Islamic State

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.

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

Latest News

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

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

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.

A view of burnt vehicles after the U.S.-backed forces said they had captured Islamic State's last shred of territory, in the village of Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province, Syria, March 23, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer - RC12424ED500

Report: China, Russia worried about militants' return from Syria

Beijing and Moscow are concerned that citizens who left to fight with jihadi groups in Syria could stoke radicalization at home following their return.

Acrimony erupts ahead of NATO summit as Turkey stalls defense plans

Turkey is impeding a military plan to defend Poland and the Baltics to force the alliance to support its military operation in Syria. The spat underscores political divisions that are shaking NATO ahead of its anniversary summit this week.

Turkish soldiers stand on a watch tower at the Atmeh crossing on the Syrian-Turkish border, as seen from the Syrian side, in Idlib governorate, Syria May 31, 2019. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC1525F30880

Despite stepped-up military actions, Turkey still faces jihadi threats

Ankara’s past haphazard policies complicate crackdown on IS; Iran hard-liners gain from protests; Syrian Kurds may not give up sales of Syrian oil to Damascus.

An Iraqi soldier is seen at the Iraqi-Syrian border, after it has been reopened for trade and travel, in Al Qaim, Iraq September 30, 2019. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RC1BBBE58A40

Amid ongoing unrest, Iraq refuses to receive IS detainees from Syria

Though Iraq previously said it would receive and prosecute foreign Islamic State fighters from Syria, it has now rescinded its offer.

IS designates Turkey as its next base

The Islamic State has selected Turkey as its next base to reorganize, recruit and plan.

Can EU's fear of terrorists give Turkey clout in ocean drilling?

Following his threats to flood Europe with Syrian refugees, the Turkish president is now trying to use Islamic State suspects as leverage.

Turkey’s fight against IS riddled with black holes

Ankara may boast about how many Islamic State members it has captured, but its handling of IS suspects on the ground, especially in deportation centers, speaks of a slipshod attitude to the problem.

IS kills priests in Syria as Turkish-backed fighters express IS sympathies

Two Armenian Catholic priests are killed by the Islamic State near Hasakah and pro-Turkish Syrian fighters are reported to have hoisted the Islamic State flag in Ras al-Ain.

An Islamic State flag flies over the custom office of Syria's Jarablus border gate as it is pictured from the Turkish town of Karkamis, in Gaziantep province, Turkey August 1, 2015. Karkamis is a Turkish town of 10,500 people that sits directly opposite the border post. Shut for more than a year, the military sealed the crossing with a breeze block wall a few months ago. Behind it, just inside Syria, the black flag of Islamic State flaps in the breeze. Karkamis lies on the northeastern edge of a rectangle o

Turkey-Europe ties brace for fresh rift over stateless IS militants

The fate of foreign Islamic State militants captured in Syria is looming as a big headache for Turkey as many of them are now stateless, expelled from the citizenship of European countries.

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston, Texas, U.S. April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott - RC150AA15E20

Tulsi Gabbard lays groundwork to force divisive vote on Syria withdrawal

Presidential hopeful Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, could trigger a House vote forcing President Donald Trump to withdraw US troops from Syria — but it’s dividing the anti-war movement.

U.S. special forces move towards the compound of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a raid in the Idlib region of Syria in a still image from video October 26, 2019. Video picture taken October 26, 2019. U.S. Department of Defense/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC151E5EB540

Does Baghdadi’s death herald the end of IS?

The Islamic State is unlikely to disintegrate after losing its leader as the factors that have driven the worldwide membership and activities of the group remain in place.

Interview

Saudi Arabia still awaiting signs of ‘goodwill’ from Iran

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud talks about the "dramatic effect" of the September attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil fields, and says there will be no official Saudi contacts with Israel until the Palestinian issue is resolved.

Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud

Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud

Former Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the US