phil black is in northern iraq. he joins us by phone to tell us more. hi phil. >> reporter: hey, carol. the information on the ground it's still a bit patchy. this is very much an unfolding situation. certainly local security forces on the ground iraqi security forces on the ground in al baghdadi they're telling cnn that, yes, much of the town all of the town is under the control of isis. the iraqi central government is saying that iraqi national forces are still fighting isis around this town, around al baghdadi suggesting that some of it is still being contested, but it would certainly seem that isis has made dramatic progress moving into this town taking on a lot of it as you say moving on to that nearby airbase about ten miles away. al asad airbase. it is there we have been told suicide bombers are trying to get to. as many as eight local security forces have told us they have stopped and killed. with one perhaps being able to blow himself up close to the main gate of this base. that's what we've been told. as you would imagine, mortar fire. this ai

evolving mission over northern iraq and syria. as far as we know the united arab emirates has not resumed operations as part of the coalition. so if it was an attempt to respond to those fears, if you like, it does not appear to have been done so successfully. as i say, u.s. official not suggesting that in the first place. the response -- the concerns of the uae were that search and rescue assets were not close enough to the field of operations. the u.s. officials have disputed that. particularly in the case of lieutenant al kasesbeh. the suggestion is that there is very little this could have been done in order to assist him given that where he ejected from where he came down and how quickly he was picked up on the grown there. but the withdrawal of the uae is significant most of all from a perception point of view. it's their involvement as we heard just there along with bahrain, saudi arabia and jorn that allow -- and jordan that allowed the coalition to be presented as not just western in formation but broad including arab cou

now they are in a safe place here in northern iraq. and they're getting help. >> all right, richard, i know they are getting help. you've written a lot more about this. it's on our website. thank you for being with us tonight. >>> we're back with more after this. >>> there was a case of international intrigue playing out tonight that is grabbing attention from argentina to iran and here in the u.s. it started with the death of a prosecutor investigating the president of argentina. it involves allegations of a cover-up, and now conspiracy theories are running wild. we get our report tonight from our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell. >> reporter: argentina's controversial president cristina fernandez at the center of a mystery worthy of grand opera or musical theater. ♪ don't cry for me argentina ♪ >> reporter: a prosecutor dead, a gunshot wound to his head, the night before he was going to present evidence implicating the president in a scandalous deal with iran. a month later his replacement. a new prosecutor now ask

now they are in a safe place here in northern iraq. and they're getting help. >> all right, richard, i know they are getting help. you've written a lot more about this. it's on our website. thank you for being with us tonight. >>> still ahead tonight, a prosecutor found dead right before he was about to implicate a powerful woman in a secret deal with iran. a mystery that has gripped an entire nation. >>> and later, the weekend hot ticket that's already breaking records. records. the real question that needs to be asked is "what is it that we can do that is impactful?" what the cloud enables is computing to empower cancer researchers. it used to take two weeks to sequence and analyze a genome; with the microsoft cloud we can analyze 100 per day. whatever i can do to help compute a cure for cancer, that's what i'd like to do. (woman) caring for someone with alzheimer's means i am a lot of things. i am his guardian. i am his voice. so i asked about adding once-daily namenda xr® to his current treatment for moderate to severe alzheimer's.

our own phil black is on the front lines in northern iraq. that is where we will go live next as our breaking news continues. why do we do it? why do we spend every waking moment, thinking about people? why are we so committed to keeping you connected? why combine performance with a conscience? why innovate for a future without accidents? why do any of it? why do all of it? because if it matters to you it's everything to us. the xc60 crossover. from volvo. lease the well-equipped volvo xc60 today. visit your local volvo showroom for details. [meow mix jingle slowly and quietly plucks] right on cue. [cat meows] ♪meow, meow, meow, meow...♪ it's more than just a meal it's meow mix mealtime. with great taste and 100% complete nutrition, it's the only one cats ask for by name. meet the world's newest energy superpower. surprised? in fact, america is now the world's number one natural gas producer... and we could soon become number one in oil. because hydraulic fracturing technology is safely recovering lots more oil and natural gas. supporting mil

the isis stronghold in northern iraq. and it's another sign of the huge progress the kurds have made in rolling back territory isis initially conquered so easily. >> so we have to drive them out of this entire region. >> the head of the kurdish security council says they have taken back almost all the ground they can until the new retrained iraqi army is ready to take the field. >> there are some limitations of how far we can go because we don't want to create any political sensitivities with the arabs. and for the rest of the region, we need cooperation and the iraqi army to participate. >> much of the territory reclaimed has been scarred dramatically by war. homes flattened. villages wiped out. isis blew up some of these homes as they retreated. others they rigged with explosives to detonate when people returned. they say four people were killed here when they opened the front door. across this recent battle field, people have started returning to what's left of their homes, even as the war against isis still rages, onl

kurdish soldiers known as the [ non-english language ] by far, the strongest fighting force in northern iraq. from a hilltop overlooking mosul in october they showed us territory they got back from

our correspondent ben wedeman is in northern iraq in erbil. good morning, ben. >> reporter: good morning, john. this video is making the rounds but not necessarily making a lot of impact on ordinary kurds in this part of iraq. what you see in the video is orange-clad jumps and men chained by hands and in cages and led anin an interview. you see the men paraded in the back of the pickup trucks in the city currently under isis occupation. during the nine-minute video, you see still photographs of

and the strategic importance here, if these fighters in northern iraq can continue to hold that position continue to control that road it is possible that isis could be split in half between these two countries. between iraq and syria again instead of how it has been for months now which is them controlling territory in both countries as a way this erases the border. >>> we joined kurdish fighters in northern iraq. america's closer allies and travelled to their front line position just outside of mosul. the captain explained why they fought so hard to take and hold this ground. >> this position is strategic because from here we control the road from syria, he said. now we have cut it off, cutting the road means the kurds have severed isis's main supply line and isis wants it back. >> there was just a incoming round and luckily it overshot this position. you see where the fighters are looking. let's find a more secure area. >> the kurds fire back to keep back isis. sometimes mortar attacks followed by ambushes. the kurts took this base and have lost three men holding it. they will lose mo

what are they trying to accomplish there in northern iraq? >> reporter: it's in no sense about to seize the city of erbil, which is quite big. this battle took place 30 miles to the west of erbil. it went on for about 5 1/2 hours. it was intense, one of the most intense battles that's taken place in this area in several months. but as you mentioned at the beginning of this broadcast, as a result of incoming coalition air strikes and the efforts of the peshmerga, the kurdish fighters themselves, they were able to repel the advancing isis forces. but it underscores some of the weaknesses of the kurdish force, they don't have any night vision, they don't have any air cover other than the coalition. they don't have any of their own aircraft. and, of course, they're working with very antiquated, in some cases, weaponry. so it's still quite a challenge. but erbil is in no sense under threat at this point from isis. >> ben wedeman in erbil, thank you. to richard roth now, richard, what are you hearing about new isis atrocities just in this morning?

this very very wide stretch that they defend about 1,000 kilometers of the front lines here in northern iraq christine. >> tell us a little bit about why erbil is so important for these isis fighters and why they have been so persistent the last couple of weeks in trying to break through those kurdish lines. >> reporter: they're persistent everywhere. they're not just persistent in attacking that particular sector. they launched a major assault on kirkuk at the very end of january under cover of fog and darkness which is what they like. and that took three days to repel. again, with the help of a lot of airstrikes. what they're trying to do is keep the kurdish forces here off balance. they're trying to hit them at different points along this long line all because they want to protect mosul, their crown jewel in northern iraq. the place which is really the spiritual home of isis. if they lose mosul, then the game is up in this part of iraq. but they're making a very determined effort to make sure that they can hold on to mosul for months to come, and there's no sign yet of the iraqi army step

the yazidis are a small community of less than a million people, found primarily in northern iraq. a private and conservative community, they practice an ancient religion, which draws on islam, judaism, christianity, and the persian religion of zoroastrianism. last august, members of the islamic state group attacked the yazidis, whom they consider heretics. these pictures of yazidis trapped on sinjar mountain stunned the world. hundreds of thousands fled for their lives after islamic state fighters executed many of the men and took thousands of women and girls as slaves. this 13-year-old girl was taken and later escaped. >> ( translated ): they brought everyone to a school and put the women upstairs and drove the men away. i didn't want to let my mother go but they were pulling us from our mothers and beating us. the children were all put in cars. they said we're going to sell you to others and you will have sex with them. the last time i saw my mother was when they took me away. >> reporter: this islamic state video, which went viral last fall, appears to show an islamic state fig

i had been to northern iraq in late february. the u.s.ending cruise missiles into northern iraq. this was right around that area. a group of journalists went in a convoy and were waiting on a road where the village is. the villages were emptying out. we were interviewing people as they would come out. all the locals were saying to us, get out of here, it is not safe. we said, we will leave. but journalists linger and want to get reporting. we were getting final interviews and photos. i got this feeling in the pit of my stomach. i ran to our car, shut the door. a massive explosion went off 20 yards behind us. it had been a car bomb. >> next slide is iraq, 2003 as well. >> the white sheets are filled with remains of body's. there was a mass grave south of baghdad. it was several weeks after saddam hussein was deposed. the initial scene was this incredible landscape of the earth dug out. people walking around, pulling plastic bags out of the ground and looking at the remnants and trying to identify relatives through a bag of bones and clothi

certainly in kurdistan, northern iraq if does appear that they have stopped isis advances in this part of the country. in fact the kurds have gained several hundred dreads of kilometers back. but if you look south in anbar province the iraqi army is still on the defensive. and broader still, look at the situation in libya. there are a few bright spots when you look around. but the grander picture is that isis' expansion has not been stopped. and certainly doesn't show any signs of dramatically slowing down when you consider, for instance the growing influence in libya. here in kurdistan, yes, they seem to have been halted in their tracks for the time being. errol will? >> certainly those peshmerga fighters doing all that they can with what they have. ben wedeman, live inner bill thanks. >>> we attorney heightened security at the mall of america. one of the biggest shopping centers in the u.s. >> attention -- >> authorities staged a security lockdown at the sprawling complex near minneapolis on monday. that's after the somalian terror group al shabaab called for lone wolf attacks on the

military is moving rescue teams into northern iraq in the murder of the aftermath of the jordanian pilot. >>> it would strike back against members of i.s.i.l. set the captured fighter pilot on fire and filmed the result. mu'ath al kasasbeh is not only a martyr but for all of jordan, we support his family forever. >> kasasbeh's fellow pilots got the order and bombed multiple targets in the region. it is not known how long jordan can keep up the pace or for how where, but relocated some personal recovery efforts into northern iraq many for pilots who crash in enemy territory. in washington the jordanian ambassador read out a message from king abdullah about the fight ahead. this is a war the world cannot afford the lose. against today's threats to go beyond and to build the conditions for humanity and to live together in peace. >>> in a.m.man mu'ath al kasasbeh's brother made a statement. >> translator: we will not allow anyone to utilize mu'ath's story and to utilize the country he grew up in. >>> a reaction growing out of anger and understandable grief. rosalyn jordan, al jazeera washing

. >> i want to go to northern iraq right now. phil black is on the scene for us in the middle of that fighting in northern iraq. how is this likely to play over there where you are, phil the statement by the president that we all just heard? >> reporter: well wolf you heard the president talking about local forces being best in place to take the fight to isis. up until now that meant only one local force and that's the peshmerga, the military force of iraqi kurdistan. this has been the fighting force that has been on the ground stopping the isis advance in this region of northern iraq steadily rolling back their gains and it's the same fighting force that's now contained them and limited the area of operation to isis within this region. now, the leadership of that fighting force does not expect greater u.s. involvement on the ground here. that's what they tell us. that's a source of disappointment to them. they would love greater commitment that could include ground forces but if not ground forces than some other form of greater

. >> leaders have devastated sites across northern iraq and syria.crude equipment, they destroy as much as they steal. they then sell the artifacts on the international black market. the stolen goods are often smuggled through neighboring turkey or lebanon. western collectors pay high prices. their purchases make cooks rich and often help finance islamic state. the jihadists control large swathes of northern iraq, including the city of mosul. after the 2003 invasion of iraq, the national museum in baghdad was looted and ransacked. the museum has been able to recover some of what was lost, but it remains closed to the public to this day. >> while art is being destroyed in some spots in the middle east in other places it is being made. >> new paintings from the mysterious british graffiti artist banksy have appeared in the gaza strip. the popular street art was confirmed on his website -- street artist confirmed on his website that the pictures are his. banksy claims to have snuck into gaza from egypt through an underground tunnel. the works are meant

this story since isis first started march of terror in syria she filed this report from doha in northern iraq. >> this is my fifth visit to iraq since isis swept across the country last year. i came here wanted to find out what are the extremists are any closer iraqi national army is still in disarray, as it has been since many of its soldiers found their weapons and ran away from isis in june. tried to beat back isis, relying on shiite muslim militias, we encountered them where they just won decisive victory over isis. the problem is that the brigade is in the murder and torture of thousands of sunni muslims. just a few days before our visit they were accused of killing more than 70 un-armed sunni men in that same area. that means that one of america's best allies in the fight against isis here in iraq is a notorious levi lent militia group. this week we also crossed in to syria where they have very different. isis gained ground there during the airstrike. where kurdish are holding out against extremists. one of those young fighters is a 2-year-old elementary schoolteacher who quit her job t

yazidis are now scattered across northern iraq in camps like this waiting for isis to be driven from their towns and villages. but they say they will never go back to sinjar because they will never forget what they saw and would never feel safe there again. >> phil black is joining us now live from erbil in northern iraq. the u.s.-led coalition, they've been targeting these air strikes in these air strikes against isis targets in the region lately. does it seem to be having much of an impact? >> reporter: it has, wolf. there's no doubt. together those air strikes along with those kurdish peshmerga fighters on the ground they have successfully cleared thousands of square miles. driven isis out. but as we know air power alone won't finish the job. and also there's every sense that these kurdish fighters are very much aware of their limits as well because while they are prepared the clear small villages open ground, they're not moving into big towns and cities. that's why they're not yet moving into sinjar, for example. they are holding off, waiting, druing perimeters around these towns

. >>> the united states is moving more troops and hardware in northern iraq. teams shifted in the event if a plane is shot down in the isis territory. isis brutality showing no signs of slowing down. united nations committee says militants are selling abducted iraqi children as sex slaves and killing others and using others as human shields. children of all backgrounds have all been rounded up. that is going on in iraq and syria. officials in libya raising alarms that isis is expanding there. isis claimed responsibility for storming one of the largest oil fields in libya. >>> hackers stolen information from anthem. the company says it is investigating, but up to 80 million records compromised. that makes this one of the largest breaches in corporate history. names and birthdays and social security and addresses and job information and pay data. anthem the second largest health insurer in the united states will notify current and former customers if their data was affected. anthem's ceo says his information was stolen in the hack. no word yet who is behind it.

kurdish fighters are gaining ground in northern iraq. richard engel got an exclusive close-up look at the fight on the front lines. more from him in a minute. but back here at home president obama is on the verge of seeking new expanded authority from congress to crush the isis threat. he wants both parties on board but speaker john boehner is warning him it won't be easy. let's get more on all these stories now. keir simmons, richard engel, chris jansing at the white house. let's go to the capital of jordan where it is 4:00 in the afternoon, that's where we find keir simmons. we're just seeing the leading edge of jordan's assaults on isis. >> i think you're right. the minister here saying they plan to throw everything they've got at isis. 30 air strikes. more we believe today that haven't been confirmed and there are reports of further strikes around that area of iraq in which isis' stronghold in syria. an extraordinary show op public opinion here in jordan. thousands on the streets. as you said that protest headed up by queen rania her

is moving more assets into northern iraq.ntagon for more answers. s one reason 100% of our retirement funds beat their 10-year lipper averages. so wherever your long-term goals take you we can help you feel confident. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. call us or your advisor. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. >>> the jordanians want to increase the number of airstrikes they're carrying out. >> at the end of the day it's going to take a regional force beyond jordan. >> i don't want to see it being american ground forces carrying the heavy load again. >> it has to have moderate arab nations bringing this force to bear. >> may day may day, engine flameout. >> the final seconds of trans asia airways flight. >> flameout means the engine has lost its combustion. >> this toddler somehow survived. >> screaming, yelling. it was just total panic. >> smoke and flames poured out of a packed metro-north train. >> i was very

our correspondent ben wedeman is in northern iraq in erbil. good morning, ben. >> reporter: good morning, john. this video is making the rounds but not necessarily making a lot of impact on ordinary kurds in this part of iraq. what you see in the video is orange-clad jumps and men chained by hands and in cages and led anin an interview. you see the men paraded in the back of the pickup trucks in the city currently under isis occupation. during the nine-minute video, you see still photographs of those beheadings of egyptian christians that happened last week in libya. it ends with a tight shot on one of the prisoners. no executions as far as we know but certainly the implication is it is a very good possibility. now as this happens, of course there has been a fair amount of fighting on the front between isis fighters and the kurdish forces. to the south of here an assault or attempted assault by isis in an area. we were there the other day. they tried to break through the lines there, but between the kurds and coalition air strikes, they failed.

. >> pelley: holly is joining us from northern iraq now. holly, the terrorist you were traveling through is extraordinarily dangerous and i wonder what the mood of the people will was today. >> reporter: well, scott as you know, it's always nerve-racking for us when we're approaching a front line, and on that front line the fighters are extremely tense because they're expecting a surprise attack at any moment. but if you go back just a few miles from there you see ordinary people who are trying to live their lives -- going to the shops farming and even going to school. >> pelley: was there any awareness among the people there of what happened to the jordanian pilot? >> reporter: they knew about it certainly, from reading and watching the news. one commander who we spoke to said, you know it's terrible what happened but at least it shows everyone in the world what we're going through here fighting against i.s.i.s. >> pelley: more intrepid reporting from holly williams in northern iraq. holly, thank you very much. today ashton carter nominate

black. >> reporter: behind me is the most important piece of territory isis still controls in northern iraq. mosul. it is iraq's second biggest city you can see here at the tom of mount zartak one off the closest positions of the fighters the peshmerga, who have drawn a line around the fighters. from here, there is a commanding view from mosul and the south and towns surrounding it and still occupied by isis as well. on this day, overhead has been the constant sound of aircraft fast moving aircraft. we have seen what appears to be a slower moving larger reconnaissance aircraft of some countdown, and then frequently repeatedly often very close to one another, the sound of large blasts in the distance. it is a hazy day, not the best day to view mosul from this location but you still have a very clear idea of what lies between the lines that have been established by the kurdish fighters around the south and southwest of this city and that no man's land in between, leading up to mosul itself. >> joining me right now from northern iraq is phil black. phil you've been to several locations on the

our phil black joins me now from northern iraq. what do you think, phil? this is key. whether the kurdish forces can retake mosul. we have heard reports of isis fighters removing families from mosul. what are the chances that the peshmerga forces can be successful here? >> reporter: poppy what they are doing effectively is circling mosul on all sides. all four points of the compass. we saw this firsthand at a very important frontline position where kurdish forces managed to cut off the most direct supply route between isis-held territory and the syrian occupied city of mosul. it was that position there that we saw kurdish fighters come under fire from snipers. they responded with machine gunfire and mortal fire and sniper fire as well. it is these kurdish forces along with international air power that have significantly rolled back the territory that isis concurred easily when it invaded the region of northern iraq. we are being told the same thing. various frontline positions around here. the kurdish fighters believe that isis to a significant degree is on the back fo

"everybody knows it." >> pelley: and holly williams is joining us now from northern iraq. holly, the badr brigades have always had strong ties to iran. what is the connection now? >> . >> reporter: well, scott iranian officials have admitted their quds special forces are fighting against isis here in iraq. that means that in iraq the u.s. is on the same side as both an infamously brutal militia and iran. and that really shows just how complicated the battle against isis has become. >> pelley: more intrepid reporting tonight from holly williams. holly, thanks so much. a prosecutor was set to blame iran in a deadly synagogue bombing. did that cost him his life? that story when the "cbs evening news" continues. jack's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today, his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before your begin an aspirin regimen. there's only one egg that gives you better taste and better nutrition in so many varieties. classic. cage free. and organic. only egg

she joins us tonight in northern iraq. holly, what can you tell us about the video? >> reporter: well, scott it's a highly produced video including graphics and multiple camera angles. it runs about 22 minutes, at the end of which the pilot is locked in a cage and then burned to death. now, the extremists actually quote a 14th century religious text which says that disfigurement is an acceptable form of execution. and that's, apparently, an attempt to justify this murder. the pilot is also shown with the extremists being led through what they say is destruction caused by u.s.-led air strikes. and the message there for all muslim countries that have sided with the u.s. against isis is very clear, that the extremists intend to punish their governments and their citizens. >> pelley: and the reaction in jordan tonight? >> reporter: well, scott the jordanian nation has been in agony over the last few days. jordan, which is a staunch u.s. ally actually offered to release a failed female suicide bomber who is on death row in return for the pilot and in doing so jordan becam

. >>> in northern iraq, kurdish peshmerga forces have been at the forefront of the about thal againstozens of them have been captured by the group and others killed. zeina khodr has been speaking to the family of one victim who was beheaded by isil. >> reporter: he is too young to understand what happened to his father. he was beheaded by the us lack the state of iraq and the levant. he was a kurdish peshmerga fighter who was captured in june. his wife can't speak. she's in shock. and so are her children. but they are also proud of their father because he died defending their land. >> translator: they kidnapped my father and kill him in a beautiful way. we ask our leaders to help us bring bass his body. >> reporter: he belonged to the tribe, his village is just a few kilometers from the village of the man who beheaded him on video. the killer was identified as a cured from the zabai describe. they are at war with isil but the armed group has kurds in its ranks, there are no official numbers but isil says it as a kurdish unit. >> i am very sad and angry but what made me more angry that

orces beat back a major assault by isis fighters in northern iraq one of several developments in the war against isis. kurdish commanders say their forces were able to repel the isis assault after hours of what they describe as heavy fighting. they say 40 isis militants were killed. also cnn has now learned that the u.s. is maintaining what's being described as a secret kill list of isis leaders. at the top, abark al baghdadi. the list of about two dozen operatives belonging to isis is growing. is isis telling organs at the same time for murdered civilians to help finance this terrorist onslaught? iraq's ambassador to the united nations says maybe. he's asking the united nations security council to investigate. and president obama speaks today at the white house summit on combatting violent extremism. at least 60 countries are taking part in that event. meanwhile, heavy fighting in close contact. kurdish troops were able to bush isis back. the battle unfolded southwest of erbil, that's the kurdish capital. our senior international correspondent ben wedeman is in erbil with the latest

> isil has pursueed a systemic strategy of expelling all minorities from a large sway from northern western iraq, and also in northern syria. we fear that affect is going to be permanent. communities like some of those you mentioned yazidis, turk men, some of them have lived in that part of iraq for up to 4,000 years. but many of the displaced people that i spoke to when i was last in iraq said that they could never go back. not just because of the atrocities they've been subjected to but also because they felt that there was no one prepared to protect them on the side of the iraqi government, and that actually too many of their former neighbors had been complicit in their expulsion. now we have seen isil destroy systematically the artifacts or sculptures of many of these civilizations. so they really do feel much of what they have left behind has been destroyed. >> we've seen the persecution of minorities intensify since isil took over large parts of northern iraq. i was reading what you were saying. you also think that it happened before. i mean, this is just the final push in a sense. >> yes,

cbs news has learned the pentagon will deploy search-and- rescue helicopters in northern iraq to reach downed pilots faster. alka says ba ended up in enemy hands after his fighter plane crashed in syria in december. >> the fact is we were not in a position to locate the pilot before he was picked up by isil forces. >> reporter: the u.s. along with jordan and other coalition forces have kept up air strikes against the terror group in iraq and syria conducting more than a dozen in recent days. >> this is a moment where the brutality of what isis has demonstrated is really not winning them many followers in the moderate sunni arab states and galvanized jordan to fight against them. >> reporter: as jordan considers sending in ground troops to fight isis, members of congress are calling on the white house to boost military aid to the country. republicans and democrats want the obama administration to move quickly to provide aircraft parts, night vision equipment and other weapons to jordan. >> we certainly are interested in maintaining a strong military-to-military national security ties we

since its incursion into northern iraq last summer, the group has laid waste to libraries, temples andes. and the region now under its control contains nearly 1,800 of iraq's 12,000 registered archaeological sites. in paris today, unesco director- general irina bokova called this newest act in mosul a "war crime" that the world must punish. but, she said: >> i know that there is not much that we can do in order to go there on the site. unesco doesn't have an army, unesco doesn't have blue helmets or anything else. >> brown: meanwhile in war-torn syria, satellite images show extensive looting of archaeological sites, for relics reportedly sold on the black market to finance islamic state operations. today unesco announced the creation of a global coalition against the trafficking of illegal objects, to meet in the coming weeks. we turn to: barnard haykel, a professor of near east studies at princeton university and michael danti, a professor of archaeology at boston university who specializes in this region. let me start with you, michael danti. i know ex pieforts have been looking -- e

in the meantime i want to go to our correspondent, phil black, who joins us from erbil in northern iraq right now. i assume most people who deal with isis don't believe anything they basically say. so they're taking this obviously very skeptically. >> reporter: yeah wolf the people here in response to any outlandish act or claim by isis tend to respond with little surprise because these are the people who have very busy fighting isis every single day on the front lines. interesting to note while isis has maintained this propaganda war so fiercely its military campaign in northern iraq hasn't been going so well. last year they charged across the border claiming a lot of territory. since then kurdish fighters on the ground have done a great deal not only to stop that advance but roll back many of those territorial gains that isis had made to the point where kurdish fighters on the ground now believe they are winning this war, winning the fight against isis, they say. that does not mean that victory is imminent that isis is about to be defeated once and for all in northern iraq. but as i s

let's watch it. >> reporter: we joined kurdish fighters in northern iraq, america's closest allies in the war and traveled to their newest front line position just outside moes ulg. the captain explained why he and his men fought so hard to take and hold this ground. this position is from strategic, we control the road from syria, he said. now, we've cut it off. cutting the road means the kurds have severed isis' main supply line between iraq and syria. and isis wants it back. >> there was just an incoming round in this area. luckily it overshot this position and you can see where the soldiers there shall the kurdish fighters are looking at the smoke and there comes in another round. so let's try and find a more secure area. the kurds fire back to keep back isis. sometimes mortar attacks followed by ambushes. the kurds took this base and have already lost three men holding it. they'll lose many more they say, unless they get a lot more help from washington and soon. >> richard, it's very -- >> there are as you know american military -- go ahead. >> they are really challenging. if you

. >>> kurdish forces in northern iraq say the tide is turning in their fight against isis.e visit to the front lines just outside of erbil. >>> a warm welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. this is "cnn newsroom." i'm rosemary church. >> i'm errol barnett. our last half-hour of the day with us. in headlines, hundreds of syrian christian families taking refuge in a cathedral in northeastern syria. the human rights activists say more than 150 men, women, and children weren't so fortunate. they were taken hostage by isis as militants overran two nearby villages. >>> in california, the driver of a truck involved in a crash with a commuter train has been arrested on suspicion of felony hit and run. no one died in the wreck but dozens were injured. officials believe the truck driver mistook the train tracks for the road and tried to turn on to them. federal authorities are investigating. >>> a jury? texas has found eddie ray routh guilty of murdering american sniper author chris kyle and his friend chad littlefield. routh was sentenced to

the military moved personnel into northern iraq. this comes after news that the united arab emirates, the uae, suspended coalition strikes out of concern that search and rescue teams were not close to the pilots. in the meantime in jordan more reaction to and retaliation for the isis murder of the captive pilot. jomana karadsheh with more. what do they plan to do in terms of air strikes in the coming hours? >> reporter: what we're hearing from officials aeshdsnderson, the jordanians want to increase the number of airspace they carry out as part of their coalition missions. the number of these air strikes is going to depend on a number of factors, including weather and where these targets are. we have heard the consistent message from the jordanians by king abdullah. they say they're going to respond and the retaliation is going to be severe and harsh. this is something many people want to see here. not everyone in this country anderson backed the government's decision in the king's decision to join the coalition against isis but we

police and that's why we're seeking assistance in terms of training. >> we have more from erbil in northern iraq. >> iraq yet again asking for more help from the international community, in the words of the prime minister al abadi, we are facing a well-trained enemy an enemy developing quality weapons. at the end of the day isil has not been able to take more territory. we've seen the kurds here in the north manage to recapture a number of villages, the iraqi forces backed by shia militias capture a number of areas in the south, but isil controls mosul tikrit cities in anbar. this war cannot be won just militarily. there needs to be unity in iraq, reconciliation. what we're seeing is new facts being created on the ground and communities still distrust each other. in the south when shia militias recapture territory, the shia population don't return. it's similar in the north. when the kurds push forward villages end up depopulated so iraq's prime minister needs to find a way to bring iraq's communities politicians together and make this a fight for iraq, for the time being it seems each community

it plans to deploy search-and- rescue helicopters to northern iraq so they can reach downed pilots more quickly. u.s.-led coalition has been keeping up air strikes in iraq and syria. >> this is a moment where the brutality of what isis has demonstrated is really not winning them many followers in the moderate sunni ar rap states and certainly is galvanizing jordan to fight against them. >> the entire senate armed services committee is now urging the president to move quickly to provide aircraft parts, night vision equipment and other gear to jordan. >>> recent apartment building fires in san francisco are prompting new legislation. supervisors jane kim and david campos will offer details of their plan at a news conference later this morning. they are calling for stronger especially forcement of safety requirements -- stronger enforcement of safety requirements in residential buildings and faster timelines for reconstruction of apartment buildings damaged by fire. >>> california has filed an appeal in hopes of reinstating the ban in the delicacy foie gras. last month a federal judge ruli