France is preparing its special forces for a mission in war-torn Syria, French weekly magazine Le Point reports.

The mission would only involve a relatively small amount of special forces, and a number of NATO countries — including the UK and the US — would be involved. The mission would be modelled on the Western intervention in Libya, the magazine reports.

The action appears to be in response to fears that the regime is planning on using chemical weapons in the conflict. Earlier this week one US official told reporters that it was believed Bashar al-Assad's forces had moved two key components of a deadly nerve gas in preparation for an attack (a later report refuted this, however).

Le Point says a large ground operation "is out of the question" and that a smaller action aimed largely at securing chemical weapon stockpiles.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today vowed a swift response if Assad's regime used chemical weapons.

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Recently there have been multiple reports that Russia may be backing away from its support of Syrian President Bash al-Assad, but Moscow's warships seem to be singing a different tune.

Agence France-Presse and Interfax report that at the end of November two Russian warships made a rare visit to Syria's port of Tartus – Russia's only remaining international military base after the Soviet Union collapsed – in a move that separates Moscow from the recent string of Western actions regarding the war-torn country.

Michael Weiss, co-chair of the London-based foreign policy think tank Russian Studies Center, told U.S. News & World Report that the presence of the navy ships has three purposes: Russia wants to run weapons and materiel into Syria, take Russian nationals out of the country, and send a signal to the United States that it still backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Leaked flight plans from the Syrian Foreign Ministry indicate that Moscow recently sent 240 tons of newly printed Syrian money and four shipments of refurbished helicopters to Damascus.

The landing ships Novocherkassk and Saratov docked in the port of Tartus for several hours to refuel and receive minor repairs, but their crews did not go ashore. Interfax noted that Russia retains a small permanent personnel presence at the facility, which they call a "point of material-technical supply" for its navy since it is too shallow for large ships to dock on shore.

Last month Russia sent six warships to the coast of Gaza after the U.S. ordered three warships on reserve to the coast of Israel and indicated that it would increase its military presence in the East Mediterranean.

Furthermore Russia has criticized NATO's decision to deploy Patriot missiles on the Turkish border and said U.S. claims that the Syrian military is prepared to use chemical weapons are exaggerated.

On the other hand, The Washington Post reports that Moscow’s top diplomat will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the U.N. envoy for Syria on Thursday to discuss the 21-month-conflict.

And Russian diplomats reportedly said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has lost all hope of victory or escape.

The Post notes that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants guarantees that Russia will keep its naval base and preferential trade ties even in a post-Assad Syria.

SEE ALSO: Russian Diplomats: Bashar Al-Assad Has Lost All Hope Of Victory Or Escape

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Unnamed U.S. officials told NBC News that the Syrian military has loaded the precursor chemicals for sarin nerve gas into aerial bombs to potentially use in the country's civil war.

But Syria says the claims are a Western attempt to provide a pretext to send international forces into the country.

"We fear there is a conspiracy to provide a pretext for any subsequent interventions in Syria by these countries that are increasing pressure on Syria,"Assad's deputy foreign minister Faisal Maqdad said Thursday. He also repeated the assertion that the regime would never use chemical weapons on the Syrian people.

Sarin gas, a colorless and odorless gas that can spread quickly through the air, is one of the most dangerous and toxic chemicals known to man. The Assad government has more than 500 metric tons of the precursors and usually stores them separately to prevent accidentally triggering a deadly reaction.

The U.S. claims came hours after French weekly magazine Le Point reported that NATO special forces are preparing to enter Syria to secure its chemical weapons stockpiles.

NATO has already approved Patriot missiles for Turkey's border with Syria. And The Voice of Russia reported that there are now 17 warships off the Syrian coast following the arrival of the U.S.S. Dwight D Eisenhower — a multipurpose nuclear attack carrier that holds 70 fighter-bombers and 8,000 U.S. servicemembers — in the eastern Mediterranean.

On Monday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the U.S. is "certainly planning to take action" if new evidence showed that Assad's regime intended to use its stash of chemical weapons internally or cross-border.

Also on Monday there were reports that the regime had reached the point "where they can load it up on a plane and drop it," but on Tuesday the Pentagon told NBC that there was no clear evidence that preparations had begun.

Meanwhile Syrian rebels are closing in on Damascus and activists posted a video telling residents of Damascus how to prepare for the "Zero Hour"— a major offensive in the capital to topple the Assad regime.

Yesterday Haaretz reportedthat Syrian deputy foreign minister Faisal al-Miqdad recently traveled to Cuba, Venezuela, and Ecuador with personal letters from Assad, looking for the possibility of political asylum for him and his family.

No matter the veracity of the claim, all signs point to the end game of the 21-month conflict.

SEE ALSO: These Russian Warships In Syria Are A Prime Example How The Kremlin's Covering Every Angle With Assad

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The U.S. is likely to formally label Syrian fighters with the Al Nusra Front a 'terrorist' organization, and effectively set back any possible victory over Bashar Al-Assad.

Unless, of course, the West intervenes directly.

The organization represents 7.5 to 9 percent of Syria's rebel force, approximately 10,000 fighters, but more than that they represent a growing trend of radicalization in the ranks of Syria's rebels.

The New York Times sums it up best:

But greater attention has been focused on al Qaeda involvement in the uprising since mid-July, when fighters professing allegiance to the terrorist organization appeared during the opposition takeover of the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey. In one video, five fighters declared their intention to create an Islamic state. (Mainline Qaeda ideology calls for a Pan-Islamic caliphate.)

The intent of the U.S. is ostensibly to replace Assad, who actively siphons weapons and support to Hezbollah in Lebanon, with a better option.

The longer the civil war goes on though, the more likely Assad's eventual replacement will be a group of Jihadis, and so the less likely they are to support the will of the west.

The label of "terrorist organization" also represents a significant problem both legally and logistically. Ronald Reagan had to famously remove Iraq from the terrorist state list in order to give them aid in their fight against Iran.

The rebels are a fractious group though, and figuring out what weapons will end up in whose hands will prove entirely too difficult. The U.S. has a long history of arming the wrong people. It also has a recent history of doing as much.

Labeling Nusra as 'terrorists' is indicative of two developing courses of action: a dwindling of weapons coming from the U.S., and direct intervention from the West.

One way or another, the West's foreign policy degrades with every day Assad keeps a grip on Damascus.

NOW READ: How The Syrian War Is Going To End >

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The U.S. State Department is planning to designate the al-Nusra Front— a highly effective jihadist Syrian rebel group — as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, Elise Labott and Tim Lister of CNN report. 

The goal of the U.S. is to isolate extremist groups while promoting the newly recognized Syrian National Coalition so that post-Assad Syria doesn't turn into a free-for-all.

But challenges remain since U.S.-made weapons have gone to hardline jihadists who have turned out to be the opposition's most organized and best fighters in the 21-month civil war.

Al-Nusra – which makes up about 9 percent of the rebel forces– is committed to rejecting "any foreign project, alliances or councils" and establishing an Islamic state under Shariah law.

David Enders of McClatchy reports that the group includes Syrians who say they fought with al-Qaeda against the U.S. in Iraq as well as Iraqis who serve as the group's leaders.

Members are known for devastating complex attacks in Damascus and Aleppo, frequently involving suicide bombers, and FSA officers have hailed the jihadists' success in battle.

From McClatchy: 

Not only does the group still conduct suicide bombings that have killed hundreds, but they’ve proved to be critical to the rebels’ military advance. In battle after battle across the country, Nusra and similar groups do the heaviest frontline fighting. Groups who call themselves the Free Syrian Army [FSA] and report to military councils led by defected Syrian army officers move into the captured territory afterward.

At least four bases have fallen to rebel forces in the last month, and Rebel commander Ali Jadlan told CNN that al-Nusra fighters were not only involved in the sieges but also responsible for the most dangerous area – the road to Aleppo.

Several dozen FSA in Damascus announced they that they had joined al-Nusra because of their fighting prowess. But others are very wary of the group and their Islamic ambitions, especially in the "liberated" northern areas where secular and jihadist rebel groups remove the safety on their guns as they pass each other's military bases.

"The next war after Bashar al-Assad falls will be between us and the Islamists," a leading rebel fighter told The Telegraph.

SEE ALSO: Syria Is Looking At A Complete Free-For-All If The Assad Regime Falls

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U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said "intelligence we have raises serious concerns" that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may be prepared to use sarin gas in the country, and U.S. officials say that even the threat of chemical weapon use justifies outside military action.

But on Friday UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon corroborated the vehement denials of the Assad regime when he said there are no confirmed reports that Assad is preparing to use chemical weapons. 

The "threat" of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) — nuclear, biological, or chemical — is real, but it can also be leveraged as a tactical move to hasten the ouster of an unwanted ruler (e.g. Saddam Hussein in Iraq).

The deployment chemical weapons is primarily deterred by the certainty of widespread and indiscriminate destruction, and history provides insight into how devastating WMDs can be to all sides and why the international community is proactive about neutralizing that threat. 

To grasp the affect of chemical agents released into the atmosphere, look no further than the devastating meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in March 2011 after a tsunami hit Japan. 

The worldwide radiation sensor stations operated Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) found that the radioactive cloud of cesium-137, cesium-135 and iodine-131 crossed North America nine days after the accident and three days later "it was clear that the cloud had reached Europe” when a station in Iceland picked up radioactive materials.

After two weeks, according to the CTBTO, traces from the Fukushima accident were "detectable all across the northern hemisphere.”

It follows that the radiation released by the atomic bombs drops on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 also caught the Pacific jet stream and spread across the Northern Hemisphere.

The same principle of airflow applies for chemical WMDs: the area affected depends uponthe topography and the weather conditions (in addition to the type and amount of the chemical agent and the means of dispersal).

In World War I poison gas was arguably the most feared of all weapons as several countries released more than 1.3 million tons of chemical agents — ranging from simple tear gas to mustard gas — into the trenches. The gas, released in open air, spread with the speed and direction of the wind while the concentration of the chemical diminished as it traveled away from the source. 

About 1,250,000 men died from gas casualties during the Great War, and many others died or were incapacitated by poison gas-related injuries after the war.

By World War II Nazi Germany had developed deadlier gasses and then took air out of the equation by releasing nerve agents in gas chambers. The effect was catastrophic — the largest chambers could kill 2,000 people at once— since the concentration of chemicals is highest in small spaces.

In this way history — including the more recent example of Iraq causing 60,000 chemical weapons casualties in their war with Iran — informs why the U.S. would be aggressively proactive about concerns of WMDs in Syria.

And in this case there is the added danger of Syria's chemical WMDs falling into the hands of extremists who would hesitate much less before wreaking chemical havoc on a part of the world.

On the other hand, the past also gives credence to Syria's insistence that its not crazy enough to deploy WMDs on its own people.

"Syria stresses again, for the tenth, the hundredth time, that if we had such weapons, they would not be used against its people,"Syrian Deputy Foreign minister Faisal Maqdad said Thursday. "We would not commit suicide."

SEE ALSO: How The Syrian Conflict Is Going To End

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Angelina Jolie meets with Syrian refugees in Jordan who had fled from conflict in their home country.

UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie travelled to the Jordan - Syria border to meet frightened and exhausted Syrian refugees who had just completed the perilous crossing to safety in Jordan.

The Hollywood actress met a family who moved from Damascus to their home town of Daraa four months ago but decided they should flee to Jordan.

This family is joining tens of thousands of others who have already fled to Jordan and surrounding country.

Jolie returned to the camp on December 6 to meet more refugees and the family she talked to before.

Nearly half a million Syrians fleeing intensified fighting have been registered in neighbouring countries since the conflict began.

Hundreds of thousands more are unregistered, but are expected to come forward for help in the next few months as their resources are depleted.

Since the UNHCR special envoy's last visit in September, the number of registered Syrian refugees in the region has increased by more than 200,000 and in Jordan alone by nearly 50,000.

The sprawling Za'atri refugee camp north of Amman has doubled in size.

Angelina Jolie and her partner, Brad Pitt, made a donation of $50,000 dollars for the purchase of family tents for refugees.

Contains video from Reuters

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A good friend in the Explosive Ordnance Disposal business once told me how I could use a Glade Plug-In as the trigger on a victim-operated Improvised Explosive Device, so it comes as no surprise when I see this video that the Syrian rebels have wired a Playstation controller to the turret of their new homemade tank.

Check it out:

SEE ALSO: Why The US Is Almost Certain To Intervene In Syria >

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The Obama administration has decided to launch a covert operation to send heavy weapons to Syrian rebels, Christina Lamb of The Sunday Times of London reports.

But that covert operation may have already taken place.

Diplomatic sources told the Sunday Times that the U.S. "bought weapons from the stockpiles of Libya's former dictator Muammar Gaddafi."

The heavy arms include mortars, rocket propelled grenades, anti-tank missiles and the controversial anti-aircraft heat-seeking SA-7 missiles, which are integral to countering Bashar Al-Assad's bombing campaign.

The administration has said that the previously hidden CIA operation in Benghaziinvolved finding, repurchasing and destroying heavy weaponry looted from Libyan government arsenals, but in October we reported evidence indicating that U.S. agents — particularly murdered ambassador Chris Stevens — were at least aware of heavy weapons moving from Libya to jihadist Syrian rebels. 

From the Times report:

President Barack Obama authorized clandestine CIA support earlier this year and both the US and Britain have had special forces and intelligence officers on the ground for some time. They have helped with logistics and communications, but until now have refused to arm the Free Syrian Army.

There have been several possible SA-7 spottings in Syria dating as far back as early summer 2012, and there are indications that at least some of Gaddafi's 20,000 portable heat-seeking missiles were shipped before now.

On Sept. 6 a Libyan ship carrying 400 tons of weapons for Syrian rebels docked in southern Turkey. The ship's captain was "a Libyan from Benghazi" who worked for the new Libyan government. The man who organized that shipment, Tripoli Military Council head Abdelhakim Belhadj, worked directly with Stevens during the Libyan revolution.

Stevens' last meeting on Sept. 11 was with Turkish Consul General Ali Sait Akin, and a source told Fox News that Stevens was in Benghazi "to negotiate a weapons transfer in an effort to get SA-7 missiles out of the hands of Libya-based extremists."

Last month The Wall Street Journal reported that the State Department presence in Benghazi "provided diplomatic cover" for the now-exposed CIA annex. It follows that the "weapons transfer" that Stevens negotiated may have involved sending heavy weapons recovered by the CIA to the revolutionaries in Syria.

The newest report comes days before the U.S. is expected to recognize the newest Syrian coalition (and its Islamic-dominated-command) as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. The State Department has also indicated it will soon name the opposition's highly effective al-Nusra Front a "terrorist organization" for its ties to Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI).

Both of these stipulations — recognition of a unified opposition and creation of distance from extremists — are pivotal in order for the Obama administration to openly acknowledge supporting Syrian rebels with heavy weapons.

SEE ALSO: There's A Reason Why All The Reports Out Of Benghazi Are So Confusing

SEE ALSO: How Ambassador Stevens May Have Been Linked To Jihadist Rebels In Syria

SEE ALSO: Here's Why The US Is Likely To Intervene In Syria

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There are reports of clashes between Syrian rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assadless than a mile from the presidential office in Damascus, Dana El Baltaji of Bloomberg reports.

Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a political science professor in the United Arab Emirates, told Bloomberg that Assad “is no longer the president of Syria, he is the governor of Damascus,” and said the Assad is “holding on to his last territory in downtown Damascus.”

The clashes come as BBC's Jim Muir reports that rebels west of Aleppo strengthened their hold on a large base — the only significant government facility remaining in the area — under the leadership of radical jihadist militants including the al-Nusra Front, which the U.S. has dubbed a terrorist organization.

UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi recently held "constructive" talks with US and Russian officials, during which the parties "re-affirmed their common assessment that the situation in Syria was bad and getting worse" while agreeing that "a political process to end the crisis in Syria was necessary and still possible."

Nevertheless, Abdulla noted that it won't be easy to topple Assad as he will "fight to the last bullet and hold Damascus for ransom in last-minute negotiations.”

Rebels are expecting a boost in the way of heavy weaponry from Gulf nations and the West after forming a unified Islamist-dominated military command over the weekend. The U.S. recently acknowledged that it will also send heavy weaponry to the opposition.

SEE ALSO: REPORT: The US Is Openly Sending Heavy Weapons From Libya To Syrian Rebels >

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The State Department has designated Syria's al-Nusra Front— a highly effective jihadist Syrian rebel group — as a Global Terrorist organization because of its direct links to al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), Karen DeYoung of The Washington Post reports.

The designation prohibits Americans from having any financial dealings with the group — which makes up about nine percent of rebel forces — and freezes any of its assets under U.S. control.

The move is part of a U.S. effort at  isolating extremist groups while promoting the newly recognized Syrian National Coalition so that post-Assad Syria doesn't turn into a free-for-all.

But challenges remain since U.S.-made weapons have gone to hardline jihadists who have turned out to be the opposition's most organized and best fighters in the 21-month civil war.

The al-Nusra front has been leading rebel attacks from the front lines, including the recent capture of the only significant government facility remaining west of Aleppo.

Over the weekend The New York Timesdetailed the group's extensive ties to al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), which help found al-Nusra Front and provides it with money, expertise and fighters. One former member of AQI told the Times that many members of the group were fighting with al-Nusra in Syria.

“They are well trained mentally and militarily,” Major Issawi, the official in Anbar, told the Times. “They are so excited about the fighting in Syria. They see Syria as a dream coming true.”

Several dozen FSA in Damascus announced they that they had joined al-Nusra because of their fighting prowess. But others are very wary of the group and their Islamic ambitions, especially in the "liberated" northern areas where secular and jihadist rebel groups remove the safety on their guns as they pass each other's military bases.

“After the fall of Bashar there will be so many battles between these groups,” an Iraqi who joined the regular Free Syrian Army told the Times. “All the groups will unite against al-Nusra. They are like a snake that is spreading its poison.”

The extremists agree since the group says it will fight any secular government after Assad because it aims to create an Islamic state in Syria ruled by strict Sunni Islam.

SEE ALSO: Syrian Rebels Are Fighting Assad's Forces Less Than A Mile From The Presidential Office >

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Rebel groups across Syria are defying the United States by pledging their allegiance to a group that Washington will designate today a terrorist organization for its alleged links to al-Qaeda.

A total of 29 opposition groups, including fighting "brigades" and civilian committees, have signed a petition calling for mass demonstrations in support of Jabhat al-Nusra, an Islamist group which the White House believes is an offshoot of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

The petition is promoting the slogan "No to American intervention, for we are all Jabhat al-Nusra" and urges supporters to "raise the Jabhat al-Nusra flag" as a "thank you".

"These are the men for the people of Syria, these are the heroes who belong to us in religion, in blood and in revolution," read a statement widely circulated on Syrian opposition Facebook pages.

Jabhat al-Nusra made its mark early this year with a string of suicide bombings, a tactic it continues to use. Aided by fighters from abroad and Syrians who have returned from other wars in the Middle East, it has also led battles for a number of military bases and has secured a string of recent victories. Along with allied jihadist groups, it captured the Sheikh Suleiman base west of Aleppo yesterday morning, and has also dented the infrastructure of the regime in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Although Jabhat al-Nusra remains separate from the Free Syrian Army, many FSA leaders now recognise its strength and order their forces to cooperate with it.

The decision to blacklist the group, which according to the Washington Post will be announced today, raises the prospect of a drawn-out, anti-American insurgency if and when the rebels succeed in forcing out President Bashar al-Assad .

The designation prohibits Americans from having any financial dealings with the group and freezes its assets in the US. Washington is taking the step as part of a new strategy to impose "shape" on the opposition it hopes will replace Mr Assad.

Even mainstream opposition activists expressed anger at what they claimed was America's last-minute attempt to "muscle in on their revolution".

"It is terrible timing on the part of the United States," said Mulham Jundi, who works with the opposition charity Watan Syria. "By calling Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists, the US is legitimising the Syrian regime's bombardment of cities like Aleppo. Now the government can say it is attacking terrorists."

The rise of Jabhat al-Nusra represents the Americans' worst fear – they refused to arm the rebels earlier in the conflict to avoid weapons falling into the hands of jihadists, only to find that in their absence, jihadi groups well-funded by supporters in the Gulf have risen to prominence.

The West attempted to rectify this at the weekend by backing the formation of a new FSA command structure at a meeting in Turkey. Its new leadership, which sidelines former commanders such as Gen Mustafa al-Sheikh and Col Riad al-Assad, includes senior figures without a regime background. Many are linked to the Muslim Brotherhood or even more radical Salafi movements, but are thought to be men with whom the West "can do business".

The command is seen as a prospective military wing of the new Syrian National Coalition, formed last month also under Western auspices in Qatar.

EU leaders including William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, met the heads of the coalition in Brussels yesterday, having already recognised it as "the legitimate representative of the aspirations of the Syrian people".

Opposition fighters inside Syria told The Daily Telegraph that the US announcement was too little too late, and that any attempts by the West to intervene in Syria would be rejected. "We don't support the new FSA military command," said Ous al-Arabi, a spokesman of the Deir al-Zour Revolutionary council.

"For Deir al-Zour province they have chosen people who are not representative. Jabhat al-Nusra is the strongest group here and they ignored that.

"The people are not going to accept intervention by the West now. You were watching us die, and now that we close to victory you want to intervene? You are not welcome."

SEE ALSO: Syria's Strongest Fighting Group Officially "Terrorists" In Eyes Of US >

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The captors of a journalist in Syria are threatening to execute her tomorrow (13 December) unless their demands for a $50m ransom are met.

Anhar Kochneva, a reporter with Russian and Ukrainian dual nationality, was kidnapped by the Free Syrian Army (FSA) near the city of Homs at the beginning of October. She was said to be on assignment for several Russian media outlets.

In a video released on 7 November, she appealed to the embassies of Ukraine and Russia, as well as the Syrian government, to meet the demands of her kidnappers.

In a second video, released on 28 November, she made a short statement in Arabic, as above, in which she says that her reason for being in Syria was to act as a translator for "Russian intelligence."

A translation below the YouTube video runs (with a little editing by me) as follows:

"I'm Anhar Kochneva, a Ukrainian citizen who was living in Russia. I was born in 1972. I came to Syria on January 2012 as a journalist with a forged ID, but my main task was to translate between Syrian officers and their Russian counterparts.

I took part in battles in Baba Amro and Zabadani, and I was translating for a Russian officer, Peter Petrov, and Syrian officers, Essam Zahr al-Deen and Ali Hotham.

When I arrived in Syria, I met Brigadier General Asef Shawkat and he sent me to Homs. I worked also as a translator in Aleppo and Idlib and Zabadani… I'm here at the behest of Russian intelligence.

They [?] kidnapped me when I was returning from Tartous to Damascus with a captain in the Syrian army whom was assigned to protect me. I ask the governments of Russia and Ukraine to respond to the kidnappers' request."

European journalists' organisations, including the Russian Union of Journalists, believe she was pressured to read that text. Her kidnappers have called her "a Ukrainian spy".

"We are gravely concerned for the safety of Anhar Kochneva," said Jim Boumelha, president of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). "Those who are holding her will be held responsible for summary execution if she is killed."

The IFJ and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have called on those who are holding Kochneva to respect her right to life.

Her captors are believed to have demanded a ransom of $50m (£31m). "This blatant use of journalists as a money-spinning scheme is outrageous," said Arne König, the EFJ's president.

"She and her family should not be subjected to such a cruel blackmail. She should be released immediately and unharmed to be reunited with her relatives and colleagues."

Both sides in the current Syrian conflict have been accused of serious violations, including arbitrary arrests and detention, kidnappings as well as killings of journalists and media workers.

At least three other journalists and media staff are either missing or held by warring factions in Syria. US freelance Austin Tice, who writes for the Washington Post and McClatchy newspapers, went missing in August 2012.

Palestinian Bashar Fahmi al-Kadumim of the Arabic-language television channel Al-Hurram, also disappeared in August in the city of Aleppo. And Mustafa al-Khateeb, a Syrian interpreter, was detained by the FSA in Bab al Salameh in October.

Sources:Syrian News/NUJ/IFJ/EFJ/YouTube

This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk

SEE ALSO: Here's What A Pakistani Taliban Facebook Page Look Like >

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On Tuesday the U.S. designated Syria's al-Nusra Front as a Global Terrorist organization because of its direct links to al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and then recognized the mainstream Syrian National Council as the representative of the Syrian people.

The blacklisting of al-Nusra — which makes up about nine percent of opposition forces — was met by swift backlash as both Syrian Islamists and nonviolent activists perceived the move as an attempt by the U.S. to manipulate the outcome of the 21-month-conflict.

The U.S. admitted as much, saying that the move is "intended to expose them" because the group's "extremist ideology has no role in a post-Assad Syria." 

Al-Nusra aims to create an Islamic state in Syria ruled by strict Sunni Islamists and has vowed to fight any secular government.

An Iraqi who joined the Free Syrian Army (FSA) told The New York Times that there will be so many battles between" rebel groups after Assad falls and that forces "will unite against al-Nusra."

Given that al-Nusra leads FSA offensives from the front lines, the force may be difficult to stamp out. These pictures of an al-Nusra training camp published on a jihadist forum (h/t @HaraldDoornbos) give an indication how intense the group is.

SEE ALSO: Apparently Al-Qaeda Is A Huge Fan Of Photoshop [PHOTOS] >

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Various news outlets, including this paper, are reporting that the beleaguered regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has, beginning Monday, fired six Scud missiles from Damascus towards rebel forces in the north. Although, just as with the murmurings of chemical weapons, we should treat these early, anonymously-sourced reports with the appropriate scepticism, this is another emerging sign of desperation by a regime that has suffered unprecedented reversals over the past three weeks.

Scuds are a family of cheap and easy short-range ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s. They were taken up enthusiastically by a variety of Soviet allies like Syria, particularly after the missile exchanges of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s demonstrated their utility as instruments of terror or – in Syria’s case – as potential delivery systems for chemical weapons. Syria probably has many hundreds of various types of Scuds, with the most advanced, the Scud-D, capable of traveling 700km.

More recently, Scuds have served as the favoured instrument of panicking autocrats everywhere. Last year, Colonel Gaddafi lobbed a Scud at rebels in eastern Libya just one week before he collapsed, to no particular effect. Saddam Hussein famously used Scuds against Israel and Saudi Arabia during the First Gulf War, causing panic if not much damage. In 1999, even Russia directed some against the Chechen capital Grozny killing well over a hundred people.

So, if the reports are true, why is Assad turning to bigger missiles? Scuds are completely useless in urban warfare, and too imprecise to target small rebel formations outside of cities. According to one account, the Scuds were fired at an area west of Idlib (in a province almost entirely out of regime hands), causing no casualties. That makes sense. Gaddafi’s Scuds last year also hit empty ground. Using chemical weapons would fix the problem of inaccuracy, but there’s no sign whatsoever that the alleged missiles were chemical-armed. Let’s also discount the rather wild suggestion, made in the Sunday Times over the summer, that Iranian Revolutionary Guards were controlling Surian Scuds.

One plausible explanation for this move may be the changing military balance. Until now, Assad had complete air superiority. He could bomb from the air where and when he wished, even after IEDs took a toll on the mobility of his ground forces. In recent weeks, however, the regime has lost a string of key air bases and, partly as a result of the stolen anti-aircraft weapons, suffered downed aircraft. Assad’s command of the skies may be slipping somewhat.

In this respect, the use of missiles is just an alternative means of delivering explosives to rebel-held ground. If the missiles were targeted at build-up areas, then this would be in keeping with the regime’s long-standing strategy in places like Aleppo: punishing the civilian population for sheltering rebels, and perhaps they’ll get the message.

Nevertheless, there seems to be something spectacularly pointless about lobbing conventionally-armed and inaccurate missiles in the hope of quelling a nationwide insurgency. That, too, may be the point. In recent, days talk of Western military intervention has intensified, including whispers of possible air and naval support for the rebels. Intentionally irrational acts may be intended to send the message that intervention could incur heavy costs, particularly with Western allies like Turkey, Jordan and Israel within range of Syrian chemical-armed missiles. Missiles are deterrents, and actually firing them – wherever they might land, and despite NATO’s deployment of the Patriot missile defense system to Turkey – tends to concentrates the mind in Western capitals.

Moreover, during the First Gulf War, our attempt at “Scud-hunting” (depicted most famously in Bravo Two Zero) was notoriously ineffective, since the mobile launchers allowed Saddam Hussein to move his missiles around. In the end, very few launchers were found and destroyed. Assad may very well be hoping that this lesson is remembered.

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Associated Press photographer Narciso Contreras describes the harrowing situation on the ground in Aleppo and tells the story behind some of his powerful images. He was interviewed by Jim Powell.

I have been covering the situation in Aleppo since August. When I first arrived here, I was taken to the Hullok and Hananu districts – areas that were subject to heavy bombing. Since then, I have known what to expect. It scared me.

My time is spent photographing the situation faced by civilians in Aleppo, how they cope with hardly anything and how they deal with their tragedy. There is no electricity, no petrol, there is a lack of bread. It is also now winter and the city is freezing.

The people here are divided over the war: some support the insurgency, some don't. A large number of the population are desperate, they want this war to end; at least in the area controlled by the rebel fighters, which is constantly under heavy shelling and suffers from a lack of supplies. Most of the areas controlled by the rebels are working-class neighbourhoods. There is no place for them to go. They continue with their daily lives as far as they can, leaving everything in the hands of Allah. They call themselves martyrs and are open to sacrifice themselves.

The most brutal situation that I have witnessed has been the shelling of civilian neighbourhoods. It has been indiscriminate. The bombs and mortar artillery can land anywhere at any moment. It is too dangerous to dare to stand on the street for any length of time.

I once went to the hospital to photograph victims of the shelling. There was not enough space, so all the wounded and lifeless bodies were just lying on the floor. I felt dizzy when I saw one child lying on the floor, weeping, bleeding from his foot while holding a coin in his hand. He was injured while queuing for bread and a mortar hit the bakery. He was terrified. When his mother came to find him he opened his hand, giving back the coin and said, "Please mum, don't send me out for bread again, I don't want to go and buy bread any more."

The battle for Aleppo is being fought with the city in ruins. On the front lines there is not a single house or building that remains without damage. Everything looks destroyed, shelled or burnt. It seems as though the Syrian leaders would rather destroy the city than give it up to the rebels. The Alawite militia, known as the Shabihas, terrorise the population and the rebels catch anyone suspected of being a spy or Shabiha.

When you enter Aleppo, you take a big risk; you could be killed or abducted. You find yourself surrounded by explosions, then you look at yourself and realise you are still alive. If you are on the streets then you take cover, but if you are on the front line, you just have to wait for your chance to get out of there.

I think the work I am producing here is strong. I lived and studied at a monastery in India before becoming a conflict photographer and everything I see now is through the eyes of Krishna. This is my personal belief. I am just an instrument in this situation.

It is difficult for me to try to figure out how it will all end.

Photographs of Aleppo by Narciso Contreras

The sniper is one of the most characteristic tactics of combat in this civil war. I have been photographing the rebel snipers since arriving here but when I was moving with this group (above) I felt something different, something more intimate. They started shooting towards a building across the street, where the army snipers were hiding. They fired back and bullets smashed the glass cabinet against the wall above our heads. I was on the floor.

The city of Aleppo has been ruined by this civil war. Plumes of smoke are part of the landscape. On this day, two colleagues and I were hiding inside a building as mortar shells were landing around us. The locals were walking without paying much attention to the situation, to the danger. I wanted to portray the civilians' daily life in war with this composition.

I was running with the rebels while they were carrying an explosive device to blow up a building and ambush Assad's troops. A tank was shelling houses around us and the rebels stopped me at the point from where I took this photograph saying that it would be suicide for me to go with them and set up the bomb. Then I saw a rebel running to reach his comrades with the device. I followed him with my camera, took the picture then retreated to another building to take cover.

It has been important for me to document the damage caused by this war on civilians. I have seen many displaced. I was in one working-class neighbourhood on the front line with the rebels when we moved into this kitchen. The dishes, fridge, flowers and everything else were standing the same as when the owners left but now were covered by dust and gunpowder.

This is the first demonstration I photographed. The atmosphere was very tense as a mortar shell had landed here two weeks before this protest, killing and injuring many people. Then two children took the loud speakers and started to chant Syrian freedom songs. The girl's face reflected her passion and I could see how the people were touched by her voice.

Snipers surround Aleppo. Everyone is a target. I had never witnessed a shooting by sniper in cold blood before this. It is just horrifying. The civilian was walking along this street when he was shot and, for over an hour, he lay there. No one was able to reach him because of the snipers. Finally he decided to run in my direction. The man was shot a second time, falling over in the street but away from the sniper's field of vision. The rebel fighters made a human chain to rescue the man, crawling to reach him. Shots fired over them before finally the man was safely way from the bullets. I photographed the whole sequence and this frame shows the man after he was shot for a second time. Seven civilians were shot on that street on that day.

I photographed this a week after the Dar Al-Shifa hospital (seen partially to the right of the frame) was bombed by a plane. The hospital had been bombed and shelled more than 20 times and was clearly a target for the Assad forces. The hospital had turned into a symbol of resistance. I was in Turkey when it was bombed and when I returned to Aleppo it was the first frame that I was looking to photograph. The city was turning into darkness due to a power cut and it was cold. It scared me. It was a dramatic and apocalyptic scene and as I shot the images I felt the horror of this war as never before during my time in Syria.

This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk

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"Western officials" are now reporting that Syrian soldiers have loaded a truck with chemical weapons for possible use, according to the Washington Post.

This comes with other reports that beleaguered Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has prepped his Army for a fight, and that the U.S. has deployed at least 400 troops and batteries of Patriot missiles to the Turkish border.

Joby Warrick of the Post writes:

Surveillance photos confirmed that at least one army unit began loading special military vehicles that transport bombs and artillery shells carrying chemical warheads, according to the officials. The moves followed specific orders to elite troops to begin preparations for the use of the weapons against advancing rebel fighters, the officials said.

The intelligence estimate, coming late Thursday, counters another recent report, issued by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta just days ago, that the threat of chemical weapons use by Syrian forces had "leveled off,"according to CBS.

From the CBS report:

"We haven't seen anything new indicating any aggressive steps to move forward in that way," Panetta told reporters during a flight to Kuwait, adding that U.S. officials "continue to monitor it very closely and we continue to make clear to them that they should not under any means make use of these chemical weapons against their own population. That would produce serious consequences."

Reports are that at least one truck is loaded with weapons, though officials couldn't say whether it was on orders from Assad or possibly a general officer acting on his own. Assad has also begun dumping Scud missiles on advancing rebels, a move some say indicates desperation in Damascus.

Things also accelerated politically as the U.S. officially recognized the provisional Free Syrian Army, and Russia issued statements that would indicate their intelligence sees a possible rebel victory.

Barbara Starr of CNN reported that Russian official Defense Foreign Minister Mikhail Bodganov said, "the regime and the government in Syria are losing more and more control and more and more territory. Unfortunately, we cannot rule out the victory of the Syrian opposition."

Syria has steadily ceded ground to the rebels, giving up key supply lines, bases, and mount blistering assaults on an airport integral to the resupply of Assad in Damascus.

"It's at its lowest point yet," a senior U.S. official told Starr. "The trend is moving more rapidly than it has in the past."

SEE ALSO: The US Is Sending Heavy Weapons To Syrian Rebels >

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A Syrian parliamentarian and eight members of the security forces were killed in a Damascus suicide bombing Wednesday, and al-Arabiya reports that the attack was reportedly carried out by the al-Nusra Front — the group recently blacklisted by the U.S.

Two bombers detonated explosive belts inside the Syrian Ministry of Interior as battles raged within sight of the presidential palace. Twenty others were wounded in the attack, which was only made possible by a “betrayal” in the security services of the ministry.

“It is impossible for a car to approach the entrance to the Ministry if it is not an official vehicle,” a security source told AFP.

The attack is reminiscent of the July 18 suicide bombing in Damascus that killed four members of the president's inner circle.

Earlier this week al-Nusra, arguably the best front line rebel fighters, were dubbed terrorists by the U.S. despite having widespread support among the opposition.

SEE ALSO: How The Syrian Conflict Is Going To End >

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Mangled heaps of metal stretch for hundreds of metres (yards) from a crater in what was an olive grove in northwestern Syria. Rebels say they now face a new enemy: Scuds.

According to the insurgents, at least six surface-to-surface missiles, which they believe to be Scuds, crashed in and around Sheikh Suleiman army base on Monday and Tuesday, an army garrison seized by Al-Nusra Front jihadists.

An AFP correspondent visited the spot where one of the missiles struck near the base, just outside the town of Darret Ezza.

The soil was strewn with piles of sharp, twisted metal. The stone walls that define these rocky hills and olive groves were reduced to rubble.

"There were 31 olive trees here, now they're all gone," said the owner of the land who came to inspect the damage, despite the danger of landmines left behind by the army.

"Stones the size of a man flew into the sky like they were pieces of gravel," said the mustachioed farmer as one of his children picked up the body of a dead bird.

All the trees were decapitated. About 300 metres away, part of the facade of an ancient but sturdy barn had collapsed.

Fortunately for the residents of Darret Ezza, the missile landed nearly two kilometres (1.2 miles) away, but the windows of many houses were blown out by the impact.

The explosions rattled the whole town and could be heard throughout the region, but no one was killed, according to local Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters.

Their commander, Abu Jalal, insisted the missiles were Scuds, despite firm denials from Damascus.

"The regime media has already justified the bombing by arguing that the rebels in this area had dangerous weapons including chemical components," he said.

An AFP journalist in Darret Ezza on Monday heard a very strong explosion at the time when one of the missiles hit the area, but was unable to determine the exact origin.

Several residents, including local FSA officer Abu Raji, said the firing of surface-to-surface missiles began two weeks ago, after rebels shot down two army aircraft raiding the area around the base.

"There were other three explosions like this, but they were less powerful," said Abu Raji.

Local residents said it was irrelevant whether they were Scuds of another type of missile. "We live in fear that next time the missiles will land on the town," said Abu Jalal.

A US official told AFP on condition of anonymity on Wednesday that Scud missiles had been used in Syria. However, a security source in Damascus said the army had used a smaller, Syrian-made version of the Scud.

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Planned deployment of US-made Patriot missiles in Turkey is a "provocative" action which could bring about "uncalculated" results, Iran's foreign minister said on Sunday.

"The deployment of Patriot missiles will achieve nothing but to provoke and, God forbid, result in being forced into an uncalculated action," Ali Akbar Salehi said in remarks reported by the official IRNA news agency.

"Their deployment will be more provocative rather than deterrent," he said and warning that the Patriot missiles would not "help regional security."

His comments came a day after Iran's top general issued a stern warning to Ankara over its planned hosting of the missile batteries, saying it was part of a Western plot to "create a world war."

"The Patriot (missiles) are threatening. Each one of them is a black dot on the map, (setting the stage) to create a world war," said General Hassan Firouzabadi, Iran's armed forces chief of staff.

"This is very dangerous for everyone, and even for the future of Europe," he said.

At the request of Turkey, NATO has agreed to provide Patriot missiles to bolster its member's border defences amid tensions with the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

But both Russia and Iran, the most powerful allies of the Assad regime, are opposed to the move.

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