Islamic State

US President Donald Trump meets Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa in the White House, in Washington, on Nov. 10, 2025.

Syria’s Sharaa leaves Washington with warm assurances but no security agreements

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa departed Washington without clinching major security agreements or long-term economic relief.

Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa holds a joint press conference with the Turkish president following their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, on February 4, 2025. Syria's interim president is in Turkey for talks with the country's leader after flying in from Saudi Arabia, where he was seeking help from wealthy Gulf countries to finance the reconstruction of his war-ravaged nation and revive its economy, as part of his second international trip since ousting the former Syrian president. (

Syria's Sharaa says no direct talks with Israel, open to US military presence

In an interview on Monday, President Ahmed al-Sharaa dismissed direct negotiations with Israel concerning the Abraham Accords, but left the door open to US-brokered diplomacy.

US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in the Oval Office, Washington, DC, Nov. 10, 2025.

Syrian President Sharaa arrives at White House in historic first

Sharaa met with Trump as the administration weighs easing sanctions and expanding cooperation on Syria.

Sipan Hemo

Exclusive

SDF commander Hemo: Syria’s Kurds prepare for threat of war as Damascus talks falter

As US-brokered talks stall, Kurdish forces are preparing contingencies while continuing dialogue with Damascus to secure Syria’s future, SDF commander Sipan Hemo told Al-Monitor in an exclusive interview.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

French cement giant Lafarge on trial for ‘funding terrorism’ in Syria: What to know

Former Director General of Lafarge Bruno Lafont (C) and French lawyer Jacqueline Laffont arrive on the opening day of the trial.

Prosecutors charge two Michigan men in alleged ISIS-inspired plot: What to know

Mohmed Ali, left, and a alleged co-conspirator are seen at a gun store on Sept. 25, 2025, according to a criminal complaint. Part of this image has been obscured by the source.

Syria’s Sharaa to sign deal at White House to join anti-ISIS coalition

Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa holds a joint press conference with the Turkish president following their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, on Feb. 4, 2025.

White House withdraws Rayburn’s nomination for top Mideast policy role

US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Levant Affairs and special envoy for Syria Joel Rayburn speaks during a session on reconciliation and reconstruction at the 2019 World Economic Forum.

A picture shows the site where a US drone targeted Maher al-Agal, a leader in the Islamic State militant group, near the village of Khaltan, near Jindires in northern Syria, on July 12, 2022.

US kills top Islamic State leader in Syria, Pentagon says

Syria's Kurdish-led forces alleged Maher al-Aghal was also affiliated with Turkey-backed opposition group Ahrar al-Sharqiya.

Women and a child queue to receive humanitarian aid packages at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp.

Iraq’s northwest wary as IS executions, cross-border movement continue

The Islamic State continues to target local tribes and others in desert areas of Iraq and across the border in Syria, as more Iraqi nationals with alleged IS links are moved to an IDP camp in northwestern Iraq.

Lt. Gen. Michael E. Kurilla testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Conflicting reports on Islamic State leader arrested in US operation in north Syria

The US-led coalition has revealed the identity of the Islamic State leader it arrested during an airdrop operation in northern Syria, saying he was a prominent bombmaker. But some Syrian opposition sources say they got the wrong man.

Members of the Iraqi Counterterrorism Service are deployed in the streets of Baghdad on March 27, 2021.

Iraq targets desert 'wali' and braces for impact of possible conflict

Counterterrorism operations in Iraq’s western desert have resulted in the killing of an Islamic State leader as regional tensions rise across the border ahead of a likely Turkish military operation in northern Syria.

An aerial picture shows Syrian locals near a destroyed truck at the spot where Abu Hassan al-Muhajir, Islamic State spokesman, was reportedly killed in a raid in the village of Ayn al-Bayda near Jarablus, Syria, Oct. 28, 2019.

Breaking | Last Updated: June 17, 2022, 3:34 pm

Senior Islamic State leader detained in US raid in Syria

A senior IS leader was detained by US-led forces during a pre-dawn raid in northern Syria on Thursday.

A member of the Syrian government forces stands next to a well at Jazel oil field near the ancient city of Palmyra.

Gulf states blacklist terror financiers linked to Iran, Islamic State, Syrian regime

Lead figures in the Assad regime’s Qatirji oil-smuggling network were among those sanctioned.

Egyptians gather near a car that exploded after a bomb went off before reaching the intended target, killing three passengers, el-Arish, Sinai Peninsula, July 24, 2013.

Egyptian army changes strategy in war against terrorism in Sinai

The Egyptian army has recently made public statements about its operations against militants in the Sinai Peninsula, pointing to a shift in its strategy that had been reliant on local tribes, while refraining from publicly speaking about the battles.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

New Islamic State leader reportedly caught in Turkey

Islamic State leader Abu Hasan al-Hashemi al-Qurashi has been reportedly arrested in Istanbul, but the news has not yet been independently confirmed.

A picture shows the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of suspected Islamic State (IS) group fighters in the northeastern Hasakeh governorate, on Dec. 6, 2021.

Iraqis murdered in Syria’s al-Hol camp

Tens of thousands of Iraqi nationals, mostly women and children, are “stuck in limbo” in a camp in northeastern Syria as violence against them and regional risks increase.

PKK fighters guard a post bearing an image of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Kurdistan officials concerned about PKK, Iran and energy sector

High-ranking officials from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have voiced concerns over the lack of effective collaboration from Baghdad and risks to security from the presence of the PKK.

Iraqi-Kurdistan

Syrian Kurds demonstrate on June 10, 2021, in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli.

Syrian Kurdish unity talks crumble as Turkey escalates anti-PKK campaign

The breakdown between sides serves Turkey’s agenda of keeping its Kurdish foes divided and weak.

ISIS

US targets Islamic State financiers in Turkey, Syria, Indonesia

The US hit five individuals with economic sanctions over aiding jihadi recruits via money transfer.