. >>> forces of islamic state of iraq and the levant are joining together with smaller rebel groups toorge a new military alliance. the situation on the ground remains fluid. president assad's regime holds the majority of the west, i.s.i.l. has taken an area centered on their de facto capital raqqa. kurdish ych ypg is now conferrig with the forces called the democratic forces of syria. claiming to have the backing of the united states and russia. the syrian arab forces will lead a renewed push to retake territory from i.s.i.l. zeina khodr has more on what this means on the ongoing conflict. >> reporter: syria's kurds have been the most effective force against i.s.i.l. on the ground with the help of the u.s. led coalition air strikes. much of this area is knew under their control. they have been fightings alongside some arab groups and an assyrian christian group, calling them the democratic coalition of syria. >> now the situation is changing very quickly, so this force is made up, this reunification ton ground. >> reporter: the new group says its role will be to fight i.s.i.l. and pus

well, the islamic state in iraq and the levant have claimed responsibility for a gun attack at a religious site in saudi arabia leaving five people dead. several others were injured when a gunman open fired. the attacker is believed to be in his 20s, was killed by saudi security forces. >>> two people have fallen ill with the ebola virus raising fears that survivers can pass it on. there have been no new cases in guinea, one of the three african nations that were worst effected. research has found that the deadly virus can remain in the body fluids of survivors up to nine months. it just takes one case to start another epidemic. >> what is concerning is that first of all the world's attention has shifted awa away from ebola, and this is the moment where if there is any reemergence of disease we're not going to be prepared to deal with it. the fact that she has relapsed with the disease means that she could be infectious to others. she has had this happened in the u.k. where they have resources and infection control, but if this happens in africa this can could lead to another outbreak. the

is preparing to intensify itself military campaign against the islamic state of iraq and the levant, uding more air strikes in syria. u.s. defense secretary ash carter has always told the senate committee that washington won't be deterred by russia's military action in syria. testifying before the same committee a top general added that u.s. soldiers would be embedded with iraqi soldiers. let's speak to rosiland jordan. good to see you. tell us a little bit more about what ash carter said about how he is planning to intensify the campaign against isil. >> reporter: well, one of the things that the defense secretary highlighted, barbara is the fact that even though the u.s. has repeatedly said that it wants to see iraqi forces or moderate syrian rebels taking the lead in the fight against isil targets, they haven't been as aggressive as the u.s. would want, and that is why he is suggesting that a more intense, more front-line role for u.s. forces could be at hand. certainly the fact that this is even being considered is raising questions, again, about the administration's efforts to tr

>>> the islamic state of iraq and the levant say it was behind a spate of suicide bombings in the yemeni city of aden. >>> welcome to al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. coming up in the next half hour the palestinian president called for calm following more unrest in the occupied west bank. >>> a u-turn on the afghan hossa tack, u.s. officials change their story again and admits the building was mistakenly targeted. >>> and the blooming under water environment beating all the odds off the coast of hong kong. ♪ ♪ >>> the islamic state of iraq and the levant has claimed responsibility for four suicide bombs in the yemeni suicide of aden. 11 yemenis troops and four from the uea were killed. the attacks targeted a hotel used by the yemeni government used as it's a. [ inaudible ] formal headquarters and a villa used by the. [ audio difficulties ] >> reporter: it was packed with exclusives in to a hotel. they have based their headquarters. this is the moment that it was hit. a compound used by soldiers from the arab emirates was also targeted. >> translator: i heard huge explosions

. >> syrian forces fighting the islamic state of iraq and the levant are joining together with smaller groups to form a new military alliance. the situation ton ground remains fluid. president assad's regime holds the majority of the west of the country. i.s.i.l. has taken the northwest of the country, and kurdish ypg is now combining with syrian arab groups in the region to fight as the democratic forces of syria. this new group claims to have the backing of the united states and russia. according the u.s. sources, renewed push to retake territory from i.s.i.l. zeina khodr has more on what this means for the ongoing conflict. >> reporter: syria's kurds have been some of the most effective force against i.s.i.l. on the ground with the u.s. led coalition air strikes, much of the areas on the border are under their control. they are fighting with an assyrian group, calling themselves the democratic forces of syria. >> after the intervention of russia use strikers and their strikes in syria so now, the situation is changing very quickly, so this force is made up, this kind of, we can't sa

diplomat has told world leaders that air strikes against the so-called islamic state of iraq and the levanthis country are useless unless they are coordinated with government forces. he addressed the u.n. general assembly saying that only russia is havingen an impact against isil because it was invited to intervene. >> translator: terrorism cannot be fought only from the air, and all of the previous operations to combat it have only lead to further outbreak. air strikes are useless unless they are conducted in cooperation with the syrian arab army. >> our diplomatic editor james bayes has more from the united nations. >> president assad doesn't come to this gathering of world leaders, instead he sends every year this man. who told the general assembly that he fully supports the russian air strikes in syria because they are properly coordinated with his military, a military that he says remains strong. >> translator: i say syria will continue to fight terrorism in word and indeed, and the arab syrian army is capable of cleansing the country of those terrorists. despite all of the sacrifices

is preparing to intensify its military campaign against the islamic state of the iraq and levant including more airstrikes in syria. ash carter has told the senate committee that russia will not will be deterred. top u.s. general joseph dunford added that troops could be embedded with iraqi soldiers. for more let's go to washington, d.c. and speak with roslind jordan. roslind, let's start with syria. ash carter saying they're going intense the fight against isil. any more detail of that? >> there had been a lot of discussion about whether to establish. they did not come out and say they should establish a no-fly zone. that would something that bashar al-assad would be against. that said mr. carter also said that he does have concerns about what russia has been doing inside syria, and he had this vigorous exchange with john mccain who is chairman of the senate armed services committee. >> with respect to the title ten forces the department of defense trains and equips syria. >> none of the moderate forces some of who trained and came under attack from russia. >> not part of our title ten pr

you can see the region of syria controlled by the islamic state of iraq and the levant. yellow are the positions that are controlled by the opposition forces. in green, the areas controlled by forces who are loyal to president assad which as you can see is now less than a quarter of the country. russia's military base is -- targets are reported to be in and around two provinces. josh earnest from the white house has warned russia is risking prolonging the country's conflict. >> the effect of these kind of in indiscriminate air strikes drives otherwise mod rat elements of the sunni -- the fact is russia is responding to a situation inside the middle east from a position of weakness. their influence in that region of the world is waning. i've seen some of the media reports that pointed out that the military base that russia operates inside of syria is actually the last military base that russia operates outside of the former soviet union. >> i'm wondering who do you think russia's air strikes are actually targeting. do you believe it is only isil? >> well, you know, that's

say that their warships in the caspian sea fired missiles targeting the islamic state in iraq and the levant. they're targeting rebel fighters not isil. >> from the caspian sea, russia opened the second front in the syrian war, unleashing missiles at isil positions. they were hallelujahed without warning. they were broadcast on russian state television. with a range of 2.5000 kilometers the targets were well within reach. they obtained permission from iran and iraq to overfly their territory to enable the missiles to reach the targets. russia released graphics showing the missiles over iran and iraq and avoiding southeastern turk turkey. the minister briefed the president on the strike. >> data indicates that all targets were destroyed. >> the strike was totally unexpected, and it begs the question why russia would target isil positions 1200 kilometers away when it's got a large fighter bomber force on the ground in syria carrying out daily strikes against isil. it would go to remind the west of russia's military reach. >> and in rome ash carter formerly ruled out any cooperation with russia

they targeted nine positions helically islamic state of iraq and the levant, including its main stronghold. >> syria's western-backed political opposition and armed groups reject a u.s. peace plan, taking it saying it will not work in its current form. it was provided to gather the president and fighting groups. >> 18 people have been killed in baghdad and 60 others injured. there has been no immediate claim of responsibility, but isil controls large parts of the country and claimed several previous attacks on iraq's shia majority. security forces in iraq have launched operations to take control of an area held by isil. >> the peshmerga stand confidently for the cameras. they begin their assault on villages on the out skirts and begin surrounding the town. in many ways, this phase is the most simple. isil fighters have largely abandoned the villages and they fall to the peshmerga easily. the head of the kurdistan regional government traveled total front line to visit the troops. >> these territories were under isil control, but back in our hands. this is due to our well organized plan. >>

. >> syrian kurdish forces fighting the islamic state of iraq and the levant are forming a smaller group. situation on the ground remains fluid. assad holds the west of the country, to the east i.s.i.l. has taken a large area centered on its de facto capital raqqa. kurdish ypg is now combining with syrian arab groups in the region to fight as the democratic forces of syria. this new group claims to have the backing of united states and russia. syrian arab forces in the new coalition will need a new push to retake territory from i.s.i.l. zeina khodr has more on what this means for the ongoing conflict. >> reporter: syria's kurds have been the most effective fighting force against i.s.i.l. on the ground. with the help of air strikes much of the northeast areas are now under their control. they have been fighting alongside some arab groups in and an a an assyrian christian . they call them the democratic forces of syria. >> jet strikes in syria so now the situation is changing very quickly, so this forces made up, this kind of we can't see unification on the ground. >> the new group says it

but first, syrian kurdish forces fighting the islamic state of iraq and the levant are joining together with smaller groups to forge a new military alliance. the situation on the ground remains fluid. president assad's regime holds the west of the country. de facto capital of i.s.i.l. is raqqa. kurdish ypg are now combining with syrian arab groups in the region to fight as the democrat democratic forces of syria. according to u.s. forces the syrian arab forces in the new coalition will lead a renewed push to retake tai territory frm i.s.i.l. zeina khodr reports on what this means on the ongoing conflict. >> help of the u.s. led coalition air strikes much of the northeast areas along the border with turkey are now under their control. they have been fighting alongside some arab groups and an assyrian christian group. that alliance has now been formalized. they call themselves the democratic coalition of syria. >> now, the situation is changing very quickly, so this force is made up of, this kind of, we can't say unification on the ground. >> the new group says its role will be to fight i

is considering escalating its military campaign against the islamic state of iraq and levant in iraq and syria. ash carter said a proposed policy will mean additional air strikes and action on the ground. rosalind jordan has more on the strategy shift which still needs approval from the president >>> there is a military strategy called the three r. retaking raqqa, swooping in on ramadi. and the u.s. troops getting more involved. >> we will not hold back supporting capable partners. carter's statement comes after a raid last week where u.s. special forces jumped in to help kurdish fighters. if to, that would be a change for the u.s. president obama had promised no ground troops to fight i.s.i.l. carter told a congressional panel on tuesday that despite a decision to launch air strikes in syria. the u.s. will pressure iraqi prime minister to not let russia join the strike on its territory. >> we are the partners, we are consistent. and ramadi repeated the pledges. >> there's another complication, a flow of foreigners na want to strike. even with allies, the top general admitted the coal

special forces to northern syria to help in the fiekt -- fight against the islamic state of iraq and the levante white house press secretary said this small operations force shouldn't be underestimated. >> the president does expect that they can have an impact in intensifying our strategy for building the capacity of local force inside of syria to taking the fight on the ground to isil in their own country. that has been the core element of the military component of our strategy from the beginning. building the capacity of local forces on the round. >> rosiland jordan joins us lye now from the u.s. capitol. how significant is the timing of this announcement while the talks were taking place in vienna. >> well, if you were to listen to john kerry who talked about the president's decision to deploy upwards of 50 special forces inside syria to work alongside the syrian opposition, this would be a good idea, but it may be up to the historians to judge whether or not the presence of these special forces operators working along with members of the syrian opposition to go after isil is going to be in

what we see now is the islamic state in the levant decided to use social media to him barred thousands of messages a day through widespread propaganda. the number of people who bite on that is small proportionally but it does not take a large number two cause great acts of harm. this is a tactic they are using throughout the world. it is hitting a smaller percentage inside the united states. the result is clear in the types of cases we see. that's why we believe it is so geographically dispersed because it is not coming usually from the local community. that's why you see it in 25 different u.s. attorneys offices. we are also seeing a troubling statistic in that it also affects the youth of the people getting drawn into this type of act. whereas with core al qaeda it might be aimed older demographic. here we are seeing in over 50% of cases we have brought, the defendants are 25 or younger. a third of them are 25 or younger. the criminal justice system is not a great tool for dealing with juveniles. we prefer not to bring federal juvenile cases. we need a way when it comes to those who

. >>> a new video posted online by islamic state in iraq and the levant. it says to show the aftermath of a failed operation by the u.s. u.s. military officials have confirmed it's forces did assist iraqi forces and said it resulted in the freedom of 69 hostages from the prison. >>> u.s. defense secretary ash carter has been speaking about that operation saying that the joint effort has helped to gather vital intelligence on isil. >> i made the decision to assist our kurdish partners after receiving specific actionabl actionable intelligence that a mass excuse was imminent. we provided airlift support, and dozens of lives were saved in a significant cache of intelligence was collected. we've now heard from rescued hostages. they expect it to be executed that day after morning prayers. their graves is had been prepared. not only did our support provide another mass killing we enabled those partners of ours to deliver isil a clear defeat and prevented them from broadcasting a horrific massacre to the wor world. >> police in the republic of condo has placed th

. >>> syrian kurdish forces fighting the islamic state of iraq and the levant are joining with smaller groups to form a new military alliance. the situation ton ground remains mobile. to the east i.s.i.l. has taken a large area centered on its de facto capital raqqa. one of the most successful groups has been the kurdish ypg, combining with syrian arab groups in the region, and the new group claims to have the backing of the united states and russia. the syrian aish forces will lead a new push to retake territory from i.s.i.l. zeina khodr reports. fest. >> syria's kurds have been the most effective fighting force against i.s.i.l. on the ground. with the help of u.s. led coalition air strikes most of the areas are now under their control. they have been fighting alongside some arab groups and an assyrian christian group. they call themselves the democratic importances of syria. >> after the intervention, russian jet strikers and their strikes in syria, so now, the situation is changing very quickly. so this force is made up this kind of we can't see unification on the ground. >> the new

. >>> targeting the islamic state of iraq and the levant, prime minister dimitri me medvedev. >> no, absolutely not true. up to the syrian people to decide who will be the head of syria. by the way, it combines many nationalities and regions. we have to operate on the assumption that assad is the lejts malegitimate mat presiden. >> german chancellor angela merkel,. >> angry over the country's refugee policies, victoria gatenby reports. >> stabbed at a campaign event ahead of cologne's events on sunday. tried to fight off the attacker. >> the perpetrator made a direct line and stabbed her with a knife. it was horrible to see, really gruesome and i'm shaking as i talk about it. >> police say the attack was targeted and deliberate. >> mrs. rica is not only a mayoral candidate she is also responsible for accommodation of refugees in clone. cologne. >> rica is an independent candidate but backed by other candidates, led by german chancellor angela merkel. the german government says it expects 800,000 people to seek asylum this year. record numbers of refugees have led to anti-immigrant ral

what we see now is the islamic state in the levant decided to use social media to him barred thousands of messages a day through widespread propaganda. the number of people who bite on that is small proportionally but it does not take a large number two cause great acts of harm. this is a tactic they are using throughout the world. it is hitting a smaller percentage inside the united states. the result is clear in the types of cases we see. that's why we believe it is so geographically dispersed because it is not coming usually from the local community. that's why you see it in 25 different u.s. attorneys offices. we are also seeing a troubling statistic in that it also affects the youth of the people getting drawn into this type of act. whereas with core al qaeda it might be aimed older demographic. here we are seeing in over 50% of cases we have brought, the defendants are 25 or younger. a third of them are 25 or younger. the criminal justice system is not a great tool for dealing with juveniles. we prefer not to bring federal uvenile cases. we need a way when it comes to those who a

equip and prepare thousands of troops outside syria to take on isil, the islamic state in iraq and the levant. but only a handful may it to syria. and many gave themselves and their weapons up to the enemy. we have reports from washington, d.c. >> when isil fighters captured parts of syria in 2014 the u.s. came up with a plan. trained syrian rebels already fighting the assad government to go after isil instead. $500million over three years to raise an army some 15,000 men strong. a year later the u.s. is dumping that idea and planning to give basic military equipment and support to existing groups including kurdish peshmerga. u.s. officials insist the goal is the same. the motivated forces on the ground to retake territory from isil and reclaim syrian territory from extremism. >> they collapsed when they entered the battlefield. it was an embarrassment for the obama administration. >> can you tell us the total number of trained fighters remains? >> it's a small number, and the ones that are in the fight is--we're talking four or five. >> as i see it right now, this four or five u.s. trained f

. >>> fighters from islamic state of iraq and the levant have destroyed a nearly 2,000-year-old structure in the city of paul rah. >> one of the top tourist attractions this the middle east before syria's civil war. (l) the have been three car bombings in the, are halis northeast ever baghdad. the explosion went off in a, and iraqi police say there was another explosion on the northern outskirts of back dad. doctors without borders have called for an investigation of a bombing attack on their facility. earlier a top u.s. commander set e-said it was afghan forces who called for the strike that hit the clinic. >>> reversing an earlier statement. >> we have now learned that on october 3rd afghan forces advised they were taking fire from enemy positions and asked for air support from u.s. forces. an air strike was called to eliminate the taliban threat. this was different from initial reports which indicateu.s. forces were threatened and the air strike was called on their behalf. as has been reported i've authorized a full investigation into this tragic incident and investigation are undergoe

in its fight against the islamic state of iraq and the levant. referring by bashar al-assad all groups as terrorists. preventing moscow from supporting the free syrian army. >> the americans refusal to coordinate their antiterrorist campaign with us is a big mistake. we are seriously prepared for such coordination and we are ready to give air support to the patriotic opposition called the free syrian army. but we need to contact the authorities who represent certain armed groups. >> israeli and palestine have agreed on some key rules for al-aqsa mosque. the new measures were outlined by the u.s. secretary of state john kerry after a meeting with the palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas. >> today, i hope we can begin to turn the page on this very difficulty period. we have to join together, in calling for an immediate end to violence. we must stress the importance of avoiding provocative actions and rhetoric and we must work cooperatively. it's the only way to go forward. >> three balkan states have threatened to shut their bothers, bulgar

it says the targets were positions held by the islamic state of iraq and the levant. ia says the operation destroyed all 11 targets and no civilians were killed or injured. now backed by russian air strikes, syrian troops have launched a major ground offensive, but not against isil, rebel group in hama, and idlib were the target. russian sources say the missiles traveled 1400 kill meters over what is described as unpopulated areas before hitting their targets in syria. >>> in rome the u.s. defense secretary said russia was making a mistake in its campaign in syria. >> i said before that we believe russia has the wrong strategy. they continue to hit targets that are not isil. we believe this is a fundamental mistake. despite what the russians say, we have got agreed to cooperate with russia so long as they continue to pursue a mistaken strategy and hit these targets. >> let's go live now to moscow to peter sharp. it looks like another escalation in the russian operations in syria. >> reporter: that's right. they have opened a second front with the launch this morning of

the united states plans to intensify the coalition campaign against the islamic state in iraq and the levant. on tuesday the defense secretary ash carter said that washington will launch more airstrikes and better equip forces fighting isil. the top military commander indicated that he would consider sending u.s. troops to reinforce iraqi units. outside of the conflict zone the diplomatic landscape continues to shift. the u.s. has invited iran to talks on the conflict in vienna on friday. on the ground the fighting continues. the recent upsurge in violence have displaced at least 120,000 syrians in the last month alone. that includes airstrikes carried out by russia. rosalind jordan has the story from washington, d.c. >> the u.s. military is rolling out a new version of its current isil strategy. they're calling it the three rs. syrian rebels retaking raqqa. iraqi troops swooping in on ramadi, and u.s. forces getting more involved. >> the third and final r are raids signaling we won't hold back in opportunist attacks against isil and conducts such missions directly. >> carter's statement com

he reaffirmed his commitment to target the islamic state in iraq and the levant in syria by reaching out to moderate opposition forces. only said that the attack on the opposition would hinder the transition and in effect any chance of peace. >> it is true that the united states and russia and the entire world have a common interest in destroying isil. but what was very clear and regardless of what mr. putin says, he doesn't distinguish between isil and a moderate sunni opposition that wants to see mr. assad go. from their perspective they're all terrorists. that's a recipe for disaster. and it's one that i reject. we're not going to make syria into a proxy war between the united states and russia. that would be bad strategy on our part. this is a battle between russia, iran, and assad defense the overwhelming majority of the syrian people. well, earlier they said that airstrikes against isil are useless unless coordinated with his government's forces. only russia is having an impact against isil because it was invited to intervene. the u.s. and it's allies are bombing the armed group

-lead coalition against the islamic state of iraq and the levant. nesty international says the military wing of the ypg has been carrying out a wave of attacks on civilians caught in the middle of the fight. the ypg are committing abuses on people it suspects are isil supporters. the report comes as the u.s. abandoned a $5 million plan to train thousands of so-called moderate rebels to fight isil. one of the authors of the report says the u.s. has now launched an investigation into the finding. >> forcibly displacing a civilian population is a war crime when there is no military reason to do so. destroying civilian property is also a war crime. what we saw is while the residents were primarily bearing the brunt of these unlawful policies that some kurdish residents were also being forced to leave. we are talking about serious war crimes here, but we do not believe this is a case of ethnic cleansing. we're concerned that the ypg is using u.s. support to perpetrate rights abuse. and we are calling on the u.s. and other coalition states to con testimony

>> in iraq the army is preparing to make another advance against the islamic state in iraq and the levant. roslind jordan has more from washington, d.c. >> the u.s. military isn't saying when they believe that iraqi forces are ready to lead the charge to try to root out isil fighters. they expect to encounter-- >> thousands of prisoners in the united states whose children were jailed for life without patrol. >> when i went in weighing 126 pounds. although. >> like many young offenders he had a troubled past. abused in foster homes, shot in the face, convictions for robbery and other crimes. then he was sentenced as an adult for the murder of a rival gangster. but something happened inside. he grew up. >> in my growing sense of maturity and remorse, despite all that, you can still do something better with your life. you don't have to resign to this meaninglessness. you don't have to resign to this existential nightmare. you can do something better and give yourself that goal and that plan. >> his friend adolfo davis was also fortunate. he remains in prison 25 years later. the u.s. supreme

>>reporter: he shed us some of the locations hit and says the islamic state of iraq and the levant has no presence here. he left aleppo ten days ago and troveed in and out of syria and has been actively engaged in this war since the beginning. >> russia considers anyone fighting the regime as their enemy. they didn't come here to fight isil. they're bombing civilians and other groups receiving foreign support. >>reporter: russia says it has targeted russia. we speak to a spokesman for one of the groups fighting in an area also hit by russia >> the people are scared. the russian bombs are stronger than the bombs of the regime. >>reporter: this war is now into its fifth year with no end in sight. >> america has no clear plan. it has let down the syrian people. it's a very weak administration. they've left it all in russia's hands. they didn't even support their partners on the ground and even the group they trained, they left them to face their fate against the regime and russia's bombs. there's been no reaction. >>reporter: he says what keeps them fighting is that they have a just cause

. >>> well for the first time russia has targeted the islamic state of iraq and the levant during aerialttacks in syria. the air strikes in the isil strong hold killed 12 fighters. the russians also again targeted other syrian rebel groups. turkey has asked russia to stop attacking the rebel grouped largely supported by the west. meanwhile the presidents of russia and france have met to discuss their military operations as they have tried to overcome differences over whether syrian president bashar al-assad should stay power. >> reporter: the russian defense ministry says it is destroying isil command and control centers along with arms dumps. >> translator: to avoid hitting civilian targets the air strikes are determined only after thorough reconnaissance. >> reporter: but on the ground the syrian opposition tells a different story. it says they have been targeting sillians and armed groups opposed to president bashar al-assad. >> translator: air strikes could affect the opposition, but not that much. the syrian government has been hitting the north for months, but it didn't stop the re

over time, many armed militants have joined the islamic state of iraq and the levant, beginning in 2013, i.s.i.l. forces swept across northern syria and northern and western iraq. capturing iraq's second largest city, plowls i mosul, in june 2. turkey chose to ignore black market oil smuggled into the territory. black market oil supplies i.s.i.l. with as much as $2 million a day in revenue. >> now if i.s.i.l. is smuggling oil over that border, well maybe some turkish people benefit from that. not a great security for turkey, but turkey's view of the islamic state is slightly ambivalent, they are determined to see the end of bashar al-assad and they don't in looking at syria see very many players there who are likely the achieve that end. >> reporter: one of turkey's most complicated relationships is with iraq's kurds who have autonomy in iraq. over the past few years, turkey has forged a relationship with iraq's kurds yielding 6.2 million barrels of oil imports, through a influence pipeline. the iraqi kurds in turn use that money to help finance kurdish peshmerga soldiers battling i.s.i

journalist james folney syria by the i see lammic state of iraq in the levant shocked america. the scenes, mark mitchell was at the center of the u.s. hostedage response advising the u.s. president. in january, mitchell stepped down as barack obama's counter terrorism advisor. today, he is critical of the american government's policy when citizens are taken captive. >> the situation with the costages in january, 2014, was a microcosm of our overall awareness of the intelligence and our resources were frankly pri prioritized elsewhere. >> i said getting hostages home is one small part. >> it's not always the highest priority it was the meetings with families that forced mitchell into the media spotlight. he was accused of threatening family members with prosecution if they tried today pay a ran m ransom. >> it was this military who had no compassion for us. all he knew was no concessions. this gentleman did threaten us three times, simon. >> i never threatened the families. the idea that it's somehow shock that a government official would encourage people to abide by the law, i

launched their biggest offensive in months as they continue to confront the islamic state of iraq and the levant. government troops have recaptured part of a city from isil including the city's oil refinery. >>> russia says it has hit 49 isil targets in syria in the last 24 hours, but syrian activists say the air strikes have also targeted residential areas in homs province resulting in civilian deaths. >>reporter: a mourner recites the names of victims in this grave yard in homs. 36 names, 36 people he calls mar tire. sons daughters, brothers sisters all killed during an air strike. they say russian helicopters are responsible. >> they were killed while waiting in line for bread. they are innocent people. they are not isil. we only have god on our side. >>reporter: the syrian government launched a new offensive on homs in the last few days. it's not its first on the rebel-controlled province but this time it has russian air support. activists say another 20 civilians were killed leaving behind a blood-soaked prayer rug and a large bomb crater. >> the bombs landed here. this was a bakery. target

. >>> the islamic state of iraq and the levant say it was behind a spate of suicide bombings in the yemeniity of aden. >>> welcome to al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. coming up in the next half hour the palestinian president called for calm following more unrest in the occupied west bank. >>> a u-turn on the afghan hossa tack, u.s. officials change their story again and admits the building was mistakenly targeted. >>> and the blooming under water environment beating all the odds off the coast

-lead coalition against the islamic state of iraq and the levant. ternational says the military wing of the ypg has been carrying out a wave of attacks on civilians caught in the middle of the fight against isil. >>> the u.n.'s children's charity has warned that the number of malnourished children in yemen has tripled since the war began in march. unicef says more than a half a million children under five are suffering from an acute shortage of food. hashem ahelbarra has more. >> reporter: mia is one of many children in yemen who's lives are at risk. she suffers from malnutrition, and needs immediate treatment. her mother traveled a long distance to get to this hospital in the capitol sana'a. mohammed faces complications from months of chronic malnutrition. >> translator: my child is sick. he had one surgery, which cost $2,000. now the doctor says he needs another. all of this caused by mall snu tradition. we are very poor. my husband had to borrow the money for the first surgery. >> reporter: the level of malnutrition in yemen is among the highest i

no immediate claim of responsibility but the islamic state of iraq in the levant which controls lafrmingarts of the country claimed several previous attacks. >> 39 civilians and 14 fighters have been killed during four days of russian airstrikes according to the syrian observatory for human rights. they say they carried out 20 airstrikes in syria in the last 24 hours. they targeted nine positions held by isil including its main stronghold, al raqqa frof incident. >> syria's western backed political opposition and armed groups rejected a u.n. peace plan saying it will not work in its current form. in july, the u.n. special envoy to syria proposed inviting warring faxes to form working groups, an idea backed by the syrian president. the opposition said president assad should have no place in syria's future. >>> still to come on al jazeera, the latest from guatemala city, a mud slide killses dozens while hundreds remain missing and nigeria's capital, abujua is rocked by a series of explosions. soledad o'brien takes us inside the violent world of kids behind bars. will a new experimental pro

it's also been suggested the islamic state of iraq and the levant or leftist groups may be responsible. we'll be live from there in a few moments. but first, here's our first report. >>reporter: calls for peace drowned by the sounds of explosions. this was the moment a bomb targeted a peace rally in the capital. death and chaos ensued. this was the scene moments after. >> dozens of people reported killed instantly. the final death toll, however, is still unclear. hundreds of turks gathered to participate in a peace rally which was organized by trade unions and other groups coulding for a resumption in peace talks. >> there was a demonstration and i was talking next to a rally truck. right here behind two banners an explosion went off. we lay on the ground. the second bomb went off there. there were two bombs, but the one that went off here was a very strong one. >>reporter: the security situation in turkey has become volatile in recent months. the peace process between the government and the pkk has all but collapsed. the pkk has killed more than 40 soldiers in recent months and the tu

expects to boost the intensity of the coalition air campaign against the islamic state of iraq and the levanth carter also said that russia's military actions in syria won't deter the u.s. let's go live to rosiland jordan who is with us live from washington, d.c. ash carter making it clear that this fight continues. >> that's right. that's because the defense secretary ash carter is telling those members that isil represents a fundamental threat to the u.s. national security interests. so he is promising that there is going to be a deepening of the u.s. air war at least against isil targets. of course he is also getting a lot of robust questioning particularly from republicans on the arms services committee about how the obama administration is carrying out its work. it's been a contentious hearing so far. it's only been underway for about an hour, but the chairman, john mccain has been asking very tough questions shiulie. >> is there feeling that the administration's overall policy against isil could be loosing support on capitol hill. >> there is. particularly in light of the administration

are all known to be operating drones in the fight against the so-called islamic state of iraq and the levant> there are reports that this drone was three kilometers inside turkish air space when it was engaged by the turkish air force along -- close to the border with syria, and the turkish air force as they gave three verbal warnings to move. it didn't, so they shot it down. it is not largely particular, about a 2-meter or so wingspan, and it doesn't have any identification. there are reports that the americans believe the drone is russian. earlier on this month, russian jets twice violated turkish air space as they fly combat missions over syria, and the russians have apologized for those two violations and set up a working group to try to make sure it doesn't .happen again. but it highlights the dangers faced by all parties. this is the first time since world war ii that nato and russian aircraft have been flying combat missions in the same air space. all parties keen to make sure that the others know what they are doing, so there isn't a risk of any escalation or confrontation between na

said its air force has struck a convoy of al baghdadi, the leader of islamic state of iraq and the levant. we are joined live from baghdad to learn more about this claim. >> that's right, according to the iraqi military in a joint statement, it said that its air force targeted a convey argue isil leader al baghdadi, saying that he was on his way to the iraqi town which is about five kilometers south of the syrian border in anbar province, which is under isil control, however, the military statement went on to say that they didn't have any information on the status of baghdadi's health, whether he was wounded or not, however, they did say they would release the names of those killed in this strike. apparently baghdadi was heading to a meeting of senior isil commanders in that town. it needs to be said that over the past year there have been several reports that baghdadi had been seriously wounded in strikes carried out by iraq said military and air strike. those have either been denied or no evidence was ever found to prove that baghdadi was injured. in fact, as early as april of this year

. ♪ >>> the islamic state of iraq and the levant has claimed responsibility for two attacks in the yemeniy of aden that have killed at least 15 people. a hotel used by the government and a villa occupied by coalition forces were hit. among them soldiers from the united arab 'em rate. hashem ahelbarra reports. >> reporter: these are the four suicide bombers isil says were behind the attacks. they drove cars packed with explosives into a hotel where government leaders have based their headquarters. this is the moment the hotel was hit. a compound used by soldiers from the united arab emirates was also targeted. >> translator: i heard huge explosions and rushed to the area, i was told two armored vehicles drove through check points and exploded inside the compound. >> reporter: earlier government and coalition forces lead by saudi arabia, blamed the houthi fighters and troops loyal to former president saleh for the attacks. isil has emerged as a force in yemen over the last year. in this video, posted on sunday, it's fighters are shown distributing pamphlets in aden, and fighting against the

the russian prime minister says the attacks are targeting the islamic state of iraq in the levant. lutely not true. it is up to the syrian people to decide who will be the head of syria. by the way, it come bieningz many nationalities and religions. it is complications indicated. this is the choice the people should make themselves. we operate on the premise that a assad is the legitimate president. >> the pentagon said it killed the leader of an al-qaeda affiliate in airstrikes in syria. the head of the group has been reported that previously, by the u.k.-based syrian observatory for human rights. they also reported the saudi national was killed in the u.s. strikes on friday. the pentagon says he was killed near the northern syrian town of dana. he helped channel money to al-qaeda and arranged routes for new recruits to travel from pakistan to syria through turkey. >>> more to come here on al jazeera, including the biggest nuclear dismantlement in history. the nuclear agreement between iran and world powers comes in to effect. and the changing times in canada as the country's indig

. >> he shows us some on a pit and says the islamic state of iraq in the levant has no presence here left alempo 10 days ago where he was in charge of a brigade. he travels in and out of syria and has been engaged in this war from the very beginning. shar conditions anyone. they didn't come here to fight isil. they are bombing civilians and other groups receiving foreign support. shaft says it has targeted isil but many airstrikes have been in areas around the key province of latakia, a stronghold and where russia has its naval base. we speak to a spokeman for one fighting in idlib, an area also hit by russia. >> the people are scared and the regime bombing, they can she wouldn'ter underground but the russian bombs are stronger than those of the regime. >> this war is now into its 5th year with no end in sight. not militarily or politically. cololen akadi who has received some support in the past says washington doesn't seem to know what to do. america has no clear plan. it has let down the syrian people. it's a very wooeb administration. they have left it all in russ russia's hands.

spend on equipping and preparing troops outside of syria to fight against islamic state of iraq and the levantny recruits have fled or been killed in combat. >> we have been looking for now several weeks at ways to improve that program. i wasn't satisfied with the early efforts in that regard, so we're looking at different ways to achieve, basically the same kind of strategic objective, which is the right one, which is to enable capable, motivated forces on the ground to retake territory from isil, and reclaim syrian territory from extremisms. >> let's go live to rosiland jordan in washington, d.c. hi, ros. is this being seen as another sign of uncertainty in washington's syria strategy, do you think? >> it's more a question of whether the obama administration has uncertainty in its program in terms of trying to go after members of isil. certainly there is criticism about this particular part of the overall strategy, which was to try to basically build up a 15,000-member infantry to do the u.s.'s dirty work as it were. what was pretty obvious from the very beginning was you had two problems. o

it says the targets were positions held by the islamic state of iraq and the levant. ia says it destroyed all 11 targets. now backed by russian air strikes, syrian troops have launched a major ground offensive against rebel groups in hahma and idlib are the targets. >> reporter: from the caspian sea 1200 kilometers from the fighting, russia unleashed cruise missiles. the missiles were launched without warning. these images quickly broadcast on russian state television. with a range of 2.5 thousand kilometers, the targets were well within reach. moscow said it obtained permission from iran and iraq to overfly their territory. russia released graphics showing the targets. russia's defense minister briefed the president on the strike. >> translator: this morning we engaged the caspian flotilla ships. data indicates that all targets were destroyed and no civilians were harmed. >> reporter: the strike was totally unexpected and it does beg the question as to why russia would target isil positions 1200 kilometers away, when it has a large fighter bomber force on the ground i

the russian prime minister says the attacks are targeting the islamic state of iraq in the levant. >>eporter: no. absolutely not true. it is up to the syrian people to decide who will be the head of syria. by the way, it combines many nationalities, many religions. it is complicated. this is the choice the people should make, themselves. at the moment, we operate on the premise that assad is the legitimate president. >> the pentagon says its killed the leader of an al-qaeda affiliate in airstrikes in syria. the head of the corosan group. he has been reported there previously. the u. the u.s. based human rights organization says he was killed in u.s. strikes on friday. the pentagon says he was killed near the northern syrian town of dana. he helped channel money to al-qaeda and arrange routes for new recruits to travel through turkey to syria. >> in the past few minutes, we have been getting breaking news. we have been hearing reports that there are at least five people who have been injured in a shooting attack in the southernisitsi city of ber sheba. that's since israel's cabinet has

. >> he shows us some of the locations hit and says the islamic state of iraq and the levant have no presence here. he left aleppo ten days ago where he's in charge of a brigade fighting the government. he has been actively engaged in this war since the beginning. >> russia considers anyone fighting the regime as their enemy. they didn't come here to fight isil. they're bombing civilians and other groups receiving foreign support. >>reporter: russia says it has targeted isil but many strikes have been areas around assad's strong hold where russian have its naval >>> funerals were held today in israel for a rabbi and soldier who were stabbed to death in jerusalem on saturday. thousands attended the services. the rabbi was killed when he was attempting to help the soldier during an attack by a palestinian man. officials urged people to continue visiting the old city despite the violent incident. the stabbing was the latest in a series of attacks by palestinians of israeli si civilians. in response the government is limiting access to the old city. the conflict seems to be spreading >> t

he show us some of the locations hit and says the islamic state of iraq and the levant has no presence here. he left aleppo ten days ago where he's in charge of the brigade protecting the government. >> russia considers anyone fighting the regime as their enemy. they did not come here to fight isil. they're bombing civilians and the free syrian army. >> russia says it has targeted isil. we speak to a spokesman for one of the groups fighting in an area also hit by russia, idlip. >> the people are scared. when the regime bombs, they can shelter underground but russian bombs are stronger. >> this war is now into its fifth year with turkey and now on europe as a result of this massive flow of refuge refugees. so it is really an international urgent priority to try to resolve the crisis of syria. now, we don't have a long term direct interest in syria the way the russians appear to be asserting it or the iranians apparently obviously through the years. that's not us. we want a stable, unified, secular syria where all minorities can be protected. where people can pursue their lives without o

what we see now is the islamic state in the levant decided to use social media to him barred bombard thousands of messages a day through widespread propaganda. the number of people who bite on that is small proportionally but it does not take a large number two cause great acts -- to cause harm.acts of this is a tactic they are using throughout the world. it is hitting a smaller percentage inside the united states. the result is clear in the types of cases we see. that's why we believe it is so geographically dispersed because it is not coming usually from the local community. that's why you see it in 25 different u.s. attorney's offices. we are also seeing a troubling statistic in that it also affects the youth of the people getting drawn into this type of act. whereas with core al qaeda it might be a slightly older demographic. here we are seeing in over 50% of cases we have brought, the defendants are 25 or younger. a third of them are 25 or -- 21 or younger. the criminal justice system is not a great tool for dealing with juveniles. we prefer not to bring federal juvenile cases. w