Pilgrims Attacked; Beijing Targeting Muslim Uighurs; Colombia's Peace Accord
CYRIL VANIER, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: A terror attack targeting Iranian pilgrims in Iraq. At least 80 people are dead. ISIS is claiming responsibility. Plus, wildfires spread through Israel. Now ten people are detained and the prime minister is talking about arson. And later, disturbing reports of rape and abuse of the Rohingya people in Myanmar. How some in the movement from minority are fleeing the country. Hi, everyone. Thank you for joining us. I'm Cyril Vanier, live from Atlanta. You are watching CNN Newsroom. While the ISIS loses ground in the battle for Mosul in Iraq, the militant group can still strike elsewhere in the country. Thursday, a bomb went off at a gas station southeast of Baghdad causing utter carnage. At least 80 people were killed and 50 injured. And this is just the latest attack in a country plagued by violence. Far south of the Iraqi government led operation to retake Mosul from ISIS a tragic reminder of the terrorism civilians face in Iraq. The victims of this attack dozens of Shiites most on a pilgrimage from Iraq. The truck loaded with explosives parked the nearby buses before detonating. The group was on route back to Iran from the holy city of Karbala where they were paying homage to a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack reading, "The flames of battles in Mosul will reach them in Baghdad, Kabala, and Najaf." The Sunni terror group has long had the ambition of sparking full blown sectarian civil war in Iraq. This bombing was the deadliest in the country since an explosives filled truck blew up near a shopping mall in Baghdad in July killing at least 300 people. The largest death toll in a single incident since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Under pressure from Iraqi security forces and losing territory fast, ISIS is lashing out. In October, ISIS launched a failed counterattack in Kirkuk, a tactic, it seems, the terror group intends to repeat. And back to Mosul in the east of the city, ISIS is no longer in total control but it is still a threat. We're hearing dramatic stories from people inside Mosul. CNN's Phil Black reports on death and survival in the city.</s>PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These people have just lived through the horror of urban warfare, they coward in their homes for days, prayers and white flags their only protection as Iraqi forces fought their way through the neighborhoods of eastern Mosul against fierce ISIS resistance. Now there is little food, water, or medicine, no electricity, but there's much relief.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is like a dark -- a dark thing on your chest.</s>BLACK: ISIS is like a dark thing on your chest?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.</s>BLACK: And it's gone now?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The dark is gone.</s>BLACK: you can hear the fighting in the near distance. It is still dangerously close. ISIS is gone from the streets but its ability to harm these people hasn't passed. Just 24 hours ago, we're told a family was sitting here outside their home when a mortar struck just a short distance away and an 18-month-old girl was killed. Her name was Amira Ali (Ph). Her father Omar is overwhelmed by grief. He cries, "what did she do wrong? She was just playing. She's gone from me and she's my only one." Every day this makeshift clinic inside Mosul sees the terrible consequences of mortars fired into civilian areas. It's a bloody production line. The wounded are delivered, patched up quickly and loaded into ambulances for transport to hospital. At times it seems endless as one ambulance pulls away another military vehicle speeds in carrying more wounded civilians. They're unloaded with great care as the medics work to help the victims of yet another ISIS mortar attack. But they can't save everyone. This man's 21-year-old son was killed. He says "A mortar just fell in front of the door. We came and he was just a piece of meat. Four or five of my neighbors were standing with him and they're all dead."</s>VANIER: And police in southern France are searching for a suspect after a woman was found dead inside over time at home for priests and nuns. A local official in the Montferrier areas says a masked man forced his way in to the home earlier Friday morning. The intruder tied up a staff member who was able to free herself and call police. A source said the suspect used a knife to kill his victim and that it appears she was indeed the intended target. Police do not think the attack was terror related. At least 74 people are dead after a construction accident in eastern China. The disaster happened when a platform built to help with repairs at a power plant collapsed. That's according to state run news agency Xinhua. Authorities say 68 people were on the platform when it went crashing to the ground on Thursday. More than 200 firefighters have been deployed with search and rescue dogs to find survivors. And China has ordered all residents of the Xinjiang region to surrender their passports. Those who want to travel abroad need to get permission from local authorities. The government has not said why they're confiscating passports but activists say that Beijing is deliberately targeting Muslim Uighurs. In the past, China has targeted the minority groups which are blamed for multiple attacks. Latin America's longest conflict may finally be over and this time the agreement is expected to be enshrined in law. Shasta Darlington looks at Colombia's latest attempt at peace with the FARC rebel group.</s>SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Colombia's government and the FARC rebel group have signed a peace deal bringing an end to half a century of fighting again. That's because nearly two months ago, Colombians voted to reject the initial peace accord. President Juan Manuel Santos and the FARC rebel leader known as Timoshenko signed this new deal in a simple ceremony using pens fashioned out of bullets.</s>TIMOLEON JIMENEZ, FARC REBEL GROUP LEADER: Let words be the only weapons of Colombians. JUAN MANUEL SANTOS, COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT</s>DARLINGTON: While there are some changes in this new accord, the single biggest difference is simply that President Santos is not going to put it to a nationwide vote. This goes to Congress to be voted on. It also stands in stark contrast to the grandiose ceremony we saw at the end of September when heads of state flew in. The U.N. secretary general was there. Military planes were flying overhead and Colombia's president said that they had finally found peace. Of course, it was just a few days later, in a nationwide referendum that Colombians voted to reject the deal by a very narrow margin. But it highlighted the divisions this the country, the anger and frustration after decades of conflict that had killed over 200,000 people and displaced about 5 million people. Many Colombians felt that the rebel leaders simply weren't being held accountable. They weren't looking at jail time. They were being allowed to run for office in the future. While this new accord does have tougher sanctions. Not all of the demands were met. And in fact, critics say it still doesn't go far enough. But it is expected to pass in Congress because Santos and his allies have a comfortable majority there. Shasta Darlington, CNN, Rio de Janeiro.</s>VANIER: Wildfires are raging across part of Israel and the West Bank and Israeli authorities say that arson maybe to blame. An official says at least 10 people have been detained in connection with the fires which began just north of Haifa on Tuesday. Sixty thousand people have been ordered to evacuate Israel's third largest city. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke earlier about the fires and gave a stern warning to those who maybe behind them.</s>VANIER: So for more on these fires we are joined now by CNN's correspondent Oren Liebermann. Oren is in Haifa. The prime minister, Oren, is making a connection between these wildfires and terrorism. What do you make of that claim? All right. We'll get back to Oren Liebermann. He is still setting up. We'll get back to Oren in just a second and he'll get you the details on the wildfires in and around Haifa and the claims by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. We're right back after this.