07/09/2014 Reporters

investigators gathering information on Islamic State for use in future

war crime trials. Hello, and welcome to Reporters.

From here in the world 's newsroom, we send our correspondence to bring

you the best stories from across the globe. `` correspondence. This

week, the web of the wanted. Brent Gardner meets the investigators

gathering evidence against Islamic State for future war crimes trials.

We are after the highest members, they . The Afghan connection, John

Simpson meets the fighters allied to the Taliban who say the word ``

worlds Muslims are thirsty for as `` an Islamic caliphate. Remembering

those land, ten years after the Russian school massacre, our

correspondent asks why there are no answers as to why it happens.

African art goes digital. Our correspondent meets the new breed of

animators keeping up with the continent 's demand for cartoons.

And, the wedding splashes, John Southworth reports on how getting

married in China is becoming big business. This photo shoot is

costing these two a little more than 300 US dollars. The industry today

is worth an estimated 80 billion US dollars.

As global outrage focuses on the brutality of the extremist group

Islamic State, the BBC has been told that a team of international

investigators secretly compiling evidence against the group 's

leaders. It is hoped that the evidence relating to the group 's

atrocities in Iraq and Syria could eventually be used to prosecute them

for crimes against humanity. But how likely is it that they will ever be

brought to justice? Brent Gardner has been speaking exclusively to the

team tasked with spying on Islamic State. Sadistic executions, murder

videos that respect `` the polls the world, this is all too familiar, so,

will anyone ever behold to `` held to account? We have learnt that

throughout this year, a team of international investigators with

extensive experience in war crimes, funded by the British government,

has been compiling evidence for prosecution. The BBC has been given

the first exclusive access to their work. For their own safety, they

have asked to remain anonymous. Who are you after? The leaders, the

fighters, the recruiters, that the headers? We would like to see the

murderers of James Foley, and people like them, brought to justice.

Having said that, they are not the focus of our investigations. We are

after the highest level members of Islamic State, because these

individuals are just as responsible for the countless murders as those

men who kill with their own hands. Indeed, those leaders are more

responsible. They are responsible for all of the killings. On the

ground and Syria, and in neighbouring countries,

investigators say they have numerous sources, feeding them information

and documents. Building up an intricate picture of the workings of

Islamic State, or Guy S. `` IS. They operate at huge personal risk.

Rarely we get documentation like this, these are the minutes of a

meeting. These are like gold dust to us, because it shows there is a

clear chain of command that controls everything that happens in that

region. This is the command structure of Islamic State, as

compiled by the investigators. At the top sits Abu Bakr al`Baghdadi,

the self`appointed caliph. Directly below him are four councils, the

most important being Military and Security. This one`plus`four

structure is then duplicated throughout all the provinces where

IS has a presence. Now the team is starting to put senior names to

posts, joining up a web of the wanted. They conclude that Islamic

State is far more organised than previously thought. What we are

witnessing is the process of nation`building. That includes the

provision of services, looking after the population. There is a military

element, of course, but the Islamic State is just what it says it is. It

is not a 1`off phenomenon on, they are building on Islamic state in the

desert. How big an organisation we talking? What are the numbers? Six

to eight weeks ago, we would have topped the organisation at 10,000

people, today it could be as large as 30,000 people. How many leaders

are beginning to find that structure? I don't know, maybe 400?

Where do British Jihadis fit into this picture? Once they cross the

border into Syria, they get assigned specific roles within IS. So far,

none appear to have reached the upper ranks. By and large, the

Westerners are given menial, low`level tasks by the commanders,

because they tend to arrive with no discernible battlefield skills, so

it's assumed they are better off providing support services to the

group, as they are unlikely to have the skills, religious or military,

that IS is looking for. The investigators gave us a glimpse of

their evidence, kept under lock and key. As well as paperwork, it

includes electronic data, stalled on disks, hard drives, memory sticks ``

stored. Inside these boxes down in the basement of the investigation

team's headquarters is the hard evidence which they say points to

the leaders of Islamic State being culpable for some of the atrocities

carried out in Syria. They believe it will be ready to take to

prosecution by the end of this year. But arresting well`protected Islamic

State leaders in the conflict will be almost impossible.

And there's another problem ` even when the prosecution files are

complete, there is no court yet ready to try them.

Frank Gardner, BBC News. There are fears that the tentacles of Islamic

State could reach outside of its current axis in Iraq and Syria.

Fighters from militant Islamic groups in Afghanistan allied to the

Taliban have told the BBC that they are considering joining forces with

Islamic State. The insurgent group says Muslims around the world are

thirsty for an Islamic caliphate. And, as John Simpson reports, they

vowed to keep fighting the Afghan government even after the Nato

forces leave at the end of the year. The landscape is

extraordinarily beautiful, but it is also very dangerous.

We drove north of the seven hours, on new roads, which thanks to

corruption, are often broken up already. This is a war zone. You can

plainly see the battle scars on the police post, as we headed into this

town `` breaking up already. It is a prosperous agricultural centre, it

is bustling. There is plenty of nervousness as well. In the

countryside around, the Taliban and their allies are operating. Everyone

here is aware of them. When we were in the town, we were safe enough, it

is under government control. But directly outside it, you are in

hostile kidnapping is a real threat. We have

had the promise of a safe conduct from the fiercely radical group

we are going to see. We are pretty confident that we can trust that.

The meeting happened late at night on a

emerges with his bodyguards. The commander belongs to an extreme

group, fighting alongside not lay down his weapons.

TRANSLATION: We will keep fighting until the rule of the Koran is

installed here. We will never accept the American`made constitution.

establish Sharia law throughout the world. He says he gets many of his

weapons from the Afghan army, and police, who handed them over in

order to keep in with him. He and his fighters are very much their own

men, and now he is considering linking up with Islamic State in

Syria and Iraq, formerly known as ISIS. He calls it by its Arabic

name. TRANSLATION: I know about ISIS, we have links with some of

their members. Muslims are thirsty for an Islamic caliphate in the

world. ISIS is expanding, conquering parts of Syria and Iraq, and we are

waiting to see if they meet the required rates `` requirements for

an Islamic caliphate. If they do, we are ready to join them. They are

good Islamic fighters and we pray for them. The increasingly brutal

threat posed by these men is deeply disturbing to senior political

figures back in Kabul. We are suffering, you are right. As it is

getting worse? In some places, you are right, is getting worse. Because

they have become very brutal. Very brutal. God willing, the commander

says, we will go to Palestine, Syria and Iraq to defeat the infidels. Any

linkup between the fighting there and the fighting here in Afghanistan

will be pretty worrying for the West. John Simpson, BBC News.

This week also marked the anniversary of a tragic chapter in

Russia's history. People in one Russian town marked the 10th

anniversary of the school massacre in which more than 300 people died,

more than half of them children. This year this woman's eldest

daughter would have been a university student. In September

2004, she died inside these walls. A victim of the school massacre.

TRANSLATION: Somebody wrote here, let the memory of you live for ever.

On September the 1st 2004, Chechen militants stormed a school in this

town. And they killed more than 1000 people hostage. 334 people,

including 186 children, died as a result of the siege and the ongoing

battle with Russian special forces that followed. Alex lost his father.

He now studies in Wales. TRANSLATION: I would like to finish

university but then come back to Russia. People are not safe. I think

after the tragedy security measures should be tightened in all schools.

Each year at the beginning of September, hundreds of people come

to the place of the massacre to honour the victims. Signs of grief

are still here on the walls of school number one in Beslan. But

after the sorrow and anger come the questions. Why did it all happen?

Who was responsible? And what lessons did Russia learn from the

tragedy? Some relatives of the victims are still waiting for

answers. An investigation into the attack on the school started ten

years ago and is still ongoing. TRANSLATION: Our government made us

go to the European Court of human rights. But why do we have two tone

to foreign institutions to find the truth? She and her baby daughter

survived the attack. Although she says she will never forget those

terrible base ten years ago, life goes on. This year had younger

daughter is beginning secondary school.

It was a simple tale of bravery 100 years ago, a single British unit

held the line against advancing German forces that outnumbered them

for the one. Members of the first cavalry brigade were taken by

surprise but fought back and three of their number were awarded the

Victoria Cross. Robert Hall reports on the commemoration is that

followed the remarkable journey retracing the routes leading the

battle. Those who have seen their passing have spoken of ghosts from

days long ago. Over the past five days, the column has clattered

through the lanes and villages north of Paris. Every rider represents one

regiment among the many driven south and west by the advancing enemy.

Some carry personal mementos from family who survived the retreat. My

great`grandfather was a lieutenant of the 19th and he was shot out here

in November 1914. I wear my dog tags and tears. Long before the stalemate

of trench warfare, cavalry still played a vital part in the Allied

response to the German advance that seemed unstoppable. Cavalrymen could

move quickly, scout ahead of the infantry and carry out surprise

attacks. I am writing with my great`grandfather's sword, which

belongs to me now. And my great`grandfather's marching

compass. That he used during the great War. It is especially poignant

having just returned from Afghanistan. You think you have had

a rough time and you realise that your relatives were going through

things that were so much worse. On the foggy morning of September the

1st, all hell broke loose. British cavalry and artillery were under

fire from a much larger force. To date clouds will watch part of that

story unfold on the field where three Victoria crosses were won in

just an hour. Amid the carnage, the crew of a surviving field gun fought

on. The hero of the day was Captain Bradbury. He managed to summon up

the troops to man the guns and take on the Germans as they were shelling

from the high ground. And you can see from the pictures, you get a

sense of the casualties among the men and the horses. Absolutely. They

lost all the horses of the battery. We are here on the field of battle

to remember those who died and the action here. British casualties were

relatively light, but hundreds of horses were slaughtered. The riders

of 2014 have had two simple aims. To mark the loss of life and to draw

local communities into the events of another century. Going home and

looking back and looking at the past week at what I have done, I feel

very proud and I hope the families of the deceased feel proud as well.

We will not let them forget. Wanted, African animators to keep up

with the continent's demand for cartoons. There are animation

Studios in a number of African countries, but few schools that

teach design. A new project launched by a Senegalese media mogul and

funded by the EU is working to change that. We report on our

African art is going digital. These characters are on their way to

your TV screen. And this is where they are being crafted. In a private

school in the car, this programme allows students to access training

in 2`D and 3`D animation. It is not just about mastering computer

software and sophisticated techniques. It is about drawing and

being creative. This character is a drummer. He is being troubled by a

shadow for refusing to play his instrument. It took his Creator five

months to make him come to life. One day, the shadow justice appears. ``

just disappears. People from Asia tell their stories using this

medium, and so do Americans. It is time for Africans to get on this

train. Fortunately there is already a great deal of talent. It took him

just a few hours to turn me into a TV character. This first group of

students will be graduating in May of next year. They will go back to

their respective countries and is part of this programme, the best

ones will receive funding to build their own start`up and continue to

produce creative content, 3`D and animated movies made in Africa.

Wedding pictures usually capture key moments of two people's big day. The

first kiss as the married couple, the cutting of the cake. But in

China it seems that brides and grooms want a bit more. And they are

looking for quirky places to pose for the camera. And they are

prepared to pay a small fortune for the privilege.

It is a photo shoot guaranteed to take the breath away. China's

buoyant, splurge in wedding spending in

recent years, and with it has come a rapid change in taste and customs.

It is especially for us. A lot of couples like the original styles,

but we want a special style. Underwater is more beautiful for the

couples, I think. If you cannot afford time off work for the special

images, why not have taken off the job. `` on the job. These recently

went viral on the Chinese Internet. Unlike in the West, couples have

their photographs taken well in advance of the wedding and with more

than 500,000 registered wedding photographers competition is fierce.

In Shanghai alone, there are dozens of Studios with the special tanks

needed for the underwater shots. China might not have invented the

genre, but it has caught on fast as old traditions are swapped by a

flood of new money. This photo shoot is costing them a little more than

300 US dollars. But with some 10 million Chinese couples tying the

knot, that spending soon adds up. The industry is worth an estimated

$80 billion. That is more than the total output of some European

economies and includes all wedding spending. Ceremonies, receptions and

honeymoons. All photographers who want to hang onto their share of it,

spotting the next new trend may determine if they sink or swim.

And that is all from Reporters for this week. Goodbye for now.

A bit of a blip in the settled whether we have been having. Normal

service will be resumed from Monday as we will see in a moment. If you

are having showers, if you are getting rendering Sunday