Since the death of Osama bin Laden, Yemen has become the hottest front in the war against Al Qaeda. Now, with headlines about a terrorist plot to bomb a U.S.-bound airliner, award-winning reporter Ghaith Abdul-Ahad travels deep into Yemen’s radical heartland. In this first-hand report, FRONTLINE looks at how members of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and affiliated militants have seized control of areas in southern Yemen and are winning some popular support. Is the United States’ expanded drone policy in fact strengthening this new fortified insurgent base?

Since the death of Osama bin Laden, Yemen has become the hottest front in the war against Al Qaeda. Now, with headlines about a terrorist plot to bomb a U.S.-bound airliner, award-winning reporter Ghaith Abdul-Ahad travels deep into Yemen’s radical heartland. In this first-hand report, FRONTLINE looks at how members of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and affiliated militants have seized control of areas in southern Yemen and are winning some popular support. Is the United States’ expanded drone policy in fact strengthening this new fortified insurgent base?

As recently as September, President Obama was pointing to Yemen as a model for the U.S.’s counter-terrorism strategy. But now, the country is being torn apart in a violent conflict led by an anti-American rebel movement known as the Houthis. With the Yemeni president ousted from the capital, and Saudi Arabia leading a coalition of regional forces against the Houthis, FRONTLINE in conjunction with BBC Arabic brings this special report from inside the war zone, exposing the violent feuds tearing the country apart, the rival anti-American and Al Qaeda-aligned forces fighting for control and the dangerous consequences for the region and the world.

eporter Ghaith Abdul-Ahad goes inside the battle against ISIS for control of the city of Mosul. Also in this two-part hour: “Hunting ISIS,” a dramatic report on an Iraqi unit at the center of the fight.