To start on the 50th floor of the building. Flaming debris scorched the lower parts of the tower. Hundreds of people had to evacuate to the streets below. Cnn producer john jenson was there and spoke to some terrified residents. Reporter these are the dramatic images of one of dubais large fires in recent history. Flames engulfed the upper floors of the apartment building. It broke out saturday morning. There were no injuries or deaths and the cause sun known according to dubais civil defense. Hundreds of people evacuated to the street and described the confusion. All of us we run, run, run downstairs. Of course it was panic. It was panic. I never seen like this before. It was a little surreal to be honest. I was just concerned. Kept looking down to see if there were any flames coming through the stairwell and with the with smoke it was frightening. Reporter the blaze was extinguished several hours after it began. The police still have a massive cleanup. Were about one block away from where the fire first broke out. As you can see behind me are the remnants of the flaming debris that came off the building, the glass, massive chunks and facade of the building. Making matters worse, in dubai right now there is a sand storm so it is flying in the air. The fire erupted in one of the iconic towers. One of the tallest buildings in the world with 79 floors. The buildings management wasnt available to comment but residents say beside hearing fire alarms they were told nothing and have little idea what to do next. Nobody tell us anything. Nobody tell us anything. I dont know how, where do we go . All of us we are like this. Reporter the tragic irony lost on no one here is the buildings name the torch. John jenson cnn, dubai. Really scary pictures there. Joining me on the phone is a resident who lived on the 20th floor of the torch. Thank you for taking time to talk to us about what you saw there and what you experienced. Can you tell us . Yeah sure. I think actually myself and my roommate were probably among the first people to notice there was a fire. I had been on the phone. I have family in the u. S. I was on the phone with them. In the building theres often fire alarms that can go off. People in the building have developed the habit of ignoring them. I didnt pay much attention. In the corner of my eye i saw sol something fall from the building and it was on fire. So i decided to quick hung up my phone call woke up my roommate and threw on shoes and headed for the staircase. I have lived in a tall tower like that residential tower. Im curious to know what it was like to evacuate a building like that so high up. Was it an orderly evacuation . What was that like . So i mean the tower, because the tower is actually 82 floors of residential housing. So the staircases are divided as are the elevators. I think that helped to make things a bit more orderly. Like i said we were some of the first people out of the building some the stairwell wasnt too crazy. Very good friends of mine live on the 79th floor and had to make their way downstairs with their their 1monthold baby and it was a different experience than we had going down there. Thats terrifying. What is it like to see the crews there try to put the fire out . On the ground it was actually scary. On the ground floor and left through the garage. When we looked up, we could see tons of parts of the building on fire falling. As you mention ed earlier, were in the middle of a stand storm. So already it is high winds. Literally you just sand hitting you in the face and looking up and seeing chunks of the building falling was scary because we had to figure out how to get somewhere safe so we were able to cross the street quickly and took shelter in the garage of the tiger building which is across the street. Then they had to evacuate that building as well because so many pieces of the building that were falling and on fire. Pretty quickly the streets got packed. It was a mixture of people obviously who lived in our building who were quite upset to see the building on fire. Every time something fell from the building you held your breath because you were hoping it wouldnt drop on another balcony, on the building and start a fire there which eventually did happen. The 30th floor started on fire as well with. And that side of the building once it caught fire it caught quite quickly. A mixture of residents and other people who were videotaping everything happening. It was very crazy. I want to ask you briefly, as well. So you were on the 20th story of this building if im correct there. So is that where you are staying now . I wouldnt imagine you are back in the building. Where are people staying at this point who cant get back in the building . So it is a pretty heavily populated area. A lot of people had friends who called immediately as soon as it happened. I think it went by quickly. I had a number of friends outside of dubai calling to see how i was doing. A lot of friends said are you okay, come stay with me. A lot of people are staying at friends houses. We got an email from the building saying the floors six through 20 are cleared for people to go back in to the building. The elevators arent functioning yet to the higher floors. Im not sure if they are going to be but as of now they are saying people from the 6th to 20th floor are allowed back in the building. I think probably in the next half hour we will head to the building and assess damage wise. Again taking that information that you say the sixth through 20th floors are cleared for people to get back in the building. We are glad you got out safely. Thank you for your time after escaping that fire at the torch in dubai. Thank you. Now on to iraq. There are concerns that a plan to take back mosul from isis will only fuel insnablt the region. The United Arab Emirates and other Coalition Members say the offensive which would be largely led by shiadominated forces would alienate sunnis. Isis tried to capital hooizize on sunnis disenchantment with the iraqi government. Er bill is at the center of fighting against the isis terror group. Senior International Correspondent went to the front lines where kurd canish fighters are trying to keep isis at bay. Reporter all is quiet at this moment on erbil. We went there with this man, the commander of sector six of the kurdish lines. One of iraqi kyrgyzstans richest entrepreneurs last august as isis pushed close to erbil, he replaced his business suits with combat fatigues. I have many many projects in kyrgyzstan. Famous projects and resorts, factories. Reporter as we approached the front lines, his radio picks up chatter among isis fighters. Hes responsible for a network of fortifications and trenches running 120 kilometers or 70 miles. This is one of the hottest sectors of the thousand kilometer or around 600 mile front between. It wasnt far from here that isis launched major assault on their positions. However, they were pushed back. His men a collection of middleaged veterans of the kurds decades long struggle against Saddam Hussein and youngsters new to the ways of war. Their weaponry mostly old and very light. Leaving him wond withering why as they fight isis their appeal for better weapons isnt heated. I feel we are alone. Ul in april or may and hes skeptical. Maybe, but with the with iraqi army i dont think so. Very difficult. Reporter for now the fighters here are holding the line. Not letting down their guard. En. The new u. S. Secretary of defense is in kabul today to meet with afghan president. Ashton carter arrived in kabul four days after sworn in as pentagon chief. The defense secretary will also meet with u. S. Troops at Bagram Airfield today. On the flight to afghanistan, reporters asked carter whether the u. S. Will be sending Ground Troops back in to iraq to help fight isis. Listen. Thats one that will be iraqi led, and the u. S. Supported and its important that it be launched at a time when it can succeed as i think the important thing is that it get done when it can be done successfully. Even if i knew exactly when that was going to be i wouldnt tell you. We understand that carter will visit u. S. Troops in kandahar on sunday before leaving for kuwait where hell meet with American Military and kuwaiti leaders. Theres a desperate search in the u. K. To find three teenager girls and stop them from fighting and joining with isis. Police say they were last seen getting on to a plane in turkey which is a frequent entry point in to syria. Our chief u. S. Security correspondent jim sciutto has more including the growing trend of young Women Joining this terror group. Reporter senior british diplomate tells me the recruitment by isis of women and girls is a clear and disturbing trend and warns the girls involved in this case are at risk of sexual and other exploitation if they make it to the war zone in syria. These three young british schoolgirls are believed to be the newest foreign recruits to isis. Caught on surveillance cameras at londons gattwick airport with luggage in tow, police fear they have fled britain for syria. We dont know how they came up with the plan or what enticed or encouraged them to go out to syria. We obviously believe they are heading toward syria. We just dont know how its happened. The parents themselves are mystified. Reporter the muslim girls have been missing since tuesday when they boarded a flight to istanbul, turkey, the same airport this man used. She is still wanted by French Police and believed inside of syria. Turkey has been the key transit noint to syria for recruits to isis and other extremist groups. Turkish and european authorities are struggling to stem the flow. Dhs secretary jeh johnson told wolf blitzer on thursday the u. S. Is tracking these movements the best it can. We have systems in place to track these individuals as they come and go. It is difficult to pick up broken travel what is that mean broken travel . Where you fly to country a a and go to country b on the ground and say we dont know that fact. The Terrorism Research group track estimates one in six isis foreign recruits are women. That isis recruiting network extends all the way to the u. S. Homeland. In october, three teenager girls from colorado were intercepted at Frankfurt Airport in germany as they tried to make their way to syria to join isis. It was their parents who tipped off the fbi. Another american 19yearold shan shannon Maureen Connelly was arrested in Denver International airport in april of last year on her way to an isis camp. She was sentenced to four years in prison after confessing she wanted to become an isis bride and wage holy war. The three british girls are friends with another girl who traveled to syria. Police interviewed them but did not consider them to be likely isis recruits. Police say if they can find the girls in turkey before they get to syria theres a good chance they can get them back home. No matter where you are in the United States you are probably cold. Winter is still taking its toll on more than 125 million americans. What the eastern part of the can you u u. S. Can expect from this deadly winter storm in the next few days. Coast guard crews from the u. S. And canada are working to free a ship that was stuck in ice on lake erie. The ship was headed to sturgeon bay, wisconsin when it got stuck. The coast guards icebreaking tug has already struggled to reach the stranded vessel fighting through ice that is tenfeet thick in some places. The dangerously cold weather and belownormal temperatures in the u. S. Have turned deadly in some places. At least 23 people have died across the United States this week alone, including 18 deaths in the state of tennessee. More than 125 million americans in the eastern part of the u. S. Are under some type of windchill advisory. That includes some places with windchills as low as 40 below. Records are being broken in several states and theres even been snow in the south. Meteorologist Derek Van Damme is at the World Weather center. There was snow in parts of northern georgia. Its really unusual. Even in to the Atlanta Metro area got a few snow flurries throughout the course of the day today. Some of the records broken have actually stood for centuries, believe it or not. With this cold arctic air that settled in across the eastern and central parts of the u. S. Its leaving scenes like this across many rivers and lakes, freezing them completely. Just like the hudson river in lower manhattan. Here it is the centurys old record lows that continue to be shattered. Lexington, kentucky were talking about 18 degrees below zero fahrenheit. Thats on friday morning. Unbelievable stuff. Theres now a new winter storm thats developing across the midatlantic and ohio river valley. We have winter storm warn withings and weather advisories all the way to the big apple. Low pressure system developing across tennessee in to oklahoma. Some precipitation mixed over at times near the Atlanta Metro area. You can see the storm developing. We expect rain snow mix for the nations capitol in to new york and even perhaps for boston on saturday evening and in to sunday. You can see snowfall totals could exceed a foot near west virginia. Lesser amounts but significant for southern ohio and western portions of pennsylvania. On top of that the possibility of a quarter to a half inch of ice. Along the i40 corridor. Traveling eastbound or westbound to the carolinas be careful, northbound or southbound on 758 looking hairy as well through this batch of precipitation that continues to move from west to east. This is not our only storm were tracking. We have a Pacific Northwest storm that is bringing in moisture across the colorado rockies. This will dump upstandards of two feet of snow for some of those popular ski resorts out west including breckenridge and vail. We will keep with the snow theme. People in jerusalem on the other side of the world on friday morning woke up to a fresh layer of snow but creating magnificent sights. This thin blanket of snow covering the city. It caused Power Outages in a few neighbors. Authorities closed roads in to jerusalem hours before it started snowing and the thin blanket of snow gave a bright glitter to some of the holy places in the walled old city. Love seeing that stuff. We have plenty of that snowy weather in the central and eastern half of the United States, as well. I saw something funny online. It said elsa from frozen is wanted by police. I think so. Well blame it on him. Thank you so much. Russia appears to be near recession but not everyone is struggling in that country. What is behind the uptick in gun sales despite western sanctions . Thousands of people filled kievs independent square for a bittersweet ceremony. Many were overcome by emotions marking the one Year Anniversary of the maidan uprising. Activists will hold a rally denouncing the political protests. More now from senior International Correspondent. Reporter moment of silence in the sea of ukrainian flags. Thousands came to commemorate those killed in the violence last year that eventually led to profound change for ukraine and for european security. In his speech Pedro Poroshenko hailed the unity of the protesters. We have lost so many people he said. They were here shoulder to shoulder. Representatives of different ethnic groups religions, people from both east and west north and south of ukraine. It was on february 20th 2014 that the ongoing protests on me maidan square erupted in to the worst violence to that point. Protester and Security Forces traded fire. In the end almost 50 people had been killed. Dozenens more wounded. The bloodshed galvanized the movement to oust then president vic. And he fled to russia the country that had supported his regime. Today ukraines military honored those killed in the uprising, and so did scores of ordinary civilians, laying down flowers, many overcome by emotions even a year on. Translator what can a regular person like me feel but sadness and respect for the people who gave up their lives for the glory of ukraine, says this man who said he was on the square while the protests were going on. This is a day of remembrance for most people here in ukraine but also a day where people take stock of where the country is one year on. It is certainly a dhaunt seems ill disillusioned by the pace of reforms and the economic solution and the situation in the east of the country. Large crowds gathered at dooefs main Railway Station to give a heros welcome to soldiers arriving home from the battle neeld the east. Among the thousands who gathered in maidan square the mood was more somber as this nation looks back on a year that brought so much hope but also so much uncertainty, division and pain. Cnn, kiev. From the mood at maidan square to russia. Russias economy has struggled for months now fuelling fears of a recession there. For the countrys most famous gunmaker, business is booming. We have this report as fighting escalates in ukraine and russia so do weapon sales. Reporter its the weapon of choice for rebels tourists and National Armies alike. The ak47 Assault Rifle has been on the front line of pivotal conflicts since the second world war. While his home country may be facing economic turmoil, it is one business bucking the trend. Reporter the stret secret of their success is the power of the brand. It is also good weapons, both civilian and military which our buyers like. Reporter Strong Demand sent sales soaring by a third since 2013 despite sanctions imposed by the west. We were surprised that we were included on the sanctions list. Because of that we were forced to change the strategy of sales since we lost 80 of our sales volume. The only option was new markets with military products rather than civilian. Reporter the new focus appears to be right on target. Coming a a time when the worlds armed forces are confronted bay new set of security threats. The strife in ukraine, iraq and syria, Global Defense budgets increased in 2014 for the first time in three years. Despite slashing spending in almost area recessionhit are