Right now. Good evening. The deafening drum beat of terror struck in mali, in west africa today, and the state department has confirmed an american is among the dead. At least 20 people were killed after gunman burst into a rad is on blu hotel, firing in all directions. At one point more than 100 people were held hostage, freed after a assault by government forces. It comes on the heels of several major terror attacks, blamed on isis, from the plane bombing in egypt to the attacks in paris. But this may bare the marks of an older foe. Richard engel has the latest. Reporter just a week after paris, another terrorist attack. In mali, targeting the capitals most luxurious hotel. An Al Qaeda Linked group, not isis, claiming responsibility. Mali swat teams cautiously approach the hotel. Inside, at least two gunman armed with grenades and assault rifles holding some 170 hostages, including about a dozen americans. The terrorists released those who could prove their muslim by citing passages from the koran. A body under a blanket shows what they did to those who couldnt. They killed anyone, anyone who was moving, said the hotel staff. Upstairs, terrified hotel guests barricaded themselves in the rooms. Reinforcements arrives, helped by two american soldier forces who were nearby and joined the effort. The siege continued all day until Security Forces finally managed to overpower and kill the gunman and free the rest of the hostages. But by then, at least 19 hostages, including one american, and a mali soldier were dead. The group claiming responsibility, an africa an jihadist association linked to al qaeda. It should be no secret to anybody, that al qaeda off shoots continue to exist and to metastasize in africa and that is why we are working in International Community to find back groups like this. Nbc news cant verify the claim but the group has attacked westerners in mali before and fought the frenchbacked government of mali, a former french colony. This might not have been isis but now Islamic Militant groups are flying the flag of global jihad. Reporter u. S. Officials say the american killed worked for a nongovernmental organization. Lester, a peace conference was about to begin at the hotel which is why aide workers andiplomats and military personnel was in the area. That highprofile event could have been the target and would explain the timing. All right, richard. It was one week ago tonight we came on the air with news of a series of Violent Attacks in paris. What we didnt know is the full extent of the horror unfolding. The ring leader is now dead and as the manhunt for others possibly involved continues there are new developments in the investigation from the scene of wednesdays dramatic raid on a Terrorists Hideout outside in paris. Nbcs bill neely has new details. Reporter new video outside of the paris apartments stormed by police shows the moment suicide bomber detonates. In the rubble, they found a third body, still unidentified. After examining it, police now say this woman killed in the raid was not the bomber, as they previously thought. They followed her to the apartment with the ringleader of the paris massacres, abdelhamid abaaoud. Today the man who led that raid described the terror group they faced. They shot just enough to be dangerous. We didnt see them. It was very difficult to know where they were. They knew what they were doing . Yes, exactly. Reporter he said the woman shouted to them, im scared. Im scared. They believed she wanted to trap them. Suddenly the suicide bomber detonates. A big flash and big lights and the building, it shook. The terrorists fired to the head. Bullets come came by this way and you could see the exits. So the bullet went through the helmet and came out here. Yes. He was very lucky. Yes. Very, very lucky. Reporter new images emerge for the paris massacres and sounds of the moment the gunman struck inside of the concert hall. [ gunfire ] reporter today that terrible screaming was replaced by silence. The rain falling hard on the faces of the dead. 130 now. At the concert hall where most victims died, they sang their national anthem, exactly a week after the killers struck. A song of courage amid terror. And police were storming this concert hall exactly a week ago a week that has changed france. The Aircraft Carrier now nearing iraq and syria, tripling its capacity to strike isis. Revenge for all of this. Lester. Bill neely in paris tonight, thank you. Here at home, the fallout from those attacks have been swift on the campaign trail. Heated rhetoric among the republican candidates for president. The frontrunner, donald trump, going so far as to say he would implement a data base to track muslims in america. The backlash has been intense as Hallie Jackson tells us tonight. Reporter today, after suggesting support for a data base tracking muslims in the u. S. , donald trump backtracking. Tweeting, i didnt suggest a data base. A reporter did. But trump isnt ruling it out. I would certainly implement that. Specifically, how do you get them registered . It would be Good Management. You have to do Good Management procedures and we can do that. Reporter now the backlash building, from muslims like this marine, his tweet going viral who said he already has special i. D. And from the first Muslim American in congress. So, i think that the historic record is clear, religious bigotry is bad. Its wrong. Why would data bases not be the same thing as requiring jews to register in nazi germany. What would be the difference . Is there a difference between muslims and jews. You tell me. Critics say there is not much difference. Before the holocaust, jewish germans were singled out because of their religious and japaneseamericans because of their race. During world war ii. An era when most americans did not support political refugees entering the u. S. And polling now shows similar opposition to syrians. Today calling trumps remarks reminiscent of darker days in a gut check moment for his republican rivals. You are talking about closing mosques and registering people. And that is just wrong. Im a big fan of donald trump but not a fan of government registries of american citizens. Reporter ben carson seems to support it. Hopefully, we already have a data base on every citizen who is already here. Reporter donald trump now surging in the survey Monkey Online Poll taken after the paris attacks. The terror overseas raising the rhetoric here at home. This is a clash of civilization. Allow us to determine who the mad dogs are. I would encourage you, mr. President , come back and insult me to my face. Reporter tough talk, some call fiery, and others over heated. I think the rhetoric has gone too far. Reporter and while the islamic faith is the focus, tonight it is christianity. At this faith forum, seven republican candidates are attending. Many in the audience, evangelicals, seen as key to winning this voting state. Lester. Hallie, thank you. Lets bring in chuck todd. Chuck, the whole idea of a data base, it has chilling connotations. What is happening here . It has. I think in many cases we see what happens when the politics of fear mixes in with an actual fear of terrorism. I mean, you look at sort of the political response this week and how our political discourse was conducted this week, after the paris attacks, one week later and you cant help but wonder what would happen if god forbid, something happened here. Could our political system as it is structured right now, could the Republican Party as it is structured, could washington, could the media handle it in a sober way . Could we put ourselves above toll picks right now. Politically, it is clear that what has happened here is that donald trump is successfully conflating the immigration issue that sky rocketed him to the top of the polls. And replace the word mexicans with muslim. So he has taken a National Security issue and turned it into an immigration issue. That has helped him. He has solidified himself again. I think a lot of us thought National Security would take over the campaign and become sort of a new test. Trump changed it and he is back to, in his successful lane and a whole bunch of candidates trying to catch him are now following him and they may pay a price. The party will, in a general election if they are not careful. Chuck, thank you. Well see you this weekend for meet the press. Much more on the political fallout from paris and examining the questions so many people are asking, how do we defeat isis. After 30 years in prison, one of the most emphasis spies was released. Jonathan pollard was convicted of giving suitcases classified material to the israelis and if he gets his way, as Stephanie Gosk reports, he wont call america home for much longer. Reporter jonathan pollack, convicted spy, sentenced to life in prison, is now a freeman. Can you comment . I cant. Released after 30 years in federal prison for handing over hundreds of thousands of sensitive documents to the israelis in the mid 80s. He is appealing the conditions of his fiveyear parole and hopes president obama grants clemency so he could move to israel. There is absolutely no logical reason to think he would throw his life away, risk going back to jail for the rest of his life, simply to disclose 31yearold stale information. A u. S. Citizen born in indiana, he was a officer in the naval investigative service. This video obtained by nbc news shows him at a cubical stuffing so many documents in a suitcase, he actually struggles to close it. A mostly redacted cia Damage Assessment concludes that the espionage put at risk important u. S. Intelligence and Foreign Policy interest. But for decades there has been a heated debate over the extent of the damage pollard caused. We spoke to the governments chief prosecutor in the case over skype. He had access to the highest caliber of intelligence. He stole it. He sold it for money. He was not remorseful. I would have been happy to have seen him rot in a federal prison. Reporter but the Justice Department didnt object to his parole. Now critics worry what message his release is sending to the rest of the world. Stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. We are still a month out from winter. But tonight winter storm warning for the 15 Million People across the great lakes and down to the upper midwest. It is coming down in iowa, making for a dangerous commute. Chicago and detroit will see the first significant snow of the season tonight and into tomorrow. Some parts of the region could see up to a foot of snow. The cdc has warned that the e. Coli outbreak links to chipolte has spread to three more states. New york, california and ohio. One case in minnesota was reported earlier this week. The outbreak began in washington and oregon but the cdc has still yet to identify which specific food or ingredient is making people ill. Still ahead tonight, hackers versus terrorists. The group anonymous. Wreaking havoc, now fighting on the same side of the u. S. Government it is so often targeted. But declaring war on isis propaganda. But will it leave any lasting damage . Believe it. At t and directv are now one. Which means you can watch in the house, in a treehouse, or even in miss pepperpies house. Pause in your pjs and hit play during a pb j. Nice and enjoy some cartoons instead of listening to dads car tunes. dad meet you all the way get the best of both worlds. Directv at home and 2 wireless lines. 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For those whove served and the families whove supported them, we offer our best service in return. Usaa. We know what it means to serve. Get an insurance quote and see why 92 of our members plan to stay for life. The war against isis is being waged not just in the air or on the ground but also online. The paris attacks have fired up the hacker group annonymous and deck larring an out right cyber war, and for once these hackers share a common cause with the u. S. Government. They wear identical masks in their videos and target the u. S. Government, shutting down websites and posting private information online. But in a string of videos, the Hacker Group Anonymous said it is now on the government side. Declaring war on isis. We will retaliate, not with violence, but with our intelligence about hacking. Videos in many languages went viral, prompting widespread support. It is about sometime someone has a good, effective plan said one tweet. Keep up the fight. I hope the World Governments are doing their part offline said another. The target, the isis Propaganda Campaign on social media. Some anonymous members claim to have gotten more than 5500 accounts suspended with more than 100 isis websites shut down since the group first went after isis more than a year ago. But experts say making a dent in the isis social media machine wont be easy because banned accounts could be quickly renamed. Someone could easily change their name on twitter or facebook or the social media identity. It is whack a mole and ineffective. But even so arks stay stab ford executive says what anonymous is doing could be a useful nuisance. When you get harassed, you are less effective in doing your work. And so while they are recovering from the harassment, they are not doing as many bad things as before. Reporter the government welcomes anything that weakens terrorists but some dont want them taking off social media because it is a place where potential recruits could be tracked. Pete williams, nbc news, washington. Were back in a moment with a young veteran who wrote to us with concerns for his family, which now include a threat of isis. Family, which now woman its been a journey to get where i am. And i didnt get here alone. There were people who listened along the way. People who gave me options. Kept me on track. And through it all, my retirement never got left behind. So today, im prepared for anything we may want tomorrow to be. Every someday needs a plan. Lets talk about your old 401 k today. His day of coaching begins with knee pain, when. This is brad. Hey brad, wanna trade the all day relief of two aleve for six tylenol . Whats the catch . Theres no catch. You want me to give up my two aleve for six tylenol . No. For my knee pain, nothing beats my aleve. 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Reporter the plains of gettysburg, pennsylvania, are haunted, to this day, by the deaths of more young soldiers than any other battle on american soil. It is a rewarding career. But it is here where trucker and former soldier rich philip winds the local roads. He sees a change in the wind. I think Foreign Policy has become a huge benchmark for our candidates. He wrote to us out of concern for his young family. What is the government going to do to keep us safe. The people want to know about today. Reporter the carnage in paris brought the horror of 9 11 in reality back to this town. Dwight thompson works in a local hotel. They are always going to retaliate against the United States and i think it is almost impossible to really think what they are going to do. Reporter in gettysburg and elsewhere, concern about the United States should do about isis is growing. We should help, but we should be i say secondary. The french should take the lead. Reporter gina spent eight years aboard submarines in the navy. A nobd she makes subs in his sandwich shop