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Syria

October 15, 2026

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Mihrac Ural, who was also known as Ali Kayali, was arrested

Explainer

Syria arrests Mihrac Ural, ex-Assad militia head also wanted by Turkey

The Turkey-born militia chief and a longtime ally of the Assad-regime, was sought by Ankara over the deadly Reyhanli bombings and by Damascus over his alleged role in massacres on the Mediterranean coast.

In first, Israel’s Netanyahu says he held call with Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa

It is the first publicly disclosed contact between the leaders of Israel and Syria, which lack formal relations and have fought several wars. Sharaa’s government began US-mediated talks with Israel in 2025.

Demonstrators ride through a street while waving Syrian flags

Analysis

Why Syria and Iraq are taking different approaches to armed groups

In a break from past policies, the new governments in Damascus and Baghdad are clamping down on militant groups with the capacity or desire to harm regional partners.

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

A view of the Great Umayyad Mosque during the reopening ceremony, Oct. 8, 2026.

Culture

Syria reopens Aleppo's 1,300-year-old Great Umayyad Mosque after 13 years

Syrian authorities are working to restore cultural landmarks and ancient sites that had been damaged or destroyed during the civil war.

Latest News

Analysis

Why Syria sending troops to Yemen would be a risky bet for Sharaa

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh, Oct. 6, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Culture

Syria's Kurds, Arabs find common cause in battle for language rights

Youths play the daf, an Iranian frame drum, during a protest demanding the right to education in the Kurdish language in Al-Qamishli, Syria, on September 22, 2026. The demonstrations follow a decision by the Syrian Interim Government to allocate only Kurdish language classes in schools. (Photo by Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

Syria’s Sharaa in Riyadh as Saudi airports come under Houthi attacks: What to know

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh, Oct. 6, 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

(L to R) Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Ghait, Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Ali al-Hakim, and Assistant Secretary-General Ambassador Hossam Zaki attend the Arab Foreign Ministers 153rd annual meeting at the Arab League headquarters in the Egyptian capital Cairo on March 4, 2020. (Photo by Mohamed el-Shahed / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt rallies Arab states against Turkey in Syria

Cairo is capitalizing on anger over the Turkish intervention in Syria to unite the Arab ranks in support of Damascus.

This picture taken on August 16, 2019 shows a smoke plume rising following a reported air strike in Kfar Ruma in Syria's northwestern Idlib province. - Air strikes on August 16 by Syria's regime and its Russian ally killed 15 civilians in the area controlled by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Idlib province, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The strikes came as regime forces battled HTS jihadists and allied rebels in the region, where fierce fighting

'Guardians of Religion' extremist group under siege in Syria's Idlib

The Guardians of Religion Organization, which has close ties to al-Qaeda in Syria, is under pressure from US drone strikes and a possible assault by Russian-backed Syrian forces.

US deploys Bradley armored vehicles to Syria after dustups with Russia’s troops

Four US service members were injured last month when a Russian troop carrier rammed a US military vehicle.

The Netherlands takes first step in holding Syria’s torturers to account

The Dutch Foreign Ministry says it will hold Syria responsible for "gross human rights violations" in a process that could make its way to the UN's International Court of Justice.

International humanitarian aid trucks cross into Syria's northwestern Idlib province through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey, on September 7, 2020. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP) (Photo by AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkish border guards reportedly abusing Syrians at border crossings

Hundreds of Syrians try to cross every day to Turkey, whose borders are now closed, making them take illegal smuggling routes; dozens have been subjected to inhuman treatment by the Turkish border guards.

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump waits to speak at a roundtable rally with Latino supporters at the Arizona Grand Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Arizona on September 14, 2020. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump now admits he wanted to kill Syria's Assad but Mattis stopped him

"I would've rather taken him out. I had him all set," President Donald Trump said of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Pro-government fighters sit in the back of vehicles brandishing their weapons and flashing the sign for victory in the central Syrian town of Al-Sukhnah, situated in the county's large desert area called the Badiya, on August 13, 2017 as they clear the area after taking control of the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters.
Supported by regime ally Russia, Syria's army has waged a months-long offensive to recapture the vast desert region that stretches from the country's centre to the Iraqi and Jordan

How the Islamic State found a haven in Syrian desert

The Syrian regime and Russian forces are facing a growing threat of the Islamic State, which continues to hold pockets across the desert in central Syria.

(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on February 21, 2020 shows
US President Donald Trump delivers remarks at a Keep America Great rally in Phoenix, Arizona, on February 19, 2020.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a ceremony in Jerusalem on January 23, 2020 commemorating the people of Leningrad during the Second World War Nazi siege on the city. - President Donald Trump on february 21, 2020 dismissed reported warnings by US intelligence that Russia is meddling in this year's

How a second Trump term could shift Russia’s stance on Syria

Bahrain, UAE peace deals compel Palestinian rethink on strategy.

United Arab Emirates

An image grab shows on November 20, 2019 a ball of fire during a reported Israeli air strike on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus. - The Israeli army confirmed that it carried out strikes against military sites in Damascus today, in response to rocket fire from Syria the previous day. "We just carried out wide-scale strikes of Iranian Quds Force & Syrian Armed Forces targets in Syria in response to the rockets fired at Israel by an Iranian force in Syria," the Israel Defense Forces tweeted. Syria

Israeli warplanes target Aleppo countryside, says Syria

The Syrian state press blamed Israel for a round of airstrikes targeting its military facilities in the eastern Aleppo countryside.

Turkish anti-riot police officers run as Kurds protest against Turkish military operation in Syria, in Istanbul, on October 13, 2019. - Fighting has engulfed the border area in northeastern Syria since Turkey launched an offensive on October 9 to push back the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), displacing 130,000 people so far according to the United Nations, amidst warnings from aid groups of another humanitarian disaster in Syria's eight-year-old war if the offensive is not halted. (Photo by Yasi

For Syria’s opposition activists, Turkey 'best of the bad'

While initially welcoming millions of refugees and supporting opposition activists after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, the Turkish government has since shifted positions to further its own interests in a manner that dismays many Syrians living in the country.

Looming despair among Lebanon’s refugees

Large numbers of Syrian and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon remain in very vulnerable condition.

Who is behind wave of killings of tribal sheikhs in east Syria?

Syria's eastern province of Deir ez-Zor sees escalating tensions between Arab tribes and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.