not just in raqqa, but other cities as well. combined with eight separate strikes in other parts of the country. >> wide ranging. the korazon part surprised me. the other targets make sense. euphrates valley and the city on the euphrates. these are the targets they need to hit. they hit the command and control and storage facilities. it is good to do it now because isis has already started to disperse assets. they were able to catch them before they moved them. it is important to do that. also, they probably went after where they think these guys are staying. there have been a lot of drone activity in raqqa the past few days. drones are good to find people. if they could find the leader which is sleeping, wouldn't that be nice at 2:00 a.m. >> there has been this intelligence for a period of days and weeks and the missiles which clear the way. you have fighter jets. tell us what the stage is looking like. >> the first thing is the tomahawk landed missiles. they are not manned. if you lose one. it is not that big of a deal. they p

the province is raqqa and the city is raqqa. so that's where isis went first. they made it clear to syria in the very beginning exactly what they were doing. if you were caught stealing, they held public amputations of hands. if you were running from police or isis militants, public amputations of legs there. defacto capital now of this islamic state they believe stretches from here generally speaking over into the north of iraq. all right. in addition raqqa's city hall houses the islamic services commission. raqqa's former police office there of finance ministry contains the sharia court. that's the religious court which hands out religious rulings. traffic police located in the first sharia high school. at any rate all -- this is the capital. and this is what we first started hitting now in the early morning hours on a tuesday there inside syria. we are told there are some weapons caches here, that there are some storage bases for all of its equipment which in large part they got from us, and munition and weapons and all the rest. those were the initial targe

it has been among the locations ahead, raqqa. one activists said there have been 18, airstrikes in total 17 concentrating in the downtown area. the air force and the eastern airports to the west of raqqa have also been hit. the news comes after john kerry warned about the potential long-term impact of the organization. >> isil is not only beheading individuals but tearing at the fabric of all civilizations. it has no respect for life. it has no respect for religion. and it has no respect for culture. >> the u.s. has launched around 190 airstrikes in iraq since august. the decision to strike in syria was taken after authorization from president obama. >> regional correspondents in beirut has more on the airstrikes in syria. >> to make a real assessment but we do know there have been 20 airstrikes concentrated in the town of raqqa. the purpose has been described as to degrade the command and control of the organization. that is why their concentrating on raqqa. it is very much the nerve center of that organization. they have set up

the province is raqqa and the city is raqqa. they made it clear to syria in the very beginning exactly what they were doing. if you were caught stealing, they held publy amputations of hands. if you were running from police or isis militants, public amputations of legs there. defacto capital now of this islamic state they believe stretches from here generally into the north of iraq. all right. in addition raqqa's city hall houses the islamic services commission. raqqa's former police office there contains the sharia court, the religious court which hands out religious rulings. traffic police located in the first sharia high school. at any rate all -- this is the capital. and this is what we first started hitting now in the early morning hours on a tuesday there inside syria. we are told there are some storage bases for all of this equipment which in large part they got from us, ammunition, those were the initial targets. not the leadership, because we can't do that yet. but instead these important military weapons caches and the

that's raqqa specifically you see on your screen there. center of the country. 160 kilometers east of aleppo. once home to 200,000 people. many of them have now fled. important to keep in mind that isis militants took control of raqqa in january of this year. and really turned it into their unofficial home base. since then, activists say isis has run raqqa like a police state. controlling absolutely everything from power and water to schools and banks. isis religious police are said to patrol the street there enforcing strict islamic law. there is a dress code for women. smoking and drinking alcohol are banned there. anyone who violates isis' version of the law is punished severely. activists say public executions have become a daily occurrence in raqqa. so the u.s.-led air strikes focused on that isis stronghold as well as a number of others in the country. now, a 15-year-old girl in an iraqi refugee camp can speak to violence only too well that isis puts on people. isis fighters shot and killed that young girl's brother. and the group ki

brian todd has a look at life inside raqqa. but we do warn you, some viewers might find images in this story disturbing. >> reporter: inside the main isis stronghold one witness relayed what it was like as allied missiles struck. the witness, who requested anonymity, said isis leaders in the city of raqqa vanished from sight. >> translator: they fled out of fear. but previously some of them were living among civilians. and this is something very dangerous. >> reporter: this syrian city is the center of isis's power. according to accounts of people inside raqqa, isis terrorizes them every day. this is what residents routinely see. crucifixions of non-believers. the severed heads of isis enemies displayed on poles. >> are scenes like this and public crucifixions still commonplace in raqqa? >> yes, they are. unfortunately, the number of crucifixions have gone up as well as decapitations for anyone who opposes the islamic state. >> reporter: residents describe an islamic police state where music's been banned, where isis carries ou

the main target, the city of raqqa. we'll look at how much these strikes will have weakened the militant stronghold. >>> syria gives its response. it claims it was warned of the attack by a letter and says it will cooperate with everybody in the fight against islamic state. >>> also on the program, marian joins us to look at what's happening in business, and a big meeting in new york today. >> absolutely. sustaining the environment. that is the main focus, as business leaders, politicians and environmentalists come together for the u.n. summit on climate change in new york. we'll have the latest on what's been discussed. >>> it's midday here in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, and 2:00 p.m. in syria, where for the first time, the u.s. and its regional allies have launched air strikes against islamic state militants. 14 strikes are reported to have destroyed or damaged i.s. training compounds and command facilities in northern and eastern syria. these attacks, all part of president obama's pledge to degrade and destroy i

and finally, the sky is full of drones over raqqa now. joining me live from london is nbc news foreign correspondent ayman mohyeldin. ayman, your reaction to the news tonight of the coalition that has been part of this which is a fairly remarkable diplomatic feat that this was put together if in fact these five countries, braun, uae, qatar, jordan and saudi arabia are operationally involved. >> reporter: absolutely. i think when you're looking at these ongoing strikes, you have to kind of look at it in c co-centric circles. what it means for neighboring countries and the region. you talking about those arab countries involved, you have to think about it both operationally and ideologically. egypt, not necessarily involved militarily but giving diplomatic and political support to the ongoing operations. there's no doubt the u.s. is going to be the lead military force in this. but the question is what the other countries are providing in terms of logistics, intelligence, in some cases, like jordan, perhaps,over-flight capabilities over its

positions in the province of raqqa. the capital raqqa province as well as azor, a province close to the border. we are getting reports from this monitoring group, that these air strikes targeted the al nusra. syria's al qaeda branch. again, this information from the observatory for human rights. no confirmation yet. the

residents describe raqqa as an islamic police state. women who don't wear veils head to toe are sometimes lashed and told by one woman, they are sometimes executed. music is banned in the city even minor things are punished severely. one resident says if they see anyone even holding a pack of cigarettes, that person could get lashed. cigarette and alcohol packages, as you see there is in that video, they are taken from stores, piled on the street, burned on the street. cnn cannot independently verify some of this information, but a u.s. official does tell us tonight, people who run afoul of isis rules sometimes risk summary execution in that city of raqqa. this official also says isis enforcers inside raqqa use threats, violence and informants to intimidate residents. wolf, we are told informants are all over that city. witnesses say teenaged boys are often recruited as informants, even told to inform on their own families. wolf, that whole situation tonight could get worse now that the air strikes are focused on the city of raqqa. >> b

istst has controlled raqqa making it the capital of their self-declared islamic state while raqqa residents are split over how effective the air campaign will be, there's no debate over how life has changed under their rule. brian todd is in washington with more. >> the city of raqqa has been isis's main fortress for several months and now we have new accounts from people inside the city. they tell us how isis has ruled with brute force. a a u.s. official says people who run afoul risk execution. some viewers might find some images in this story disturbing. >> reporter: inside the main isis stronghold, one witness relayed what it was like as missiles struck. the witness who requested anonymity sadistist leaders vanished from site. >> they fled out of fear, but some of them were living among civilians and this is something very dangerous. >> reporter: the syrian city is the center of isis's power. according to accounts of people inside raqqa, isis terrorizes them every day. this it is what residents routinely see. crucifixions of nonbelievers. the severed heads of isis enemies displayed on p

what the united dates bombed raqqa were largely into buildings. they have been moving heavy machinery around, arms around. they're currently attacking in northern syria. so where the strikes happened were not exactly where the main fighting forces are based right now. what is striking to me is that given the u.n. is meeting this week, given president obama is going to actually share the security council, it is apprising the united states has not taken this opportunity to lean much more heavily on close u.s. allies. in fact, nato member turkey -- turkey has said it would not close its order, would not actually come into health find other means to isolate isis because it had hostages that isis was holding, turkish hostages were being held in iraq. this would have been a perfect time to have leaned on turkey to strengthen the border, cut off the ability of isis to draw on the outside world. instead of doing any of this political things, the united states has gone into bomb largely empty buildings in northern syria. fox and the significance, professor

mission and secure raqqa. that's not going to happen. the beauty, though, is because of the area this is, the geographical area, air power can control this for a while. and every time they try to move some of these heavier pieces of equipment and everything we can go in there and smack them. >> what's a while? >> you know, a year. a year. yeah. air power can do some damage. >> but when you were talking about them melting into the civilian population after this, once they know air strikes are coming, then it gets much more complicated. >> but it also limits their capability too. they can't control as much when they melt into the civilian population. it's a dual-edged sword. yes, they are getting the protection, the so-called human shields, using the facilities against us in terms of a precision strike, but at the same time that limits their capability. and as jim just said, their communication capabilities are not the same as a more modern torres. >> can force. >> can i give you an update just so people get an

. >> the most air strikes are focused on raqqa in syria. this is similar to a photo of a damaged tower treated by isis official radio station yesterday. but the group apparently trying to train raqqah's operating normally. the isis flag flying overhead. >> well, it's used raqqah as the defacemasto capital for months. what life is really like inside the city. we have this report. and we have to warn you some viewers may find some of these images in brian's report disturbing. >> one witness relayed what it was like as allied missiles struck. the witness said isis leaders in the city of raqqa vanished from side. >> they fled out of fear. but they were living among civilians. this is very dangerous. >> according to accounts, isis terrorized the people every day. this is what residents routinely see. crucifixions of nondlooefrs, the severed heads of isis enemies displayed on poles. >> is this still common place in raqqa? >> yes, they are. unfortunately, the number of crucifixions have gone up, as well as decapitations. and they're for anyone who

raqqa? syria and mosul in iraq. raqqa is a city of several hundred thousand and mosul has two million. raqqa is going to have civilian casualtie casualties, but the other which is mo cell which is far bigger. second or third largest in iraq i was remembering the earliest days of the military operations in afghanistan in the wake of 9/11. you were dealing with jihadi's armies that were overpowered by any military since. we fought for 13 years and it's unclear whether there was a definitive viktly. >> you have this militant group. let's go back to afghanistan. in 2001, 9/11 happens and we have the taliban and al qaeda entrenched in afghanistan. three months from intense and almost no troops on the ground. there were special forces there, but about 400 in total. one american guy cost roughly $1 billion. after three months, the taliban and al qaeda were moved. al qaeda was on the run. this area was liberated. this was the northern alliance and they took control. things were stable. then the war in iraq happened and they

at least 20 targets have been hit in raqqa. the operation we believe using tomahawk cruise missiles with bombers and fighter jets delivering air strikes. the focus is on raqqa, but other targets are being hit, as well. reuters sites the syrian observatory for human rights, reporting that tens of isis fighters have been killed of wounded. and a report that the u.s. did tell syria, they told the syrian u.n. representative about the operation in advance. that coming from syria and not from washington. for more details from washington, i spoke a little earlier with cnn's chief u.s. security correspondent jim sciutto. this is what he had to say. >> u.s. military officials tonight, saying the start of this strike meant to be a decisive blow going at key targets ofets of isis, targets category of command and control, resupply and training, hard targets, training facilities, maces were weapons were stored. where fighters and commanders might have been holed up at night. this starting at nighttime and is continuing until daybreak when w

military officials say the targets hit were in the isis strong hold of raqqa. also three other syrian cities. mostly buildings and hard targets. the aim to degrade isis command and control. the resupply also the training. separately, this is fascinating, and i think unexpected, the u.s. launched strikes without coalition with a network of al qaeda veterans. the united states said they were in syria planning attacks against the united states and targets connected to the west. they said the action was to disrupt the eminent attack plotting against the united states and other western interests. u.s. says it conducted eight strikes against the targets west of aleppo on the other side of the country in syria. attacks on training camps and bomb factory and other facilities. the scope of the air strikes in total represents a significant escalation in the battle in the region. specifically the battle against isis. that has been confined to targets in iraq. >> the attacks started with sea launch tomahawk missiles and fighter jets and drones. the u.s. is not alone in the

for the residents of raqqa, a lot of mixed emotions. on the one hand, happy that someone is finally coming to rescue them from this terrorist organization under whose rule they've been living for so long, but fear of what the civilian toll might potentially be, jake. >> that is horrific for the people who live there, the idea that these terrorists would be embedding within them. which is one of the reasons why the pentagon says this campaign might go on for years, but speaking of civil yarngs arwa, is there anything you can tell me about any possible civilian casualties caused by these coalition strikes? >> reporter: we have been hearing of civilian casualties, jake, from a number of different opposition activists, as well as opposition groups like the local coordination committees, the syrian observatory for human rights saying in the air strikes that took place in aleppo and the provinces which were not against isis, but rather other islamist groups that the u.s. designates a terrorist organization and the opposition does not view as

positions in the province of raqqa. the capital raqqa province as well as azor, a province close to the border. we are getting reports from this monitoring group, that these air strikes targeted the al nusra. syria's al qaeda branch. again, this information from the observatory for human rights. no confirmation yet. the observatory group told us. a number of i.s.i.l. fighters have been killed. this is the beginning, this is not an easy fight. they target headquarters, as far as we know, i.s.i.l. fighters have now moved and are within the local population. they control cities and towns. this will be a difficult fight, you'll need ground forces. who does the united states have as an ally on the ground. the other force is al nusra, and they are considered al qaeda's branch in syria. >> this is a difficult fight. >> stay with me, i want to give a little more information to the viewers, the pentagon saying u.s. fighter jets hitting on monday. raqqa is where they hit. a strong hold. it was the have of their operations. i shou

it's important that symbolically, raqqa has been struck. i think it's going to be not so clear in the coming days whether or not it's going to degrade isis just with at least one day of strikes as we've seen tonight, rachel? >> what do we know about the level of involvement from these other arab nations? the saudis, bahrain, jordan, qatar? do we know how much they are involved and is that the sort of thing we will hear from them officially or will this always be covert from their perspective? >> both. i've spoken to some arab leaders this evening. some arab diplomats. and they have spoken to me privately saying that some will make comments following president obama's speech. they want president obama to come out first and set the tone for this international engagement if you will. they'll come out and speak about it. they may not necessarily address the operational involvement but they'll certainly lend their diplomatic support to the united states and to the operation. there's no doubt arab countries in the region are going to spin this in

and the stronghold of raqqa was among the targets. pentagon officials say they aim to disrupt an imminent attack against western interests. >>> now, the israeli military has said it has shot down a syrian aircraft which it said flew into israeli-controlled air space. a statement said the plane was brought down by a patriot air defense missile. syria confirmed that one of its fighter jets had been brought down, calling it an act of aggression by israel. our jerusalem correspondent kevin connolly says few details are known yet. >> we know that a syrian aircraft was shot down. there's some dispute about whether it was approaching israeli controlled air space when it was destroyed by that patriot surface to air missile. it's not immediately clear which side of the border the wreckage has fallen either. i think one of the most important things to establish here is that it's very likely that we should see this incident in the context of fighting in the syrian civil war, which is now right beside israeli controlled territory, and the syrian

raqqa, as we have been reporting, is isis's stronghold inside syria. it is an area that has been under their control for a significant amount of time where they have had a lot of their training centers, a lot of their weapons depots, a lot of their fighters collecting inside the city itself. it has been under isis's control for over a year now, where isis has been able to operate with pretty much full impunity. very rarely coming under attack from the syrian air force and now we have it being the focus of these most recent air strikes. it would seem the fighters that are part of isis's campaign, they are well spread out within the civilian population. let's remember that this is an area that does still have a significant number of civilians that are being forced to live in it under isis's control. we do also know that isis in anticipation of these types of air strikes, and this is from some iraqi analysts that have been following their activities as well as various activists, moved a lot of the weapons that they've managed to get their hands on followi

as you look at that slide, it is the target area around aleppo andh raqqa. the majority of the tomahawk strikes were against khorasan compounds, their manufacturing workshops and training camps. the second wave consisted of f-22 raptors in their first combat role, f-15 strike eagles, f-16s b-1 bombers and drones. they launched around 9:00 p.m. eastern standard time against targets in northern syria. targets included isil headquarters, training camps, barracks and combat vehicles. the final wave occurred shortly after midnight eastern standard time, f-18s from the uss "george w. bush" in the northern arabian gulf and regionally base u.s. f-16s among others attacked targets in eastern syria to include isil training camps and combat vehicles, principally in that circumstance toll the far east around darzar. coalition partners participated in both the second and thursday waves, supporting with a range of combat capabilities that began with combat air patrols to actual strikes on targets. the preponderance of coalition support was in the third wave. 96% of all th

. >> start us at raqqa. >> raqqa is right in the center. and that's, that's the capital of the islamic state. what they claim to be the islamic state. >> that's their stronghold, that's where they feel nobody will touch them. that's where it's even more important to hit first. >> that's where we saw the brutality, the heads on spikes, that's their capital for right now. as you go down the euphrates river, you go to another strong point of theirs. a big oil area. >> that's important, because the money for isis is particular importance. >> you have to stop them selling on the black market. >> we still don't know who's buying the oil. >> that's the gateway into sy a syria, the border at abu canal. this is an interesting target in the northeast part this is hasequi, this is where isis is putting pressure on the kurds, this is an effort to release pressure on the kurds in the northeast. >> spider, how effective do you feel the attacks have been? we have drones, and there's no real ground presence coordinated with the attacks. how do you know whe

>> because raqqa is in eastern syria, it wasn't a priority for syria. they were concentrating on western syria and isis stepped into the void. now with air strikes targeting raqqa, he says if the city fall, believes the regime is ready to sweep in. >> let's show you the scene on the turkish side of the border as massive crowds of syrian kurds stream through, tens of thousands of them. many telling how isis militants took over their homes. >> we left everything behind and ran away. >>. >> translator: they slaughtered our children and confiscated our goods and belongs. >> the united nations says isis has overrun more than 100 villages in the last ten days. refugees abandoning another 100 villages for fear of being captured. you're watching special coverage as international forces pound isis in syria. the u.s. targets another militant group planning, they say, to attack the west. details on that next. anncvideoconferences it's youof the day.rtant hi! hi, buddy! anncr: that's why the wifi and free hot breakfast are something to smile about. and good reasons

is happening around me, let's go with information we have from the activist that cnn spoke to inside raqqa city. he welcomed the air strikes. he would dance in the streets, but he was too afraid. isis had by and large evacuated a lot of the buildings the u.s. targeted. they had begun to take over people's homes and embed themselves within the community. he went to the market and saw strikes. the turks opened up in the last few days because of the advances by isis into the northern part of syria.

all the not good for isis in raqqa. this bombing might generate some sort of anti-isis feelings. >> jim, what are you learning? >> just want to add something, anderson. in recent days i've been told by more than one military official that they believe that isis has been moving around increasing its concealment, hiding weapons, concentrating its positions as well inside urban areas. this is something that the u.s. military and other intelligence agencies were observing in recent days. of course, that can be a concern because it makes these key targets harder to hit, but i was told in the run-up to the beginning of the air campaign this evening that u.s. intelligence agencies, the department of defense remain confident that they knew the major targets they wanted to hit and that they could hit those targets with precision. that's what we're seeing now. about two dozen targets tonight described as major targets this evening. i mentioned a few minutes ago that tonight intended to be the most intense night of this air campai

air strikes on raqqa, activists told cnn many isis leaders had fled the city. many civilians, including women and children were also moving out. others were keeping a low profile. many are in fear civilians will be caught in these intense air strikes. some isis fight es we were told had moved into civilian areas effectively making the local population human shields in what is expected to be a long fight for survival. >> unbelievable she risked her life to bring us that story inside raqqa. >> you don't see that every day. >> still to come on cnn. the chief of police in ferguson, missouri, apologizes for all the recent trouble in his city, but tells cnn why he has absolutely no intention of resigning. >>> eric holder is resigning. he's been a focus of controversy over same-sex marriage, spy on the media, and a gun running sting gone wrong at the u.s.-mexican border. mr. obama lavished phrase on the first african-american attorney general. noting that holder's justice department had prosecuted hundreds of terror cases. >> obama paid hemade headlines y when he visi

some one in a place like raqqa or the taliban's afghanistan. usually the family is at a great disadvantage. one famous cell phone video taken. of a young man of tunisian origin, had gone to fight in syria. as he was flying through turkey his family tracked him down in the airport. and his family surrounded him. his sister, mother. they were crying. they hugged him and dissuaded him from fighting as a foreign fighter. a family intervention. in person. and really personalized humanized situation. for the phone call in raqqa, much, much harder for the family to get through. >> frankly, most families dent hatch the resources or know-how to go to a foreign country off to intercept their loved one. that take is a lot of effort. most people would be afraid to do that. am i wrong, mia. >> no, i think you are right. but we actually have looked at violent extremism. the role of mothers is crucial. really the mother whose can, either engage and deradicalization or prevention or insulate the kids from radical ideologies and we really don't understand the b

undercover video from the capital of isis, raqqa, syria. look at life not long before the air strikes. a young mother, a well on her shoulder, walking with her toddler. a fighter holding what looks like an ipod. a woman logging onto facebook before missiles rain down. abc's chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz phoning in this report from the gulf moments ago. >> reporter: we're in the middle of the persian gulf. u.s. ships and war planes are raging a 24/7 war against isis. droming almost as many bombs in just three dames as the entire first month of attacks on isis in iraq. there are over 60 aircraft on this carrier. most of them are strike fighters, but there are also reconnaissance plans and helicopters, as well. the strikes targeting those critical isis controlled oil supplies. mobil oil refineries once generating millions a day, but after a waive of airstrikes, now destroyed. >> i was on a tanker mission, so, a support mission. >> reporter: the commander of this carrier strike group telling us today, the goal is to stop the

hqs in raqqa. in addition to firepower the united states is also using brain power to fight isis including this eccentric hacker who wants tapped into nasa's computers when he was 13 years old. coming up in 10 minutes you'll meet the real life prodigy who inspired the new cbs show scorpion. >>> tonight we've learned thieves have hit at least three bay area car dealerships driving off with lots of expensive cars. so how did they do it? check out the video joe vazquez got ahold of tonight. era clearly captured the faces of the s men who stole 5 of his carst 3:30 am friday. mi he thieves went st >> i hope they catch them and put these guys away. >> reporter: the owner of formula one motors in san jose says his surveillance camera clearly captured the faces of the season men who stole five new cars off his lot at 3:30 a.m. friday. the thieves went straight for the key cabinet, stole the keys, then stole the cars. >> they use the fob to see which car is flashing and as soon as they found out which cars

hqs in raqqa. in addition to firepower the united states is also using brain power to fight isis including this eccentric hacker who wants tapped into nasa's computers when he was 13 years old. coming up in 10 minutes you'll meet the real life prodigy who inspired the new cbs show scorpion. >>> tonight we've learned thieves have hit at least three bay area car dealerships driving off with lots of expensive cars. so how did they do it? check out the video joe vazquez got ahold of tonight. a clearly captured the faces of the s men who stole 5 of his carst 3:30 am friday. mi thieves went stra >> i hope they catch them and put these guys away. >> reporter: the owner of formula one motors in san jose says his surveillance camera clearly captured the faces of the season men who stole five new cars off his lot at 3:30 a.m. friday. the thieves went straight for the key cabinet, stole the keys, then stole the cars. >> they use the fob to see which car is flashing and as soon as they found out which cars the

the raqqa province is the group's de facto province. isil took the oil rich area of deir az zor while sweeping through iraq. it was able to get the isil supply palestine into iraq an and anbar province. weakening isil serves the u.s. strategy but the modern opposition said that isil's defeat could pave the way for bashar al-assad to reassert it's authority. >> thank you. syria's position on the airstrikes remains unclear. earlier iran claimed the strikes were illegal. but syrian government officials have not gone that far just yet. james bays has more. >> reporter: the diplomatic spotlight is now here on the united nations world leaders here president obama now here in new york. the issue of isil on the agenda, although today they're supposed to be taking about climate change. looking particularly at the reaction at the syrian government to those airstrikes on the syrian soil. certainly from damascus they issued statements that there had been a letter received from john kerry. the u.s. said they never sent any letter. i spoke to the syr

he's an isis fighter in raqqa. he won't speak directly to a woman. since the coalition air strikes in syria, he says, isis banned all communications from raqqa. with permission, he had traveled closer to the border with iraq to be able to access the internet for this interview. >> translator: we've been ready for this for some time. we know our bases are known because they're tracking us with radars and satellites. we had backup locations. they thought they knew everything. thank god they don't know anything. god willing, we will defeat them. >> he says he was with the fighters that overran mosul and they knew how easy it would be to push out weapons and seize weapons, much of it american made. >> translator: this thing was all planned and prepared. there was nothing by chance. it was all organized. >> the coalition strikes on the oil insulations and other targets. >> translator: we, the islamic state, we have revenue other than oil. we have of avenues and our finances are not going to stop just because of oil loss. they hit us in some areas, and we

another major target, the isis stronghold of raqqa, in syria. we're seeing for the first time inside the city, this secretly video by a woman before the air strikes. showing the brutality within. heavily armed men and women everywhere. here, extremists burning what they call western vices. cigarettes and alcohol. and a harrowing moment when the woman is called over to militants who think her face, too exposed. but life in raqqa has not been the same since the air campaign began. indeed, after the sun went down here in the persian gulf, flight operations seemed to intensify, as we watched and waited for what comes next. martha raddatz, abc news, aboard the aircraft carrier "george h.w. bush" in the persian gulf. >> our thanks tonight to martha and her team. >>> and back here at home, and to startling new video this evening. watch this. what started out as a routine traffic stop, a driver pulled over for allegedly not wearing a seat belt. the officer then opening fire soon after. the driver does survive this, and you're about to see and hear it al

he was talking about how the mood in raqqa was conflicted. people on the one hand happy that the world was finally paying attention and doing something about the nightmarish conditions they' been living under while isis occupied that city. on the other hand, great fears because isis fighters had entrefre entrenched themselves even further amongst the civilian population. in other parts of the country, a sense of apprehension, the uncertainty and fears of what the days ahead could potentially hold. because the u.s. has not just been targeting isis facilities in its air strikes. it has also been going after other islamic units which the americans do deem to be a terrorist organization but many inside syria view it as being an entity that has fought against the regime and fought against isis. people concerned because they don't know where the americans and its allies are going to strike and whether or not there's going to be even more collateral damage. now they're living under conditions where they not only have to be fearful of regime attacks,

twitter, lit up with reports of huge explosions around raqqa. the other arab nations taking part, all largely sunni, including jordan, saudi arabia, bahrain, qatar, and the united arab emirates. the kind of coalition the u.s. has been trying to build to go after i.s.i.s. a big step as the u.s. expands the fight against i.s.i.s. into syria, where the president was loathed to go for so long. but he gave the go ahead for these strikes. and throughout this evening, he has been briefed on the progress. tomorrow, he heads to new york and e u.n. we do expect to hear from him then. these air strikes will be ongoing. the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff says the fight against i.s.i.s. in syria will be persistent and sustainable, which means this will likely continue for months on end. juju? >> martha, thanks, as always. >>> and joining me now, abc news chief investigative correspondent, brian ross, who has been tracking the growing terror threat. now, that u.s. air strikes are under way, what might this mean for i.s.i.s.? >> this is a ruthless group

twitter, lit up with reports of huge explosions around raqqa. the other arab nations taking part, all largely sunni, including jordan, saudi arabia, bahrain, qatar, and the united arab emirates. the kind of coalition the u.s. has been trying to build to go after i.s.i.s. a big step as the u.s. expands the fight against i.s.i.s. into syria, where the president was loathed to go for so long. but he gave the go ahead for these strikes. and throughout this evening, he has been briefed on the progress. tomorrow, he heads to new york and the u.n. we do expect to hear from him then. these air strikes will be ongoing. the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff says the fight against i.s.i.s. in syria will be persistent and sustainable, which means this will likely continue for months on end. juju? >> martha, thanks, as always. >>> and joining me now, abc news chief investigative correspondent, brian ross, who has been tracking the growing terror threat. now, that u.s. air strikes are under way, what might this mean for i.s.i.s.? >> this is a ruthless gro

he spoke to us from raqqa. he had to get permission to conduct the interview. because isis cut communications in raqqa, he traveled to the border with iraq to access skype and speak to us. he would not speak directly with me because i'm a woman. he spoke with a male colleague. he spoke about the isis abili abilities. >> translator: we the islamic state, we have revenue other than oil. we have other avenues and our finances are not going to stop just because of oil losses. they hit us in some areas and we advance in areas. if we are pushed back in iraq, we advance in northern syria. these strikes cannot stop us, our support or our fighters. >> reporter: he also told us they knew that the u.s., other intelligence agencies and nations were tracking their movements by satellite and the bases were known and that is why well in advance of the u.s. strikes, they moved the fighters out and the military equipment, especially the hardware, that they managed to get their hands on in northern iraq was well hidden. some in civilian neighborhoods and some dug in a fairly ela

however, he also said that within the city of raqqa itself. isis movements, entrenching themselves amongst the population. a concern among the population. conflicting, and happy the strikes were taking place. finally the world was paying attention and doing something about the horrific nightmare that hey had been living for so long. and on the other hand, a sense of apprehension and fear that perhaps they could end up killed by some of these air strikes or even by isis and some sort of revenge attack. because the organization has also continuously going around and detaining individuals at random. that being said though, there have been a fair amount of concerns voiced from other opposition activists. the ongoing air strikes by the u.s. strikes that were against nonisis groups. such as the front. and other islamic groups as well. might cause even more civilian casualties. we have been seeing some of that. some of those caused by the initial round of air strikes. so a lot of fear. a lot of concern. again. as it has been for so long for the syria

. >> reporter: an isis stronghold in syria raqqa has been the scene of parades and celebrations of the terror group's conquests in the middle east. overnight, raqqa became the target of an intense military operation which started with a launch of tomahawk cruise missiles. >> these are big, expensive and typically only fired at fairly heavy static targets. so apparently, isis had some air defenses that the u.s. war planners were worried about. >> reporter: it was over raqqa that isis claimed to have taken down syrian warplane. with isis controlling syria and iraq, nearly half dozen arab countries teamed up with the united states for the strikes. >> that is something that the u.s. administration, the obama administration, was intent on building here making this not yet another relatively lone american intervention in the middle east but one that was joined by local partners and you have those local partners. >> reporter: jordan, bahrain, saudi arabia, can tack and the united an ra emirates at least three not only supporting the effort but taking part in the bombings and the air strikes.

. >> colonel, tom foreman was showing on the map, there are refinery capabilities in raqqa, where there is a concern that the areas that were hit are in far less populated areas? >> right, i think that is exactly what is going on, because these areas are way out in the desert and there was very little chance of collateral damage. i think that is important right now during the initial stages. going back to what tom had, he had really good points on that map there. when he showed there was almost no change between the bombing has started and now, i think that is a key point. the air has been able to blunt the isis offensive. remember, they were rolling down the valley, it looked like they were unable to stop it. i think the air has blunted it. but they have not been able to take anymore ground whatsoever. i think it is critical we keep up pressure on both sides of the border, not just in syria. so i think we need bombing throughout that range. >> but colonel, the amount of time for the iraqis to actually build up, i mean, they have had ten years to build up their military with a lot of u.

activist groups in the city of raqqa report air strikes late into the night. it's not clear who exactly is conducting the air strikes. >> two fighter jets hit isis targets about 30 mile west of baghdad. they struck four warehouses believed to be storing military equipment. >> max foster is in the united arab emirates with details on the latest strikes. he joins us now from abu dhabi. they're not trying to destroy these refineries. they're more trying to degrade them. >> they're trying to damage them so they can't be used in the short term, but ultimately not destroy these oil refineries because once isis loses control of them, they go back to the iraqis, for example, or to future syrian authority, then they are still usable. they just want to stop isis frommic maing money from them effectively. the americans think isis is making $1 million a day from the black market in oil. and the big question, we had these pictures from the pentagon which showed the sort of damage that's been done by the latest wave of air strikes. and they seem to have been successful to a

. >> we're interviewing an isis fighter by skype in raqqa. he won't speak directly to a woman. >>> the search for missing hikers on japan's mount ontake is suspected and the death toll has risen. will ripley is live with us from mount ontake with the very latest. and this is very disappointing news of course for family to hear that it's been suspended, but it just has to, given the conditions there, doesn't it? >> yeah, absolutely, rosemary. the conditions on the ground here continue to worsen as far as the air quality is concerned. we're seeing more and more people wearing these masks. we've started wearing them in between live shots. i have it off now so my voice doesn't muffle as i speak to you. and we have the helmets on stand by next to us in case some of this ash falling down, if the wind shifts or if there was an eruption shooting embers into this area, you need to have your head protected. long sleeves and pants as well. the conditions for rescuers at the summit, much more dangerous. which is why they have suspended the search for the

>>targets included isis command posts in its unofficial capital, raqqa. the destruction evident in these pictures. >>we are unaware of any civilian casualties >> reporter:the u-s also hit an al qaeda affiliate called "the khorosan group" near the syrian city of aleppo. >> reporter:according to the u-s, the group was in the final stages of planning major attacks on u-s or western interests. >>"the khorasan group is working on bringing down us airliners on attack in the us homeland. >> reporter:dozens of al qaeda fighters from afghanistan have reportedly come to syria to exploit the flood of western jihadists who have joined the fight. >> reporter:those western fighters, with their valuable passports have a better chance of escaping scrutiny at airports and could place bombs on planes. >>we believe that the khorasan group was nearing the execution phase of an attack either in europe or the homeland. we know that the khorasan group has attempted to recruit westerners to serve as operatives or to infiltrate back into their homelands. >> jacqueline: 86 degrees

headquartered in raqqa in this area in syria where the u.s. is launching strikes tonight? are they the kind of group you could cut the head off at headquarters and it would make an important difference across the region? >> well, the short answer to that is, as you mentioned, the air strikes in iraq have not yet dislodged isis completely. there's no doubt that there have been over the course of the last several months a solidification if you will, of isis' positions inside raqqah that has been operational head quarter. certainly an area they've firmly in their control and have been able to use to coordinate attacks, to store weapons, to build up their ammunition supplies and deploy them. and in some cases even train fighters. it's also believed to be an ideological center point for the group to draw recruits and then spread those out across the regions they are trying to fight. i think it's important that symbolically raqqah has been struck. i think it's going to be not so clear in the coming days whether or not it's going to degrade isis just

they declared the town of raqqa as their temporary capital for now in eastern syria. they share this long bored with iraq to th --they share this loh iraq to the east. the air strikes in aleppo were going after core southern. the hard fighters the government tells us were planning attacks on the united states. we mention this nasty brew. and there are a lot of bad options, frankly. the question is when know what option do you take to make the least worst of those bad options. the second question is what happens tonight? does this continue or does it not? martha: as we have seen with al qaeda before, hitting the areas they hit west of aleppo may or may not disable this group. so obviously our intelligence folks at home have a lot on their plate as well. the pentagon releasing stunning video of these airstrikes that happened overnight inside syria. these pictures look like the trailer from a movie but they are very real and they are what happened off the coast of syria overnight launched from u.s. ships. reminiscent from the first gulf war that was watched playing out l

it will be interesting to see how those attacks in raqqa will affect the war here in iraq. >> that's right. we have information that at least 20 different targets have been hit in raqqa as this air campaign gets under way, aided by as you say there, a number of arab allies and neighbor there is in the region. anna coren live for us this morning in northern iraq as we track this still breaking and developing story. we'll see you soon. we should also note that u.s. officials say that this air strike is happening now inside syria. its intent is to deliver a decisive blow against isis. but these attacks will have repercussions. >> a short time ago, cnn analyst peter binehart weighed in. >> i don't think it was expected there would be this much arab support. so i think it puts the obama administration in a strong position. on the ground militarily, i think it's a different question, because we don't have the syrian moderate free syrian rebels trained, that we've just begun to train, in a position to take this territory that we are pulverizing from the air. so i think that making it more l