a former chechen policeman. iraqi fighters are advancing on isis militants in strategic town nears tikrit right now. the joint forces say they re dealing with ieds on roads and a bridge that crosses into the city. the iraqi army and other fighters have been battling for a week to retake tikrit from isis. and the unit at australia s sydney airport stopped two teenaged brothers suspected of trying to go and fight with isis. the boys parents didn t know they were even traveling. they ve been returned to their family while authorities investigate. now this story is really picking up on social media right now. a college fraternity in the u.s. state of oklahoma has now been shut down because some of its members are accused of singing a racist chant. and this chant was actually caught on video. and now that cigna alpha epsilon chapter at the university of oklahoma is paying the price. here is our george howell. reporter: the audio on this clip is disturbing. a group of young men an
about a kilometer away from palaces. isis has been putting up tough fight there militants have planted ieds on roads and a bridge that cross into that city. isis of course is a common enemy for groups that once fought each other. for example, iraq s sunni and shia militias. iran is also playing a big role in the fight against isis in iraq. and as becky anderson reports, that s a big cause for concern in the region. reporter: the operation to retake tikrit is the biggest undertaken by the iraqi government thus far. a fighting force in excess of 25,000 comprising iraqi troops and importantly an assortment of both sunni and shia militia, hoping to wrestle back the strategic city from isis. and playing a prominent role, this man. kasem sulimani head of iran s elite quds force.
begins on march 15th. iraqi and other forces on the out skirts of tikrit advancing in the battle to retake the city. isis planted ieds on roads and bridges leading to the city. among the troops for the battle forty tikrit. senior correspondent frederik pleitgen has the latest. reporter: as the iraqi military moves forward and the heart of tikrit but makes advances in other place, it is the iranians who are the ones doing the heavy lifting and the ones making the main differences on the ground. now, they have never acknowledged they have combat forces in iraq however, they say they have some very high profile trainers and certainly people from the revolution area
newsroom. we want to get you new information out of iraq where after a week of battling for tikrit joint forces appear to be nearing their goal. they are trying to take the key city from isis. they were just a kilometer away from presidential palaces on the outskirts of tikrit. militants have planted ieds on roads and a bridge that cross into that city. security agents stopped two teenage brothers at sydney airport apparently on their way to fight in the middle east. tim lester of 7 news australia has more. reporter: counterterrorism officers watch passengers passing through sydney airport. here on friday customs called in the counterterror unit when these two southwest sydney teenagers arrived with return tickets to the middle east.
the obama administration. omar codder sobbing during his interview. codder was 15 when he was picked up on the battlefield in afghanistan. there s evidence he was nuking bombs, there was evidence he was playing bombs as ieds on roads. he is the person that through a grep nad to kill an american soldier. codder s attorney strongly disagrees. the evidence in this case is clear, clear that omar codder did not throw the grep nad to kill christopher spear. reporter: he says his client