Syria Conflict

A large Syrian flag flutters above Tishreen Park in Damascus, on June 4, 2025.

Syria’s top Islamic body issues decree against honor killings: What to know

US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack referred to the decision as “great first steps,” though concerns persist about the new Islamist-led government.

Travelers from the Middle East arrive at the International Arrivals section at Los Angeles International Airport on June 29, 2017.

Trump travel ban 2.0: Assessing the impact on Mideast nations

Trump’s new decision excludes Syria and Iraq, both of which were part of his previous ban issued during his first term in 2017.

US soldiers patrol in Syria's northeastern city Qamishli, in the Hasakeh province, mostly controlled by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, on January 9, 2025. (AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

US' Syria pullout continues amid looming Iran clash

The Trump administration is taking advantage of a rare moment of quiet following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in hope of disentangling the US military from nearly a decade of involvement in Syria.

Jared Szuba

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

US special envoy for Syria, the ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack attends a flag-raising ceremony at the US ambassador's residence in Damascus on May 29, 2025 for the first time since 2011. Barrack's visit to Syria marks a new step in the rapprochement between the two countries following the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad. (Photo by Rami al SAYED / AFP) (Photo by RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images)

US envoy Barrack in Israel after cross-border shelling with Syria: What to know

US envoy for Syria Tom Barrack met Wednesday with Israeli officials in an effort to de-escalate ongoing tensions with Syria and Turkey.

Latest News

Israel shells southern Syria, says Sharaa ‘directly responsible’ for threats

Debris and military vehicles lie at the scene of an Israeli strike in Syria's southern Hama governorate on April 3, 2025.

Syria courts Gulf investment with high-level Qatar visit amid $7B energy deal

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Al-Shaibani met with Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in the Qatari capital, Doha, on June 3, 2025.

Exclusive

Ankara’s direct talks with Syrian Kurds began last year in Europe, continue in Turkey

Kurdish Syrians demonstrate in the Syrian eastern city of Qamishli to demand the release of the jailed founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party, Abdullah Ocalan, in Turkey, on May 29, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

A man snaps a picture of a red rose raised by a protester.

Will Syria’s Assad resort to violence as Suwayda protests grow?

No longer neutral, Suwayda province's Druze minority now demand the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visits the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine during his official visit in Kyiv, on August 25, 2023, the Independence Day of Ukraine, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by GLEB GARANICH / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GLEB GARANICH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey’s Fidan to visit Russia as Ukraine's grain deal, Syria talks stall

Ankara’s efforts to revive the Black Sea grain deal and stalled high level talks between Ankara and Damascus are expected to be high on the agenda of the talks between top Russian and Turkish diplomats.

Syrian military airplanes fly by Aleppo's airport, February 19, 2020.

Suspected Israeli airstrikes knock Syria’s Aleppo airport out of service

The attack is one of several suspected Israeli strikes against Syrian airports this year.

Protests in Al-Karama Square in the center of Suwayda, Sunday Aug. 27, 2023.

Syria protests enter second week, activists close Baath headquarters

The protests now calling for the end of Bashar al-Assad’s rule were initially prompted by the government's decision to cut fuel subsidies.

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/saudi-arabia-eyes-chinese-bid-nuclear-plant-wsj-2023-08-25/

US lawmakers make unannounced trip to northwest Syria

The three Republican lawmakers visited a school for displaced children during their short visit.

Girls stand next to a tent at the Al-Yunani makeshift camp for internally displaced people in Syria.

Analysis

Normalizing Assad won’t solve Syrian refugee crisis

Even restoring the country to the pre-war status quo is unlikely to entice many refugees to return.

Nadia Almasalkhi

Shelly Culbertson

By Nadia Almasalkhi , Shelly Culbertson

A truck drives on a road as a plume of smoke rises from a building during a reported Russian airstrike on Syria.

Russian airstrikes target Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Syria

The al-Qaeda offshoot is focused on defending its territory from Russian-backed Syrian government forces, but it has also clashed with the Islamic State recently.

Members of the Syrian security forces gather on the Syrian side of the border-crossing between Albu Kamal in Syria and Al-Qaim in Iraq, on September 30, 2019, after the crossing re-opened today after it was seized by the Islamic State (IS) group jihadists in 2014. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Pentagon denies US military to cut Iran’s land route into Syria

The top commander of US-led coalition forces in Iraq and Syria denied his forces are preparing to cut the road from al-Qaim to Albukamal, pushing back on recent reports in Arabic-language media.

A child watches as Jasmine (not pictured) paints amidst the rubble in the city of Jindires on Feb. 28, 2023, near Aleppo, Syria.

Protests in southern Syria as economy worsens

Syria’s economy is in tatters, and the removal of subsidies has led to relatively rare protests in government territory.

NAZEER AL-KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images

Breaking | Last Updated: August 17, 2023, 7:39 pm

US sanctions Turkey-backed Syrian militias over rights abuses in Afrin

Washington has accused the Suleiman Shah Brigade, the Hamza Division and their leadership of committing serious rights abuses in the Kurdish-majority enclave of Afrin.

Newly appointed Minister of National Defense Yasar Guler speaks during his handover ceremony at the Ministry of National Defense, Ankara, Turkey, June 5, 2023.

Turkey dismisses Assad’s tirade, says withdrawal from Syria 'unimaginable' now

Turkey's defense minister says withdrawal of Turkish troops from Syria would be "unimaginable" before his country’s national security concerns are addressed.

A photo taken on March 4, 2015 shows a banner bearing a portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a street in the city of Damascus.

Turkey-Syria reconciliation slips away as Assad bashes Erdogan

The top diplomats of Syria and Turkey met in Moscow earlier this summer, but little substantial progress seems to have been made in their path toward reconciliation.