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Campbell MacDiarmid

Journalist

Abu Dhabi

Campbell has worked as a multimedia journalist in the Middle East since 2011, living in Egypt, Iraq and the UAE. He followed the upheavals of the 2011 Arab uprisings closely from Cairo before moving to Erbil to cover the war against ISIS. He has filed from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria and Bangladesh, and has written on Kurdish hipsters, desert truffles, Iraqi heavy metal and Balti porters in the Karakoram mountains.

Review: 'The Price of Paradise' traces the history and impact of the suicide bomb

Iain Overton's new book exploring the phenomenon over the decades is an important read

July 16, 2019

The unmaintained FSO Safer off Yemen's Red Sea coast has been described as a "floating bomb", pictured in March 2005. Getty

Beyond the Headlines: The 'floating bomb' off Yemen's Red Sea Coast

UN officials warn that without urgent maintenance, the FSO Safer tanker could unleash an environmental catastrophe

May 17, 2019

Houthi rebels are holding a ‘floating bomb’ oil tanker hostage off Yemen’s coast

UN officials warn that without urgent maintenance, the FSO Safer tanker could unleash an environmental catastrophe

May 9, 2019

ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi in his first public appearance in Mosul, Iraq on July 5, 2014, left, and at right, on Monday, April 29, 2019. ISIS / Al Furqan Media Network / AP

ISIS leader tries to rally supporters with claims of 'steadfastness' after battlefield defeats

In first video appearance since 2014, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi insists the loss of his caliphate is not the end of ISIS

April 30, 2019

A woman displaced from Syria's eastern Deir Ezzor province carries a box in Al Hol camp for displaced people, in Hasakeh governorate in northeastern Syria on April 18, 2019. AFP

UK cuts cash aid to northeast Syria, citing fear of funding ISIS

International NGOs working in the region say the decision is 'impossible to explain or justify'

April 21, 2019

A 12-year-old orphan called Mohamed speaks with a fighter from the Syrian Democratic Forces after leaving Baghouz, the last ISIS-held territory in Syria. Campbell MacDiarmid for The National

The orphans of ISIS: Innocent children forsaken in 'hellish' Syrian camps

The Syrian Kurds say they cannot take care of the children of ISIS alone and few countries are rushing to their aid, Campbell MacDiarmid reports from near Baghouz

April 16, 2019

The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski

Five must-read books that uncover some of life's greatest lessons

One of The National's journalists reveals his favourite reads

April 13, 2019

Co-chair of the Foreign Relations Commission in North Syria AbdulKarim Omar says a political settlement in Syria is essential to preventing ISIS returning. Willy Lowry for The National

Syrian Kurds renew calls for negotiated end to the civil war

Syria’s Kurds defeated ISIS but now say a negotiated end to the country’s civil war is essential to a permanent victory

March 27, 2019

Cassandra Bodart, a Belgian former ISIS supporter, speaks at Roj Camp in north-eastern Syria, March 6, 2019. Campbell MacDiarmid for The National

In a Syrian camp for ISIS supporters, a Belgian vows she made a huge mistake

Cassandra Bodart is fighting to return to Belgium, but Brussels refuses to repatriate her

March 26, 2019

A woman holds a fern during a vigil for the victims of the mosque attacks during an ecumenical celebration in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 21, 2019. Reuters

Beyond the Headlines: New Zealanders shaken but unbowed by terrorist attacks

We hear from one victim's mother and our own resident New Zealanders to mark one week since the mass shooting in Christchurch.

March 22, 2019

ISIS-held Baghouz, in Syria's Deir Ezzour province, viewed from an SDF frontline position. Campbell MacDiarmid

In Syria I learnt that ISIS may be beaten on the battlefield but its ideology is unbowed

Streaming out of Baghouz, a deeply committed cadre of supporters is being placed in overcrowded camps that could become incubators of the group's revival

March 14, 2019

An SDF fighter waits for surrendering ISIS members outside Baghouz ,Syria, 7 March 2019. Campbell MacDiarmid/ The National

‘We do this for a living’: Truckers play perilous role as emptiers of ISIS’s last pocket

Hardy local drivers are entering Baghouz to take fighters and their families out of the encampment

March 9, 2019

This image provided by New Zealand 3 News/MediaWorks via APTN shows Mark Taylor, who converted to Islam and joined ISIS in Syria, as he reads the Quran in his native New Zealand. APTN

Transcript: New Zealand’s most notorious ISIS militant on slavery, executions and citizenship

The full interview between Mark Taylor and The National’s Campbell MacDiarmid in northeastern Syria

March 6, 2019

New Zealand ISIS supporter Mark Taylor inside a Kurdish jail in northern Syria after surrendering to the Syrian Democratic Forces. Campbell MacDiarmid

New Zealand ISIS runaway Mark Taylor: I feel betrayed by the group I joined and the country I left behind

Campbell MacDiarmid interviews the Kiwi militant whose government says 'he's made his bed, he can lie in it'

March 6, 2019

Kurdish YPG fighters stand guard outside Baghouz, Syria as fighting is ongoing to clear the bastion of the last ISIS fighters, 2 March 2019. Campbell MacDiarmid

‘Each metre might be a mine’: ISIS riddles Baghouz with IEDs to slow capture of final enclave

The fanatics have reverted to the deadly tactic of booby-trapping homes and planting explosives before the loss of territory

March 3, 2019

MENA

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - November 21, 2019: HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Defence (L), offers condolences to HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces (R) on the passing of the late HH Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at Al Mushrif Palace. ( Rashed Al Mansoori / Ministry of Presidential Affairs ) ---

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed receives condolences on death of Sheikh Sultan

Government

Nakibullah Sahir, 29, sits in the ruins of his house in Pekha village, Achin District. Stefanie Glinski for The National

With ISIS gone, Afghan villagers struggle to rebuild from rubble

Asia

Emirates begins transition away from Airbus A380

Aviation

The incredible story of a filmmaker’s journey into a world of terror

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