of erbil. the people in the city itself enjoy a high degree of comfort and security. thanks to its own peshmerga army. we have reports from erbil. >> on the move against isil, peshmerga fronts on one of the front lines against the armed group. these men are engaged in daily battles to keep isil away from erbil. so far their lines have held. a short drive away is the city of erbil. here people calmly go about their business almost oblivious to the fighting outside their city. >> they have the ability to attack and be closer. >> with more than 6,000 years of history erbil is one of the oldest cities in the world. relics next to the city's sky scrapers. thanks to the regions oil resources erbil is experiencing a construction boom. today the city hosts world-class hotels and state of the art facilities. >> things have not always been like this. our parents and grandparents faced hardship. we're very likely and hopefully erbil will remain safe from isil. >> eager to show off their new found welt. this is one of many showrooms where kurdish come to buy luxury automobiles. the point they'

southwest of erbill and crossing and joining us from erbill to tell us what this attack really tells us about the ability of i.s.i.l. to launch these deadly attacks still now in a couple months after the coalition started their air strikes against them. >> reporter: indeed doreen this attack shows not only how daring i.s.i.l. fighters are but also their capacity to strike and dip in kurdish territory. according to the commander of the peshmerga forces and guar area where the attack happened general says hundreds of i.s.i.l. fighters some of them came by boats, attacked the town of guar a surprise attack which he described as one of the deadliest that have been current on peshmerga forces positions on this very long front line that they have between them and i.s.i.l. and he says that the military power to i.s.i.l. fighters and also saw pictures from local t.v. that show the peshmerga chasing and retreating i.s.i.l. forces and gunning some of them down and as far as we know right now guar is deserted by the people who are living there. most of them have fled fearing that they would be

the middle east. fighting has "s" taking place around erbil the autonomous capitol of the kurdish region. when you go inside the city people are enjoying a high level of comfort thanks to the peshmerga there. >> reporter: on the move against isil kurdish peshmerga troops on one of their front lines against the armed group. [ gunfire ] these men are engaged in almost daily battles to keep isil away from erbil. [ gunfire ] so far their lives have held. a short drive away is the city of erbil. here people calmly go about their business, almost oblivious to the fighting outside of their city. >> you have the coalition forces. the peshmerga are fighting very professionally. and isil have no ability to attack to be closer. >> with more than 6,000 years of history, erbil is one of the oldest cities in the world. relics from the past next to the city's not dern sky sky scrapers. erbil is experiencing a construction boom. today the city boasts world class hotels and state of the art buildings. it's numerous malls are full of designer stores, and where the rich drink expensive coffee and sp

with their daily lives. this report from erbil. >> on the move against isil kurdish pesh perfect troops on one of their front lines against the armed group. these men are angered and almost daily battles to keep isil away from erbil. so far, their lines have held. a shoprt drive away is erbil. people calmly go about their business almost obvious giveous to the fighting outside their city. >> coalition forces the peshmerga have been rearmored and they are fighting very professionally, and have the capability to attack. >> with more than 6,000 years of history, erbil is one of the oldest cities in the world. realics from the past are next to the city's modern sky scrapers. thanks to the region's oil resources, erbil is experience a construction boon. today, the city wid world-class hotels and state-of-the-art buildings. numerous malls are full of designer stores and cafes where the rich drink expensive coffee and smoke water pipes. >> thinks have not been always like this. our parents and grandparents faced hardship living under conflict. we are lucky and hopefully erbil will remai

responding. haider al-abadi, mohammad adow has more from the northern iraqi city of erbil. >> reporter: heavy fighting from the northern iraqi town of gwer . in pursuit of i.s.i.l. tighters who attacked their positions in town. opened fire at him. he tries escape by running. he's unlucky. soon the peshmerga arrive at where he now lies, dead. he's from chechnya one of them announces, before escaping fighters. i.s.i.l.'s attack on gwer was the worst since last queer. 45 kilometers from erbil. >> translator: i don't want to give numbers but our losses were heavy. taking advantage of the darkness and fog they came by boats and rafts and attacked us. we only managed to repel them after we took more troops gwer. >> reporter: the peshmerga say they are often outgunned by their opponents. >> we have received weapons from the coalition we need heavy arms too if we are going to get the upper hand in the almost daily fighting. >> the air strikes have made a huge difference for peshmerga. the coalition jets have been bombing the city of sul sultan abdalla. a personnel carrier is one o

against the kurds since last summer. it took place near gwer, southwest of erbil. we have more from erbil. >> reporter: peshmerga has confirmed that they lost dozen of their men after a fight with isil in gwer, near the capital of erbil. they said that the town, most of the people fled, fearing isil. there are continued isil fighters around the town of gwer gwer in a town where peshmerga have been in control. now in daring attack five kilometers away from erbil shows how daring isil is becoming by the day. >> libya's general national congress is meeting in tripoli to does the upcoming mediated talks with its rival parliament, which sits in trobruk. the talks are scheduled to take place in geneva next week. >>> al jazeera continues to demand the release of its three journalist who have been in egypt for for a year. mohamed fahmy, bader mohammed, and peter greste have been accused of spreading false news and aiding the outlawed muslim brotherhood by al jazeera denies. their retrial may begin in a month. >> turkey's security said that a gunman from france crossed into turkey last thurs

to washington. >> we will be back in erbil with memorandum mohammad adow in just a moment. let's take a look at the iraqi army. it was settle up in 1927 when it was dominated by majority shiez population. shia. the pro-british monarchy was assassinated in 1958. and then under saddam hussein it numbered 1 million men in 1990. then when the u.s. removed disax saddam hussein today the army is facing many domestic challenges like fighting insurgent and i.s.i.l. mohammad adow, live in erbil there he is. you were talking about a sunni tribal leader complaining about the lack of help from baghdad. why is the iraqi government so unwilling to arm sunni tribes. >> well, this is because of the sectarian divide here in iraq. the government in baghdad is dominated by mainly shia politicians who are suspicious of the sunni leaders and the sunni leaders are suspicious of those in government. and what they have been telling us is the shia led government in baghdad wants to use militias to take over areas that are inhabited by they have not been getting enough support. we for example met the gove

armed group. these men are engaged in daily battles to keep isil away from erbil. so far their lines have held. a short drive away is the city of erbil. here people calmly go about their business almost oblivious to the fighting outside of their city. >> they're fighting very professionally. with more than 6,000 years of history erbil is one of the oldest cities in the world. er bill is experiencing a construction boom. today the city boasts world class hotels and state of the art buildings. it's malls are full of designer stores. >> things have not always been like this. our parents and grandparents faced hardship living under dictatorship and conflict. we hope that erbil will remain safe from isil. >> eager to show off their new-found wealth. >> this is where people come to buy luxury vehicles. the point they're hoping to make is that erbil is a far cry from its past. >> it's good. the cars are expensive and also they're luxury cars. >> authorities say they continue to build what they hope to be the capitol of their own country. al jazeera erbil. >> just over a week until greeks go

journalist aiko tomb moto. she is now in erbil, iraq. she's been covering the islamic state from northern iraq and syria. >> news reports about kenji goto are continuing. media say sajida al rishawi will not be freed unless it's confirmed that the jordanian pilot is alive. i spoke with an iraqi aid worker who helps displaced people. she noted that the situation may be tough for japanese people but she say she understands the response of the jordanian government government. she said she hopes kenji goto will be released. and that the pilot must be set free, as well. both syrians and iraqi still have -- in japan. many people have a favorable sentiment toward japan. many have expressed sadness and anger at the incident. i was told by many people during my interviews that they are praying for kenji goto's release. i told them that goto is a journalist, and that he has always reported for people who are suffering. when they hear this, they look very sad. but the people are dying every day around here in the fighting. we are being flooded with displaced people. they are struggling with

were injured. let's go live to the capital of iraqi kurdistan. erbil. mohammed adow - 23 peshmerga killed in this incident. how are the peshmerga managing to bear themselves up given the number of casualties it is a small fighting force, after all. indeed it is. and it's spread across a huge area of about 1,000km long where they are facing with i.s.i.l. fighters. the two incidents that happened in the area around sinjar mountains happened in two different areas that were using humvees packed with explosives detonated on the positions of the peshmerga forces. now, this is fast becoming a tactic used by i.s.i.l. having no use for their vehicles with aircraft that belong to the u.s. collision carrying out attacks. they are using these vehicles and personal carriers, and they are packed with explosives in the middle of the night. >> all the time we are talking about an area close to where you are in erbil, the northern reaches of iraq. a stronghold for i.s.i.l. mosul, which is not far from you at all. >> indeed yes much. mosul is 90km where were i am. the i.s.i.l. fighters continue to

outskirts of erbil. and it's very unclear, there is a consensus in which this group was released is very unclear what we know is that news of yazidis, mainly girls continue to remain in the hands of isil fighters. >> presumably it's too soon then to know about the conditions under which these people were held captive? >> reporter: well, some of them have been speaking to journalists and they said that they were not kept in great conditions. we have spoken to some activists for the i can't side rights who have been telling us that the people have psychological and mental problems, one of the men the elderly men who spoke to journalists said that he was living in constant fear for his life and also as far as we are aware, the people who were release right now are mainly elderly people who are unwell and according to some of the yazidis activists isil might have released them and, this is just speculation because they were unwell and did not see any reason holding onto the elderly who are sick. >> and do we know where they were held? because, of course, as you as a you alluded to isil

for check ups. mohamed adow is in iraq's kurdish capital irrelevant erbil. >> reporter: most of the yazidis released are said to be elderly examine people with mel problems and also infants a commander for the peshmerga forces were on the frontline away from kirkuk, told us they people were brought from the city of mosul which is an isil strong hold driven through the town not far away from the frontline before they were released near the frontline as if isil fighters wanted them to take them out of their territory and bring them in to the hands of the peshmerga. he say they have now taken them to a medical facility on the road between erbil and kirkuk where they are receiving medical treatment. a campaigner for yazidi rights says that he believes these people were released because of their medical condition and isil did not want to continue keeping them. however, we know that they are thousands of yazidis particularly young girls who continue in captivity in the hands of ice and i'll who many people say have been used as sex slaves. we have met some of their parents recently and th

peshmerga troops have been engaged in house-to-house fighting with isil fighters near erbil. mohammed has this report. >> reporter: heavy fighting at the village 80 kilometers outside of erbil. it's one of a few villages peshmerga fighters recently recaptured from isil. isil fighters have battled to recapture it and as the fighting intensifies -- [ gunfire ] >> reporter: -- the peshmerga zero in on one of the houses. [ gunfire ] >> translator: there are some isil fighters behind in that house. they have remained behind after the others treated. >> reporter: more kurdish fighters move closer to the house. they spray it with bullets. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: there is nothing to confirm the bullets have hit their target so some of them move a bit closer. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: it's a mistake. bullets coming from the house. one of the peshmerga fighters has been shot. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: he is dead. his colleagues carry his body away. one of them weeps over the body. in another part of the village a huge explosion rips through the village. [ explosion ] >> reporter: it's a car bomb

i.s.i.l. after its advance across large parts of the north. mohammed adow is in erbil. >> reporter: most of the yazidi released by i.s.i.l. are said to be elderly or people with medical problems or infants. a commander for peshmerga forces were taken 8km away from kirkuk to the city of mosul, an i.s.i.l. strong hold. we are not far away from the response line before they were released. if i.s.i.s. wanted them to take them out of their territory, and bring them into the hunt for the peshmerga, taking them to a medical facility on the road where they are receiving medical treatment. a campaigner for the yazidi rights says that he believes these people were released because of their medical condition, and i.s.i.l. did not want to continue keeping them. there are thousands of yazidi young girls, who continue being in captivity in the hands of i.s.i.l. and who many say are used as sex slaves. we have met some of their parents. all they need is children to be returned to them. for the families of those released, it will be a huge release. >> police in greece have arrested four people they beli

isil and erbil where kurdish fighters picked them up and took them for medical treatment. there are about 200 of them and still 4,000 yazidis in captivity. a lot of those are women. isil said that because it does not recognize the yazidi religion it believes it can buy, sell and use those women. these people are being given medical care. it's still not clear why isil released them. yazidi activists say it may be that that number of people has just become too much for isil. isil has been trying to put forth the idea that it's a state, can feed people, provide medical care and basically run its own government in mosul. as it increasingly releases small groups of yazidis and others activists say that may be proof that that is not the case. >> in nigeria we're getting reports that a suicide bomber has killed four and wounded dozens. the incident took place in the northeastern town. we'll have more on the story as we get more information. >> staying in west africa, troops from chad have been deployed to fight the armed group boko haram in northern nigeria. they'll be joining soldiers fro

searching house to house. >> reporter: indeed it is. dotting the hills around erbil where the peshmerga fault lines are. i.s.i.l. fight rs are fighter are engaging the peshmerga they have a greater arsenal because they took over all -- they got them from abandoned gair sons and garrisons when i.s.i.l. just came pouring over huge portions of iraq and they are using conventional and unconventional warfare. we have witnessed the scale of the forces facing peshmerga in sultan abdalla. outside erbil the iraqi kurdish region the i.s.i.l. fighters have battled to recapture it and as the fighting intensifies the peshmerga zero in on one of the houses. >> there are some i.s.i.l. fighters behind in that house. they have remained behind after the others retreated. >> more kurdish fighters move closer to the house. they spray it with bullets. there is nothing to confirm their bullets have hit their targets so some of them move even closer. it's a mistake. bullets come in from the house. one of the peshmerga fighters has been shot. he is dead. his colleagues carry his body away. overcome b

. situation. mohammad adow reports from erbil. a warning this some viewers might find this report disturbing. >> reporter: they have been fighting from the northern iraqi town of wir. kurdish peshmerga fighters are in pursuit of i.s.i.l. fighters who attack their positions in town poop group of them target one of the retreating fighters. and opened fire. he tried to escape by running. he's unlucky. soon the peshmerga arrive at where he now lies, dead. he's from chechnya one of them announceing more rounds. i.s.i.l.'s attack august last year that's when i.s.i.l. took control of the town just 45 kilometers from erbil. >> translator: i don't want to give numbers but our loss he were leaf. taking advantage of the -- losses were heavy. they came and attacked us. we only managed to repel them only after we took more troops to gwer. >> translator: we have received weapons from the coalition mainly guns, ammunition and antitank munitions. we need more arms too if we are going to get the upper hand in the almost daily fighting. >> reporter: air strikes by the u.s. led coalition have made o

capital, erbil. >> reporter: most of the yazidi released are said to be elderly or people with medical problems. a commander eight kilometres tells us that he believes they were brought from mosul driven through the towns before they were released near the front line. i.s.i.l. fighters took them out of the territory and bringing them into the heart of the peshmerga. he says they have taken them to medical facilities on the road between erbil and kirkuk where they are receiving medical treatment. a campaigner for yazidi rights believes that the people were released because of their medical condition, and i.s.i.l. did not want to continue to keep them. we know that there are thousands of yazidi particularly young girls, in the hunt for i.s.i.l. and who have been used as sex slaves. we met some of their parents, and they old us that they wish for their children to be returned. for the family of these people released it would be a huge relief for them. >> police in greece arrested four people that say may have links to a tourist cell in belgium. >> police here are expected to verify by the

they have. it looks like it's going to be a long winter. mohammad adow, al jazeera erbil in northern iraq. >>> more than 100 people have been killed and dozens of homes seized by boarm. boko haram. hundreds of people are fleeing the area to get away from the violence. boko haram controls large parts of northeastern nigeria. al jazeera has learned the international criminal court may be close to opening an inquiry into last year's incidents in gaza. >> very little option but now to launch a preliminary examination into the events of last summer's gaza war. you remember on the last day of last year, president mahmoud abbas signed the rome statute the statute that governs the international criminal court but also this declaration palestine asking for the court to be retroactive going back to june the 14th, 2014, that means it would cover the whole period of the gaza war. if you look at the guidelines, this is the policy paper of the chief prosecutor. it says she is obliged to launch initial examination if she gets such a declaration. that is not a formal war crimes investigatio

stronghold of mosul and the kurdish capitol of erbil where kurdish peshmerga fighters picked them up. there are 4,000 yazidi's still in captivity. a lot of them are women. isil said because it does not recognize the yazidi religion, it believes it can buy sell and use those women. these people are being given medical care. it's still not clear exactly why isil released them. yazidi activists say that it may be that that number of people has just become too much for isil. isil has been trying to put forth the idea that it's a state, that it can feed people, provide medical care and basically run its own government in mosul. as it increasingly releases small groups of yazidis and others activists say that may be proof that that is not the case. >> according to lebanese media reports, israeli aircraft fired rockets at a town in northern syria. the province is not far from the border with lebanon. activists say the fighter jet launched an air strike at a military location in the town of mazrah. the israeli army has yet to comment. >> talking of iraq and syria we now go to afghanistan. je

incident took place near gwer southwest of erbil. >> peshmerga have confirmed they have lost dozens of their men in the town of gwer, 25 kilometers of erbil the capital of the kurdistan region. hundreds of isil fighters attack gwer and they only managed to repulse them with reinforcement. they say that the town is now deserted most of the people fled faring to be caught in the cross fire, and they said they were continuing the clashes between isil and the peshmerga fighters around the town of gw er in a small village where the peshmerga had been in control but isil took over in recent fighting. airstrikes led by the united states are still going on. we saw pictures it shows not only the capacity, but also how daring isil is becoming by the day. >> afghanistan has finally turned a corner. a spokesman for president ga-- >> well, the announcement of the new cabinet ministers will come as welcome news to afghan who is are waiting to see what the new unity government would look like like. ashashraf ghani has nominateed cabinet members. they include three women in the cab inspect. none of th

from erbil this morning. the kurds have been engaged in pretty heavy fighting not far from where you are now. what do you know? >> there's been heavy fighting around front lines in the countryside -- north region of kurdistan around here. the isil fighters seem to be engaging the peshmerga forces in a war of attrition. they're trying to wear them down knowing very well that they have better arsenals, all the arms they he took from the fleeing iraq armed forces seven months ago a understand they are engaging them in heavy fighting. we saw the scale of the challenge that is facing peshmerga in the village. heavy fighting and you said the kurdish region. it's one village recently recaptured from isil. isil fighters of battled to recapture it. as the fighting intensifies the peshmerga zero in on one of the houses. >> there are some isil fighters behind in that house. they have remained behind after the others retreated. >> more kurdish fighters move closer to the house. they spray i had with bullets. there is nothing to confirm their bullets have hit their targets, so some of them move e

. this in the river town of gwer just 25 miles from the kurdish capital city of erbil. the kurds reportedly killed 60 of the militants in the same battle. officials say western airstrikes have put isis fighters on the defensive but they remain in control in large parts of iraq. indonesian search teams believe they've located the black box flight recorders from the air asia plane that crashed into the java sea two weeks ago today with 162 people on board. searchers heard pings two miles from where the plane's tail was found yesterday. an indonesian official said that the black boxes are under layers of aircraft debris. they will try to recover them tomorrow. back in the u.s., attorney general eric holder today defended his handling of an investigation into former four star general david patraeus. the "new york times" reported yesterday, federal prosecutors have recommended that criminal charges be brought against patraeus for allegedly sharing classified information with his lover in 2012-- a charge patraeus denies. >> we have done this investigation in, i think, an appropriate wa

state from syria and iraq. she now is in erbil, northern iraq. >> translator: local media in northern iraq haven't given this incident wide coverage but people, mostly the young know about it through the internet. many ordinary iraqis were shocked that islamic state took two japanese hostages. they're expressing concern and hope for their release. i have no information on how goto entered the area controlled by islamic state militants. knockout they took part in a fierce battle with kurdish forces around syria's border. so goto may have entered the area amid the confusion that followed. i know that goto was always trying to report news from the perspective of children, ordinary people and those in a difficult situation. and i can say that he is not the enemy of the islamic state. he is no one's enemy. i'm really worried. commanders of islamic state may have gotten the idea that japan is part of the crusade, subordinate to western countries. i believe ordinary people done share this view at this point. i'm afraid that the commander's view of japan might spread. but there is another thi

strategic village and this is between the isil stronghold of mosul and the kurdish capitol of erbil. al jazeera continuing to demand the immediate release of journalists in prison in egypt for more than a year greste and fahmy and mohamed were wrongly convicted of broadcasting false news and helping the out lawed muslim brotherhood which is denied and on thursday they ordered a retrial that could begin within a month and lawyers for greste and fahmy have fired requests for them to be deported from egypt. much more still to come here on al jazeera including anger in response to a school attack that left 148 dead and said to decide to try suspects in military courts plus exhibition of everyday objects transformed for tools for protest and social change. ♪ ♪ let's take a look at the top stories on al jazeera, to saudi personnel have been killed on the country's border with iraq and happened in a border patrol area near irar and police say one of the two attackers detonated a suicide vest. syrian government forces have launched more air strikes and shelling east of the capitol damascus.

faction. we will never allow erbil to fall. >> reporter: a short distance away from the flints people displaced fighting living in the village. >> the conditions here are not good. they promised to take us to the camps, we are still here. i don't know why the authorities are not coming to help us. >> reporter: with nowhere else to turn they keep on waiting. the women and children are the first to get the food. eggs and vegetables are all they have received. they say it may be a while before they eat again >>> libya's warring factions have agreed to talk to each other in what many say could be the last chance for peace. the oil-rich country has rival governments and parties. talks will begin >>> official nuclear talks with iran will meet next week. secretary of state john kerry will meet with his iranian counterpart. they should provide guidance for the negotiating team which hopes to strike a deal by july. >>> egypt's foreign minister has been confronted whilst in east africa. he was on a visit in nairobi, where peter greste was based before his arrest. peter and mohamed fadel fahmy a

kurdish security forces in the attack in northern iraq. we have reports from the iraqi city of erbil. >> reporter: heavy fighting. peshmerga fighters are in pursuit of the isil fighters who are in the town. they have tried to escape soon the peshmerga arrive where he now lies dead. he is from chechnya they announce before firing more rounds. they say isil's attack when isil controlled the town. >> i don't want to give numbers but our losses were heavy taking advantage of the darkness and fog they came by boats and rafts and attacked us. we only managed to repel them after we took more troops to gwer. >> hundreds of isil fighters took part in the attack. they say they're often outcamped outcamped. >> we received weapons from the coalition, mainly guns, ammunition and anti-tank missiles, but we need more if we're going to get the upper hand in the daily fighting. >> reporter: the airstrikes by the u.s.-led coalition has made a big difference for the peshmerga. they target areas where isil fighters fight. peshmerga fighters cheer. it's isil's capture of gwer that prompted the airstrikes

erbil. the fear of a strong isil command base that is close to their regional capital could drive more peshmerga fighters in to the battle to retake control of mosul. mohamed, al jazerra in northern iraq. >>> now, egypt's president has been celebrating judiciary day by praising the independence of the legal system. he says he has been careful not in interfere in judicial affairs while he's been president human rights groups have repeatedly criticized egyptian law after fast track trials resulted in death membership for members of the banned muslim brotherhood. >>> al jazerra is continuing to demand the release of our three journalists who have no one but impressed inky i didn't want for more than a year. they were wrongly accused of broadcasting false news and of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. charges they deny. an appeals court in could cairo has ordered a retrial that could begin in a month. >>> in nigeria at least 19 people killed when a girl thought to be as young as 10 was used in a suicide bomb attack. the bomb exploded in a busy mark in the northeastern city. the

. the turkish capital of erbil. they left when i.s.i.l. took over in june. cut off most of the communication lines of mosul but much of the lines that come out speak of i.s.i.l.'s harsh conditions. >> there is not enough food because there is unemployment. but we can still have hope that the liberation, it is this hope that keeps us alive. >> some of the people at the same time there are hundred of thousand people who were sitting at home crying about the city. >> reporter: many in the predominantly sunni city welcomed the i.s.i.l. fighters when they first arrived in june. accused of targeting targeting sunnies. we can't independently confirm that because we don't have access to mosul. but videos like this one have been emerging showing the so-called mosul brigades targeting i.s.i.l. members. >> come august, the one who like announced to fight i.s.i.l in mosul. they have done more than 300 operation against i.s.i.l. >> reporter: and outside mosul, mainly sunni volunteers from the city have been training for the fight. their role is important in any counter-- offensive against i

reports. >> reporter: heavy fighting at the village. 80 kilometers outside of erbil, the capitol of the region. it's one of the few villages kurdish fighters recaptured from isil. isil has battled to recapture it, and as the fighting intensifies, the peshmerga zero in on one of the houses. [ gunfire ] >> translator: there are some isil fighters behind in that house. they have remained behind after the others retreated. >> reporter: more kurdish fighters moved closer to the house. they spray it with bullets. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: there is nothing to confirm their bullets have hit their targets, so some of them move a bit closer. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: it's a mistake, bullets come in from the house. one of the peshmerga fighters has been shot. gunn -- [ gunfire ] >> reporter: he is dead. overcome with grief one of the fighters weeps over the body. in another part of the village a huge explosion whips over the village. it's a car bomb. more enforcements arrive. the kurdish forces decide it's time to bring the fighting to an end. rocket-propelled grenades are their weapons of choic

away from erbil. the fear of a strong isil command base that is close to the regional capitol could drive more peshmerga fighters into the battle to take over mosul. al jazeera gwer in northern iraq. >> still to come on al jazeera, what is ahead for sri lanka after friday's surprise win in the presidential elections. stay with us >> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> its disgraceful... the only crime they really committed is journalism... >> they are truth seekers... >> all they really wanna do is find out what's happening, so they can tell people... >> governments around the world all united to condemn this... >> as you can see, it's still a very much volatile situation... >> the government is prepared to carry out mass array... >> if you want free press in the new democracy let the journalists live. >> today on "the stream". >> a surge in predatory lending targeting our nation's military with the interest rates as high 300 to 1000 percent. what's being done about it? >> "the stream". today 12:30 eastern. on al jazeera america. >> here with us on a

ground, however mosul is just 90 kilometers away from erbil. the fear of a strong isil command base that is close to the original capitol could drive more peshmerga fighters into the battle to retake control of mosul. al jazeera gwer in northern iraq. >> a south africa man has turned his obsession for motorbike parts into a $1 million a year business called the bike hospital. they say it's the largest scrapyard in the southern hemisphere. we have reports from johannesburg. >> from the highway the engines engines, pistons seats and exhaust fights form an eye-catching massive metal two stories high. parts are dangled from above and fill storage containers. >> if we can't help you you're not going to find it. >> biker eric coetzee says he has millions in stock. new and parts dating back to 1970. people come here looking for parts because they can often find them cheaper and quicker if the dealership does not have the parts in stock. the bike hospital's customers are as diverse as its parts. police officers, delivery men and a member of the woman's biker club to name the few. >> i'm loo

, however mosul is just 90 kilometers away away from erbil. it could drive more peshmerga fighters. >> in news ahead livelihoods and homes destroy as zimbabwe is hit by its worst flood in years. >> the left level of alert remains high after the police killed two men on friday. >>> six people have been killed in a blast which happened in a market. two suicide-bombers were found among the dead. >>> and new rounds of talk in gentlemen knee are a have a libya is under the control of two rival governments. one in tripoli. the other in tobruk. >>> more on our top story the paris attacks and the involvement of al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula. it is described by the most active and dangerous branch of the group. since it's formation five years ago it has attempted to carry out attacks outside of yemen. he was involved in an attack that killed 13 people. there was an attack planned on christmas day. although the bomb in the man's underwear failed to detonate. and then in 2010 a cargo plane from yemen. and then a foiled plan by al-qaeda of another airliner. let's ex-hand on this now. >> he

inside mosul to his friends in the kurdish capitol erbil and even they hide their identity and left the city when isil took over in june and the armed group cutoff most communication lines in mosul but the voices that do come out speak of isil's harsh laws and hardships. >> there is no money because there is unemployment. but we can still have hope that the liberation it's this hope that keeps us alive. >> some of the people welcome them but at the same time there are hundreds of thousands of people who were sitting home crying about the city. >> reporter: many in the predominately sunni city welcomed isil fighters when they first entered in june iraqi army was seen as sectarian and accused of targeting sunnis and now there are reports that opposition to isil is increasing and we cannot independently confirm that because we don't have access to mosul but videos like this one have been emerging and showing the so called mosul brigades targeting them. >> from august most of the brigades and the one who like announced to fight isil in mosul, they have done more than 300 operation again

village around 80-kilometers south wests city of erbil. three peshmerga fighters have been killed so far. as they hunt isil fighters who may be hold up in homes. sultan abdullah is on the banks of the tie agrees river and the road to mo sus the largest iraqi city controlled by mosul mohamed adow has the latest seven the fighting we have witnessed in the village is a clear example of what the peshmerga have to go through house to house fighting. they had captured the village 48 hours earlier and some ice ill fighters snuck in to the village again and gave them a fight. one peshmerga commander who is commanding the on the front lines about 60-kilometers from here told us that they are only fighting with ak47 rivals the newest of witch is 25-year-old old. and some of the other weapons he's using he says are from the iraq-iran war 25 years ago. what they are also saying is that they only got 4,000 german made rifles from the coalition and some ammunition but they say that is not enough if they have to continue fighting isil. in the past few months peshmerga have identified themselves a the m

, reports from erbil this morning. >> this attack shows not only how daring isil fighters are but also their capacity to strike deep in kurdish territory. according to the commander of the peshmerga forces in the area where the attack happened, the general says hundreds of isil fighters some of them came by boat attacked the town. it was a surprise attack, described as one of the deadliest that have occurred on peshmerga forces positions on this very long front line that they have between them and isil. we saw pictures from local t.v. that show the peshmerga chase league treating isil forces, gunning some of them down and as far as we know right now the city is deserted, most fled fearing that they would be caught in the crossfire. now the city is very important because it's only 45 kilometers away from erbil the capitol of iraq's kurdistan region, but right between erbil and mosul and could be crucial for a planned attack on mosul by the iraq government to retake it from isil. >> iraq's prime minister is criticizing the international effort to fight is i'll. speaking in egypt, al

and that is 45 kilometers from erbill the capitol of the autonomous kurdish capitol of iraq according to the commander of the peshmerga general who spoke to us a little earlier, he says hundreds of i.s.i.l. fighters came on boats that passes on the edge of the town and carried out a surprise attack and he says they were at one point about to kick them out of the town but because of reenforcements they got from other units of the peshmerga that enabled them to push back their i.s.i.l. fighters. he also said that there is now and since yesterday continuing fighting in and around guar and that they were helped by air strikes by the coalition of forces. now, as you say this attack as well as how susceptible the peshmerga are to these attacks of i.s.i.l. and sometimes they use suicide bomb ings and cars with explosives and shows how the scales are heavily tilted in favor of i.s.i.l. when it comes to arms and also training. >> for now thank you very much indeed and correspondent live from erbill. and libya general congress met in tripoli to discuss the upcoming u.n. mediated talks

made his way back to erbil, the capital of kurdistan in northern iraq. he joins us from a rather windy rooftop, it seems. tell us who is helping those kurdish forces in the town of sinjar? >> reporter: much has changed. obviously there is a cooperation between kurdish peshmerga forces. they are equipped with heavy weapons, heavy machine guns. at the same time the pkk fighters, who have many members from other parts of kurdistan, like iran, turkey syria, iraq and draw a lot of troops. >> we have to interrupt you. the wind really interfering with the quality of the sound. we perhaps can return to him a little later in the program. but that remarkable report from sinjar and the progress that is being made there by kurdish fighters. we've also got some breaking news actually to bring you now from that part of the world. we've been hearing that 23 people have been killed in iraq. this follows two suicide bombings and clashes. the attack taking place west. it has targeted a mosque where anti-jihadist fighters were arresting. that attack killed 10 and clashes which killed a further 13 s

adow reports from erbil. >> it's down in the countryside. as the sun pierces through the orchards, it light up the battlefield so the fight around the army engaged in the i.s.i.l. fighters. the army attacked the village this morning. it's along the highway linking the highway to baiji >> translation: we are making gains, we are at the beigy village. our forces are advancing. the army will be victorious over the enemy. as the fighting intensifies some troops take cover. this is not a conventional war, and tactics say the men are training their energy. they are thankful for the air support they have got. it's making the difference for them. in the difference smoke rises from an i.s.i.l. hideout in one of the firms targeted by an army helicopter. supporting the army is army from popular mobilization forces. they say they will never give up. >> we will hunt them down. we'll defeat and kill them one by one as we say we cherish you. successful last. villagers fled. others were destroyed in explosive devices. the army has a big job at heart. it nose the tactics too well. i.s.i.l. is usin

adow has the story. >> 80 kilometers outside erbil it is one of the few villages peshmerga fighters recently recaptured from spiel. i.s.i.l.i.s.i.l. i.s.i.l. fighters have battled to recapture it. and as the fighting intensifies i.s.i.l.ing focuses on one house. >> they have remained behind after the others retreated. >> more kurdish fightsers move closer to the house. they spray it with bullets. [ bullets firing ] >> reporter: there is nothing to confirm their bullets have hit their targets so some of them move even closer. it's a mistake. bullets coming from the house. one of the peshmerga fighters has been shot. he is dead. his colleagues carry his body away. overcome by grief one of them weeps over the body. in another part of sultan abdalla a huge explosion rips through the village. it's a car bomb targeting the peshmerga. more peshmerga enforcements arrive as panic grows. the kurdish forces decide it's time to bring the fieding to an end. -- fighting to an end. rocket propelled grenades are their weapon of choice. detecting no movement inside they set what remains of the house

just a few days ago. the capitol of mosul and erbil. mohammad adow reports. >> about 80 kilometers from the capital of the semi autonomous region. there are i.s.i.l. fighters still holed up in some sections of this village. sultan abdalla is where there was heavy fighting just two days ago, between peshmerga and i.s.i.l. fighters, although at one point peshmerga fighters say they were in total control of this town, they say now there are pockets of resistance in the town and getting incoming fire from the positions of i.s.i.l. here in the camp and at this front line we have seen some unexploded ordnance, particularly mortars that peshmerga fighters said they lost to some men. what we also know is that the village of sultan abdalla is also close to the strategic i.s.i.l. strong hold of mosul and one of the reasons why maybe the i.s.i.l. fighters don't want to use the village is they're using it as a defensive position so the peshmerga and other fighters don't move closer to mosul. what the peshmerga force is are telling us is it is strategic source of water for the town which is not

coalition's fight. we have an exclusive report from erbil. >> reporter: this is northern iraq. a month ago it was in the grip of the islamic state in iraq and the levant. it is now under the control of these men. they have been fighting for autonomy for iran's minority for many years. they are now supporting the kurdish forces known as peshmerga. >> kurdistan is not separate nations. it is rather one nation. it is our motherland. we will do our best to defend it and protect it from any danger. >> reporter: it's a sentiment shared by their kinsmen. >> we consider ourselves as one fighting isil. after all all in this region, syria, turkey, iraq and russian are now fighting the enemy together. >> reporter: all the front lines around kirkuk, enter' supporting peshmerga you wants to defend the oil-rich city. but iranian government is not happy. it's concerned that the role they're playing in the role against isil will give it legitimacy. they are concerned they will fight independently but the fighters want to create their own identity. >> isil call us the fighters with red feet. it's because our

ground. however, mosul is just nine kilometers away from erbil. the fear of a strong isil command base that is close to their original capitol could drive more peshmerga fighters into the battle to retake control of mosul. >> egypt's president has praised the country's judiciary for its independence. president al sisi spoke briefly at a courthouse. he said he's been careful not to interview with judicial affairs. al jazeera continues to demand the release of three of its journalists who have been in jail in egypt now for more than a year. mohamed fahmy, bader mohammed, and peter greste have been accused of broadcasting false news and helping the out lawed muslim brotherhood, charges they deny. their lawyers have asked for a retrial, which could begin in a month. >>> sri lanka's new president maithripala sirisena, will announce his cabinet on sunday he won the election after mahinda rajapaksa, who has ruled the country for decades. >> reporter: in central colombo is a mixed neighborhood where muslims, christians and buddhist live together. we asked them how they feel over the election a

inside mosul to his friends in the kurdish regional capitol erbil. even they hide their identity. they left the city when they took over in june. the armed group has cut off most communication lines, but the voices that do come out speak of isil's harsh rules. >> there is no money, because there is unemployment. but we can -- we can still have hope that the liberation -- because this hope that keeps us alive. >> some of the people welcome them, but at the same time there are hundreds of thousand people who were sitting home try crying about the city. >> reporter: many welcomed isil fighters when they first entered in june. the iraqi army was seen as sectarian and targeting sunnis. videos like this one have been emerging showing the so-called mosul brigade targeting isil members. >> from august mosul brigade, the one who like announced to fight isil in mosul, they have done more than 300 operation against isil. >> reporter: and outside mosul, mainly sunni volunteers from the city have been training for the fight. their role is important in any counter offensive against isil. the people

and i.s.i.l. continue in northern iraq. 30km north of erbil. al jazeera travelled to a town lineally to be a launch pad against attempts to retake mosul. we have this report fromgwer. >> this has been the scene of fighting between kurdish peshmerga and islamic state of iraq and levant. the river is the boundary. the river on the ordinary side and anything beyond is i.s.i.l. territory. they cannot afford to lower their guard. >> translation: we are fighting a strange enemy, one that does not care about death. they attack not with guns. it's not easy to see them. we don't have night vision. >> reporter: from their positions on the other side i.s.i.l. fighters are on the peshmerga lines. they return fire. they complain they are more effective and have more modern weapons with them. due to a shortage of heavy weapons, they have been forced to improvise. this is for their ground offensive against i.s.i.l. fighters. the gun itself is 20 years old. the peshmerga are short of experienced fighters with a 1,000km frontline they are spread. they are getting volunteers from far and near. this ma

erbil for check-ups. more on that allegeditsisi airstrike inside syria. rula amin is on the line for us capitol of jordan. these were not just any fighters for hezbollah, were they? rula? i am looking at the list of names. whoever carried out the attack new exactly what they were going to be done. >> yes. they were not just any fighters fighters. it was in syria. one fighter is 20 years old, but he is the son of a very senior husband husband channeleder asatsnated damask under the circumstances in 2008 and hezbollah accused iezzo of assassinating him. responsible for many terrorist attacks to fightitsis well in 2006. he was a hero. this is his son and husband husband circle did, it is known that he got special training that iran and his commander belong with him also was killed another senior commander thorpe assassinated in southern syria very close to the israel border. they were killed as they were inspenting fight. according toitsis media, they have a lot of circulation that syria, of course with the help of hezbollah, had the long-range anybody else in that area less than 10 day

ground. however, mosul is just 90 kilometers away from erbil. the fear of a strong isil command base that is close to the original capitol could drive more peshmerga fighters into the battle to retake control of mosul. mohammed abdul in northern iraq. >>> bryan's prime minter david cameron flies to washington et cetera expected to ask for the release of the last british resident held at guantanamo bay. there is a schedule visit in february. he will ask for the saudi citizen be released after 13 years with no trial and no charges. british resident was one of the first detainees brought to that prison in cuba. tomorrow is the anniversary of the arrival of the first inmate 13 years ago sunday. president obama has yet to fulfill his promise to shut down that facility. more from rosalind jordan in washington. >> reporter: the problem is finding a safe place where these men and their families can live. officials here at the state department and at the pentagon are actively negotiating with officials in their home countries as well as in third-party countries because in some cases, notably

communicating from inside mosul to his friends in the kurdish region erbil. even they hide their identity. they left the city when isil took over in june. the armed group has cut off most of the communication lines inside mosul but the voices that do come out speak of isil's harsh laws and hardships. >> it is this hope that keeps us alive. >> some of the people. >> many in the predominantly sunni city welcomed isil fighters when they first entered in june. now there are reports that opposition to isil is increasing. we can't independently confirm that because we don't have access to mosul. but videos like this one have been emerging, showing the so-called mosul brigades targeting isil members. >> from august most of the brigades announced to fight isil and mosul, they have done more than 300 operation against isil. >> as outside mosul mainly sunni volunteers from the city have been training for the fight. their role is important in any counter offensive against isil. they may not want isil rule but they've had a bitter history. >> shell intends to build 450 jewish settlements in