October 21, 2013 7:53 AM ET
By Bill Roggio

Aftermath of a suicide attack in Damascus that killed at least 16 Syrian Army soldiers over the weekend. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that the Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, one of two main al Qaeda branches in Syria, executed the suicide bombing. Additionally a massive suicide bombing in Hama is caught on tape.

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October 1, 2013 10:36 AM ET
By Bill Roggio

A video shows the aftermath of an Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant's attack on a Syrian Arab Army convoy.

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September 17, 2013 3:27 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

Video of an execution of three Syrian men in Raqqah, which is under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The execution of the three men was carried out by the ISIL; the ISIL flag is flown on the pickup truck and is hanging behind the men as they are executed. From the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights' Facebook page:

The ISIS executed 3 men in one of al-Raqqa's squares on the 14th of May under accusations they are regime soldiers and officers. It later turned out that 2 of them were Muslim A'lawis from the al-Achrafiya village of northern Reef Homs (a doctor called Mustafa al-Jani and his nephew, a school teacher, called Iyad Nofal), based on what activists from Homs city stated to the Observatory back them.

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September 11, 2013 5:43 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

The September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, as seen from a nearby apartment.

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September 10, 2013 1:26 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

An undated video shows a commander in the Al Nusrah Front for the people in the Levant executing 12 men with gunshots to the head. The Al Nusrah Front's flags are flying in the background. Fighters are heard chanting "Allah-u-Akbar" and "Takbir".

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August 26, 2013 6:36 AM ET
By LWJ Staff

Al Nusrah Front has issued a statement vowing revenge on Alawite Muslims after apparent chemical weapons strikes in Syria.

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August 22, 2013 9:15 AM ET
By LWJ Staff

The New York Times reports on the aftermath of an apparent chemical weapons attack in Syria.

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August 20, 2013 10:18 AM ET
By LWJ Staff

Euronews covers the execution of 25 Egyptian police officers by Islamist militants near Rafah.

See Long War Journal coverage:

Over 20 Egyptian policemen executed in the Sinai

Report provides insight on Israeli view of Salafi jihadists in Sinai

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August 19, 2013 7:02 AM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Raw AP footage of United Nations chemical weapons inspectors arriving in Damascus. More at the New York Times:

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- A United Nations team arrived in Damascus on Sunday to begin a long-awaited investigation into the alleged use of chemical weapons in the civil war in Syria.

The United Nations said in a statement that the team would begin its work on Monday, though many questions remained about how effectively it would be able to address one of the most charged issues in the conflict.
...
Mr. Assad's government finally agreed to allow the investigators in after months of negotiations over where they could work. While the United Nations originally pushed for unfettered access, the final agreement will allow the investigators to visit three sites: Khan al-Assal and two others that have not been made public.

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August 15, 2013 2:26 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Al Jazeera covers US and Iraqi negotiations amidst Iraq's political crisis and a resumption of violence. Some 1,000 Iraqis were killed last month, mostly in a wave of countrywide bombings. July's toll is the worst since April 2008, and reflects the resurgence of al Qaeda in Iraq.

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August 13, 2013 2:27 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

CBS News covers the ascendance of al Qaeda in Syria. Correspondent Lara Logan emphasizes the group's decentralized nature and the consistency of Salafi jihadist ideology, in a rebuke of the distinction of an al Qaeda "core" mentioned in President Barack Obama's speech at the National Defense University on May 23:

"This is not an organization that is divided up into different regions and does their own thing. They are united by their ideology. They make that very plain. they have the same intent. Their intent today is exactly what it was pre-9/11. It's exactly what Osama bin Laden said it was, and it's never changed .... We have this sense that we want to divide everything up .... The fact is, that al Qaeda's ideology is what is at the core."

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August 12, 2013 3:15 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Suspected al Qaeda gunmen killed five Yemeni soldiers; car bombs killed nearly 100 and wounded hundreds more across Iraq over the weekend. More via Reuters:

Gun attacks and a bombing killed at least seven more people in Iraq on Sunday, police said, after a day of carnage aimed mainly at Shi'ite Muslims celebrating the end of Ramadan.

The United States condemned a wave of car bombings which police and medical sources said killed nearly 80 people across Iraq on Saturday, saying those who had attacked civilians during Eid al-Fitr festivities were "enemies of Islam".

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August 8, 2013 2:46 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

CBS News reports on the latest drone strikes in Yemen, the Yemeni government's assertion that it disrupted a major AQAP plot to "strike foreign embassies, gas and oil installations, and the country's ports," and its assertion that security forces have "a shoot to kill order on anyone who looks suspicious and refuses to identify themselves."

See The Long War Journal's in-depth coverage:

US strikes twice in Yemen, kills 7 AQAP operatives in drone attacks

AQAP's emir also serves as al Qaeda's general manager

US kills 4 AQAP operatives in Yemen drone strike

Local AQAP commander reported killed in recent US drone strike

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August 6, 2013 3:15 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

A Euronews report on the revelation that the closure of embassies stemmed from an intercepted phone conversation between al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri and Nasir al Wuhayshi, the emir of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

See The Long War Journal's in-depth coverage: AQAP's emir also serves as al Qaeda's general manager.

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August 4, 2013 3:08 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Via SITE Intelligence, an excerpt of a video release by the Al Nusrah Front's Himam News Agency shows members of the group fixing an electrical transformer. The full 4-minute video was posted on jihadist internet forums on July 27, 2013, and reflects the latest attempt by Syria's al Qaeda affiliates to soften their image. See Threat Matrix coverage: The softer side of Salafist-Jihad.

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August 1, 2013 4:33 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

A massive weapons cache exploded in the Wadi al-Thahab neighborhood of Homs, Syria today. Opposition groups claimed "forty people were killed and at least 120 people were wounded," according to Reuters.

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July 31, 2013 5:39 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Euronews reports on the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan's assault on a jail in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan. More than 200 prisoners, including at least 30 "hardcore militants," were freed in the operation.

See LWJ report: Pakistani Taliban assault prison, free hundreds of inmates.

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July 29, 2013 5:33 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Unverified video of a tug of war contest "between Jabhat al Nusra and Islamic state in Aleppo." Al Qaeda and its rebranded offshoots have attempted to burnish their bloody, intolerant image in Syria with a series of family-friendly events.

See Threat Matrix: Ice cream with al Qaeda.

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July 24, 2013 4:07 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Al Jazeera summarizes claims issued in the Abbottabad Commission Report, an inquiry conducted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011. The final report was issued in January 2013, and published by Al Jazeera on July 8. The full document is here.

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July 22, 2013 8:54 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

An excerpt from "A Darkness Visible: Afghanistan" by Seamus Murphy, a "multimedia story exploring thirty years of Afghan history."

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July 18, 2013 4:34 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Al Jazeera reports on moderate clerics threatened by the Taliban.

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July 15, 2013 1:51 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Malala Yousafzai advocated free compulsory education in a speech at the United Nations on Friday. Via the Telegraph:

"On the 9th of October 2012, the Taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead. They shot my friends too. They thought that the bullet would silence us.

"But they failed.

"And out of that silence came thousands of voices. The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions. But nothing changed in my life except this: Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, courage and power was born," she said.

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July 6, 2013 1:51 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Al Jazeera reports on the Syrian regime's latest offensive in Homs.

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July 1, 2013 1:19 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Additional videos of the Muhajireen Army's use of a Russian-made BMP as a suicide bomb near Aleppo, Syria. See Long War Journal report: Muhajireen Army uses BMP to launch suicide assault on Aleppo airport.

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June 27, 2013 2:20 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

An unverified video dated June 22 shows a Syrian regime helicopter crash landing while on fire and bursting into flames near Minnigh Airport.

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June 25, 2013 3:04 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Al Jazeera English covers the Taliban attack on the Afghan presidential compound early this morning. At least four attackers and three guards were killed.

See Long War Journal coverage: Taliban launch suicide assault on Presidential palace, CIA HQ in Kabul.

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June 16, 2013 2:38 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

"Militants" bombed a bus carrying female university students in Quetta, killing 14. Then, a suicide bomber struck at a hospital where the girls who were wounded in the bus bombing were being treated. As security forces arrived at the hospital, more armed militants ambushed them and took hostages.

The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has claimed credit for the attack. The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan have also carried out suicide attacks in Quetta in the past.

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June 13, 2013 7:15 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Amrullah Salleh, current Afghan politician and former head of the National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan's intelligence service, discusses Pakistani and Iranian influence in Afghanistan at the 2013 US Islamic World Forum.

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June 4, 2013 2:59 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Al Jazeera reports on a United Nations report documenting war crimes committed by both sides of the Syrian conflict. Additionally, both sides are suspected of having used chemical weapons in the civil war.

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May 31, 2013 6:10 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

USA Today correspondent Carmen Gentile is interviewed by the Daily Shot about getting shot in the face with a rocket-propelled grenade in Kunar province, Afghanistan in 2010. Additional video and an excerpt from Gentile's kindle single about the ordeal is featured in Esquire.

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May 24, 2013 8:33 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Al Jazeera reports on demands for an autonomous Sunni federal region in Iraq, as protests and threats of insurgency continue.

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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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