it is not easy to do. >> getting into northern syria. >> telling the story. >> it was fascinating, itas exciting. a shout out to the production team that made it happen. getting the right fixer, the right retired security guide to lead us. and the brave syrians to talk to us. the islamic al qaeda version were down the road. the guys came to us saying they are staring down there, it would be a good time to get back. it was very exciting. >> in a column he wrote, there was a wiki leaks? >> it is quite interesting. i forget which year it was. 2008. the u.s. indices saw this coming. they sell this all coming. they were talking to syrian officials and were saying if we don't get more aid to the farmers this place is going to blow. our in this he reported that. they were on the case. >> when ford was ambassador? >> someone else. but, they saw it coming. they were talking to syrian officials. it did blow. >> a point with respect to particular storms, everyone is looking when they see these storms having an impact, or a drought, or fires, is this because of climate change and global warming?

they have strongholds in significant parts of northern syria. somerners including british muslims have trained and fought with them. it is helping to increase isis' power in a rack. they took falluja and have taken mosul. go further, to create a caliphate. is their later seen as a brilliant man durant tech titian, that'll hardened since insurgency.iraqi was the envoy for syria i did indicate that unless we find ways of resolving this. crisis it would spread through the region. see a movement that is likely to operate cross order linking syria and iraq. of which makes this particularly interesting. they are moving to syria to broaden their fight there as well. it is possible to verify button matches the fears of western government of conflict feeding on each other. shocking as the fall of the cities has been there is no of westernstern -- intervention. >> on iraqi -- capital hill they the release of bergdahl. >> we complied with the law and we believed we acted in the best interest of our country and the military and sergeant virgil. we protect a

known as the islamic state with an aim to unite the territory under its control from parts of northern syriarts of eastern iraq and iraq says it is a threat to all countries. this is how its supporters in syria greeted the news in the town of racka and said they will join the islamic state but no word from the major rival al-qaeda, meanwhile the government is also claiming it is retaking a strategic crossing on the border with jordan. the islamic state now renamed islamic state is made up of several thousand armed men and significant amount of foreign fighters and linked to other sunni groups in iraq, they are talking about al-qaeda affiliates in the area of a true heir of bin-ladin and leader of all muslims and the objective is to have a mobile islamic state and we are joined from baghdad and isil has a new identity and new territory ambitions and how big of a game changer is this for iraq? >> well, that is something i have been speaking to various people across the iraqi political spectrum and i have been told by a politician who is close to prime minister maliki is they dismissed it and s

border crossing that we're hearing and that should show you that the map with these towns -- in northern syria, it is significant all the same, itause it is only one -- could open the door to fighters joining isis. advance against the army. however, they probably don't want to stretch themselves. they do need to keep up the pressure on the regime in syria and on the other groups that are fighting there, so they should probably not overstate this merger, this tie up on the border. we also need to bear in mind the strong history of animosity between these groups. remember that when isis first turned up in syria -- and try to employ their authority, they very much resisted that. whether there is enough trust for a big merger between these two groups is an open question at the moment. >> thank you very much for that. john kerry, the u.s. secretary of state was in a rack -- in a iraq and said that russia must come down hard on the ukraine to disarm those militias in the eastern part of the country. >> the ukraine, we are in full agreement that it is critical for russia to show in the next hours, th

the area which it claims to control stretches from aleppo to northern syria to eastern iraq. the iraqi army is locked in a battle to regain control in the northern city of tikrit. it's the largest offensive launched since fighters seized the city three weeks ago. >>> iraq's army, here on state it gets reinforcements in the battle for tich rilt. the military insists this the road to the town is secure, and the villages along the way have been taken, and iraqi soldiers are on the outskirts. independent sources say they are 25km from the town. >> translation: up to this moment more than 70 terrorists were killed, and dozens of vehicles, used in the province near tikrit, have been destroyed. >> although the vast majority of the fighters belong to the sunni rebel group, it's the islamic state of iraq and levant who are in control of the media campaign, and they dispute what the government says. his claims have been dismissed by i.s.i.l. they say they are in control of the city, are willing to fight and have reinforcements. they say the i.s.i.l. leader is going to deliver a message

an area around northern syria and iraq and closing the area around baghdad. susan mcginnis is in washington. good morning. susan. >> good morning, anne-marie. as the white house considers its next move in iraq, it is sending hundreds of u.s. troops there. they are combat ready. but the president insists they are going there simply to protect american personnel and the embassy in baghdad. and not to engage in direct fighting. >> reporter: president obama is in discussions with his national security team about possible military action to stop the advance of militants from the islamic state of iraq and syria. isis has already overrun cities and towns in northern iraq and the group promises it will attack baghdad. secretary of state john kerry said the president is exploring all options including air strikes. >> it's not the whole answer, but it may well be one of the options that are important. >> reporter: the president told congress that 225 military personnel could be used to protect the embassy in baghdad. a senior official said the white house is considerin

much of the success achieved by isis and other extremist fighters has its roots in northern syria.he capital of damascus, the free syrian army is still prominent, and western governments refused to supply them with weapons. crossing some of the territory in damascus, we brought you this report. >> when supporters of president they went to celebrate, race around damascus as is serious has won the world cup. in their world, their president is a man who stands between them and the islamic extremists of isis and al qaeda. but just 20 minutes away from the streets of central damascus, there are syrian's who see their country very differently. city,s the road to one one of the suburbs of the city held by armed rebels. this place has been fought over for close to three years. on the side of the rebels is the free syrian army. be a localpposed to cease-fire, but it is fragile. >> this is the main road. the syrian army used to be 50 arers away, and now they 150 meters from here. >> how well is the cease-fire holding here? >> not very well. you can hear the clashes. in this dusty, broken pla

it covers areas in northern syria and eastern iraq. isis changed its name to the islamic state and vows to expand to other territories. muslims around the world criticize the move. we reject the establishment of an islamic state because it is built on terrorism. it is not an islamic state. it is a terrorist state. iraq will remain for the iraqis. retaking the city of tikrit is a priority for the army. it is lobalingted on a main transport connection. >> time now for business news. argentina say its won't be brought to its knees. that is the slogan as parking lot of an ad campaign in major newspapers over the weekend. >> argentina is facing another default on the national debt. an american court blocked them from paying current bondholders without paying the hedge funds that went empty handed back in 2001. >> they are furious. they blame hedge fund managers for once again pushing their country to the brink of default. a small group of bondholders demanding full payments of debts left over from a previous default in 2001. a u.s. court or

in northern syria, kurdish fighters are in control of areas on the border. in the brown area, it's contested and has seen intensifying. >> the u.n. humanitarian chief has worn 11 million syrians are in need of aid. valerie amos made an assessment in an trees to the security council. >> 241,000 live under siege conditions, unable to leave their communities, and we are unable to get in to deliver much-needed humanitarian assistance. sense my last briefing to the council, only 2,467 people, or 1% of those in besieged areas received much-needed food assistance. mr president, this level of obstruction is uphuman and goes against the bake commitment to human dignity and rights that u.n. member states agree to in chapter one, article one of the u.n. charter. >> across the border in iraq. the government has retaken the largest oil refinery, there has been competing claims, but the army released these pictures saying it proves they control the oil refinery. sunni fighters are reported to still be in control of the neighbouring town. >> the iraqi army launched on offe

the strong holds in northern syria include the city of iraqa, and it's fighting their rivals for control of the asule. since jan they've been fighting in the anbar province, taking over fallujah and parts of ramadi. they vol part of the kirkuk province. we have more on the group and its hims. >> reporter: it has become one of the most power of the fighting groups. thousands of foreign fighters make up the tracks. they are led by the mysterious figure, captured by forces in iraq, but later released. the group has origins in al qaeda and iraq. za cowy was killed by forces in 2006. the croupias known as -- group was known as islamic state of iraq and levant. the new leader was killed by iraqi forces in 2010. the group got a new leader. >> this is the unofficial affiliation of al qaeda. it subdescribes to al qaeda ideologies, it's an extremist militant organization in the jihadest family. the group moves to syria. it is trying to bring another jihadi group under his control. al qaeda disowned him. that didn't stop the campaign. his route controlled parts of eastern syria. in january, i.s.i.l

what is certain is that these oil fields in northern syria that are controlled by islamists are a source of income for isis. there is also money from extortion and kidnapping. and bank robberies, last week, the terrorist group stole four hundred 30 million dollars from the central bank in mozilla. this provides more money to pay their fighters and buying new weapons to wage their battles. >> joining us now from the german institute for international and security affairs. isis seized use amounts of money. do we know what else they took? >> they got hundreds of tanks and they also that helicopters. we don't know how many. i think in terms of equipment, they have got a lot. >> the group is already well-equipped. >> they got a lot of free weapons. american weapons. i think they got so many equipments in the recent attack. >> how strong would you say they are in terms of numbers? >> several hundred. some say up to 10,000. but, they are not the only faction on the ground, there are other factions, so they are not -- >> who is leading the organization? >> we don't know many things about him. >>

isis is even cashing in on oil, selling crude from oil fields they took control of in northern syriae syrian government. the "new york times" reports isis is also selling electricity from captured power plants back to the government, too. >> they also do a lot of the traditional terrorist fund-raising activities -- kidnapping, robbing, thieving, they're involved in the drug trade, they have money laundering schemes. >> the daily beast josh rogan reports isis has been funded for years by wealthy private donors living in countries the u.s. considers allies -- countries like kuwait, qatar and and that governments know it's happen bug choose to look away. >> the government could have plausible deniability and say they weren't funding them directly. >> now back to the numbers. if you do the math, isis may be worth at least $500 million after la last attack on that bank in mosul. in 2011, the taliban was said to be worth an estimated $70 million to $400 million. even al qaeda can't compete. al qaeda had an operating budget of about $30 million a year before the 9/11 attacks. and all of thi

rebels declared a calafat on a stretch of territory from northern syria to eastern iraq.s asking all muslims and armed groups to pledge allegiance towards it. the taliban established a foothold in afghanistan in a 10-day battle against afghan forces. a coordinated assault between checkpoints and military posts. >>> india launched five foreign satellites from anber pradesh. >>> the new elected prime minister narendra modi was there to witness the launch. >>> the opposition free syrian army responded to the announce the of the new calafat in iraq and syria. the faa says it's prepared to cooperate with the united states and allies to defeat the sunni rebel group calling itself the islamic state. the supporters of the group known as islamic state of iraq and levant fired shots in the eastern city of raqa in syria. the key to defeating the al qaeda offshoot was to strengthen the tribes and the free syrian army fighters. the free syrian army set up an operation center, these pictures are set to show fighters heading to a province laying near the border with iraq. the turmoil in

the strong holds in northern syria include the city of iraqa, and it's fighting their rivals for control of the asule.

now, their strongholds in northern syria include the city of elraqa. since january they have been in the anbar province, pushing into fallujah and parts of ramadi. since tuesday, they control mosul, parts of kooert cook. former iraqi ambassador to the raigss says the -- united nations says the current situation is linked to political failure. >> this is a problem many of us were concerned about when the negotiations in 2002 were occurring between iraq and the united states, about the withdrawal of american forces. many thought that iraqi troops were not ready to take over the security. the truth of the matter was the americans were never able to truly secure the country to the extent that they were able to reduce the violence. they did so with general pet ray us through a political arrangements. those agreements were reneged upon with the end result that we are having to live with. there has to be a political solution. you have to suffero kate the ground in which those who are refusing to accept the new pal arty in iraq - you have to suffer kate them o

the report is based on violence that erupted in northern syria in january. >>> benghazi suspect, ahmed abu khattala is now reportedly being held in a detention center near washington, d.c. he arrived in the u.s. yesterday and made his first appearance in federal court pleading not guilty to a charge of conspiracy. chief intelligence correspond ant, kathryn harris, was there at the hearing, joining us live now from washington. so kathryn, what are we learning now about his interrogation? >> i was less than 25 feet from the benghazi suspect in court. and while he appeared dazed as he first entered the courtroom, once he looked around and as soon as the judge spoke, he became laser-like on his focus, hanging on the judge's every word. he had his hands behind his back. as plain-clothes fbi agents looked on. his demeanor seemed to shift from dazed to focused and then down almost at the pressed as the gravity of his situation became clear. this morning, we are confirming new information about his interrogation on the "uss new york." he was described by a u.s. official as compliant, but not s

isis now holds territory across northern syria, and now that it's a regional threat, mr. obama is reversing himself and asking congress for half a billion dollars to support moderate syrian rebels who oppose isis. here's senior white house correspondent bill plante. >> reporter: the administration's request for new arms and aid to the syrian rebels is an about-face amid growing alarm over the gains made by islamist forces in iraq and syria. president obama has long been reluctant for the u.s. to become more involved in syria. just last week, he told norah o'donnell on "cbs this morning" why he has resisted pressure to arm the rebels. >> the notion that they were in a position suddenly to overturn not only assad but also ruthle ruthless, highly trained jihadists, if we just sent a few arms is a fantasy. >> reporter: the $500 million request would fund u.s. training of rebels in neighbor, countries, most likely jordan. it would supply small arms, but not the anti-aircraft missiles the rebels are seeking. the president fears those could easily fall into the hands of extremis

city missile and now saddam hussein's hometown of to create the group which is spread out over northern syria iraq now controls nearly a third of iraq and more chordal territory than the governments of israel and lebanon according of a long one journal besides mosul and to create isis now controls the cities of ramadi and fallujah as well as other smaller cities and they were going to say she has vowed that will soon be marching toward baghdad the occupation of these cities has led to more than half a million people to flee mosul seeking safer areas of the country and although baghdad is currently secure from takeover violence in the city has largely continued unabated with more than sixty people killed just this week and with a new wave of car bombings throughout the capital these.

isis now occupies territories stretching from northern syria to northern iraq. and iraq's second largest city was taken last week. isis now threatens samarra believed to be the birth place of its leader. >> holly williams has been covering the rise of isis for years now. she joins us this evening from the northern city of erbil. what do we know about isis's leadership. >> well, jeff, the group's mysterious leader is a man known as abu bakr al baghdadi. he is so elusive that we only have a couple of grainy photographs of him. but al-baghdadi now commands several thousand men in iraq and syria where he is trying to set up a state based on islamic law. al-baghdadi is so feared that some people have dubbed him the new osama bin laden. and the u.s. government has placed a $10 million bounty on his head. >> jeff: and we have seen isis sweep through northern iraq pretty quickly here. how do they become this kind of force? >> well, isis has spent several years fighting in the syrian civil war. doing battle not just against the syrian regime, but also against other syria

city missile and now saddam hussein's hometown of to create the group which is spread out over northern syria and iraq now controls nearly a third of iraq and more chordal territory than the governments of israel and lebanon according to the long one journal besides mosul and to create isis now controls the cities of ramadi and fallujah as well as other smaller cities and they were going to zation as valid that will soon be marching toward baghdad the occupation of these cities has led to more than half a million people to flee mosul seeking safer areas of the country and although baghdad is currently secure from takeover violence in the city is largely continued unabated with more than sixty people killed just this weekend with a new wave of car bombings throughout the capital these developments have actually led many members of the republican party to actually push for airstrikes iraq because of course the people who allowed the current situation to develop as a result of their insanely irresponsible votes for intervention back in two thousand and two definitely have the authority to dictat

isis now holds parts of northern syria and western iraq. in recent days, three more border crossings along the syrian border and the border of u.s. allied jordan, fell to isis. isis is using extreme violence to create a new nation with a severe islamic code. here's clarissa ward. >> reporter: by now it has become a familiar sight. isis militants parading through newly captured territory, this time the border town of al-qaim. iraqi forces have lost control of all the main border crossing into syria. as well as four towns along the euphrates river. shiite militias are stepping in, heavily armed and highly motivated, many fear they will heighten sectarian tensions. we traveled to the conservative shiite enclave of sadr city, home to the medhi army, one of the most powerful militias in iraq. american soldiers fought some of their toughest battles here. but today, tribal leader abu ahmed lafraiji told us the u.s. is an ally in the fight against isis. "we will pay any price. people will die. blood will be spilled," he said. "the most important th

northern syria kurdish fighters in control of areas on border with turkey and the brown area here istested and has seen some of the most intense fighting in resent months. and our correspondent patty has more from washington. >> reporter: the president has been under a lot of criticism, people are saying he didn't do enough and now look isil is in iraq and putting that on his doorstep and he has been putting it back on modern opposition fighters and basically telling every interviewer these were farmers and pharmacists and lawyers and you cannot them to be a full fighting force able to take on what he calls experienced jahadist immediately and it's his way of saying look i'm doing more but how much more. the white house says they are ramping up assistance but we cannot judge that because we don't know how much they are spending and they are doing their own training and don't get to know a number on that because it's classified and don't have to tell us and moving this to a pentagon operation and u.s. military taking it over he does have to inform congress. as you mentioned he is goin

city muscle and now saddam hussein's hometown of to create the group which is spread out over northern syria and iraq now controls nearly a third of iraq and more chordal territory than the governments of israel and lebanon on a corner the long one journal besides mosul and to create isis now controls the cities of ramadi and fallujah as well as others. smaller cities and they were going to zation as valid will soon be marching toward baghdad the occupation of these cities has led to more than half a million people to flee mosul seeking safer areas of the country and although baghdad is currently secure from takeover violence in the city has largely continued unabated with more than sixty people killed just this week and with a new wave of car bombings throughout the capital these developments have actually led many members of the republican party to actually push for airstrikes iraq because of course the people who allowed the current situation to develop as a result of their insanely irresponsible votes for intervention back in two thousand and two definitely have the authority to dictate

city missile and now saddam hussein's hometown of to create the group which is spread out over northern syria and iraq now controls nearly a third of iraq and more chordal parent or even the governments of israel and lebanon according to a long one journal besides mosul and to create isis now controls the cities of ramadi and fallujah as well as other smaller cities and they were going to zation as.

they control large parts of northern and eastern syria and into iraq. >>> in northern syria kurdish fighters are in control of areas on the border with turkey. the territory, the brown area, is contested and has seen some of the most intense fighting in recent months. >>> the spokesman for the national coalition of forrian revolution. he's with me in the studio. the question everybody asks outside of the region, possibly some in the region as well is how do you decide who to spend the money on? who is a vetted fighter, and how do you vet fighters and decide where to spend the money? >> the fighting forces facing assad is divided into groups that have been part of the central command. there are groups who are independent, so this money will be spent through the execution -- the military execution put together by the opposition. this execution is committed to democratic transition and committed to protecting human rights. >> how do you know the money will go to them and not then be shared or weapons bought and then fall into the wrong hands, shall we say? >> this is a good question. we would l

. >>> insurgents have declared an islamic state across parts of northern syria and neighboring iraq. i.s.i.s. made an announcement posted online. the u.s. has rushed 75 held fire missiles to the iraqi government. iraq ran out of missiles when trying to reclaim tikrit. >>> jeffrey edward fell and another american are accused of carrying out hostile acts against the country of north korea. they were arrested as tourists earlier this year. the u.s. does not maintain diplomatic ties with north korea. >>> listen to this. a flight from chicago to orange county had to make an emergency landing in wichita tonight. an emergency slide deployed while the flight was in midair. a passenger, former university of nebraska quarterback, taylor martinez, inflated and crammed into the galley. another passenger reported hearing a pop and a hiss before the slide inflated. a passenger tweeted this picture of firefighters onboard the plane. nobody was hurt. but passengers will have to spend the night in wichita. >>> turning to the world cup. a late goal led to a big win for the netherlands today against me

early last year, isis emerged as a major power in opposition controlled areas of northern syria. e then, the ultra extremist group has imposed strict islamist law, held public floggings and executions and most recently joined other groups left well over 2,000 dead. even al qaeda leader demanded isis leave syria. missing in the interrogations is any mention whatsoever of the assad regime. the only concern is the challenge posed by other opposition factions and the local populace to isis. [ speaking in foreign language ] who is erasing the slogans and symbols of isis on the walls, demands the interrogator. i swear, i don't know, as god is my witness, responds this man. who identifies himself as mohammed. another interrogation. what were they saying about the islamic state, he's asked. say the truth. save yourself. i'll speak the truth, even if i lose my head, responds this man, who says he's called mustafa. all of the clips found in the the iraqi, describing himown by, emir. they found it in january after fled between isis and other factions. some of the clips and still shots show a

known as islamic state in iraq and the levant has announced it's establishing a caliphate from northern syriaeastern iraq. >>> the kurdish government is calling for an independent kurdish state. israeli prime minister voiced his support of the sur dish statehood. >>> the ukraine's ten day cease-fire ends on monday night and the country's president is facing international pressure to extend it. president por poroshenko has been pressured to crackdown on separatist. he said that ukrainian troops shot one of its cameramen dead in donetsk. >> the diplomatic pressure is growing to find some kind of break through in what appears to be an impact. perhaps the biggest factor in all of this would be the involvement of russia. don't forget on friday when the european union met in brussels although the idea of further sanctions was sheffield they were left on the back burner to be rekindled on monday, today, if concrete progress with russia was not forthcoming. there will be another conference qualit call between the russian president, the ukrainian president and the chancellor of germany. but on the gro

tomorrow wild discuss more about iraq and isis which has seized much of northern syria, declaring a caliphatefascinating story how quickly this has evolved in a matter of weeks. coming. . conservative icon matt drudge has given an interview. megan kelly will join us on set to preview her exclusive interview with bill ayers. when folks think about what they get from alaska, they think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america. ♪ >>> the drudge report is a massively popular news aggregating website. it has a reach it shapes the debate from politics to popular culture to conservative media and politicians use drudge to form their own opinions. the liberal posse uses drudge to put a face on their enemy th

fighters from al nusra front in northern syria are fighting islamic state of iraq and levant. ipp fighting lass been -- ipp fighting has been escalating. ukraine's president is trying to keep a peace plan on track. the e.u. warns that it's ready to impose sanctions on russia. three ukrainian soldiers were killed in fighting with separatists in the east. residents find themselves caught in the middle of a battle. paul beban has the latest from kramatorsk. >> reporter: there are pockets of eastern ukraine where the ceasefire has meant nearly nothing. army footage shows an exchange of fire north of slovyansk. the army patrol sped past a ukrainian check point, where three soldiers were killed in an attack. nearby kramatorsk was separatist controlled. the new commander saying he takes his orders from the russian. deals proposed elsewhere do not concern him. >> translation: we have only one boss, and his command will be carried out. regarding that, i don't get that politics. i'm sure a military man. >> it's important to appreciate in this part of the world the separatist command str

. >> we went to northern syria which is ground zero for a four-year drought, the worst they have experiencen modern history. it basically sent a million syrians into the cities. the government did nothing for them. 2006-2010.om in lead up to the war, the revolution. it did not cause the revolution. it was one of the stresses that when the revolution came, with the first call for revolution, these farmers said we are joining this thing. what the drought did was turn conservative people, not your revolutionary types, into vicious opponents of the regime. >> take a look at this. >> when they write the history of this revolution, how important will the drought be? -- >> some say this was the most ambitious segment of the series. it is not easy to do. syria.ing into northern >> telling the story. >> it was fascinating, it was exciting. a shout out to the production team that made it happen. getting the right fixer, the toht retired security guide lead us. and the brave syrians to talk to us. the islamic al qaeda version were down the road. the guys came to us saying they are staring down there,

maybe they wouldn't have grabbed control of northern syria and gone over and taken control of that broad that you have on that map that shows what a huge islamic state they have created for themselves. a radical islamic state. mike rogers says this is a bigger, that crossed hash area you're showing, that is controlled by isis. the islamic state of iraq and syria, more radical, more violent, more dangerous than al qaeda. mike rogers says that is a greater terrorist threat than pro 9/11 afghanistan. i understand we don't want to get involved in iraq, but if only as a counterterrorism measure, we've got to kill some of those guys. >> i'm guessing this will be part of your focus this weekend. >> when you started to say people don't understand how serious it is, i completely agree with you. this is a biggest story in the world right now. a threat to the middle east and the united states possibly. we'll have the chairman of the house intelligence committee, a live report from the region, the late e on the situation in the house with the defeat of eric condition tor. greg walden, a moderate rep

the al qaeda group that seized much of northern syria has formerly declared the islamic state in the territory under its control. iraqi forces are battling isis to repapture the city of tikrit. any sense this is turning around? it sounds like 2005-2006 all over again. >> reporter: well, we are not quite there, yet. we are not going for many of those here in baghdad. we haven't seen the worst of the conflict. the battles are still raging. they cannot afford to seize another major territory and for isis, as we are still calling them, they really need to show that they can get closer to baghdad. this is a pitch, pitch battle. for now, what we are hearing is consequence. nothing decisive on the ground. the hope for the iraqi army is delivery. it's not going to help them turn this. it's really in the air that they have demonstrated they have the upper hand, miguel. on the ground, for now, it is unclear who is winning the fight in tikrit. >> thank you very much. hang in there. >>> breaking overnight, rescue crews rushing to save people on the sky tower in seaworld san diego. 42 people and

isis is even cashing in on oil, selling crude from oilfields they took control of in northern syria,t. the new york times reports isis is also selling electricity from captured power plants back to the government too. >> they also do a lot of the typical terrorist activities. they have money laundering schemes. >> josh rogan reports that isis has been funded for years by wealthy private donors living in countries the u.s. considers allies, countries like kuwait qatar and saudi arabia. and those governments, says rogan, know it's happening but choose to look away. >> the governments would have some plausible deniability and fund them directly. at the least, they were looking the other way. >> if you do the math, isis may be worth at least $500 million, after that last attack on that bank in mosul, in 2011 the taliban was said to be worth an estimated $70 million to $400 million. even al qaeda can't compete. al qaeda had an operating budget of $30 million a year, before the 9/11 attacks. >> and all of this cash on hand only allows isis to attract more extremist fighters who are drawn t

some of whom are affiliated with isis, the same group of soup any extremists sweeping across northern syria into iraq. the red on the map shows just how much territory those militants and their supporters have already captured. that's a huge chunk of territory. secretary of state john kerry says the syrian rebels the u.s. is looking to aid are critical in the battle against those isis insurgents. jennifer griffin has more from1 washington. r֍6nnifer, all along the big question has been, how do you figure out who is good and who is bad in this? >> that is right. in fact what you're seeing in terms of the request for this $500 million from the white house, is a complete 0 about-face. president obama has now signaled he intends to ramp up the training of syria's so-called moderate opposition after resisting calls to do are so foe here toees. secretary of state john kerry flew to saudi arabia where he met with the head of the syrian opposition, day after the white house requested $500 million from congress to start the large-scale training by u.s. special forces. the request was larger than

. >>> in northern syria, islamist fighters dominate opposition forces.the capital of damascus, the battle is fought by the free syrian army. at one time it was held up by the west as alternative. the recent increase in fighters has called for international support. our camera man has crossed from damascus to witness the continued fight for that city. here's eric's exclusive report. >> reporter: when supporters of assad want to celebrate, they race around as though syria has won the world cup. in their world their president is the man who stands between them and the islamist extremist of isis and al qaeda. bust just 20 minutes away from the streets of central damascus, there are syrians who see their country very differently. this is the road to kabul one of the suburb of the city that are held by armed rebels. this place is fought over close to three years. on the rebel side it's the free syria army. there's supposed to be a local cease fire, but it's fragile. >> translator: this is the main road to kabul. the syrian army used to be far away. >> how well

>> we're seeing the fracturing of iraq and as you know of northern syria as well as the great part, maybe up to a third of western and parts of northern iraq, this is a very ominous development that there's an emerging radical sunni religious order in both of those countries. the great danger is that along with other trends, the possibility of an independent kurd i stan. it's a very dangerous moment. if iraq fractures it will be felt in syria, lebanon and jordan and all surrounding countries. i agree with robin that it makes sense for the united states to be talking to the iranians. we've had 34 years of no discussions, we both have an interest in stability in the middle east. i also agree that it doesn't make sense for us to strengthen that part of the iranian government, that's the revolutionary guard. it's not am the american interest to see the revolutionary guard come into iraq and fan the flames of a religious war between shia and sunni. that's what makes this decision so difficult for president obama. i have sympathy for the administration. it does stand to reason we should ask pri

could have major regional implications: kurds live not only in iraq but in southeastern turkey, northern syria and in iran. in the meantime, the kurds' formidable military force, the peshmerga, are acting as a bulwark against isil insurgents in northern iraq. they've also cemented their control of kirkuk, a vital oil- producing center. elsewhere, iraqi armed forces claimed today to have retaken from isil iraq's largest oil refinery, at baiji, and two posts on it's western border. >> ( translated ): we affirm that the refinery is now under complete control of the security forces and have regained full control over turaibil and al- waleed border crossings and we have reinforced our troops there. the great thing was the support and backing of the tribes of anbar province. >> woodruff: fighting has raged around baiji for a week, and the sunni tribes have become interlocutors between the sunni isil forces and the largely shiite-led iraqi government forces. but as chaos spreads, neighboring jordan has reinforced its border with iraq with armored vehicles and troops. and the first of 300 u.s. special

taking crude from northern fields in northern syria and selling it back to the syrian government as welle threatening iraq's largest field. this adds up to millions of dollars for isis every month. those millions then used to buy arms and pay for propaganda like this high definition highly produced recruitment video. stansfield credits the success to the leader. >> he put together a plan, a strategy he is implementing a at time when nobody else has one. he is following his plan in anbar and syria, and fighting is ongoing. he is capturing territory. capturing point. >>. >> reporter: making isis more dangerous, stansfield says isis has more resources than al qaeda. >> they have an area of operation. a strong narrative of those areas they are working. and they can see them, they have success upon success now as well. and they are working in the heartland of the middle east and fighting against the shia on their own turf. these are all things al qaeda struggled to do. this makes isis even more deadly. >> reporter: and increasing concern to the western world. michael holmes, cnn, atlanta. >>

matter statecraft, obviously, if you wanted to fight these groups, which are taken over parts of northern syria and now northern iraq, a shiite power like iran would be a natural ally, so i think it is likely the united states will develop some in thisships with iran regard on this issue, and i think it is a good thing. i think it is crazy, in 2001 when the iranians were having candlelight the jewels for the for thetates -- vigils united states and sympathizing from the kind of terrorism iran suffered from, suddenly, the bush administration put iran in an axis of evil with a country like north korea and alienated iran. i think there is an opportunity now to repair some of that. >> i want to turn to comments made by former british prime over thetony blair weekend, suggesting the current crisis is not linked to the 2003 u.s. and british invasion of iraq. blair was speaking to the bbc. >> if you left saddam in place, and then you had the arab revolutions happening, you would have still had a major problem in iraq, and you can see what happens when you leave the dictator in place. what i prefer a s