richard engel, nbc news. >>> longest senator retiring she won't seek re-election in 2016. nearly 30 years she's been one of the most outspoken voices for equal pay for women. she's not done fighting. >> do i spend my time raising money or do i spend my time raising hell? i want to give 120% of my time focused on my constituents because it's never been about me. it's always been about them. >> not even 24 hours since the announcement and there's already talk about her replacement. among possible contenders former democratic governor martin o'malley considering running for president in 2016 and former governor bob ehrlich mulling a 2016 bid. >>> remember the tunnel? it was just wanting a man cave. questioned him and determined no criminal intent or threat. case closed. >>> let's get down to business with cnbc's landon dowdy. good morning, landon. >> dara good morning to you. it's been a long march back but nasdaq managed to close above 5,000 level for the first time in 15 years. only the third close above. the other two in march of 2000 right of about the dot-com bubble burs

we get the latest now from our chief foreign correspondent richard engel. >> reporter: the iraqi army with allied shiite militia are finally on the offensive trying to take back a city isis has held since june. and not just any city, they're going for tikrit, saddam hussein's sunni hometown. it's a crucial test to the u.s.-supported iraqi government. success here would renew hope that it can defeat isis. but if tikrit becomes an ethnic blood bath, shiite against sunni, iraq will be one step closer to all-out sectarian war. meanwhile, in london new details about the man once known as jihadi john. it turns out even as a student mohammed emwazi had friends who would grow up to become violent islamists including some who would die fighting for isis. >> he was deeply involved and deeply embedded with extremist circles in london long before he went to syria. >> reporter: and yet another turn in the propaganda war, an online threat against twitter co-founder jack dorsey and other employees of twitter which has been blocking isis' propaganda messages. the threat from an unknown source has bee

our chief foreign correspondent richard engel has more. >> reporter: saudi arabia has long been known for getting washington to fight its battles. not this time. these saudi fighter jets are on their way to attack rebel positions in yemen, targeting weapons depots, a command center and aircraft used by the rebels who've been trying to overthrow the government. the rebels called houthis now control large parts of yemen. they're backed by iran. to fight them saudi arabia says it's bombing with 100 jets, imposing a no-fly zone and mobilizing 150,000 ground troops. no invasion yet, but that's clearly an option. the saudi coalition of ten muslim nations includes jordan and egypt, which today reportedly sent warships to defend the yemeni coast and offered to send ground forces. thousands of yemenis protested the saudi air strikes. so did iranian officials in switzerland today for nuclear talks. >> we believe that the situation in yemen is a very dangerous situation. and we're against any escalation. >> reporter: the war in yemen has now become a battle between iran and saudi arabia, two old

richard engel. richard, thank you. >>> a big day for the race for the white house in 2016. for as long as we've been talking about it with potential candidates out there raising money, today republican senator ted cruz of texas became the first major party candidate to officially enter the race. nbc's kelly o'donnell is on the trail. >> reporter: with towering big screens and concert-style staging. >> it is the time for truth. it is a time for liberty. >> reporter: texas senator ted cruz used no notes or teleprompter but delivered 30 minutes of fire. >> i believe in you. i believe in the power of millions of courageous conservatives. >> reporter: more than 10,000 students were here as a required part of the regular class schedule at the evangelical christian liberty university. senator cruz, how are you feeling after making the announcement? >> invigorated. >> reporter: cruz actually jumped in after midnight declaring by tweet and with a video release. >> and i'm ready to stand with you to lead the fight. >> reporter: cruz is courting an influential base of republican voter

nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel has our report tonight. >> reporter: the front line in the war on isis is inching closer to the iraqi city of tikrit. but it's not american advisers who are helping the iraqi army move on its target. it's iranian advisers. led by this man, head of iran's clandestine force. but there's nothing secret about his presence in iraq now or about the fact that most of the 20,000 or so fighters who are laying siege on tikrit are not members of the iraqi national army. they are fighters from sectarian shiite militias. iran according to u.s. officials, is providing them weapons, intelligence and surveillance. joint chiefs chairman general martin dempsey, who arrives in iraq next week has said iran could play a useful role in fighting isis. >> if they perform in a credible way, rid the city of tikrit turn it back over to its inhabitants, then it will in the name have been a positive thing. >> reporter: meanwhile isis is busy destroying the region's uniquely rich cultural heritage. first, isis released a video showing its men ransacking mosul's museum

property, so clearly there is concern even among iraqis about how the offensive could turn out. >> richard engelistanbul turkey. thank you very much richard. >>> coming up "saturday night live" skit that so many people are talking about mocking isis is it satire or is it offensive? >> you be careful, okay? >> dad, it is just isis. >> now after a whole sunday of people on social media criticizing, one of the actors is defending the "snl" skit. this is our "newsnation" gut check. >>> and hillary clinton could be on the verge of making that long awaited announcement on whether she will run for president, and it could come sooner than she wanted. it is in today's first read. it's more than the cloud. it's security - and flexibility. it's where great ideas and vital data are stored. with centurylink you get advanced technology solutions from a trusted it partner. including cloud and hosting services - all backed by an industry leading broadband network and people committed to helping you grow your business. you get a company that's more than just the sum of it's parts. centurylink. your link to what'

richard engel, thank you for breaking that down.l to come on "newsnation," more shocking details about the co-pilot of germanwings flight 9525. german prosecutors say he may have hid evidence of an illness from the airline. a live report is next. >>> also ahead, new rules for secret service agents behind the wheel after two agents who were allegedly drinking cash into a barrier at the white house. it is part of today's first read. i love making sunday dinners. but when my back hurt, cooking all day... forget about it. tylenol was ok, but it was 6 pills a day. but aleve is just 2 pills all day. and now, i'm back! aleve. doug. you've been staring at that for awhile, huh? listen, td ameritrade has former floor traders to help walk you through that complex trade. so you'll be confident enough to do what you want. i'll pull up their number. blammo. let's get those guys on the horn. oooo looks like it is time to upgrade your phone, douglass. for all the confidence you need. td ameritrade. you got this. now with the xfinity tv go app, you

nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins us live in studio. talk about evacuation of advisers. how significant is that? >> quite significant. last several years, the u.s. embassy has had as primary mission a counter terrorism mission. there hasn't been a lot of normal diplomacy going on with yemen. the main focus of the embassy has been to support drone strikes, to support counter terrorism efforts against al qaeda in yemen and other radical groups. now that the diplomats are gone now that special operations troops are gone the u.s. is effectively blind on the ground. you can fly drones or aircraft overhead, they have intelligence assets on the ground that operate covertly but you don't have the day-to-day contact as in the past. enormous setback for counterterrorism. >> more of a setback or something spiraling out of control like syria? >> i think there's a possibility, i have spoke tone u.s. military officials that think that yemen is on the path to becoming a new syria. it is a sectarian war. we talk about the rebels versus the government.

nbc's richard engel joins me from istanbul. richard, this situation is going from bad to worse. >> reporter: it's going from bad to worse for the u.s.-backed government and the u.s.-backed president who still claims to be president of yemen. although, his exact whereabouts are unknown. there are conflicts reports. some reports he's fled the country entirely. i spoke a short while ago to a senior yemeni official who said president hadi remains in yemen. but where he is we really can't confirm at this stage. whether he's in the palace in the city of aden or some other secure location. and he's been forced into this small pocket of yemen. one of the few places the government still controls as houthi rebels who are backed by iran, continue to advance and continue to take territory almost unopposed. and just across the border, saudi arabia is watching this closely and has sent reinforcements to its boarder to make sure the advance doesn't jump over the yemeni border and threaten the saudi kingdom. >> richard engel thanks so much. bef

." >> good evening, i'm richard engel. the word "kremlin" literally means a fortress in the center of a city. and for hundreds of years this fortress has been a seat of power and a center of intrigue. tonight, we'll examine the case of a former russian agent named alexander litvinenko. exactly what happened to him and why have been mysteries for a very long time. now, there are new leads. litvinenko lived in a world of spies and dissidents, where everyone was playing a game, and where access to information can make you a very rich man or a dead one. a former russian agent, poisoned. a multi-millionaire found dead in his bathroom. an investigative reporter executed in front of her home. their lives had been interconnected, but what about their deaths? random acts? or as some suspect, part of an international murder conspiracy that stretches across two continents and several world capitals. tonight, we'll investigate who wanted them dead and why? the case will take us from moscow to rome to london, into a world of spies and

nbc's richard engel is following the developments. >> reporter: the pentagon said it's mostly a scare tactic a call to murder by isis. the group released a list of u.s. military personnel and asked loyalists in the united states to hunt them down. the list included american troops' home addresses and contact information. defense officials tell nbc news the list does include names of active duty service members, some deployed overseas some combat pilots. the pentagon is encouraging anyone on the list to exercise caution, but at this time has apparently made no decision to pull them off duty or provide personal protection. it's incitement and propaganda overseas. isis is going much further than that. it already has affiliates from afghanistan to west africa and is adding new countries to its portfolio, new areas where it's militants operate. isis said it launched the gunman who killed nearly 20 tourists in a museum in tunisia last week. the gunmen trained next door in libya. and on friday isis claimed responsibility for five suicide attacks in yemen killing more than 130 people at shiit

richard engel, nbc news, istanbul istanbul. >>> another week another looming homeland security deadlineemporary funding that congress approved last week to avert a shutdown is about to run out. so today the senate will hold a procedural vote on substantive talks with house lawmakers, but senate democrats are wary because house republicans vow no deal without taking president obama's immigration order off the table. >>> israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is in washington, d.c. this morning. he addressed the american israel public affairs committee, where he urged the world not to allow iran to get nuclear weapons. prime minister netanyahu speaks to congress tomorrow at the invitation of the gop. he's expected to criticize a looming nuclear deal between the west and iran. >>> a robbery call turned into a deadly officer shooting in los angeles right along skid row. yesterday officers got into a struggle with a homeless man believed to be a suspect in a crime. first they used a stun gun. that didn't work. officers then say the man tried to grab one of the officers' weapon, and that's

. >> nbc ice richard engel has the latest. >> reporter: the pentagon says it's mostly a scare tacticl to murder by isis. the group released a list of u.s. military personnel and asked loyalists in the united states to hunt them down. the list included american troops' home addresses and contact information. defense officials tell nbc news the list does include names of active-duty service members, some deployed overseas some combat pilots. the pentagon is encouraging anyone on the list to exercise caution, but at this time has apparently made no decision to pull them off duty or provide personal protection. it's incitement and propaganda. overseas isis is going much further than that. it already has affiliates from afghanistan to west africa and is adding new countries to its portfolio, new areas where its militants operate. isis said it launched the gunmen who killed nearly 20 tourists in a museum in tunisia last week. the gunmen the group said trained next door in libya. and on friday isis claimed responsibility for five suicide attacks in yemen, killing more than 130 people at shi

richard engel joins us live from istanbul turkey. richard, you have been reporting on this all weekend as well as today. this coalition, arab coalition formed as you reported out of distrust potentially of the negotiations with iran. >> reporter: there was a lot of frustration in the arab world now, in the sunni world. people are watching the administration's policy vis-a-vis iran they're confused by it angry because of it. they think the u.s. is accommodating iran by negotiating, by allowing iranian militia to operate with a freehand in iraq giving the militia air support in the case of tikrit by supporting iran on one hand in syria and fighting iran on the other hand also in syria, countries like saudi arabia and egypt say that they have to form their own military alliance because washington effectively can't be trusted to play a fair game and to contain iran. that's on the political front. i think that's why you saw the arab states in egypt over the weekend come out, form their own alliance form their own standing arab army, at lea

nbc news chief foreign correspondent over there, richard engel is in tel aviv with more on the mood in israel. they have a lot riding on this. here's richard. >> reporter: chris, i can't remember a stranger time in tel aviv where the government of israel seems to been aligned with many arab governments in denouncing what is going on in switzerland. normally this country is at great odds with the rest of the middle east but now you have saudi arabia egypt, morocco, even pakistan saying that they are against the possible deal in switzerland, they don't want to empower iran. i spoke today to a senior member of the new israeli government and he said that the deal in switzerland if it goes forward, encouraging iran to not dismantle its nuclear program, but to freeze it with some safeguards, and that's not what israel wants. israel believed that this process to enter into negotiations with iran would dismantle the nuclear program, similar to what happened in libya, where gadhafi said he doesn't want the nuclear program anymore and took it apart. instead they believed the program will be froz

we go to richard engel in istanbul turkey.uch credibility is there that these are related to isis terror groups and how can law

so dorian is here with us and richard engel.n capitol hill senior political editor for the huffington post sam stein. we're going to get to your interview with president obama in a moment sam. good job on that. but first, a disturbing report of an isis hit list surfaced over the weekend urging sympathizers to kill american soldiers. a group claiming allegiance at islamic state has published names, pictures and alleged addresses of active and retired military personnel online. the group claimed 100 americans carried out air strikes against isis targets in iraq and syria and that they should be killed as a result. defense officials tell nbc news the list include names of some active duty service members including some combat pilots. the pentagon has reportedly not yet made a decision to pull them off duty at this time. richard, what do you make of this this? >> i think mostly it's a scare tactic. i've spoken to military officials. they're not overwhelmingly concerned about it. they said no classified databases were hacked that thi

and as our chief foreign correspondent richard engel explains, the u.s.hat appears to be a proxy war that could consume the region. >> reporter: saudi jets took off for bombing runs in yemen, about 100 hours after american advisers were forced to evacuate under the cover of night. here, iranian-backed rebels, shiite muslims, have the pro u.s. government on the run. at the same time that the u.s. finds itself fighting iran on the one hand, it is working with iran on the other. in iraq, the u.s. is giving iranian-backed militias air support. in switzerland, it is negotiating with iran. in yemen, the u.s. left the fight against the iranian-banned rebels. in syria, the u.s. is supporting both the fight against iran and its ally president assad and with iran against isis. >> the end result is we do not seem to be to the people in the region and to the american people pursuing and presenting an overall strategy that will defeat the really bad forces in that region. >> reporter: the former u.s. ambassador and several analysts say the sunni states led by saudi ar

nbc's chief correspondent richard engel joins us from istanbul.s breaking news that a ground offense by saudi arabia and egypt seem imminent. >> reporter: well, it is a threat that is coming from saudi arabia that is combined with action that is already taken. there has been for the last several months an internal conflict in yemen with the iranianbacked rebel movement taking on the u.s. and saudi saudi-backed yemeni government. the rebel movement again, backed by iran has been having the upper hand has the government on the run and then we saw a dramatic escalation in the overnight hours here in the -- in the islamic world in the middle east with saudi arabia mobilizing its armed forces, sending tens of thousands of troops to its border. a saudi official told nbc news that this operation, which is now mostly just to reinforce the border involves around 150,000 saudi ground troops and then saudi arabia began air strikes attacking rebel positions in what had been government-controlled positions, and now egypt also says it is sending warships to hel

richard engel is nbc's chief foreign correspondent and joins us this morning. richard, you said this brilliantly yesterday. this is a new war, and it could get even more intense. >> reporter: it is a regional war. the civil war in yemen has now spilled over its borders, bringing in saudi arabia saudi arabia's committed 100 fighter jets to the fight. with other nations contributing. bringing the total number of fighters involved in the air campaign to nearly 200. there are those 150,000 troops deployed inside saudi arabia. the saudi defense minister says they are up at the ready, but no order has been given for them to cross the border to launch any kind of ground invasion into yemen. saudi arabia says it's prepared for that possibility. egypt has also said it would be among the first countries to send in ground troops as well, should that be necessary. there are great concerns this could become a much greater conflict. certainly if it becomes a ground conflict that would be a dramatic escalation. when you consider the strategic location of yemen, right at the ti

richard engel, thank you so much. >>> tonight, tensions remain high in and around moscow one day after tens of thousands turned out to protest the killing of one of vladimir putin's most prominent critics, opposition leader boris nemtsov killed while walking on a bridge near the kremlin. the security camera footage has surfaced amid questions as to whether other cameras in the ar were working at the time of the murder. putin himself has announced he will personally oversee the investigation, which is now under way. >>> tonight, as we roll into march 18 days until spring the season of misery providing no letup as another storm barrels across the country. 30 states are under winter weather advisories yet again. a whiteout coast-to-coast. nbc news meteorologist dylan dreyer has our report tonight. >> reporter: enough is enough that's the feeling in boston today as residents woke up to more snow. bostonians like nanny nancy burns are fed up. >> it's frustrating. it's tiresome. it's become hard work just taking care of babies. >> reporter: the area punished by four major snowstorms in four

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we go to richard engel in istanbul turkey. explain the credible threats, how much credibility is there that these are related to isis terror groups and how can law enforcement respond? >> reporter: it's hard to know from information that i have how credible they are. they have apparently come from accounts that have been used by isis or isis supporters in the past, whether isis is in the position to make good on these threats is unclear but what we've seen since isis began, isis taking social media very seriously. it's become the main tool that the group uses to bring in recruits to december sem nature its videos and what we haven't seen as much very quickly after isis puts out these sites, the companies take them down. it's a game of cat and mouse. they post them and twitter takes them down and isis supporters post them to a different account, sometimes they'll create an account and just do one tweet with it. and twitter has been chasing after them. obviously this is frustrating isis and gets in the way of their propaganda ef

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joining me now, nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel. the become takeaways, as you see them from this summit under way in egypt? >> reporter: well, i think there are a lot of takeaways from the summit frankly. there have been a lot of arab summits in the last several years. this one i would say is perhaps the most significant. what you saw was a great display of unity, which the arab world hasn't been known for, for a long time. and this call to create a unified standing pan-arab army of roughly 40,000 troops with the member states of the arab league contributing soldiers and equipment. this is something that egypt's president, its military leader sisi has been pushing for. it's something that the united arab emirates have been pushing for. i think we're seeing it in action more or less in yemen. but this is something that the arab states have long been talking about. they've long been dreaming about. but now that iran is spreading its influence, and that's what i think the trigger is here. both iran spreading its influence and the unite

richard engel is in istanbul turkey. richard, good morning.aden falls, you have to go in. >> reporter: if aden falls, the calculation could change. saudi arabia has been reluctant to get into any conflict anywhere in the world. that's traditionally been saudi policy. saudi arabia generally preferred to have other countries if possible fight its wars maintain its defense. what we are seeing now from saudi arabia is a more aggressive foreign policy trying to project power, and it feels very much that its own security and sovereignty are at risk. these rebels the houthi rebels are by now quite well armed, able to march almost unopposed from the north down to the south of yemen, and if they were to take aden it could absolutely trigger the saudis to cross that border. although it is something they're reluctant to do. >> talk about this arab summit building their own army. how significant is it and why is it happening now? >> reporter: i think it is significant, at this stage is significant in political and symbolic terms, i don't think it is signi

nbc's richard engel reporting.are telling nbc news that a shooting occurred at a local facility medical facility there. it happened early this morning. now, it is only 11:30 local time there. a woman who works at the medical facility was shot but there was no immediate update on her condition. police sources do indicate that this is potential here for murder/suicide happening at the medical facility but stress that they're still considering this rngs as you can see from the shots there, as an active shooter on the inside and that all precautions are being taken at the scene. again, this is taking place in fresno looking at images from moments ago where police and s.w.a.t. teams are onsite where they believe they have an active shooter inside a local medical facility. other breaking news we need to get to during that hour is what we're learning about the germanwings crash. and the german tabloid ""bild"" and paris's "match" say they have video from inside. there was a krenn foal found in the plane's wreckage. both r

richard engel reports. >> reporter: saudi arabia has long been known for getting washington to fighte saudi fighter jets are on their way to attack rebel positions in yemen, targeting weapons depots, a command center, and aircraft used by the rebels who have been trying to overthrow the government. the rebels called houthis now control large parts of yemen. they're backed by iran. to fight them saudi arabia says it's bombing with 100 jets imposing a no-fly zone and mobilizing 150,000 ground troops. no invasion yet, but that's clearly an option. the saudi coalition of ten muslim nations includes jordan and egypt, which reportedly sent warships to defend the yemeni coast and offered to send ground forces. thousands of yemenis protested the saudi air strikes, so did iranian officials in switzerland for nuclear talks. >> we believe the situation in yemen is a very dangerous situation and we advise against any escalation. >> reporter: the war in yemen has now become a battle between iran and saudi arabia two old and well armed rivals. and neither side appears willing to back down. >> all

richard engel is nbc's chief foreign correspondent and joins me this morning. latest? >> reporter: well we now have a new regional war in the middle east that took on a new dynamic yesterday when saudi arabia announced that it had begun air strikes in yemen against anti-government rebels rebels who are backed by iran so for the last several months we have seen an internal yemeni fight, a fight for sovereignty in that country where the u.s.-backed yemeni government has been on the run as the iranian-backed rebels have been taking more and more territory. that suddenly took a different turn when saudi arabia entered this fight. so far saudi arabia has been conducting only air strikes. it has also been building up forces along its border. saudi arabia shares a long border with yemen, and according to a saudi official who spoke to nbc news around 150,000 saudi ground troops have been summoned or involved in this operation mostly to secure saudi arabia at this stage. whether they will cross the border and take territory inside yemen to defend the same u.s.-backed go

a day late richard engel the nbc correspondent poured cold water and said things are much worse thanting. today it is reported that after four years of civil war in syria, this is the anniversary 14 million children are displaced or living in refugee camps or trapped in this cycle of violence. i maintain had america showed a little bit of leadership when president obama drew the red line and decided not to cross it or to let it be crossed, that it is shame on america for not doing more at the time. i don't know how how we get out of it. it does seem the administration is so worried about not having a good story out there about isis that they are spinning and then the facts are coming in from reporters who are on the ground. >> eric, how can we expect them to effectively craft a policy when we're talking about, you know, potential involvement in areas and what people are arguing boots on the ground or send aid to this person or that person. how can we expect them to do that properly if we can't expect them to get on the same page within the administration on what's going on. >> good p

richard engel is chief foreign correspondent for nbc news and joins me in new york.in person as always when i can. how does losing yemen as a base of operations affect american counterterrorism efforts? >> as on enormous blow frankly, the u.s. mission in yemen, a military mission its primary goal was to contain islamic radical groups in yemen, al qaeda and isis but mostly al qaeda is what they've been focused on. there were drone operations conducted in yemen, air strikes conducted in yemen. there was a hostage rescue attempt not that much months ago that was unsuccessful to try to rerescue foreign hostages it was always a priority and the u.s. had a great relationship with yemeni government. you had a friendly government and small number of special ops troops on ground and working together to fight against groups like al qaeda and isis. >> well that fell apart when the government lost territory -- >> when they were run out of the capital. >> and the special operations troops that were left behind stided that it just basically wasn't safe to stay behind anymore. ther

worked out but it shows the arab world is trying to take a stand against iran. >> my thanks to richard engelou have insights from professional investment strategists to help set your mind at ease. know that planning for retirement can be the least of your worries. with the guidance of a pnc investments financial advisor, know you can get help staying on track for the future you've always wanted. across america people, like basketball hall of famer dominique wilkins, are taking charge of their type 2 diabetes... ...with non-insulin victoza. for a while, i took a pill to lower my blood sugar but it didn't get me to my goal. so i asked my doctor about victoza. he said victoza works differently than pills and comes in a pen. victoza is proven to lower blood sugar and a1c. it's taken once a day, any time. and the needle is thin. victoza is not for weight loss but it may help you lose some weight. victoza is an injectable prescription medicine that may improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. it is not recommended as the first medication to treat diabete

. >> i'm joined by chuck todd, nbc news political director and richard engel, in istanbul.s they are joining and others in the region are joining and now you have the iranian foreign minister in switzerland saying this is terrible but the saudis are attacking with u.s. intelligence help. what's wrong with this picture? >> the saudis have put -- the saudis have put together a very sizable coalition and coalition that continues to grow with more countries saying that they are not just going to contribute with their planes but they'll send men on the ground to fight along with saudi arabia and invade yemen if necessary. and while this is happening, you have the u.s. supporting the what is really a pan arab pan sunni muslim force confronting the iranian backed rebels and while this is happening, you have the u.s. negotiating with iran. so a lot of people in the middle east see the u.s. as trying to put butter on both sides of the bread frankly and left people quite confused as to what the u.s. strategy is are we trying to placate iran or standing with saudi arabia trying to pus

richard engel on home base joining me from new york. you know yemen, been there so often.his is the worst we have seen in a number of years. >> yemen has been a fragile country for the 20 years or so i've been talking about yemen. but i've never seen yemen like it is right now. you said it's on the brink of a civil war, maybe it's even in a civil war. you have the u.s. backed government, which the u.s. is backing financially and militarily for several years. you have the government now operating as a government in exile in a small portion of the country. and these shiite rebel groups known as the houthis, allegedly backed by iran if you ask other people in the region they'll all say it is a direct iranian proxy, fighting it out for control of this country and tip of the arabian peninsula. while this war is going on real war with tanks and artillery and cities new city was just taken over the weekend, while this is going on and the country is in chaos, you have isis making a run for it and isis trying to eclipse al qaeda, trying to establish a base in the country and carryi

in 2008, nbc news' richard engel the network's chief foreign correspondent, heads to afghanistan to report the story of soldiers based at restrepo. >> we didn't know what we were going to find. we went to the korangal valley which at the time was the most dangerous place in afghanistan. so we knew we would see action, we would see combat. >> engel and his crew, producer madeline herringer, and cameraman redden edwards, land right in the middle of the action. the men of viper company are trying to clear the valley of taliban fighters. the crew is there to document the action. >> pretty much every day this outpost came under attack. and pretty much every time the soldiers went out there to do a patrol in the area, that patrol came under attack. >> while living with the men for weeks at a time, the crew experiences the harshness of the environment. >> the troops are out there for a year and a half. it's pretty tough. there's no showers, the food was pretty much all out of a plastic bag. so the living conditions were pretty bad. >> every conflict is different. in iraq, you're real danger was g

. >> let's bring in nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel live in istanbul. richard, what can you tell us about this effort to take back tikrit led by iraqi forces? >> i think led by iraqi rs tos but you have to look at the makeup of the iraqi forces to understand what's going on. they are some iraqi army there is a large portion of a relatively new group, described as the m shaabi popular mobilization forces. that's how you translate it. it is a shiite militia with close ties to iran and there are some sunni arab fighters. you some -- three very different groups. all three groups that are united more or less with the objective of destroying isis and pushing them out. but the sunni arabs and the shiite militias do not have the same kind of goal, longer term goals for iraq and there are real concerns if the shiite militias do enter tikrit they could commit some human rights abuses as they shiite militias have done in other sunni areas that they have quote, unquote, liberated. the offensive is none the less continuing. s with irstrikes taking place on the si of

let's bring in richard engel, nbc's chief foreign correspondent. richard, good morning. what can you tell us? >> good morning. it has 100 names on it. it's an isis hit list. it appears to be aspirational. and in a statement, the pentagon says the information wasn't hacked from any classified sources but mostly culled from news reports and social media. the pentagon says it's mostly a scare tactic a call to murder by isis. the group released a list of u.s. military personnel and asked loyalists in the united states to hunt them down. the list included american troops' home addresses and contact information. defense officials tell nbc news the list does include names of active duty service members, some deployed overseas some combat pilots. the pentagon is encouraging anyone on the list to exercise caution, but at this time has apparently made no decision to pull them off duty or provide personal protection. it's propaganda is going further. from afghanistan to west africa and adding new countries to its portfolio, new areas where militants operate. isis says it launched t

richard engel. but first, this is "today" on nbc. >>> 8:42 on a thursday morning.bed international attention. nbc's richard engel is here with another fascinating case part of a new "dateline" series he's hosting called "the real blacklist." >> good to see you. there's been a lot of focus recently on the murder of people who criticize putin. people who criticize the kremlin. and boris nemtsov was gunned down right in front of the red walls of the kremlin. but he's not the only critic who's died under a mysterious circumstance. and there's now a new inquiry under way into a man who was a very fierce critic of putin, very fierce critic of the kremlin who died mysteriously eight years ago. it was an image that shocked us eight years ago. it's a mystery that continues to haunt us today. who killed former kgb agent alexander lip vin nenco. his death in a hospital bed was slow and mysterious. a fierce critic of the russian government and vladimir putin, he believed he was poisoned but his symptoms were confusing. >> the hair. >> to fall out. >> yes. and he starts to look

. >> richard engel joins me now live from turkey. so richard, we've got the president of yemen reportedly fleeing the palace in aden. explain the geography of what the u.s.-led coalition there is trying to do to have any type of stable force. >> reporter: it is a very fluid situation and frankly quite complicated. it's one of more complicated countries and dynamic in the middle east. you have a u.s.-backed government, which is now under fire. it's under attack by the houthi rebels, who have aligned themselves with the former government. you heard the white house spokesman just talk about other forces. you have the current government which is on the run, holed up in aden, which is in the south of the country along the coast. and a coalition that has been put together against the government of the previous government and these houthi rebels, who are backed by iran. and while this major power struggle is under way in the country and it is very dynamic with the current whereabouts of the u.s.-backed president somewhat unknown at this time

richard engel joins us this morning from turkey. let's start with the new audio tape. what's the significance of it? >> this advocacy group release ed it and this group has been saying all along that that he's somewhat of a victim that jihadi john, who went on clips beheading people threatening others participating in. mass beheadings that he is a victim of a system that chased him down. that the british security services were constantly harassing him, accusing him of being an islamic extremist, of trying to join foreign terrorist groups abroad, which is something he did and proved himself to be one of the worst extremists that we have seen in recent years. the british security services are saying he's no victim that he was being watched because he was such a threat because he was already an extremist. this has become a back and forth between this one advocacy group in the uk and british security services. >> we're also hearing from his father in kuwait. >> his family we haven't heard much from them. but really wherever they are there's a lot of anger against this grou