Armed Militias and Extremist Groups

A screengrab depicting Joe Kent participating in a congressional debate on Oct. 14, 2024.

US Senate approves Joe Kent as US counterterrorism chief: What to know

Kent’s nomination raised alarm among Democrats due to his history of promoting right-wing conspiracy theories and recent efforts to pressure a senior intelligence official to revise an assessment that contradicted Trump administration narratives.

TOPSHOT - A person holds a sign with the Arabic slogan "we will not relinquish arms" as Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah supporters take part in a ceremony during the peak of Ashura, a 10-day period commemorating the seventh century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein, in Beirut's southern suburbs on July 6, 2025. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon’s cabinet to discuss Hezbollah disarmament as US ups pressure

Lebanon is under growing US pressure to issue a formal decision on the disarmament of Hezbollah as soon as possible, with US Ambassador to Lebanon nominee Michel Issa, who is of Lebanese origin, saying the issue is a "necessity.”

Mazlum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria, on April 26, 2025.

Analysis

Emboldened by Suwayda fallout, Syria’s Kurds hold their ground with Damascus

The Suwayda crisis boosts Kurdish confidence and threatens Erdogan’s bid to secure Kurdish support for a third term.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Cholera, hunger plague Sudan’s Darfur region amid RSF siege: What to know

As hunger and health crises worsen in Darfur, Sudan’s political divide is also deepening, with the Rapid Support Forces pushing a parallel government while over 300,000 civilians remain under siege in El Fasher.

Latest News

Amnesty: Syria's rulers must look into abductions of Alawite women and girls

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / Women march with pictures of victims of a recent wave of sectarian violence targeting Syria's Alawite minority in the west of the country along the Mediterranean sea coast, during a protest condemning the attacks in Syria's northeastern city of Qamishli on March 11, 2025. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

US reengages Hifter as Trump pursues dual Libya strategy: What to know

Security forces stand guard as Libyans perform the morning prayer of Eid al-Fitr with a portrait of the military strongman of eastern Libya, Khalifa Hiftar, in the background in the port city of Benghazi on March 31, 2025.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

US raid on Syria ISIS cell signals deepening coordination with Sharaa

BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel, Syria hold first high-level talks in 25 years amid US de-escalation push

JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

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

A general view shows the Iranian-Iraqi border crossing point of Bashmakh in the Kurdistan province, March 3, 2007.

2 Iranian border guards killed in Kurdistan province: What to know

Iraq agreed to move Iranian Kurdish groups farther from the border in 2023, but some clashes have occurred since then.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - MAY 16: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images’ editorial policy.) In this handout image provided by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) are seen as Ukrainian, American and Russian delegates meet for peace talks at the office of Turkish President in Dolmabahce Palace on May 16, 2025 in Istanbul, Turkey. Under pressure from the United States to

‘We will intervene’: Turkey’s Fidan warns against dividing Syria

Ankara threatens action against the Kurdish-led SDF as the US pushes for the group’s integration into a post-regime Damascus.

Citing security threats, Sudan blocks WhatsApp calls: What to know

The restriction comes as Sudan's civil war continues to devastate telecommunications infrastructure.

Hosam Saraya

Family says US citizen killed in Syria’s Suwayda

The US State Department said Monday that an American citizen was killed during the unrest in the southern Syrian city of Suwayda last week.

RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images

Ceasefire fragile as Syria evacuates Bedouins in Suwayda, US urges accountability

The Syrian government has moved some Bedouin families out of the southern province after clashes with Druze fighters intensified over the weekend.

Fighters from Bedouin tribes gather near a burning building in al-Mazraa village, in Syria's southern Suwayda governorate, as clashes with Druze gunmen continue, on July 18, 2025.

Turkey on edge as clashes continue in Syria's Suwayda, Kurds weigh next move

Turkey fears a deepening ethnic fracture in Syria could redraw the regional map — and embolden its own Kurdish population.

ZAID AL-OBEIDI/AFP via Getty Images

Over 10 years after ISIS takeover, Iraq's Mosul Airport reopens: What to know

The airport has been out of operation since the fall of the northern Iraqi city to the Islamic State in 2014.

Israel military vehicles drive along the border fence with Syria, near the town of Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, July 17, 2025.

Analysis

'You can’t embark on new war every few days': Israel-US daylight grows over Syria Druze, Sharaa

The Israeli prime minister is being pressed by the Trump administration to avoid escalating the situation in Syria but also by Israeli Druze to protect their brethren there.

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

A picture shows a view of the damage following Israeli strikes on the Syrian army and Defense Ministry headquarters in Damascus, on July 16, 2025.

Israel’s defense chief to visit Pentagon following Syria, Iran strikes: What to know

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is expected to meet in Washington with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and other senior American officials to discuss the latest developments in Iran and Syria.

Members of the Druze community demonstrate before Israeli forces by the barbed-wire fence separating the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and Syria near Majdal Shams, on July 16, 2025.

Israeli Druze breach Syria border, call for 'day of rage' over Suwayda clashes

The Israeli Druze leadership announced a one-day labor strike on Wednesday and called on all Israeli Druze to go to the border and cross it in order to assist their Syrian brethren in Suwayda.

A woman walks past a mural depicting Lebanese Druze politician Walid Jumblatt (bottom, R) and Syrian Druze nationalist leader Sultan al-Atrash, in the predominantly Druze city of Beit Jann on November 16, 2023. Around 150,000 Druze, Arab adherents of an esoteric offshoot of Shiite Islam, live in Israel. Most identify as Israelis and the men -- not women -- are conscripted into the military, many serving in combat units. The Druze community is concentrated in 16 villages in northern Israel, among them Beit J

Lebanon's Druze mobilize in solidarity with Syria's Suwayda: What to know

Druze leaders in Lebanon are voicing their growing concerns over the deadly violence unfolding in Suwayda while members of the community are trying to cross the border into Syria.

Two armed men gesture as a car burns near the site of clashes between Druze and Bedouin factions on July 14, 2025 in Suwayda, Syria.

Live Updates

Syria says army withdrawing from Suwayda after deadly clashes with Druze

The withdrawal follows reportedly an understanding between Damascus and local Druze leaders to end the fighting after days of deadly violence.