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Syria

October 16, 2026

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An attendee walks past signage displayed inside the venue for the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok on October 14, 2026. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images)

Syria to rejoin Arab group at IMF, leaving Russian-led constituency

Syria will rejoin the Arab constituency at the International Monetary Fund beginning Nov. 1 and has applied for membership in the EBRD.

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

Latest News

Culture

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

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

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)

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

First COVID-19 case among residents reported in Syrian IS camp

Three health workers in the notorious al-Hol camp also tested positive for the coronavirus last week.

Islamic State's ‘Beatles’ could finally face justice for alleged role in beheading Americans

Following a phone call with Attorney General William Barr, the parents of Americans killed by the Islamic State (IS) are hopeful two IS detainees will face justice.

Health workers in Syrian camp for ISIS families test positive for COVID-19

Humanitarians warn that poor conditions in the camp put it at great risk for an outbreak of the virus. These are the first known cases there.

State Department remains concerned by Turkey’s proxy fighters in northern Syria

Turkey-allied fighters have faced widespread accusations of arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings and other abuses in northern Syria.

Full-fledged military escalation looms large in Idlib

Developments in southern Idlib suggest that a five-month truce could soon come to an end with a fresh regime offensive to capture Syria’s last rebel stronghold.

Intel: Syria to build Hagia Sophia replica with Russian backing

With support from Russian officials and the Orthodox Church, Syria will begin construction on a small-scale replica of the Hagia Sophia that will serve as an Orthodox cathedral.

Mazloum Abdi (Kobani), commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks with AFP during an interview in the countryside outside the northwestern Syrian city of Hasakah, in the province of the same name, on January 24, 2019. - Any deal between Syria's Kurds and the Damascus regime should respect the "special status" of Kurdish-led forces who fought the Islamic State (IS) group, Kobani said. The SDF control around a third of Syria after expelling jihadists from a large northeastern swathe of t

Can Syria's Kurds reel in Turkey with profits from American oil deal?

The recent deal signed between the SDF and a US oil company is as much about political brinkmanship as oil.

Parents of detained journalist Austin Tice urge Trump to talk directly with Syrian regime

The new plea from Marc and Debra Tice comes on the heels of John Bolton's allegations that he and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo thought it was a bad idea for President Trump to engage with his Syrian counterpart.

An Israeli army vehicle is seen driving along the road parallel to the border fence separating the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and Syria, on July 19, 2017.
Israel is planning for a new field hospital to treat patients from the civil-war hit country, on the Syrian side of the fence but on the Israeli side of the demarcation line in the Golan Heights which it occupied in 1967, its military said on July 19, 2017.
/ AFP PHOTO / MENAHEM KAHANA (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Imag

IDF strikes Syrian targets in wake of Golan incident

The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged conducting a series of airstrikes in Syria Aug. 3 after a bombing attempt in the southern Golan Heights.

A man walks at a makeshift refinery using burners to distill crude oil in the village of Bishiriya in the countryside near the town of Qahtaniya west of Rumaylan (Rmeilan) in Syria's Kurdish-controlled northeastern Hasakeh province, on July 19, 2020. - Oil pollution in Syria has become a growing concern since the 2011 onset of a civil war that has taken a toll on oil infrastructure and seen rival powers compete over control of key hydrocarbon fields. In the Kurdish-held northeast, a large storage facility i

Turkey joins Syria in slamming oil agreement between US firm, Syrian Kurds

Ankara has spoken out against a new oil agreement between an American-based company and the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

A Syrian civilian walks past a shell hole after Syrian government forces recently recaptured the village of Ghariyah ash Sharqiyah from the rebels, in the province of Daraa, on July 4, 2018. - Syrian rebels were facing a deadline Wednesday in negotiations with regime ally Russia to either agree to tough surrender terms in the south or come under a renewed military onslaught. (Photo by Youssef KARWASHAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read YOUSSEF KARWASHAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Moscow, Damascus shadowbox in Syria’s grey zones

The newest twist in Syria involves a Russian-backed military group working to carve out an autonomous zone for itself in the southwest and even clashing with regime forces, perhaps paradoxically seeking to boost regime's legitimacy.

Israel attempts to de-escalate tensions with Hezbollah

Preferring to avoid escalation, Israel decided to let Hezbollah emerge unscathed from a July 27 incident and escape humiliation.