>> i can't talk specifically about raqqa because we don't have that kind of intelligence on raqqa. in the case of ramadi there is a sunni predominates in the police force that is ready to follow in behind the force that is attempting to take ramadi back and it is the intention of the iraqi government to put that police force in place. i don't at this instance have the numbers to i can provide those if you would like them. >> in raqqa are we aware of any force that is available to secure and hold raqqa are able to take it out or would we have to stay as long as it took? >> the forces that we are aware of at this point are the sitting democratic forces that are working with the parties partners that are willing to put pressure on raqqa but it's not clear that force is large enough to be the whole force and a security force that would follow. that is one of the reasons that we have advocated and gotten authorities to put special forces into syria to build the depth of intelligence to understand which forces are unable to put increasing pressure and a hold force into raqqa. >> think is

ted cruz talked about carpet bombing raqqa.at is the exact opposite what we heard from defense secretary ash carter. i want to go back, he said there is no u.s. ground forces recommended although he talks a lot about trainers being on the ground. moments ago he talked about training forces already together and grouped to fight. i don't know why we wouldn't have supported those people in the first place. he said you know last time we learned a lesson with half a billion dollars and we only got five or six people out of that effort because we tried to get them from scratch. now we're going in and supporting groups that already exist. marc, what sense can be made of this? >> very hard to. what he doesn't tell you when he says there are no ground troops recommended is that the president put caveats before they developed their military plan saying that he wants no boots on ground. martha: that's right. >> president told them, normally whatps, when the president united states set as goal, we're going to destroy isis. he goes to the m

he said to me i arrived three years ago from raqqa. a year ago exactly, yes. i said, from raqqa? he said, yes. from the islamic state? he said, yes. i said, you know, you look very westernized. how do you see the situation this? he said, sir, you know, it is the most secure part of iraq. i said, what? but they are imposing the islamic code in women, and, you know, girls are in, westernized women. how it comes -- [inaudible] he said, look, people in the middle east, people in iraq in particular looking for security, looking for law and order. before the islamic state, there were several militias there, warlords. they were pill aroundizing the people -- pill rising the people. now you have one government to deal with. they said electricity is there, water is there, safety is there, police is there, traffic is there, you know? so he said, you know, the needs of the people are satisfied. yes, it is brutal. yes, it is actually savage. but theyou don't actually provoke them, if you accept their laws at least temporarily, you are not touched. so they have, as i said, they are -- the und

, and that we could potentially take back raqqa and those two cities from the clutches of isis?well, let's talk iraq first. at the invitation with the permission of the iraqi government, our special forces guys wouldn't -- well, the president and the administration, we're not considered ground troops. the iraqis would consider us advisers as well. so let's send in advisers with the iraqi units to improve their abilities. now, it's going to be much more difficult in syria. that's the safe haven as we all know for isis. a moderate sunni coalition put together by leaders from the middle east. >> i apologize we've got to go. we have some breaking news at the moment. thank you for your insight today. arthel? >> thank you, eric. >>> a fox news alert. want to take you to cape canaveral, florida. looking at live shots right there. where nasa is getting set to launch this unmanned commercial rocket bound for the international space station. let's listen to take off. >> 3, 2, 1. liftoff. on the shoulders of atlas, the ssdeke slaton two orbital spacecraft soars toward the international spa

they're in raqqa right now. howe can i carry on exposing my chide to severed heads and bodies on a daily basis. a mother in raqqa. >> well i agree with my honourable friend. the reality we have to acknowledge, whether we like it or not, isil is at war with us. we don't have to pretech some case about weapons of mass destruction nor is this a threat of citizens of country from their own government. these are about people at war with us and our values and our society. this is not a are with of choice. around i haven't spoken to anyone, mr. speaker, who demurs from the proposition that isil must be denied the territory that they currently control. and while the defeat of isil and its ideology will be the worth of many years, even decades, retaking of this territory is an urgent and immediate requirement. this, therefore is the mission. was while the civil war rages in syria it is virtually impossible to achieve that. that is the necessary first step. and finally, after the negotiations and the agreements of a syria

they're in raqqa right now. howe can i carry on exposing my chide to severed heads and bodies on a daily basis. a mother in raqqa. >> well i agree with my honourable friend. the reality we have to acknowledge, whether we like it or not, isil is at war with us. we don't have to pretech some case about weapons of mass destruction nor is this a threat of citizens of country from their own government. these are about people at war with us and our values and our society. this is not a are with of choice. around i haven't spoken to anyone, mr. speaker, who demurs from the proposition that isil must be denied the territory that they currently control. and while the defeat of isil and its ideology will be the worth of many years, even decades, retaking of this territory is an urgent and immediate requirement. this, therefore is the mission. was while the civil war rages in syria it is virtually impossible to achieve that. that is the necessary first step. and finally, after the negotiations and the agreements of a syria

stronghold of raqqa. this would be important because the yarmouk refugee camp is a very dangerous place right now. comeub hacomeubban ki-moon has e deepest refuges of hell. el nusra fighters as well as pro and antigovernment militias. if a deal could be brokered where i.s.i.l. is able to leave, that will allow the u.n. to get in there and deliver aid to those that are in need of it most. it is important to note, this is not a done deal yet, but if it does get done it could happen as early as saturday. >>> the u.s. has carried out air strikes in support of afghan reenforcements around sangen. government forces arrived on wednesday after the taliban took most of the district. let's get the latest from kais azimi who is in helmand province close to the fighting. joins us close to that area. now are reenforcements there for the afghan forces but really is it too little, too late? >> well, fauziah, we are hearing from locals in sangen that there is heavy fighting going on in a very small bazaar that sangen has

barrel bombs have hit damascus, aleppo and raqqa.people have been used to picking themselves up after beaming tacks. but those born since the conflict began can't understand why their parents can't stop fighting. osama ben javad, al jazeera. >>> says he will let parliament make the final decision. cameron plans to call a one day debate on wednesday, that would lead to a so-called free vote, allowing members to vote their conscious insteaconscience instg party lines. give cameron the authority he needs to extend the campaign limited to only targets in iraq. two years ago, parliament voted against allowing attacks in syria. five air strikes against i.s.i.l. in iraq. in targets ramadi, sinjar and mosul over the weekend. french parliament voted to increase bombing activity following the paris attacks two weeks ago. the iraqi army is warning citizens in the i.s.i.l.-held city of ramadi to get out immediately. iraqi state tv told residents to head south to an area secured by the army. al jazeera's imran khan is in iraq and says it's clear

stronghold of raqqa. russian media reported that the submarine arrived in waters on tuesday. syrian activists say the first lot of people have left the city of homs. that's the last rebel stronghold in toms which has been under siege for around two years now. world leaders are planning to meet in new york next week to discuss the war in syria. john carey made the announcement after holding talks with ban ki-moon. they are pushing for talks between rebels and the government by january 1. >> we talked about syria and the need for the u.n. negotiations to be able to begin and hopefully for a cease fire to take effect if we can achieve that >>> russia has cast doubts over those talks in new york. >> as far as we're concerned, this meeting has not yet been agreed upon. the things which were agreed during vienna meeting need to be accomplished first and there must be two lists, one list of the opposition, members of the opposition who would participate in the talks with the government and we expect the leading role to be played in putting that list together >>> russia has also crit

stronghold of raqqa. it was unclear if any of the other armed affection inside that refugee camp would be party to this agreement or not. that would be the al qaeda-linked el nusra front operating in the camp as well as pro, and antigovernment militants also operating there that have sort refuse divided up areas of the sprawling refugee camp and sort of taken them over. so lot of questions still. but the u.n. is saying that they are involved in this potential, key word potential deal. we are hearing if it does go through it so happen as early as saturday where you could start to see some of these fighters leaving that refugee camp. >> so some of the fighters will be leaving. we know that the yarmouk refugee camp has been the scene of heavy fighting near damascus and many civilians trapped inside. why would any potential deal be important? >> because the u.n. says that there are about still 18,000 refugees, nnlt innocent civilias living inside this refugee camp. primarily because there are so many fighting

led coalition, airstrikes which hit syria's raqqa province. that is according to the syrian observatory for human rights. 15 explosions were reported in and around the isil heartland city of raqqa. the u.s. says a total of 29 strikes were launched in syria and the iraq on saturday. >> turkey's now in a diplomatic dispute with iraq. bob dad's accusing ankara of breaching sovereignty do to the presence of turkish troops in northern iraq. we have this report from erbil. >> you don't have to go far in erbil to find how close the ties are between turkey and the kurdish region. ankara imports a lot of oil from here and in return, the kurdish region a lot of turkish products. the relation between baghdad and ankara are strained over revenue disputes going back a decade and with turkish troops on iraqi soil, tensions was risen, despite the fact baghdad has known about the troops since they arrived. writing on political affairs, this reporter said other concerns lie behind the decision to send trooops tohelp train the militia belonging to the governor

rebel groups have seized a dam near raqqa. tells them to, quote be patient because god is with you. cnn did not verify the authenticity of that message but we want to bring in cnn correspondent robin quil and lieutenant general mark hertling. mark, we know they are 550 yards from this compound. do we know, based on that, how close iraqi forces are to retaking ramadi as a whole? >> it does sound like in terms of distance, christi, that they are close, however, the issues they are facing on the ground such as boobytraps and sniper fire and the threat of injuring civilians in this fight that could be caught in the cross-fire is what is slowing them down so much. we do know that they have captured a high-level member of isis on the ground and not to be diffused with the leader of isis, baghdadi. according to officials he is providing information how many fighters are left inside. we did understand from the information that there were 300 to 500 fighters. we know he is a foreign fighter and not iraqi so we are not sure where he is

we're going after isil from their stronghold right down in downtown raqqa to libya, where we took out the isil leader there. the point is that isil leaders cannot hide, and our message to them is you are next. every day we destroy as well as more of isil's forces. their fighting positions, bunkers, and staging areas, their heavy weapons, bomb making factories, yo compounding and training camps, in many places they have not been able to maneuver because we know we'll wipe them out. since this you remember isil has not had a single successful major offensive operation on the ground in either syria or in iraq. in recent weeks we've unleashed a new wave of strikes on their lifeline, their oil infrastructure. destroying hundreds of their tankers, trucks, wells, and refineries, and we'll keep on hammering those. isil also continues to lose territory in iraq. isil had already lost across kikuk province and isil lost on oil refinery. we saw forces, so far isil has lost 40% of the populated areas that it once controlled in iraq. and it will lose more. iraqi forces are now fighting their way de

raqqa is the caliphate base. raqqa is the place where all these activities are eminating from. when you see what they're capable of, in raqqa we have information they are developing chemical weapons. it is just, it is delusional to the ultimate and by the way, now john kerry is saying that russia and we will work together. i mean it is beyond anything i ever heard. trish: you don't like the idea of working with vladmir putin to fight isis, senator? >> vladmir putin's objectives are three. one to maintain his base there. the second to be a major player in the middle east. russians were kicked out in 1973 by anwar sadat. third, to prop up bashar assad, the guy who killed 240,000 people, driven millions into refugee status. he is the godfather of isis. are we going to help russia prop up a guy that slaughtered innocent people including with chemical weapons? trish: because we're that desperate, senator? we allowed this terrorist group to flourish and it is gaining size and power that we're at such disadvantage we need to look for russia to help? >> that is the state were in althou

for that matter if they get on the phone or on to an internet line and they are communicating with raqqa or mosul, someone with i.s.i.l. central we have a chance to pick that up but if they are smart to keep it to themselves and be a lone wolf or in the two cases you have been addressing here to do it with immediate family members, someone you trust if it's the san bernardino or the brothers in boston if you don't tell anyone you don't trust absolutely how are you ever going to pick that up? we saw president obama essentially say that in his press conference last friday. how do you find these people when they have given no indication to the outside world at all that they intend to do this. >> of course of the dozen or so recommendations to encounter the influence of i.s.i.l. only a couple of them are military based, the rest are about winning a war through messaging and sort of winning the hearts and minds of people, douglas good to talk to you and thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you. >> douglas is a future of war fellow at the new america foundation. well it's the life blo

charles: you mentioned raqqa, i saw a tweet. a store in raqqa with michael cores handbags and louie i have thloulou louie vuitton shoes. >> pinpoints targets of individuals with so many handcuffs on ability to hit epicenters of isis fighters because of the risk of civilian casualties, it shows you that isis knows how to fund what they are doing with racketeering and extorting they are funding themselves. >> we could agree that things are worse, even video releases are down, hopefully, the time table is correct, we're celebrating demise of isis in syria and iraq, thank you. great show. we appreciate you watching at home of night 6 p.m., tom su sullivan is in for lou dobbs. tom: i am tom sullivan in for "lou dobbs tonight." >> i takes this up with kt fantastic far land, also war of words between donald trump and hillary clinton getting personal. republican frontrunner accusing bill of having quote, a terrible record of women abuse. that remark days after mr

it is really ramadi, mosul and raqqa. ramadi and raqqa.on was right, today the pentagon -- well the spokesman in baghdad congratulated forces but not going so far as the iraqis saying that the town is actually liberated. what the americans did do is they released a drone video showing iraqi forces raising the iraqi flag over that government center which i thought was interesting. i tweeted back, it would be nice to see drone footage of the actual fighting so we could see for ourselves just how much of the city was taken and who's involved. iran's right also saying the administration has been very tight-lipped about what americans are doing on the ground if they're advising. i mean americans in any stripe, not just troops in uniform. >> are we also perhaps possibly, kevin, witnessing -- what's the best phrase here -- because i want to be very careful -- iraqi fighters haven't really had the best of reputations for being just very good at fighting. are we -- >> you can say it. they ran away. >> yes. are we perhaps seeing a change in that reg

. >> what is your definition of raqqa? they're not what we would call moderate, per se, but when you -- >> rose: is al-nusra as powerful as i.s.i.s. in syria? >> no. but they are players and they are parts of the opposition but a part the u.s. doesn't like. >> rose: from qatar and other places. >> yeah. they are pretty smart. they have leadership and funds. >> they're not trying to impose a strict law -- want to smoke? smoke. they won't flog you like i.s.i.s. they understand they need to have to syrians like them, to want to be there. they're a much more syrian movement than i.s.i.s. they learned the lessons of al quaida and iraq failures where they had the population turn against them. when nusra was establishing itself in the beginning especially 2012, they were trying to position themselves as being the protectors of the people and even syrians uncomfortable with their ideology were not diswelcoming them from their neighborhood because they trusted them to distribute the bread properly and take on the assad regime becau

. >> if you are in raqqa you are part of the problem or you are already dead. charles: i saw a picture of a shop in raqqa selling handbags and shoes. i thought what the heck. i thought we bombed the smither smithereens out of it. >> there is collateral damage in paris and san bernardino. talk about the moral high ground. stop it now or it will go on for for -- for years with thousands dying. >> in world war iied nazis were marching until they came to the shores of england it was the massive overwhelming bombing that stopped them. >> if you want to win the war, start killing bad guys. charles: sergeant bowe bergdahl has been referred to trial by a sort martian. sort -- by a court-martial. his arraignment date has not yet been set. i have got to say, i wish the charges were more than that. but as someone who has fought and understands what is at stake. most military people consider them a deserter. >> he single person who was in his unit said this guy is a deserter. he left us. he wanted to be -- he may actually have been part of the taliban at that point. i thin

we're going after isil from their stronghold right down, right in downtown raqqa to libya, where we took our abu nabil, the isil leader there. the point is isis leaders cannot hide and our next message to them is simple: you are next. here at home.... there are questions about whether officials missed warnings.... that san bernardino attacker.... tashfeen malik had jihadi sympathies.... before she came to the u.s. a-b-c news has learned a secret u-s policy prevented searching social media.... as part of the screening process. the department of homeland security tells a-b-c news.. it has started.... pilot programs to search.... the social media of visa applicants. comedian bill cosby is fighting back tonight.. countersuing seven of his accusers. his attorney says cosby never drugged or sexually assaulted the women listed in the lawsuit. cosby's lawyer says the "false.. opportunistic" accusations have caused cosby to suffer loss of jobs and "mortification." cosby is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. we all know..... the d-m-v can be stressful. this woman can't take the long lines.

their headquarters is based in raqqa.rom there they are expanding into other countries and inspiring others to do these terrorist attacks. that will grow as long as they have this territory. taking territory away from them is a physical thing. it's not like counter insurgency in baghdad. this is taking territory away it many no different than taking territory away from the germans. bill: and that's not happening in the numbers folks like you and others would like to see. thank you, sir. we'll speak again. martha: as we get brand-new details of a new terror manhunt. there are more suspects that could be connected to the paris attacks still out there. bill: republican candidate continue to call out donald trump for his controversial remark on muslims. we'll talk to senator lyndsey graham who had this to say. >> you know how you win this war? you side with people who reject this ideology and tell donald trump to go to hell. before i switched and saved hundreds with the aarp auto insurance program from the hartford. i had don

in raqqa and syria and mosul, and talk about degrading i.s.i.l.'s ability to carry out the mission, and the operations shrunk. there has been no major operations since may, and are targetting the revenue sources in areas occupied by i.s.i.l. in iraq and syria. >> thank you for that report. >> community leaders in san bernardino are planning a vigil on monday to honour the 14 killed and 21 injured in last week's attack. religious leaders did their beved to hept the -- best to help the community heel. how are the residents coping, melissa chan? >> in many ways there has been so much mayhem and talk about the investigation, a looking at syed farook and tashfeen malik. that the community took the opportunity to come to grips with the tragedy. >> reporter: church services at the rock church and world outrenaling center. it's celebration now, but served as an evacuation center during the wednesday attack. >> how scary, what do they say? although i walk through the valley of the shadow of death. i fear no evil. >> they opted for a sombre affair at an inne

we are told the cruise missiles successfully hit designated isis targets in raqqa. in washington, d.c., the senate is expected to vote on a sweeping shift in education today. it would makeover the widely criticized no child left behind act. if enacted, states would gain greater control over school accountability, as well as the ways testing is used to evaluate teachers, schools, and student progress. and record rainfall continues to pound parts of the pacific northwest. an unrelenting storm system has caused flooding, landslides and oregon. this morning, amtrak rail lines are closed, streets are closed, and people have evacuated their homes. and it's not letting up. the heavy rain is expected to continue throughout the rest of the week. elizabeth: what's in iowa town to do after three fourths of its fire department quits? eric: and an iowa man is playing a leading role in how u.s.-cuba relations have thawed. elizabeth: plus alyx sacks is live. alyx: it seems like any other morning at hope ministries but they have been doing this type of community service for about 1

>> raqqa, you noted this yourself, mr.irman, the syrian kurds to the north have d done an excellent job of clearing their territory. >> we're not going into raqqa and you and i know that. >> when it comes to treasure, over $5 billion in terms of costs of fighting isis since august 2014 has been spent. many thousands of bombs have already been dropped, so what is the next phase in the fight against isis going to look like and the accomplishments and goals related to it? with us right now, four star general wesley clark joining us from little rock. welcome, general. when you look at what has been done and i went through some of that which has been done and then the success rate thereafter, what are the future military options that would work on the ground? >> got to get more eyes on the ground if you're going to drop more ordinance. as everyone has said, it's not productive to put u.s. ground combat troops in at this stage. got to have the fighting on the ground done by people in the region. that's difficult. because the kur

we're going after isil from their stronghold right in downtown raqqa to libya where we took out abi nabil. isil leaders cannot hide and our next message to them is simple. you are next. every day we destroy as well more of isil's forces. their fighting positions, bunkers and staging areas, their heavy weapons, bomb making factories compounds and training camps. many places isil's lost its they know if they masked their forces we will wipe them out. in fact, since this summer, isil has not had a single successful major offensive operation on the ground in either syria or iraq. in recent weeks we've unleashed new wave of strikes on their lifeline, their oil infrastructure, destroying hundreds of their tanker trucks, wells, and refineries and we're going to keep on hammering those. isil also continues to lose territory in iraq. isil had already lost and at tikrit, isil lost at sinjar losing a strategic highway. isil last at baji with its oil refinery. we saw during the daring raids supported by our special forces which rescued dozens of prisoners from isil and which master sergeant joshua wh

>> in raqqa, the syrian capital city of the islamic state. i was reporting.was my fifth trip to syria since the beginning of the revolution. and they had taken me. i tried to escape. of course, they were not happy. i was moved and moved and moved. and some of the people that were moved with me, eventually, we hostages western together, journalists -- amy: why did you open your book with james foley? >> james was the first to be murdered. it was a personal trauma to me, but also for the world. this is why i opened my book with him because the aim of the islamic state by murdering him open anden a trap wide under our feet. they wanted to impose their agenda on us. to stone us, that we are so much shocked that we stop acting rationally. there's something very specific with a terror action. the success, the completion of a terrorist attack does not depend on the perpetrators, but it victims.n its the beautiful example for that is the aftermath of 9/11. i mean, how did the bush administration react after 9/11? we had the invasion of afghanistan and iraq the later

thousands will pack raqqa feller center. thee tradition in its 83rd year dates back to 1931 when they erected a 20 foot tree on christmas eve. and the "today" show gang will bliej anday others. it is 8:00/7:00 central time right ehere. and let's check in with meteorologist, bill karins. >>> some years it's cold and windy. this year, it won't be cold, that's guaranteed. look at this tropical feed from the pacific. it's not going to be clear skies. there's a lot of rain out there this morning that has to move up and down the eastern seaboard. and now north of charlotte. so, this is 7:00 a.m. and it's going to slowly move towards the east coast. pittsburgh clears out about noon and farther to the south, we'll watch the heavier showers towards about 5:00 p.m. and new york city looks like steadier rains right around 5:00 and scattered showers but not a heavy soaking rain. aboutin mid-50s and that's mild conditions for this time of year. there will be occasional showers but it will not ruin the festivities. at least they'll be war

. >> in the last few weeks we have seen the price of oil in raqqa doubling.are seeing new agricultural taxes imposed a couple of days ago. and other creative measures of raising revenue from the population. >> reporter: analysts estimates isil brings in $83 million a month, 43 from oil, and the rest from taxes. >> that's a very large number for a terrorist organization, but pretty small for a state. >> reporter: budget pressures that help explain why isil's oil revenues have been squeezed, the population has been squeezed even harder. >> they are started to charge people a fixed rate for leaving the caliphate. >> reporter: an exit tax designed to degrade the group from the bottom up. >> the regional leaders live like barons, and the local military commanders and their forces live a whole lot better and are paid better than the average citizen. >> reporter: in the long run that structure could bring down isil from within. in the short-term, the group has plenty of muscle by financially pummelling the civilians it controls. >>> a world famous missionary about t

the fight to retake the city comes after kurtish fighters seized the city of isis to the capital of raqqa in syria. >>> the f.a.a. issues new rules, what you need to know if you are buying a drone for the holidays. >>> new information on a surveillance video of the shooting and why they did shoot. >>> and who is cutting in the lead for the race for the white house. [ music ] >>> i'd like to wish a merry christmas and happy new year to my mother evelyn, my father john, my brother nicholas and to all of my family and friends in new jersey happy holidays and i'll see you in 2016. go rutgers. you could be one of them. lifestyle changes that can prevent you from getting type 2 diabetes. sponsored by naccd with support from the centers for disease control and prevention >>> new rules seem to take effect for anyone who operates a drone. >> the f.a.a. announcing drone devices have to be registered through a federal website. janel has more. >> chris and mary 89 of the 240 close call collisions between drones and airplanes nationwide have happened in the tristate area and a way to hold drone operat

there have been wins-- raqqa. we have to ask that these events have happened in the last couple of months. what has been happening over the last 450 days. how has the islamic state managed to keep its oil operations going on. why haven't we targeted the commodity water. islamic state owned the mosul dam >>> they would say they've taken out i.s.i.l.'s capabilities with oil manufacturing or refinery and they have successes there >> that's starting to happen, but on the other hand you're hearing about erdogan and his oil smuggling operation going on with islamic state. look where israel gets the oil from. we have to look at the holistic approach. we have to stands back and have serious conversations with whose turkey's priorities are, is it pkk, or the islamic state. have a talk about saudi arabia >>> all these players need to work together >> absolutely. syria has porous borders. we're concentrating raqqa but yemen is becoming an important state and libya is right to go >>> they could blow up any minute >> it's mult

yes, there may be cells elsewhere but there is little doubt that the nerve center is in raqqa. just over 14 months ago this house sanctioned military action in iraq against isil-daesh by 520 votes to 43. nobody expected that action to bring about a swift end to the threat from isil. indeed the prime minister in responding to an intervention, said, i quote, this mission will take not just months but years. justification after u.n. security council resolution 2249. paragraph 5 of that resolution unanimously agreed, and i quote, calls upon member-states that have the capacity to do so, to take all necessary measures to eradicate the safe haven isil has established over significant parts of iraq and syria. i give way. >> i thank the right honourable member tore taking my question. for the point i would point to the honourable member from subject darby, a similar call from france, sending reconnaissance aircraft but refusing to bomb. >> mr. speaker, germany are constrained by their, by their history but, the point i'm making is that after recent events where we sit now in this parli

christina: airstrikes hit several isis targets in the raqqa in northern syria today, syrian observatory for human right organization said that 15 blasts killed 32 isis fighters, and wound more than 40. opposition activist, loyal to the group said that the attacks were carried out by russian warplanes and at least 15 people were killed. whether or not tashfeen malik radicalized her american born husband. investigator are looking into whether malik use your 2014 marriage to get into u.s. to commit the terrorist act. christina: scotland yard. a 29-year-old man was tased and arrested yesterday after two people were injured during a knife attack at 8 london subway station, the suspect reportedly said, this is for syria. a victim suffered serious injuries, and is in stable condition, it is not clear if authorities were looking for other suspects at the address. antwan: looking at video from a tribute from deadly terrorist smith playing in the stay of lights. american rock group eagles of death metal played atlanta bataclan on the night of the attacks. christina: well president jimmy carter is

we're going after isil from their strong hold right in downtown raqqa to libya where we took out abu, isil leader there. our message to them is simple. you are next. every day we destroy as well more of isil's forces. their fighting positions, bunkers and staging areas, heavy weapons, bomb making factories, compounds and training camps. many places isil has lost freedom of maneuver because they know if they mask forces, we'll wipe them out. in fact since this summer, isil has not had a single successful, major offensive operation on the ground in either syria or iraq. in recent weeks, we've unleashed a new wave of strikes on their life line, oil infrastructure, destroying hundreds of tankers, trucks, wells, and refineries. we're going to keep on hammering those. isil continues to lose territory in iraq. isil had already lost across tecrete. isil lost at baji with the oil refinery we saw during the raid of our special forces which rescued dozens of prisoners from isil and master sergeant joshua wheeler made the ultimate sacrifice. so far isil has lost about 40% of the populated areas i

the study - "isis in america: from retweets to raqqa" reveals staggering numbers:900 active investigations of isis sympathizers250 americans who have traveled or attempted to travel to syriaand 71 seamus hughes/gwu program on extremism"the numbers are unprecedented."co-author seamus hughes and his team spent months pouring over thousands of documents and says the faces s those connected to isis vary dramatically.like this mississipi couplethis high school girl from alabama and this young man from massachusetts.standup kf"the study raises many questions about how the government has failed and what more it shshld be doing to prevent americans from fofoowing the islamic state."suggestions include more government funding for prevention, launching a message war at home and not just abroad, and new laws to protect muslim americans who want to help with that counter messaging.seamus hughes/gwu program on extremism"they want to go on twitter they want to interactith radicals and try to change their views on these kinds of things but they're concerned about the liability. they're concerned that if

raqqa is an i.s.i.l. stronghold, but you have different groups operating in the areas like the al-nusra front. it is an al-qaeda affiliate. it has been trying to distance itself from i.s.i.l., but the problem it faces now is that if it goes ahead with the deal with the syrian government, it is just going to be further seen by the mainstream syrian opposition as a group that is betraying the revolution. this is exactly why now they are asking for more time to evaluate the whole thing. there's also another issue, which is basically i.s.i.l. and the al-nusra front waiting for guarantees from the government that the moment they start pulling out with the families, the passages are going to be safe and the roads out of damascus are going to be completely safe for them to start the evacuation >>> lit's look ahead-- let's look ahead to the talks that are scheduled for january 15. obviously, there is a lot of stake if the talks go ahead. there's a lot at stage if they do not happen. can you set the stage for us?

particularly involved isil fighters safe passage of the yarmouk refugee camp and into the isil stronghold of raqqa. yarmouk. now manow ban ki-moon has called it the deepest circle the hell. there are not just isil fighters but there are al-qaeda-linke al-qaeda-linkeddal nusra front fighters as well as militias all fighting for territory within this sprawling community on the outskirts of damascus. the u.n. said there are 18,000 refugees, innocent civilians there that the u.n. is not able to get any sort of aid into, so the thinking is if this deal can be brokered, and some of these armed fighters, especially the isil fighters are able to leave, that will allow the u.n. to get in there and deliver aid to the people that need it the most. now it is important that it is not a deal yet, but we're told if it does get done, it could happen as early as saturday. >> gabriel elizondo reporting from the united nations. now off to afghanistan where the u.s.-led airstrikes are intensifying the block of an offensive bombing. taliban forces took control of the area earlier this week, but the afghan army has dis

yes, they are in raqqa. on theçó isis terrorists in mosul wouldb+Ñ a major undertaking for the coalition. we will see if that happens.e1 if it does, it pro"g1e would happen as soon as this comingi] sprinc >> all right. and other than that, does the president seem to be enjoying his!ei$ursq there? >> well, let me tell you. what happens is you are alwaysáv#mÑ keeping an eye on things back in w g$ington because, you know, at a head back to d.c. but so far, knock on wood, nothing hasÑi happened. little break wit(ñá his family. but it's back to business as we look forward to 2016. a full agenda, by the way, including very likely executive actionxd on gunsut"tp the early part of the year. we'll keep an eye on that for you, kimberly, back to you. >> thank you for that report. certainly looks like nice weather there. developing right now.ok a new year's terror plot thwarted in uuu thwarted in uuu belgium pw raid. fox news foreign affairs correspondent benjamin hall has the story from7$tú our london bureau.f0% >> yet

. >> the military action is going to kill civilians and raqqa.t is going to create maybe some martyrs as a result of it. that military actions, where does it lead to? >> since august last year, coalition forces dropped thousands of bombs on syria, i.s.i.l. is in place. the government argues the u.k. is effectively bombing targets in iraq, and could make a difference in syria, the toronto aircraft can deliver accurate missiles that others don't have. if the aim is to remove i.s.i.l., air strikes alone won't achieve that. ground troops can. there are 70,000 free syrian awn yea fighters that can retake territory, the numbers are disputed. britain has been here before. in 2003 when m.p.s approved military action in iraq. this time protesters are demanding to be heard. >> don't make the mistake you made before, and take us into another bombing campaign, making the situation worse and leading to the death of civilians. it may make the situation here dangerous. two years ago david cameron urged attacks in syria. >> this time the target changed. it's exp

looks like there will only be minor changes to the strategy, the liberation of ramadi and fallujah and raqqaas far as the presidential campaign goes, i think anybody would do this, there might be lots of ideas floated out, but once that candidate is actually in the office of president and has to make those decisions a lot of times it looks different. not unusual for some of the items floated during the campaign and touted during the campaign to be discarded after the oath of office. >> it's fascinating to me, at these debates, because i go to them all, wow, that's the first time i've ever heard that item. any administration where there's a war of some sort going through, and thought through these veenlts. these eventualities. >> five families work low-wage jobs in 21st century america. >> companies have had to lay off thousands of workers. >> people can't afford to keep up with the cost of housing and food. >> at work, and at home,

they're in raqqa right now. howe can i carry on exposing my chide to severed heads and bodies on a daily basis. a mother in raqqa. >> well i agree with my honourable friend. the reality we have to acknowledge, whether we like it or not, isil is at war with us. we don't have to pretech some case about weapons of mass destruction nor is this a threat of citizens of country from their own government. these are about people at war with us and our values and our society. this is not a are with of choice. around i haven't spoken to anyone, mr. speaker, who demurs from the proposition that isil must be denied the territory that they currently control. and while the defeat of isil and its ideology will be the worth of many years, even decades, retaking of this territory is an urgent and immediate requirement. this, therefore is the mission. was while the civil war rages in syria it is virtually impossible to achieve that. that is the necessary first step. and finally, after the negotiations and the agreements of a syria

stronghold of raqqa. this should be important because the yarmouk refugee camp is a very dangerous place, ban ki-moon has previously said, it's in the deepest circle of hell. there is i.s.i.l. and al qaeda el nusra front fighters and pro, and antigovernment militias, all fighting for territory within this sprawling refugee camp within the outskirts of damascus. caught in the middle of this there are about 18,000 refugees, innocent civilians there that the u.n. is not able to get any sort of aid into. so the thinking is if this deal can be brokered and some of these armed fighters especially the i.s.i.l. fighters are able to leave that will lou the u.n. to geallow thetown get in thereo the ones that need it the most. this is not a done deal but if it does get done it could happen as early as saturday. >>> gabriel elizondo reporting. major offensive by the taliban. nato just confirmed, taliban forces took control of the area earlier this week but the afghan army has dispatched more forces to the region. afg

this would be-- raqqa. it would be important because it is very dangerous place now. ban ki-moon has said it is in the deepest circle of hell. that's because there is not only i.s.i.l. fighters there that infiltrated the camp in april, but there is al-qaeda al-nusra front fighters as well and pro and anti-government fighting militias. if this deal with be brokered and some of these armed fighters, especially the i.s.i.l. fighters will be able to leave, that will allow the u.n. to get in there and deliver aid to the people who need it the most. this is not a done deal yet, but we're told if it does get done, it could happen as early as saturday >>> we have an eye to moscow. we just wanted to let you know that. shortly we're expecting to have a joint press conference from the foreign minister of qatar and also russia. as soon as that happens we will take you there live to moscow. so do keep it here on al jazeera. in the meantime continuing with the days news. 20 people have been killed in overnight clashes with the taliban in helmand province. for days the army has been

russian jets killed 21234 el-raqqa, in an air strike there. it's hit, more than 200 i.s.i.l. targets across syria in the past 24 hours. as far as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in syria, policy on the future role of president bashar al-assad has changed. i said on many occasions and i want to repeat it, that we'll never agree that someone on the outside. whoever it is, should impose of the idea of who should rule another country. it doesn't fit with commonsense or international law. secretary of state john kerry arrived about this. i said our position has not changed. the syrian people have to determine who should rule them. >> the position has not changed. there's more to say. let's bring in peter sharp. he's in moscow. talk us through what he hats to say about syria. >> basically, rhetorically he asked a question about what is asking. how long will the army remain in syria. he made it clear that russia's army will remain in syria, as long as the army continues its offensive, and will not pull out before then. talking about bashar al-assad. he said nothing has change

many of the people who have been fleeing from raqqa has said, please, don't bomb raqqa, we are civilians in syria. nobody has invented a bomb yet that magically position that can take out the so-called terrorists, but will keep innocent siblings alive. we know there will be a tragic loss of life and that is a blemish on british -- amy: talk about what the alternative is right now in dealing with isis. >> we all recognize we need a political -- we have seen 10 years of bombing of war in iraq has left the country in ruins. the intervention in libya has left the country in ruins. we have seen the civil war in syria has left the country in ruins. the reality is, the military option will not deliver a lasting peaceful solution. what we really need to do is tackle the arms being sent to anda, who is funding daesh other armed groups. we need to start talking about ensuring that the geopolitical fight, the big political fight between allies of the united states and britain such as saudi arabia, which has left billions and billions and spreading his particular ideology and puritanical version of