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September 28, 2026

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Iraqi soldiers from the new 'desert battalion' special forces stand next to military vehicles as the take part in a graduation ceremony, after months of training by the French military, at the Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar west of Baghdad on February 29, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How militias in Anbar could complicate Iraq’s energy ambitions

Securing western Anbar is emerging as a key test of Iraq’s ability to curb armed factions, attract foreign investment and unlock the province’s vast energy potential.

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Syria Air

Exclusive

How Syrian Air is braving regional turbulence to rise from the ashes

In an interview with Al-Monitor, CEO Anwar Akkad lays out his ambitious plans to expand the carrier’s fleet, destinations and role in reconnecting Syria to the world.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Can Netanyahu turn Israel's UN isolation into strength at home?

The absence of a Trump meeting would have been awkward for Netanyahu, who has long portrayed himself to Israeli voters as uniquely close to the US president.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Gargash

UAE's Gargash expects 'prolonged' war, calls for Iran-Gulf security talks

"We need a new mindset that these sort of discussions ... can happen at an Iranian-American level, it should also take place at an Iranian-Arab level," Gargash told Al-Monitor.

United Arab Emirates

Latest News

Syria’s Shibani visits Latakia airport to review Russia deal progress: What to know

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani visits Latakia airport on Sept. 18, 2026.

Lebanon charges 5 in alleged Hezbollah operation to train Assad loyalists

Hibatullah Barakat / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Former Assad official sentenced to 60 years in US for torture

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Culture

Syrian singer Assala returns to Damascus stage after 15-year exile

Assala Nasri (C) attends the 2025 Joy Awards at The Venue, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 18, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Cagatay Cebe

In Istanbul, reporting on security and counterterrorism

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Two children die every week at Syria's al-Hol camp, charity says

Fires are among the leading cause of death among children of suspected Islamic State fighters who are stranded in the al-Hol and Roj camps in northeast Syria.

Ethan Goldrich, the US charge d'affaires in the United Arab Emirates is pictured on Aug. 28, 2021 in Abu Dhabi as refugees who fled Afghanistan after the takeover of their country by the Taliban were gathering at the International Humanitarian City (IHC) in the Emirati capital, waiting to be transferred to another destination.

Biden administration appoints new Syria policy chief

Ethan Goldrich will take over for Aimee Cutrona as Washington's point person for Syria engagement, but there's no sign of a new approach by the Biden administration.

This picture taken on Sept. 20, 2021 shows a view of vehicle destroyed by what is believed to be a drone strike, on the northeastern outskirts of Syria's rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib.

Pentagon says drone strike near Syria's Idlib targeted al-Qaeda official

CENTCOM fired a drone missile at at least one jihadi official near Idlib today in the first such strike in recent months.

A picture shows a view of the closed Jaber/Nassib border post at Jordan's border with Syria, on Aug. 1, 2021.

Syria's defense chief visits Jordan to discuss border security

State media outlets reported that Syrian Gen. Ali Ayoub and Jordanian Gen. Yousef Huneiti met in Amman to discuss the situation along the border following the fighting in Daraa.

A Syrian woman walks by tents at a camp for the internally displaced, near the town of Kafr Lusin, Idlib province, Syria, Jan. 19, 2021.

Massive displacement wave amid fears of renewed battles in Idlib

The Syrian opposition is getting ready for a possible attack by Syrian government forces in Idlib, following increasingly intense bombing and reconnaissance attacks since the beginning of September.

A picture shows the entrance to the Directorate of Health in the rebel-held northwestern Syrian city of Idlib on Sept. 13, 2021. Cases of Covid-19 have increased alarmingly over the past month in Syria's rebel-controlled northern region of Idlib, local authorities said today.

Northwest Syria running low on COVID-19 tests, oxygen amid conflict

The International Rescue Committee said coronavirus cases are increasing dramatically in the war-torn rebel territory.

BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey-backed Syrian opposition groups merge under new banner

A group of factions affiliated with the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army have formed a new alliance known as the Syrian Liberation Front intended to end the power struggle between Turkey’s allied factions in northern Syria.

Members of Syria's top jihadist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate, parade with their flags and those of the Taliban's declared "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" through the rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib, Syria, Aug. 20, 2021.

Jihadist group in Idlib vows to keep foreign fighters in Syria

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani says "these foreign fighters are now part of us."

Turkish-backed Syrian fighters hold up the flags of (R to L) their unit, Turkey and the flag of the Syrian opposition.

Turkish-backed Syrian forces intensify attacks on US-aligned Syrian Kurdish group

The Turkish army and its allied Syrian factions have recently increased attacks against the Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria.

Members of Syria's top jihadist group the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance, led by al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate, parade with their flags and those of the Taliban's declared "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" through the rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib on Aug. 20, 2021.

Syrian jihadist group in Idlib replaces security squad with 'moral police'

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Idlib has ended the work of its security apparatus that has been accused of controlling people’s lives.

A Syrian man counts his money at a currency exchange counter in the town of Binnish in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, near the Turkish border, on March 6, 2020.

Amid escalation in Idlib, residents fear renewed Russian-backed offensive

Syrian government forces have stepped up their attacks against Idlib, causing civilian casualties as Russian warplanes continue to raid different areas of northwestern Syria on an almost daily basis.

Lebanese wait to fill their gas cylinders in the southern city of Sidon amidst a deepening economic crisis, on Aug. 10, 2021.

Lebanese energy plan includes Syria

A meeting of Jordanian, Egyptian, Lebanese and Syrian ministers seems to have cracked Syria's isolation.