September 28, 2012 NBC NEWS DEVOTES WIDE-SCALE COVERAGE TO TURMOIL IN MIDDLE EAST AND AFGHANISTAN TEAM OF ANCHORS AND CORRESPONDENTS DEPLOYED IN FIVE COUNTRIES ACROSS REGION SPECIAL EDITIONS OF “NBC NIGHTLY NEWS” SUNDAY AND MONDAY, REPORTING ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS OF NBC NEWS
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SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 -- As the U.S. prepares to enter its twelfth year of war in Afghanistan, tension heightens between Israel and Iran, a brutal civil war rages in Syria, and violence and extremism continue to roil the entire Middle East, NBC News will devote wide-scale coverage to this region with reporting across all platforms and special editions of “NBC Nightly News” on Sunday, September 30th and Monday, October 1st.

“With this sweeping coverage, NBC will provide a panoramic view of the Middle East and Afghanistan at a critical moment,” said Steve Capus, president of NBC News. “Our team of seasoned journalists are reporting from key flashpoints across the region, bringing meaningful stories into American homes and making sense of the global impact of these far-away conflicts.”

Top anchors and correspondents -- including Ann Curry, Lester Holt, Richard Engel, Ayman Mohyeldin, Ali Arouzi, and Martin Fletcher -- are deployed throughout five pivotal countries to deliver a full scope of insight and analysis about the realities on the ground and the magnitude of the hostilities there, as well as the state of U.S. military operations and the path forward.

Coverage details:

• Ann Curry, NBC News national and international correspondent, is on the Syrian border
• Lester Holt, anchor of NBC Nightly News and TODAY weekend editions, and Richard Engel, NBC News chief foreign correspondent, will continue their outstanding reporting from throughout Afghanistan
• Ayman Mohyeldin, NBC News foreign correspondent, is in Cairo, Egypt
• Ali Arouzi, NBC News correspondent and Tehran bureau chief, is in Tehran, Iran
• Martin Fletcher, NBC News correspondent and former Tel Aviv Bureau Chief, is in Tel Aviv, Israel