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October 18, 2026

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Israeli troops stand guard on the dividing line between the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and Syrian, near Majdal Shams, July 16, 2025.

Analysis

'The problem and the solution': Netanyahu-Sharaa call exposes Israel's Syria dilemma

The Israeli leader revealed that he spoke with the Syrian president last year, but stalled talks and Israel's fortification of a security zone on Syrian land underscore his mistrust of Sharaa.

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

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.

Latest News

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

Analysis

Why Syria and Iraq are taking different approaches to armed groups

Demonstrators ride through a street while waving Syrian flags

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

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

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

NUR SULTAN, KAZAKHSTAN - AUGUST 02: Turkish committee under the presidency of Deputy Turkish Foreign Minister Sedat Onal meet Russian committee within the 13th guarantors meeting on Syria in Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan on August 02, 2019. (Photo by Aliia Raimbekova/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Intel: Five Turkish soldiers killed in Idlib amid Russian-Turkish de-escalation talks

Five Turkish troops were killed and five wounded in shelling by the Russian-backed Syrian regime today as the Turkish and Russian delegations were in talks in Ankara to wind down the clashes in Idlib.

Following Russian expansion, roadblocks in northeast Syria delineate zones of US control

US forces have been preventing Russian patrols from advancing along the M4 highway and around al-Malikiyya in northeastern Syria near the Turkish and Iraqi borders.

A poster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen on the main road to the airport in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RC138B3674B0

Intel: What's behind Russian Defense Ministry anger at Israeli strikes in Syria?

The Russian Defense Ministry slammed Israel on Feb. 7 for what the ministry considered a provocation in the skies over Syria.

Kurdish and Arab protesters flash the victory sign and chants slogans against Turkish President Tayip Erdogan during a protest in front of the United Nations Headquarters in the town of Qamishli, Syria October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RC1B8D106F20

Syria’s Kurds embrace resilience, beauty in wake of Turkish attack

Turkey's invasion of northeastern Syria has changed the lives of Kurdish residents in myriad ways, from a bump in confidence-boosting cosmetic surgery to pervasive anxiety over whether Turkey will strike again.

Erdogan, Putin endure marriage of convenience

The Turkish and Russian leaders may be unhappy partners, but it is clear that they are committed to each other in Syria's Idlib.

Waves of displacement continue amid Idlib escalation

Idlib residents continue to flee toward the border with Turkey as Syrian regime forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, advance on the country’s last opposition stronghold.

'There's no mercy': Kurdish Red Crescent perseveres in northern Syria

Heyva Sor a Kurdistane, the Kurdish Red Crescent, has been doggedly rescuing the wounded and attending to the sick in northeastern Syria since 2012.

Men, suspected of being affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group, gather in a prison cell in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakeh on October 26, 2019. - Kurdish sources say around 12,000 IS fighters including Syrians, Iraqis as well as foreigners from 54 countries are being held in Kurdish-run prisons in northern Syria. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP) (Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)

SDF benefits from letting IS prisoners go, capturing more

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are said to be releasing Islamic State prisoners in Raqqa through mediation with Arab tribes, raising concerns among locals about a resurgence of the group.

Intel: Why Russia went on counteroffensive against US criticism over Idlib

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced the killing of “several Russian and Turkish military specialists” in the Idlid de-escalation zone.

A Syrian man rides his motorcycle past a damaged building following an air strike by pro-regime forces on the rebel-held town of Ariha in the northern countryside of Syria's Idlib province on February 5, 2020. - Syrian regime forces pressed on with their offensive in the northwest that has displaced half a million people, despite heightened tensions with Turkey.
Intensive aerial bombardment and ground fighting in the jihadist-dominated Idlib region since December have killed almost 300 civilians and trigger

US envoy presses Russia to halt Syrian offensive on Idlib

A top US envoy today pressed Russia to get the Syrian regime to halt a military offensive into the northwestern Syrian enclave of Idlib that has driven some half a million people to flee their homes since December.

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan adresses the audience during the official opening of the new Cambridge Central Mosque, in Cambridge, Britain, December 5, 2019. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC23PD94I1I1

Erdogan threatens Assad forces, seeks de-escalation in Idlib

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara will retaliate if Syrian regime forces do not pull back from Turkish observation posts in Idlib by the end of the month.

How local activists are reviving life in Raqqa

Three years after Raqqa was liberated from the Islamic State, civil society organizations have launched a campaign to revive the city’s cultural and popular aspects.