drive away. iraqi security officials say isis has seized control near the habbaniyah air force base where they re amassing and launched a counterattack to try to hold isis back. and prosecutors are saying daron wint did not act alone when killing a prominent washington family. they had point to the elaborate nature of the crime holding sarvvvas savopoulos, and his family. a florida pediatric dentist, facing abuse against his own kids as he s closed his practice now and given up his medical license. that s right. and just days before howard snyder closed his doors he spoke to our victor blackwell who is in jacksonville, hearing the terrifying stories of his
international correspondent arwa damon. how much concern is there where you are in the iraqi capital about the most recent isis gains? and do people where you are believe isis could actually make it into baghdad? that fear for them is very real wolf. people don t necessarily believe that isis is going to take over the capital the way it took over mosul. but as it does continue to get closer and as we do continue to see the iraqi security forces and the other fighting forces incapable of pushing isis back. the fear that the terrorist organization is going to begin wrecking havoc on the capital is one that many here are very concerned about. understandably so. as well especially given that the iraqi government seems to be lacking according to some senior officials that we ve been speaking to here. a sense of urgency when it comes to trying 0 to take on isis.
the presence of iraqi security forces there to try to hold onto what little ground they have in al anbar province while they wait for more reinforcements while they wait for these iranian-backed shia paramilitary units, popular mobilization units to appear in significant numbers. while they also wait for the iraqi government to start an effort to arm the sunni tribes. until that happens they will not be able to even begin to push isis back. and the provincial governor was also saying the deputy provincial governor was also saying that at this stage the government the central government is taking the situation there seriously because if what little is left of anbar falls to isis the terrorist organization would be right at baghdad s doorstep. and no one can afford to see that happen. absolutely arwa. thanks so much for all that background. we want to bring in now our cnn military analyst major general james spider marks. he served in iraq as the senior intelligence officer in combat
it is not entirely bad news for the iraqi government. in march and april, they recap recaptured tikrit. on the majority of the shi ite/muslim militias with close ties to iraq to do it. they are having to do that again in anbar province in ramadi now. that is seen as a setback for the iraqi prime minister who was brought in to power with the support of the u.s. he is now having to turn back to the iranian proxies to try to win back sunni populated parts of iraq. the sectarian divisions in the country are huge. issues that the u.s. wrestled with a decade ago and still being dealt with today. whether or not the government can get the sunnis and shi ite to work together. that is a key part on whether they can push isis back. can it be an inclusive government? ivan watson i appreciate it.
into the center. the iraqi forces have been fighting for weeks to prevent this overrunning. were unable to hold back. now in a troubling moment where the government appealed to shi a militia to come in and try to push isis back. reports that iran s defense minister has flown into baghdad. perhaps to try to offer assistance iran can offer here. the issue is also how long advertised this potential issue has been because the fight has been going for a long period of time. there have not been adequate resources. we are hearing about 500 people may have lost their lives in the fight alone. thousands have fled. 100,000 have fled in the past months or so. fears are in the next 24 to 48 hours, isis will purge the city of anyone they think will have ties to the enemy.