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. Syria
US troop drawdown in Syria on hold over regime stability concerns While American troops in Iraq hand over operations against the Islamic State to Baghdad's forces, the parallel drawdown in neighboring Syria has been halted amid concerns about the abilities of the new Islamist-led government in Damascus. By Jared Szuba In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military
US troops in Iraq shift to Erbil to focus on ISIS in Syria The US mission against the Islamic State is relocating its headquarters and most of its troops from Baghdad to Erbil as the prime minister's coalition faces reelection in November. Iraq
Pentagon pushes to accelerate ISIS detainee repatriations from Syria Uncertainty about Syria’s long-term stability and the the US military’s future presence in the country have increased urgency among some Pentagon officials to further reduce the population of nearly 30,000 suspected ISIS-associated detainees in the camps. Syria
Hamas enters new phase of confrontation with Islamic State Hamas in the Gaza Strip broadcast a video where two Islamic State members confessed to working for IS, which reveals a new phase in the relationship between the two groups. Palestine
Pentagon seeks massive boost in bomb budget for Iraq, Syria The Defense Department wants $1.8 billion for precision-guided munitions to finish wiping out the Islamic State. Iraq
Pentagon budget retains same troop levels in Iraq, Syria The Donald Trump administration’s new budget for the Pentagon leaves in place nearly 6,000 US troops in Iraq and Syria. Iraq
Despite defeat of IS, Syria war risks major power conflict The United States and Russia should abandon "proxy wars" and back a new UN Security Council resolution for a regional peace conference. Israel
Tillerson travels to Middle East to talk post-IS stability Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will travel to Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey next week. But veteran diplomats warn that US goals for Syria need to be scaled back. Egypt
Islamic State desert bases still headache for Iraq As Iraqi forces continue cleansing the western desert to keep the Syrian-Iraqi border region calm, Islamic State counterattacks in Syria are posing a new risk across the border. Iraq
Turkey upends US Syria strategy with attack on YPG Ankara seeks green light from Moscow, not Washington, in attack on US partner; UN warns of consequences of continued fighting in Eastern Ghouta and Idlib; local council in Aleppo confiscates land of Islamic State families. Syria
IS families lose their homes in Syria’s Akhtarin The local council of Akhtarin, in the Aleppo countryside, is confiscating the properties of former IS and regime fighters to benefit victims of the war. Syria
Iraq backs off plans to double number of US-trained counterterrorism forces With all of Iraq now liberated from the Islamic State, the elite Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service is shifting its focus away from large-scale battles. Iraq
Born in the wrong place: Europe's Islamic State offspring With the Islamic State defeated in Iraq and Syria, parents and relatives of European women and children who joined members of the terrorist organization there are calling on their governments to help facilitate the return of the children to their home countries. Iraq
Mattis denies existence of Iranian 'land bridge' across Middle East In an impromptu visit with reporters on Friday, US Defense Secretary James Mattis denied that Iran had succeeded in constructing a "land bridge" through the Middle East. Syria
Is Islamic State back in Kirkuk? Using reactivated sleeper cells and new tactics in Kirkuk, the Islamic State shows it's back in action even as it is about to lose all its territory in Iraq and Syria. Iraq
