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Syria

October 19, 2026

Damascus 1:36 am

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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

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.

Latest News

Explainer

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

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

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.

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

Democratic Society Party (DTP) leader Ahmet Turk, who was banned from politics for five years, attends a news conference in Ankara December 18, 2009. Deputies from Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party decided to stay in parliament despite a court decision to ban their movement, its banned leader said on Friday, removing a potential source of political instability. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXRZ8Y

The final nail in the coffin of peace process in Turkey

Following the detention of the mayor of Mardin, reviving the peace process between Kurdish militants and the Turkish government is no more than a pipe dream.

Salih Muslim, co-president of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), listens to a question during an interview in Marseille, southern France, on December 1, 2013. PYD, the biggest Kurdish armed group, wants to establish an autonomous Kurdish state within a federal Syria and a commission is already writing the constitution of this potential state, Muslim told AFP. Syrian Kurds in the war-torn country's northeast announced last month the formation of a transitional autonomous administration after ma

Ankara intensifies strikes against YPG, moves to arrest PYD leader

As Turkey continues its struggle with the Syrian Kurdish militants allied with the United States against the Islamic State in Syria, Ankara has issued a warrant for the arrest of Salih Muslim, the co-chair of the group's political arm.

U.S. President Barack Obama talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Lima, Peru November 20, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTSSHZ0

Russia adjusts Syria plan as Obama’s term nears end

Russia is trying to figure out all the Middle East scenarios that might affect it under a Donald Trump presidency.

A Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighter looks through the scope of his weapon in Tal Samin village, north of Raqqa city, Syria November 19, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTSSERJ

Who will take charge in Raqqa after it's freed from IS?

The Syrian Democratic Forces are making progress in northern Raqqa, cutting the supply lines of the Islamic State.

How Iran's religious singers help frame the war in Syria

In addition to assuming more clout in Iranian politics, religious singers are expanding their presence on the battlefield in Syria.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump (L) speaks along side retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Mike Flynn during a campaign town hall meeting in Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S., September 6, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar - RTX2OE6J

Would Trump back Turkish military escalation in Iraq, Syria?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan weighs risks and benefits of military interventions as Donald Trump transition signals possible Turkish tilt; Will Iraq's Baathists return after liberation of Mosul?

Rebel fighters gather during their advance towards the Islamic State-held city of al-Bab, northern Syria October 26, 2016. Picture taken October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTX2TKNU

Ankara-PKK divisions could have major impact on Raqqa battle

As the operation to clear Raqqa from IS continues, tensions are rising in the al-Bab region to the north of Aleppo, where a clash between Free Syrian Army forces supported by Turkey and local fighters backed by the People's Protection Units is becoming more likely.

Members of the Shi'ite Badr Organisation fighters ride on military vehicles during a battle with Islamic State militants at the airport of Tal Afar west of Mosul, Iraq November 18, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RTX2UAJW

Iran, Turkey fight over Tal Afar

As the predominantly Shiite Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), with the support of Iran, expand their control over the recently liberated area of Tal Afar, which has a Turkmen majority, the tension between the PMU and Turkey has increased.

News of arrests of YPG-linked Czechs shocks Turkey

Turkish authorities arrested two Czechs who allegedly confessed to working with the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters gather in the town of Hisha after they took control of the area from Islamic State militants, in the northern Raqqa countryside, Syria November 14, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2TNGI

Will Trump see eye to eye with Erdogan's plans in Iraq, Syria?

Ankara is hoping to find harmony with the incoming US administration on its fight against the Islamic State.

Veiled women walk past a billboard that carries a verse from Koran urging women to wear a hijab in the northern province of Raqqa March 31, 2014. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has imposed sweeping restrictions on personal freedoms in the northern province of Raqqa. Among the restrictions, Women must wear the niqab, or full face veil, in public or face unspecified punishments "in accordance with sharia", or Islamic law. REUTERS/Stringer (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT RELIGI

As IS loses power, will group tap women jihadis to fight?

As the Islamic State suffers successive defeats in Iraq’s Mosul and Raqqa in Syria, it's increasingly likely that the women of the organization will shift from their traditional supportive roles to become suicide bombers or fighters on the front lines.

A security guard stands on the step to the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., November 7, 2016. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RTX2SCP1

Congress votes to box Trump in on Syria sanctions

The House easily passed tough new sanctions amid concerns President-elect Donald Trump will cozy up to Syrian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.