but the menace of al-shabaab remains. farai sevenzo, nairobi. >> we do want to turn to the top story, mourning in iran amid a funeral procession for a top military leader qassem soleimani. >> we want to show you the images out of teheran, live images. we're hearing calls for revenge, calls on the streets for death to america. many capitals around the world are calling for de-escalation. they're hoping cooler heads will prevail here. in a joint statement, emmanuel macron, german chancellor angela merkel and british prime minister boris johnson warned another crisis in iraq could destabilize the country. >> the statement reads in part, we call on all parties to exercise utmost restraint and responsibility. the current cycle of violence in iraq must be stopped. >> let's again bring in our correspondents around the world following these developments. our international diplomatic editor nic robertson in riyadh, and sam kiley in abu dhabi. nick, first to you. the calls we're hearing from european leaders urging restraint, the q

al-shabaab has been ramping up their attacks. remember last week they attacked a suicide truck bomb which killed over 85 somalis in the capital mogadishu. the response of the united states africa command and the somali partners was to strike at several bases for al-shabaab. indeed al-shabaab despite these attacks, drone attacks are a menace in this place. it's regional, not just kenya. in kenya as well. just last year, january 15th, 2019, they hit a hotel here in kenya's capital nairobi, killing 21 people. everyone is baffled at the moment about how this attack could have happened. and, of course, we do not yet know if there were any kenyan defense force casualties. but the menace of al-shabaab remains. farai sevenzo, nairobi. >> farai, thank you. we are following the situation in australia. officials there trying to make the most of a small window of opportunity. cnn is live there as mass evacuations are underway. bush fires raging on. remember, you have the hilton app. can the hilton app help us win? hey, hey-we're all winners

al shabaab is pretty good at doing that. there's a lot of attacks they perpetrated not only in somalia, but kenya. they're a very dangerous group and continue to be very dangerous as we speak. >> thanks to all of you. appreciate it. >> you bet. >>> tensions are intensifying in the middle east three days after a u.s. drone strike killed top commander soleimani. iran announced it will continue uranium enrichment with no limitations. even the tolerance of iraq of the u.s. seems to be ending. complaining to the united nations, calling on the u.n. security council to condemn the bombings that killed soleimani and others. his body returned to the home country today. thousands of mourners filleded the streets. lawmakers were seen chanting "death to america" during a session in tehran. iranian official tells cnn that they are planning a support to the u.s. against military sites. this, as president trump is warning against any retaliation. in a series of tweet the president said the u.s. is prepared to target 52 sites, some of which

terror group known as al shabaab. last sunday they killed 80 people in mogadishu in a truck bol. it's their mode of operation. nearly a year to the date on january 15th, they attacked a hotel here, killing 21 people. of course, their audaciousness and brazenness of this attack is raising a lot of questions this evening in this east africa region, how this terror group could manage to enter such a heavily fortified place and carry out attacks, we understand as well six civilian contractor plair planes were badly injured. earlier, the u.s. africa command said both fixed wing and rotary aircraft were also injured. many questions tonight, wolf, about how this could have taken place. of course, it endangers troops in the street. >> the u.s. has plenty of troops throughout africa. farai serenzo, thank you. >>> the impeachment trial appears to be going nowhere fast. will anyone budge on their positions? republican john kasich is standing by live to share his thoughts. everybody knows that. well, did you know pinocchio was a

we should point out affiliate of al shabaab is planning retaliation. first our reporters and correspondents spread out over the globe. >> let's start with cnn's frederick pleitgen in tehran. you got this exclusive response to what iranians say will be their response to the attack that killed soleimani. tell us about it. >> reporter: yeah, victor. we've heard a lot from pretty much all levels of iranian public life, politics and the iranian leadership. there would be revenge, response and a retaliation for the assassination of qasem soleimani. we managed to get an interview that he's set up to the center of power. there would be a response from the iranian side. he also said that iran wants it to end there. they don't want a wider warp with the united states. >> translator: the response for sure will be military and against military sights. let me tell you one thing, our leadership has officially announced that we've never been seeking war and we will not be seeking war. it was america that has started the war, therefore, they should accept appropriate

. >> the al qaeda affiliate al-shabaab has taken responsibility for the attack at a kenyan military base used by special operations forces. >> one u.s. service member and two military contractors were killed in this. general steven townsend is issuing a statement on behalf of the u.s. africa command saying, quote, as we honor their sacrifice, let's also harden our resolve alongside our african and international partners. we will pursue those responsible for this attack and al-shabaab who seeks to harm americans and u.s. interests. we remain committed to preventing al-shabaab from maintaining a safe haven to plan deadly attacks against the u.s. east african and international partners. >> kenya says at least five of the attackers were killed, but not before they destroyed several planes and helicopters and other military equipment. our farai is in nairobi for us. >> reporter: this army base is very significant. it's where u.s. troops, including the u.s. command have been conducting joint operations with african troops like the kenyan defense forces to try and weed out al-shabaab. now, it i

but i just have to catch you up that, you know, six days into 2020 the al-qaeda affiliated al shabaab group have already carried out an attack, over 85 killed. on the 2nd of january another attack where we're talking about this military base being attacked, killing four civilians. and of course yesterday morning this sudden unexpected attack on a heavily fortified base that houses a u.s. special operations who train with their african partners to try to get rid of this scourge of al shabaab. at the moment the country is very tense. there are all kinds of rumors about possible hotels being attacked and much bigger presence of forces on the ground. and of course the kenya defense force themselves say they killed five terrorists or discovered five bodies at the scene of that military base attack. and then again we know that several planes were wrecked by the terrorists including around about six civilian operated aircraft. the story is still unfolding. we still need to find out, laura, how this actually happened. >> still unfolding but a seriously fortified base. this is a reminder of th

and an attack by al qaeda affiliate al shabaab resulted in the death of the contractor and wounded two other american personnel. on behalf of the entire department our thoughts are with the family and friends of our army specialist henry mayfield jr. he was there in support of octave shield working to protect american interests in the region and working alongside our kenyan partners. we honor him and his colleagues who lost their lives and assure you that the perpetrators of this attack will be brought to justice. the united states conducted over 60 air strikes against al shabaab's safe havens and we're providing counterterrorism support to help kenya in the fight. moving to iran. at this time, our top priorities remain first the safety and security of american personnel and our partners. and second, our readiness to respond to iranian aggression. since the strike i have spoken with the commanders on the ground and ensure they have the resources they need to protect their people and prepare for any contingencies. as a result, we have increased our force protection postures across the r

, terror from isis, terror from al shabaab. no one believes that. the president doesn't. look at the list, look at the achievements. we took way the caliphate in its entirety. we took down al baghdadi, we took down castqassem soleimani. we're very proud of what we accomplished. we're going to stay the course. >> why don't we take one more over there. yes, thank you. no, no. next to you. right there, yes. >> the trade deal, the chinese side will be here next wednesday to sign phase one part of the deal. china is a big importer of iranian oil and minerals and that's a big part of their economy as well. how do you balance -- are you concerned about the iran issue coming up in either the signing of the phase one deal or the negotiation for the phase two deal? >> let me just comment, i had no idea you would ask that question, that's a good last question to end on. so let me first say that we are looking forward to the chinese delegation coming next week. phase one is very significant. it includes very significant components of chang