fighters playing football the day before. another died. this town endures, yet feels abandoned despite broad recognition it is vital they win. now the sunni/shia rift has been a problem in iraq for years certainly at the heart of the fight for anbar, to push isis out. now we just spoke to perhaps the most senior sunni politician here in iraq the speaker of parliament. and he gave a very interesting comment about why it was that ramadi fell. remember the u.s. says perhaps the iraqis lack the will to fight. he says that the elite soldiers who were fighting for that city received an order to withdraw. now, he isn t clear whether they ve sided by themselves to pull out, or got an order from somewhere else in the military here in baghdad. what he is clear about is that iraq s prime minister who is the commander in chief of the armed forces didn t know about that. there s an investigation under way as to why this vital city fell but at this stage there appears to be division
those iranian backers of the houthis, shia and predominantly houthi, an extraordinary moment regionally but directly on the ground. targets being hit by the technologically advanced saudi arabian air force again the houthis who have significant capability. can t match the usdaies in terms of equipment and firepower. there have been conflicting reports about the whereabouts of yemen s president. what s being said and what s the most reliable information on this? reporter: we ve been hearing for over a they it s likely he s leaving aden or leaving the cull full stop. and on social media, there are images suggesting he may have attempted the departure from aden bya boat. by a boat. not sure if he left the city or
ical clearly bombing key targets around sanaa. they ve heard consistent explosions through the night. they are telling our colleague, nick robber s robertson, they r out huouthi target. this is a seismic development for the region as a whole. the houthis are the most people will say they re iranian backed. a loose collection of tribe and political movements in yemen that suddenly got their act together. remarkably most say with iranian help and swept across the nation. the fact that iran s arch nemesis in the region, saudi arabia, has led is spearheading military operations to push those houthis back is a substantial development for the region here could particularly given that sunni/shia rift that has been playing out across the area for years now. the saudis, of course, were dominantly sunni.