Islamic State

Women and children seen inside al-Hol camp, amongst them some 6,200 women and children from around 40 nationalities, and including relatives of suspected Islamic State jihadists in the desert region of Hasakah province on Jan. 25, 2026 in Al Hasakah, Syria.

Turkey to repatriate its ISIS fighters from Iraq as jihadis escalate Syria attacks

Ankara will repatriate its nationals from among thousands of fighters transferred from Syria, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said.

A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands guard in a prison where men suspected to be afiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group are jailed in northeast Syria in the city of Hasakeh on Oct. 26, 2019.

US military completes evacuation of ISIS prisoners from Syria to Iraq

The detainee transfer opens the door for US troops to further withdraw from Syria ahead of a potential military confrontation with Iran.

A campfire burns inside al-Hol camp on Jan. 26, 2026 in Al Hasakah, Syria.

Exclusive

Syrian Kurdish officials say 66 Turkish ISIS fighters transferred for relocation to Iraq

The detainees were handed over from SDF custody to the US-led coalition for transfer to Iraqi prisons.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Members of Syrian security forces at the entrance of the al-Hol camp in the desert region of Hasakah province which holds around 24,000 people, including some 6,200 women and children from around 40 nationalities on Jan. 21, 2026 in Al Hasakah, Syria.

Feature

Syrian Kurds say US ignored pleas for help as ISIS detainees turned on them in al-Hol

Chaos at al-Hol during clashes between Kurdish forces and Damascus underscored the widening security vacuum amid Kurdish claims of US abandonment.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

US launches 5 airstrikes in Syria on suspected ISIS sites: What to know

In this handout photo in an undisclosed location, US Airmen prepare to load GBU-31 munition systems onto F-15E Strike Eagles within the US Central Command area of responsibility, Dec. 18, in support of Operation Hawkeye Strike.

France's role in Syria-SDF agreement: What to know

Syrian Democratic Forces fighters stand on a pick-up truck to provide security during an inspection of SDF positions on the Tell Brak frontline in Syria on Jan. 26, 2026.

Analysis

Syria’s Kurdish pullback hands Damascus a win — and new ISIS risks

Syrian government troops patrol the streets of Tabqa, in Raqqa province, on the southwestern banks of the Euphrates, Jan. 18, 2026.

Cagatay Cebe

By Cagatay Cebe

In Istanbul, reporting on security and counterterrorism

Feature

ISIS brides face uncertain future as Damascus clashes with Syria’s Kurds

Roj Camp

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

IS kills priests in Syria as Turkish-backed fighters express IS sympathies

Two Armenian Catholic priests are killed by the Islamic State near Hasakah and pro-Turkish Syrian fighters are reported to have hoisted the Islamic State flag in Ras al-Ain.

An Islamic State flag flies over the custom office of Syria's Jarablus border gate as it is pictured from the Turkish town of Karkamis, in Gaziantep province, Turkey August 1, 2015. Karkamis is a Turkish town of 10,500 people that sits directly opposite the border post. Shut for more than a year, the military sealed the crossing with a breeze block wall a few months ago. Behind it, just inside Syria, the black flag of Islamic State flaps in the breeze. Karkamis lies on the northeastern edge of a rectangle o

Turkey-Europe ties brace for fresh rift over stateless IS militants

The fate of foreign Islamic State militants captured in Syria is looming as a big headache for Turkey as many of them are now stateless, expelled from the citizenship of European countries.

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston, Texas, U.S. April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott - RC150AA15E20

Tulsi Gabbard lays groundwork to force divisive vote on Syria withdrawal

Presidential hopeful Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, could trigger a House vote forcing President Donald Trump to withdraw US troops from Syria — but it’s dividing the anti-war movement.

U.S. special forces move towards the compound of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a raid in the Idlib region of Syria in a still image from video October 26, 2019. Video picture taken October 26, 2019. U.S. Department of Defense/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC151E5EB540

Does Baghdadi’s death herald the end of IS?

The Islamic State is unlikely to disintegrate after losing its leader as the factors that have driven the worldwide membership and activities of the group remain in place.

Interview

Saudi Arabia still awaiting signs of ‘goodwill’ from Iran

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud talks about the "dramatic effect" of the September attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil fields, and says there will be no official Saudi contacts with Israel until the Palestinian issue is resolved.

Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud

Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud

Former Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the US

IDLIB, SYRIA - NOVEMBER 28: A drone photo shows an aerial view of operation area where Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed in, on October 28, 2019 in northwestern Syria in Idlib, Syria . A U.S. raid that allegedly killed Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northwestern Syria lasted for some four hours, according to local sources. The operation, in which helicopters, drones, and ground units were used, took place a few kilometers away from the Tourlaha camp, where displaced civilians have taken shelter

Pentagon: Islamic State will survive leader’s death

The death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi will not extinguish the Islamic State’s ideology, US Central Command said, even as the Pentagon keeps up pressure to thin out the group's leadership with raids in Syria.

Dangers persist as Iraqi border crossing opens and IDPs return

Recent geopolitical shifts in eastern Syria will affect western Anbar, given the porous Iraqi-Syrian border, the recently reopened Qaim-Abu Kamal crossing and scores of returning families.

A picture taken on October 28, 2019 shows Syrians sifting through the rubble at the site of a suspected US-led operation against Islamic State (IS) chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi the previous day, on the edge of the small Syrian village of Barisha in the country's opposition-held northwestern Idlib province. - US President Donald Trump announced that Baghdadi, the elusive leader of the jihadist group and the world's most wanted man, was killed in the early hours of Octobe 27 in an overnight US raid near the vil

Why is Russian military skeptical about US claim of Baghdadi's killing?

The Russian military's incredulity about the US raid that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has some basis in practical reasons that go beyond just "great power jealousy."

Turkish soldiers patrol along a wall on the border line between Turkey and Syria, in the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar, in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, October 29, 2019. REUTERS/Kemal Aslan - RC1AB07BD360

Kurds use Syria incursion to chip away at Erdogan

The Syrian Democratic Forces, after having contributed to the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as well as an IS spokesman, push for a greater US condemnation of Turkey's latest incursion into Syria.

Mazloum Kobani, SDF's commander in chief, shakes hands with the advisor for the US Department of State in northern Syria William Robak, at al-Omar oil field in Deir Al Zor, Syria March 23, 2019. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC142AE67C90

Turkey steps up campaign against SDF's Kobane

Syrian Democratic Forces commander Mazlum Kobane helped the United States track down and kill Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but Turkey claims he is of the same ilk.

US troops leaving Syria can't stay in Iraq, Baghdad says

Despite Washington's willingness to keep its troops in Iraq after withdrawing them from Syria, Baghdad has told the United States to get them out in short order.

U.S. President Donald Trump makes a statement at the White House following reports that U.S. forces attacked Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northern Syria, in Washington, U.S., October 27, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC1BB3AB3D30

Islamic State leader dead in US raid

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed during a raid in northwestern Syria, says President Donald Trump.