Islamic 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.

Awlaki

Analysis

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

The first video address by Yemeni al-Qaeda leader Saad al-Awlaki follows a decline in clashes between the group and the Iran-backed Houthis in what one expert dubbed a "collaborative arrangement."

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

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

Members of Turkish Police Special Forces secure the area near the Interior Ministry on Oct. 1, 2023.

Turkey detains dozens of ISIS suspects in raids tied to Syria-based network

A nationwide sweep targeted the group's financial and propaganda networks as Ankara steps up efforts to counter the jihadi extremist group in Syria.

Iran executes 9 'ISIS militants' amid surge in jihadist extremism: What to know

While Iran has long claimed full eradication of the Islamic State through a campaign waged by late general Qasem Soleimani, the country has been grappling with a deadly resurgence of the militant group in recent years.

Latest News

Interview

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

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

Tom Barrack

Tom Barrack

US special envoy for Syria

Iran says 13 ISIS affiliates arrested for planning suicide attacks

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.

US Syria envoy Barrack says troop drawdown to continue, support for Kurds to remain

Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and US special envoy for Syria Ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack (R).

Jared Szuba

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

Turkey, Syria, Jordan launch anti-ISIS ops center in Damascus: What to know

Turkish Foreign Ministry

Turkish presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin gives a press conference following talks with Sweden and Finland over their bids to join NATO at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on May 25, 2022.

Turkey’s intel chief Kalin makes surprise visit to Syria, meets Sharaa

Kalin's visit comes as a Turkish delegation arrives in Washington to discuss sanctions relief on Syria with the Trump administration.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (R) shakes hands with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C) reacts.

US-Syria thaw advances as Rubio meets Shaibani in Turkey: What to know

Top US, Syrian and Turkish diplomats discussed counterterrorism cooperation and regional stability in a landmark Turkey meeting.

Raqqa

Feature

Nightlife rocks Raqqa as Syria’s Islamist leaders navigate power

A reopened nightclub in Raqqa spotlights the uneasy balance Syria’s new Islamist-led government is striking between ideology and public life.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Women are seen walking at the Roj Camp in northeast Syria, on April 8, 2025.

Exclusive

Syria's Kurds say Trump aid cuts are feeding radicalism in ISIS camps

In an interview at Syria’s Roj camp, the head of intelligence for the Women’s Protection Units warns that US funding cuts are fueling a resurgence of ISIS ideology among detained women and children, deepening an already volatile security crisis.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 28: U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participate in a joint statement in the East Room of the White House on January 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. The news conference was held to announce the Trump administration's plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

Netanyahu set to meet Trump amid differences over Iran, tariffs and Turkey: What to know

In a surprise move, the US president invited the Israeli prime minister to Washington at short notice to discuss his recent tariff decision, the Iranian file and other issues.

Gen. Michael Langley, commander of US Africa Command, testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

Top US general calls out Houthi-Shabaab ties across Yemen-Somalia strait

The Pentagon has opened the aperture on al-Shabaab in recent months, allowing AFRICOM to ramp up strikes on the al-Qaeda offshoot in the Horn of Africa.

Jared Szuba

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

An Israeli soldier checks a Merkava battle tank deployed at a position in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights along the border with southern Syria on March 25, 2025. Israel's military said it carried out a second strike in Syria on March 25, in response to incoming fire from across the demarcation line, hours after Syrian authorities reported that at least five people had been killed as a result of Israeli shelling. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Are Lebanon, Syria ripe for peace with Israel or on cusp of more escalation?

While some Israeli leaders hope for normalized ties with Lebanon and Syria, others warn that the uncertainty of the current situation could become permanent or deteriorate.

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

Fidan Syria

Analysis

Turkey, alarmed by sectarian clashes, steps up Syria role, criticizes Iran

As last week’s bloody clashes in Syria have deepened divisions among Turkish experts over the country's future, Turkey’s priorities in Syria remain focused on countering the SDF and combating ISIS.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

A general view shows a burnt out vehicle next to a banner bearing the Islamic State group's flag in the village of Dibsiafnan on the western outskirts of the Islamist's Syrian bastion of Raqa, after Syrian pro-government forces entered the area on June 11, 2017.

Exclusive

Turkey to host regional summit in April on counter-ISIS operations

Technical talks for the formation of a joint regional operation center against ISIS have begun as efforts to create an alternative to US-led coalition Syrian Democratic Forces against the Islamic State take shape.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrives for a plenary session at the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit, at the Grand Palais, in Paris, on Feb. 11, 2025.

Armenia joins US-led global coalition against Islamic State

Yerevan’s pivot toward the West has intensified amid regional tensions and shifting alliances.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

A fighter of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) aims a machine gun while lying prone during a joint military exercise with forces of the US-led "Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve" coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group in the countryside of the town of al-Malikiya (Derik in Kurdish) in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on Sept. 7, 2022.

Turkey escalates push to replace Kurds as top anti-ISIS force in Syria

Turkey is attempting to form a new coalition to combat ISIS remnants and replace the Pentagon-backed Kurdish forces in Syria.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) speaks during a joint press conference with Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (R), Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 22, 2023.

Turkey, Jordan, Iraq to hold first anti-ISIS summit this month: Turkish official

Top diplomats as well as Turkish, Jordanian, Syrian and Iraqi defense and intelligence chiefs aim to hold a first security summit this month as part of efforts to set up a regional anti-ISIS coalition, Al-Monitor has learned.