it sits on a key road linking northern and northwestern syria. the state wants to seize the town to consolidate its gains. just a short distance away and across the border, turkish police fire smoke grenades to stop kurds trying to go into syria to help fighters battle i as.s. turkey has deployed tanks to reinforce that side of the border. strapping turkish territory, the remains of what they said was a mortar shell. turkey has declined change this week. when the turkish parliament meets. the turkish president says they can no longer stay out of the fight. syria's foreign minister upfield for the international community to work with the syrian government to the -- to defeat the islamic state. >> it is high time we pool our efforts against this terrorism. imminent danger surrounds everyone and no country is immune. >> thousands of kurdish refugees continue to leave syria heading for the turkish border. they will continue to take in refugees. more than 150,000 have sought refuge across the border since the siege began just over a week ago. >> israel

will control a portion of northwestern syria. >> live on the turkish/syria border, where there was a tense battle. what is important about all of this, though. it would give the militants a clear run for supply lines. other people made the point, one of the reasons they're hitting that town, is because their momentum has been slowed in iraq, to refocusing their efforts in syria. >> it's amazing that the kurdish fighters were able to hold off the i.s.i.s. militants. >> especially because they have tanks and humvees and heavy weapons. >>> the british royal air force is expected to begin bombing missions over iraq. >> parliament voted to take part in air strikes over i.s.i.s. but only in iraq. david cameron said britain is not ready for military action in syria. >> an inclusive, democratic government, that recommends all of its people. we've had our strategy in terms of that. backing the syrian opposition. and working with others. i do believe there's a strong case for us to do more in syria. but i did not want to bring a motion to the house today, which there wasn't consensus for. it's

if you listen, they attack teeded this group in northwestern syria and denied territory and were able to take them out without having boots on the ground. what does that mean the it means the quality of the intelligence has gone from zero to the point where they can do targeting quality intelligence. and the third thing is coordination. all 12 of these arab aircraft were u.s. made so that there makes it easier but to deconflict and coordinate and do the assessment speaks well for the allied cooperation and details put into the strikes. >> this could be taking place for a long time. you heard the general say a credible and sustainable and persistent campaign. how long are we talking about? we will ask that question of general scales when we return. ñññññ@w>> right now we al the first assessments of what took place overnight when american tomahawks as well as dropped ammunition and half a dozen muslim country's reining down on syria. general scales, you heard mayfield say this is a credible and sustainable and persistent campaign. >> how long are we talking? they said years. >> i

came barreling through this area of northwestern syria. taking over dozens of villages last friday. since then, sending around 200,000 syrian kurdish refugees. that town is the last one standing in this area. if i.s.i.s. is able to advance on it, the concerns are one of a heightened refugee crisis. we have been hearing from numerous people we're talking to, to include people inside. people around us here on this hill top, while on the one hand, yes. we have been seeing turkish kurds going across the border to reinforce the fighting forces inside. they want to see air strikes. they see this kind of terrain, conducive to that. the open battlefield at this stage. they say they're a town under siege. this coalition has a burden of responsibility to try to prevent that town from being overrun by i.s.i.s. >> so, our -- i guess if the situation holds that they can hold the jihadis back, that will be proof in some ways of the limitations of i.s.i.s. >> perhaps. this front line may not hold for all that much longer. they are getting reinforcements. the artillery that the kurds have, is nowhe

the last town standing in this part of northwestern syria that has not fallen to isis but at this stage without additional support it is unclear how long this kurdish fighting force can keep isis at bay. arwa damon, cnn along the turkey/syria border. >>> joining us from iraq's northern city of irbile, ben wedeman. is there any thought on whether this is a more target rich environment? >> reporter: it's more important to keep in mind that the strategic depth of isis is in syria. their capitol is in the city of raqqa, north central syria and that would definitely be -- if you want to weaken the organization, you go to its heart, its capitol. here in northern iraq the advance of isis has definitely been halted. in some areas we've seen that the peshmerga, the kurdish fighters have been able to push isis back in various places. the situation around baghdad somewhat less clear where there have been advances by isis despite the fact that these airstrikes have been ongoing since the beginning of august. john? >> so, ben, while the kurds have welcomed the coalition airstrikes in iraq, not the s

. >> you're aware of the threat faced by syrian kurds in northwestern syria near the turkish border, near kobani, and there was a firefight playing out just on cnn a short time ago. they appear to be facing the same genocidal threat. the u.s. came to others aids, why have they not come to the aid of the syrian kurds from the air? is that a step you're willing to take? >> as general dempsey said, we have a rather sophisticated and complete isr picture of all that area including the area that you talk about. so, we are aware of what's going on. we are discussing how and what we can do with our coalition partners to help them deal with it. >> peter, explain if you would, the significance of this battle in northern turkey, and why wouldn't the coalition be bombing isis right there right now? >> the kurds are in an existential fight for survival in northern syria. what they need is air support, but they can't get it unless they have forward air controllers on the ground to help direct the strikes. we can do a lot with that very expensive and high-tech suite of intelligence surveillance an

this is the damage in northwestern syria near the town of aleppo. there are two different images. first wave of airstrikes that hit there overnight. this would have been airstrikes targeted dense the group khorasan, strong links to al qaeda. that the u.s. government tells us was in imminent planning for an attack on a u.s. target here at home. the piles of rubble there, the building destroyed. picture near aleppo. wh that we'll share that with you. martha: the u.s. targets terrorists from two different islamic groups. these are the pictures from the u.s.s. philippine as it was firing missiles. also the u.s.s.arleigh burke. they say they were facing an i am nanlt threa -- werefacing anm the khorasan group. military officials say they had to move fast. >> this is a very dangerous group of al qaeda and we had good information they were actively plotting and close to the end of that plotting and planning an attack in europe or the u.s. homeland. martha: former new york city mayor rudy giuliani joins me now. you hear stories about this group khorasan. they are vying for for attention a

air strikes gained control over a significant portion of northwestern syria.g numerous reports about turkish kurds going across trying to beef up the syrian fighting force across the border. a lot of people gathering around watching what is the taking place, cheering when the kurds are able to push forward. >> arwa, joe johns here. i know i have been seeing on twitter many messages, people calling for air strikes to come in and help those people on the border. are the kurdish fighters running out of ammunition? are they outgunned, basically? >> reporter: they are not necessarily running out of ammunition at this stage but one has to put it in these terms. what they are fighting with, small arms fire, they have a machine gun on the back of a vehicle, they have some artillery, mortars, but the isis fighters have we're told is thing likes tanks, american-made tanks that they got their hands on when they took over swaths of northern iraq so they are outgunned when it comes to the military equipment they have. there have been numerous cries, people we've been seeki

the last town standing in this part of northwestern syria that has not fallen to isis, but at this stage, without additional support, it is unclear how long this kurdish fighting force can keep isis at bay. arwa damon, cnn along the turkey/syria border. >>> and a form of theater. that's what one leader in the u.s. coalition is calling air strikes against iran and syria. we'll discuss that, but first, new pictures of the man accused of beheading a coworker in oklahoma. now the fbi has stepped in to find out why. [door bell rings] ♪ [door bell rings] [phone rings] hello. heh. heh. heh-he-he... t-mobile's is the first national network to give you wi-fi calling. now every wi-fi connection works like a t-mobile tower. it's wi-fi unleashed. you know.... there's a more enjoyable way to get your fiber. try phillips fiber good gummies. they're delicious and an excellent source of fiber to help support regularity. mmmm. these are good! the tasty side of fiber. from phillips >>> and now to oklahoma, where the fbi is investigating a man accused of beheading one of his coworkers and severely injuring

-only attack in northwestern syria on an al qaeda offshoot known as the khorasan group, because of whateing called imminent threat plotting. what does that mean? we have new developments, let's get to barbara starr at the pentagon. it was very carefully worded about what this means in terms of was there a specific threat or is this where they would plan threats in the future? what do we know? >> chris, i have just spoken to a senior u.s. official who now confirms that one of the reasons they hit the khorasan group last night with u.s. air strikes is there was in the words of the official, active plotting. there was a u.s. homeland threat. this official now saying that there was a threat from the khorasan group. this al qaeda veterans group against a target in the united states and possibly other targets, western targets overseas. they will not say what the homeland, what the target was in the united states, that they had intelligence on that khorasan was plotting against. but this is the first time we are hearing about target planning by the al qaeda group inside the united states. what

so the eight strikes in northwestern syria a long way from the isis targets, very very important.e hit explosive manufacturing facilities. we hit training sites. we hit commanding control sites all in an attempt to disrupt khorasan. >> mike we had called for bashar al assad to step down. and yet, his air defenses were not up last night. he let all of these warplanes fly in. why? >> i think that was part of our advance warning to al assad, was to let him know that we were coming so that he didn't attack us. because had he attacked us we would have been forced to attack his air defense and some other syrian -- syrian military facilities. so i think it was a warning to him, and he listened to that warning. >> but we did not want to attack syrian sites specifically not at war with syria, with the isis? >> i would -- i would bet, charlie, there was a long discussion at the white house about the legal basis for striking syrian military units. and i bet you that legal basis was a little shaky and i bet that's why we didn't do it. >> mike let's talk about these five arab nations that part

second reason is in places where isil was in authority, especially in northwestern syria, in idlit province, there was a popular reaction against them. and that public popular support helped the moderate armed opposition actually eject isil fighters out of that province and also the same thing happened in aleppo to the west of the city. there was also an uprising, senator, a very big uprising against isil in a province where an entire tribe rose up against them. but they didn't get any help. and that's not a criticism of us, per se, but they just -- they lost a military battle and isil killed -- i've seen estimates as many as a thousand of the tribesmen afterwards in retaliation. so there will be constant problems and fighting between the moderate armed opposition and isil. i don't see any way that that's going to end. >> syrians just in general are mediterranean people and they do not go for this kind of very heavy duty conservative salafi type state. they're just that kind of fundamentalist religiously. >> these insights are very important. i do have questions for you, but my type has run

the moderate armed opposition is very much fighting the regime, too, in northwestern syria as well asaround damascus. to say there's not much to work with, i just think is completely wrong. it's a bad analysis. that said, they are there and on the ground, but their number one priority is not the islamic state. the islamic state has killed thousands of people in iraq and syria. it has killed two very brave american journalists, but the assad regime has killed tens of thousands, if not more than that. we just saw pictures of victims of the military intelligence facilities brought by a guy named caesar who was just here in washington a month ago, six weeks ago. just that part of what the regime has done killed 55,000 people, and we got photographic evidence. that's more than the islamic state has killed. i do not for a minute justify what the islamic state has done -- not at all -- but i think as we try to work with the syrian opposition, we must understand that today, the syrian regime was barrel bombing damascus, which tells you right there, they do not control it, and they were barrel

second reason is in places where isil was in authority, especially in northwestern syria, in idlit province, there was a popular reaction against them. and that public popular support helped the moderate armed opposition actually eject isil fighters out of that province and also the same thing happened in aleppo to the west of the city. there was also an uprising, senator, a very big uprising against isil in a province where an entire tribe rose up against them. but they didn't get any help. and that's not a criticism of us, per se, but they just -- they lost a military battle and isil killed -- i've seen estimates as many as a thousand of the tribesmen afterwards in retaliation. so there will be constant problems and fighting between the moderate armed opposition and isil. i don't see any way that that's going to end. >> syrians just in general are mediterranean people and they do not go for this kind of very heavy duty conservative salafi type state. they're just that kind of fundamentalist religiously. >> these insights are very important. i do have questions for you, but my type has run

elements have used turkey as the main conduit for money and fighters going into western and northwestern syria over the last few years. this is been the criticism. it is come from the u.s. as well that they haven't been scrutinizing which fighters have been getting money and arms and getting shelter and turkey. the turkish government seems so obsessed with getting rid of assad after he snubbed the prime minister that they didn't do much quality control on which fighters were getting strong over the border in syria and now they are paying the price. turkey is still unclear. they will feel pressure to become more engaged now that so allies the top mideast are engaged. the prime minister is a strong headed leader and it is unclear if now he will move or now he will take a quieter role. whether the turkish will provide intelligence and take steps to cut off the funding of isis. i think more than anything, that is what the u.s. wants from turkey. isis controls more than six oil gas fields inside syria and they are making estimates from wanted to million dollars per day. most of that oil is going to

the tomahawk attack on the northwestern part of syria.ome kind of attack perhaps on the united states or europe. so assuming that it was successful, which is to say that some of its leaders were killed, some of the stuff they were m e making was destroyed. how much of a setback is it to a group like that that is determined one way or another to hurt the united states? >> you make a good point, john. we're going to have to see. this was a one plot. we have had nearly 60 plots against the united states since 9/11. most of them have been foiled. but we had fort hood, the boston marathon bombers. any time you can push them back, get them off balance, distract them. it's good. the fact is my bottom line view is that we have to earn our security one tough day at a time. that takes real professionalism on the part of our intelligence law enforcement, military and others to protect us and keep us safe here at home. >> one tough day at a time, that's a good segue. the first day of attacks on targets in syria was big. some 200 pieces of precision w

elements have really used turkey as the main conduit for money and fighters going into western and northwestern syriaover the last few years. this has been the criticism of erdogan. it's come from the u.s. as well that they have there been scrutinizing which fighters have been getting money, have been getting arms, have been getting shelter in turkey. the turkish government seems kind of obsessed with getting rid of assad after he kind of snubbed erdogan, that they didn't do much quality control on which fighters were getting strong over the border in syria, and now they're sort of paying the price. so turkey, it's still unclear. i think it will feel pressure now to become more engaged now that so many of the u.s.'s top mideast allies are engaged. but erdogan is a very strong and strong headed leader, and it's unclear if now he will move or now he will take a kind of a quieter role, whether the turkish will provide intelligence and take steps to cut off the funding of isis. i think more than anything at this stage that's what the u.s. wants from turkey. isis controls more than six oil and gas fields

syria. isil has used ruthless little remedies and tactics to expand its control over areas of northwestern iraq, northeastern syria, threat and security of both countries. they had attacked, killed kidnapped and displaced thousands of religious and ethnic authorities in the region including christians and including small and i think minority groups. u.s. officials have warned syria faced terrorist extremists may also pose a direct threat to our homeland. one concern of foreign fighters holding western passports for travel to this country to carry out a terrorist attack. additionally, our own u.s. citizens are known to have likewise left the united states and go onto the battlefield to perpetrate. the total number engages various groups including isil is between 75,000 to 110,000 persons. u.s. government estimates 12,000 foreign fighters. among those fighters are estimated to be more than 1000 individuals from europe and over 100 from the u.s. with a dozen american fighters with isil is typically. we may be reminded of 9/11 the account was approximately 19 who created the most heinous terrorist

northwestern iraq. and then even in eastern syria. it's imperative to bring onboard. once they turn on isis, isis' days are numbered. it's not going to happen without some sort of political accommodation to bring them on board whether that's increased federalism, you know, their own administrative state within a larger iraq, share of the oil revenue, perhaps their own armed forces and in terms of the national guard. but i think it's also going to require u.s. special forces to go in there and work with the tribes to make them truly effective once they stand up to fight isis. and this is the part of the strategy that's missing from what the president has said when he's boxed himself in to this no boots on the ground, no forces in contact, no forces in combat. >> here's the thing i don't understand. if i'm a sunni tribesman and i've seen what maliki did once the u.s. left, i've seen the money stop, i've seen the -- the, you know, i've seen sunnis in the iraqi military relegated to lower positions. i've seen incompetent generals buying their way in and then finally aband

situation that is metastasizing in that part of the world and they're not going to stop in eastern syria or northwestern iraq. they have a goal and it's very specifically defined. the borders in that part of the world, these people have no appreciation for historically because they have nothing to do with it. they're looking to upend the entire middle east earn region and want to claim it for themselves. i yield back. >> gentleman's time has expired. >> i want to thank mr. higgins for his comments as well. thank you, gentlemen, for your service to our nation. you have an immense challenge ahead of you. we all recognize that and we support it where we can. having a dialog about the global threats to safety and security is very important not only for law enforcements and policymakers but also the american people. i want to comment about secretary johnson, you mentioned whether you use a broad spectrum and whether it's broad or narrow, the fact is we have no idea who's in our country or what their intent is. one side of the political spectrum really wants to paint a rosy picture we have a secure border but

they are not going to stop in eastern syria or northwestern iraq. they have a goal. it's very specifically defined. the borders in that part of the world, these people have no appreciation for historically because they had nothing to do with it. they are looking to upend the entire middle eastern region. and wanting to claim it for themselves. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. duncan is recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for the timeliness of this committee. i want to thank the gentleman, mr. higgins, for his comments as well. thank you, gentlemen, for your service to this nation. you have an immense challenge ahead of you. we all recognize that. and we support it where we can. having a dialogue about the threats, global threats to safety and security is very, very important, not only for lawmakers and policymakers, but also the american people. i want to comment about secretary johnson, you mentioned o.t.m.'s and whether we -- you use a broad spectrum and whether it's broad or narrow, the fact is, we have no

we cannot ignore the brutal events that have taken place in northwestern iraq and a in eastern syria and we cannot ignore the threat that brutality poses to america and our allies. isis is a brutal terrorist organization. it has killed innocent americans like the two brave journalists, james foley and steven sotloff whom they beheaded. thousands of innocent iraqis and syrians have perished at their hands and it will continue to do so unless the world comes together to state of them. -- stop them. let us not forget one of the biggest reasons we first acted against isis militarily this summer was to prevent the imminent genocide of a religious minority, the yazidi people in iraq. images of tens of thousands of yazidis and christians who were hound and persecuted by isis and ultimately retreated to the top of a mountain i think transfixed the american people this august and the action that our president took and that our military executed on to allow them to safely flee courage all of us to know there are places when american military might can and should be used for good. just as the i

they are not going to stop in eastern syria or northwestern iraq. they have a goal. it's very specifically defined. the borders in that part of the world, these people have no appreciation for historically because they had nothing to do with it. they are looking to upend the entire middle eastern region. and wanting to claim it for themselves. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. duncan is recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for the timeliness of this committee. i want to thank the gentleman, mr. higgins, for his comments as well. thank you, gentlemen, for your service to this nation. you have an immense challenge ahead of you. we all recognize that. and we support it where we can. having a dialogue about the threats, global threats to safety and security is very, very important, not only for lawmakers and policymakers, but also the american people. i want to comment about secretary johnson, you mentioned o.t.m.'s and whether we -- you use a broad spectrum and whether it's broad or narrow, the fact is, we have no

syria are also against the airstrikes and are taking to the streets to protest. here is our report. [ protesting ] >> reporter: god promised us victory. obama promised us defeat. this is what syrians in the northwesternprovince of idlib want to tell the world. they took to the streets to protest against the u.s.-led military campaign against the islamic state in iraq and the levant. it's not because they support isil. these people say they don't trust the administration. obama, our revolution is an islamic one. we want an islamic state. that's what they chanted. >> we condemn the airstrikes against the syrian people. the coalition is with the regime, and they're not just targeting isil. >> reporter: al nusra is al-qaeda's branch. the group ordered their fighters to leave their bases in anticipation of more attacks. the u.s. did say they did attack khorasan which is a part of al nusra. there were many who asked if the military campaign would help the syrian regime militarily. now many rebel commanders say that's exactly what it will do. >> reporter: the movement was the first free syrian army brigade to react which received anti-tank missiles from the u.s. it said that the coalition strikes did not un

syria. the analysts say this particular rebel leader had fought against the islamic state, and worked with moderate groups trying to topple president bash shall al-assad the bombing happened in the northwestern province of so, understand, the one that is sort on our side in this conflict, against the isis rebels, and trying to push back on bashar al-assad, that leader has been killed in a bombing. very bad news in the short term. we just got the notice of this bombing. we'll be getting details in the numbers few minutes and then i'll bring them to you. >>> ray rice has just broken his silence after he lost his job in the nfl for knocking out his then-fiancee in an elevator. she is apparently defending her husband online. we'll have details about that and what exactly the nfl really wanted to know before initially suspending him for two games. did it really want to what was on the video? it could have known. if tmz can get it, roger goodell can get it. make no mistake. ok, if you're up there, i could use some help. smart sarah. seeking guidance. just like with your investments. that sets you apart. it does? it does. you're type e*. and seeking another perspective is what type e*s do. oh, and