Armed Militias and Extremist Groups

Iraqi Air Force helicopters perform during Army Day celebrations, marking the 104th anniversary of the founding of the Iraqi army, at the Camp Taji military base north Baghdad, on January 6, 2025. The Iraqi armed forces were established by the United Kingdom during their mandate over Iraq after World War I. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraq orders investigation after attacks on Taji, Imam Ali bases: What to know

The attacks were carried out with "several small suicide drones" and began hours after Iran targeted a US military base in Qatar.

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2025/06/global-airlines-suspend-middle-east-flights-iran-israel-truce-frays

WHO condemns Sudan hospital attack that killed 40 people: What to know

The World Health Organization's chief denounced this weekend's attack on a hospital in Sudan’s West Kordofan state.

People and rescuers inspect the damage at the site of a reported suicide attack at the Saint Elias church in Damascus' Dweila area on June 22, 2025.

Syria church bombing raises fears ISIS will exploit Iran-Israel war to gain ground

As the Iran-Israel war draws in global powers, security vacuums in Syria may be allowing ISIS to reemerge.

Smoke rises after a reported Israeli strike on a building used by Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, part of Iran's state TV broadcaster, Tehran, Iran, June 16, 2025.

Israel expands Iran strikes, hits Fordow nuclear site, Evin prison: What to know

Israel said Monday it targeted the entrance of Evin Prison in Tehran, where many opponents of the Iranian government are held.

Latest News

Turkey airs 'deep concern' as Saudi Arabia, Russia condemn US strikes in Iran

Commuters drive past an anti-Israel billboard in Tehran, on June 22, 2025. President Donald Trump said the US military carried out strikes on June 22 on three Iranian nuclear sites and that Tehran "must now agree to end this war", following days of speculation over whether the United States would join its ally Israel's bombing campaign. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

With latest video, Yemen's AQAP seeks relevance, taps into regional outrage

Awlaki

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Iran's barrages hit at least 10 Israeli cities, towns: What to know

Ben Gurion International Airport is seen mostly empty after flights were canceled following Israel's early morning attack on Iran on June 13, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel.

As dinar drops, Iraq says embassies safe in light of US-Iran tension

Stacks of Iraqi dinars are seen at currency exchange shop in Baghdad on February 14, 2023. - Iraq nudged up the value of its local currency against the dollar in an effort to stabilise the dinar after tougher foreign transfer regulations sent its value fluctuating. The government adopted a new official exchange rate, fixing it at 1,300 dinars to the US dollar instead of 1,470, the prime minister's office said. (Photo by Murtaja LATEEF / AFP) (Photo by MURTAJA LATEEF/AFP via Getty Images)

Peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) ride in armoured vehicles during a patrol along the border with Israel by the village of Kfar Kila in south Lebanon on June 4, 2025. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

With UNIFIL under attack, Lebanon says 500 arms depots dismantled

Lebanon's prime minister said over 500 arms depots have been removed by the army in the south since the Israel-Hezbollah war ended. His statements coincided with President Joseph Aoun's visit to Jordan, his latest regional stop aimed to revive Arab-Lebanese ties.

The US Central Command Commander General Michael Kurilla speaks at the 18th IISS Manama Dialogue in Bahrain's capital on Nov. 19, 2022.

US general says Israeli strike on Iran would risk troops in region

Outgoing CENTCOM Gen. Michael 'Erik' Kurilla said he has provided a broad range of military options to the Trump White House should diplomacy fail to rein in Tehran's nuclear enrichment.

US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack meets Syrian President Ahmed Sharaa in Damascus, on May 29, 2025.

Interview

US believes Syria’s Sharaa at risk of assassination, Trump envoy says

US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack also discusses what’s next for sanctions relief, the country’s relationship with Israel and why the Trump administration is not engaged in “nation-building.”

Tom Barrack

Tom Barrack

US special envoy for Syria

US soldiers patrol in Syria's northeastern city Qamishli, in the Hasakeh province, mostly controlled by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on Jan. 9, 2025.

Analysis

How the US drawdown in Syria is expected to play out

Senate Foreign Relations Chair Jim Risch called the US troop presence in Syria "critical" to contain ISIS and urged a Russian withdrawal, as sources said US troops are expected to eventually draw down to a single base in Hasakah province.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

A large Syrian flag flutters above Tishreen Park in Damascus, on June 4, 2025.

Syria’s top Islamic body issues decree against honor killings: What to know

US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack referred to the decision as “great first steps,” though concerns persist about the new Islamist-led government.

Israeli tanks are positioned along the border with the Gaza Strip, on June 5, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Analysis

‘A wild gamble’: Will Israel's arming of Gaza militia backfire?

In a move critics have called dangerous and risky, Israel is now supplying weapons to an independent Gaza militia in a bid to weaken Hamas.

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

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli air strike targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut, Nov. 23, 2024.

Israel strikes Beirut, targeting underground Hezbollah drone facilities

This marks the first time Israel has struck Lebanon’s capital city since April.

Travelers from the Middle East arrive at the International Arrivals section at Los Angeles International Airport on June 29, 2017.

Trump travel ban 2.0: Assessing the impact on Mideast nations

Trump’s new decision excludes Syria and Iraq, both of which were part of his previous ban issued during his first term in 2017.

Protesters hold signs and photos of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas during a rally calling for a hostage deal, May 31, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Israeli military recovers bodies of two Israeli-American hostages held in Gaza

Kibbutz Nir Oz announced that the bodies of Gadi Haggai and his wife, Judith Weinstein, were recovered overnight from Gaza in a military operation.

A fighter loyal to the army patrols a market area in Khartoum on March 24, 2025.

Sudan: 14 killed in camp shelling blamed on RSF as Darfur violence grows

An attack on the Abu Shouk displacement camp in El Fasher has killed 14 people amid ongoing assaults on civilians and humanitarian convoys.

Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, delivers a speech during a funeral ceremony after a terrorist attack, on Jan. 5, 2024, in Kerman, Iran.

Iran says 13 ISIS affiliates arrested for planning suicide attacks

ISIS’ Khorasan branch has conducted numerous attacks against Iran in recent years, prompting authorities to pursue its members.

US special envoy for Syria, the ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack attends a flag-raising ceremony at the US ambassador's residence in Damascus on May 29, 2025 for the first time since 2011. Barrack's visit to Syria marks a new step in the rapprochement between the two countries following the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad. (Photo by Rami al SAYED / AFP) (Photo by RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images)

US envoy Barrack in Israel after cross-border shelling with Syria: What to know

US envoy for Syria Tom Barrack met Wednesday with Israeli officials in an effort to de-escalate ongoing tensions with Syria and Turkey.