian villages in the northeast of syria. the syrian observatory says that the villages were attacked on monday morning. the head of a syrian party in iraq says that they are working to find the missing people but so far have had no luck. >> until now we haven't been able to contact any of the hostages 90 to 150 people were kidnapped and two people are missing. so we think they have been killed. hive now to beirut following the story from there, what is the latest. >> well, like you mentioned 90 of syrian christians have been captured by the islamic state of iraq, that is according to human rights groups what we understand is there was heavy fighting in the province this is in the northeast of syria fighting between kurdish forces and isil isil manages to overrun two villages, villages which were inhabited by christians we know that many of them manages to three but 90 were captured. so there's little anybody where their whereabouts they don't even know how many of the 90 peel were women and children, and they don't know the

coalition airstrikes in northeast syria and the same area where 220 christians were abducted this weekthere has also been fighting on the ground with christian wishes battling islamic state. islamic states finances are hurting. the revenue from oil fields has plunged. the group's finances will define -- declined further if it does not capture more territory. the financial action task force has islamic state also funds itself through bank looting, extortion and robbery. the former ecb president says greece needs a stamp of confidence from creditors. greece must have plans for economic reform approved by the international community. he discussed speculation that greece would be the euro. -- leave the euro. >> the exit would be a catastrophe for the great people. and for greece as a whole. -- the greek people. i would say certainly, it would be something which would be very, very bad for the area as a whole. that is the reason i trust there will not be a greek exit. >> greece did receive one vote of confidence today. lawmakers in germany approved a four-month extension to the bailout. leo

syria. the northeast of syria, isis went in they have captured women, children men, priests, elderly, is what we're being told by syrian human rights group and a syrian human rights group as well. not only are these 150 people been kidnapped, but there are others at risk in the area. 700 families were forced to flee 3 tlourks people forced out of their homes. and we understand 600 of those could be holed up in a cathedral. close to the town where they were forced from their homes. so at the moment isis threatening here potentially their lives. what we've seen when isis has captured christians in the past is to either give them an option, you either convert or you get killed. and during that operation last night, isis radios were overheard, they were talking about capturing crusaders, as if these people had never lived there, for hundreds and hundreds of years, chris. >> all right. thank you very much nic, appreciate that we. >>> we have new information about three teenaged girls accused of running away from home to join isis. >> british police believe the girls have crossed into syria. they'r

it happened in villages in northeast syria on monday.an atrocity a world away, the pain felt here at home. >> i have 20 cousins from that village that have been kidnapped. >> reporter: peter betbasdo is a christian syrian. and he got ahold of them. >> nobody can get in touch with their loved ones. the phones are being answered by isis. >> reporter: the kidnaps raise concern. a worry felt strongly here at the assyrian association. >> we as a community we could not assist them not to get in this trouble. >> reporter: gonje is an assyrian community leader. he says this attack forced many to flee their homes. many without food or water. often persecuted and ignored as they fight isis. >> for me as an assyrian american it's sad to say that our people they have not even received one bullet from the united states government. not in iraq, not in syria. >> reporter: the isis kidnappings the latest. the best hope says his family members will be part of a prisoner swap. >> you pray for the best. but given isis track record, that's not a good hope.

coming up, thousands of a syrians flee flighting in northeast syria as isil kidnaps at least 70 peoplem christian villages. yemen's rebels declare a fugitive after he retracts his resignation. >> troops dig in fearing a rebel assault despite the cease fire. >> the euro zone to add a four among extension to it's bail out. with all the spores the very latest from tuesday's champions league ties plus, fifa recommends moving the 2022 cup to the winter months. we will tell you why the european football bosses are seeing red. >> including women and children, from christian villages. isil fighters swept through villains along the river. taking people captive in an attack came hours of kurdish forces backed by air strikes launch add major offensive to drive isil from the province. beirut. >> yet again they have been forced to move, this time it is the christians dozens of families fled their villages in the north eastern province, after they were overrun by the islamic state of iraq and the levant. there whereabouts are not known. they don't know if they are alive, or whether isil plans to exc

. >>> islamic militants have captured dozens of christians in northeast syria. >>> well the russian presidentr putin, diskissed an all out war with ukraine. he expressed support for the recent cease-fire deal to stabilize eastern ukraine. both sides start pulling back the heavy artillery of the terms of the agreement. we have the report. >> reporter: this is a town with the remains of an intended cease-fire now burn. the agreement, a week old cease-fire deal intended to end the fighting was ignored by rebels here as they fought on and captured this town last week. [ speaking foreign language ] >> translator: there will be no peace. this is my personal opinion. i wouldn't want peace. right there in kiev in the white house, in their parliament the suffering they brought to this land civilians and all people. >> reporter: in this first interview since the agreement was broken russian president, vladimir putin, was asked if a war with ukraine was possible. >> translator: i think such a scenario is unlikely. i hope this will never happen. the agreements have not only been worked out by the four co

service sparked by the kidnapping of men, women and children from isis from a dozen villages in northeast syria. >> yesterday we heard very bad news that they said isis claimed they will put the children in a cage and put fire on them and burn them unless some of the isis hostages taken would be released. that's what we heard. i hope it's not true. >> reporter: the mass kidnapping by isis just one of its many atrocities. this week video showed militants at a mosul museum destroying syrian art and statutes dating back to the beginning of civilization. >> to tell you the truth i was crying last night. what the asyirain people have contributed. those are not items. those were artifacts. >> reporter: there is a large asyrian christian community in the bay area. from afar they watch their culture being destroyed. their people killed, kidnapped, made refugees. >> i think it's time for the broader world to realize that this is a genocide and go out there and save these people. >> reporter: many in the asyrian community want the u.s. to do more. they flooded the white house for calls yesterday and toda

the abductions began on monday when isis took over 11 villages in northeast syria. e region between syria and iraq is latest battleground by the radical group. i'm joined by the president of the american islamic forum for democracy. thank you so much for joining us. let me ask you a simple question. i asked you this before because you're somebody who left syria a long time ago. why are people still there given how dangerous it is and now as it seems how likely you could be captured and killed? why do people stay? >> well i mean, look at this assyrian families are being tortured and been captured. it is called syria because of the assyrians. they were there long before islam existed. it is their country. the diversity of syria makes it successful. if it becomes homogenous and islamic militants create a islamic state of radicals it will no longer exist. their very identity, their soul this battle within the soul of islam, it will be surrendered to inhumanity, to evil. they won't do that where will they go? it is their country. it is a syrian, kurdish, sunni islam moder

syrian -- a group that tracks candidatenapping report 220 christians were rounded ', kidnapped in northeast syriarea which borders turkey and iraq is a battleground for the islamic state, and the state department says the numbers could be larger close to 300. >> we're talking about the kidnapping of scores of civilians, including women children, priests and the elderly. we're in touch with our coalition partners about these horrific acts and determination what can be done. >> the bottom line here, analysts haven't seen this]d1 w 8h6zwb1ç+z"uúd3eop the past and fear it may be part of plan for a large-scale execution for a new isis video. >> thank you very much.++ñ#b] joining us now janine davidson former deputy assistant secretary of defense with the obama administration and also a former air force pilot. thank you for coming. thank you what do you make of the "jihadi john" revelation? >> i think it sort of gets to the point that a lot of people think the people that are attracted to isis are poor, motivated by economic conditions andúr 5c ç we see and what the expertssí[ç have been saying for

their propaganda even identify the location northeast syria on map, 35 villages targeted. the hostages taken deeper into hostage territory. some managing to find sanctuary in a local cathedral. the fate of the hostage, they fear, the same as the egyptian christians captured by isis in libya and iraq's christians last year. >> seeing what isis done for them egyptian christians in libya and the iraqi christians and iraqi syrians unfortunately i'm going be realistic and i hope maybe they're facing the same destiny. >> reporter: a destiny that looks bleak at the very best. in the past the christians isis hasn't kill and mostly been women have made into sex slaves for their fighters. >> we are, as you know, expecting isis to release a message about the hostages whether they're lives will be spared or whether they will end the way every other life has ended the way the christian lives ended in libya last week. what do you expect the message to be? >> we have seen videos come out that have shown the level of brutality. my heart bleeds. this is just the ongoing campaign of genocid

they pushed into christian villages in a province in the northeast of syria.t we understand is that there was heavy fighting many syrian christians managed to flee but's ill managed to capture at least 90 people. we have been in touch for the syrian observatory for human rights, and they still don't know, really how many of the 90 are women and children. is there have been reports that among them are women and children. this has happened across the border in this iraq. we ah isil attack christians in mosul. we also saw them target the minority yazidis community in northwest iraq so right now the community is worried about the fate of these 90 people appealing for help. it's not clear whether the u.s.-lead coalition will be able to help them because these people could be useded a human shields by isil. >>> there are about 100 million christians persecuted across the world. iraq and syria are the most dangerous countries in the middle east for christians. more than 70% of iraq's christian population have fled since 2003. and more than 140,000 christians have bee

this area is northeast syria. jordan has 42 planes so jordan is flying half of its war planes on any given mission. two dozen jordanian f-16s were airborne today. they've all returned safely. jordanian pilots had choice words and messages they wrote on the body of the planes. they are not striking inside of iraq. iraq has barred jordan from doing so accord together aing to a spokesman. the u.s. provides refueling, so it's unlikely they'd be flying over mosul without u.s. help. >> critics claim the coalition may not have enough search and rescue assets. what's been the response to that? >> i'm told that there is no shortage of search and rescue as asset assets. all u.s. air force officials i've spoken to about the downed jordanian pilot told me he was grabbed by fighters within minutes. even if they had search and rescue in raqqah at the time they couldn't have gotten to him in time. the2íñ pentagon moved more search and rescue assets in response to complaints. the state department rebutted any notion that the jord

so assama it's been a couple of days since they were kidnapped in northeast syria.ber of people kidnapped get on getting higher. what are you hearing from your sources on the ground? >> the number is increasing since yesterday night, because isis is taking over more and more new villages and towns, assyrian towns. i have a list of names. i can read it for you. situation is deteriorating and the number are increasing. >> so they're taking over more towns, kidnapping more assyrian christians. so i'm just curious, what has been the defense strategy for the assyrian christians so far? how have they tried in the past to defend themselves from isis? >> there's some local forces called the guards of habor. those guards have been involved in protecting the village and the properties the houses particularly the civilians. so that was mainly their job. but when they were attacked by isis they didn't know how to face it because they've not trained or experienced. they're not a militia member. they were just doing their job as police you can say, local police guarding the citie

. >>> the isis assault on the christian villages in northeast syria is expanding. dozen villages has been overrun in recent days and hostages have been climbing in the hundreds. now video capturing militants vandalizing a museum in mosul. destroying artifacts that are hundreds of years old. we have ben wedeman live in iraq. ben, what is their point in destroying these artifacts? >> reporter: if you listen to the man who appears on the five-minute individualvideo, he is not identified it is because they are idols. it is the narrow interpretation of islam. all idols must be destroyed. particularly anything that predates islam. he said god ordered us to do this and we will do it. we will destroy these idols and statues and antiquities. even if they are worth billions of dollars. you see in the video first men toppling statues in the mosul museum. then smashing them with sledgehammers. you see them in another clip someone with a drill defacing the iconic symbol of iraq itself. the winged bulls of nineva. these date back to 700 bc. obviously not only within the world of

. >>> the isis assault on a syrian christian village in northeast syria is expanding.e been overrun in recent days and the number of hostages has climbed in the hundreds. now outrage around the globe as video captured militants vandalizing a museum in mosul. cnn's correspondent ben wedeman has more for us live in erbil. ben, when you talk about the murder of civilians and rape of women and taking hostages it is shocking. on a human level, it is more horrific than breaking some old rocks in a museum. it shows you how isis is really trying to tear down the pillars of civilization. >> reporter: yes, indeed. this five-minute video posted on the internet yesterday really does underscore the depths to which isis will go. we know as many as 350 syrian christians have been kidnapped by isis and no one has a clear idea of where they might be or what isis plans are with them. this video from the mosul museum basically what you see is men, some with beards some without, toppling statue after statue in this museum. statues that are well over 2,000 years old in many cases. then the

isis kidnapped at least 70 people and in village raids in northeast syria yesterday second every statehn kerry, told senate committee isis has been strengthening its grip in syria while president obama says it will not be possible to fully stabilize syria until president is transitioned out. >> the cab ash for the keystone pipeline at least for now, president obama vetoed bill calling it it to be built from canada through part of the us. supporters say the pipeline would create jobs and boost oil production in north america. but, opponents worry about the possible environmental impact. congressional republicans may try to override the president's veto, have yet to show muster the two thirds majority in both chambers that they would need. >> senate majority leader mitch mcconnell agrees to vote on legislation to fund the department of homeland security without any immigration provisions attached. the compromise could avoid partial shutdown of the agency which is scheduled to run out every monday own friday, at midnight, the senate will take up the president's controversial immigration e

abduct in the syria is unknown this morning isis kidnapped at least 70 people, in the raids in northeast syria. yesterday, secretary of state john kerry told senate committee that isis has been venting its grip in sewer y while president obama says it will not be possible to fully stabilize syria until president alasad is transitioned out. french newspaper charlie since deadly terror attack since the offices last month. features variety of world leader characture as a pack every dogs slogan here we go again. 6:20 frantically waiving a police to save his babe. >> i this happened in lithuania. dash cam video shows his gesturing to police at intersection, then he runs into the patrol car with a visibly limp child. the child choked on food and became unconscious and the dad was panicking. he sits in the front seat trying to comfort the child as the officer races lights and sirens blazing passing cars after car after car this will know reach the hospital. by the way the baby did survive. >> thank god. >> suspended for something he tweeted about penn state. how he inadvertently put down the student

it's believed that isis militants went door to door raiding villages in northeast syria abducting women, children and the elderly. hundreds of a syrian christians have been forced to run for their lives. >>> still to come in the "newsroom," jurors convict eddie ray routh. we'll talk to one of chris kyle's s.e.a.l. team members about the verdict next. ♪ edith piaf "no regrets" plays throughout♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ shopping online is as easy as it gets. wouldn't it be great if hiring plumbers, carpenters and even piano tuners were just as simple? thanks to angie's list now it is. start shopping online from a list of top-rated providers. visit angieslist.com today. the traffic jam. scourge of 20th century city life. raiser of blood pressure. disrupter of supply chains. stealer of bedtime stories. polluter. frustrater. time thief. [cars honking] and one day soon we'll see the last one ever. cisco is building the internet of everything for connected cities today, that will confine the traffic jam to yesterday. cisco... ...tomorrow starts here. ugh. does your carpet ev

. >> it's believed that isis militants went door to door raiding villages in northeast syria abducting children and the elderly. hundreds have been forced to run for their lives. let's bring in cnn's senior international correspondent nic robertson. he's in london with more on this. hi nic. >> reporter: hi, carol. thousands of families is what we're hearing could be forced from their homes. 1.6 hundred people were held up. it's a very small church like building. there's a real concern about not only the 150 people that have been kidnapped, what is their fate what is going to happen to them but also the families on the ground forced from their homes hiding out trying to evade capture. what the syrian community is saying is they expect the worse. they look what isis has done to egyptian christians iraqi christians. give them a chance to convert to islam or kill them. that's what they're worried about, particularly these 150 people that have been taken deeper inside isis territory, carol. >> is there -- i don't know is there another reason that isis is focusing on christians? because, you

militants and local kurdish forces in the area of northeast syria.ing churches and houses are being burned down. these pictures have actually just come into us. they are pictures from the villages where the attacks took place. as you can see, a lot of the syrians trying to escape from their homes to take refuge in the city of hathka. local churches are being offering for displaced people. and the number of people seized is more than 280 and there are still 20 families trapped in one of the villages. >>> prince william has made his respects to soldiers killed in japan by laying a wreath at a commonwealth grave cemetery outside tokyo. as our royal correspondent reports. >> reporter: these are striking tombstones, flat not upright, because of the risk of earthquakes at a cemetery for the commonwealth soldiers who died at the hands of the japanese in the second world war. prince william was here to pay his respects for those who died fighting for a country he's destined to lead. many of those buried here were prisoners of war, and those captured by the j

nearly 100 christians in northeast syria were kidnapped. about 700 more families fled.y escaped by going to a church. jim sciutto begins our coverage. what's going to happen to these kidnapped christians? we have seen this horrific beheading video of the 21 egyptian christians who were murdered in libya. >> based on isis's past bloodthirsty practice the sad fact is it's unlikely they will be spared. we have seen there before. that's the view of u.s. officials and the view of officials in the region. it serves isis' interest. they get a brutal propaganda bump from the kidnapping. they'll parade the people they have captured and sadly from the brutal death that they film as well that served their propaganda purpose ppsspurposes. it's sad they'll unlikely survive this. >> you have to state the facts as they are. in a sense, jim, this would be a game changer. we saw 21 christians, that shocked the world because it wasn't just one person or two people. it was 21. you're talking about nearly 100 people. >> yeah. keep in mind in the case based on past practice as well they ten

dozen of syrian christians including women and children were abducted as fighters raided towns in northeast syria. welcome to "happening now." i'm jon scott. >> i'm jenna lee. >> after the terrorists beheaded 21 egyptian christians in libya. as well as their growing reach both concerns this morning on capitol hill where secretary of state john kerry and the director of national intelligence james clapper both testified in separate hearings. john is live in our bureau with the latest for us now john? >> yeah, jenna. secretary of state kerry by the way in that testimony talked about gains that have been made against isis in syria and iraq including kurdish peshmerga forces taking back and recapturing about 30 villages in syria. that said let's talk about the hostages. we're getting reports that an estimated 90 people 90 of the syrian christians as mentioned, were taken by isis. many of them women and children. now all of this happened basically under the cover of darkness before dawn on monday when the isis militants overran several villages along the kabul river in northeastern syria. this is a ri

-led airstrikes striking isis terrorists in northeast syria today near the iraqi border. meantime in iraq's anbar province government forces fend off isis attack at al-asad airbase, big airbase, where hundreds of marines are training iraqi troops. this base is short time from the town of al-baghdadi which the militants now largely control. chuck nash is retired navy captain and a fox news military analyst. nice to have you captain nash. how vulnerable are our marines today? should we be concerned about their safety based on the latest information? >> well, anytime you have troops in a combat zone like iraq we should be concerned but i would not be overly concerned. massive installation and although there are 320 marines and probably some special forces there training, they're training an entire iraqi division. so the place, they're more than enough folks to defend the facility and the facility was set up to be defended. so, for the isis forces to present a very clear major danger, they would have to mass and as soon as they mass, we'll take them out with air cover. so i t

. >>> also happening right now, kurdish forces have retaken villages in northeast syria from isis. why is this key? this is where isis kidnapped some 150 syrian christians. 150. a much higher number than previously thought. their fate still not known. >> there is word this morning that isis is planning to release a video message directed at president obama and other coalition partners today. perhaps threatening to kill these hostages. we'll bring in cnn international correspondent nic robertson covering this live from london. good morning, nic. >> reporter: good morning, john. that's a concern right now. we've spoken with a syrian activist who has been in touch with people on the ground. 150 people kidnapped by isis, taken deeper inside isis territory, we're talking about women, children, the elderly, even some priests. thousands of families forced from their homes. 35 different villages affected. up to 600 people, up to 600 of this a syrian christian community hiding out in what they describe as a cathedral. i looked at it online. it's more of a tiny church. hiding out hoping isis

essentially jordan carried out three days of intensive airstrikes in northeast syria. they said there were 56 strikes. then the coalition went back to its usual handful of strikes each day. i understand admiral kirby is about to -- >> jennifer thanks. it's important news coming from the pentagon now. let's listen. >> -- i also know that there's lots of chatter out there about the embassy in yemen. i have nothing to announce on the status embassy in yemen. that is for the state department to speak to. what i can tell you is that nothing's more important to us than the safety and security of the u.s. personnel anywhere around the world, certainly in yemen right now. we're always evaluating the security situation on the ground, and we're taking steps to mitigate those risks. as you know, state department has been reducing some staff in yemen over the past few weeks but that's really something for them to speak to. so i don't have anything new to say or announce on the embassy in yemen. and then finally last week i did inform you that on the 31st of january, in a strike so

far back as monday began to go through some of these villages in the northeastern province in northeast syriatarted to go through villages and began abducting the men and women and children, including elderly. according to the human rights organization, they believe they have as many as 250 christians in isis captivity. what we've seen in the past given isis' treatment of minorities including what they did with egyptian christians in libya, we know that isis has been extremely brutal in the way it has o pressed and sometimes killed min orts. we don't know the fate of these individuals yet. there are some indications from these organizations that there's an effort to try to secure their release, but given isis' past that does not seem to be in the cards, kristen. >> michael, i want to shift to you, what's the motivation here? ayman talked about the fact they targeted minority groups. is this also about trying to get more hostages? >> not really i think they have plenty of hostages, they are trying to intimidate the population through sheer brutal terror. they don't want anyone in the area they

at least 90 people were abducted in northeast syria. the area has seen an increase in fighting in recent days. the state department says a missionary from seattle was kidnapped in nigeria. officials say a group of men captured her. family and friends held a prayer service last night. >>> a manhunt is underway for the suspects in a brazen failed credit union heist. police say they strapped a fake bomb on an executive and ordered he empty his own vault. >> this is the second part of where it happened. according to police the executive says he was forced to drive to this credit union fearing for his life and the life of his mother. police lights and sirens lit up the streets. this home was swarming with s.w.a.t. teams after police were alerted to a bizarre extortion plot involving a high ranking bank employee. >> police agencies investigating reports of home invasion. information was developed that linked that incident to an ledged scheme. >> reporter: two intruders stormed the home of a cfo of achieve financial credit union. they strapped

making headway in the fight against isis, retaking a strategic town from the terror group in northeast syria. meanwhile, the u.s. and its partners also conducting 11 air strikes against isis in iraq. jonathan huddy joining us live with more. what's the latest? >> reporter: well, yeah kelly a major ground offensive continues with help as you mentioned from the coalition air strikes. let's start there. let's start in iraq where iraqi forces are battling isis for control of a very key city. strategically located city called samarra. isis suicide bombers reportedly attacked this city and its outskirts earlier today as isis militants also shelled iraqi ground troops there that had been locked in the bloody tug of war for control. but as mentioned aided by the coalition air strikes, those iraqi forces are reportedly gaining -- regaining critical ground. you know, losing control of samarra would be disastrous because it's essentially the dividing line between tikrit to the north and baghdad to the south. now, let's switch over to syria where kurdish forces have retaken control of a town called tal

we know fighting picked up in northeast syria with peshmerga and isis. bill back to you.l: just another sad day. conor, thank you, conor powell in jerusalem there. martha: busy day in washington. big hearing on obamacare getting underway on capitol hill. health and human services secretary sylvia burwell is on the hot seat. tough questions coming here way and the recent obamacare tax form mistake, big number of people that were led astray by that that will be a top priority. doug mckelway joins us live in washington. so doug what else do we expect in there today? >> another really big issue martha, what sort of contingency plans does the administration if the supreme court rules against the government in king versus burrwell? they will hear the arguments next week. that is the million dollar question that hhs secretary sylvia burwell will face as she testifies before a house energy and commerce subcommittee n prepared remarks scheduled for delivery about now, she makes no mention of any plan b whatsoever should the supreme court rules in june that exchanges provided by fe

state militants reportedly abducting scores of assyrian christians after they overran villages in northeast syria. how many people have been taken? what do we know about this? >> we are hearing anywhere from 78 to 100 assyrian christians are being abducted by isis. this began monday when the terror group raided numerous villages along the river in northeastern syria. this river hooks up with the euphrates. it's an area largely controlled by isis and it's where there has been heavy fighting the last couple days including coalition airstrikes. martha: did anyone manage to get away? >> reporter: we are hearing possibly 3,000 people. but the problem is that communication lines to these villages have been cut so it's difficult getting information about those who have been taken hostage. as one woman told the associated press, she doesn't know if her loved ones are alive or like so many others, they have been slaughtered. bill: some tough words from louisiana governor bobby jindal on the steps of the white house after the governor's meeting with the president yesterday. >> the president disqualified hi

isis kidnapped at least 70 people in a village raid in northeast syria yesterday. secretary of state, john kerry, told the senate committee that isis has been strengthening its grip in syria. >> there has been slight increase of isis presence in syria, but i can't, by any means, describe what is happening to them in syria as a big advance. we're going have to increase the capacity on the grounds in syria, in order to be able to have more impact. that's what we're billion dollarsing. >> yes, but three sided war in sewer y meanwhile president obama says it will not be possible to fully stabilize that country of syria, until president asad is out. >>> the french sit tear call newspaper charlie hebdo releases seconds issue today since the deadly terror attack on its offices last month. the cover apparently feature variety of worlds leaders and politicians characterized as a pack every dogs with the slogan: here we go again. >> 712:67:89 california police arrest man they say is responsible for a fiery commuter train derailment that sent nearly 30 people to the hospital.

> this man believes 150 christians have been abducted in recent days by is militants in the northeast of syria. the face of indonesian anger in australia over the planned execution of two convicted drug smugglers. >>> the shameful global response to mass atrocity. amnesty international say ss they put national interests ahead of human rights. we'll talk to the head of amnesty. >>> welcome to the program. aide workers have expressed outrage at the slow pace of rebuilding gaza six months on between the seven week conflict between the militant groups. they say at this rate it will be three more decades before it is rebuilt. 2,220 palestinians were killed as a result of the hostilities in july and august. 1, 1,486 civilians, many children. 67 israeli soldiers were killed during the conflict and five israel soldiers lost their lives. our reporter is in gaza and there for us now in the neighborhood. >> reporter: it lies not far from gaza's border with israel and 61 days after war ss of war it bore the brunt of artillery stricks and underground tunnels dug by hamas and also looking for hamas targets.

people many of them women and children have been abducted by islamic state militants in the northeast of syria. let's bring you more. edward gerard is with me. tell us what we know and are hearing from this area what we know. >> we don't know much apart from the religious authorities following up on this. what we can say so far we have at least 150 people kidnapped by the islamic state in this area witnessing fierce fighting between the islamic state and local if i may call it minorities, that is an alliance between the kurds and the syrians. >> we've just seen a map of the area. explain why this area is particularly significant, in terms of the battle that's going on in that part of the country. >> as you can see, northeast of the country that is leading to has sa ha hasakah. as we said they tried to control the northeast part of the country, and if they manage that they will be in control of 90% of the iraqi borders and a large part of borders with turkey very strategic for them. >> has islamic state kidnapped christians because of their faith, use them as a bargaining chip propaganda reason

during daylight hours, f-16s pounded northeast syria. 20 aircraft involved than hit list included a cityrned safely, to jordan, they performed a victory lap streaking over the pilot's hometown as king abdullah arrived to visit the morning family. the king pointed to the sky, touched his heart an the crowd went wild. back in washington, the dalai lama was visiting and president obama described the islamic state as a brutal, vicious death cult. now no word yet on what jordan hit inside syria. we should learn more about the success of those strikes later on today. >> a lot of people eager to see what happened there, molly. do we know if the u.s. was involved in the strike yesterday? >> 21 u.s. aircraft were involved and all in support roles so refuelling and escorting. u.s. officials tell abc news the targets of yesterday's strike were specifically picked for jordan as they requested an expanded role. >> is this what we can expect to see from jordan maybe in the coming days? >> we might, t.j. u.s. officials hinted we might see more of this. jordan sees isis as a direct threat. they know the

activist groups say 70 christians including women and children, have been abducted by isis in northeast syria. there's some suggestion they could seek a prisoner swap. is that likely? >> no i don't think so. i think what we are witnessing is a new tactic on the part of the so-called islamic state. the new tactic is really mass murders, mass massacres, think of the egyptians and syrians on large scales. it's no longer beheading one person, one journalist. this is a strategy to really terrorize civilian populations. in fact we all know that isis is really waging on no distinctions between civilians and combatants. no limits whatsoever. and i fear, this is really my fear, jose is when the offensive comes in four months or so and if isis faces major setbacks you could really imagine greater massacres. i'm talking about isis controlling people and i hope the coalition led by the united states takes into account the whole idea of protection, the responsibility to protect civilians very seriously because i could imagine really a great massacres on huge scales against civilian populations in both ira

it happened in a mostly christian area in the northeast of syria in the yellow on the map.s not far from the islamic state capital. isis has repeatedly attacked christians and other minorities during their bloody terror campaign. in the meantime officials in spain say they have broken up a recruitment network. they arrested four suspects, two in spain, two in a spanish town along the coast of north africa and police in great britain believe three teenage girls from london have now crossed into. syria. their families begged them to return home after they hopped a flight to turkey. they believe the girls could be on the way to join isis. western officials have said the islamic state is aggressively recruiting women. at least 500 britains have traveled to fight with the extremists often through turkey. analysts estimate 50 are women or girls. recruiters are reportedly using an app that sends encrypted messages to groom young women in the united kingdom. that's according to the daily mail website, it's a newspaper in great britain. john is over here with details on this site, t

a much larger number than usual they say to strike targets in the northeast of syria. foreign minister told me earlier on our afternoon program that they had struck in both syria and iraq. the pentagon informs us now that he was misinformed. at any rate they're said to have struck strategic targets including a convoy of isis fighters, in addition ammunition dump of some sort said to have taken out a specific leader. though the pentagon has not done battle damage assessment yet but will have more details later. long and short of it is the jordanians were involved and in a big way with great support from the united states. american jets flying alongside them. awax planes above offering cover. in addition refueling planes that the united states helped with along the way. and the king has said they need the united states support. they want to be in the fight. i asked the foreign minister today about ground support and he said that in fact there was no talk of that now. just that there isn't from the united states. we talked about the video of their hero pilot being burned