military logistics base here in northern syria. general townsend came straight from a forward command post near raqqa. >> good to see you again. >> reporter: the city isis calls its capital. when u.s. forces launched an assault this month assisted by american air strikes. >> i think we're actually in the first 25 or 30% of the campaign for raqqa. we're just getting started good in raqqa. >> reporter: american troops have been welcomed in this corner of syria. this logistics base, its air strip carved out of the desert, has storage space for over 100 tons of munitions. but a surge this year in civilian casualties caused by u.s. air strikes bringing the official total to around 500 deaths has drawn criticism. is the u.s. coalition doing something differently in the way that it carries out air strikes? >> no, we're not. you're seeing a convergence of the fight in mosul and raqqa, a condensing of the fight into a very small space. and you have armies slugging it out with high explosives in close quarters. >> reporter: as u.s.-backed fi

>> well, we built a network of journalists and activists in northern syria that did a lot of the hardtoo dangerous for us to, at this point, to enter the-- enter northern syria. >> yeah. >> but what we did do was we gave the family a camera, and the family documented their own life under the islamic state, and how they crossed the various front lines. they crossed the free syrian army front line, and then the kurdish front line, and then the frontier into turkey. and then we followed them again as ty tried to make it to europe but were pushed back on the day-- the first day of turey-e.u. treaty. the relationship between assad and isis, it's a very strange relationship. assad has realized that he benefits from isis going after his enemies, while at the same time, not really being his ally. how-- like, how does that work? >> well, i think that he said, "you think i'm a bad guy? here's some really bad guys." and he just-- he deflected attention from himself towards the islamic state. and all the animous of the west. >> if the alternative to you is a decent democratic country, then you're

holly williams, cbs news, in northern syria. >> mason: and coming up next on the cbs evening news, what happens if medicaid is cut in happens if medicaid is cut in the middle of an opioid epidemic? does psoriasis ever get in the way of a touching moment? if you have moderate to severe psoriasis, you can embrace the chance of completely clear skin with taltz. taltz is proven to give you a chance at completely clear skin. with taltz, up to 90% of patients had a significant improvement of their psoriasis plaques. in fact, 4 out of 10 even achieved completely clear skin. do not use if you are allergic to taltz. before starting you should be checked for tuberculosis. taltz may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you are being treated for an infection or have symptoms. or if you have received a vaccine or plan to. inflammatory bowel disease can happen with taltz. including worsening of symptoms. serious allergic reactions can occur. now's your chance at completely clear skin. just ask your doctor about taltz. my doctor recommended i switc

in northern syria america's allies in the region are fighting each other we take a look at what impact washington support for both the kurds and for turkey could have a little later in the program. another undercover video has been released apparently exposing attitudes out c.n.n. towards russia related stories this time one of the american news channels political commentator seems to shrug off under smith of the recent controversy but what do you think's going to happen this week with all russia. was going to be nothing really i well it was the second video released by the investigative journalism group project for a task in as many days with the details here. yet another leak related to c.n.n. from james o'keefe and project vera toss that was van jones briefly served in the obama administration and is now a commentator for c.n.n. in the clip he says that the the russia thing is nothing burger and now it's important to be clear here we don't exactly know what he's referring to about the russia thing could be the russian investigation could be the allegations about trump the context of

and in a refugee camp in northern syria, these indonesian women ld gullible, traveling 5,000 miles to the so-called islamic state in 2015 because they believed isis propaganda. >> reporter: in reality, they told us, they were abused and their menfolk imprisoned by the extremists because they refused to fight. they ran away two weeks ago, they said, and are too frightened of retribution from isis to show their faces. >> reporter: isis tried to ignite a war between islam and the west, and to do so, it preyed on anger, poverty, and ignorance. holly williams, cbs news, in northern syria. >> mason: and coming up next on the cbs evening news, what happens if medicaid is cut in the middle of an opioid epidemic? nt? if you have moderate to severe psoriasis, you can embrace the chance of completely clear skin with taltz. taltz is proven to give you a chance at completely clear skin. with taltz, up to 90% of patients had a significant improvement of their psoriasis plaques. in fact, 4 out of 10 even achieved completely clear skin. do not use if you are allergic to taltz. before starting you sho

this is where it happened, near the city of raqqa, the isis stronghold in northern syria. a statement from the coalition, which is led by the united states, that its forces were responding to the syrian bombing which did cause casualties on the ground, and that the syrian jet was shot down in self-defense. again, the u.s. military for the first time has shot down a syrian air force warplane. we are closely following these developments. stay with becnn for more detail as we get them. >>> now to politics and the question of whether president trump himself is under investigation. he tweeted on friday that he is, but just 48 hours later his lawyer says, no, the president is not being investigated, period. confused? a bit perplexed? here's what we know. last week "the washington post" that special counsel robert mueller is investigating president trump for possible obstruction of justice and that mueller is interviewing at least three senior intelligence officials as part of this expanding probe. the post report was the most significant sign yet that mueller's investigation is

the isis strong hold in northern syria. our global affairs correspond is us with. tell us what happened and how significant this is in the war against isis. >> anna, about 4:30 p.m. local time, a syrian pro regime forces started attacking the u.s. and coalition backed syrian democratic forces who were making an advance on raqqah. the last strong hold. the u.s. made a show of force to kind of scare in essence the pro regime force as way by flyg low at a very slow speed. the u.s. called out to the russians through the deconfliction channel on the ground there. two hours later they came back with an aircraft and started bombing the u.s. backed coalition forces and the u.s. shot down the plane. it said that u.s. is not looking to get into an escalation, the coalition said with, the syrian regime. but they pledge to protect those syrian democratic forces that are going against isis in the area. >> so again, we're learning that the syrian jet had initially dropped bombs and fighters who were working against the assad regime. where does the coalition's mission against isi

if they were to take it, it would consolidate much of their power in northern syria. this would be a major physical loss to the islamic state, as well as the loss of mosul, if it were to fall, that means that the twin capitals would no longer exist in physical form. this would mark a dramatic change in the way the battle against the islamic state continues. we expect more insurgencies across the world. the u.s. army has acknowledged the campaign beginning yesterday, referenced the attack in manchester, saying we cannot allow these attacks to take place around the world and we had to targeted at its source, but acknowledged this is a phenomenon in the campaign against the islamic state. >> henry, thank you. now to qatar where store shelves are entering -- emptying as people are panic buying in the wake of a diplomatic dispute. six nations have cut ties with qatar, accusing it of supporting terrororism. panic buying in the supermarkets of doha have left shelves empty of food and other supplies. began forming within hours of the decision by several gulf states to cut dip

forces fighting in northern syria. >>> portugal is trying to battle its worst wildfires in history. they've killed more than 60 people. the fire is sparked by a heat wave and tinder conditions.

it is in northern syria. hans nichols is live at the pentagon. i'd imagine this has filtered up for people at the pentagon to examine what's going on in paris. >> it is on every screen i've walked through here at the pentagon the last 20 minutes. everyone is watching events unfold on television. you get two views at the pentagon of the ability of isis to conduct external operations. the one view is you're going to see more of them. as isis loses physical territory inside their caliphate, you'll see more high profile or attempt at high profile terrorist attacks. the other view is that their territory shrinks, they're playing defense on so many levels. their communications is restricted and getting hit by so many bombs. in raqqah, there are 24 strikes last night by coalition air forces. they're getting hit so often, they actually don't have the time to plan and conduct external operations. so two views you get here. now, just to recap what happened overnight. you did have the final assault on raqqah. the difference with the assault on raqqah and th

and here's where it happened, near the city of raqqah, the isis stronghold in northern syria. our global affairs correspondent elise labott is joining us now. elise, again, this is a first in the war on isis, a syrian plane shot down by u.s. forces. what do we know about what happened? >> reporter: that's right, ana. well, of course, this comes as the u.s.-backed and coalition-backed syrian democratic forces are going against raqqah, that isis stronghold. what happened was at about 4:30 p.m. local time, the syrian regime forces were attacking those u.s.-backed syrian democratic forces. the u.s. offered this kind of show of force, flying low to the ground at a slow speed to, in essence, scare them off, and it did. in the meantime, the u.s. called the russians using their deconfliction channel. of course, the russians are backing those syrian regime forces. and they backed up for about two hours, but then those syrian forces, pro regime forces, came back, started bombing the u.s.-backed forces again, and essentially, the u.s. shot down the plane. a statement from the coalition s

in the northern syria america's allies in the region are fighting it take a look at what impact u.s. support for the kurds turkey. in the region.

northern syria america's allies in the region fighting it out still we take a look at what u.s. support for the kurds and. could have in the region. by the first of the ten am here in moscow good morning for me this is international first another undercover video has been released revealing attitudes at c.n.n. it seems towards russia related stories this time one of the american news channels political commentators seems to get all off what. happens with the rest of. the things that. really i it's the second video in as many days than from investigative journalism group project veritas with more. yet another leak related to c.n.n. from james o'keefe and project veritas that was van jones who briefly served in the obama administration and is now a commentator for c.n.n. in the clip he says that the the russia thing is a nothing burger and now it's important to be clear here we don't exactly know what he's referring to about the russia thing could be the russian investigation could be the allegations about trump the context of the clip is not exactly clear who this leak comes on j

and a brief time ago i spoke to gabriel who's that for us in northern syria. gabriel clearly islamic states are losing ground both in iraq and syria but all we really coming close to the end of that so called caliphate. i think we're coming close to it how long the actual end game takes is another questions resort most so i took many many months from the start of the offensive. at to get right into the center of the city we're looking at something quite similar here in rocka i've been. on the front lines such as they are around the city of rucka and of the past we can more and what we saw was quite a rapid advance until they got into those. narrow streets near the center and then really getting bogged down with ios. fighting them house the house really with at snipers at suicide called bombs even weaponized drones said it may take sometime out for record to full but i think it is. away and not an ex when that happens it will effectively mean the end of the caliphate what it weight necessarily means the end of islamic state so cold. out or its ideology it defini

the raid had targeted a meeting of leaders in northern syria now believing he may have been at that meetingere have been a number of previous where abouts have not been known for some time. this among the few pictures before he immerged as the leader of isis around officially desi 2011. the u.s. now offering h capture. >> he was born in iraq was detained in the years that followed his release. he built the fighting force that became isis. his death would be a huge blow to the group and a boost to you shall -- russia's >>> officials in london confirm 30 people are dead. grief is now turning to anger as a report says contractors installed cheaper less flame resistant panelling when it was renovated last year. british prime anyominister visi victims in the hospital. the fire started in the 24 stor british time as many slept. que the queen was joined by her gron volunteers and local officials as well as firefighters and police officers. >>> british parliment as police arrested a man found with a no one was hurt and right now no link to terrorism. the inct after a terrorism killed four people wh

in northern syria america's allies in the region are fighting it we take a look at what impact u.s. support for the kurds turkey in the region. and from around the world this hour welcome to moscow to the international my names you know neal good to have your company our top story this hour the russian foreign ministry's media spokeswoman washington's allegation that the syrian government is planning a chemical attack she say such claims could be a sign of an upcoming u.s. intervention. it is even we knew about statements from washington we also knew that the u.s. officials refused to confirm the claims with any facts so we don't know what these conclusions are based on the situation looks like a massive provocation both military and informational its star getting not only syria but russia as well it's good if you're meaning it is likely that what we are seeing at the moment is the threshold of a new intervention the gist of what russia is saying is that we are witnessing the united states lay the groundwork for a full on intervention in syria an anti acid intervention and this chem

options on arming the kurds themselves so you have an incendiary situation with the kurds in northern syria which has got so much more complicated in just in just the last few weeks with the cutter christ is emerging in america once again double it deliberate saying i'm not sure which foot to put its confident with to place itself in so it straddled both camps there is a lot of confusion just a week ago from the white house between trump and the pentagon over the qatar question so the kurds and arming of the kurds it keeps coming up time and time again and very worrying martin j. award winning journalist thanks for your insights today here on the syria question on our international. we've been hearing from eighty three year old woman who want to gender discrimination case against an airline all the details are coming up to you just after this short break. the future we go. every the world should experience. if you get it on the old the old. the old according to josh. come along for the. welcome back to the program an eighty three year old woman's won a gender discrimination case against isr

watchdog, the 0pcw, has concluded that the banned nerve agent sarin was used in an attack in northern syriathe attack on khan sheikhoun in idlib province was the most deadly in syria in more than three years. it prompted the us to retaliate with a missile strike on the airbase that washington said had launched the gas attack. a un panel will now try to determine if the syrian government was responsible. rachel is here with all the business news. iam i am worried about this. i am flying in one week. it is a 16 day strike, james. listen up! we start with more problems for british airways. thousands of passengers are learning that their flights have been cancelled because of an unprecedented 16—day strike by some cabin crew, which begins tomorrow, july 1st. on thursday, ba said most flights will operate as normal but it has cancelled a number of long—haul departures to and from heathrow. short—haul and flights from other uk airports are unaffected. so what's it all about? the unite union says cabin crew who have taken industrial action over pay in the past have been blacklisted — losing benefi

meantime in northern syria america's allies in the region are fighting it out to we take a look at what in u.s. support for the good and turkey could have in the region. good morning for me kevin oh it's thursday the twenty ninth of june just turned nine in the morning here in moscow and now you're watching out international good to have you company first and another undercover videos being released revealing attitudes it seems that c.n.n. towards russia related stories this time one of the american news channels political commentators seems to get all off. would you think's going to happens to the pole rush. was going to be really. it is now the second the second video rather in as many days for investigative journalism group project veritas with details about the latest thing. yet another leak related to c.n.n. from james o'keefe and project vera toss that was van jones briefly served in the obama administration and is now a commentator for c.n.n. in the clip he says that the the russia thing is a nothing burger now it's important to be clear here we don't exactly know what he's refer

in northern syria america's allies in the region of. u.s. support for the kurds.

. >> reporter: carved out of the desert in northern syria, a dirt airstrip for the u.s. military. and storage space for over 100 tons of munitions. this is an american logistics hub for the fight to retake raqqa, the so-called isis capital, which began almost a month ago. lieutenant general stephen townsend is the commander of the u.s.-led coalition to fight isis. >> hi, holly. it's good to see you again. it's been a while. in reporter: he came straight from a forward command post near raqqa. >> i think we're actually in the first 25% or 30% of the campaign for raqqa. we're just getting started good in raqqa. ( gunfire ) >> reporter: as u.s.-backed fighters close in on isis from -be north, they've also clashed with syrian regime forces, which are backed by russia. it's led to fears that the u.s. and russia could be drawn into a direct conflict, but the general downplayed that risk. >> we've worked out a de- confliction line with the russians and the regime, and they seem content to let us work on the raqqa problem, and they're drawing a line, and they're happy to work on their sid

refugee agency is calling for better access to a northern syria province, where it says close to have a million people are said to be in need of assistance. u.s.-backed forces are trying to drive islamic state out of raqqa, which militants claim as their capital. >> those fleeing the fighting, taking shelter in a numerous locations company have been periods ofor long time. tens of thousands passing through the camps and quickly moving on to other areas or returning to places of origin. mark: the u.n. has managed to of $153ly $29 million, million is budgeted to meet humanitarian needs in raqqa province. jurors in the bill cosby sexual assault trial are drilling down on phrasing as deliberations continue into another day. they asked about the wording "without her knowledge," for the judge did not define it for them. cosby is charged with driving and listing andrea constand in 2004. the jury is deliberating indecent assault to the third count covers cosby's alleged use of pills to impair constand. global news 24 hours a day powered by more than 2600 journalists and analysts in over 120 c

really i in northern syria america's allies in the region are fighting we take a look at what impact u.s. support for the kurds and turkey the same time could have know in the region. first day here in moscow very good afternoon for me kevin i mean this is not international without breaking news that within the last hour russian russia's foreign ministry spokesperson for them slammed washington's allegation that the syrian government is planning a chemical attack she said such claims could be a sign of an upcoming u.s. intervention. one is in its name it is even being it we knew about statements from washington all sing you that the u.s. officials refused to confirm the claims with any facts so we don't know what these conclusions are based on the situation looks like a massive provocation both military and informational it's hard getting not only syria or russia as well as good if he were mean if it is likely that where we are seen at the moment it is the threshold of a new intervention earlier russia's foreign minister said washington's claim could encourage terrorists to use chemi

justin which is very close to the defacto capital of the defacto couple of isis of city of rock in northern syria the syrian army says that in fact the jet was performing military operations on isis positions but then again it's you know the usual war of words it's really hard to tell who is actually telling the truth here the bottom line is that it's not the first time that this happens it's not the first time that the u.s. military or the allied victory military is coming to a head against the syrian government forces we of course remember september last year when sixty syrian army military men were killed as an interceptor nash trike and there is or as well as of course the president from a decision on early april this year to fire the tomahawk missiles on a syrian air base and of course in the space of the last five weeks or so there had been three incidents in the south of syria in the towns province where the u.s. coalition conducted air strikes on militias allied with the syrian government but not the syrian army itself and every single time they said the same thing that it was self-defens

in northern syria and to be honest with you after what the united states has said about them punishing. they would have to be stupid to do nothing this is the perfect scenario for them it's a win win situation they stage a chemical attack and suddenly you have the united states coming in as their cavalry to clean up government forces even without any proof of this theory yes they would britain's fully on board with even though they're saying they haven't seen the evidence so what evidence does washington have here to say that this plan is more likely than not under way from assad well they're basing it on well that's one of the things things that the russians have been the russians have been talking about they're saying that look again you're coming out with all this stuff and you have absolutely no evidence that you really just by the way i read her and sat in providence which is held that are controlled by al-qaeda in syria nusra front that's pretty much as you know all we have regarding the details all we know is that the preparation of the united states the chemical attack preparat

we met with him yesterday here in northern syria. general townsend came straight from a ford command post in raqqah, the city isis calls its capital where u.s.-backed fighters launched an assault this monthis air strikes. >> i think we're in actually the first 25% or 30% campaign in raqqah. >> reporter: american troops have been welcomed in this corner of syria. this logistics base, this area carved out of the desert, has storage base for over 100 tons of munitions. but a surge this year in civilian casualties by u.s. air strikes bringing the total to over 500 deaths has drawn criticism. is the u.s. coalition doing something differently in the way it carries out air strikes? >> no, we're not. you're seeing the convergence of the fight in mosul -- a condensing of the fight in a very small space, and you have armies slugging it out with high explosives in close quarters. >> reporter: as u.s. backed fighters close in on north, they've also clashed with regime forces rooting up from the south. the u.s. shot down a syrian regime jet this

holly williams is in northern syria where she met with the american commander in the fight against isisn syria and iraq. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. lieutenant general steven townsend is the commander of the u.s.-led coalition to fight isis. we met with him yesterday here at a u.s. military logistics base here in northern syria. general townsend came straight from a forward command post in raqqah, the city isis calls its capital where u.s.-backed fighters launched an assault this month assisted by american air strikes. >> i think we're in actually the first 25% or 30% campaign in raqqah. we're just getting started good in raqqah. >> reporter: american troops have been welcomed in this corner of syria. this logistics base, its airstrip carved out of the desert, has storage space for over 100 tons of munitions. but a surge this year in civilian casualties by u.s. air strikes bringing the official total to around 500 deaths has drawn criticism. is the u.s. coalition doing something differently in the way it carries out air strikes? >> no, we're not. you're seeing a convergence

aid with a naval base which is the only naval base outside of post soviet territory which is in northern syria all right let me stop you right there it is fascinating i love it we're going to talk more about it right after the break stay right there more politicking coming up. about your sudden passing i phone lee just learned you were yourself and taken your last turn. here at the top to you as we all knew it would i tell you i'm sorry i could so i write these last words in hopes to put to rest these things that i never got off my chest. i remember when we first met my life turned on each breath. but then my feeling started to change you talked about war like it was again still some more fun to feel those that didn't like to question our arc and i secretly promised to never be like it said one does not leave a funeral in the same as one enters the mind it's consumed with death this really quite different speech because there are no other takers. to claim that mainstream media has met its maker. i'm john harshman and i'll give you what the mainstream media can't help big picture we'll go deepe

northern syria america's allies in the region fighting it out still we take a look at what u.s. support for the. good in the region.

amphibious ready groups for the 11 and 24th marine units deploying a short to provide support in northern syria. marines from the second marine expedition force assisting afghan partners. u.s. which embarked coast guard law enforcement detachments seizing over 5,000 kilograms of contraband. the unss spearhead conducting civil military operations in gaud mall la, honduras and columbia. 100 marines in the air ground task force southern command uss and elements of the 24th again provided humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to the people of haiti after hurricane matthew. sailer and marines participate in the baltic sea region. on the other side of the world the largest international marry thyme exercise brought together 26 nations including china along with 40 ships and submarines over 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel. a u.s.-led naval training maneuver near the gulf of guinea navy's pr five african countries tracked the hijacked tankers through their waters and successfully freed the vessel and rescued the hostages. horn of africa, u.s. naval forces command, operates the united states sol

. >> jon: i want to play for our viewers another piece of video, this came from fighters from northern syriai am going to play it, watch this. it is hard to catch there in the very beginning, this is a female sniper who is taking aim at isis fighters when a bullet comes in and misses her head with a couple of inches. she drops to the floor with a big smile on her face. in the wall behind her, you see the explosion essentially of the bullet hitting the concrete. the kurds are doing most of the fighting there. >> backed by u.s. and coalition airpower, they certainly are. they are really ready to take the fight into raqqa, eventually turning raqqa into local contro control. >> jon: good to have you back. >> thank you. >> heather: coming up, wounded veterans taking on a new mission, how they are helping marine scientists in the beautiful florida keys, a live report from there just ahead. ♪ ♪ no corn, wheat or soy. support your dog's whole body health with purina one. it's ok that everybody ignoit's fine.n i drive. because i get a safe driving bonus check every six months i'm accident free. becau

today, holly williams met theirn northern syria, a dirt airstrip for the u.s. military. tons of munitions. >> this is an american logistics hub to retake raqqa, the isis capital which began a month ago. lieutenant general steven u.s.-led coalition to fight isis. and came straight from a forward command post near raqqa. getting started good in ju raqqa. >> as u.s. backed fighters close in on isis from the north they have also clashed with syrian regime forces which are backed by russia. 'sd drawn into a direct conflict. but the general downplayed that risk. >> we worked out a deconfliction line with the russians and the regime. and they seem, content to let us work on the raqqa problem and there we have drawn a line. they're happy to work on their side of it. we'll work on our side of it. >> reporter: general townsend promoted young officer to first eu >> and acknowledged to us that u.s. troops went be leaving this country any time soon. >> i think u.s. troops will leave syria when isis is defeated. tau awe isis will surely turn into insurgency when they lost their territ

2012 i was sitting with a marine buddy of mine saying to send the first marine division into northern syria from turkey i'll put on my uniform and my metals and rock 4th of july style a march on the capital. it's outrageous. a year later i'm speaking in syria and seeing what the reciprocal of that is that the idea that it doesn't take some type of massive intervention i think there's lots of pressure. for instance right now you'll have the mosul battle which will probably finish in the new battle for raqqa. he was going to fight that battle tax the assumption is the kurds are going to do it but most low is very hard-fought and they are not the iraqi army that we have invested in for 10 to or 12 years. the syrian kurds didn't have -- the turks are not going to allow us to give them abrams tanks. so much of this i do think one has to really look at what these things mean to go in and real full-throated glee get rid of charlotte siobhan that would mean committing u.s. troops for vastly arming some type of surrogate partner force. that leads to a huge problem in syria. >> there are two things a

the american foot frint deterred iran from northern syria now they're going through southern syria, but again america has an opposition force it's backing, there are about 200 vetted syrian rebels america has been relying upon to fight i.s.i.s. in that area. and three times now iranian-backed militias, these guys are trained and armed by the i.r.g.c., three times they had provoked our forces and three times the u.s. struck them from the air. and the u.s. has made it very clear if they continue to antagonize our forces in the southwest, we will continue to strike back. >> i want to talk about what i.s.i.s. or islamic state would look out without abu bakr al-baghdadi. he's 46 years old, yeah. >> where would it go next and how capably would it continue on with what it has been doing now? >> i think with anything we've learned in the last almost 15 years about this organization, it has evolved, it has metamorphsized time and again, but it's proven to be incredibly resilient. he would be, in effect, depends on which counterterrorism geek you're talking to, either the fourth or third man in c

military footprint has military footprint has deterred them from northern syria and now they are going to southern syria. america does have an opposition force. there are about 200 or direct lf communication so they can vettedly drive men from syrian rebels to fight isis. three times, iranian-backed militias, these guys are trained and armed -- three times, they have provoked our forces. three times, the u.s. has struck them from the air. the u.s. has made very clear that if they continue to attack a nice our forces in the southwest, we will fight back. jeff: i want to talk about what the islamic state would look like without baghdadi. he is 46 years old. next-- where would it go and how capably would it be able to continue on doing what it has been doing now? michael: if anything we have learned in the last almost 15 years about this organization, it has evolved, but it has proven to be in credibly resilient. he would be in effect -- it depends on which counterterrorism geek you are talking to -- either the fourth or third man in charge to be off. i would be very surprised if they did

this is the same base that assad used in northern syria to kill women and children in april.pecific citing the sensitivity of the intelligence, the new intelligence. the u.s. military struck the base with 59 tomahawk cruise missiles in early april. a pentagon spokesman said a short time ago, this hanger was partially damaged in the cruise missile strike. since late may, there's been six attacks by the u.s. against the assad regime, this month, the u.s. shot down two iranian drones, one which fired on u.s. forces in southern syria. mattis said syria's chemical weapons program goes beyond this one air base, shep. >> shepard: jennifer, what kind of forces does the pentagon have in that area? >> should president trump decide to go beyond the warning and if assad were to carry out another chemical attack, there's plenty of firepower in the region. the george h.w. bush strike group is operating in the mediterranean sea. the war planes have been striking isis in syria. last week a u.s. navy f-18 super hornet from the bush shot down a syrian war plane. the first time one has been sho

the defense ministry saying that it was a military council south of raqqah in northern syria on may 28th they were targeting. they say, again, this leader, abu bakr al baghdadi, and 330 terrorists. i guess we won't have exact confirmation. this was -- may 28th was a couple weeks ago -- >> two-plus weeks ago, yeah. >> so, i guess at what point, i wonder, when we'll get some real confirmation here. it has been, diana, i mean, hoped for that this guy would be taken out for some time. and there had been rumors before that he has been struck. >> reporter: there have. there have been numerous reports before that al baghdadi has been killed, and that's why the russians are being quite careful before they definitively say that he has. it would make sense for him to be in raqqah. that original video that you're talking about in mosul, that was his home base. that's where he started out. but mosul, of course, is at the brink of falling as a result of this long campaign by iraqi forces. it is no surprise that isis has been pushed out of iraq and towards raqqah, which was always its base in syria. b

lots of competition now between many of the rival groups in northern syria to establish the end gamehey would like to see when isis is taken out. the issue now with the trump administration threatening the syrian regime is exactly where does the u.s. see itself in a post-isis world in syria? are they out or still trying to influence the game? jake? >>> also in world news today, the state department is out with its annual human trafficking report with the president's daughter and senior adviser, ivanka trump, on hand for her efforts of trying to save the millions of children exploited to human traffickers around the world. she said ending human trafficking is a major priority for the trump administration. >> this year's report emphasizes the responsibility all governments have to prosecute human traffickers. on a personal level, as a mother, this is much more than a policy priority. it is a clarion call to action in defense of the vulnerable, the abused and the exploited. last month while in rome, i had an opportunity to speak firsthand with human trafficking survivors. they told me t