let's start with some news from somalia. massive car bomb has hit the capitol mogadishu where african union peacekeepers are based. the armed group am shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack which targeted somalia's national intelligence agency. it's confirmed four civilians were killed. the bombing comes after an al shabaab attack in bydoa. that was believed to be in ret trib rettribution for a u.s. air strike that killed one of the group's leaders a few days before. over the past few months somali troops and african union forces have stepped up their offensive against al shabaab fight to go impose islamic law in somalia. attempts to hold yemen together as a country are in deep trouble. there has been a bombing at the presidential guest house in damar city about 100 kilometers south of the capitol sanaa. several have been killed including a houthi t.v. reporter. on the political front, the leader of the yemen's shia movement has rejected the agreement to the divide the country six regions. they have taken over som

you killed our people in somalia.normally don't kill women and children, but you kill ours in somalia, so we're here to take revenge. >> i started saying a prayer, which is, there's no god but allah and mohamed is his messenger. so as soon as he heard that, the gunmen looked at me and he said, are you muslim, and i said, yes win am. by that time, my wife had come next to me. she was drenched in blood from top to top. he said, is this your woman. and i said, yes, she is. and then he said, go. >> as they ran down the ramp to safety, the gunman released some other muslims who also survived the initial attack. >> an elderly lady stood up, encouraged to see that the gunmen was releasing people. so she said, you know, i'm old, i can't kneel anymore, my knees are arthritic, i'm in a lot of pain, please let me go. and the man asked her, are you a muslim, and while the woman was thinking of the answer to give, the gunman just shot her. >> the gunfire on the rooftop caused panic amongst shoppers trying to escape through the loa

you killed our people in somalia.l women and children, but you kill ours in somalia, so we're here to take reveng revenge. >> i started saying a prayer, which is, there's no god but allah and mohamed is his messenger. so as soon as he heard that, the gunmen looked at me and he said, are you muslim, and i said, yes win am. by that time, my wife had come next to me. she was drenched in blood from top to top. he said, is this your woman. and i said, yes, she is. and then he said, go. >> as they ran down the ramp to safety, the gunman released some other muslims who also survived the initial attack. >> an elderly lady stood up, encouraged to see that the gunmen was releasing people. so she said, you know, i'm old, i can't kneel anymore, my knees are arthritic, i'm in a lot of pain, please let me go. and the man asked her, are you a muslim, and while the woman was thinking of the answer to give, the gunman just shot her. >> the gunfire on the rooftop caused panic amongst shoppers trying to escape through the loading bays d

he decides to join jihadists in somalia. >> and i had to join that. i had to join a call to my religious belief. >> he returns to denmark where he says he gathers military supplies preparing himself for war. >> i said good-bye to my children, to my family. >> then at the last minute, a phone call from somalia. >> he said, we lost the airport. >> in mogadishu? >> in mogadishu. >> what does that mean? >> he said, you can't come, it's too dangerous for you. >> what's going through your mind them? >> obviously it's allah's will that i don't go. and i'm so deeply disappointed and devastated. i feel betrayed, you know? >> betrayed by his god, unable to fight for his religion, he says. just as fast as islam had taken hold, doubt and questions enter. >> i sat down in front of a laptop, and i'd type contradictions and why i'm daring to ask this question. i hit enter, and i saw plenty of websites talking about contradictions in the koran. it took some time to research them, but once i concluded that they were genuinely contradictions, that's when i wiped totall

there's been a large explosion in somalia in mogadishu.state media says dozens have been killed and more wounded. >>> a new report says 7,000 people were killed in fighting last year in yemen a threefold increase from 2011. >>> palestinian leaders are accusing israel of trying to starve their people, withholding $127 million in tax revenue. >>> in iraq, northern kurdish peshmerga forces are battling. reportedly to be in full control a few days ago. >>> the airasia plane crashed in the java sea last sun 31 bodies have been recovered and search teams say they have found another large object on the sea bed. bad weather was expected to be a large factor in the crash. the indonesiaian authorities are threatening to ground the airline because the plane was not supposed to be in the air in the first place. step vaessen reports. >> the airline was reported to be operating the plane without a proper license. air minister is investigating everyone involved. >> air traffic control organizations, the airport management had have and the airasia and als

. >> recently eliminated the top commander of its affiliate in somalia. this tragedy of taking out terrorists who threaten us is one that we have successfully pursued in yemen and somalia for years. >> reporter: that may be one reason the president created another image today. as he puts less emphasis on national security and more on his plans to double down on tax the rich policies that paint him as the guardian of the middle class. >> creates an opportunity to do right now is to focus on policies that benefit the middle class. the president thinks that is the best way to grow the economy. >> the president will focus on more domestic policy that will shape his legacy and the 2016 campaign even though the plans are going nowhere fast in the new republican congress. >> let's remember that last year we had the all-time record number of receipts of dollars coming into the united states treasury. what do the democrats want to do? their insatiable desire to raise taxes and pour hundreds of billions of additional dollars into government. that is not going to he

this had become another failed state like somalia, we have seen this push, haven't we? not all of a sudden, but certainly recently, trying to get the grip with the disaster in libya. >> undoubtly we have heard them say that it should be a priority, we have to remember that libya is at the doorsteps of europe. even in the region are worries. in libya is descending into chaos and the security vacuum we have seen groups deemed as terrorist organizations they have been taking advantage of the security vacuum. and we heard tough words from the special envoy yesterday, during the press conference. he said that those who are -- who chose to stay away from these talks mean that thisser choosing war over dialog, and this is unacceptable to the international community he also said that the international community is losing patience. now that they question is are we going to see some sort of international intervention in libya. how are they going to pressure the other groups libya is no longeron the back burner, and the focus is trying to find some sort of political separation. >>

now, this is the group that's been very active in somalia, the group that in 2013 was said to be behind that mass shooting at the shopping center in nairobi, kenya. and the fbi says he was a u.s. citizen, born in somalia, that he -- and that he was a friend of the man you're looking at right ry chesser. this young man was sentenced in 2011 to 25 years in prison for trying to support al shabab. he was accused and pleaded guilty to trying to put messages on the internet threatening the creators of "southpark" among other allegations. as for mohamed, the fbi says he left the united states in 2012 on his u.s. passport trying to go to al shabab in somalia and there's an arrest warrant that was just unsealed but the interesting thing is the date on the arrest warrant is february of 2014. so now it's clear that the fbi has been trying to find him and is seeking public help and that's why it's put him on this list of most wanted terrorists. he now becomes the 31st person on that list. >> did he get turned when he was here? what makes them think what motivated him, since he was a u.s. citizen, t

. >> they come from all over somalia , indonesia, caribbean.any so desperate to escape their own countries they pay thousands of dollars for a spot on a rickety boat. >> we called on the plane immediately when we detected the ship. a woman took the call. she said we're alone. please help us. we're in danger . >> a record number of people are fleeing wars. more than 200,000 people crossed the mediterranean in 2014 just like the refugees in this boat. >> for sure this is very dangerous because one ship that navigates with nobody at the helm is like a bomb launched against the coast line. >> the italian coast guard sees a new trend. traffickers charge ex-other exorbitant fees for over loaded boats that they then abe. n. ban done abandon. >> every government is entitled to their own management policies, and no one disputes that. lebanon is absolutely overwhelmed by the 1.1 million refugees who have flocked into the country over the past four years. i mean, it's an enormous burden. we understand that. we understand the reasons they cite for doing wh

we have done it in places like lebanon and somalia. the logic now is basically what the united states government is doing, and the admission of the president is significant is don't count on us ever again. no country on earth should count on the international community, or the united states ever again, because we will let you down and lead you down a very dark tunnel. so the issue here is not really the significance of libya per se, but the impact of what happened in libya as a last example of a complete and continuous failure of the international community in n.a.t.o. under the leadership of the united states, to step up and be able to enforce what is the principle of the united nation, which is to ensure international security and peace. and the impact - sorry, there are - this is not about libya, libya sits at the center of three major geographic regionally significant geographic areas for the united states and the world. you have the countries of north africa, of southern africa, the sub-saharan africa, niger, mali, chad, sudan, yo

the destruction, killing, all of those, the situation in somalia, any kind of racism or anything we face here would be simple because our own people who are just, you know, feeling -- we are fighting in there, which was affecting our life. but coming here, there are things that we were not exiting like the racism and some discrimination that exists here but again we are here about slavery and did i come here before us? those who were here before us, all of that change things we -- i mean, there was discrimination. we have seen it. my first job that i took about i had this job while i was a student was to become a taxi driver. i was driving taxi and doing that job, yes, you would have every single individual in your car and racial discrimination. it goes from there to a higher level like what is going on tennessee that you will see people, after the muslim, the mosque buildings and now about the cemetery, all of those are going at a higher level that affect these people. but compared to the american dream and the opportunity that we can fraction. >> is there a common threat that you

were able to block the lifeboat carrying captain phillips and his pirate kidnappers from reaching somalia as the pirates opened fire. >> shots fired! shots fired! >> the call was made. send in the s.e.a.l.s. >> good friday, april 10th, my birthday. i was at a tea party for easter at my kid's preschool. and we were actually sitting the kids down and getting them stuff to eat when we got the message and we're going. so i had to leave from a preschool classroom to jump into the indian ocean to rescue captain richard phillips. 7-eleven outside the base. i stopped there to get some items i would want to jump with, tobacco, money, stuff like that. i stopped there and there's a guy in front of me who was in no hurry an i'm in kind of a hurry and the guy -- i have a set amount of time to be there. a thing he was buying is "usa today" and slammed down the paper all patriotic and i sure wish someone would do something about this. if you hurry up and pay for your stuff, we will. >> by that time, the lifeboat ran out of fuel and the pirates agreed to have it towed but they kept the captain at gun poi

the fbi believes he's returned to somalia. there is a reward of 50,000 bucks for information leading to his arrest and conviction. >>> an iowa man arrested near the white house has been sentenced to one year's probation. rj kapheim pleaded guilty to charges of possessing a firearm and ammunition. he approached the secret service post near the white house last november and said he had an appointment with the president. >>> if you've ever had a run-in with a deer on the road, you will want to pay close attention. a unique partnership is underway between police and a local veterinarian trcontrol the deer population in fairfax city. jim osman is at police headquarters trying to explain what they've got in mind. >> reporter: hi folks at home. we're taking you lynn the scenes tonight. this is. [ audio difficulties ] release the back into nature. jim osman, wusa9 news. >> we'll have to see if it's an experiment that works out, thank you, jim. >>> the temperature is now hovering around freezing. that means there's some icy patches lik

in somalia. in somalia. and they have pledge add leithance and has walked in the footsteps of al qaeda, dominating certain areas in somalia and traying to -- trying to carry out national attacks in uganda and other places. >> let's talk about syria because it has to do with the syrian civil war. >> al nostra was established in iraq which today is isis it. was an extension that spread through syria. basically in about april of 2013, the islamic state in iraq isi, automatically decided to expand into syria and once they expanded they broke the -- they went out of obedience. they disobeyed the al qaeda top leader and in april -- in february of 2014 they were officially ex communicated and disowned by al qaeda. >> and they have their own separate branch. and let's talk about the branch which was al qaeda in iraq. so if we can go to the next graphic. that is the former al qaeda in iraq is now what isis is. >> exactly. so in february 2014 they were disowned. isis, which stands for islamic estate in syr

passport trying to go to al shabab in somalia and there's an arrest warrant that was just unsealed but the interesting thing is the date on the arrest warrant is february of 2014. so now it's clear that the fbi has been t

according to the f.b.i., haji mohamed fought with a terror group in his native somalia. the f.b.i. believes he has returned to somalia. >>> in mexico, survivors of an explosion at a maternity hospital are recalling the devastating scene that's killed two people, an infant and a nurse. more than 60 others were injured that we know of. many of them children. it happened after a hose burst on the truck supplying gas to the building. >>> following a preliminary investigation, officials in denver say it's still not clear how an officer was injured when 17-year-old jessica hernandez was killed by police driving a stolen car. investigators initially said the officer was hit by the car as it was driven toward him. that account has been challenged by some witnesses. department policy allows officers to shoot at moving vehicles if they have no other reasonable way to prevent death or serious injury. >>> the norfolk police chief now says the use of force against a norfolk state student was unreasleonab. 21-year-old london covan, not only a student but army reservist was at an off campus party

somalia, the u.s. had to shut down the embassy, get all americans out of somalia and there's a potential that could happen in yemen now too. >> i think president obama was mentioning yemen in the context that u.s. had minimum footprint, boots on the ground was very limited to marines protecting the embassy and advisors helping the yemeni military equip and train. that's the difference. >> there are hundreds of u.s. military personnel on the ground in yemen right, not just 100 marines who protect the embassy but a lot of others who work with yemen, these drone strikes, they target for killing al qaeda suspects and others. there are a lot of american military personnel on the ground. >> i don't have the exact number of u.s. personnel that are linked to the u.s. government on the ground but it's fair to say with the diplomats and advisors and ngos that it could be close to 100. >> close to what? >> to a hundred. >> 200? >> 100. >> in addition to the hundred marines, you mean? >> i mean the entire staff at

while supporting partners on the front lines is one that we have successfully pursued in yemen and somaliafor years. >> thanks to our military and counterterrorism professionals, we took out osama bin laden, much of al qaeda's leadership in afghanistan and pakistan, and leaders of al qaeda affiliates in yemen and somalia.

story and that syria was built, the policy, on the yemen and somalia model. when the "charlie hebdo" attack happened, that same day in yemen, a suicide bomber in a mini bus exploded outside a police academy killing 37. yemen is going downhill and it is not a success. >> to top that off, there's more talk about releaseing more gitmo detainees, some of them, no doubt, to yemen. not a popular topic on capitol hill if the president tries to bring that back up. the two years remaining right now, as to how this president decides to restrategize his foreign policy if he does. >>> let's go back to katherine. thank you so much. i understand new information tying these guys now to yemen what we were just talking about. >> the fap is now reporting that one of the brothers before the takedown happened told a french television station that he had been financed the operation had been financed, by al qaeda in yemen and specifically the american cleric an warwar alalaki. this is extremely important information, because it is yet another piece of evidence, or another dot to c

. >> while supporting them on the front lines it has proved in yemen and somalia for ten years. >> in the south with money and other help that is likely to stop now that an iranian proxy held much of yemen. hanging in the balance is saudi arabia is at least stabilized. >> it is a long time friend of the united states. it is someone who provided information for the u.s. >> the president will be raid to to -- laid to rest. vice president biden is going to lead the u.s. delegation in the coming days. heather? >>> oo thank you very much leland. time might be up for two japanese held in the clutches of isis. the militant group posting a count down clock on-line which signalled the time left for journalists. the government official would not confirm or deny if they have been in contact with isis militants over 200 million in ransom. notification has been released. the mother making a tearful flee for the safe-- plea for the safe return of her son. they say they will execute within 72-hours if those demands are not met. the president says we have turned the page on terror. maybe he should se

. >> in somalia, one person is confirmed as killed after a car bomb targeted a turkish delegation in mogadishu. witnesses say there were three dead bodies in the scene. the armed group al shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack. the attack comes ahead of the president's visit to somalia. >> suicide bombers killed at least eight iraq soldiers north of baghdad at the entrance of a military base as dozens of soldiers were heading home for the weekend. security officials say 21 others were injured. no one has claimed responsibility. >> japan says it's looking at the possibilities of releasing two hostages taken by islamic state of iraq and the levant. japan is trying to negotiate with hostage takers. the prime minister has promised not to give into terrorism. early they are week, isil released to video threatening to kill the men unless a $200 million ransom is paid. >> iraq security forces are still months away from stage ago major counterattack against isil which still controls large swaths of the country. that came from phillip hammond ahead of a conference being held in lond

already pulled out of somalia, no u.s. embassy in mogadishu, obviously out of libya, no u.s.mascus. i see a pattern unfolding. what about you? >> wolf unfortunately, you're right. these failed states we're trying to hang on to because we know if yemen goes it just continues to let aqap have a bigger and bag bigger safe haven. there could be a silver lining in this piece. if we can figure out a way to get the houthis to make look at helping us if this collapse continues and this coup continues in effect maybe -- and i say maybe -- they will help with counterterrorism against aqap. but again, that goes back to i think we need to start looking at having some discussion was the iranians. >> we'll pick up that thought. i want everybody to stand by. coming up we have the clearest evidence so far about the moments leading up to the airasia jet crash. we'll update you. that and all the day's other news coming up. (son) oh no... can you fix it, dad? yeah, i can fix that. (dad) i wanted a car that could handle anything. i fixed it! (dad) that's why i got a subaru legacy. (vo) symmetric

and you have afghanistan and you two into yemen and in somalia. you also have al-qaida in northern africa. >> reporter: he says it would be a mistake to send foreign troops. >> reporter: the so called underwear bomber is now serving a life sentence without the possibility of parol. it was on christmas day in 2009 that the nigerian attempted to blow up a northwest plane in rout from amsterdam to detroit. as debora villalon reported then, it was watchful passengers who jumped into action to stop the attack. >> reporter: this dark grainy pictures shows the suspect detained in the plane. he launched from across the suspect from the seat after he saw smoke coming from a blanket as the jet prepared to land. >> i was thinking he's trying to blow up the plane. and so, you know i was trying to search his body for any explosives. and then i took some kind of object that was already melting and smoking out of him. >> reporter: water and a fire extinguisher followed with other passengers and crew helping. >> i grabbed him with another attendant and we took hi

we had kids from min knee app mow -- minneapolis going over to somalia somalia. in the west we want to say what's going to happen tomorrow what's going to happen next week. in my experience if you want to reverse this tide you're talking about 2025 2035. you're talking about a generation of military operations that are brutal to reverse what is not just a terror group to reverse a cultural revolution that isis is trying to spark. >> so how do you see it long term for a group like isis? >> this is an unpleasant conversation. let me give you two characteristics that i would expect to see not just because i'm looking at isis but because i'm looking at experiences in places like indonesia, the philippines, again, nigeria somalia. a couple of the characteristics. overtime believe it or not there has to be some conversation with some segment about reconciliation. i'm not talking about this today. that is exactly right. let me tell you what i mean chris. i'll get a lot of hate mail. i don't like isis. i'm perfectly happy to see drone strikes go after them but over the c

while supporting partners on the front lines is one that we have successfully pursued in yemen and somalia for years. >> thanks to our military and counterterrorism professionals, we took out osama bin laden, much of al qaeda's leadership in afghanistan and pakistan, and leaders of al qaeda affiliates in yemen and somalia. >> and then how come the administration expect to vanquish terror if it won't even identify who the enemy is? >> france your ally in this effort, has put a name on this ideology which he called radical islam. you have bent over backwards to never say that. >> i certainly wouldn't want to be in a position where i'm repeating the justification that they have cited that i think is completely illegitimate that they have invoked islam to try to justify their attacks. we have not chosen to use that label because it doesn't seem to accurately describe had happened. >> okay. the yemen connection has raised new concerns about transfers of former gitmo detainees to the country country, especially in light of the rate that former prisoners are returning to the battlefields. republi

in somalia, al-shabab has been active there, and violence has spilled over into kenya.3 was an armed group active in eastern are democratic republic of congo since 2012 but its fighters laid down arms just over a year later. before the creation of sudan, the government fought a movement. and after they became independent, mostly spla became part of that country's regular army. then there's boko haram which has been active in northern nigeria since 2009 but its fighters have also launched attacks in neighboring cameroon. we are joined by the professor of african renaissance. thanks for being with us. so you were listening to our reporter reporting from niger, and the meeting takes place, saying that really there hasn't been enough coordination to fight boko haram specifically. why is that, do you think? >> well i think first of all, boko haram started fighting in northeastern nigeria, and when it started, it looked as if it was really within nigeria only. so that nigeria was giving the impression it could deal with the situation, but slowly boko haram already showed quit

while supporting partners on the front lines is one that we have successfully pursued in yemen and somaliaprofessionals, we took out osama bin laden, much of al qaeda's leadership in afghanistan and pakistan, and leaders of al qaeda affiliates in yemen and somalia.

more than 360,000 people have come from ethiopia and somalia. some remain in yemen as reef gees while other seek opportunities in gulf countries and beyond. many venture the rough seas. many end up an easy prey. >> more than 90,000 ever crossed to yemen in 2014. 246 people have drowned or remained missing. there have been more than 90 registered cases of gender based violations including 20 cases of rape. the u.n. says the flow of migrants will continue due to economic reasons but warn newcomers of the risks. >> as a measure, you know, a mitigation measure but basically to provide safe transport in the area so they are not kidnapped or tortured by those people and they're provided with food, health care, with clothes with everything that we can within our limited resources. people that are coming to us report of being tortured, being beaten up, women even like sexually or gender based violence they have suffered. >> there are many other women and children who came victims afraid. they won't come forward out of fear and social taboos. these two a

turkey has significant business investments in somalia. >>> the democratic republic of congo is delaying a hotly contended election 24 hours. many are unhappy with the bill that will extend the rule of joseph kabila. malcolm web has the latest from kinsasha. >> reporter: following days of protest in kinsh aasa. thousands of demonstrators they say that president joseph kabila is trying to change the law to extend his 13-year rule. the governor refutes it. >> the issue that people in kinsh aasa don't understand is that they want kibabila wants to continue. >> reporter: protesters threw stones and burned cars. in some areas there has been looting. this is what remains from the goods of this chinese store. goodbye kabila is written on the wall. it's not clear why they were targeted. some people hearsay that those who were jobless resent those here. in the senate politicians have been discussing changes to the voting law. the ruling coalition said that's because it wants a census before next year's presidential election. but it could delay the election by a year, and that's why the opposition

clearly there were instances where the president in somalia -- he has been very forceful, although his public pronouncement, against extremism. he knew that france was exposed and there have been, for example, a number of french hostages taken over the years. the last one was freed only recently and was seen as a rare success for francois hollande. but clearly he knew that there was a terror threat. now he's faced with a terror attack in the heart of paris. there will probably be some national rallying against the flag and things like that. he will also face probably criticism because people are saying, why is france going to war in all of those places and paying the price in blood in the middle of paris? there will be probably some solidarity with the french president, but also some criticism, especially if there were lapses in the security services related to the attack. >> we're getting images of what happened today during the shooting. let's take a look and a listen to those now. i do not have any sound. all right, some amateur pictures we were just getting there. charlie hebdo, a

. >> this is latest in a wave of al shabaab attacks across somalia. on christmas day gunmen penetrated the main african union base seen as the most secure in mogadishu. just last week, an army transport was ambushed. the uptick in violence is believed to be mostly retaliatory. are the platest attack killed an intelligence chief. >> their mindset maybe we need to talk, push our agenda through political means rather than through warfare. >> but warfare is the present reality and al shabaab is showing no signs of backing down. jerald tan, al jazeera. >>> suspected boko haram fighters multinational joint task force established in 1998 to border downer cross border violence. residents of the northeastern nigerian town have begun moving home. they were forced out. mohamed idris. a warning some viewers may find images in this report disturbing. >> harvesting what remains of the family farm, they left it unattended for two months when boko haram fighters have overrun the town. now have lost a substantial amount of the produce. >> we were supposed to have this

the armed group al shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack which targeted somalia's nationalntelligence and security agency. it has been con four simplians have been killed. the bombing comes just two days after an al shabaab assault near the central town of bidoa which killed seven soldiers. >> attack was believed to be in retaliation for a u.s. air strike which killed one of the groups' leaders just a few days before. over the past few months somali troops and african union forces have stepped up that i have their offensive against al shabaab fight to go impose islamic law in somalia. turning to iraq's battle against the armed group isil 11 iraqi soldiers and allied fighters have been killed in fighting north of baghdad. din prove incident is one of the areas which government forces are trying to secure from isil. auchttralia's prime minister has made an unannounced visit to iraq. tony abbott met him at the republican palace in baghdad. they discussed military cooperation in the face of attacks by isil fighters in northern iraq. australia an jets have carried out bombing ra

somalia, yemen, elsewhere, that make brilliant training grounds, lawless training grounds for terror groups, and we saw one result of that here the kouachi brothers one, perhaps two of them going there to train. how worrisome a phenomenon is that? >> well you know jim, we talked about that. one of the things i think we can do in this fight against radicalism is find out where these safe havens are to train and take those away. i mean that started out with us in afghanistan. afghanistan started out as a safe haven for al qaeda. that's something, right now, you can pinpoint five or six locations around the globe that i think if we put intelligence on that and every time we see these come up we have to go in and try to take those away. >> i want to thank jim reese, paul cruickshank on the phone, samuel laurent, once again. >>> when we come back jewish people here in france still living in fear. we're going to discuss that fear right after this break. out of 42 vehicles... based on 6 different criteria... why did a panel of 11 automotive experts... ... name the volkswagen golf motor tren

>> al qaeda went to north africa to somalia and even latin america. >> reporter: the number of jihadistsnd beyond is increasing at an alarming rate. >> the good thing about it i could admit there is those who are not syrian. >> reporter: the complete void of security in syria is troubling on many fronts. recent reports from fighting in the border town suggests that isis militants may have access to chemical weapons. >> people are focusing on syria. if syria breaks through there would be a lot of change. obama worried about the chemical weapons not to be in the hands of islamists because if they get it they will never hesitate to use it. >> reporter: isis has recruited some 700 suicide bombers around the world which is added to a list that the leadership pulls from. >> from italy, france australia, some from somalia. they have come even from afghanistan. >> now it's important to note that that piece was filmed at the end of 2013. he was arrested by lebanese authorities last may and faces charges that include encouraging terror acts and insighting hatred against the lebanese army. if convi

targeted al qaeda's affiliate in yemen and recently eliminated the top commander of affiliate in somalia. the strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us while supporting partners on the front lines is one we have successfully pursued in yemen and somalia for years. >> reporter: that may be one reason the president created another image, holding a surprise meeting with people who had written him personal letters and whose stories will be highlighted tonight. as he puts less emphasis on national security and more on plans to double down on tax the rich policies that paint him as the guardian of the middle class. >> our economy is demonstrating resilience, what that creates an opportunity to do right now is focus on policies that benefit the middle class and the president thinks by doing, that that's the best way we with grow our economy. >> reporter: the president will focus more on domestic policies that shape his legacy and the 2016 campaign. even though those plans are going nowhere fast in the new republican congress. >> absolute non-starter. last year we had the all-time all-ti

many officials point out embassies in libya, syria and somalia have already been shuddered due to threats of terrorism and ongoing conflict. the state department for now doesn't want yemen to be the next. >> we believe that it's in our national security interests to have a presence there and a strong presence there which is one that we continue to have. >> reporter: but make no mistake, the u.s. navy still has two warships off the coast of yemen ready to evacuate americans if the order comes from the state department. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >>> japan appears to face a friday deadline to save the lives of two japanese hostages held by isis. prime minister abe says the $200 million ransom democrat isdemand -- demand sun acceptable. his country is trying to communicate with the terror group. will ripley spoke with a long-time syrian fixer for one of the hostages who warned this day was coming. >> reporter: the fact that the japanese government is saying it wants to open a line of communication with isis is significant. shows that japan is working to secure the release of the hosta

if it collapsed you will see an increase of attacking and that would also play into the hands of somaliach has in the past in the arabian peninsula this is exactly why the europeans and the americans are very worried about what is happening in the yemen they would love to see a political settlement in that area. >> thank you very much indeed. for the international significance of this fast moving story we will have plenty more of you if and when it p twos in the meantime still ahead, greece's leader rallies support ahead of weekend elections. and talking once more, in 35 years, and for a second day >> start with one issue education... gun control... the gap between rich and poor... job creation... climate change... tax policy... the economy... iran... healthcare... ad guests on all sides of the debate. >> this is a right we should all have... >> it's just the way it is... >> there's something seriously wrong... >> there's been acrimony... >> the conservative ideal... >> it's an urgent need... and a host willing to ask the tough questions >> how do you explain it to yourself? and you'll g