Rare Video Shows Inside View Of Fight Against ISIS; New York, New Jersey, Illinois Impose Strict Quarantine on Returning Ebola Health Workers; Kurdish Fighters in War Against ISIS
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: A rare glimpse into a city under siege: ISIS in the crosshairs. Rare new images from the front lines in Syria as Kurdish fighters battle extremists for control over Kobani. All this hour, we'll take you live there and to Baghdad for the latest political developments in the fight against ISIS. Also ahead a number of global Ebola cases passes 10,000. As the world sets up efforts to combat the disease, there's disagreement about how to contain it.</s>ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World with Becky Anderson.</s>ANDERSON: A very good evening. It is 7:00 in the evening here in the UAE. We begin with a clearer picture, or at least images, of what's happening in the fight against ISIS militants inside the northern Syrian city of Kobani. This is footage from the front lines inside what is this strategic city. Fighters from the Kurdish People's Protection Unit, or YPG, are fighting ISIS militants in close combat, as you can see. Well, meanwhile, Iraqi military forces and Kurdish fighters making gains against ISIS. They've taken control of towns north and south of Baghdad. We're covering the war against these militants from all angles. Ben Wedeman covering the latest from Baghdad. Nick Paton Walsh is in Turkey on the border with Syria. He filed this report just a few minutes ago.</s>NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Becky, for much of the day, the sound of the clashes have been concentrated to the east and south of the city. You can see now a number of plumes of black smoke filling the sky over Kobani. We don't quite know what they are. They may be tire fires, or perhaps a vehicle on fire. We've been hearing more explosions to the south of the city here. And of course as dusk falls, we've often seen in the past an uptick of activity here. But the key question remains when do the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga, coming from northern Iraq through Turkey into Kobani, when will they actually arrive. There had been thoughts they could have arrived last night, or during today, Sunday, there is now uncertainty. Turkish President Erdogan highlighting in comments as he flew back from eastern Europe that in fact he wasn't sure how much the Syrian Kurds wanted to see the Peshmerga arrive in Kobani at all. Now we do know that they have said to us they don't want the manpower, they just want the heavy weaponry they hope the Peshmerga will bring, but people do seem to accept there are ongoing technical complications about their passage through Turkey and arrival here. A lot of secrecy, too, the Turkish military moving us from the hills we would normally observe Kobani from. So a changing dynamic here as well. The Peshmerga could arrive discretely at any time, or this continued dispute could go on. But also clear news from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights who say that since the fight for this city began, over 800 people have died, over 480 of them Islamic State, ISIS militants, and 302 of them said to be Kurdish YPG fighters. A lot of lives being lost here, perhaps more to be lost, too. And the big question for the Kurds holding that city for now when will they get vital resupply and help -- Becky.</s>ANDERSON: That was Nick Paton Walsh from the Turkish-Syrian border. Let me get you into Iraq and into the capital there Baghdad where Ben Wedeman is standing by. And I want to talk about the arrival -- the potential arrival of the Peshmerga where Nick was observing in a moment. First, though, the eastern flank of ISIS's fear of influences to a certain extent where you are reports say that the scope of their control is at least in part on the wane. Can you add some detail to that?</s>BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It might be a bit premature actually to say it's on the wane, but they have suffered some small, but perhaps symbolic defeats. Up in the north to the west of Mosul, Peshmerga forces, those Kurdish military forces, have taken the town of Zumar (ph) which is between Mosul, which ISIS took over in June, and the Syrian border. And this seems to be the tactic being used up in the north at the moment, which is to cut off Mosul from the rest of the areas controlled by ISIS. Now outside Baghdad, about 30 kilometers to the south rather -- 50 kilometers to the south -- there's the area known as Jaraf al-Sakr (ph), and that area is where the Iraqi army and the government are proclaiming a significant defeat of ISIS in that area. This is an area that's very near to some strategic highways linking Baghdad to the southern parts of the country. Now we were out in that area today, and what is interesting is that it appears that the people who are really leading the fight against ISIS don't appear to be the army itself, but a variety of Shia militias. And they bring along their own sectarian baggage with them that has often caused problems in the past. And also in the past we've seen, even in the areas where the Iraqi forces, the militias and the army, have been able to drive out ISIS, oftentimes they don't have enough forces to secure the area and then ISIS quickly returns. So, these are some small steps forward, but nothing in the way of actual permanent progress, Becky.</s>ANDERSON: As we await official confirmation that the Peshmerga in the north of Iraq are moving towards and on their way to help out in the Syrian city of Kobani -- and forgive us viewers without a map -- and perhaps we should bring a map up, these things do become a little bit complicated -- we're talking to the west and the eastern flank of this DAISH (ph) caliphat, as it were. I know, Ben, that you've been out and about on the streets of Baghdad. And I think it's important for our viewers to get a sense of what sort of life is like on a day-to-day basis as we continue to report on the sort of machinations of the coalition fight against ISIS. What's life like on a sort of regular basis for those who live in the city?</s>WEDEMAN: Becky, I've been coming in and out of Baghdad for the last 20 years. And certainly this is a city that has seen some very dark days and seen some days where there were glimmers of hope. And when you go around the city, yes, it's a changed city in the sense that there are checkpoints everywhere. There's security all over the place, but despite it all there's some areas, there's some streets where you really do feel that despite all the troubles of the moment, there are still glimmers of hope</s>WEDEMAN: When you are looking for a book in Baghdad, any book, you'll find it here on Muqtanabi Street (ph) every Friday. Whether it's an old copy of Hemingway's Farewell to Arms, or Welles' Animal Farm or 1984, or something more recent. There's an Arabic saying that goes something like this, "Cairo writes, Beirut publishes and Baghdad reads." For almost half a century, Qahtan Mallak has catered to Baghdad's voracious readers. But it's not just about the books.</s>QAHTAN MALLAK, BOOK SELLER: Muqtanabdi Street (ph) is one of the things which keeps Baghdad (inaudible) not only (inaudible) but they're alive.</s>WEDEMAN: Some tried, but failed, to kill that spirit. In 2007, a car bomb here killed 26 people. The book sellers and customers, however, were determined to keep the market alive.</s>KIFAH AMIN, IRAQI WRITER: The show much go on. And we -- there's no life -- we must enjoy our lives.</s>WEDEMAN: And despite everything, somehow they do. What's amazing about Baghdad is that despite the often grim headlines one reads coming out of here, that the people have managed to maintain the ability to function at least to try to find a way to function in the normal manner. In the park just off Muqtanabdi Street (ph) an artist will draw your girlfriend's picture. You can listen to music. Or join lively debates on any subject under the sun. "We talk about a variety of topics -- economics, politics, or literature," says Saad Kashkouk, a clearing agent. "Sometimes it gets a bit heated, but in the end we're all friends." Teacher Hala Tamimi is a regular participant. "There is a future," she says. "Like it or not, even if there's only one Iraqi left, we have a future and I'm thinking of the future." This is just a tiny corner of Baghdad, of Iraq, but here in addition to books and banter, you can find hope."</s>WEDEMAN: And certainly people do continue to hope. It's amazing, really, how through it all Iraqis still seem to have a reservoir of optimism -- Becky.</s>ANDERSON: Ben Wedeman reporting. Ben, always a pleasure. Thank you. Well, Dr. Anthony Fauci is of the U.S. National Institutes of Health and says tough new. Quarantine rules could discourage medical personnel from going abroad to fight Ebola. Now the governors of New York, New Jersey and Illinois have imposed a mandatory 21 day quarantine on certain health care workers returning from West Africa. The new restrictions caught federal authorities off guard. Well, for more on what is a -- has to be said a growing controversy, let's get to Alexandra Feidl who is standing outside Bellevue Hospital where I believe New York's first reported Ebola patient is being held in isolation. What do we know at this point?</s>ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Becky. Dr. Craig Spencer is in isolation at this hospital where he's still undergoing treatment. He is a medical worker who had returned from West Africa. He had been in New York City for a few days visiting a local restaurant, going to a park, riding the subway, even going to a bowling alley before he detected that he had a fever and was taken to the hospital. In response to that case, governors in several states now say they don't want to take a risk and they have imposed regulations that are above the federal recommendations.</s>FIELD (voice-over): A mandatory 21-day quarantine or hospitalization already imposed by New York and New Jersey and now, Illinois is causing heated debate on handling the possible spread of Ebola. In an effort to ease public concerns, the three states announced the measures for any airline passenger coming in from a West African nation hit hard by the deadly virus. A mandatory quarantine goes into effect for travelers who had direct contact with an infected person. In a statement issued by the state of Illinois, Governor Quinn says, "This protective measure is too important to be voluntary. We must take every step necessary to ensure the people of Illinois are protected from potential exposure from the Ebola virus." In New York, where the state is already dealing with an Ebola case, Governor Andrew Cuomo says health care workers are ready.</s>GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: The workers feel that they've had the training. They've had the equipment. We've gone through the protocols. We've drilled. We've drilled. We've drilled.</s>FIELD: But the mandates are causing concerns with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in other infectious disease specialists. In a statement, the CDC says health care workers volunteering to combat the Ebola epidemic in West Africa are heroes. The epidemic there won't end without them. And without their work, the U.S. will be at increased risk.</s>CELINE GOUNDER, INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND PUBLIC HEALTH SPECIALIST: I do have very real concerns especially since I am somebody who is planning to go myself that this is really going to prevent some people from volunteering. We're already having difficulty recruiting health care workers to go over. And if you're going to institute even -- what frankly feel like punitive measures against people volunteering time, taking real risks, it just doesn't feel right and fair.</s>REP. TIM MURPHY (R-PA), FOUNDING MEMBER, GOP DOCTORS CAUCUS: We do not have a vaccine. We do not have a cure. We only have treatment. And one needs to understand a virus constantly trying to mutate, constantly trying to find a new host to live on and as such quarantine is only thing that breaks the link.</s>FIELD: While several states are going ahead and forging their own path, federal recommendations are also being strengthened. That starts tomorrow. That's from the CDC. Any people who are returning to the States from the hot zone in West Africa will now be actively monitored by health officials for the 21 day incubation period. Prior to that, Becky, people were self- monitoring.</s>ANDERSON: Alexandra, thank you. Still to come tonight here on Connect the World with me Becky Anderson, 13 minutes past 7:00 by the way in the UAE, Libya after Gadhafi. We'll hear from the late dictator's cousin on the spiral of violence that's consumed a nation since Moammar Gadhafi's death three years ago. And the other side of the Arab Spring, the road to democracy reigns in neighboring Tunisia as today millions go to the polls in a parliamentary election. We'll analyze what went right and what still could go wrong. That's coming up.