let's get more on this story were roslind jordan in washington, d.c. they are saying it's not terrorism related. what could it be, or is it too early to tell. >> a lot of the reports that have been circulated on local media here in the washington area have been filled with a lot of speculation frankly. the fbi does say it is interviewing witnesses at this gate which is supposed to be only used by ncaa employees. it's all a secondary highway northeast of the washington metro area. and it's marked for ncaa employees only. every so often someone gets a bit confused and does take that exit. they're usually turned around and put back onto that secondary highway. but at this point there is no confirmation that anyone was shot or killed, at least coming from government sources and there is no indication about whether or not there was any particular motive. however, the fbi was relatively quick to say that it does not consider this an act of terrorism. >> roslind jordan with the latest from washington, d.c. roz, thank you. >>> let'slet's go to iraq where secur

. >>> let's go live to roslind jordan in washington, d.c. tell us more about this isil hearing, presuming presumably the worry here with iran being involved in one way or another in this push against isil. >> that's right. they're trying to take a pragmatic stance in the fight against isil. the iranian forces are inside the country working along side iraqi troops to help them reclaim parts of territory that isil fighters have claimed in the past several months. there could be a further stress on sectarian tensions inside iraq, but officials did stress at this hearing before the senate foreign relations committee that they thought that would an long-term concern and they're much more fixated on trying to removing the isil threat, not just from iraq but syria as well. >> roslind, it sounds like the hearing was dominated by a row over a letter that was sent, not too complimentary about the president. >> that's right. the ongoing negotiations between the p5+1 and iran in this context the u.s. being for all intents and purposes the lead negotiati

roslind jordan reports. >> when afghan president ashraf ghani meets with u.s. officials on monday, his country's security will be top of mind. he wants u.s. president barack obama to delay his plans to withdraw some troops by the end of 2015. the top u.s. general in afghanistan is inclined to do so. >> i'm particularly concerned about the summer of 2015, the afghans, this is the very first fighting season completely on their own. >> reporter: ghani is trying to create peace talks with the taliban. he's worried about threats from militias and very worried that isil is trying to move in. >> we believe that the presence of isil in afghanistan represents a rebranding of a few marginalized taliban but we're taking this threat with dangerous rhetoric seriously. >> reporter: 9800 u.s. forces are in afghanistan to train and support the afghan military. president obama had planned to cut that number to 5600 by the end of this year. and then withdraw the rest by the end of 2016 leaving behind a small number of troops to protect the u.s. embassy. the fear is that the afgh

and let's go there and speak with roslind jordan. what kind of reaction in the u.s. and crucially where does the u.s. think that this election result is going to lead peace talks? >> well, barbara there has not been official reaction. we did hear the spokesperson earlier on tuesday congratulate the israel people for going to the polls for showing their commitment to living in a vibrant democracy. however, the question of what happens with the peace talks with the palestinians is certainly a bigger question, particularly if benjamin netanyahu, indeed, retains his hold on the prime minister's ship and is steadfast in his commitment to not allowing a palestinian state an independent palestinian state be negotiated into existence. now this is, of course, not something that the u.s. has been interested in for the past 25 years or so. this is also something-- >> we have to go straight back to tel aviv because isaac herzog is starting to speak. >> the citizens from all around the country two days ago pitches at the wailingi was at the wailing wall, i made a prayer and i rea

roslind jordan reports. >> reporter: when afghan president ashraf ghani meets with u.s. officials on monday, he wants u.s. president barack obama to delay his plans to withdraw troops by 2018. >> i'm deeply concerned about the summer of 2015. for the afghans this is the first fighting season completely on their own. >> ghani is worried about the threat from al-qaeda and local militias, and he's also very worried that isil might be trying to move in. >> we believe this represents a rebranding of a few marginalized taliban. but we're taking this seriously. >> reporter: right now about 9800 u.s. forces are in afghanistan to train and support the afghan military. president obama had planned to cut that number to 5600 by the end of this year. and then withdraw the rest by the end of 2016. leaving behind a small number of troops to protect the u.s. embassy. the fear is that the afghan military will crumble, something that the new u.s. defense secretary admitted. >> reinforce our support for president ghani's strategy, including possible changes to the timeline for the draw dow

. >>> well, rosalind jordan joins us live from washington, d.c. roslind, why has the president changed this by now? >> well, that's very precise about what the bomb administration has decided to do. they're giving this equipment the chance to upgrade egypt's tanks, the f.-16 fighter jets. they're giving this equipment for what they say are national security reasons. and certainly they're looking at the ongoing instability in the sinai peninsula as well as the intelligently going stability in neighboring libya. this has nothing to do with whether the u.s. believes egypt is doing enough to improve it's human rights record, and improve its treatment of journalists. whether it's doing enough to improve its treatment of political opponents. the obama administration is basically saying that it does not believe that egypt has made improvements in these areas and, in fact, it's going to restrict how egypt can use the aid that the u.s. is going to be requesting for it in future years basically as a way of saying you need to get your house in order. >> roslind jord

. >> okay, roslind jordan, thank you very much, indeed. [music] >> international monetary funds have signed off an loan aimed at keeping ukraine's economy from going into bankruptcy. they called on russia to leave the territory and honor the minsk peace agreement. more than 6,000 people have been killed in eastern ukraine since the conflict began a year ago. >> we see and still is he strong russian support in eastern ukraine. we see the equipment forces training russia is still in eastern ukraine. they have over a long period provided substantial support for the separatist. >> the u.s. has imposed sanctions on eight pro-russian separatists who are accused of causing conflict in eastern ukraine. washington also said it would deliver humvees and drones to ukraine. we have more on this from fred weir. >> it is mostly a symbolic political statement by the americans' message. they're still interested in putting the screws to russia, keeping the pressure on even though the europeans seem to have lost their appetite for more sanctions at least fo

from washington, roslind jordan has more. >> a day of prayer in yemen started by suicide-bombers. the death toll keeps rising. >>> isil is claiming responsibility but intelligence experts say that they suspect either anti-houthi fighters are behind the attack. they say the deteriorateing security climate in yemen is alarming. >> we call on all actor within yemen to hold all unilateral offensive actions. we specifically call on the houthis for vermont saleh and their allies to stop their incitement and undermining president hadi, yemen's legitimate president. >> it comes a day after loyalists to former president saleh attacked the airport. >> we need to defend ourselves. if the enemy wants to talk us, we'll attack them 37. >> the fight to control yemen is now between houthies, sunni tribes, some argue they're acting as proxy arms for surrounding countries. and it's not sure if descent into all-out civil car can be prevented. >> a yemeni political analyst and conflict specialist, she said that it could bring more armed groups like isil into yemen. >> if no political solution is foun

roslind jordan reports. >> when afghan president ashraf ghani meets with u.s. officials on monday, his country's security will be top of mind. he want president obama to delay his plans to deploy troops 2015. >> i'm particularly concerned about the summer 2015. the afghans, this is a first fighting season completely on their own. >> ghani is trying to negotiate peace talks with al-qaeda, and he's also very worried that isil is trying to move in. >> we believe that that it represents rebranding of the taliban. we're taking this threat with its dangerous rhetoric seriously. >> right now forces are in afghanistan to train and support the afghan military. president obama had planned to cut that number to 5600 by the end of this year and withdraw the rest by 2015 leaving behind a mall number of troops to protect the u.s. embassy. the fear is that the afghan military will crumble, something that was acknowledged on a recent trip. >> president obama is considering a number of options to reinforce our support for president ghani's strategy. >> some analysts say that th

roslind jordan, al jazeera, the state department. >> israel's opposition leader has promised to reignite peace talks with palestinian leaders if he's elected prime minister in tuesday's election. >> he mass met poisons officials more times than any israeli politician in the past year, and the leader of the opposition, who heads the left of center labour party says he's committed to making peace. >> i think it's a mistake that we think it's over. >> it is not true. i'm telling you absolutely. if is possible, absolutely possible still to make peace with the palestinians. >> in the days leading up to israel's general election on march 17th, herzog is waging a rival against benjamin netanyahu. opinion polls suggest that the zionist union bloc will win more seats than the right-wing likud party. no matter of the outcome of israel's general election little will likely change. >> of course there are differences, and netanyahu is the worst for palestinians with his coalition right-wing orthodox coalition. of course, the left are better for palestinians for daily life. but to reach a final settle

. >> roslind jordan in washington, d.c. thank you. [music] >> the international monetary fund has signed off $17.5 billion loan aimed at helping ukraine's economy avoid bankruptcy. nato has accused russia of continuing to arm separatist fighters in ukraine's east. they called on russia to leave the territory and honor the minsk peace agreement. more than 6,000 people have been killed in eastern ukraine since the conflict began nearly a year ago. >> we have seen and still see russian presence and strong support for the separatists in eastern ukraine. we have seen the delivery of equipment, forces, training, so russia is still in eastern ukraine. they have over over a long period supported the separatists. >> the u.s.-imposed sanctions on eight pro-russian separatists who are accused of causing conflict in the eastern ukraine. there have been sanctions on the russian bank and national group. they say they will deliver humvees and drones to ukraine. let's go to fred who is in moscow for us. >> it is a symbolic political statement by the

roslind jordan reports. >> reporter: no one in the west predicted what isil would become but they should have. at the time the focus was on the aftermath of the arab spring. in 2012 in the middle of what was now a full-blown civil war the syrian military was accused of committing human rights abuses and brought this warning from u.s. president abraham. >> a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. >> reporter: a year later obama said he had proof chemical weapons had been used. he tried to build public support for military intervention. it didn't work. >> the united states had just come off two major wars in the middle east. there was very little appetite for a third. >> reporter: inside syria armed groups are waging war for their own ends. isil forged in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion of iraq was there operating in mainly sunni areas. then it was on to northern iraq where u.s.-trained iraqi drops dropped their guns and ran. when isil fighters came within 40 kilometers of erbil the u.s. air war began. but it was the beheadi

. >> let's cross now to roslind jordan in washington, d.c. we'll get to u.s. policy in the region in just a moment,ros, but the spokesperson reiterating what the saudis believe they have to convince the out houthis that they can't win momentarily and then they'll get to dialogue. >> they were a part of the government of abd rabbuh mansur hadi, and they could have been more engaged. but instead they essentially according to the united states, carried out a cue and they seem to be intent upon taking over all facets of yemeni society including the country's oil fields. the u.s. is very much supporting what it says needs to be a limited campaign against the houthies. they don't believe they have active support from iran even though they have ideological sharing of beliefs but they believe it is vital to restore as quickly as possible. and it's not being dealt with by anyone. either by the saudi-led airstrikes or the drone campaign. >> we know ros that the u.s. said it is providing intelligence and logistical support, but any other on the saudi-led airstrikes? >> y

. >> roslind jordan has more on the reaction to john kerry's comments. >> if you were to ask the french or turks, they would say that john kerry did get ahead of himself. both countries are apposed to any negotiations with bashar al-assad. but if you take a close look at what the secretary of state actually said during that interview on sunday, you'll see he was talking about the assad regime, not about bashar al-assad himself except in a very colloquial sense. they insist that bashar al-assad is still not the leader of syria. and any settlement to resolve the four-year-old war in syria cannot have him at the table. >> refugees have been pushed into exile again. we have reports from the largest refugee carp on the daily struggle to survive. >> too old to care for her disabled and mentally challenge ed daughters, but she has no other choice. they are palestinian refugees who came to lebanon when their neighborhood in damascus became a battleground. they said they're barely coping with the little help they get. but they were alone when the youngest daughter died from lung infection. >> no

roslind jordan reports. >> reporter: no one in the west predicted what isil would become, but they should have. at the time the focus was on the aftermath of the arab spring. in 2012 in the middle of what was now a full-blown civil war the military was accused of committing human rights abuses that brought this warning from u.s. president barack obama. >> the red line for us is if we start seeing chemical weapons being moved around or utilized. >> reporter: a year later the president said he had proof that chemicals had been used. he tried to promote support for military intervention, but it did not work. >> theres with very little appetite for a third conflict. >> reporter: inside syria isil forged in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion of iraq was there operating in mainly sunni areas. then it was on to iraq where u.s.-trained iraqi troops dropped their guns and ran. but it was the beheading on camera of the journalists james foley and stephen sutliff. >> there is no question it had an effect. here's a country iraq, where the united states fought a decades- decades-long war and now a new