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Former Israeli PM Shimon Peres Has Died at 93; Aleppo Pounded with Daily Airstrikes; Dead Blasts in Baghdad; Clinton, Trump Back on the Campaign Trail; Typhoon Megi Has Killed at Least 4 in Taiwan. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired September 28, 2016 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church, and this is CNN NEWSROOM.

Plans are being made for Shimon Peres's funeral. Israel's former Prime Minister and President died just a few hours ago at the age of 93. He suffered a massive stroke two weeks ago and took a turn for the worse on Tuesday.

The government is about to hold a special session in his honor.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he mourns the loss of a visionary man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Together with the entire Jewish people and many others in the world, I bid farewell to our beloved Shimon Peres of blessed memory.

Shimon Peres devoted his life to the independence of our people. As a man of vision he always looked into the future, and a man of security, he strengthened the independence of Jewish people and our country in various ways, some of which cannot be discussed even today.

As a man of peace, he acted until his last day for achieving peace with our neighbors and bringing better future to our children. For seven years as the president of Israel he did a lot in order to bring our people together. And the people loved him very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And CNN's Oren Liebermann is live outside Sheba Medical Center with more. Oren, we now that Shimon Peres will receive a state funeral and a cabinet meeting is being held this hour to determine when and where Mr. Peres will be buried. What's likely to be decided on this?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it will be a cabinet meeting and then a minister's meeting shortly after that. That, as you mentioned, is where they'll decide where to bury him. The expectation there is that it will be Mount Hertzl where other Israeli leaders are buried.

Although there's a possibility that he'll be buried just outside Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport where his wife is buried. As for the timing, there's no official word on that yet, but looking at the calendar it looks like this funeral is likely to happen on Friday afternoon. Why? Because there can be no Jewish burial on the Sabbath and there can be no Jewish burial on a holiday. The New Year, which is early next week.

So all eyes, all expectations are that the burial will happen, the funeral for former President Shimon Peres will happen on Friday morning. As for who will attend, we're getting a list of world leaders from the Israeli Foreign Ministry that will attend his funeral, and it is without question an impressive list.

The Pope, President Barack Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, the leaders of Germany, Canada, Australia, England, and many, many more. The U.N. Secretary-General, all of this paying tribute to the legacy, the story and the lifetime of work of Shimon Peres. Here is that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIBERMANN: The story of Shimon Peres is the story of modern Israel. One of the longest-serving politicians in Israel's history, Peres was there from the very beginning. During the War of Independence he was responsible for buying weapons. He was briefly head of the navy, established the country's aircraft industry.

And during the '50s he founded the country's nuclear program. In government, he held virtually every major cabinet position and was Prime Minister three times but never won an election. Many Israelis considered him aloof, an intellectual who wore a suit, not a uniform.

ETHAN DOR-SHAV, SHALEM CENTER ASSOCIATE FELLOW: Never got the public love that he was yearning for. He was never hugged by the populace of Israel as our leader. He was hated as much as he was loved.

LIEBERMANN: Most of all, he was loved and hated for the 1993 Oslo Peace Process, which saw Yasser Arafat return from exile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Interesting body language.

DORE GOLD, JERUSALEM CENTER FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS PRESIDENT His names attached to the Oslo Peace Accords which were at the center of the polarization of Israeli society and political life.

LIEBERMANN: It won Peres the Nobel Peace prize, but a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings and other attacks which followed left him struggling to defend the peace process.

SHIMON PERES, FORMER ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I know that we are moving on a road full of dangers. But I know also that this is the right road, the best road, the only road upon which we have to move. LIEBERMANN: Ultimately, the increase in violence cost him the 1996 election. Israelis turned their backs on Peres in favor of the conservative Benjamin Netanyahu.

NETANYAHU: I think there's a good chance we're going to win this race.

LIEBERMANN: Peres would often speak in terms of grand visions.

PERES: I do believe there will be a new Middle East.

LIEBERMANN: It earned him derision from some Israelis but international acclaim.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm very grateful to him for a lifetime of thinking big thoughts and dreaming big dreams and figuring out practical ways to achieve it.

[03:04:59] LIEBERMANN: And he never stopped striving for peace. He believed in a two-state solution up until the very end.

PERES: You know, I'm either too young or too old to pay too much attention to what people say. I would rather see what they do. And maybe in the conversation some people will say this and that. But the official position and the real desire of Israelis to have two states, an upstate and a tri-state, and I think that's also the conclusion of the Arabs.

LIEBERMANN: Of all the Palestinians, Saeb Erekat, the chief negotiator, may have known Peres the best.

SAEB EREKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: When I met him 25 years ago, I was a professor and I was angry with something. And he looked at me and he said, "Saeb, negotiating in pain and frustration for five years is cheaper than exchanging bullets for five minutes."

LIEBERMANN: After nearly 50 years as a member of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, Peres became the country's president, serving until his retirement in 2014, but when asked how he wanted to be remembered he didn't mention a life of civil service.

PERES: I would like that somebody would write about me that he saved the life of a single child. This would satisfy me more than anything else.

LIEBERMANN: Perhaps a better answer came a decade earlier.

PERES: I feel like a person that has served this country rightly and properly. And that is in my judgment the highest degree that a person can build.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIEBERMANN: On this day there are few Israelis who would disagree. And it's not just Israelis. It's world leaders who would not disagree with that statement of how much he meant to peace, how much you he meant to building trust in the region. That was his lifetime work, and he was still working at it.

In fact, on the morning of the day he suffered a stroke he gave a one- hour speech and also posted a Facebook video. He worked on peace. He worked on building trust. He worked on Israel until the very end.

As for what will happen in the coming hours, at some point the body of Shimon Peres will be transferred from here at Sheba Medical Center to a burial society in preparation for his lying in state.

The speaker of the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, said the Knesset is preparing for him to lie in state tomorrow although that's subject to a decision from the minister's meeting. That meeting happening in just a short time. Rosemary?

CHURCH: An extraordinary life. Our Oren Liebermann joining us there live from outside the Sheba Medical Center. Many thanks to you.

World leaders past and present are paying tribute to Mr. Peres. U.S. President Barack Obama says "Shimon never gave up on the possibility of peace between Israelis, Palestinians, and Israel's neighbors. A light has gone out but the hope he gave us will burn forever."

Bill Clinton remembers Mr. Peres as a genius with a big heart. in a statement he said, "Israel has lost a leader who championed its security, prosperity, and limitless possibilities from its birth to his last day on earth."

And earlier, my colleague Isha Sesay and John Vause spoke with Michael Oren about Shimon Peres. Oren is Israel's former ambassador to the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL OREN, FORMER ISRAEL'S AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: I had a unique position. Before I was ambassador I was a historian and as a historian I studied Shimon Peres. I think about this. Shimon Peres was one of the founding fathers. He was the right-hand man to the person who was Israel's George Washington, David Ben Gurion.

He was the founder of the Dimona nuclear project. In the 1970s, believe it or not, he was the leader of the settler movement. He was the hero of the settler movement. Then he became the leader of the peace movement. He was one of the masterminds of the Entebbe Raid, 1976.

You can't look at really any event that happened in Israel's 68-year history and not find Shimon Peres there. So, as a historian it was fascinating for me. Then all of a sudden in 2009 I became ambassador and I got to work with Shimon Peres. And we would spend hours talking about history.

He was a lover of books. He always wanted to know what was the most recent book, what I read, what I had thought of the book. But mostly we discussed his political history. Now, Peres worked many years with the French. He spoke fluent French, by the way. And we would talk about French political leaders he had known in the '50s and the '60s. People aren't well remembered today.

He was a great philosopher. And he had a particular idea about what he called brain science. You could tell many times it was called neurology but he wouldn't go for that. It was called brain science. He had one line he'd always repeat. He'd says, "The human brain is the most interesting organ. It understands everything around it but does not understand itself."

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Wow.

OREN: And he was fascinated by that.

ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: As you talk about him being a lover of books and being a philosopher. He was also someone who was always able to capture what Israeli's were feeling at a particular point in time, whether it was the Entebbe Raid, whether it was the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. He had such a way with words.

[03:10:06] OREN: He had great words. And it's so funny. In Hebrew he has a rather heavy he has a rather heavy Polish accent but people never heard it because they were so used to Shimon Peres. And what he said was always news.

I kept a little note pad being around him. And I wrote down what I called Peresisms. Now, what's a typical Peresism? I'll quote just several of them. "Egypt is not a country with a river. It is a river with a country. For example, there are two types of countries in the Middle East. There are holy lands and oily lands." Like that one?

SESAY: Yes.

OREN: And my favorite with one that only Shimon Peres could get away with. "There are two things you must never do in front of a camera - make love and make Middle East peace." Can you imagine any other leader in the world saying that and getting away with it? But he could because he was so beloved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And we will have much more on Shimon Peres's legacy later this hour.

Moving on to another big story we are watching, the Syrian government and its allies have launched their biggest ground assault yet on rebel-held areas of Aleppo. Activists say the regime has been pounding the city with daily airstrikes and barrel bombs since a ceasefire fell apart last week.

Drone video shows the scale of destruction there. The World Health Organization is calling for humanitarian routes to evacuate sick and wounded people trapped in Aleppo.

Well, senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen is live in the Syrian capital of Damascus. He joins us now. So Fred, what's the latest information that you have on the fighting in Aleppo? FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it

continues, the fighting there in Aleppo, Rosemary. And it really seems as though the intensity of that fighting is barely dying down. We heard yesterday from the Syrian government, actually, they say they were continuing to press their offensive. There in Aleppo they claim that they had retaken some territory away from rebel forces.

So far the opposition sources have not confirmed that yet. So they say that they have no information about any sort of territory changing hands. But then of course all of this always continues to happen, Rosemary, in front of the backdrop of those very heavy airstrikes that are going on there in the Aleppo area.

Of course many, many people have been killed over the past couple of days. Also what we're hearing is that on top of the fact that more and more munitions are being used is that also very powerful munitions are being used. Some speaking of bunker-busting munitions that were being dropped on some of these areas.

So, certainly, a dire situation. And you're right. I was actually speaking to some members of the United Nations entourage here in Damascus, and they say they absolutely need to be able to evacuate those sick people, people who have been wounded from that area, make sure that's able to be done in a very safe way because the situation there is absolutely dire where no goods can be brought into Aleppo at this point in time. They say the very least that needs to be done is getting people who are injured, wounded and sick out as fast as possible.

CHURCH: And Fred, you covered the horrifying and deadly strike on a U.N. convoy carrying much-needed humanitarian aid to Aleppo and the surrounding areas. Not only did these brave aid workers risk their lives to get aid in to those in need, they face numerous other challenges, don't they, during the course of their risky and heroic work. Talk to us about that.

PLEITGEN: Yes, absolutely. It's a flurry of aid organizations that work here on the ground. But probably the best-working partnership here is between the United Nations and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. And the Syrian Arab Red Crescent is really one of those organizations that is respected by both the regime and the opposition. They run convoys that cross enemy lines. They also do a lot of other activities. And they've also lost a lot of their aid workers here in this ongoing conflict.

Let's have a look at the work of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: A horrifying attack on humanitarian workers. Aid trucks and a warehouse of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent destroyed near Aleppo a little over a week ago, killing a dozen, sending shock waves through the organization.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people said we should stop, we should only for three days, stop only for three days to say that we are sorry. But nobody can stop because you see that people need help. So we cannot stop. We can never stop.

PLEITGEN: But shortly after, trucks are being loaded again. Aid convoys back on the roads. After the attack on its convoy, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent only halted its activities for about three days. Since then they say that their convoys are running at full capacity again.

The Red Crescent is one of the few organizations in this country trusted by both government and opposition supporters. They cross battle lines to deliver aid all over the country, run water projects, and even bakeries.

[03:15:06] And they risk their lives to provide first aid in this war zone. CNN was on hand shortly after a bomb went off in central Damascus in 2013. Most of the rescue workers are volunteers like first aid squad leader Iman Hamoudeh.

IMAN HAMOUDEH, FIRST AID SQUAD LEADER: So you have to help other people if you can. You need to feel like you are doing something. Like you are you have youth, you have a power. You need to do something to help other people who are in most need.

PLEITGEN: Together with the U.N., the Red Crescent even coordinates air drops to besieged areas in Syria.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two minute to drop. Proceed to drop.

PLEITGEN: We were in their operations room when aid was parachuted into Deir Ez-zor, which is besieged by ISIS. The head of the organization says his plea to the powers involved in the conflict is simple. Don't target the aid workers.

BDUL RAHMAN ATTAR, SYRIAN ARAB RED CRESCENT PRESIDENT: We have been lost more than 57 volunteer in the front line. And all of them are young, between 18 to 26 year. This is really showing what does it mean the volunteering work in Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: September has been a bittersweet month for the Red Crescent. They won the American Red Cross International Humanitarian Service Award. But only a week later its convoy was hit near Aleppo, a loss no award in the world can make up for.

And Rosemary, despite all of that adversity, the folks here from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent tell us that they're obviously going to continue their work. They also say they get a lot of support from a lot of the Red Crescent and Red Cross organizations from around the world. Also the international committee of the Red Cross, as well.

And it was interesting to see when we were in their headquarters that even though you have the situation here in Syria where many people are fleeing the country, where obviously it's very difficult for many people, where many people are facing the loss of their home or having loved ones who are injured. There are still many people who are coming and volunteering to do that

kind of work. We were there. And there were many new volunteers on hand saying they want to be part of this organization, Rosemary.

CHURCH: And we salute the work that these volunteers do. It is incredible. Our Fred Pleitgen joining us there live from Damascus in Syria, where it is 10.17 in the morning. Many thanks to you, Fred.

Well, both U.S. presidential candidates are claiming victory in Monday's debate. But can they really both be winners? We'll take a look at that when we come back. Stay with us.

[03:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: U.S. President Barack Obama, Britain's Prince Charles, and Pope Francis are among those expected for the funeral of former Israeli leader Shimon Peres. He died early Wednesday after suffering a major stroke two weeks ago.

The 93-year-old spent more than half a century in politics and held virtually every cabinet position. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Peres will always stay in our memory and in our hearts.

Well, the U.S. presidential candidates are back on the campaign trail after Monday's debate. Hillary Clinton returned to cheers and applause from her team and supporters. The democratic candidate called it a great, great evening.

After mixed reviews for his performance, Donald Trump tried to move back on message at a campaign rally in Florida. The republican candidate told thousands of supporters he took it easy on Hillary Clinton this time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The 90 minutes I watched her very (TECHNICAL PROBLEM).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... by the Chinese government to hurt U.S. factories. With his campaign manager saying one thing.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: He believes that climate change is naturally occurring.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And his running mate saying another.

GOV. MIKE PENCE (R-IN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, look, there's no question that the activities that take place in this country and in countries around the world have some impact on the environment and some impact on climate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:24:59] CHURCH: Linda Feldmann is the Washington bureau chief for the Christian Science Monitor. She's been covering presidential campaigns since 1996. And she joins me now to talk more about the first presidential debate and what stood out. Thank you so much for being with us.

LINDA FELDMANN, CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR BUREAU CHIEF: Sure. My pleasure.

CHURCH: Well, in the wake of the debate, watched by more than 84 million people, most pundits and respected poll results seem to suggest Hillary Clinton came out on top Monday night. What impact, if any, might this have on the polls going forward and of course on the way people decide to vote on November 8th?

FELDMANN: Well, the early indication I'm getting is that it may not actually have won a whole lot of votes for Hillary Clinton so far or cost Donald Trump votes. But what it may do, I think a lot of voters who remain undecided are still kind of hanging fire and watching, and maybe will watch the subsequent debates.

But I think for people who were already with Hillary Clinton I think it gave her a tremendous boost. There's been an enthusiasm gap there between Clinton supporters and Trump supporters, and I think her people were definitely excited about her performance.

CHURCH: And she seemed very excited about it too, didn't she?

FELDMANN: Yes.

CHURCH: And a day after the debate, Donald Trump doubled down on his attacks on former beauty queen Alicia Machado, belittling her for gaining weight. Let's just take a listen to what he had to say, and then I'll get your reaction.

FELDMANN: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: She was the winner. And you know, she gained a massive amount of weight. And it was a real problem. We had a real problem. We had a real problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: So, how do you think women are likely to react to what he had to say with just six weeks to go before the election?

FELDMANN: His comments are absolutely toxic. And I'm shocked that he doubled down on that this morning. I mean, it's one thing to make that mistake in the debate, but you'd think by this morning he would know that he shouldn't have said that.

And this is the exact demographic that he needs to really boost his numbers with, which is women. Suburban women and educated women who, you know, some of whom might be willing to vote for him under certain circumstances. But you know, hearing him talk about a woman in such a demeaning way, I think he really hurt his case.

CHURCH: And Trump's advisers are praising their candidate for showing what they called restraint at the debate after Clinton attacked him for being sexist. Now Trump is threatening to toughen his attacks on Clinton, even suggesting he will make references just to Bill Clinton's marital infidelities in the days ahead, perhaps even in the next two presidential debates. How is that likely to work for him, do you think?

FELDMANN: You know, that's a tricky question. You'd think that would really hurt him. And you know, why would it be Hillary Clinton's fault that her husband was having affairs?

But I've actually heard women blame her for that. Women who say that she was enabling him and that she was attacking the women who were going after him. So, it's not as simple a proposition as you might think. I mean, it actually could hurt her if he really -- if he decides to go there.

But at the same time it depends on how he does it. I think his aggressive posture in the debate last night toward her constantly interrupting and shouting at some points I think really didn't help him.

CHURCH: And just very quickly, Trump and his campaign manager commended the moderator Lester Holt immediately after the debate, but now they're criticizing him for not going hard enough on Clinton and not mentioning the controversial issue of Benghazi. Was that the fault of the moderator? How did he do?

FELDMANN: I thought Lester Holt actually did a pretty good job. He, you know, the goal in this debate was for him to throw out the topic and then sit back and let them duke it out. And he did jump in a few times. He did a little bit of fact checking.

But I think really for Trump's purposes if he wanted to talk about Benghazi, you know, anybody who knows how to debate knows that you say -- you answer the question and then you steer the conversation toward what you want to talk about.

I mean, he could have brought up Benghazi quite easily and he just chose not to. So, I think, you know, maybe he'll practice a little bit more for the next debate and maybe make a little more headway against Mrs. Clinton.

CHURCH: All right. We'll be watching the next two debates very closely. Linda Feldmann, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

FELDMANN: Thank you.

CHURCH: All right. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking now on the death of Shimon Peres. The government holding a special session in his honor. Let's listen.

NETANYAHU: History of the ancient people who fight for its existence, builds its homeland. He was a young boy in an agricultural school in Ben Shemen, and he wrote that "my goal in life is to serve my people."

[03:30:08] And he fulfilled this goal. He believed with his whole heart in the goals of Zionism and brought this inspiring vision. He stood at the cradle of our state and make sure that the state will develop.

He was at the side of David Ben Gurion when he took fateful decisions, when the young state of Israel was still fragile and its military force was still small. He contributed a lot to the strengthening of our security. He had a very special contribution to our security in various areas that could not be mentioned.

One of the very important events in his life was the rescuing of hostages in Entebbe, and he had a very special central role in this decision to send troops to rescue the hostages. At the same time together with all that he did for the security of the state of Israel, Shimon Peres always tried to achieve peace, always sought peace and believed in peace.

His hand was always given to our neighbors. And although peace had not come yet, he always taught us not to despair and to adhere to this hope that the peace will be achieved and to continue work.

He was a member of the Knesset for 40 years. He was a minister in various government positions. He twice led this country as the Prime Minister. He developed our international ties. He contributed to the strengthening of our economy and did a lot for the immigration of Jews from Soviet Union and Ethiopia.

We all know that political life was not easy for him. And together with his important achievements he also knew disappointments. He also knew very difficult moments. And a severe criticism. But with his iron will he continued going forward to promote the countries that he loved so much to bring peace to this country.

There were many things that we agreed about. And with each year bad things there were more and more such things. There were also differences between us, which is normal in democracy. But even in those cases I always felt a lot of respect for him. And with time passing our relations grew stronger. I valued him. I loved him.

When he was the president, we had a lot of personal meetings. Sometimes late at night. Those meetings were fascinating, deep. And I learned to know him better, learn about his biography, heard his stories.

Two month ago, together with my wife, I attended the launching of Paris Center for Peace and Innovation. We had this common joint vision to promote technology. Shimon saw Israel at the forefront of technology and science as the key to the well-being of humanity as a whole and the key to peace. During this meeting I was...

CHURCH: Listening there to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He's honoring Shimon Peres in this special session of the Israeli government just hours in fact, after the passing of Shimon Peres. He talked about the similarities the two men had, but they also had differences, and he said he loved Mr. Peres.

Well, Einat Wilf joins me now from Tel Aviv. She's a former member of Israel's Parliament. She also worked as a foreign policy adviser to Shimon Peres when he was vice premier. Thank you so much for joining us at this very difficult time for you.

[03:35:02] Of course you would have many memories of the time you were foreign policy adviser to Mr. Peres when he was vice premier. What's the memory that stands out for you that you'd be willing to share with all of us, our global audience?

EINAT WILF, FORMER ISRAELI PARLIAMENT MEMBER: The memory for me was the realization that all (Inaudible) were true. We start to work a historical personality, you don't expect things to be true about him. But they were. I had (Inaudible) on leaders and they would -- and I think (Inaudible) they spent an hour-long listen what he had to say.

You could see that they were inspired. They want (Inaudible). He conveyed the sense that anything is possible, that you do not have to be at the mercy of history, at the mercy of politics and any work (Inaudible) as well.

CHURCH: Einat Wilf, many thanks for joining us. So, we're going to have to end that prematurely, I'm sorry. There were some audio issues there. We'll see if we can fix those perhaps and rejoin you again.

But I want to move on for now. A series of deadly blasts have reportedly killed at least 17 civilians and injured dozens of others in predominantly Shiite Muslim district of Baghdad.

Police and medical sources say two of the attacks were triggered by suicide bombers. A third was a roadside bomb. No group has claimed responsibility, but some media outlets are reporting that ISIS is responsible.

Well, now to the incredible story of a housewife in Iraq who has been fighting ISIS and before that Al Qaeda for years.

Our Ben Wedeman met her and joins us now from Baghdad with the details. So, Ben, war in Iraq of course has torn people's lives apart, and ISIS has murdered so many civilians. You met this woman, who has been avenging the deaths of family members and fighting back quite literally. How is she doing that exactly?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: She's been doing this since essentially 2004, fighting Al Qaeda first, then ISIS. Now, she's formed her own unit as part of a tribal militia, and she says she's been fighting on the front lines and in some instances according to her behind enemy lines. But her story also underscores just how brutal this war has become.

Wahida Mohamed counts all the times her house has been blown up, "2006, 2009, 2010, three cars in 2013, and 2014," she says. Describing herself as a housewife, Wahida, better known as Um Hanedi (Ph), took up arms and leads men into battle against ISIS and Al Qaeda before that.

"Six times they tried to assassinate me, she says. I have shrapnel in my head and legs. My ribs were broken. But all that didn't stop me from fighting."

Her first and second husbands were killed in action. And ISIS killed her father and three brothers. This justifies, she says, the following. "I fought them," she tells me, referring to ISIS. I beheaded them. I cooked their heads. I burned their bodies."

Grisly photos from her Facebook page bear out her words. Her men showed me the machete they say they use. General Jema Aned (Ph) heads combat operations in Salahuddin province. This is his explanation.

"She lost her brothers and husbands as martyrs," he says, "so out of revenge she formed her own force." Last week, Um Hanedi and her men took part in the battle to drive ISIS out of her native Shirqat. All ISIS left behind was booby traps and a few dead bodies.

Many of the residents stayed put or like Um Hanedi joined the fighting. These boys recount the travails of life under ISIS. "There was no food, no school, nothing," says one. "They ruined us." "If we lose Iraq again," says Um Hanedi, "we'll lose it forever."

[03:40:01] In ways both tangible and intangible, this ravaged land has already lost itself. And of course, Um Hanedi says she will also be taking part in the offensive against ISIS to liberate the city of Mosul. But what we've seen time and time again is that sometimes both sides seem to be using the same sort of grisly tactics. Rosemary?

CHURCH: They do. But what an extraordinary woman she is all of the same. Ben Wedeman joining us there live from Baghdad. Many thanks to you.

Well, final lab tests have found that ISIS did not use a chemical agent in last week's attack on the U.S. Iraqi air base shown in these pictures. That is according to the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS. Initial field tests on the weapon described as a rocket or artillery shell did test positive for what U.S. troops suspected was a mustard agent.

A coalition official says even though the test was negative he expects chemical attacks in the future.

Typhoon Megi has killed at least four people in Taiwan and injured more than 500. It made landfall Tuesday. The third major storm to hit the island in two weeks. More than 2.5 million people lost power in Taiwan.

Megi's winds were so strong they knocked people off their feet. The storm is now battering mainland China as well.

And our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now to talk more about this. What is -- what's the next point that this Megi is going to hit?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: So, it's already moved ashore in China. So the rainfall is very persistent there right now, Rosemary. We're looking back out in the Pacific Ocean because there's another storm on its heels and we've just seen this over and over as you've said. Several storms in just two weeks' time. And here's what it looks like. The satellite presentation incredible

with the storm system. It was category 4 at landfall across north- central Taiwan and remarkable to think the injuries only to the hundreds, the fatalities also a limited number, but of course if you relate it to the folks that were impacted by this it is a devastating loss.

And you take a look at this. Just since the beginning of the season the tropical season across this portion of the world, now four disturbances that have either directly or indirectly impacted Taiwan and some of them, Meranti came very close. Of course, we know Malakas recently came very close. Megi direct impact coming in as a category 4 across this region.

But the rainfall, that's the devastating part of the storm system. Look at this. In just two days in parts of northern Taiwan, over a meter of rainfall has come down. That's comparable to almost two years of rainfall if you're watching us in, say, Beijing. So, it really puts it in perspective of how much water has come out -- come down from that storm in a short period.

But look behind it. This is Chaba across portions of Guam at this hour. And very early in the life of this storm right now. Just developed in the last few minutes. And being named to tropical depression Chaba but the progression is eerily similar to what we've seen in recent days. It's a westward and northwestward progression.

And sometime late this weekend places like Okinawa, again, Taiwan, would not be surprised if they would be in the threat zone with this late this week as a typhoon. So that's a story we'll follow over the next several days.

I want to show you what's happening in Australia at this hour because a remarkable storm system. What the officials are calling not only a rare storm but one of a kind when it comes to the last such storm occurring potentially five decades ago with the ferocity of the storm system. This one coming in across southern Australia near the great bike region.

We know South Australia 4,000 properties at this hour in the dark. One of our viewers there Adam sharing with us this photo of what's happening across Campbell town in south Australia, Rosemary. Flooding is a concern. The winds there 120 to 170 kilometers per hour. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology saying they have not seen winds that strong in south Australia since 1964.

CHURCH: Wow.

JAVAHERI: An incredible storm that's impacting Australia at this hour.

CHURCH: Amazing. All right. Thanks so much, Pedram. I appreciate it. And we will have more news after this very short break. Do stay with us.

[03:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. World leaders are honoring former Israeli Prime Minister and President Shimon Peres, who has died at the age of 93. He suffered a stroke two weeks ago.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there aren't many who have contributed so much to the people of Israel. Funeral plans are still being arranged.

We do want to go back now to Einat Wilf in Tel Aviv. We were speaking with her earlier, had a few audio issues. We have corrected that now. And Einat, you were a former member of Israel's Parliament. She's also worked as a foreign policy adviser to Shimon Peres when he was vice premier.

So, let's talk about that. We were -- we were talking about the memories that you had of Shimon Peres, if you would share those with us.

WILF: What I found personally remarkable was that up close he was as great as he was from afar, which is not typical when you work with politicians and world leaders. And especially when I had a chance to sit with him in meetings with world leaders, it was fascinating to see how they wanted to hear what he had to say.

Sometimes for the whole hour they would simply listen. Which I doubt they ever did for anyone else. And you could see sometimes they became a younger version of themselves looking up to him. Wanting in many ways to be him, to possess his sense of possibility. His sense that the future is ours to grab, to shape. And it was quite remarkable to view world leaders behave like that up close when with him.

CHURCH: He was such a hard worker, too, wasn't he? How do you think the people of Israel will remember Shimon Peres? And did he ever really receive the recognition he deserved for what he did for his country?

WILF: He was an incredibly hard worker. I remember when I just started working with him I thought I'd come in the morning before him and leave after him at night. And after three days I realized I would be hospitalized if I attempted to continue doing so.

He was an incredibly hard worker. He always said that he doesn't want to waste a single day in the service of the State of Israel, the people of Israel, the Jewish people, and every day was important for him to create that future.

I think for all Israelis today, what we wonder is does his passing also mean the passing of a certain spirit, a spirit of possibility and a spirit that the future is open, that anything could be made, that you can dream big and realize even bigger.

[03:49:57] I do think that by now that spirit of Peres has been acknowledged by the Israeli public. His presidency definitely served to consolidate his position as one of our greats, a founding father and someone who has really shaped Israel for what it is, for the sense of possibility, of greatness. And a lot of people at least today very much want to hope that his

passing doesn't mean that his spirit passes away as well.

CHURCH: Yes. And we will see more of that recognition in the days ahead, of course. Einat Wilf, thank you so much for joining us at this very difficult time and sharing your stories of Shimon Peres with is. We appreciate it.

WILF: Thank you.

(TECHNICAL PROBLEM)

CHURCH: ... Jeanne Moos to explain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The internet depicted the candidate spewing flames, shooting laser beams, and there was Donald Trump.

CLINTON: Vladimir Putin.

MOOS: Making funny faces and distracting noises.

TRUMP: The best ever at it. Then you go to so many different places. It certainly looks that way.

MOOS: As the Donald sniffled, Twitter sneezed. Someone get Trump a tissue. Does Trump have pneumonia? The debate was dubbed the sniffening. Parody Twitter accounts sprouted pretending to be Trump's sniffle, posting gems like this video purporting to be a compilation of every sniff from the debate. The hashtag make America sniff again circulated. But Donald denied he had a cold or allergies.

TRUMP: No sniffles. You know, the mic was very bad but maybe it was good enough to hear breathing.

[03:55:00] MOOS: The mystery was contagious.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. So now we have sniffle gate.

MOOS: A nose specialist and a body language expert speculated it might be a nervous tick while others joked about things people sniff that cause sniffing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.

MOOS: And comedian make Coke jokes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he was like scar face. But you know, with more face.

MOOS: But Donald has been a serial sniffer before. For instance, back when he first started using teleprompters.

TRUMP: I wonder why. MOOS: And while the Donald sniffed, Hillary shimmied.

CLINTON: Whew! OK.

MOOS: Laughing off Trump's assertion that she has a temperament problem. Her shimmy was put to rap.

A shimmying cat, and Shaq and Hillary made the rounds. It could have been worse at least the shimmy and the sniffle weren't combined.

CLINTON: Whew! OK.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN.

CLINTON: Whew! OK.

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Good to have a bit of fun with the candidates there. Well, actor Tom Hanks made one couple's wedding extra memorable by showing up in a hoodie and basketball shorts. Check out this photo bomb. Hanks was jogging in Central Park over the weekend when he saw the wedding shoot. They posed for pictures, but the Oscar winner took his own selfie and tweeted his congrats to the newlyweds. How about that?

Thanks for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Remember to connect with me anytime on Twitter @rosemarycnn. And there's more news after this short break. Hanna Vaughan Jones in London will have the latest news from around the world including reaction to the death of Shimon Peres. Do stay with us.

[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)