darrah is also a vital route of weapons and recrooults in southern syria. mainly el nusra front, free syrian army brigade and other fighters. but the opposition rebels have been weakened by divisions and rebel fighting. the opposition has called for the rebels to set their differences aside, a defeat at this particular moment could undermine the chances of the rebels pushing from more concessions from the government in the upcoming talks that will be held in geneva. hashem ahelbarra, al jazeera, darrah southern turkey. >>> drive by shooting in the yemeni city of aden. shot after holding over control of the key port to government troops. one of the last working hospitals says it came under attack on monday. rob matheson has the story. >> reporter: at the closing of the year no letup in the fighting in yemen, hospitals are on the front line in the battle between the rebels and supporters of the internationally recognized government of abd rabbu mansour hadi. medical staff are struggling to cope. in ta'izz they plead for more oxygen supplies. without them, the

it is the first government offensive in southern syria since the strikes began three years ago. we haven't been able to verify these pictures. >> reporter: the fighting has been the heaviest since the rebels took control of the area four years ago. government troops backed by russian fighter jets are flying now to claim some of the territory which has been under the control of the rebels. we understand from different sources that the rebels have called for general eau mobilization. they are asking for different factions in the north and the west to come to the defense. there are different factions operating in the last few years. al-nusra front, which is an al-qaeda, another backed by the western allies, and there are different other groups. the problems that these groups have been fighting for a bigger say here, but they do understand now that if they lose the area, that could be the beginning of their decline in the whole area which has been the focal point or the birth place of the bashar al-assad. all sources tell al jazeera that this fight is a critical one and there is abs

they are launching an attack to repair the government troops an opposition strong hold in southern syria. they say that many turns were part of the government offensive. the russian arrival is like a game changer. it added more military assets, more air power, more intelligence, since we know earlier, when president asaad and his speech said we are -- i don't have enough personnel in order to fight. trying to limit the spin back of the regime. >> the birthplace of syria's uprising. while the capitol of the province is still under government control, the rebel ares have captured most of the towns. doha is crucial for both sides. if captures by government forces they will have to pull out, the fall is also going to be bad news for rebel factions based on the outskirts of damascus. regrets in eastern doha. there are many armed groups operating in doha, mainly oven the front. free syrian army renegades and fighters. but the opposition rebels have been weakened by divisions and internal fighting. the division has called on the rebels to set their differences aside. at this particular moment,

it's part of the government's first major offensive in southern syria since russia joined the fight athe end of september. >>> well, syrian observatory for human rights said that moscow strikes on syria have killed civilians, a third were children. russia has denied its air campaign has been hitting civilians. we've been following the story and have this report in turkey. >> it all started with intense airstrikes by russian fighters jet paving the way for government troops to advance towards the opposition stronghold. the rebels say that despite the losses, they are regrouping and they are planning towards a counter offensive to push the government troops out of the area. the area is very crucial for the area and the rebels because of a strategic route that connects the city of damascus. president bashar al-assad has always been concerned about rebel groups present. now there are different factions operating. the al-qaeda-affiliated al nusra front, but there are factions that were trained and equipped by the americans. we don't know whether they will pull out further south or this is q

it's part of the government's first major offensive in southern syria since russia joined the fight in september. >>> well, the observatory for human rights say that russia's strikes on syria hav, 792 of the dead, more than a third, were civilians, 180 were children. russia denied its air campaign is hitting carefullan. ash har quaraishi has been following the story and sent this report from turkey. the rebels say that despite the losses, they're regrouping, and they're planning towards a counter offensive to push the government troops out of the area. for the rebels it has been a platform from where they could easily send weapons and fighters. so they provide a boost to the opposition. this is where he has always been concerned about rebel groups. now, there are different factions operating there. the al-qaeda affiliated al nusra front. but there are factions affiliated with the syrian army. some of them were trained and equipped by the americans. we don't know if they'll pull out further south or if they're trying create groups. >> sweeping and clearing operations are under way on th

they're launching an attack to fight government troops in an opposition stronghold in southern syria. they say that many troops were forced to retreat. the army backed by russian fighter jets say that the fight is almost over, and that the city will soon be under its control. >> the russian arrival is like game changer. it's added more military assets more air bauer power, when they said we don't have enough personnel in order to fight. accordingly the russians are here trying to limit the spill-over, the spill-back of the regime. >> the birthplace of syria's up rising. while the capital of the province is still under government control, the rebels have captured most of the towns. it is crucial for both sides. if captured by government forces the rebels will have to pull out. it's fall is also going to be bad news for rebel factions based on the outskirts of damascus. it is also a vital supply route for groups based there. there are many armed groups operating there. mainly al nusra front, free syrian army brigades and separatist fighters, but the opposition rebels have been weakened

they are launching an attack to repel government troops in an opposition strong hold in southern syria say that many tanks that were part of the government offensive were either destroyed or forced to retreat. but the army backed by russian fighter jets say the fight is almost over. and that the city will soon be under itself control. >> the russian arrival is like game changer. it added more military assets, more air power, more intelligence, since we know earlier, when president assad in his speech said we are -- i don't have enough personnel in order to fight. so accordingly, the russians are here, trying to, you know, limit the spillover, or spill back of the a-- regime. the rebels have captured most of the towns. dara is crucial for both sides. if captured by government forces, the rebels will have to pull out. it's fall is also going to be bad news for rebel factions on the edge of damascus. it's a vital supply route for groups in the area. there are many armed groups operating here. mainly al-nusra front, free syrian fighters, and other fighters. the opposition has called on the

the top story there is the battle in southern syria between government and rebel forces. also there a special look at what interested the world in 2015. all that and much more, al jazeera.com powerful weather system. >> these urchins are in trouble right now, why is that? >> our oceans getting warmer and more toxic. land frozen for years now melting. what is happening around the planet and what can science do

it is the first government offensive in southern syria since russian air strikes began three months ago. al jazeera is unable to independently verify these pictures. the city is on the main supply group. the city is near the border with jordan. that's where the first major anti-government protests took place in 2011. our correspondent joins us live. what is the situation you're hearing now? >> reporter: they are, indeed. rebel forces on the ground say this has been one oft most intensified fighting ever, the heft-- of the most-- heaviest trying to gain territory. the rebels have caused for general mobilization. we do understand that different rebel factions, particularly of the free syrian army, which is a conservative group and different factions are now trying to launch a massive counter-attack to reclaim some of the territory they lost yesterday. it is a very critical moment. it seems that the government is now willing to make some significant gain. 2015 is going to be remembered as the year when the rebels made the most spectacular gain in northern syria, particularly in idlib. in h

and it's part of the government's first major offense nif southern syria since russia joined the fighte end of september. the syrian observatory for human rights says moscow's strikes on syria have killed more than 2,300 so far. 792 of the dead, more than a third, were civilians, 180 were children. russia has denied that its air campaign in support of assad's government is hitting civilians. hashem ahelbarra has been following the story and sent us this report from turkey. >> reporter: it all started with intense air strikes by russian fighter jets paving the way for government troops to advance towards the town, which is an opposition strong hold. the rebels say that despite the losses, they are regrouping, and they are planning to launch a counter offensive to push the government troops out of the area. the town and the whole area is very crucial for the government and the rebels because it's in a strategic route that connects dara and the capitol damascus. for the rebels it has been a platform from where they could easily send weapons and fighters to provide and boost the presence o

it's the first offensive in southern syria since russian air strikes began three months ago.a cannot independently verify these pictures. on a main supply route that connects president bashar al-assad's government to the capital damascus with the city near the border with jordan. that's where the first major anti--government protests took place in 2011. live for us in southern turkey now, the neighboring country. it zooms the rebels are fighting back against this offensive. the battle is raging. what is the latest you are hearing? >> reporter: they are, they are trying not to push back government troops. this is exactly what happened over the last 24 hours. government troops backed by russian fighter jets, managed to strike many rebel positions across the area. in fact, the rebels were taken by the surprise that they were suddenly if disarray, no chain of command and they pulled out from those areas. but later they managed to mount a counter offensive. the united different factio faca conservative group. the al-nusra front. al qaeda affiliate and differet brigades jointed and

so those is in southern syria. it is unclear about what their operations are. although i don't know if you can do this but i assume if it is too soon but how reduce the impact -- do you see the impact? >> it was right there. it was the try border area. with those forces that retrained. en with that air power for the facility as well. so to have those forces planned. is a little bit too soon to determine the impact. but if you work in the early round may be janata knockout from the early round body shot but then a few rows later now he can be set up for the knockout. although we may not see an immediate impact. then it takes a while for it to catch up. then you will see big need we can. >> dc that new force to be folded in somewhere else? >> but as do all of us with the battlefield and with that coalition. n2 on the border and with that multiplication factor. >> the secretary mentioned the proper use of apache helicopters and perhaps u.s. advisers with the iraqi units. knu talk about what are the conditions that exist for this to happen and if they would seek su

the top story there is the battle in southern syria between government and rebel forces. also there a special look at what interested the world in 2015. all that and much more, al jazeera.com powerful weather system. >> these urchins are in trouble right now, why is that? >> our oceans getting warmer and more toxic. land frozen for years now melting. what is happening around the planet and what can science do about it? the latest technology from above and boots on the ground. >> you've got to get down there with your hands, in the mud. >> are we looking for a dead one? >> all trying to fight back, but is it too late? >> when the pacific speaks, everybody around the planet better listen. >> this is "techknow". a show about innovations that can change lives. >> the science of fighting a wildfire. >> we're going to explore the intersection of hardware and humanity, but we're doing it in a unique way. this is a show about science... >> oh! >> oh my god! >> by scientists. techknow investigates climate chaos. >> think the weather's been pretty wacky lately, well just wait, it m

behavior but we have to be more humble saying there are areas where we can work, particularly in southern syriand work with our partners there, and to the north it's a lot more difficult. >> going back to the airstrikes, assuming they happen, what could they bring? >> right now what the u.k. has is eight tornado forces operating over iraq and have already been in syria providing reconnaissance intelligence and surveillance missions. we're already flying over syria and providing targeting information, we're just not dropping weapons. what that vote would allow those trods to do is drop weapons. we have an array of different type of munitions. >> so the brits have got a pretty good piece of kit here which has a low fair right and it's pretty precise. what we can bring to the table is precision. but the problem is this in iraq we were not taking a lot of airstrikes while up in the air. there are only 160 kinetic strikes in iraq over the last year and a half. it's not going to be a huge volume of strikes. >> do you think it's the right decision for the u.k. to get involved in bombing in syria. >> i

the opposition strong hold in southern syria. they say that many turns were part of the government offensive, were either destroyed, or forced to retreat. but the army backed by russian fighter jets say the fight is almost over. and that the city will soon be under it's control. >> more military assets more air power, more intelligence, since we know earlier, when president asaad in his speech said that we are -- i don't have enough personnel to fight. so accordingly, the russians are here. trying to -- you know limit the spill over spill back of the regime. >> if captures by government, forces the rebel will have to pull out. it's fall is also going to be bad news for rebel factions based on the outskirts of damascus. doha is also vital supply rout of weapons and recruits, for groups based in eastern huertas. there are many arms groups operating in doha. mainly on the front. free syrian army brigades and fighters. but the opposition rebels have been weakened by divisions and internal fighting. >> they have been called on the reb

they are launching an attack to recapture an opposition strong hold in southern syria.y say that part of the government offensive were either destroyed or forced to retreat, but the army backed by russian fighter jets say the fight is almost over, that the city will soon be under its control. >> the russian arrival is like a game changer, it added more military assets, more air power, more intelligence. since we know earlier when president assad said i don't have enough personnel in order to fight. so accordingly the russians are here trying to, you know, limit the spill back of the regime. >> reporter: it's the birthplace of syria's uprising, while the capitol is still under government control, the rebels have captured most of the towns. it's crucial for both sides. if captured, the rebels will have to pull out, it's fall is also going to be bad news for rebel factions based on the outskirts of damascus. it's also a vital supply route of weapons and recruits for groups in the east and dara. there are many armed groups operating in the area, mainly the nusra front, free

it is the first government offensive in southern syria since russian air strikes began three months ago. al jazeera cannot independently verify these pictures. our correspondent joins us live from southern turkey. we've been saying that these hours right now are crucial in this battle. what is the situation there at the moment? >> reporter: the fighting continues in different parts and the russian fighter jets have started a new wave of air strikes targeting rebels' positions across the city. the rebels say that they have managed over the last few hours to regroup in the areas and rebelling government forces killing dozens of troops and destroying vehicles and tanks and that the fight will continue and that they are getting reinforcements from different parts of the country to maintain a presence. on the other hand the government says that all the statements by the opposition are propaganda and that the controlling party is going to be just a matter of time and that the troops are making significant gains particularly in the eastern part of the city >>> thanks very much. just stay there

so we are doing some of the latter down in southern syria. and having some success at doing that. forming units to fight isil. but we're also continuing to look and to find forces that are willing to fight isil and to give them the equipment, the training and the enabling that will allow them to be successful. and we're doing that all overseer ya and all over iraq. and that's the key to getting continued momentum. chairman? >> congressman, i think the thing that is important, we are going to need indigenous ground forces to be successful. so it really is a question, as the secretary outlined, we have changed the method. but the in state has remained consistent. they are exactly the ones we need to continue to progress. and i'll give you an example. we were training individuals. we brought them from turkey. we sent them back to fight in syria. we didn't think that would get there as fast as we needed to. so we decided to go with vetted groups. # it is moving towards raqqah which is where core isil resides. that authority is what we are use to go support those forces right now. >> a

so we are doing some of the latter down in southern syria and having some success at doing that. but we are also continued to look and to find force that is are willing to fight isil and give them the equipment, training and enabling that will allow them to be successful. we are doing it all over syria and iraq, and that's the key to getting continued momentum. >> chairman, anything to add to that? >> congressman, i think the thing that's important we are going to need ground forces and regional ground forces to be successful. it really is a question as the secretary outlined. we changed the method but state has remained consistent and authorities are exactly the ones we need to continue to progress. i will give you an example. we were training individuals, we try today send them back to the fight in syria. so we decided to go with vetted groups and we are currently supporting a syrian arab coalition, which is one of the groups that has had success and is moving to raqaa, that authority is what we are using to support those forces right now. >> and i appreciate you mentioning tha

king abdulah and his people, working once again to identify and we have found some people in southern syria who want to recapture their territory from iceland we are supporting and enabling them. so we are looking to do more and we are looking for proposals. i've looked at general dunford for them meant a person looks at me and general dunford for proposals for how we can do more and we found them in a given you a number of indications of ways that we have accelerated the campaign over the last few months and will continue today that. >> thank you. i don't believe, at least nine months ago and i'm off the question was ask of our group but i don't believe anybody was talking about being at war and a sense that we are in a war footing. i don't think those words were used and they are not now been used at least to me and maybe my constituents back in nebraska. being in the wars more significant effort than not and i guess that would be my -- and would you agree with that? >> i use the word in the simple sense is the reflection of the seriousness. >> i would again and i think most everyone is s

king abdullah and his people, working once again to identify, and we have found some people in southern syria who want to recapture their territory from isil, and we're supporting and enabling them. so we're looking to do more. and we're looking for proposals. i look to general dunford for them, the president looks to me and general dunford for proposals for how we can do more. and we found them. and i've given you a number of indications of ways that we have accelerated the campaign over the last few months, and we'll continue to do that. >> thank you. i don't believe, at least nine months ago, i don't know if the questions was asked on our group, but i don't believe anybody was talking about being at war in a sense, we are in a war footing, i don't think those words were used then. they are now being used. i mean, at least to me, and maybe to my constituents back in nebraska, that being on a war footing is more significant effort than not. i guess that would be my -- would you agree with that? >> i use the word in the simple sense as a reflection of the necessity and the seriousness of this

. >>> nato is planning to send air defenses to turkey ung along the southern borders with syria, incidents such as the downing of a russian jet last month can be avoided. world powers meet to tend conflict. as rio de janeiras rosiland jor. >> definitive plan to stop the fighting and restore the peace. the russian president said on friday he's on board. >> translator: we'll basically support the u.s. on drafting a u.n. security council on syria. it is the blueprint that the secretary of state arrived in moscow. >> but putin is a long time supporter of bashar al-assad. the u.n. community can't decide who will run the country. another part of the issue, what organization will join the talk. >> el news ra nusra should not e join the talks. i hope we can all agree. >> he has to leave before transitional government takes power. u.s. secretary of state kerry sed assad's position is not predetermined. >> that is not the position of the international syria support group. it is not basis of the geneva communique, it is not the basis of the u.n. opposition. >> officials say they are forging ahead non

he is believed to be missing after entering syria from southern turkey in late june. the international journalist association reporters without borders says that the al qaeda related group is holding him. the armed group is demanding a ransom for his release. nhk met a man in southern turkey shortly before the journalist entered syria. >> translator: he tried to report on the refugee situation and the syrian people's struggle. he asked me for help to enter syria. >> the man said he sought approval from syrian insurgents but failed. the journalist apparently entered syria through other means. >> translator: he told me he had things to do. i was shocked to hear that he's missing. i tried to contact the armed group. i really hope he will be released. >> the man said that he wanted to take up the project of kenji goto who was killed earlier this year by the islamic militant group. >>> the leaders of russia and india announced they're working together to bolster their defense industries. moscow is trying to strengthen economic ties with one of its most important allies to

. >> nato is planning to send air defenses to turkey along its southern border with syria. by helping turkey patrol its air space, it is hoped that incidents such as the downing of a russian jet last month could be avoided. as rosiland jordan reports there are major obstacles to overcome. >> reporter: the civil war in syria is nearly five years old. in new york city, diplomats will try to create a definitive plan to stop the fighting and restore the peace. the russian president said he's on board. >> basically support the u.s. in drafting a u.n. security council resolution on syria. it is the blueprint of this resolution that the u.s. secretary of state arrived in usc mo. moscow. >> but putin is a long time supporter of bashar al-assad. the u.n. can't decide who will run the country, he says. >> translator: it is clear i.s.i.l. and jabad el nusra are terrorist organizations. they cannot be part of the meeting. i hope we can all agree. >> the opposition which recently met in riyadh, says he has to leave before transition of pow power. kerry says that is not predetermined. >>

warren: well, in southern syria, along the jordan border, there was a raid conducted by syrian forces we trained. i cannot recall the name of the town. it was on a tribe border area where syria and jordan come together. it was an isil outpost. the forces we trained conducted ago.d there several weeks they moved to set up an attack with mortars at that facility. they were able to direct airpower against that facility as well. that is the only one us far of note. we will continue to have those forces plan future operations. on the oil piece, it is a little too soon to determine exactly the impact of our strikes. -- it is this attacking their industrial base. as boxing.t body strikes, right? you may not get a knockout from early round body shots, that several rounds later, you will see your opponent's knees getting weak. that is what this is. these are body shots. we may not see an immediate impact today based on the strikes against oil because there is money in the pipelines. there is a ripple effect that takes a while to catch up. but when it does catch up, we will see this and many --

they are launching an attack to repel government troops in an opposition stronghold in southern syriamany kurds that were part of the government offensive were either destroyed or forced to retreat. the army backed by russian fighter jets say the fight is almost over, and that the city will soon be under its control. >> russian rival is like a game-changer. it added more military assets, more air power, more intelligence. since we know earlier when president assad in his speech said we are, i don't have enough personnel in order to fight, so accordingly, the russians are here trying to limit the spillover, spillback of the regime. >> it is the birth place of syria's uprising. while the capital of the province is still surround government control, the rebels of captured most of the towns. it is crucial for both sides. if captured by government forces, the rebels will have to pull out. it's fall is also going to be bad news for rebel factions based on the outskirts of damascus. it is also a vital supply route of weapons and recruits for groups based in the east. there are many armed gro

was supposed to go against the central syrian government and instead they saw the open field in southern syriaat direction instead of guilt or innocence the government. and i think turkey has continued to support isis behind the scenes. stuart: so you've got some sympathy from president obama who says look at this mess. nobody knows who is on whose side. >> right. stuart: you've got some sympathy from president obama i guess. >> i do have sympathy. expect that for the most part he has picked the other side to align with. we have to remember here one of the things they were doing behind the scenes, that is to say the obama administration and lieutenant mike flynn, they were helping feed weapons from libya to the turkish and the turkish were then giving these to the front and the precursor elements of isis for destabilizing the assad government. they got out of control so i'm only sympathetic to the president that he has to deal with chaos and now it's hard to start through that. and clearly we don't know who is on whose side at this point in time. stuart: i'm almost lost, but i do know it's a t

. >> reporter: that particular area, the southern part of syria, is an area where you have different-backedups with different loyalties. there is the nusra front which is the most organized and well-armed al-qaeda affiliate. it has huge control in that part of the country. there are also free syrian army groups. some of those groups were trained by the americans, and also armed with the americans, but they remain small groups, and their biggest problem, they have never been able to unite. it remains to be seen where this offensive is going to cause all of these factions to unite, despite their different ideologies. we have seen that happen in places like aleppo where the government launched a surprise attack to recapture the southern part of aleppo. rebel groups of different stripes united and launched a counter offensive. >> hashem ahelbarra with the latest there in turkey. thank you. >>> and iraqi forces and sunni tribal fighters say they are tightening their grip on ram after recapturing it from the islamic state of iraq and the levant. 52 families have been rescued. sweeping and clearin

syria, we aref taking advantage of opportunities to open the southern front against isil. in northern iraq, units have cuttingtown of sinjar, the main line of communication between that area and most old. i sold must now rely on back roads where we locate and destroy them. iraq, we have about 3500 troops at six locations in .raq we are appeared to do more to resolve the political divisions. the progress in the sunni , as the of iraq campaign to recapture ramadi slow. has been much to our frustration. sectarian politics and iranian influence has made building a multi-sectarian iraqi security force difficult. they must enroll and pay sunni arab fighters. to hold territory recaptured for my soul. have shrunkforts the isil controlled territory significantly. we now have the chance to divide icicles presence in iraq from that in syria. while both countries are played has different political pathologies that provide the opportunities for extremism to exist. they need different kinds of political progress to ensure lasting victory. we are deploying a specialized expeditionary tar

nato planning to send air defenses to turkey along its southern border with syria.urkey patrol its airspace it's hoped that incidents such as the downing of a russian jet last month can be avoided. >>> foreign ministers from around the world are meeting in new york later to discuss the war in syria. they are trying to organize direct talks between the syrian government and the opposition. >>> the u.n. investigation has found the organization failed to act on child sex abuse allegations betweens peacekeepers in central african remember being. secretary general ban ki-moon says he accepts the findings and will take action. >>> the number of people forced to flee their homes this year is likely to exceed all previous records. that's accord to this latest united nations refugees agency report. the figures only cover six-month period but show people fleeing their countries has now passed 20 million. with fighting and wars especially in the middle east the number of people internally displaced has jumped two from 2 million to 34 million for the first time ever worldwide f

sources close to yasuda say he entered syria through southern turkey in late june with a guide to cover the country's civil war. yasuda was supposed to return to japan in july, but his whereabouts remain unknown. >>> nhk has learned what the japanese government has in mind for the agenda for next year's summit of major nations. the government plans to take up terrorism. japan will share the summit to take place in may in the ise-shima area in japan. other participating nations on what the leaders should discuss. sources say the government is considering focusing on four main themes. they are world economy and trade, politics and diplomacy, climate change and energy and development. the sources say arrangements are also being made to cover fr infrastructure, health and women. the government plans to take up terrorism by islamic state militants and other groups. another topic is move to unilaterally change the status quo by force, including china's increased e ed maritime activit. they hope for solidarity in opposing such moves by china and russia and resolutely responding to them. ♪ >>>

next, in the south of syria, we are taking the opportunity to open a southern front on isil i to conductghters strikes inside syria. we are also enhancing the border control and defenses of a key ally, jordan, but in addition to military assets. in northern iraq, peshmerga ofts have retaken the town sinjar. cutting the main line of communication between raqqa and mosul. must relypplies, isil on back roads or locate and destroy them. elsewhere in iraq, we have 3500 troops at six locations in iraq, in support of iraqi security forces, the isf. we have been providing supporting power and augmenting the training program, and we are prepared to do more if they show resolve in the isil fight and resolving its political divisions. to recapturegn ramadi shows, it has been slow, much to our and prime minister abadi's frustration. a multi-sectarian iraqi security force has been difficult, with some notable exceptions such as the u.s.-trained counterterrorism forces. offer additional u.s. support of all kinds and encourage that debt to enroll, trained, arm, and pay sunni arab fighters, as well as sunni a

troops are fighting the taliban and in the southern province of helmand. syria's government is willing to join talks aimed at ending that countries and bloody civil war. the foreign minister issued a statement meeting with his chinese counterpart in beijing. negotiations resume next month in virginia. the death toll is now at least nine and a destructive storm that swept across the midwest. dozens have been injured. intornadoes touched down mississippi, wrecking homes and tossing cars into the year. the storm took two lives in tennessee. the high winds and rain extended into arkansas, killing one person there. tornadoes were also spotted in indiana. global news 24 hours a day powered by our journalists in over 150 news euros around the world. coming up in the next hour, why this holiday retail season is different from past years. we will tell you the early winners and losers and how the warm weather has taken a toll. -- just not a huge amount of retail with the rally. net outflows for the first three years 2014, they start pouring money back in when you have these

syria. >>> police in southern california say two mosques in the city of hawthorne were vandalized with paint on sunday. a replica of a hand grenade was left in the driveway of one of those mosques. cops suspect both incidents were hate crimes. the fbi has been asked to join the investigation. this comes one day after police near palm springs arrested a man for allegedly igniting a fire at an islamic center. i'm kelly wright. now here's "hannity." >> welcome to the special edition of "hannity," jihad in america. a poll shows 79% of americans say a terror strike is very or somewhat likely to take place in the next couple of months. but 44% indicating that it is very likely to happen. despite the serious concerns, president obama has done very little to calm americans' fears. according to the same poll, 57% disapprove of his handling of terrorism and that say record high for that particular poll. if you've been listening to the president's comments on isis, should not come as a surprise back in 2014 during an interview he said, quote, well, the analogy we use around here, sometimes and i think

syria. >>> police in southern california say two mosques in the city of hawthorne were vandalized with paintica of a hand grenade was left in the driveway of one of

in the south of syria, we are taking advantage of opportunities to open the southern front against isil. we enable fighters to conduct strikes inside syria. in northern iraq, units have retaken town of sinjar, cutting the main line of communication between raqqa and mosul, the two largest cities under isil's control. backmust now rely on roads, where we locate and destroy them. elsewhere in iraq, we have about 3500 troops at six locations in iraq. there we have been providing increased lethal fire and augmenting the existing training program. we are prepared to do more as iraq shows capability and motivation in at the counter isil fight. progress in the sunni portions of iraq, as mentioned by mr. smith, as the campaign to recapture ramadi shows has been slow. much to our frustration. sectarian politics and iranian influence has made building a multi-sectarian iraqi security force difficult. with some notable exceptions. we continue to offer additional u.s. support of all kinds and urge baghdad to enroll, train, arm, and pay sunni-arab fighters, as well as local sunni-arab police forces

group of young men, which included his brother and some friends, they traveled toçi syria via frankfurt and southernurkey after having been in contact, we're told with a man identified as one of the principle french jihadiist recruiters. now two members of that group died not long after they arrived in syria. he is believed to have returned to france sometime between august and november of this year. his return went unnoticed by police and intelligence officers. >> all right. where do they think he is tonight? >> well, he died in the attack, greta. >> oh, i'm sorry, i thought he was one that they were looking for. he died in the attack? >> he died in the attack. they were only -- sorry about that greta. he was only able to be identified because, greta, the end of november, his mother received a text. mss text saying her son had died a martyr in paris. she alerted police which took d.n.a. samples which enabled them to confirmj+ match. she has known pretty much since the end of november that he was one of the three gunmen in the bataclan theater. >> all right. any information on the one that they're l

and even after paris and even after we've been taking out isis positions and all throughout syria and southern iraq and yet they are still affected. maybe because of all of that. >> yeah. well, al-qaeda did this. we've been experiencing this for quite a while. but isis has a tremendous facility on the social media on the internet with twitter. neil: what do they do? >> put out very sophisticated videos that almost always include some element of the world trade center attack. they want to show those buildings burning. but they're very well done and the basic message is your religion is under attack. you have an obligation to defend it. now, the additional messages from isis. neil: who are they targeting. >> young men for the most part. young muslim men that they initially want to come to the middle east for the -- but now the message is do what you can where you are. neil: last time we were chatting about do what you can where you are now, we're told that a number of the isis recruits went to paris -- at least one through southern greece, maybe as many as three as part of this refugee wave, the

this is syria's first major offensive in the southern part of the country since russian forces entered that war back in september. >>> brussels is cancelling new years eve celebrations over concerns about possible attacks. the security presence is high all over the belgian capital. the mayor said fireworks show had been called off, arrest of two men who were allegedly plotting an atechnical on new year's evenewyear's eve. >> witness protection program, how one woman got her identity back and how she's doing today. >> an update now on a story we brought you a few months ago. it's about a woman named jackie taylor, that's the name she has already known but not her birth name. she was brought up in the witness protect program. she has struggled for years to find out her true identity. we'll talk about that in a moment but now. >> jackie taylor is on her way to finally learn who she is. a woman overcoming a life she doesn't control and a past she doesn't ask for. >> i'll never forget that day, finding out my father was a murderer. i hated him but still loved him because he was my dad. >> r

he called the shooting last week in southern california a terrorist act but again said he's not sending u.s. troops into syria. >> christa: we also have breaking news from overnight. a deadly crash on the streets of dorchester, man who was riding a motorcycle colliding with a car. the driver of that other car involved was not hurt. and so far no word on any charges today. >> jadiann: police will be become outside cambridge middle schools today as police continue to investigate a series of days. parents met with police and school officials yesterday to try and assure them that students are, in fact, safe. >> christa: let's get a check of your forecast heading out the door. gorgeous weekend, j.r. couldn't ask for a better weekend in december let's remember. >> jeremy: right. we have another one today. sunny and mild. temperatures today will reach the middle and upper 50s. much cooler tomorrow and wednesday. seasonal with a lot of clouds tomorrow and again on wednesday, but no snow, and no bitter cold for the next seven to ten days. in fact, next weekend looking down the road looks quite warm once again. normal

next, in the south of syria, we're also taking advantage of fu opportunities to open a southern front on isil by enabling fighters equipped by us and other coalition partners to conduct strikes inside syria. we're also enhancing the border control and defenses of a key ally, jordan, with additional military assets and assistance. in northern iraq, peshmerga units with the help of u.s. air power, have retaken the sound of sinjar cutting the main line of communication between raqqah and mosul, the two largest cities under isil's control. to move people and supplies, isil must now rely on back road where's we locate and destroy them. elsewhere in iraq, we have about 3,500 troops at six locations in iraq. in support of iraqi security forces, the isf. we've been providing increased lethal fire and augmenting the existing training, advising and assisting program. and we're prepared to do more as iraq shows capability and motivation in the counter isil fight and in resolving its political divisions. now, the progress in the sunni portions of iraq as mentioned by mr. smith is the campaign to

syria. in germany, a similar debate taking place as well. as climate talks continue, southern india faces its worst floods in a century. i'm sarah kelly, good evening and welcome to the program. in the united states, reports of an active shooter in the southern california city of san bernardino. the local fire department is responding to reports of up to 20 victims. sheriff's department meanwhile says there are one to three suspects still on the loose. richard walker is standing by in our uris bureau, we heard the police saying that multiple shooters are on the loose. this is different from the shootings we've heard about in the past. we haven't really heard about multiple shooters before. bring us up to date. >> san bernardino police department has confirmed three possible suspects. it is the area important to because this and how we handle this information. it is not unusual for there to be erroneous and conflicting reports in the early stages of what we have here, which is a breaking news situation. a lot of scrambled information coming from victims and those in the surroun

next come in the south of the syria we're also taking advantage of opportunities to open a southern front on isil by enabling fighters trained and equipped by us and other coalition partners to conduct strikes inside syria. we are also enhancing the border control and defenses of a key ally, jordan. but additional military assets and assistance. in northern iraq, peshmerga units with help of u.s. airpower and advisors have we taken account of sin jar, cutting the main line of to negation between raqqa and mosul, the two largest cities under isil's control. to move people and supplies, isil must now rely on back roads where we locate and destroy them. elsewhere in iraq we have about 3500 troops at six locations in iraq in support of iraqi security forces, the isf. they are we can provide increased lethal fire and augment existing training, advising and assisting program, and we're prepared to do more as iraq shows capability and motivation into cannot isil fight in resolving this political divisions. the progress in the sunni portions of iraq as mentioned by mr. smith is a campaign to reca

some of that group remained in southern beirut to be treated for their injuries. we have more from the turkey syriaded fighters and their families who were evacuate arrived in turkey and then from there, they crossed into idlib, a rebel stronghold in northern syria. there were a few exceptions, some of those badly injured were kept in hospital. at the same time, the pro government shia fighters and their families who were evacuate were flown from turkey to lebanon and from there will travel to damascus. past agreements were put on hold or collapsed. this one went as planned, quite a step forward for the international community, which is hoping to bring the warring factions in syria to make similar deals in the future to sort of bridge the distrust between them. that's one goal. in geneva, they will tackle serious issues like a transitional authority in air i can't that will put an end to more than four years of civil war. >>> 30 people were killed in attacks in the northeast of nigeria. emergency services say two saturday bombers struck a market in the town. in neighboring borno state, gunman opene