but mattes continues to report on suleiman. and after his third story, mattes says he gets a frightening phone call. >> in the middle of the night, i'm going to come get you. you're an insect. you better retract. >> mattes says threatening late-night calls to his personal cell phone become regular and frequent. >> all of the threats were directed at my reporting. all of the threats were directed at shutting me down. >> the now notorious mauling starts while mattes is interviewing this man, b.k. phillips, for a fourth story about a pair of previous run-ins with suleiman. >> this is our house. >> phillips lives next door to one of suleiman's buildings and he says, first, they have a neighborly squabble. and on a second occasion, as phillips walks through his neighborhood back to his home on a sunday afternoon, he says suleiman crosses the line. >> suleiman shows up out of nowhere, screeched up in his car, kicked open his car door, ran out and literally was posturing like i'm going to kick your butt, i'm going to beat your ass and

. >> in suleiman bek, we didn't see any iraqi troops. but we did come across a commander from the government's ministry of interior, who told us he was helping to coordinate the battle. >> but they're not just fighting isil. shia militias and the peshmerga are trying to consolidate control over disputed areas along the islamic state's border. >> things on the ground indicate that it is a fight for more territory. it is a fight for more natural resources. it's a fight for power. >> not far from the iranian border we met a peshmerga officer who is part of the siege of the city of jalawla. the kurds have never been able to hold on to the city as part of their territory. but they hope that will soon change. >> our forces start from there, okay? jawlawla is surrounded by our forces. do you see that? >> those two guys? >> yes. they're peshmerga. >> oh, yes, yes, i see what you're talking about... what is that smoke that is going up there? >> it's our artillery. as you guys see we have tanks, artillery, (heavy machine guns), and if we see any a

"because i thought i was about to be beaten," said suleiman mohammed, who is accused of plotting to detonate a car bomb. he denies it. and so does jabar sabah habash, his alleged accomplice, who was brought in next to tell his story. but 15-year-old kareem mufleh freely admits that he fought with isis. "they captured my village and gave me a choice," he told us. s.ither join isis or be beheaded." isis has embarked on a reign of fear. mufleh told us he witnessed massacres when isis seized villages in syria. "i even saw them kill a woman because her wedding dress showed her neck and bare arms," he told us. ty claims that isis gave him an anti-anxiety drug, zolam, before he went into battle. "that drug makes you lose your mind," he said. "if they give you a suicide belt ."d tell you to blow yourself up, you'll do it." uster a power cut in the prison, he showed us his wounds. caused, he said, by three bullets to his stomach. the group now holding mufleh captured him during a firefight nine months ago and also saved his life. the public face of isis is the masked gunmen who slaughter those who do

he tells me he's a syrian named suleiman.sis cell that detonated a car bomb outside a kurdish base and says he received around 3,6$3,6 for completing the job. what is that isis is fighting for? >> translator: they said they were fighting for islam and justice. they were lying to us. they took advantage of our minds and our poverty. >> reporter: one of the prisoners the guards bring out is barely a man. your name is kareem. how old are you? >> translator: i'm 19 years old. >> reporter: but kareem tells me he fought alongside isis all across syria for more than a year. where were you injured? and he has the battle scars to prove it. >> translator: they gave us drugs, hallucinogenic pills that would make you go to battle not caring if you live or die. >> reporter: before he's captured by the kurds, kareem says he saw isis behead many of its prisoners. why does isis cut people's heads off? >> translator: whenever isis goes into an area, the eyes of isis, the people there who don't adhere to their islamic law are apostates. everyt

and he begins to relax a little. [ speaking in foreign language ] he tells me he's a syrian named suleimanhe confesses to be part of a isis cell that planted and detonated a remote control car bomb outside a kurdish base and received around $3,600 for completing the job. what is the idea that isis is fighting for? >> translator: they said they were fighting for islam and justice. they were lying to us. they took advantage of our minds and our poverty. >> reporter: one of the prisoners the guards bring out is barely a man. your name is kadim. how old are you? >> translator: i am 19 years old. >> reporter: but karim tells me he fought alongside isis across syria for more than a year. where were you injured? he has the battle scars to prove it. >> translator: they gave us drugs, hallucinogenic pills so you wouldn't care if you died. >> reporter: he saw isis behead many prisoners. why does isis cut people's heads off? >> translator: whenever isis goes no on area the eyes of isis, the people who don't adhere to their islamic law are apostates. everything has to follow islamic law. even women wh

he tells me he's a syrian named suleiman, he confesses to being part of an isis cell that planted andated a remote controlled car bomb outside a kurdish base and says he received around $3,600 for completing the job what is the idea that isis is fighting for? >> translator: they said they were fighting for islam and justice. they were lying to us. they took advantage of our minds and our poverty. >> reporter: one of the prisoners the guards bring out is barely a man. your name is kareem. how old are you? >> translator: i am 1 years old. >> reporter: but kareem tells me he fought alongside isis all across syria for more than a year. where were you injured? and he has the battle scars to prove it. >> translator: they gave us drugs, hallucinogenic pills that maid you not care if you live or die. >> reporter: before he's captured by the kurds, kareem claim he is saw isis behead many of its prisoners. why are does isis cut people's heads off? >> translator: wherever isis goes into an area, the eyes of isis, the people there who don't adhere to their islamic law, a r apostates. everything h

and he begins to relax a little. [ speaking in foreign language ] he tells me he's a syrian named suleimanis cell that planted and detonated a remote control car bomb outside a kurdish base and received around $3,600 for completing the job. what is the idea that isis is fighting for? >> translator: they said they were fighting for islam and justice. they were lying to us. they took advantage of our minds and our poverty. >> reporter: one of the prisoners the guards bring out is barely a man. your name is kadim. how old are you? "i'm 19 years old" he says. but karim tells me he fought alongside isis across syria for more than a year. where were you injured? he has the battle scars to prove it. the final prisoner is jabber, a former school teacher and father of two who also confesses to a car bombing. what would have happened to me if, when you were with isis, if you guys had found me, an american journalist? "with isis" he tells me, "your fate would be death, and there are different kinds of death. they would torture you for sure, they might decapitate you or cut off your hands. they will n