Qatar's Diplomatic Crisis; ISIS Targeting Ancient Sites.
ALLEN: The diplomatic crisis seems to be escalating between Qatar and other nations. Qatar said the list of demands from four Arab nations is unreasonable. The demands include reducing ties with Iran and closing the Al Jazeera news network.</s>HOWELL: And there is a timeline attached to these demands. In the last month, nine countries had boycotted Qatar, accusing the country of supporting terrorism. It is a charge that nation denies. A senior UAE official says that if Qatar doesn't comply with the demands, they will part ways. Listen.</s>ARWAN GARGASH, UAE STATE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: The alternative is not escalation. The alternative is parting of ways. Parting ways because it's very difficult for us to maintain a collective</s>ALLEN: But, for more, let's go to Jomana Karadsheh. She's in Amman, Jordan for us and saying like it is there, if that -- they part ways, what would that mean to Qatar? How could that hurt Qatar?</s>JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think there was a feeling, Natalie, that no matter how this crisis ends or what happens next that the Gulf Cooperation Council that emerges following this crisis is not going to be the same and you've heard the warning there, basically, saying that Qatar is not going to be part of the GCC if they don't comply and, you know, we've heard from Qatari officials, Natalie, as they say, that this list proves what they've been saying all along. That this is not about combating terrorism, that this is about Qatar's foreign policy that its neighbors have had an issue with and they wanted to see that change. And, you know, while Qatar's foreign policy may have gotten it into this crisis, it is also helping it survive. Qataris have this survivalist foreign policy where it's tried to keep more friends than enemies. You know, countries like Turkey and Iran, for example, coming to the rescue during this crisis, helping out Qatar. And again, today we heard from the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is also, yet again, voicing his support for Qatar. Take a listen to what he have to say.</s>RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, PRESIDENT OF TURKEY (through translator): We support the attitude of Qatar against the list of 13 demands. This approach of 13 demands is against international law because you cannot attack or intervene in the sovereignty of a country, according to international law.</s>KARADSHEH: And Natalie, it's no surprise that we are hearing this from President Erdogan. Turkey and Qatar do have a strong bilateral relations when it comes to the economy, for example, Qatar have a large amount of investments in Turkey and Turkish construction firms are part of that construction boom we are seeing Qatar. Also, reportedly, the Mayor of Qatar and President Erdogan have strong personal ties and then comes the issue of military cooperation between those two countries and, as you know, that is also one of the demands that these Qatar's neighbors want to see is Qatar scrapping that plan of military cooperation, a base and Turkish soldiers inside Qatar and we've heard President Erdogan saying that that is disrespectful of Turkey. So, this crisis is not just about Qatar. This is a time where you're seeing so many different regional actors really flexing their political muscle too.</s>ALLEN: Right. The question is, who's hurting whom more? You have reported on the fact that if Qatar does not come to accept these demands, that families could be separated. There's been a boycott of food. How much could this hurt Qatar? They're certainly a very wealthy country.</s>KARADSHEH: Well, look, Natalie, one of the main problems Qatar has faced is that it shares one land boarder that was Saudi Arabia. It relied on that, really, for importing food. Qatar doesn't produce its own food. That was one of the main issues at the start. They found a way around it and that is also part of Qatar's foreign policies that you have seen them getting around what they've described as this illegal blockade with countries like Iran and Turkey flying in and shipping foodstuffs to try and help them out. But there's also, as you mentioned, that humanitarian aspect. You know, the Gulf States are very interlinked. You have families all across the Gulf in different countries and this crisis is really tearing families apart.</s>ALLEN: Jomana Karadsheh for us. Thank you Jomana. We'll wait to see what happens.</s>HOWELL: Iraqi forces say that they are getting hundreds of civilians out of the old city of Mosul. Iraqi troops are battling to retake the remaining district from ISIS. The terror group is mounting a last stand in what has been their stronghold and the U.N. has voiced alarm at the rising civilian death toll there.</s>ALLEN: A third journalist has also died from wounds in a mine blast while covering the battle from Mosul. Veronique Robert worked for French</s>T.V. HOWELL: Even as Iraqi forces close in on ISIS, the terror group leaves behind a chilling legacy of death and destruction. The latest was blowing up the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul. The U.N. says that could be considered a war crime.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Night vision video from the Iraqi military shows the moment Mosul's historic al-Nuri Mosque was destroyed, as the latest explosive example of an attempt by ISIS to destroy history in Iraq and Syria. The extremist group has long waged war with the regions cultural heritage, targeting ancient sites of importance to both Christians and Muslims. In the Syrian City of Palmyra, parts of the revered Roman amphitheater are now reduced to rubble. Also, from Mosul, video captures ISIS militants toppling stone statutes and using sledgehammers and power tools to destroy ancient artifacts. And in Nimrud, ISIS wired the ancient city with explosives, setting off a massive blast. CNN's Ben Wedeman witnessed the aftermath firsthand.</s>BENJAMIN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The scale of the vandalism that took place here boggles the mind. Only ISIS could turn ruins into ruins.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Archeologists call this latest attempt by ISIS at cultural cleansing, especially heinous. Destroying the more than 800 year hold mosque in Mosul, so revered, its picture is included on Iraq's 10,000 dinar note.</s>MICHAEL DANTI, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHEOLOGY, BOSTON UNIVERSITY: It was a site that transcended sectarianism and Mosul which is a -- obviously, a multiethnic, multi-religious city. It was revered by all of Mosul's residence. So, this is a horrible act of retribution by the Islamic State and an act of propaganda.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Experts are left asking why ISIS would destroy a place that inspired its ideology. The very mosque where it's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared his vision for an Islamic State, now lies literally and metaphorically in ruins.</s>HOWELL: According to the latest count from the international organization for migration, more than 425,000 Iraqis are currently displaced by this ongoing battle for Mosul. We'll be right back after the break.