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October 28, 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

Children go to school on a damaged street in Duma neighbourhood in Damascus October 12, 2013. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY EDUCATION) - RTX148Z5

Syrian education a casualty of war

Syria’s education sector has suffered a heavy blow from the fighting, as security concerns, internally displaced students and the emigration of professors abroad has led to a sharp drop in the level of education in the country.

Investigators work at the site of an explosion at the entrance to a train station in Volgograd December 29, 2013. A female suicide bomber blew herself up in the entrance hall of the Russian train station on Sunday, killing at least 13 people in the second deadly attack in the space of three days as the country prepares to host the Winter Olympics. REUTERS/Sergei Karpov (RUSSIA - Tags: CRIME LAW CIVIL UNREST TRANSPORT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX16WBP

Russia's Syria policy linked to Chechnya, terrorism

The United States and Russia cooperate to combat terrorism in Syria.

Saudi Arabia's Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saoud (R) welcomes French President Francois Hollande (L) at the Saudi Royal palace in Riyadh December 29, 2013. REUTERS/Kenzo Tribouillard/Pool (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTX16WSG

Saudi Arabia, France make their move in Lebanon

Hezbollah reacts to Saudi Arabia providing $3 billion in aid to the Lebanese army to buy French weapons.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry walks to his plane with Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz al-Saud at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh January 5, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTX1738Z

The Saudi challenge to US Syria policy

Saudi Arabia proposes a military force to deter Iran and assist rebel forces to overthrow the Syrian government.

A man waits in front of the closed Cilvegozu border gate near the town of Reyhanli on the Turkish-Syrian border in Hatay province February 12, 2013. A deadly minibus blast on Turkey's border with Syria was meant to target a Syrian National Council opposition delegation, the group said on Tuesday, but the Turkish authorities said it was too early to apportion blame. The minibus, bearing Syrian number plates, exploded at a crossing on the border near the Turkish town of Reyhanli on Monday, killing 14 people a

Ankara suspected of arming jihadists in Syria

Turkish security discovered a truck full of weapons en route to Syria, creating yet another controversy for the Erdogan government.

A man stands guard near the home of prominent Sunni Muslim lawmaker Ahmed al-Alwani after clashes with Iraqi security forces in the centre of Ramadi, December 28, 2013. Iraqi security forces arrested Alwani, a supporter of anti-government protests, in a raid on his home in the western province of Anbar, sparking clashes in which at least five people were killed, police sources said. They said those killed in the fighting included three of Alwani's bodyguards, his sister and his brother. REUTERS/Ali al-Mashh

Resolution of Anbar crisis requires security, political coordination

Baghdad must combine security and political efforts to bring an end to the current crisis involving al-Qaeda and the Sunnis in Anbar province.

A woman reacts during a mass funeral for former Lebanese minister Mohamad Chatah, who was killed in a bomb blast on Friday, at Al-Amin mosque in Martyrs' Square, downtown Beirut, December 29, 2013. Chatah, who opposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was killed in the attack which one of his political allies blamed on Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah militia. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST OBITUARY) - RTX16WB3

Chatah's assassination marks rise of extremism

In Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, the forces of moderation are being displaced by the forces of extremism.

Lebanese Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt (2nd L) stands along side Shiite Muslim Cleric Hani Fahs (3rd L) during a sit in to show support for the Syrian people at in downtown Beirut, on February 22, 2012. AFP PHOTO/JOSEPH EID (Photo credit should read JOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images)

Lebanese Shiite cleric calls for building inclusive state

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Lebanese Shiite cleric Hani Fahs said that the region must work toward peace, and citizens should work to build inclusive states.

Delegates are pictured prior to a meeting on Syria at the United Nations offices in Geneva December 20, 2013. REUTERS/Fabrice Coffrini/Pool (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX16PNF

Syrian Kurds agree to disagree

Despite agreeing to speak with a single Kurdish voice at Geneva II, Syria's Kurds are far from united on how to administer the Kurdish areas in the future.

A general view shows Lebanon's Hezbollah supporters attending a ceremony in Beirut's southern suburbs, May 11, 2012. The ceremony was held to mark the completion of the Waed (promise) project for rebuilding Beirut's southern suburbs, which were destroyed during the July 2006 war with Israel. Hezbollah's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said during the ceremony his militant group was capable of striking any target in neighbouring Israel, saying "the days when we fled and they didn't are over". REUTERS/Sharif K

Southern suburbs stand apart in Beirut

Al-Monitor tours Beirut’s southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hezbollah, to learn more about life there and residents’ views on Hezbollah’s Syria policy.

People run after what activists said was the return of government jet planes in Aleppo's al-Marja district December 23, 2013. More than 300 people have been killed in a week of air raids on the northern Syrian city of Aleppo and nearby towns by President Bashar al-Assad's forces, a monitoring group said on Monday. Many of the casualties, who included scores of women and children, were killed by so-called barrel bombs dropped from helicopters, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. REUTERS/Saad AboB

Aleppo's bloodiest week

An exclusive report from Aleppo, which is facing the worst bombing of Syria's war.

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon (L) and Syria mediator Lakhdar Brahimi speak during a meeting in Mont Pelerin March 2, 2013. Ban and Syria mediator Brahimi expressed frustration on Saturday at the failure to end Syria's conflict and said the United Nations was ready to facilitate peace talks. Ban and Brahimi met in Mt. Pelerin, Switzerland, to discuss the two-year-old war that has killed more than 70,000 people. REUTERS/U.N. Photo/Evan Schneider/Handout (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) ATTENTION EDI

An appeal to Lakhdar Brahimi

A cease-fire and the immediate holding of Geneva II must be at the top of Special Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi and the UN's agenda.