September 17, 2013 2:58 PM ET
Posted by Bill Roggio

Last week, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, one of al Qaeda's affiliates operating in Syria, announced that it overran the "Air Defense Battalion and the vital depots of 66th Brigade" in Hama [see LWJ report, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant overruns air defense base in Hama, for more details]. Yesterday, the SITE Intelligence Group obtained 25 photographs of the aftermath of the raid that were released by the Al-I'tissam Media Foundation, an ISIL media outlet. Above are six of the photographs that show an assortment of weapons obtained by the ISIL.

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August 26, 2013 6:52 AM ET
Posted by LWJ Staff

US Marine Corps Captain Justin G. Smith flies a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter during an air interdiction exercise over Helmand province, Afghanistan, Aug. 20, 2013. Smith, a weapons and tactics instructor, is assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461. US Marine Corps photo by Sergeant Gabriela Garcia.

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August 22, 2013 9:02 AM ET
Posted by LWJ Staff

US Army Sergeant Kenton D. Smith looks from above to check the progress of vehicles during a patrol to clear routes in Khost province, Afghanistan, Aug. 14, 2013. Smith, a combat engineer, is assigned to the 101st Airborne Division's Company A, 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team. US Army photo by Sergeant Justin A. Moeller.

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August 19, 2013 11:01 AM ET
Posted by LWJ Staff

Satellite images released by Amnesty International and featured at The Huffington Post show the scale of damage to Aleppo, Syria:

The images were taken between September 2012 and May 2013 and track individual instances of physical damage across Aleppo. An analysis of the photos by the American Association for the Advancement of Science concluded that the distribution of destroyed buildings and roads is "severely lopsided" towards opposition-held areas of the city.

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August 14, 2013 12:11 PM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

A US Marine free falls from a KC-130J Super Hercules during parachute operations over Djibouti, Aug. 10, 2013. The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit is deployed to the US 5th Fleet area of responsibility aboard the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group, which serves as a sea-based, expeditionary crisis response force. US Marine Corps photo by Sergeant Christopher Q. Stone.

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August 13, 2013 9:50 AM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

From a photo gallery at The Atlantic: "War-torn Syria Split into Three Regions." Shown above:

A female member of the Ahbab Al-Mustafa Battalion stands on a pick-up truck mounted with an anti-aircraft weapon as she undergoes military training in Aleppo's Salaheddine district, on June 24, 2013. (Reuters/Muzaffar Salman)

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August 9, 2013 9:58 AM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

NPR features a slideshow of select images from "War/Photography: Images of Armed Conflict and Its Aftermath" an exhibit currently running at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Above:

Sgt. William Olas Bee, a U.S. Marine from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, has a close call as Taliban fighters open fire near Garmsir in Helmand province, Afghanistan, 2008. Goran Tomasevic/Reuters.

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August 7, 2013 10:22 AM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

A photo from a slideshow and accompanying story by Carmen Gentile at USA Today: "Afghan troops in the lead ahead of 2014 -- or are they?":

Dick Young helps an Afghan soldier load cases of water into his truck during a mission in the sweltering Afghan summer. The Afghan troops did not bring enough of their own water to last the 30-hour mission. Carmen Gentile for USA TODAY

More:

In June, Afghan forces officially took over full security responsibilities from the international coalition for the first time since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion that drove from power the Taliban, the al-Qaeda-aligned terror group.

On paper, that means the 350,000-strong Afghan National Army built from nothing by the coalition is taking the lead on most missions ahead of an announced withdrawal of nearly all coalition combat forces in 2014.

However, as the fighting in Nangarhar shows, the Afghans cannot prevail everywhere without American firepower and know-how at the ready. Afghanistan's military will require "substantial" additional training and foreign financial aid after the American and NATO combat mission ends, the Pentagon told Congress in its semiannual report Tuesday.

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August 5, 2013 4:16 PM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

As seen through a night-vision device, US Army Specialist Isaiah Holt loads ammunition into his 240B machine gun as he prepares for night missions on Forward Operating Base Fenty in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, July 22, 2013. Holt is assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's Company B, 3rd Battalion, 10th General Support Aviation Battalion, 10th Combat Avaition Brigade. US Army photo by Staff Sergeant Jerry Saslav.

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August 2, 2013 1:27 PM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

US Marine Corps Lance Corporal John J. McConnell searches outside an Afghan compound for weapons during Operation Grizzly in Helmand province, Afghanistan, July 18, 2013. McConnell is assigned to Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment. US Marine Corps photo by Corporal Alejandro Pena.

Grizzly was described by ISAF as "a counterinsurgency operation to deter enemy activity, establish a presence and gather human intelligence." For more information on recent operations in Regional Command Southwest, which includes Helmand province, listen to Andrew Lubin's interview with Colonel Austin Renforth, commanding officer of Regimental Combat Team-7, at Leatherneck magazine.

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July 31, 2013 12:16 PM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

A shot from a gallery published at the Daily Mail showing the destruction of Homs, Syria:

This aerial view shows the destruction in the al-Khalidiyah neighbourhood of Homs, which has seen some of the heaviest fighting as government forces bid to flush rebels into the open.

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July 29, 2013 9:47 AM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

US Marine Sgt. Eric R. Wagner provides aerial security from the back of a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter during an operation over Helmand province in Afghanistan, July 18, 2013. Wagner, a crew chief, is assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461. US Marine Corps photo by Corporal Ashley E. Santy.

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July 24, 2013 12:01 PM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

US soldiers quickly move away after loading a wounded Afghan border policeman into a UH-60 Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopter on Forward Operating Base Spin Boldak in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, July 13, 2013. Several policemen were wounded while conducting security operations near the base. US Army photo by Staff Sergeant Shane Hamann.

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July 22, 2013 4:21 PM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

An image taken from a gallery at The Atlantic documenting various aspects of post-revolution Libya:

A man tidies new graves of British and Italian soldiers who fought in World War II, in Benghazi Military Cemetery, on May 4, 2013. The graves, located at the cemetery built by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), were replaced after they were vandalized by members of an Islamist group on February 24, 2012. (Reuters/Esam Al-Fetori)

The full photo gallery can be found here.

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July 18, 2013 11:28 AM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

Via the DoD:

An Afghan mother and child watch as US troops meet with the director of a nutritional center within the Farah Feeding Center in Farah City, Afghanistan, July 13, 2013. The troops are assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah, 2nd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Security Force. US Navy photo by Lieutenant Chad A. Dulac.

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