not a particularly large area, a vital highway from here the capital of baghdad towards samarra and baiji as well to the west of it. that group, we re talking about half, we believe they started the offensive and hope to assert but quite clearly there s still a lot of fighting to happen there. natalie. nick, certainly, the drive that you took shows everyone around the world what s really happening on the ground and the dangerous situation that the fighters are enduring to take back this territory. but, talk to us, if you conversation about the refugees, the people, the civilians, just trying to get out of the way of isis to get, for instance, to baghdad for safety? reporter: well, it is an extraordinarily complex situation for those. certainly, those sunnis often feel that the welcome they get here isn t as warm as they would like.
fifa election and the corruption scandal just a little later in this hour. now, turning to isis, a group that is expanding its reach beyond iraq and syria. the militants took control of an air base and a civilian air base near cerp libya. they say only one non-operationalle air base was left there. isis released these photos controlling a military base none inside the air base. and in iraq, isis is claiming responsibility for two bombings at hotels that cater to baghdad s elite and foreigners, and if true, this is very significant. our senior international correspondent nick paton walsh is in baghdad with more on that. reporter: those blasts in baghdad, which is simply the central nature of them, and