Syria Conflict

Defections threaten Ahrar al-Sham jihadist movement in Syria

Once considered by some Western observers as a formidable opposition movement, Ahrar al-Sham is experiencing major defections and facing survival challenges.

Syria

Pro-Iran militias increase attacks, rhetoric against foreign troops

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has called on the United States and Iran "to avoid settling scores in Iraq."

Iraq

Turkish-controlled Syrian region faces water crisis

The drop in the groundwater level and the drying up of some artesian wells have caused a water crisis in the city of al-Bab in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo, and many citizens have been struggling with the high prices of drinking water sold from cisterns.

Syria

Syrian jihadist group ramps up efforts to oust rivals from Idlib

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, has asked a Chechen jihadist group to either join its ranks or leave the battlefronts, in a move that many consider to be part of HTS' policy to have its name removed from international terrorist lists.

Syria

Islamic State exploits economic downturn in Iraq, Syria, US envoy says

John Godfrey said the thousands of suspected Islamic State fighters held in northeast Syria constitute a security threat to the region.

Syria

US adds Turkey to list of countries using child soldiers

A US State Department report called out Turkey for providing support to armed groups in Syria that use children in combat.

Turkey

Syrian aid agencies brace for vote on border crossing: 'There is no Plan B'

Humanitarian actors are stockpiling supplies and sounding the alarm ahead of a UN Security Council vote that could eliminate the United Nations' last remaining entry point into northwest Syria.

Syria

Iraq seeks to rehabilitate Islamic State families

Baghdad’s program to allow families of Islamic State adherents to return from a Syrian camp and to reintegrate them back into Iraqi society stirs controversy.

Iraq

Russia rules out opening second Syria border crossing for aid

Russia's UN ambassador said his government is still considering whether or not to veto the UN's mandate for Syria's last remaining aid crossing.

Syria

Turkey's mixed record against Islamic State

Structural problems continue to keep Turkey from putting in place a comprehensive strategy to combat Islamic State elements in the country, despite numerous operations against networks linked to the radical Islamist group.

Turkey

Kurdish-led forces intensify crackdown on Islamic State cells in northeast Syria

Islamic State activities seem to have diminished during the month of June in the Kurdish-controlled areas in northeastern Syria amid a crackdown led by the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Syria

Iraq-Syria border strikes on pro-Iran ‘militias’ spark retaliation

Airstrikes on both sides of the Iraqi-Syrian border near Qaim conducted by the United States were followed by retaliatory strikes by Iran-linked groups against a Kurdish-led SDF base housing coalition forces in eastern Syria.

Iraq