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Syria

October 27, 2026

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Mourners attend the funeral of those who were killed in airstrikes carried out by Jordan the night before on the village of Al-Taf in the Al-Lajat region, located in the northeastern countryside of Daraa, on Oct. 27, 2026.

Syria slams Jordan over crossborder strikes, denies coordination: What to know

Jordan said its airstrikes targeted ISIS fighters, while Syria said civilians were killed, sparking outrage.

New female cadets from the new women's police academy attend the first cohort graduation ceremony after completing a six-month training program, in al-Tal on the northern outskirts of Damascus, on Sept. 22, 2026.

Culture

Syrian women easy target in Sharaa’s drive to consolidate power

Syria’s interim president is balancing Western demands for inclusion with pressure from Islamist hard-liners as he seeks to consolidate power and shed his jihadi past.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly gathering, UN Headquarters, New York, Sept. 22, 2026.

Analysis

How Israel’s elections could bring thaw with Syria

The next Israeli government could have an opportunity to secure several diplomatic wins involving the United States and Iran by improving relations with Syria.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Trucks loaded with goods wait to cross over to Syria

Analysis

How Hormuz crisis is reshaping economic ties between Iraq and Syria

Iraq and Syria are expanding trade and energy cooperation, but security risks, economic challenges and longstanding mistrust raise questions about whether their growing partnership can endure.

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Latest News

Analysis

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

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

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

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

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)

Explainer

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

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

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

Masked Sunni Muslim gunmen patrol in the city of Falluja, 70 km (44 miles) west of Baghdad, February 8, 2014. ISIL militants and other Sunni groups angered by the Shi'ite-led government overran Falluja and parts of the nearby city of Ramadi in the western province of Anbar on Jan. 1. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTX18FGA

ISIS, al-Qaeda compete for supremacy in global jihad

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has emerged as a major challenger to al-Qaeda as the leading brand in the global militant jihad movement.

Smoke rises after shells exploded in the Syrian village of al-Jamlah, close to the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria, as seen from the Israeli occupied Golan Heights March 5, 2013. In response to the explosion in the Syrian village on Tuesday the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said that they are carefully tracking events that take place in Syria and are prepared for any eventuality. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3ELP3

Israeli security chiefs modify assessment on Syrian war

The Israel Defense Forces estimate that the Syrian war may last a decade, ending with Syria being divided into several cantons, with jihadist forces on the Israeli border and Hezbollah gaining in military experience.

An image grab from a video uploaded on YouTube shows Syrian army tanks in the city of Yabrud, 80 km north of Damascus on March 8, 2012.
== RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / YOUTUBE" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - AFP IS USING PICTURES FROM ALTERNATIVE SOURCES AS IT WAS NOT AUTHORISED TO COVER THIS EVENT, THEREFORE IT IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIGITAL ALTERATIONS TO THE PICTURE'S EDITORIAL CONTENT, DATE AND LOCATION WHICH CANNOT BE

Syria sends diplomats to Geneva, fighters to Yabrud

The fighting may intensify around Yabrud as the second round of negotiations in Geneva commence.

Friends and family members of victims killed in a car bomb attack on Saturday, hold a wreath along with their pictures during a funeral in the Shi'ite town of Hermel February 3, 2014. A suicide car bomber killed three people at a petrol station in a stronghold of the Shi'ite militant Hezbollah movement on Lebanon's northern border on Saturday, the latest sign that Syria's civil war is spilling over into its small neighbour. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is pictured on the left in the banner in fr

Have bombings united the Lebanese Shiites behind Hezbollah?

Although many suspect the recent bombings in Lebanon are aimed at breaking Shiite support for Hezbollah, they may be having the opposite effect.

Neutrality, reform needed to rescue Lebanon’s economy

Lebanon’s economy is collapsing and the only thing that can save it is a new government that keeps Lebanon neutral in the Syrian war and implements economic and administrative reforms.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends the opening of the Geneva-2 peace conference in Montreux January 22, 2014. Syria's government and its enemies came face to face for the first time on Wednesday at a one-day peace conference in Switzerland which world powers hope can at least start a process to end three years of civil war. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17PEH

Russia's Syria policy gains traction

As Russia maintains a steady course on Syria, Moscow's influence on Damascus may be less than some believe.

The beginnings of an Israel-Iran reset?

Israel may be reassessing the Iranian threat, as Iran shows its reach in Palestinian politics.

Firefighters extinguish a fire from burning cars at the site of an explosion in the Haret Hreik area, in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut January 21, 2014. A suicide bomber killed four people on Tuesday in the residential neighbourhood of southern Beirut known for its support of Shi'ite military and political group Hezbollah, security sources said. REUTERS/Stringer (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX17NZH

Lebanon has historic chance to regain neutrality

The conflict between the Sunnis and Shiites in Lebanon is an opportunity for Christians to revive the Baabda Declaration, which calls for Lebanon’s neutrality, a historic Christian principle.

Members of the interim government of democratic self-administered party stand after declaring a provincial government, in the city of Amuda near Hasaka January 21, 2014. Kurds in Syria declared a provincial government in the north of the country on Tuesday, consolidating their geographic and political presence on the eve of peace talks in Switzerland at which they will not be represented. The municipal council will run affairs in one of three administrative districts set up by Kurds, who have seized upon t

Relations among Syrian Kurdish parties hit new low

The Kurdistan National Council (KNC) and the Democratic Union Party (PYD) are in dispute over power-sharing arrangements.

Civilians and members of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) gesture and raise flags atop a tank that belonged to fighters from the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in al-Manajeer village of Ras al-Ain countryside January 28, 2014. REUTERS/Rodi Said (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX17YNR

Syrian Kurds courting Turkmens

Security and the future role of Syrian Turkmens depend on alliance with Kurds.

Fighters of al-Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant carry their weapons during a parade at the Syrian town of Tel Abyad, near the border with Turkey January 2, 2014. Picture taken January 2, 2014. REUTERS/Yaser Al-Khodor (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX170U3

ISIS leader al-Baghdadi proves formidable enemy

Contrary to his predecessors, Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has proven to be more pragmatic and devious.

A vendor pours tomatoes out to display while waiting for customers at a greengrocer's shop in Baghdad January 16, 2014. The day after one of Iraq's bloodiest days for months, shoppers and drivers packed the streets of Baghdad on Thursday, grimly aware that death can strike anywhere, any time. At least eight bombs hit the capital, mostly in Shi'ite districts, on Wednesday, killing 40 people and wounding 88, while attacks elsewhere pushed the national death toll to 78. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: SOCIETY

Iraqi vendors diversify supplies in response to Syria, Anbar conflicts

Military operations launched in the Anbar province, located along the Syrian border, have disrupted the import of goods from Syria, leading Iraqi vendors to turn to other states to import goods.