Syria Feature: Jabhat al-Nusra, Al Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Iraq

Activists with Jabhat al-Nusra FlagWriting for Al Jazeera English, Basma Atassi, claims that the head of Al Qa'eda, Ayman al-Zawahari, has intervened in a dispute between the Syrian insurgency Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq with a letter to the leaders of the two groups.

The clash arose in April when the head of the ISI, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, tried to claim oversight of Jabhat al-Nusra in a message. A senior JAN commander, Abu Muhammad al-Joulani, responded by asserting the insurgents' autonomy in Syria.

Media coverage incorrectly claimed that the ISI and JAN had "merged", as well as emphasising al-Joulani's reference to al-Zawahari as a "pledge of allegiance".

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Pakistan Video Feature: Who is Being Killed in the US Drone Attacks? (Al Jazeera English)

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Last week an investigation by McClatchy Newspapers revealed that many low-level operatives and people only thought to be "associated with armed groups have been killed in the US drone attacks in Pakistan.

In the first independent analysis of the Obama Administration's internal accounting of the strikes, McClathcy found that of about 482 people killed between September 2010 and September 2011, at least 265 were not senior Al Qa'eda leaders. More than 40 of the 95 drone strikes in the same period hit groups other than Al Qa'eda.

The reports also estimated that there was one civilian casualty during that time.

Jonathan Landay of McClatchy joins Al Jazeera English's Inside Story Americas to discuss the report.

Before that item, the programme considers the disapperance of tousands of legal documents, concerning detainees at Guantanamo Bay, from secure Department of Defense servers.

The incident has delayed military tribunals for the detainees, some of whom have been held since 2002.

Egypt Video Discussion: The Political and Economic Struggles (Al Jazeera English)

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Al Jazeera English's Inside Story profiles the economic difficulties of Egypt and the effect on the political situation.

Guests are Ahmed Naguib a member of the Current Party, and co-founder of the Council of Trustees of the Revolution in Egypt; Mohammad El Masry, Professor of Media Studies at the American University in Cairo; and Angus Blair, President of the Signet Institute.

Syria Video Discussion: The Divisions In the Opposition (Al Jazeera English)

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A discussion on Al Jazeera English's Inside Syria of the state of the opposition....

After the initial set-up of last week's recognition by the Arab League of the opposition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, the programme gets to the core issue of what exactly that opposition is --- amid the resignation of Moaz al-Khatab as head of the Syrian National Coalition, the tension over the Coalition's election of Ghassam Hitto as Prime Minister-designate, the Free Syrian Army's criticism of the Coalition and the Muslim Brotherhood, and the wider question of the relationship between opposition inside and outside Syria.

Amr al-Azm, a US-based professor, sets the challenge early on: "Decisions [on the ground] have already been made and are being carried out, irrespective of whether this opposition forms a government or not."

The other panellists are Najib Ghadbian, a representative of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces in the UN, and Robin Yassin-Kassab, a novelist and commentator.

Syria Video Discussion: Two Years After the Start of the Uprising (Al Jazeera English)

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Al Jazeera English hosts a discussion on the second anniversary of the uprising against the Assad regime, "Where is the Syrian Conflict Heading?"

I am not sure there is much value in this in the way of insight or dialogue --- rather, it is marked by warnings, forebodings, and fixed positions.

The panel includes Yaser Tabbara, legal advisor for the opposition Syrian National Coalition; analyst Joshua Landis; and Danny Makki of the Syrian Youth in Britain.

Syria 1st-Hand: Burning Army Boots to Stay Warm in Aleppo (Atassi)

Photo: Basma Atassi/Al Jazeera

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Abu Mohammad seemed to be excited by the fact that he is helping people stay warm, but when asked about the potentially harmful fumes from the burning of boots, he said: "Only God knows what chemicals come out of these boots. People have been using coal, wood, unrefined petrol and all kind of stuff to warm themselves. So this doesn't matter."

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North Africa Video Feature: Here Come the US Drones (Al Jazeera English)

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Al Jazeera English's Inside Story reviews the expansion of US bases, supporting drone operations, across North Africa.

Panelists are Robert Densmore, a former US naval flight officer and editor of Defence Report; David Shinn, Professor of International Affairs at George Washington University and former US ambassador to Burkina Faso and Ethiopia; and Noel Sharkey, aProfessor of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at the University of Sheffield.

Iran Video Feature: The Regime's "Justified" Imprisonment of Journalists (Al Jazeera English)

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Syria Video Discussion: War Crimes and the "Rules of Engagement" (Al Jazeera English)

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Amid mounting accusations of war crimes and abuses against all sides in the Syrian conflict, Al Jazeera English's Inside Syria considers, "Blurring the Rules of Engagement".

Panellists are Rafif Jouejati, a spokesperson for the Syrian Local Coordination Committee; Barak Barfi, a research fellow at the New America Foundation; and Khaled Saleh, the head of the media committee for the Syrian National Coalition.

Syria Video Discussion: The Dwindling Resources of the Regime (Al Jazeera English)

See Also today's Syria Live Coverage: "94 Killed" in Regime Airstrike on Bakery Queue
Syria Video Discussion: The Dwindling Resources of the Regime (Al Jazeera English)
Sunday's Syria Live Coverage: Starving in Aleppo

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I have often argued that the political and military pressure on the Syrian regime is matched by the economic squeeze on it, with the disruptions of civil war and sanctions eroding its position.

Al Jazeera English takes up the theme in Inside Syria, speaking with Durmus Aydin, the Vice President of the Turkish-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation; economist Samer Abboud; and Alan George of Oxford University.