Islamic State

SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images

In Trump meeting, Iraq PM says US troops to withdraw by Sept. 30

The White House appeared to support a deadline to remove remaining American counter-ISIS troops from Iraq, but security concerns among Washington's Kurdish partners and US business firms remain.

Jared Szuba

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

Syrian security forces and people gather at the site of an explosion at a cafe in the capital, Damascus, on July 2, 2026.

At least 6 killed, 22 wounded in Damascus cafe explosion: What to know

Syrian authorities have yet to identify a perpetrator in relation to the incident, and armed groups opposing the transitional government did not immediately take credit.

A Turkish police officers patrols at the scene of a motor-bike bomb explosion, next to a police station on Oct. 6, 2016, in Istanbul.

Turkey captures alleged ISIS-K media chief near Afghanistan-Pakistan border

The capture comes as Turkish authorities intensify raids against Islamic State networks following recent attacks and alleged plots.

Pictured in this undated image is the Al-Thawra oil field in Raqqa governorate, as rehabilitation works continue to restore production capacity.

Syria restores Raqqa oil field in former ISIS stronghold: What to know

Before Syria's civil war erupted in 2011, national oil production stood at between 400,000 and 500,00 barrels per day before falling to under 100,000 bpd during the conflict.

Latest News

Turkey's border reopening unlocks new sphere of influence in Syria

Turkish Red Crescent's cars and trucks cross the Turkish border as they leave the Syrian city of Tel Abyad on Oct. 19, 2019, in Akcakale, Turkey.

Iraq's Shiite alliance nominates Ali al-Zaidi as PM candidate: What to know

Ali al-Zaidi

Trump says Israel-Lebanon ceasefire extended by three weeks

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Israel Ambassador to US Yechiel Leiter, US Vice President JD Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lebanon Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh and US ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa listen as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting at the White House in Washington on April 23, 2026.

Analysis

'Is it worth it?' Syria's Sharaa faces backlash over Missy Elliott performance

President of Syria Ahmed al-Shara arrives for the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at UN Headquarters on Sept. 23, 2025 in New York City.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Iraq mourns the first set of remains of Yazidi genocide victims

More than six years after the massacre, before their burial in Sinjar on Feb. 4, Iraqis held a funeral for Yazidis who were murdered en masse by the Islamic State in 2014.

Islamic State relies on money transfers from sympathizers in Turkey, Iraq: Report

Almost two years since its territorial defeat, the terror group still has access to $100 million in cash reserves, according to the US government.

A member of the Iraqi federal police forces sits inside an armoured vehicle at a checkpoint in a street in the capital Baghdad on January 29, 2021, during tightened security measures, a day after a man identified as the top Islamic State (IS) group figure in the country was killed. - Iraq's premier announced yesterday that the military had killed the man, a week after an IS attack in Baghdad killed more than 30 people.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi said IS's Iraq "wali", or governor, Abu Yasser al-Issaw

Iraq, coalition partners had been on trail of IS commander a 'long time'

Iraq announced Jan. 28 that its US-trained Counterterrorism Services in coordination with national intelligence had conducted an operation leading to the killing of the commander of Islamic State remnants in the country, in an "insurgent-infested" valley of the oil-rich, disputed southern Kirkuk province.

Iraqi security forces kill senior Islamic State commander

Iraq's military said Abu Yaser al-Issawi was killed in a counterterrorism operation outside Kirkuk.

Islamic State kills 1, wounds 3 in Sinai

The Egyptian peninsula's deadly insurgency lingers on.

Iraqi mourners carry the coffin of a victim who was killed in a twin suicide bombing in central Baghdad, during a funeral in the holy city of Najaf on January 21, 2021. - A rare twin suicide bombing killed 32 people and wounded 110 at a crowded market in central Baghdad, Iraq's government said, the city's deadliest attack in three years.
The first attacker drew a crowd at the bustling market in the capital's Tayaran Square by claiming to feel sick, then detonated his explosives belt, the interior ministry s

Iraqi PM vows security changes after Baghdad bombing

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi also sacked a number of Iraqi security officials within hours of the attacks.

People inspect the scene of a car bomb in the Turkish-controlled town of al-Bab in the north of Syria's Aleppo province on November 24, 2020. - The explosion, which targeted a police station on the outskirts of the town, killed a police chief from another station, two policemen and two civilians, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP) (Photo by BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images)

Did Islamic State make comeback to opposition areas in countryside of Aleppo?

An attempted assassination of a journalist bearing the hallmarks of the Islamic State in the opposition-held city of al-Bab in the countryside of Aleppo has prompted fears about the escalation of IS operations and stirred demands to prosecute terrorist operatives in the area.

Women walk between destroyed buildings in the northern Syrian city of Raqa, the former Syrian capital of the Islamic State (IS) group, on December 20, 2020. - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces overran Raqa in 2017, after years of what residents described as IS's brutal rule, which included public beheading and crucifixions. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Despite crackdown, Islamic State continues to kill, kidnap civilians in east Syria

Despite a security crackdown carried out by the Syrian Democratic Forces, in coordination with the US-led coalition, in Deir ez-Zor, the Islamic State is kidnapping, threatening and killing civilians for money.

Is Al-Qaeda affiliate expanding attacks beyond Syrian town of Idlib?

Hurras al-Din, affiliated with al-Qaeda in Syria, claimed responsibility for an attack against a Russian base in northern Raqqa and pledged to expand operations outside its areas of deployment in Idlib.

A fighter from the Syrian Democratic forces (SDF) carries a military vest said to have belonged to Islamic State (IS) group jihadists, recovered in the eastern Syrian village of Baghuz on March 13, 2020, a year after the fall of the Islamic State's (IS) caliphate. - A year after the last black flag of the Islamic State group was lowered in the Syrian village of Baghouz, traces of the jihadist group are still all around this small and remote village near the Iraqi border, where Kurdish fighters and the US-le

IS cells escalate attacks on civilians, regime soldiers in eastern Syria

Despite the elimination of the Islamic State from its last official territory in Syria in March 2019, IS cells that have been holed up in desert areas in eastern and central Syria remain active and terrorize civilians and soldiers alike.

Rouhani: Iran reserves right to avenge Soleimani death

President Hassan Rouhani said Iran will avenge the US assassination of its top commander Qasem Soleimani and will continue to seek the ouster of American forces from the region.

Germany and Finland repatriate children from Syria's al-Hol camp

There have been several repatriations of people from the camp for Islamic State families this year.