Islamic State

President of Syria Ahmed al-Shara arrives for the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at UN Headquarters on Sept. 23, 2025 in New York City.

Analysis

'Is it worth it?' Syria's Sharaa faces backlash over Missy Elliott performance

Backlash erupts after dancers perform to Missy Elliott’s “Work It,” exposing the tightrope between Sharaa’s outreach to the West and pressure from his Islamist base.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Kurdish people waving Kurdistan flags gather to celebrate Nowruz on the hill of Urkesh in the countryside of Amuda in northeastern Syria on March 18, 2026. Nowruz, meaning "new day," is an ancient festival that marks the start of spring and the new year on the vernal equinox, which usually falls on March 20 or 21. It is celebrated by more than 300 million people worldwide and has been observed for over 3,000 years across regions including the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucasus and parts of Eastern Euro

Analysis

Is Syria’s Sharaa poised to outdo Turkey in formalizing gains for Kurds?

Damascus is making limited but tangible progress in its engagement with Syrian Kurds, even as Ankara seeks to shape the terms of any settlement.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Boys along a road wave to an approaching US military mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) armored fighting vehicle moving in a convoy transporting Islamic State group detainees being transferred to Iraq from Syria, on the outskirts of Qahtaniyah in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on Feb. 7, 2026.

US troops depart Syria, ending decade of presence in fight against ISIS

The last major American bases in Syria have been turned over to the government in Damascus, US military officials confirmed to Al-Monitor.

Yasin AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images

Turkey detains 11 over ISIS-linked attack on Israeli Consulate: What to know

The attack was likely designed to portray Turkey as protecting Israel by targeting the local police guarding the consulate, one observer notes.

Latest News

Desperate to sell its oil, Iraq turns to Turkey amid standoff with Kurds

An Iraqi oil tanker waits at the Khawr Abd Allah canal leading up to Al-Faw port in southern Iraq, on June 6, 2024.

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

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.

US military completes evacuation of ISIS prisoners from Syria to Iraq

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.

Exclusive

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

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

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Qurashi

Islamic State names new leader after prior chief's death

An audio statement from IS confirmed previous reports that Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi is its new leader, but his real identity and background is not clear.

Iraqi demonstrators wave a flag as they gather in Tahrir Square.

Despite government efforts, corruption still threatens Iraqis

Efforts to crack down on corruption in Iraq have resulted in improvement but much remains to be done, especially among forces tasked with protecting the population.

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Sipan Murad, a Yazidi girl who was held captive by the Islamic State, at her house in Rottweil, Germany, on Feb. 18, 2022.

Culture

Against all odds, Yazidi girl outlives her top-ranking Islamic State captors

Sipan Ajo, a 22-year-old Yazidi survivor from Kocho, emerged six months ago from seven years of captivity in Syria and has described her ordeal in detail to a journalist for the first time.

Syrian national army

Family ties fuel Islamic State to rebel pipeline in northern Syria

The stories of fighters who turned from the Islamic State to Syria's rebel opposition forces show the how kinship ties, regionalism, and material concerns often trump ideology in the Syrian war.

A picture shows a snow-covered displacement camp for Yazidis in the area of Dawudya, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Dahuk, Iraqi Kurdistan, Jan. 25, 2022.

Yazidis react to killing of Islamic State leader

The death of Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who committed war crimes against the Yazidi community in Sinjar and supervised the Sinjar genocide in which thousands of Yazidis were killed, sparked varied reactions among Yazidis.

Taliban head of the Nangarhar intelligence services Dr. Bashir (C) walks inside the provincial intelligence compound in Jalalabad on Dec. 12, 2021.

Border crossings and foreign fighters rise after Taliban takeover

A recent UN report and other worrying signs point to a likely surge in both an al-Qaeda and Islamic State presence in Afghanistan in the six months since the Taliban has been in power.

This picture taken on January 18, 2022 shows excavations around the al-Nuri mosque in the old town of Iraq's northern city Mosul, at the site heavily damaged by Islamic State (IS) group fighters in the 2017 battle for the city.

Culture

UNESCO makes progress in reconstruction of Mosul monuments

Paris-based UNESCO Chief Audrey Azoulay will travel to Mosul in March, to officially launch the second phase of the reconstruction of Mosul monuments destroyed under the Islamic State takeover.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, arrives at the venue of the JCPOA meeting that aims at reviving the Iran nuclear deal, in Vienna on Feb. 8, 2022.

Analysis

The Takeaway: Differences persist as clock ticks on Vienna talks

Islamic State and Turkey; HTS's role in Islamic State leader's killing; Iran's message for Iraq; Gaza's dangerous landfills; Egypt's climate action; and more.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Andrew Parasiliti

Joe Snell

By Elizabeth Hagedorn , Andrew Parasiliti , Joe Snell

Seized Islamic State weapons found in the last stronghold of the extremist group are displayed on March 22, 2019, Al Mayadin, Syria.

Islamic State collaborators received Turkish citizenship, official report shows

A leaked report has revealed details about how the jihadi group used Turkey to traffic money and obtain supplies.

Iraqi soldiers secure buses transporting displaced families from the displaced persons camp in Habbaniyah in Iraq's Anbar province on Nov. 10, 2020.

Islamic State kills Iraqi forces in sparsely populated Anbar desert

Attacks and unexploded ordnance continue to reap victims in Iraq’s vast western desert as security officials deny increased risks associated with a massive recent jailbreak across the border.

Lisa Ferdinando/US Department of Defense via Getty Images

Analysis

Islamic State still 'global operation,' says Pentagon report

Islamic State leader's killing prompted questions on Turkey's role; our reporting from Idlib, Syria.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

A fully veiled woman collects items near the house in which the leader of Islamic State (IS) group Amir Mohammed Said Abd al-Rahman al-Mawla, aka Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi died during a raid by US special forces, in the town of Atme in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, on Feb. 4, 2022.

US raid raises questions on Turkey’s commitment vs. Islamic State

The Islamic State leader’s hideout a stone’s throw away from Turkey's border and Syrian Democratic Forces involvement in the raid have raised fresh questions over Ankara’s fight against the Islamic State.