Armed Militias and Extremist Groups

An Israeli soldier displays military equipment and ammunition that Hamas and Palestinan militants used at the time of the attack on the Israeli south border with the Gaza Strip on Oct. 20, 2023, in Kiryat Malakhi, Israel.

Israel says Iran weapons plot foiled in West Bank: What to know

The third alleged Iranian smuggling plan in the past two years comes amid escalating violence in the Palestinian territory.

MOHAMAD DABOUL/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Syria: Siege persists in Aleppo’s Kurdish enclaves despite SDF-Damascus truce

Tensions are rising over plans to integrate the Kurdish-led SDF into the new Syrian military amid clashes between government-affiliated and Kurdish forces in Syria’s largest city.

This picture taken on Aug. 20, 2021 shows a view of smoke rising from bombardment on the outskirts of Syria's rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib.

US strike in Syria kills al-Qaeda-linked planner, hints at changing militant networks

Members of Syria’s al-Qaeda branch, Huras ad-Din, have been joining Ansar al-Islam as US drone strikes have continued to pick off Huras ad-Din's leaders, a report to the UN Security Council noted in July.

A nurse treats a Dengue fever patient at a hospital in Omdurman, west of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on Sept. 24, 2025.

RSF hits Darfur hospital as cholera, dengue fever spread in war-torn Sudan

A Sudanese medical organization said a dozen people were killed after the RSF shelled one of the last operating hospitals in El Fasher, as Sudan’s collapsing health system battles cholera and dengue fever.

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Egypt's Sisi says Gaza deal in sight as Witkoff, Kushner, Qatari PM join talks

An Israeli tank moves along Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, on Sept. 25, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group.

Grenade attack on IRGC kills 2 in Iran’s Kurdistan province: What to know

BARBOD KHORSHIDI/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Damascus declares truce with Syria’s Kurdish forces after Aleppo skirmishes

Members of the Syrian Kurdish Asayish security forces stand guard at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of suspected Islamic State (IS) group fighters in the northeastern Hasakeh governorate, on April 18, 2025, as the Syrian Democratic Forces mount a security campaign against IS "sleeper cells" in the camp.

Analysis

Israel adapts, Turkey rises, Iran ruined: How 2 years of Gaza war reshaped Middle East

OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images

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

Turkish tanks are positioned in the Turkish military base in Bashiqa, several kilometers outside of Mosul, Iraq.

Pro-Iran group claims attack on Turkey's base in northern Iraq

The so-called Bashiqa base, which has long been a source of tension between Ankara and Baghdad, is a frequent target of rocket attacks by pro-Iranian groups in Iraq.

Police officers take up positions outside of the Mayor's office where an ongoing gun battle erupted following a reported explosion, in Mogadishu, on January 22, 2023. (Photo by HASSAN ALI ELMI/AFP via Getty Images)

Breaking | Last Updated: January 27, 2023, 12:35 pm

Senior Islamic State leader killed in US raid in Somalia

Bilal al-Sudani, "a key operator and global facilitator for IS’ global network," died along with 10 companions in a firefight with US forces in a cave complex last night, Biden administration officials said.

The Horn of Africa

A picture shows the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of suspected Islamic State (IS) group fighters in the northeastern Hasakeh governorate, during a security operation by the Kurdish Asayish security forces and the special forces of the Syrian Democratic Forces, on Aug. 26, 2022.

Iraq repatriates 580 citizens from Syria’s al-Hol camp

The Islamic State sees the tens of thousands of detainees at al-Hol and other prison facilities in Syria as key to rebuilding its army, US officials have said.

Members of the Taliban security forces arrive as Afghan women march during a demonstration they call Stop Hazara genocide a day after a suicide bomb attack at Dasht-e-Barchi learning centre, in Kabul on October 1, 2022. - (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Afghanistan's Hazara minority increasingly fearful under Taliban

Al-Monitor spoke to members of the long-persecuted Hazara Shiite minority group in Afghanistan as restrictions on women increase and verifiable information becomes scarcer.

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Neturei Karta

Anti-Zionist Jewish group says Israel's Ben-Gvir has 'extreme settler attitude'

Neturei Karta is known for its staunch opposition to Israel, and the group has caught the wrath of right-wing national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Mourners accompany the casket of one of the two protesters killed earlier in clashes.

Protests erupt in southern Iraq as man sentenced for tweeting against PMU

Security concerns for southern Iraq have risen following an attempted suicide attack near Karbala and deadly protests in Nasiriyah sparked by a prison sentence for a man accused of insulting security forces.

Syria fighting

Turkey’s strikes in Syria put US troops in danger, Pentagon says

A Turkish drone strike on a top Kurdish commander’s headquarters came within 130 meters of US troops in Syria on Tuesday.

Syrian Kurds protest against Turkey and in solidarity with the Kurdistan Workers Party, in the Kurdish-held city of Qamishli, Syria, Nov. 13, 2022.

Turkey strikes near US base in Syria after Pentagon calls for de-escalation

The US military says it opposes Ankara's plans to send ground troops against Syria's Kurds, but it has stood down in the face of similar attacks in the past.

Syrian demonstrators gather to protest Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadist group.

Syrian jihadist group HTS challenges Turkish-backed factions

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham tried to enter the Turkey-backed factions’ stronghold to support Ahrar al-Sham that refused to support the newly formed leadership by some groups within the movement.

Fighters from the Third Legion of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army.

Infighting in Turkish-backed faction leads to tension in Syria's Afrin

It seems Hayat Tahrir al-Sham lost a loyal faction after several currents with the Turkish-backed Ahrar al-Sham factions isolated the movement’s current leadership and appointed their own leader.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the Israeli far-right Jewish Power party, speaks during parliamentary consultations with parties elected in the 25th Knesset, at the presidential residence, Jerusalem, Nov. 10, 2022.

US concerned over appointment of Israeli ultranationalist as public security minister

With President Isaac Herzog preparing to task Benjamin Netanyahu with the composition of the next government, the Biden administration is increasingly worried over ultranationalist Itamar Ben-Gvir, ideological successor of Rabbi Meir Kahane, becoming a Cabinet minister.

Ben-Gvir

Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition could upend Israeli democracy

Incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a dangerous deal with far-right and religious radical partners who are sure to undercut Israeli's democratic institutions.