opposition coalition and the free syrian army as the adversary of isis. >> you support the free syrianthe moderate rebel group. the president said the united states would like to strengthen moderate syrian rebels. but here's the question. do you have a relationship with the check point, the syrian army was defeated there. other elements came in. from the free syrian army part of that? >> the free syrian army is absolutely fighting against nursra. we saw clashes. there are independent brigades in southern syria, some of whom who have the relationship. >> brigades of the free syrian army? >> would part of your free syrian army, part of the group that took command of the check point between the israeli occupied area and syria? >> the main brigades three weeks ago issued a clear statement for the whole world there will be no coordination and no cooperation with the front. >> who killed douglas mcarthur mccain, the american working as a fighter with isis. did your group do that? >> the moderate free syrian army absolutely was responsible for taking him off the battlefield. an operation cent

the syrian government in syria and yet she kilometers across the border there supporting. the government jihad in iraq it's a very confusing situation and nobody can figure out who are the so-called moderate islamic forces probably the only way to get and we're green hats and have the other ones we're blue hats to distinguish them. about has taken a lot of blame from different quarters over letting the is this in syria take advantage of u.s. money and weapons could we say that washington is perhaps now fixing its own mistakes. it's trying to but of us has painted itself into a corner you know in international affairs you should never call people names because you never know when you're going to end up. working with them and this is a perfect example branding syrian government terrorists just read the grand the taleban terrorists now if the us makes you pretty much the syrians the republicans want to feel they say no you're cooperating with terrorists it was a big mistake and this whole thing has been a fiasco from day one he should never gone syrian situation let's see how

like most of the syrian refuges, zarrour is muslim. he told me helping others gives him a sense of purpose here. caritas' work is supported by international partners, including the u.s. based catholic relief services. crs president carolyn woo came to see some of the projects. she says it's crucial to work with local groups. >> they're the ones who know the local culture, they have the infrastructure, they are very committed themselves, so our job is really to enable them to be as successful as possible because they could really serve people in the best way. >> reporter: as she toured several sites, woo says she was deeply moved by the stories she encountered. >> you look at the little children, they're so wonderful but yet behind each of these wonderful people is a life that is completely disrupted. we see god in all of these people. we see that these are brothers and sisters like us. they're all part of this human family. >> reporter: jordan has made the decision to keep its borders open as long as possible. the flood of syrian refug

fighting on the syrian side against the syrian government. i mean, how much does all of that complicate any possible response not to mention what israel is dealing with on the other side? >> it's important to stress this isn't necessarily disputed territory. it's disputed territory the syrian regime and the rebels, but on the syrian side it is most distinctly syria. as you said, the situation is extremely complicated because if your a a u.n. official trying to win the release of these men, the syrian regime has no power over it. on a positive side last year in march and may two separate groups of u.n. peace keepers were detained in the same area during the course of the fighting between the regime and the opposition and eventually they were able to be released through the intervention of u.n. diplomats and others. they were released unharmed i and the hope that the same will happen this time. of course, the unknown in all of this is whereas before the people holding the u.n. troops were other syrian factions, this time it's the nusra front wh

. >> the syrian capital of damascus was seen as a cultural hub. >>> the syrian capital of damascus was once considered a cultural hub, but many people have been forced to flee the city because of an ongoing civil war. some dedicated syrian artists in other parts of the world are keeping their traditions alive. nhk world's akira saheki reports. >> reporter: ayyam gallery in dubai displays outstanding works by artists from throughout the middle east. the work of syrian artists has been attracting a lot of attention here. this piece is called "hope." it features multi-colored objects that look like rows of fingers. the objects resemble the flags of many countries. they bring to mind a world in which people live together in harmony. some works offer deep reflections on the effects of the civil war. here, an image of a building in damascus that was destroyed by war is combined with gustav klimt's masterpiece "the kiss." mohannad orabi is a young syrian artist who fled dubai in 2014. his portraits express a variety of human emotion. before the war, the most distinctive feature was large eyes

the number of syrian refugees hits 3 million. the u.n. is calling it the biggest humanitarian emergency of our time. >>> britain raises it's terrorist threats to the second highest level, expecting that an attack is highly likely. >> it's a threat to our own security here in the uk. >> and ebola spreads to a fifth west african country, senegal. we'll have the latest from our reporter. >>> so two big stories dominating the news. there are now 3 million syrian refugees. that's a new, grim world record. we'll get get to that story in just a moment. but first, to ukraine, and the top separatist rebel surrounding the troops in donetsk, says that he's willing to let them go. >> reporter: this was a call from the russian president to provide the encircled army with human corridors to prevent unnecessary bloodshed. we are ready to give them these corridors. if you don't take heavy weapons and ammunition, so these weapons and ammunition in the future could not be used against us. >> meanwhile, at nato's emergency meeting, russian troops are in ukr

syrian rebels have taken 43 u.n. peacekeepers hostage in the golan heights.ops were captured near the rebel held crossing. 80 others have been trapped. >>> the indian economy has been racing ahead since the election of the prime minister narendra modi. now the government is launching a campaign to help millions of poor people open bank accounts. >> reporter: this person has just opened her first bank account. for years the local savings group has looked after the little she can afford to put away. soon she'll be able to handle her savings by herself. >> translation: i have decided to open a bank account here today. the bank is giving me a zero balance facility, and $700 worth of accident insurance. i can earn interests on my government. >> reporter: the government says helping people save will help them beat poverty. it wants 75 million families to register through bank accounts. >> we have to get rid of financial untouched ability, and connect every citizen. the megabanking initiative, through this process, has been launched. india has one of the world's hig

how much cooperation is there between the so-called moderate syrian opposition, the free syrian army,nd a terrorist group like al nusra? >> there's quite a bit of cooperation between the free syrian army and al qaeda's branch in syria called nusra. they cooperate in the south. they've also cooperated extensively in the north. and this cooperation has been going on since nusra declared its presence back in 2012. this isn't anything new in the syrian mix. what is new is the fight against isis, which has been going very badly as of late. isis has made a lot of advances, pushing to the west in syria, and the rebels are being crushed between the assad regime and the islamic state. >> so why would the u.s. even consider arming, training, providing weapons to the free syrian army if there is this extensive cooperation with a terror group like al nusra? wouldn't be the u.s. be concerned that ep withes prowea wind up in the hands of al nusra? >> that's a very real concern and one of the reasons why the obama administration hasn't wanted to arm the free syrian army with serious weapons. but one

crimes against the syrian people. it claims that the u.n. has been backing the syrian regime. the peacekeepers appear to be coming bargain whying chips. that their function within the golan heights was to be established 40 years ago. >>> comments come after the release of 72 soldiers from the philippines, who were serving as part of the u.n. force in the golan heights. they were trapped by the syrian rebels near the israeli border. do you have details on how they were able to escape? >> essentially what is happening is the war has spilled over. there have been various u.n. bases. two of these bases there were continge ents of filipino peacekeepers. the one group came under attack in the early hours of yesterday morning. the u.n.'s action force didn't secure a safe corridor from the base, and able to escort the peacekeepers out. another group, another u.n. base came under fire. in the course of the night. a ceasefire was declared. the peacekeepers were able to march,ling up with the forces and were in a major part. whether there are other isolated bases within the sewn of disen

hishama samawi is syrian. he and his cousin own the gallery. he used to promote young and unknown artists in his gallery in damascus. but the civil war forced him to move the main gallery to dubai. >> we had to make a tough decision that if it got ugly we would not be able to protect the works there. >> reporter: ammar al beik is one of syria's most prominent film makers. his short film "the son's incubator" depicts the life of a family with a newborn baby. it's a commentary on the so-called arab spring. audiences praised it at the venice film festival and elsewhere. in 2011 al beik found out that the syrian government d arrested many of his film maker colleagues. he thought he would be arrested if he remained. he asked samawi for help and fled to dubai. >> sometimes i feel guilty because i -- there is a lot of friends, they the not go outside syria. this is what i -- why i feel guilty. >> reporter: al beik is working on a feature film. it tells the life of a syrian painter over the past three years. al beik feels it's his responsibility to tel

militarily involved and syrian war killed 190,000 people in the past three years. but with the islamic state pushing on in the blaze of destruction in the border areas, syria's foreign minister hinted on monday of the country's willingness to work with the united states to take down the islamic state. >> syria is willing to cooperate and work to fight on terrorism, but takeing into consideration that the syrian government is representing the syrian sovereignty. >> sideing with the regime that the u.s. encouraged others to over throw is not sounding ideal or logical, but what other options does the u.s. have. can the u.s. defeat the islamic state without giving advantage to other problem players in the region? the way forward for u.s. policy in iraq and syria and what are the obama willings's options and the risks attached to those options? we have froefr from georgetown university. a senior fellow from the council on foreign relations and deputy security of defense. and a fellow at the brookings institution and author of temptations of power. you have got these lis

and the syrian regime of president bashar al assad in damascus?y have a common enemy, namely, isis. >> well, again, i asked the u.s. -- the u.n. ambassador from britain and he said there's simply no way. and of course it would be the height of desperation and cynicism after both president obama and many world leaders have called for assad to step down. using those words. assad must go. over the last three years. now, nothing was done to assure that assad must go, but the notion of now cozying up to him and forming some kind of alliance of convenience has been dismissed by it is british, by even the pentagon. in fact, the british ambassador told me the monster of isis has been created by assad, the frankenste frankenstein. so, you know, this what they're saying. you never know what might happen. but the truth of the matter is actually assad, accord to officials, has been enabling isis partly as a self-fulfilling prophesy to say, listen, i told you we were fighting terrorists, well, here they are, but also because the moderate syrian opposition who

canted work with the syrian government but the syrian government can see what we are doing. you just pointed out that they have had this horrible massacre of their soldiers which tells you why this is such an existential struggle in syria because both sides are incredibly brutal, and both sides have a tendency to take no prisoners. so, therefore, the syrian register e-mail will look at what we do and they will probably do some things of their own to support that without there ever being direct coordination. >> ambassador, it's good to have you on the program. thanks for your insight. >> thank you. >> the u.s. is dmaningdz the release of 43 united nations peacekeepers tonight. they were captured on the syrian side of the golan heights by an armed group battling the syrian army. roxanna seberry has that story. >> reporter: one day after syrian rebels crossing the golan heights, the u.n. said 4 three of its peacekeepers in an area were captured by what it called an armed group fighting the syrian army. >> the members of the security council demanded the unconditional and immedi

or official policy of aiding the so-called moderate syrian rebels. well that policy whether in syria whether in libya around the world where we do that has never been successful in the central america in the eighty's it was not successful so it is not. in terms of advancing. issues and security on the ground that policy has never been successful and not just by us by any country it doesn't work that way but it does maintain create. confusion and it sustains an imperial style mission a mission overseas of force in advisors in. news feed back into the united states so in that respect it's successful in terms of the real stated objectives it has not been successful never has been how much of the u.s. and the e.u. underestimated the actual threat of the state not consider that they're actually looking into what we've been seeing all over the news and on social media. sure that what we're seeing in the news at least you know british news american news is not actually an overstatement oh of the real fundamental threat of isis and some of the allied groups

will deploy its unmanned drones to patrol the syrian the skies to serve the positions of islamic state militants a move was approved by president obama making it a possible precursor for airstrikes however washington's decision came without any approval from the syrian government america refuses to see us as forces as an ally in fighting the jihadists but mounting speculation suggests the u.s. will eventually have to work with syrian president it wants to eliminate the extremist threat which is damaging can reports. there is no love lost between the west and the syrian president but while their enemies today they could meet each other tomorrow top former military and counterterrorism officials say the u.s. should be prepared to start working with the government of bashar assad in order to fight the islamic state you're going to make a choice if we want to eliminate this isis we're going to have to deal with people we don't like in a similar vein the former head of the british army was quoted as saying the old saying my enemy's enemy is my friend is going to have to have some resonance

will eventually have to work with the syrian president if it wants to eliminate the extremist threat. you can report. there is no love lost between the west and the syrian president but while their enemies today they could meet each other tomorrow top former military and counterterrorism officials say the u.s. should be prepared to start working with the government of bashar assad in order to fight the islamic state if you're going to make a choice if we want to eliminate this isis we're going to have to deal with people we don't like in a similar vein the former head of the british army was quoted as saying the old saying my enemy's enemy is my friend is going to have to have some resonance with our relationship with assad but those are former officials speaking the current ones reject the prospect of cooperation with the syrian government the regime there the assad regime by their actions has allowed this group to flourish. the claim has raised many eyebrows given that the islamic state is hell bent on destroying the assad government and has gained momentum in the syrian civil war d

the syrian kris sis created a wave of refugees. at this point syrian refugees fled to neighbouring countries. the u.n. estimates 6.5 million people are displaced within the country, half of all syrians forced to abandon their homes. nearly a million syrians have taken refuge in turkey. providing for them is a change, and the children are the most effective. >> reporter: a makeshift classroom in an istanbul sports center. for these syrian children it's the only education they have ever had. every week at least 25 children are turned away, according to the teachers. there's no room. >> translation: we have seen children who have seen their fathers shot. children who have witnessed massacres. kids from alhooda there during the chemical attacks, and children that have seep skud a -- seen skud attacks on aleppo. there are conditions we are starting to treat. >> reporter: there are 65,000 refugees. children can go to government schools. the language barrier puts them off. there are another 140,000 unregistered syrians, aid groups say, fl

considering we are expecting the syrian foreign minister to speak shortly?reporter: yes, he is going to be speaking shortly and the line the syrian government has been using and what they are fighting is terrorist groups, it's not a popular up rising and they think it's time to hammer the point and want to say syria operation without operation from the syrian government is going to be very hard to defeat i.s. the other point is even for u.s. officials it's a dilemma, how do you strike the islamic state group positions and targets inside syria, i mean if the u.s. is going to use drones the syrian government has airplanes and have missiles and antiaircraft missiles and they can bring these drones down if they don't approve the tribes. at the same time it's very hard for the government, for the u.s. government and for the european government even regional government to operate and working against them for so many years now to try to bring it down. so the syrian government wants to invest in this resent development in terms of the threat it's posing in order to

president we will work with like minded states to support the syrian opposition to hasten the day when assad falls but the european union has agreed to bring to an end they arms embargo on the syrian opposition we are constantly consulting with the opposition on how they can get organized so that. they're not splintered and divided in the face of the onslaught from the assad regime for years the white house tried to present a picture of the syrian opposition as consisting of quote former farmers and teachers some within the intelligence community had a really big red flag that was alarming the administration and elected officials that the problem in syria was bigger than anybody anticipated but the problem is that the elected officials chose to have a moment of dumb and dumber and hear what they wanted to hear so you had john mccain patrolling the streets of aleppo thinking that supporting the insurgents was a good idea one thing the west perhaps failed to see was the blurred lines between the moderate and the radical groups within the syrian opposition lysis until very recently was pa

both groups are opposed to syrian president assad, but the free syrian army is viewed as the moderate, secular opposition by western forces. free syrian army forces discovered $800 in cash and american passport on mccain's body after that fight, allegedly three foreign jihadis fighting with isis who died during the battle. 33-year-old mccain who had taken to call himself sofala on social media tweeted this in may "i reverted to islam ten years ago and i must say in sha allow, i will never look back the best thing that ever happened to me. ." isis demanded a $6.6 million ransom or release of a pakistani neuroscientist convicted of attempted murder in report in exchange for the aide worker. before brutally killing american germist james i journal james foley, isis demanded ransom. joining me, marie harf. i met you face to face a year ago. i came down to washington to interview john kerry, and it was about a push from the state department to the white house for possible military strikes against bashar al assad. here we are one year later and it looks like the groundwork is being laid for

army and the syrian opposition as their principle enemy.free syrian army forces are being besieged by both the assad military and isis, they are holding strong, they are pushing back, but it really requires significant increase of american support to ensure that the line against isis holds firm. >> you mentioned a little international support there, you know that of course secretary of state john kerry called for an international coalition, in a piece in the new york times he said i'm going to quote this, what the united response led by the united states and the broadest possible coalition of nations the cancer of isis will not be allowed to spread to other countries. when you hear that, i have to wonder who do you think would be the strongest other countries to be part of this coalition with the u.s. and who would be the most willing? >> both secretary kerry and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff general dempsey emphasized importance of partnership, of fighting isis with a regional partnership and with fighting isis from, quote, the

the israeli army said it fired back into syrian territory in retaliation. >>> an independent body at the united nations has accused fighters there syria and the islamic state group of war crimes. those behind the report accuse the international community of failing to protect the victims of syria's war. here is our report. [ explosion ] >> reporter: for three and a half years syria and its people have been torn in half. almost 200,000 people dead many civilians, and many forced from their homes, fleeing the bombs, the gunfire, the reported atrocities. there has been little free reporting of syria's civil war, the risks to journalists enormous. so the investigation of the u.n. presents one of the clearest pictures of what syrians have endured. and it's not a pretty picture. syrian government forces are accused of deliberately targeting civilians, systematically committing murder rape and torture. in one example the u.n. says forces were followed by deaths and detention. but the syrian government's primary adversary, the islamic state group is found be equally culpable. the u.n. says p

essays misjudged the scale of extremism in syria as it focused all efforts on bringing down the syrian government you know so much cooperation where you know all the help you got for being with us. for free the last american last nothing to spend their lives to see bills or charlotte when they come if you're waiting for them which they call any of. these let me state group is now hearing about all the arms and money that they have seized both in iraq and in syria isis sympathizers are posting pictures on twitter in the u.s. cities with a message saying we are in your streets something that is typical of prices is this vicious sense of humor if you will they're big fans of social media and they have been using all the west can offer to spread what president obama called cancer in washington i'm going to shut down party and the islamic state has managed to create one of the most successful business models in the world of terrorism a with. as it's worth an estimated two billion dollars and reports suggest a significant amount of that around two million dollars comes from selling oil to ku

american drones will be flying over the syrian airspace us availing of the position of islamic states militants name the move was approved by the american president making it a possible precursor for strikes however washington made this decision without any approval from the syrian government as a still officially considers assad to be an enemy and now there's mounting speculation that the u.s. will eventually have to work with the syrian president if anyone to eliminate that to hide his threat then. there is no love lost between the west and the syrian president but while their enemies today they could meet each other tomorrow top former military and counterterrorism officials say the u.s. should be prepared to start working with the government of bashar assad in order to fight the islamic state you're going to make a choice if we want to eliminate this isis we're going to have to deal with people we don't like in a similar vein the former head of the british army was quoted as saying the old saying my enemy's enemy is my friend is going to have some resonance with our relationship w

both groups are opposed to syrian president assad, but the free syrian army is viewed as the moderate, secular opposition by western forces. free syrian army forces discovered about $800 in cash and an american passport on mccain's body after that fight, allegedly among three foreign jihadis fighting with isis who died during the battle. 33-year-old mccain who had taken to call himself slaveofallah on social media tweeted this in may, "i reverted to islam ten years ago and i must say in sha allah, i will never look back. the best thing that ever happened to me." we also got news about another american in the region today, a 26-year-old woman who isis has been holding hostage since last year. they told nbc news isis demanded a $6.6 million ransom or release of a pakistani neuroscientist convicted of attempted murder in new york in exchange for the reese laugh the aid workers whose name is being withheld at the request of her familiar l before brutally killing american journal james foley, isis demanded ransom in exchange for his release. joining me, marie harf. deputy spokesperson for

it culminated in the takeover of the syrian position at this crossing point near the syrian town. the nusri front was able to take over the syrian army position. so essentially now you have the nusri front facing off, just a couple of hundred meters from the israeli army. there is a united nations position in the middle. now, i spoke to the lieutenant colonel of the israeli army, who says that, indeed, three mortar rounds landed inside the israeli-controlled territory, wounding one israeli officer, but he stressed the fact that these were errant shells. they were not targeting israeli forces in the area. but obviously, now they've declared a closed military area around the demarcation line. they're on top alert in that area. and certainly the dynamics in that area have changed. if this means the syrian ground forces are starting to lose ground in this critically strategic area on the golan heights, ashleigh. >> what does it mean, ben, for the israeli defenses at this point? look, when they say, by their spokesperson, this is an internal syrian matter, they cannot possibly really m

for these syrian children, it's the only education they have had. every week at least 25 children are turned away, according to the teachers. there's no room. >> we have seen children who have seen their fathers shot. children who have witnessed massacres. kids who were there during the chemical attacks. we noticed psych logical problems. they have started treating. there are 67,000 registered refugees, and the children can go to government schools, but the language barrier puts them off. aid groups estimate there's another 140,000 refugees, fleeing from war, with no documents to prove who they are. one of the biggest challenges is discipline, these children have never been in an environment where they have to do what they are told. without the schooling the kids are on the streets and that is a breeding ground for another generation of fighters. >> in this cramped apartment. there's no money for bus fairs to get the children to school. 10 people crammed into two rooms. they have been here for 18 months. the air is foul. this man can't find work. th

syrian rebels, this video obtained by al jazeera.hey say they have stormed the security unit in the assad area in the western side of the city. the unit was tasked with protectths the military academy which hosts the syrian's army's main base in the area. the rebels say they have occupied several blocks allowing them to inch closer to the based on saturday. >> this building on front of us is that of the military security unit? >> we did it by the greats of god and thanks to the haeroism f our mujahadine. they say it's key because it's the site where the syrian army maps out its strategy for the eastern front. it's also under the supervision of syrian, iranian, ramie and hezbollah military offices. a few weeks after major advances by retaking the industrial area and the eastern district. >> if they take this area, they may tip the balance of pour in their favor and they will beability interrupt the army's only supply route to the basis in this side of aleppo. staying with syria and government fors have recordly killed at least 50 rebe

taken in to consideration that the syrian government is representing syrian is off at this.ort to combat terrorism should be coordinated with the syrian government. >> the islamic state group has been fighting not only syrian government force buzz rebel groupings who are opposed to president assad. the islamic state controls parts of syria, including the cities of raqqa and it says it controls the whole of raqqa province. the director of the center for middle east studies at the university of oklahoma. he says the u.s. felt en tight toll get involved partly because of the recent killing of the journalist james foalism but he adds the president must be clear about what he intend to do if the long-term. >> all of his generals have been advising him if he wants to hurt isis he has to hurt them in syria as well as iraq. and that is a conundrum for the united states. because they don't feel -- president obama does not feel that he has partners in syria. either in the assad regime or in the -- amongst the syrian rebel groups. assad doesn't rule his border, he's not in control of t

us has misjudged the scale of extremism in syria as it focused all efforts on bringing down the syrian government. so much cooperation. and help your government being with us. before he said last night i did nothing nothing to spend their lives to see bills for each other when they go if you wait then we should make more money from them let these state group is now hearing about all the arms and money that they have seized both in iraq and syria isis sympathizers are posting pictures on twitter in the us cities with a message saying we are in your streets one thing that is typical of isis is this vicious sense of humor if you will they're big fans of social media and they have been using all the west can offer to spread what president obama called the cancer in washington party. islamic state is proving to have one of the most successful business models in the world of terrorism with assets worth an estimated two billion dollars a significant amount around two million dollars daily reportedly coming from selling oil to kurds in iraq syria turkey and jordan a big discounts on smuggling

certainly it would be welcome news from the syrian opposition and those who are backing the syrian opposition. but at the same time, the u.s. can expect there to be some diplomatic ruffle, including from china and russia to security councilmembers. i think that's why the u.s. is going to try and get the backing of not only regional allies but also key allies in the u.n. security council if, indeed, it seeks some kind of resolution for that military operation. >> and ayman, you talk about the backing of potential allies in the region, but there's sort of a big elephant in the room, which is the syrian government of bashar al assad. in no way an ally. really a pariah on the world stage. how likely would it be the united states take the kind of action we're taking in iraq into syrian territory? if so, doing so without first discussing with is the assad government. >> well, i think it's safe to say that the u.s. has made absolutely clear time and time again, officially and unofficially, that it will not communicate with the assad regime about any military operations inside syria. more importantly