Syria - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Palmyra

Syria

October 28, 2026

Damascus 1:32 pm

22°C

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

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek, September 13, 2013. Rouhani said on Friday that he wanted a swift resolution to a dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme, which Western states fear is aimed at developing nuclear weapons. REUTERS/Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin (KYRGYZSTAN - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, E

Russia's Iran policy in transition

Russia is likely to benefit from an agreement between the P5+1 and Iran.

EDITOR'S NOTE: REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY CONTENT THE VIDEO FROM WHICH THIS STILL IMAGE WAS TAKEN.
Al Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri speaks from an unknown location, in this still image taken from video uploaded on a social media website June 8, 2011. Osama bin Laden's longtime lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahri, said the United States faces rebellion throughout the Muslim world after killing the al Qaeda leader, according to a 28-minute YouTube recording posted on Wednesday. In what a

Internal disagreements could lead to al-Qaeda split

Recent disagreements between al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi could lead to major splits within the organization.

A picture of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and a Syrian flag are seen from a hole in Aleppo's Salaheddine neighbourhood November 7, 2013. REUTERS/Molhem Barakat (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX15431

Islamic militia expels criminal gangs from Aleppo

The al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shams has won the praise of Aleppans after expelling criminal gangs that have looted and ravaged the city.

Jordanian hospitals manage care for wounded Syrians

Almost every hospital in Jordan has a ward where Syrians can receive free health care after being severely wounded in Syria.

President of the Syrian National Coalition, Ahmad Al-Jarba (L), looks on during a meeting with Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi (not pictured) in Cairo, November 2, 2013. Arab League Foreign Ministers will meet in Cairo in an emergency session to discuss the ongoing crisis in Syria on Sunday. REUTERS/Stringer (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX14XDS

Syrian opposition split over peace conference

The National Coalition of Syrian Opposition and Revolutionary Forces is meeting in Istanbul to consider participating in the Geneva II peace conference.

Syrians refugees try to enter a truck which will transport them back to their homeland at the Al-Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria July 30, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY IMMIGRATION) - RTX1258L

US official on Syria: 'half the population is suffering'

US Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Anne Richard discusses the Syrian humanitarian crisis with Al-Monitor.

Orthodox Christian worshippers gather before the start of a procession outside Jerusalem's Old City September 5, 2013. About two hundred Orthodox Christians took part in an annual procession in which an icon of the Virgin Mary is carried from a church at the foot of the Mount of Olives believed by Christians to mark the tomb of the Virgin Mary back to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: RELIGION) - RTX137SV

'Culture of fear' for region's minorities

Conferences recently dedicated to the plight of Middle East Christians need to be understood in broader context.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during the United Nations General Assembly in New York September 24, 2013.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13Y4X

Obama goes big in the Middle East

The US-Russia agreement on Syria’s chemical weapons, a possible nuclear deal with Iran, and Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are all signs that the Obama administration may be charting a new course in the region.

A member of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) carries his weapon as he sits at a checkpoint near the city of Ras al-Ain November 5, 2013. Redur Xelil, spokesman for the armed wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), said Kurdish militias had seized the city of Ras al-Ain and all its surrounding villages. Syrian Kurdish fighters have captured more territory from Islamist rebels in northeastern Syria, a Kurdish militant group said on Monday, tightening their grip on an area where the

Syrian Kurdish leader: Turkey may end proxy war

In an interview, Saleh Muslim, co-chairman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), says that Turkey is ceasing its proxy war against the PYD by ending its support for jihadist groups in Syria.

People sit in the back of a truck as they celebrate what they said was the liberation of villages from Islamist rebels near the city of Ras al-Ain in the province of Hasakah, after capturing it from Islamist rebels November 6, 2013. Redur Xelil, spokesman for the armed wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), said Kurdish militias had seized the city of Ras al-Ain and all its surrounding villages. Syrian Kurdish fighters have captured more territory from Islamist rebels in northeastern Syria

Does Washington have a policy toward Syria’s Kurds?

The view from Washington about US policy toward Syria may be more confusing than it looks from Turkey.

A wounded Syrian girl sits on a hospital bed at Ziv Medical Center in the northern Israeli town of Safed September 9, 2013. What started this year as a trickle is now a steady flow of Syrians, scores of civilians and fighters wounded in the civil war and being discreetly brought across the Golan frontline into Israel - a country with which Syria is formally still at war. Picture taken September 9, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS HEALTH) - RTX13JW4

Wounded Syrians treated in Israel

Safed's Ziv hospital welcomes Syrians wounded in the war.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad answers journalists after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, December 9, 2010. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier (FRANCE - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXVKF9

Syria's temporary solution

As preparations for the Geneva II Syria conference stall, some suggest that a temporary solution could be in the works, aimed at keeping President Bashar al-Assad in office, but without elections.