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Syria

July 25, 2026

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Tourism students and visitors visit the ruins of the ancient city of Apamea in the Hama countryside, Syria, on July 8, 2026.

Syria arrivals surge 111% as government bets on tourism revival

The country welcomed 3.52 million visitors during the first half of 2026, more than double the figure recorded a year earlier, as the government pushes to reconnect to the world and promote tourism as a pillar of economic recovery.

Zaid AL-OBEIDI / AFP via Getty Images

Syria seizes arms shipment on Iraq border destined for Hezbollah

The operation comes as part of the Syrian authorities' efforts to curb illicit arms smuggling through its territory, namely intended for Hezbollah.

A man holds a Syrian flag across the street from the White House after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with President Donald Trump at White House in Washington, on Nov. 10, 2025.

Syria, US hold first business forum since sanctions relief: What to know

The one-day forum in Damascus was organized by Syria’s Ministry of Economy and Industry and the US-Syria Business Council, which was established in Washington last June to advance trade and investment between the two nations.

Latest News

Explainer

How Macron seeks to carve out France's role in new Syria

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) welcomes France's President Emmanuel Macron for a joint press conference in Damascus on July 7, 2026.

US to drop Syria from terror blacklist

US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit at Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, on July 8, 2026.

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

This picture taken on July 8, 2021, shows a view of the Ain al-Assad air base hosting US forces in Iraq.

Gaza truce brings halt in Iran-linked attacks on US troops in Iraq, Syria

Pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas coincides with tentative reprieve for US troops hunting down the remnants of the Islamic State group as Iran-backed militias hold their fire.

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

Two Israeli airstrikes hit Syria following Hamas deal, Damascus says

Israel is suspected of continuing to strike Iran-affiliated targets in Syria amid the Gaza war.

Israeli self-propelled artillery howitzers are stationed at an Israeli army base in Zawra, the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, April 6, 2023.

Suspected Israeli strikes in Syria target Hezbollah, Iran-backed groups

The strikes come amid the ongoing Hamas-Israel war in the Gaza Strip.

US-made armoured vehicles bearing markings of the US Marine Corps are seen on a road north of Raqa in northern Syria on March 27, 2017. US-backed forces battled the Islamic State group around a key Syrian town, after the capture of an airbase brought them closer to besieging the jihadists in their stronghold Raqa.Operations are currently focused on the strategically important town of Tabqa on the Euphrates River, and the adjacent dam and military airport. / AFP PHOTO / DELIL SOULEIMAN (Photo credit should r

Four attacks against US troops in Syria hours after strikes on IRGC facilities

New rocket and drone attacks targeted US bases in Syria in the hours following the latest US airstrikes designed to dissuade the IRGC and its militias from continuing their attacks on American personnel.

Israeli military tanks take up a position during a drill in the annexed Golan Heights, amid increasing cross-border tensions between Hezbollah and Israel as fighting continues in the south with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Nov. 9, 2023.

Syria front on edge as Israel targets airports, US hits Iran-linked groups

Israel's continued airstrikes targeting Damascus and Aleppo airports arise from the threat Israel feels following attacks from within Syria on border areas led by Iranian-backed groups.

A F-18 Hornet fighter jet prepares to land on the deck of the US navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, May 8, 2018.

US airstrikes hit IRGC site in Syria in latest bid to halt attacks

Biden administration ups the ante by targeting a training facility and a safe house used by Iran's IRGC and associated militias near Syria's border with Iraq, after previous strikes failed to halt rocket and drone attacks against US forces.

A man poses with a flag of Wagner group.

Analysis

How Russia's Redut PMC forced rival Wagner to withdraw from Syria

Almost all of Wagner's mercenaries have already left Syria on planes departing from the Khmeimim air base, and the remaining few dozen are handing over weapons to the military and processing documents.

Anton Mardasov

By Anton Mardasov

AFP via Getty Images

Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria as conflict with Israel rages

Clashes between Israel and Hezbollah are continuing, though the Iran-backed group has signaled that it is being deterred from engaging in a full-blown war with Israel.

NORTHEASTERN SYRIA - MAY 26: U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter gunners scan the desert while transporting troops on May 26, 2021 over northeastern Syria. U.S. forces, part of Task Force WARCLUB operate from remote combat outposts in northeastern Syria, coordinating with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in combatting residual ISIS extremists and deterring pro-Iranian militia. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

US launches new airstrikes against IRGC facility in Syria as attacks continue

US F-15s bombed a facility in eastern Syria as the Pentagon's Middle East policy director openly warned that the US military may target Iranian IRGC personnel in a bid to halt militia attacks on American troops.

A general view taken on Aug. 13, 2017 shows an Islamic State (IS) group poster in the central Syrian town of Al-Sukhnah as pro-government fighters clear the area after taking control of the city situated in the county's large desert area called the Badiya.

At least 34 Syrian soldiers killed in suspected ISIS attack as threat surges

A war monitor said at least 34 Syrian soldiers and pro-government fighters were killed in an Islamic State attack in the central desert in one of the deadliest assaults by the group this year.

A picture taken on Jan. 13, 2020, during a press tour organized by the US-led coalition fighting the remnants of the Islamic State group, shows a view inside Ain al-Asad military air base

New attacks hit US bases in Iraq, Syria as Iran ups threats over Gaza

White House and Pentagon officials have said they will hold Iran accountable for attacks on US bases by Iranian proxies.

THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli airstrikes in Syria mark 4th suspected round since Gaza war

The Israeli military said it struck Syrian military targets in response to rocket fire in yet another cross-border flare up, leading to casualties among Syrian forces.