Take away the media group watermarks, and mute the spoken anti-Western propaganda, and the Islamic State's (IS) most recent video featuring John Cantlie might look more like a VICE News story: a brave, skinny jean-wearing journalist documenting a rubble-covered warzone. The video, titled "From Inside Aleppo," marks yet another step in one of history's most bizarre climbs to superstardom. In a matter of months, Cantlie, whom IS had originally intended to be a conduit into Western discourse, has surprised both himself and his captors by becoming a champion of the jihadist movement.

The Islamic State’s (IS) decision to burn alive the captured Jordanian pilot, Mu’adh al-Kasasibah, has sent shock waves around the world. In addition to the sheer brutality of the act, the decision by IS to distribute a video of their atrocity, and the fact that ordinary people in Raqqa—including children—were forced to watch his death, are all causes for horror and condemnation. Even some radical clerics—like Salman al-‘Awdah—have reacted with disgust and argued that burning people alive is forbidden by Islamic law (Shariah).

The Islamic State (IS) released a video showing the beheading of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto Jogo. The one minute, seven second video was produced by al-Furqan Media Foundation, a major media arm of the group, and was distributed on Twitter on January 31, 2015.

Just a few months ago, President Obama could point to Yemen as a positive example of U.S. counter-terrorism policy. The resignation last week of Yemen’s President, Prime Minister, and cabinet has, however, thrown the future of the country, and U.S. counter-terrorism (CT) policy, into disarray.

Islamic State (IS)-linked Twitter accounts distributed a new video of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto Jogo, wherein he indicated that it would be his final message, and unless the Jordanian government frees Sajida al-Rishawi within 24 hours, he and captive Jordanian pilot Mu'adh al-Kasasibah will be executed.