Kurds

Germany's forward #26 Deniz Undav (2nd R), an ethnic Kurd, scores his team's first goal during the 2026 World Cup Group E football match between Germany and Ivory Coast at the Toronto Stadium in Toronto on June 20, 2026.

Culture

Amid political setbacks, Kurds shine at the World Cup

Kurdish players and clubs are making rare global gains on football’s biggest stage, offering a brief lift amid ongoing political setbacks across the region.

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 January 24, 2019. - Any deal between Syria's Kurds and the Damascus regime should respect the "special status" of Kurdish-led forces who fought the Islamic State (IS) group, Kobani said. The SDF control around a third of Syria after expelling jihadists from a large northeastern swathe of t

Syrian Kurd commander Kobane kicks off European tour amid scrutiny from Damascus

Commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces Mazlum Kobane is on a European tour and will likely meet French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York on Sept. 19, 2023.

Analysis

Erdogan-Netanyahu war of words signals deeper rivalry for regional influence

The latest Erdogan-Netanyahu clash underscored how Turkey-Israel tensions have grown beyond the Palestinian issue and into a wider regional rivalry spanning Syria, Lebanon, Iran and the eastern Mediterranean.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan buttons up his jacket during a press conference after the conclusion of the G20 Leaders' Summit at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg on November 23, 2025.

Explainer

Turkey-Israel tensions flare over Syria, Lebanon, East Med: What to know

The Turkish president has accused Israel of threatening Turkey through its military actions in Syria, Lebanon and the Eastern Mediterranean, triggering a sharp exchange with the Israeli prime minister.

Latest News

Exclusive

Trump 'hit the brakes': Netanyahu's circle faults US president for failed Iran regime change, looming deal

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 29: (EDITOR'S NOTE: Alternate crop) U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago club on December 29, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. The two leaders are scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting to discuss regional security in the Middle East as well as the U.S.-Israel partnership. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Interview

Top Syrian Kurdish official slams parliamentary vote in northeast as 'undemocratic'

An undated image of Foza Yusif.

Foza Yusuf

Foza Yusuf

Top Syrian Kurdish official

Interview

Syrian Kurdish commander Kobane says Turkey visit ‘in the making,’ Ocalan meeting possible

Mazloum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria on April 26, 2025.

Mazloum Kobane

Mazloum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

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.

A photograph taken on Oct. 22, 2011, shows a Turkish military helicopter flying over a mountain in Yemisli, in the Hakkari province

PKK kills Turkish soldier in northern Iraq as Ankara threatens major offensive

The militant group killed one Turkish soldier and wounded four others in northern Iraq, as Turkey threatened a major offensive to "annihilate" the Kurdish militant group by summer.

Relatives mourn over the caskets of 11 people killed in Turkish air strikes during their funeral in al-Malikiyah (Derik) in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province, on November 21, 2022. - Turkey hit dozens of targets in northern Syria as well as northern Iraq overnight into Sunday, a week after a deadly attack in Istanbul which Ankara has blamed on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). (Photo by Gihad DARWISH / AFP) (Photo by GIHAD DARWISH/AFP via Getty Images)

Baghdad's PKK ban marks win-win for Iraq, Turkey but warning to Iran

The move could ease Turkey's military operations in northern Iraq while at the same allowing Baghdad to extend its presence and control over its territory.

Turkey’s Defense Minister Yasar Guler, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Ibrahim Kalin, head of the Turkish National Intelligence Agency, met in Ankara on March 11, 2024.

Three top Turkey officials to visit Iraq as Erdogan threatens Kurdish militants

The officials’ visit signals a fresh drive to dial up pressure on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, which Ankara accuses of collaborating with Kurdish militants.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani meets with US national security advisor Jake Sullivan in Davos on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Jan. 16, 2024.

Iraq’s Sudani faces US pressure to fix problems with Kurds ahead of Washington visit

Resolving ongoing disputes between Baghdad and Erbil is a matter of priority for Washington.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (center left) meets with KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Feb. 29, 2024.

Analysis

Biden administration backs ‘resilient’ Iraqi Kurdistan Region

Visit of Iraqi Kurdistan PM Barzani to Washington a message to Baghdad and Iran.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

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.

A civil defence team carries out search and rescue operations in a damaged building following a missile strike launched by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the Kurdistan region's capital of Arbil, on January 17, 2024. The IRGC have launched missile attacks on multiple "terrorist" targets in Syria and in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, Iranian state media reported on January 16

Are Iran-backed militias turning their drones against Syria’s Kurds?

Syria’s Kurdish-led militia has increasingly found itself in the crosshairs of attacks by Iran-backed militias amid tit-for-tat strikes between US forces and Iran’s proxies.

Jared Szuba

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

Salih Muslim, the diplomatic relations official for the Kurdish Movement for a Democratic Society, and the former co-chairman of the main Kurdish leftist Democratic Union Party (PYD), speaks during an interview in his office on August 2, 2018.

Interview

Syrian Kurdish leader Salih Muslim warns of 'forceful response' to Iran-linked attacks

Muslim's spoke to Al-Monitor two days after an attack on an SDF training camp in Deir Ezzor by Iran-backed militias left six dead.

Salih Muslim

Salih Muslim

PYD co-chairman

ILYAS AKENGIN/AFP via Getty Images

Kurds poised yet again to sway Istanbul race as Turkey's local polls approach

Control of Istanbul, Turkey's major seat of political power, is up for grabs as nationwide municipal elections approach.

Fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stand near a US Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) during a joint military exercise with forces of the US-led "Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve" coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group in the countryside of the town of al-Malikiya (Derik in Kurdish) in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on Sept. 7, 2022.

Pentagon floats plan for its Syrian Kurd allies to partner with Assad against ISIS

The proposal, which the head of the Syrian Democratic Forces denounced as a "rotten plan," comes as part of a renewed review of Syria policy by the US State Department.

SAFIN HAMID/AFP via Getty Images

Who is Peshraw Dizayee, Kurdish-Iraqi businessman killed in Iran's attack?

Iran claimed it targeted “spy bases” belonging to Israel’s spy agency in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, but several civilians were also killed in the strike.

Two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) armed military personnel are monitoring an area while standing guard next to an Iranian Majid anti-aircraft missile system during the Ela Beit Al-Moghaddas (Al-Aqsa Mosque) military rally in Tehran, Iran.

Breaking | Last Updated: January 16, 2024, 8:18 am

Iran’s IRGC strikes 'spy centers' in Iraq with ballistic missiles

The IRGC also said it struck Syria in response to the recent ISIS attack in Iran.