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we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. hat can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news" america. >> this is bbc world news america reporting from washington. these are the children recruited to fight for islamic state. we meet one 13-year-old boy who wants to be a soldier for jihad against the west. testing an ebola vaccine in africa, as the world races to contain the outbreak. a new trial offers hope. and how low will they go? oil prices are dropping, which is good news at the pump, but might spell trouble for some in his oklahoma town.

>> welcome to our viewers on public television here in america and around the globe. as valmic state battles its way through iraq and syria, there are almost daily accounts of horrific abuse. now a new united nations report also accuses i.s. and other jihadist groups of recruiting children to fight for them. many are from syria but have fled with their families across the borders to turkey. bbc's mark lone has this special report. >> he 13iss years old. -- he is 13 years old and he plans to join islamic state. they reach out online, social media, feeding his ideas. born in sear yarks he was radicalized a year ago, learning to fight with another jihadi group. this is a story of how militants are seizing the next

generation, building their army of the future. insists on dressing like his heroes. >> i like islamic state because they pursue and kill infidels as aila ordered. we must behead them. soon i will go there as a sole jemplet recently i told them my age and now they contact me more than before. >> a lot of people would say you're 13 years old. enjoy your childhood. >> i don't want to play with friends. allah told us to fight for the next life, for par dials. i used to go out to the seaside but now i have taken the righteous path. >> he and his mother in turkey lead a devout life. she has strong sympathies for the militants but denies she's brainwashed her young son. >> islamic state came to help the syrian people, unlike the evil powers in the world. but i don't support all their ideas. i sent my son to train for jihad, and i can't stop him if

he wants to join the islamic state. let him become a future leader. i would not be sad if he were to kill westerners. >> if your son dies fighting for jihad, fighting for islamic state, how will you feel? > i would be so happy. >> the militants have recruited heavily among children, according to the un. this video was posted online. other jihadi groups are using child soldiers, too. mohammed's younger brothers are fighting with the al qaeda offshoot in syria. this one is just 13. >> i feel so bad that he's with them. he should be at school. but they give children $100 a month to fight. i used to have fun with him, but now when i told him they will destroy us, he said, "shut

up or i will kill you." >> the syrian children who joined these militant groups grew up in war and much of their motivation must come from that experience. their formative years have been blackened by hatred, their mindsets altered, their chooledhood stolen. the innocence of a generation is being destroyed. no longer seen as children, but as tools of war. bbc news from the turkey-syria border. >> well, for more on those going to fight for the islamic state i'm joined by a former department of state and now the dean at international studies. do we know how many children are going to fight for islamic state, what the numbers might be? >> we don't have any hard numbers. but we're in parts of the world where the majority of the population are young. they are now living in camps. they have been displaced from their homes.

and a lot of even older teenagers don't have jobs and don't have prospects. so given this large pool of young peel, it's very easy for isis to recruit among children and youth. >> what are they recruiting them for is? it because they don't have enough fighters of their own? is it symbolic in some way? are they being trained as soldiers who will die? >> it's a game of numbers. isis is trying to control a vast area all the way from turkey to southern iraq. it needs foot soldiers of various kinds, whether they work in the kitchen, carry things or do small-scale attacks. it's also a way of building an army that will be sustainable over time for them, which is you recruit somebody at age 13 and they will still be fighting for you when they're 20 and all the way older. so in a way it's a strategy of building a sustainable military. >> what does it say, that mother saying she'd be happy if her child died for jihad. what does that say about the

desperation of syrian parents, that they can suggest things like that? >> sometimes these are formulaic things that people think they are expected to say. it may not really truly reflect their sentiment. >> but we're not doing too much to stop them. >> there is desperation. there is a sense that there is no other hope. there is no economy that will employ them. there is no political system that would embrace them. so at least they may get some glory in life if they went and fought and died, rather than having a life of misery and desperation and basically despair. >> being stuck in those camps. i want to ask you about something else that came out in reference to islamic state. president obama has sent a secret letter to the leader of iran to see if there's some cooperation that the two countries could do in battling islamic state. what do you make of this? >> this is now made possible because there is so much progress on the nuclear talks. i think it has a sense of giving a signal to iran that if

the talks succeed, there's hope for a broader, strategic cooperation between the united states and iran, especially on the issue of isis. so it's a way of both encouraging the talks to result in a deal and providing iran with some kind of a road map as to what might come after the talks. >> has there already been cooperation of some sort? >> there has been. >> how concrete has it been? >> it hasn't been coordinated. but when american aircraft is dropping bombs on isis, when iranian-backed militias, revolutionary guard advisors are pushing into areas, this is almost like a coordinated air-ground attack, except it's not done directly with a commander speaking to an american commander. perhaps they're doing it through iraqi military. there is sort of an indirect coordination that is happening. but a lot of the pushback against isis happened because

iranian push on the ground was coordinated with american air attacks. >> thanks very much for coming in. >> thank you. >> a look at other news from around the world. riot police in brussels, belgium, have used tear gas for protesters. they set fire to cars, and several cars were overturned and set ablaze at the end of the march by that 100,000 people. the government says changes are needed to reduce the budget deficit. there were scuffles that broke out in hong kong between the police and campaigners. the skirmishes lasted for about four hours. the protesters, mostly students, have been camped out at different locations since the end of september as they try to get the government to reverse its decision to vet candidates for the 2017 elections. the international criminal court says that no action will be taken over israel's raid in international waters on a

gaza-bound flotilla in 2010. nine turkish activists were killed. the prosecutor said although there were reasonable grounds to believe war crimes had occurred, she had a duty to concentrate on those committed on a large scale. israel says the case was politically motivated. now, in the fight against ebola and west africa, a lot of attention is being paid to developing effective vaccines. today the european union and a group of pharmaceutical companies pledged $350 million to that effort. the researchers say that the first ebola vaccine to be tested in africa is showing encouraging signs. s ancillary reports -- >> getting used to being examined regularly. it's all part of an ongoing ebola vaccine trial. he was the first man in africa to get vaccinated. it's nearly a month later and so far it's among health

workers who have been selected to deal with the outbreak in mali. it's a risky job. he has a wife and son to consider. >> it's not really that difficult. >> he says if it proves to be successful and it fights ebola, it will be good for humanitarian. he's in daily contact with people, so he thinks it's better for him to have a vaccine even if it's experimental. but it's been tough convincing his family it's the right thing to do. >> even now with care, he tries to reassure us every time. more vaccinations are underway. the drug is locked away in a freezer. they have to keep the temperature 80 degrees celsius. it is removed and left four minutes before being administered. he is one of the latest volunteers and hopes his

participation will inspire others. >> the purpose of this one study is safety, to make sure that the vaccine is safe, is well tolerated. >> second goal is to find out if the vaccine works, and if it does, how much of the drug will be needed to prevent ebola. >> ebola. you can see me breathing, right? nothing coming out yet? [laughter] > it attacks white blood cells . it's a part of the blood that provides immunities. but those samples will be sent to the u.s. for further analysis. bbc news. >> today "the washington post" reported that former navy seal robert o'neil has told them he is the one that fired the fatal shot that shot osama bin laden.

but it has reignited a controversy over what actually happened that night. we have our correspondent here with us. so many questions about that. how could we know he is the one and in the confusion, how can all this be clear to anybody? >> we're not going to hear for a long time the official account of what happened. those details will not be declassified for a couple of decades. in the meantime we're hearing conflicting accounts from different navy seals. robert o'neill is a 38-year-old from montana. he said he climbed the stairs to the third floor of that bin laden compound, suddenly a head peeped around the corner of one of the bedrooms and shots were fired by his colleague on the stairs and suddenly a couple of women rushed them on the corridor while his colleague was taking care of the women, sort of holding them back, he ended up in a room alone with the al qaeda leader, and that's when he pumped these bullets in him. >> but he's being contradicted by other accounts. >> that's right. there was one written in a book two years ago by a man using

the sued anymore mark and who was also on that mission. he said there were three of them who climbed the stairs and that actually it was their colleague on the stairs that managed to fire those fatal shots. but officials are saying none of these navy seals should be talking. there is a code of silence. but, of course, it is pretty good for your job prospects if you say you're the man who killed bin laden and there are wrangles going on behind the scenes between robert o'neill and the military in terms of health care benefits, retirement benefits, and that may be the reason he's come out. >> you've come to the states quite recently from pakistan. what do you think they'll make of this story over there? >> well, it is interesting. the debate starts from a very different place in pakistan. a lot of pakistanis feel and a lot of people in the middle east feel that this entire thing was concocted as a way to malign pakistan. they still want evidence that there was a body. they still want evidence that bin laden was actually here, or was actually there on the night

that raid happened. so there's still so much skepticism in that part of the world and that's why it's interests together be here where the debate is from a very different place, as to who actually fired those shots to kill him. >> clearly a lot of questions, a lot of controversy. thanks very much for coming in. now, if you've filled your car up recently here in the united states there is a good chance that you were very pleasantly surprised. this week the national average price for gasoline fell below $3 a barrel a gallon for the first time in four years. the low numbers are a result of shale production or fracking here in america. today opec raised its forecast for that u.s. shale oil impact in the coming years. will this boom really last? michelle reports for us from oklahoma. >> oklahoma's oil industry is resurging, thanks to huge deposits of shale oil. >> this technique was in its infancy when i started 30 years ago. >> with fracking technology getting better, the cost for

drillers is less crushing, the rewards greater. ray payne, vice president of production for b.n.k. petroleum, hopes this site will one day produce 600 barrels of oil a day. america in his the grip of a shale revolution, a boom that's turning the u.s. into an energy powerhouse that could threaten the dominance of traditional oil producers in the middle east. and that boom is being driven by soaring production in places like this. but with prices tumbling, could this oil rush be about to end? it still costs more to extract the black stuff trapped inside this rock. here, they are not worried yet. >> our margins are really strong here. so we would continue our development program at the current pace, even at prices much lower than $80 a barrel. >> the nearby city of ardmore has witnessed its fair share of oil booms and busts.

>> this street has seen a lot of history and changes. >> bill dolan's family moved here in the 1800's and have been involved in the oil industry ever since. he's less certain that lower oil prices won't discourage new drilling. >> well, it's going to impact a lot of the big horizontal drilling that's very expensive to do. we're still trying to find out what is the break-even point, where you can put that kind of money in that drilling and still have a good profit margin. >> at the local restaurant, they are watchful, too. it's not just the drilling of new wells that may dry up. >> it would definitely hurt our bottom line if the oil kept falling and falling and falling and falling, basically to where it dried up the area and it wasn't feasible for them to drill anymore. >> are you worried about that happening? do you see any sign of that at this point? >> no, and i've been looking for it. >> the current fall in oil prices haven't yet put the brakes on america's shale industry. but the lesson from this town

is that booms are short-lived. now comes the test of u.s. oil's long-term resilience. bbc news, ardmore, oklahoma. >> everyone watching those oil prices. you're watching "bbc world news" america. still to come on tonight's program, hillary clinton was the supporter and chief of this election day. what does it mean for her potential presidential bid in 016? the trademark tony abbott says he's determined to meet the russian prime minister putin over the investigation into the shooting down of flight mh-17 over ukraine. bbc has this report. >> tony abbott insists that the victims of flight mh-17, including 38 australians, were murdered by russian-backed rebels using a missile supplied by moscow. the australian prime minister

has previously tried to show up putin in brisbane, a reference to a physical challenge in australian rules football. with the conference just over a week away, mr. abbott has again warned that the russian president will have to face tough questions about the shooting down of the malaysian airliner. >> australia expects full russian cooperation with the investigation. we don't want the investigation ridiculed, we don't want the investigation compromised or sabotaged. we want full cooperation with the investigation. >> most of those onboard flight mh-17 were from the netherlands. the dutch prime minister, mark rueter, has arrived in australia to discuss the tragedy and work on ways to bring those responsible to justice. he, too, is urging vladimir putin to do more. >> i expect him to do everything he can to put pressure on the separatists to

allow unlimited access to the crash site, to work with the ukrainians to do what will be only natural and acceptable. >> the dutch government has confirmed that investigators have retrieved more human remains from the crash site in eastern ukraine. the passenger jet was shot down in july with the loss of 298 lives. russia denies any involvement. but president putin seems certain to face hostile questions of the g-20 summit. bc news, sydney. >> the dust has barely settled on the u.s. midterm elections and, of course, people here are already speculate building the presidential race in 2016. while the republican field is wide open on the democratic side there is one name that dominates, and that is hillary clinton. her party lost big on tuesday night. so what does it mean for her own political future?

kim gattis reports. >> democrats are feeling blue, but they can see the future. hillary clinton. >> i'm really here. >> nice to see you. >> she campaigned hard to help her fellow democrats, but she was always the main attraction. this was on sunday in new hampshire with senator jeanne shaheen. she stayed silent on her presidential ambitions. she kept the focus on the candidates, even as she overshadowed them. >> i'm here today because jeany and maggie have done such a great job and they have earned the right to be re-elected. >> but did she deliver for her party? she threw her weight behind 25 vulnerable candidates, senators, governors and house representatives. half of them lost, a reflex mostly of their own failures -- reflection mostly of their own

failures. but republicans pounced. >> she put herself out as a face for democrats. they tried to differentiate between obama democrats and clinton democrats. doesn't look like it was very successful. >> a republican presidential hopeful himself, mr. paul, took to facebook to attack his potential rival. >> new hampshire senator jeanne shaheen. >> this is the democratic party's best hope for 2016. >> are we ready for hillary? >> for two months on the campaign trail she appeared at 45 events, giving speech after speech, and honing her own message. >> we're talking about the issues, jobs, health care, immigration. this race has clearly reminded everyone of one of the key challenges that she faced in 2008. >> women's rights are on the front tier of freedom wherever in the world.

>> attacks dogged her campaign then and the same tactics are still being used on both sides. >> she is going to want to run as a historic candidate, the first woman president. and i believe that her campaign will make sure to promote this notion that if you are not with hillary clinton, then you are against history, you are against women. you don't want a woman in the white house. >> ms. clinton's tactics for now seem to be to connect with voters in ways she didn't in 2008, until she's ready to announce a decision. bbc news in manchester, new hampshire. >> we're all wait together see what hillary clinton does. before we go, one australian news cameraman got more than he bargained for. on his way to gather footage of

an unfolding has till situation with an armed man, he found himself face-to-face with the criminal and right in the middle of an unbelievable story. tom duncan has more. >> i hope she's all right. >> the news cameraman, you're used to getting close to a tory, but rarely this close. >> peter, working for australia's channel 7 network, was on his way to film an armed siege when he was flagged down by this man claiming to be the shooter and now wanting to turn himself in. remaining calm, peter called the police and explained the situation. >> no, he looks ok but he's pretty emotional. >> he waits, then calls again. >> it's very important, extremely important. i have the person that you're looking for. >> camera in hand, he filmed their conversation for almost

half an hour. that is, until the fugitive has a change of heart. >> don't be a [bleep]ing idiot. >> he jumps into the news car, threatens peter with his gun and takes off. >> don't be silly, don't be silly. >> channel 7 cameraman here. >> when police finally arrived on the scene, peter joins him in pursuit of a man who now adds carjacking to his list of offenses. remarkably, peter's camera is still rolling, tracking the high-speed journey of his vehicle via camera mounted onboard. it records the short journey before this -- the car slamming into a sign, then a gas tank at this petro station. then the final act of this saga. in a dramatic arrest, police swoop on the man, taking him in for a long list of crimes. om duncan, bbc news. >> ok.

that is the oddest story. my big question -- why on earth did it take them half an hour to get there? thanks so much for watching. from all of us here at bbc world news america, please tune in tomorrow. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation, giving all profits from newman's own to charity and pursuing the common good. cofer foundation and union bank. >> at union bank our relationship managers use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of

international commerce. we put our extended global network to work for a wide range of companies. from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: republican leaders outline their agenda for the new congress, from authorizing the keystone x.l. pipeline to revising the affordable care act. good evening, i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. also ahead this thursday, the u.s. expands airstrikes in syria to target rebel groups other than the islamic state. >> woodruff: a decade after a deadly tsunami devastated the coasts of indonesia how one community recovers once their world was washed away. >> ifill: plus, a renowned ballerina lifts up a new generat