The Iraqi housewife who 'cooked the heads' of ISIS fighters

Shirqat, Iraq (CNN)"Shut up and stay still," the woman in black fatigues and a black headscarf snapped over her shoulder at the armed men behind her as she sat down for an interview.

Immediately they went quiet, each adjusting his weapon and standing up straight as if he'd been called to attention.

This is a woman who commands respect, I thought. She keeps a Beretta 9-millimeter pistol in a holster under her left arm. The area around the trigger was silver where the paint had worn off.

The woman in question, 39-year-old Wahida Mohamed -- better known as Um Hanadi -- leads a force of around 70 men in the area of Shirqat, a town 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Mosul, Iraq.

She and her men, part of a tribal militia, recently helped government forces drive ISIS out of the town.

In the man's world that is rural Iraq, female fighters are a rarity.

'More wanted than the Prime Minister'

Um Hanadi is not new to this.

"I began fighting the terrorists in 2004, working with Iraqi security forces and the coalition," she says. As a result, she attracted the wrath of what eventually became al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, which later morphed into ISIS.

"I received threats from the top leadership of ISIS, including from Abu Bakr (al-Baghdadi) himself," she says, referring to ISIS's self-declared caliph.

"But I refused."

"I'm at the top of their most wanted list," she brags, "even more than the Prime Minister."

Um Hanadi ticks off the times they planted car bombs outside her home. "2006, 2009, 2010, three car bombs in 2013 and in 2014."

Wahida Mohamed seen her in Shirqat, Iraq on Sept. 27, 2016.

Along the way, her first husband was killed in action. She remarried, but ISIS killed her second husband earlier this year. ISIS also killed her father and three brothers. They also killed, she added, her sheep, her dogs and her birds.

She narrowly escaped death as well.

"Six times they tried to assassinate me," she says. "I have shrapnel in my head and legs, and my ribs were broken."

She pulled back her headscarf to show her scars.

"But all that didn't stop me from fighting," she said.

Um Hanadi claims to have led her men in multiple battles against ISIS. General Jamaa Anad, the commander of ground forces in her native Salahuddin province, told me they had provided her group with vehicles and weapons.

General Anad, a short, compact, no-nonsense man of few words, simply says: "She lost her brothers and husbands as martyrs."

A picture from Wahida Mohamed's Facebook page.

'Check out my Facebook page'

After listing all the attacks against her, and all the loved ones lost to ISIS, Um Hanadi said: "I fought them. I beheaded them. I cooked their heads, I burned their bodies."

She made no excuses, nor attempted to rationalize this. It was delivered as a boast, not a confession.

"This is all documented," she said. "You can see it on my Facebook page."

A picture from Wahida Mohamed's Facebook page.

So we checked. Among many pictures of her with her dead husbands, fighters and generals, there was a photo of her in the same black combat fatigues and headscarf holding what appeared to be a freshly severed head. Another showed two severed heads in a cooking pot. In a third photograph, she is standing among partially-burned corpses. It's impossible to verify whether the photos are authentic or Photoshopped, but we got the point.

A picture from Wahida Mohamed's Facebook page.

Um Hanadi describes herself as a "rabat manzal" -- a housewife. She denied media reports she was a hairdresser, although a photo on her Facebook page shows her without a headscarf, in what appears to be a hair salon. She has two daughters, aged 22 and 20. They are trained and ready to fight, she says, but are busy at the moment taking care of their children.

When we finished the interview, Um Hanadi's entourage prepared to board their pickup trucks. I walked up to one of the trucks, where three men sat in the front seat. One pulled out a hand grenade.

"This is for Daesh," he said, using the derogatory term for ISIS.

A man shows a machete to CNN's Ben Wedeman.

"And so is this -- to cut off their heads," said the driver, pulling a long machete off the dashboard and brandishing it uncomfortably close to my face.

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Police: Man killed by officer pointed vaping device

El Cajon, California (CNN) For a second consecutive night, protesters gathered Wednesday in El Cajon, California, holding signs and demanding accountability following an officer-involved shooting of an unarmed black man.

Alfred Okwera Olango, 38, pulled a vape smoking device from his pocket and pointed it at police before one officer fatally shot him and another discharged a Taser, police in El Cajon, California, said.

His death set off demonstrations in the San Diego suburb as activists demanded that authorities release video of the shooting. They also want a federal probe into Olango's death.

Some protesters threw water bottles at police while others gathered in the street and parking lot where the shooting happened. Many held signs saying "black lives matter" as police wearing helmets with shields looked on.

Police have released little information except for a still photograph showing Olango in what authorities described as a "shooting stance," facing off with the two officers in a parking lot.

By Wednesday evening, police identified the object as a the vaping device. The identity of one of the officers was revealed as Richard Gonsalves, a 21-year veteran of the force.

In a news conference, Mayor Bill Wells did not identify the second officer, except to say he was also a 21-year veteran of the force.

Wells said he understood the frustration of demonstrators, who blocked a freeway exit for a period of time on Wednesday.

Location

The protests were "angry and loud" but peaceful, he said.

"It's their First Amendment right," he said. "I understand that they don't feel heard. I understand that they're wanting more information."

Wells said he had seen the video and that it pained him. But he called for patience as the investigation runs its course.

"I saw a man who was distraught, a man who was acting in ways that looked like he was in great pain, and I saw him get gunned down and killed and it broke my heart," he said. "If it was my son, I would be devastated."

Not acting like himself

On Tuesday afternoon, El Cajon police responded to a 911 call reporting an black man in his 30s who was behaving "erratically" behind a restaurant at the Broadway Village Shopping Center, Lt. Rob Ransweiler said.

According to the call, the man was "not acting like himself" and had been walking in traffic, endangering himself and motorists, Davis said.

The woman calling 911 claimed to be the man's sister and told the dispatcher that he was mentally ill and unarmed, Davis said. Investigators have not been able to confirm whether the caller was the man's sister, he said.

"We tried to get her to talk to us. As you can understand, she was upset. She was not cooperating with us," the chief said, asking the woman to come forward to speak with investigators.

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El Cajon Police @elcajonpolice

The investigation just started, but based on the video voluntarily provided by a witness, the subject did NOT have his hands up in the air

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Officers did not respond to the first 911 call for 50 minutes because "it did take us that long to clear officers to get out there," Davis said.

Once they arrived, the man kept his hands concealed in his pockets while pacing back and forth. As a second officer prepared a Taser, the man "rapidly drew an object," placed both hands on it "like you would be holding a firearm."

One officer fired his gun at the man, while a second officer discharged his Taser, he said. Both are on three-day administrative leave.

The El Cajon Police Department's homicide unit will investigate the shooting, and the district attorney's office will review it, Davis said. Asked if he should consult an outside agency to investigate the incident, the police chief said, "I trust my investigators. I trust the system. I trust the protocol, the district attorney's office and the FBI."

No trust in prosecutors to investigate police

Such assurances have done little assure the community.

The Rev. Shane Harris, president of the San Diego chapter of the National Action Network, called releasing the photo "cowardly." Harris, who said he had spoken to the dead man's family, was one of several speakers addressing reporters in front of the El Cajon Police Department.

In a photo from police, officers engage a man they say was acting "erratically."

"We do not trust local prosecutors to investigate local police," he said, explaining the family's desire for a federal investigation.

Harris questioned how police could release such a seemingly damning photo while purporting to pursue all the facts and refusing to release video from witnesses and those at a nearby restaurant.

Added Bishop Cornelius Bowser of Charity Apostolic Church, "We don't want to see a still picture of him pointing something that is not gun. ... The best way to move forward right now is through transparency."

Citing a countywide protocol pertaining to officer-involved shootings, Police Chief Jeff Davis said Tuesday he was merely following guidelines in not making the video public. His department released the photo to counter "disinformation," he said.

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What do non-protesters across Charlotte think?

Charlotte, North Carolina (CNN)For days, the loudest voices emerging from Charlotte have been the hundreds of protesters filling downtown every night.

But locals across Charlotte have a wide array of opinions about Keith Lamont Scott's death. Here's what they have to say about the protests and what should happen next:

Derrick Jacobs: 'This is not a black/white thing. This is a blue/black thing.'

Derrick Jacobs, a barber at the Mar'Cutz barber shop, says he'd rather speak out on social media than join the protests at night because "I don't think it's safe."

Jacobs, a 43-year-old barber, has lived in Charlotte his entire life.

He said the fact that the officer who shot Scott and the police chief are both black doesn't negate the racial profiling faced by African-Americans in Charlotte -- or the whole country.

"This is not a black/white thing. This is a blue/black thing," Jacobs said. "We're afraid of the badge."

Jacobs said he wants more training for police officers. He said it's appalling that the state requires more hours of training to become a licensed barber than a police officer.

It takes 1,528 hours to become a licensed barber; Charlotte-Mecklenburg police require about 900 hours of training. (The state's minimum police training requirement is 620 hours.)

"We have to go through more training to hold a pair of clippers than to hold a gun?' he said.

With the recent controversial shootings of black men by police, Jacobs says he has to lecture his four sons, ages 10 to 23, to not argue with police.

"We can figure out the particulars of who's right and who's wrong later," he tells his sons. "At the end of the day, we need you to come home alive."

Andrew Deese: 'They always want to make it a race thing'

Charlotte on edge 04:07

Andrew Deese, a 24-year-old bartender, has lived in Charlotte his entire life.

Deese, who is white, said people are jumping to conclusions that the shooting was racially motivated.

"I'm not racist, but they always want to make it a race thing," he said. "It was a black officer. It's not a race thing."

Deese said the protests have had a negative impact on workers like himself. "A lot of businesses have to close early," he said.

His bar has had to shut down at 11:30 p.m. to adhere to the city's curfew.

Chris Blowers: The situation is 'blown out of the water'

Chris Blowers, at a sports pub in Charlotte, said he thinks the "Black Lives Matter" movement is misguided.

Blowers, a 53-year-old who works in the communications field, has lived in Charlotte for 20 years.

He said the situation in Charlotte is "blown out of the water."

"It's going to cause economic damage, but it's going to be forgotten soon," he said.

Case in point: Blowers said he doesn't recall the 2013 controversial police shooting death of Jonathan Ferrell, which also led to protests in Charlotte.

He said he believes many Black Lives Matter protesters are "worried about a few possible racists," which he said is "ridiculous."

Instead, Blowers said, he thinks Black Lives Matter movement would be better focused on overall deaths resulting from black-on-black crime.

Maurice Jones: 'From a white standpoint, you're intimidating'

Maurice Jones, right, says his heart starts pounding when he gets pulled over.

Jones, a 50-year-old truck driver, has lived in Charlotte his entire life.

He said he's often perceived as a criminal for no reason.

"From a white standpoint, you're intimidating," he said.

He said officers sometimes ask "irrelevant" questions when he gets pulled over, such as what he does for a living.

And sometimes, when in an elevator with a white woman, "the white lady will put her purse on the other shoulder."

Jones said he wants inherent racial profiling to stop. But how?

"That's the question of the day," he said.

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Pope 'shares pain' of Nice attack victims, families

Pope 'shares pain' of Nice attack victims, families

(CNN)Pope Francis told survivors and the relatives of those killed and injured in the Bastille Day terror attack in Nice, France, that he shared their pain as he met with them Saturday in Rome.

More than 80 people died when Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel plowed a 20-ton truck into crowds on the Promenade des Anglais seafront in Nice during a fireworks celebration on France's key national holiday.

Ten children were among the victims of the ISIS-inspired attack. More than 200 people were injured.

"I wish to share in your pain, a pain that is even greater when I think of the children, or indeed entire families, whose life was taken from them suddenly and so dramatically," Francis said.

"I assure each one of you of my compassion, my closeness and my prayer."

The Pope also prayed for all those who were injured July 14, including ones who were "appallingly maimed, in flesh and spirit," and some who were still in the hospital and unable to make the journey to Rome.

Francis called on political and religious leaders to foster dialogue, saying that where there is a temptation "to respond to hatred with hatred or violence with violence," a change of heart is needed.

"It is possible to respond to assaults by the devil only with the works of God, which are forgiveness, love and respect for our neighbor, even if he or she is different," he said.

France has been under a state of emergency since the Paris terror attacks in November, and authorities have struggled to monitor thousands of domestic radicals on their radar.

Less than two weeks ago, French authorities thwarted what they said was an ISIS plot to attack the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

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Obama on Trump: 'Even most 8-year-olds' know slavery was a bad time for black people

image obama on trump

(CNN)President Barack Obama sharply criticized Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for saying earlier this week that the black community is in the worst shape it's "ever been in before."

"I think even most 8-year-olds will tell you that whole slavery thing wasn't very good for black people," Obama told ABC News in an interview that aired Friday on "Good Morning America." "Jim Crow wasn't very good for black people. What we have to do is use our history to propel us to make even more progress in the future."

Obama's comments reflected the wide gulf between the President and Trump that came into greater focus this week as race again became a top issue in the 2016 campaign following fatal police shootings of African-American men in Oklahoma and North Carolina. Speaking before a mostly white audience Tuesday in Kenansville, North Carolina, Trump spoke of the need to "rebuild our inner cities."
"Our African-American communities are absolutely in the worst shape that they've ever been in before. Ever. Ever. Ever," Trump said.

The speech was part of a high-profile push by the Trump campaign to plug gaps in poll numbers with minority voters, and also to win over white voters turned off by divisive rhetoric from Trump that critics have repeatedly labeled as racist.

Still, the effort has stumbled. By proposing the expansion of the controversial "stop-and-frisk" program as a way to improve urban policing -- and by engaging in a public re-litigation of the baseless "birther" controversy that critics labeled racist -- Trump spent much of the last week doing damage control with the same voters he'd hoped to attract.

All the while, Obama has positioned himself as one of Trump's most vocal critics -- and rival Hillary Clinton's biggest cheerleader.

Speaking to reporters gathered in the Oval Office last Friday, Obama sarcastically dismissed Trump's "birther" capitulation. "I was pretty confident about where I was born, I think most people were as well," he said. "My hope would be the presidential election reflects more serious issues than that."

And the president made a more earnest effort to rebut Trump when he spoke at the Congressional Black Caucus gala on Saturday, and said that he would consider it a "personal insult" to his legacy if black voters didn't turn out for Clinton.

Newest absentee, registration numbers promising for Clinton

"If I hear anybody saying their vote does not matter, that it doesn't matter who we elect -- read up on your history. It matters. We've got to get people to vote," Obama said. "I will consider it a personal insult -- an insult to my legacy -- if this community lets down its guard and fails to activate itself in this election. You want to give me a good sendoff? Go vote."

At the event, Obama also criticized Trump for using hyperbolic language when discussing African-Americans, and suggested that Trump visit the Smithsonian's new National Museum of African American History and Culture for perspective.

"You may have heard Hillary's opponent in this election say that there's never been a worse time to be a black person. I mean, he missed that whole civics lesson about slavery or Jim Crow," he said. "But we've got a museum for him to visit, so he can tune in. We will educate him."

Obama speaks at the museum's opening Friday.

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