May 13, 2013 3:46 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

The Telegraph reports that the black flag of al Qaeda flies "from all the lampposts" in the Syrian city of al Raqqah. More:

In Raqqa, a once conservative but by all accounts not religious city, the triumph of al-Qaeda's Syrian arm, Jabhat al-Nusra, would seem to be complete.

Little known a year ago but suspected of having being founded by al-Qaeda in Iraq, they have grown in stature, leading many of the rebels' most successful recent battles. Last month they publicly declared their loyalty to al-Qaeda's supreme leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

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May 3, 2013 7:13 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Euronews covers the May 1 clash between Afghan and Pakistani forces along the disputed border in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar. One Afghan policeman was killed and two Pakistani soldiers were wounded in the incident.

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May 1, 2013 7:50 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Al Jazeera covers recent anti-government conflicts in Iraq in an April 26 report. At least 15 people were killed in a series of bombings today in Baghdad, Fallujah, and Ramadi.

For additional coverage, see Threat Matrix: Awakening threatens to turn on the Iraqi government.

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April 26, 2013 8:28 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Unverified video claims to show victims of a March chemical attack in Syria:

A fourth video that claims to be posted from Ateibeh on March 19 shows an interview with a man dressed in medical scrubs, a surgical mask and surgical cap, whom the cameraman identifies as a doctor. He stands next to an unconscious man connected to an IV tube and wearing an oxygen mask. The cameraman repeats the date and asks the doctor a series of questions about his patients.

"We have with us one of the doctors who deal with the victims of indiscriminate shelling on the town of Ateibeh with toxic substances whose composition is unknown," the cameraman says. "Doctor, please, can you tell us about the symptoms that are caused by this shelling? What are the possibilities of verifying the substances being dropped on this area?"

"Unfortunately, most cases we're getting are deaths," the doctor says. "The cases we're getting that are still alive are exhibiting asphyxiation, spasms, slow heart rate, very low blood pressure. Truth be told, it is probably the material organic phosphate."

Three more videos and their descriptions can be found at The NYT's The Lede.

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April 23, 2013 1:36 AM ET
By Bill Roggio

Malian troops are absent in the town of Kidal, which was under al Qaeda control until the end of last winter. The area is patrolled by French and Chadian forces, who are scheduled to leave, and Tuareg rebels, who oppose the Malian government. Meanwhile, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb remains a persistent threat.

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April 3, 2013 2:14 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

The video above shows the aftermath of an Al Nusrah Front unit overrunning what appears to be a platoon of Syrian Army reserve armored forces (the tanks are T-55s). The video bears the logo of the Al-Manara Al-Baydha' Foundation, the official media arm of the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria. It appears to have been shot in Dara'a in the south, where Al Nusrah has made great gains in the past several weeks.

The video appears to be taken after the Al Nusrah Front overran the Syrian Army tank unit. While gunfire is heard on the video, no opposition to the Al Nusrah Front assault team is evident. But Al Nusrah clearly took the tank platoon; the bodies of dead Syrian soldiers are seen lying on the ground.

The Al Nusrah Front fighters then torch the hastily built shelters and drive off with the T-55s. AL Nusrah Front fighters celebrate while waving the black banner of jihad.

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March 25, 2013 4:44 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

Al Jazeera reports on the emergence of Libya as a major source of weapons for jihadists in North and West Africa, and the Levant after the Western-led effort to topple longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Libyan rebels and the West failed to secure Qaddafi's massive weapons depots after Qaddafi's fall. Libyan weapons, from assault rifles to antiaircraft missiles, have appeared in the hands of jihadists on the battlefields of Algeria, Mali, Egypt, Syria, and the Palestinian Territories.

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March 18, 2013 10:11 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

A video posted by the Abkhazian Network News Agency shows mounted footage of a Syrian regime tank operating in the southern city of Darayya.

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March 15, 2013 4:50 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Al Jazeera English covers the Chadian Army campaign in Mali in a Mar. 4 report, including assertions that "al Qaeda is on the run."

"You can't say all the bases, but the principle base of the Salafists has been destroyed, I can assure you of that," said General Omar Bikomb, the commander of Chadian forces in Mali.

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March 12, 2013 5:29 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Video of a downed Syrian regime helicopter taken by Eric Harroun, a US Army veteran fighting alongside Islamist rebels. Harroun, a Muslim convert known as "the American," has fought with various groups, including the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda in Iraq's affiliate in Syria. From a Fox News profile:

Eric Harroun, 30, grew up in Phoenix before joining the U.S. Army in 2000. Although Harroun was never deployed during his three-year hitch, he has seen plenty of combat fighting with Syrian rebels and, more recently, Jabhat al-Nusra, a group the U.S. State Department classifies as an alias for Al Qaeda in Iraq.

"I was separated in a battle and most of my group was K.I.A. and Al-Nusra picked me up," Harroun told FoxNews.com during one of several brief interviews conducted via Skype.

Harroun, who said he is now in Turkey, shrugged off a question about fighting alongside Al Qaeda terrorists who have joined the Syrian rebellion, saying, "the U.S. plays both sides, too." He said the offshoot of the terror group behind the 9/11 attacks welcomed him.

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March 7, 2013 6:00 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

France24 reports on the final phase of France's "Operation Serval" in Mali, including the search for French hostages held by Islamist forces.

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March 6, 2013 6:37 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

An unverified video posted to Youtube appears to show a sudden Syrian Army tank assault on a rebel position.

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March 4, 2013 5:29 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

A review of French air support over Mali. The video and a full report can be found at France24.

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February 28, 2013 9:51 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

An unverified video published at the Guardian shows Syrian rebels shooting down a helicopter "reportedly at Menakh air base, 25 miles north of Aleppo."

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February 24, 2013 10:16 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

An animated cartoon depicting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad as a puppet of Iranian leaders has been released by Syrian activists. Click on the above image to watch. Al Arabiya has the video and a description.

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February 21, 2013 1:19 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

CNN covers the latest fighting in Syria, including the regime's use of Scud missiles fired toward Aleppo.

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February 18, 2013 8:02 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

David Blair of The Telegraph explains how he discovered a record of a March 18 meeting of the leaders of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in Timbuktu. The document detailed plans by AQIM leadership to "take command and control of all jihadist activities in the Sahara." A full translation of the document and additional context can be found at Blair's report.

See also Long War Journal coverage: Al Qaeda in Mali sought to hide foreign designs

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February 15, 2013 8:07 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Video from the UK Telegraph:

Sergeant Carl James Boyd of the 1st Royal Regiment of Fusiliers demonstrates how the Norwegian-designed Black Hornet Nano will be used by troops on the front line in Afghanistan.

The tiny handheld surveillance helicopters contains a camera that beams back video and still images to a handheld control terminal, allowing soldiers to see past obstacles to identify potential hidden dangers.

The remote-controlled drone measures about 4in by 1in and weighs 0.6oz

Sergeant Boyd described the piece of kit as a "lifesaver".

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February 12, 2013 5:11 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

CNN's Jake Tapper reports on Medal of Honor recipient and former US Army Staff Sergeant Clinton Romesha. President Barack Obama yesterday awarded Romesha the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Kamdesh on Oct. 3, 2009. Part One of CNN's special is embedded above; all six installments of the report can be found at the Facebook page for "The Outpost," Tapper's book on the battle at Combat Outpost Keating.

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February 11, 2013 2:45 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

IBTimesUK reports on a counterattack by al Qaeda-affiliated Islamists on the town of Gao. French and Malian troops drove the militants from Gao two weeks ago.

See Threat Matrix coverage: First suicide bombing reported in Mali

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February 6, 2013 6:29 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Al Jazeera covers recent suicide bombings in Kirkuk, and the belief that al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) is staging a comeback in the oil-rich city. "In two years there was only one suicide bombing in Kirkuk," said correspondent Jane Arraf. "In the last six months, there have been seven."

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February 4, 2013 3:55 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Unverified video purports to show the sequence of events (separate clips of shot and impact) of Syrian rebels using an RPG-29 to destroy a Syrian Army T-72 main battle tank. An anonymous analysis (translated from Russian) posted to LiveLeak includes still frames of the projectile and provides additional perspective.

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January 31, 2013 8:21 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Al Jazeera English interviews women who were abused by al Qaeda-affiliated rebels during their rule of Timbuktu. French and Malian forces retook the city on Monday.

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January 29, 2013 2:44 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Watch Opium Brides on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

A 2012 Frontline documentary covered portions of the child slavery trade associated with the opium trade and the Afghan government's selective campaign against opium farming. CNN recently interviewed the filmmakers, who assert that there are "hundreds, if not thousands of girls on the run from the traffickers."

For additional background on the fundamental challenges posed by Afghanistan's opium economy and government drug policy, see Long War Journal coverage from 2010: 'A counterinsurgency conundrum in Salaam Bazaar:'

[P]erhaps a majority of area residents are effectively indentured servants of the Taliban, beholden to insurgent drug lords through the credit system established by the Akhundzada family during their rule of Helmand in the 1980s and 1990s. Farmers receive start-up capital in the form of money, goods, and services that enable them to feed their families while cultivating a poppy crop. After the harvest, the borrowers owe a certain yield to the creditors, regardless of weather, the health of the crop, or other factors. If this debt is not repaid, the farmer falls further into debt or can be subject to beatings and even murder. The locals' resulting servile fear of the Taliban makes cooperation with Americans and the Afghan government security forces an untenable proposition.

Also, 'Prospects for stability in Musa Qala: challenges and possible solutions:'

Despite the risk of incarceration for locals who possess large amounts of the drug, opium cultivation remains a core element of Helmand's cultural and economic fabric. Poppy is relatively inexpensive to grow, in terms of the cost of seed and average crop yields per unit of water and land, and its cultivation has a guaranteed and well-understood net return. In addition, poppy is labor-intensive to harvest, employing large segments of the population; bricks of opium paste can be stored underground for up to five years without spoiling; and it can be used as cash in the local economy. Most crucially, opium farmers gain access to credit.

Because of the entrenched financing and trade infrastructure that has grown up around poppy cultivation, small farmers and sharecroppers can easily obtain credit and supplies from merchants, shop owners, and other businessmen, a debt paid back upon successful harvesting and delivery of the yield. This credit can be extended in the form of cash or services and goods, including basic necessities, like food. To an impoverished population often focused on immediate survival, small poppy farming to make ends meet makes sense, despite the illegality, taxation by the Taliban or corrupt government officials, and risk.

The UN has projected that other crops could offer greater profit margins: onions, pomegranates, and almonds are among the alternatives that could promise a higher net income. But despite Afghan government and ISAF programs to jumpstart these crops, the financing options are much more limited, storage and distribution networks are in their infancy or nonexistent, and farmers are skeptical about taking the risk into an unknown market. Many have demanded a guaranteed price for the alternate crops, which is generally considered a non-starter because it will create unsustainable dependencies.

The ties between the insurgency and the opium trade are simple: to the extent the government is unstable, drug lords and the illegal drug trade thrive. And to the extent the local population considers opium cultivation its best or only option, it will hesitate to support any force that threatens its livelihood. Farmers are considered amenable to alternate crops, but some civilian and military experts find that restructuring the local economy away from the drug trade is an intensive, generational aid project. These experts see it as requiring international assistance, especially through the expansion of microloans, the creation of local processing facilities, and widening regional trade with a focus on Afghanistan's neighbors, Pakistan and Iran.

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January 25, 2013 1:44 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

NBC News covers fighting in Syria, describing the current state of the conflict as a "stalemate." More than 7,000 troops affiliated with the regime of Bashar al-Assad have been killed and over 3 million refugees have fled their homes during the conflict.

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January 22, 2013 1:30 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

The Guardian features an Algerian news report showing the aftermath of the recent hostage situation at the Amenas gas field in eastern Algeria. Algerian special forces stormed the facility after deeming the demands of al Qaeda-affiliated militants "unreasonable, according to the [Algerian] prime minister," as reported by CNN. At least 37 hostages were killed and five are missing; at least 29 terrorists were killed, and three were captured.

See additional Long War Journal coverage:

Belmokhtar claims Algerian raid, slaying of hostages for al Qaeda

Nigerien jihadist identified as commander of Algerian hostage operation

Report: Al Qaeda group demands release of 2 well-known jihadists

Al Qaeda-linked group claims credit for kidnappings in Algeria

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January 18, 2013 11:42 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Le Parisien shows raw footage of French special forces operating in Niono village in Mali on Thursday. Niono is "the government's most forward position and the rallying point ... for a growing number of French ground troops who local officials anticipate may soon mount a push to retake Diabaly, 40 miles to the north," according to a McClatchy report.

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January 16, 2013 3:46 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Via the The Telegraph:

Both Bashar al-Assad's government and rebels blamed each other for the blasts at the University of Aleppo that demolished the front of a six-storey building belonging to the architecture department.

Mohammed Wahid Akkad, the governor of Aleppo, Syria's most populous city, said at least 80 people were killed and 160 injured. Most of the dead were students. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed more than 80 dead after receiving reports from doctors and students, but said the death toll could rise. It said there were at least 150 injured, some critically.

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January 10, 2013 6:01 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Al Jazeera reports on the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda in Iraq's offshoot in Syria, highlighting its tactics, its claims it has "no links with any foreign group," and its plans for an Islamic state after the fall of the Assad regime.

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January 8, 2013 2:21 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

A public relations video published on a web site dedicated to Iraqi special forces displays Iraqi military capabilities and equipment, notably M1A1-Abrams main battle tanks and Iraqi Air Force Cessna 208s purchased from the US. The video also shows an F-16IQ Fighting Falcon, though 18 of these multi-role fighter aircraft were not slated to be delivered until "late 2014 or 2015," according to a US Air Force public affairs report in late 2011.

According to an analysis by Defense Industry Daily, "[r]ealistically, Iraq will not be able to enforce national air sovereignty before 2016 at the very earliest - and a number of analysts still believe it will be later than that."

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December 27, 2012 6:05 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Al Jazeera English reports on a protest in Ramadi, Anbar province, Iraq over perceived sectarianism by the Maliki government, including the recent arrest of Finance Minister Rafia al-Issawi's bodyguards.

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December 21, 2012 3:35 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

The Associated Press reports on attempts by Syrian rebels to take control of areas north of Damascus.

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December 17, 2012 4:33 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Al Jazeera features a portion of the defection announcement from the spokesman for Syria's intelligence agency. This is only the latest in a series of regime defections, including the flight of Jihad Makdissi, the Syrian foreign ministry spokesman.

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December 13, 2012 2:58 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Embedded reporter Carmen Gentile reports on current Afghan local police development in Zharay district, Kandahar province for the Daily.

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December 10, 2012 5:42 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

An undated Liveleak video shows Syrian rebels deploying a slingshot -propelled grenade.

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December 7, 2012 8:36 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Reuters Decoder examines Syria's chemical weapons capabilities. The regime of Bashar al-Assad has begun transporting some chemical weapons from storage facilities, according to US intelligence officials.

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December 3, 2012 3:27 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Video posted on Liveleak is described as depicting the planning and execution of a Free Syrian Army attack on a Syrian Army base "between Aleppo and Idlib."

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November 29, 2012 6:35 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Video appears to show a Syrian government helicopter being struck by a guided surface to air missile. CJ Chivers offers context and an additional video of the helicopter at the NYT At War blog.

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November 26, 2012 2:54 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Al Jazeera English reports on Hamdullah Nazek, the governor of the Dand district in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. Nazek has maintained his position despite a recent Taliban resurgence and 12 assassination attempts.

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November 21, 2012 4:55 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Al Jazeera reports that India has executed Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, the sole surviving member of the Lashkar-e-Taiba cell that killed 166 people in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

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