Islamic State

Demonstrators ride through a street while waving Syrian flags

Analysis

Why Syria and Iraq are taking different approaches to armed groups

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Ammar Karim / AFP via Getty Images

US troops exit Iraq after 12 years as Iran war reshapes regional security

The Pentagon is completing its troop withdrawal under a 2024 agreement with Baghdad, but the move risks leaving Kurdish allies vulnerable to attack while potentially ceding ground to Tehran’s long-term influence.

Jared Szuba

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

A member of Syria's security forces stands guard outside a former army base near the city of Quneitra in southern Syria, on the edge of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on Sept. 21, 2025.

Feature

Syria Golan detentions fuel fury at Israeli forces, doubts in new government

Israeli forces have detained hundreds of Syrians and continue to conduct strikes and incursions in Quneitra, fueling resentment among residents who say Damascus has failed to protect them.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

AFP via Getty Images

Iraq sentences kidnapper of US journalist Shelly Kittleson to 15 years: What to know

The first sentencing in relation to Shelly Kittleson’s abduction comes as Iraq moves to rein in Iran-backed militias.

Latest News

Syria announces capture of senior ISIS official near Manbij: What to know

SANA

Jared Szuba

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

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

SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images

Jared Szuba

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

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

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

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

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.

ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Amid Biden-Netanyahu split over Rafah, Pentagon leans on lessons from Iraq

As the Biden administration seeks to prevent further humanitarian catastrophe in Rafah, former US commanders told Al-Monitor there are key ways the Israeli military can shape an operation to protect civilians.

Jared Szuba

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

Turkish police are seen raiding an apartment suspected of housing ISIS operatives, in an undated video.

Turkey expands crackdown on ISIS after Russia attack

Tuesday’s detentions brought the number of people detained in the country to more than 180 since the ISIS branch's attack on Crocus City Hall in Moscow.

Members of the Khabour Guards (MNK) Assyrian Syrian militia, affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), walk in the ruins of the Assyrian Church of the Virgin Mary, which was previously destroyed by Islamic State (IS) group fighters, in the village of Tal Nasri south of the town of Tal Tamr in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on Nov. 15, 2019.

Turkish strike kills 3 members of Kurdish-allied Christian force in northeast Syria

Wednesday's drone strikes are in line with Turkey’s ongoing campaign to degrade and destroy the SDF and the Kurdish-led autonomous administration in northeast Syria.

An ambulance leaves from Santa Maria Church as anti-riot police officers block the street after an attack in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 28, 2024.

How and why ISIS-K has resurged in Turkey

The latest attack on an Istanbul church signals the militant group’s resurgence in Turkey.

OZAN KOSE/Afp/AFP via Getty Images

What does ISIS' church attack in Turkey say about rise of Tajikistani militants?

The shooting at a church in Istanbul marks the first Islamic State attack in Turkey since 2017 as the extremist offshoot ISIS-K seeks to expand.

A member of Iraq's Special Operations Forces stands guard during the funeral of Hassan Hammadi al-Amiri, a fallen member of the group Kataib Hezbollah.

Iraq slams latest US airstrikes on Kataib Hezbollah sites

Latest strikes put new pressure on Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani over the US troop presence in Iraq.

Houthi soldiers stand guard on a missile carrier during an official military parade marking the ninth anniversary of the Houthi takeover of the capital, Sanaa, on Sept. 21, 2023.

US launches new strikes on Houthi missile sites in Yemen as deterrence falters

The US military struck Houthi ballistic missiles on the ground, as the Yemeni faction defied previous allied strikes designed to cripple their ability to attack ships in the Red Sea.

This picture shows people and Iranian emergency personnel at the site where two explosions in quick succession struck a crowd marking the anniversary of the 2020 killing of Guards general Qasem Soleimani, near the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque in the southern Iranian city of Kerman on Jan. 3, 2024.

ISIS claims responsibility for twin Iran blasts that left nearly 100 dead

Two Islamic State operatives were responsible for the attacks, according to the group.

Turkey says it foiled ISIS attack on Istanbul synagogues, churches

Turkey's interior minister said that 29 people have been detained over suspected links to the Islamic State, thwarting attacks on Jewish and Christian places of worship in Istanbul.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) military personnel are participating in the Ela Beit Al-Moghaddas (Al-Aqsa Mosque) military rally in Tehran, Iran, Nov. 24, 2023.

Iran holds military drill near Iraqi border to counter ISIS infiltration

The stated goal of the exercise appeared as a shift from Iran's older official line, in which it had declared and taken credit for a "full eradication" of the Islamic State (ISIS).

Mazloum Abdi (Kobani), commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks with AFP during an interview in the countryside outside the northwestern Syrian city of Hasakah, in the province of the same name, on Jan. 24, 2019.

Interview

Syrian Kurdish commander: 'We don’t want to become battleground between US, Iran'

Mazlum Kobane also revealed that the Iran-backed groups had begun to target SDF military positions.

Mazlum Kobane

Mazlum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

US President Joe Biden, joined by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, delivers remarks on the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel in the State Dining Room of the White House, Washington, Oct. 10, 2023.

In Israel, Biden says hospital blast appears done by 'other team'

Upon his arrival in Israel, US President Biden said that the blast at al-Ahli hospital in Gaza appears to have been committed by the Palestinians, without naming Hamas or Islamic Jihad.