Syria - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Palmyra

Syria

November 5, 2026

Damascus 7:10 am

16°C

Bakr ALkasem / AFP via Getty Images

Syria foils Hezbollah-linked plot to attack Homs refinery: What to know

Syrian authorities have intensified a crackdown against Hezbollah’s alleged plans to launch attacks inside Syrian territory as well as smuggling attempts.

BING GUAN/AFP via Getty Images

Lawmakers urge Commerce Dept to ease Syria investment restrictions

Syria may be off the terrorism blacklist, but the Commerce Department’s export controls have yet to catch up.

Muzna Al-Atrash

Explainer

Meet Muzna al-Atrash, Syria's new Druze adviser for peace affairs

Atrash, from the Suwayda province and a member of the Druze community, will advise Damascus on peace affairs as it looks to assert authority in the south.

People inspect the damage at a site targeted by airstrikes

Analysis

How Syria is balancing public anger, regional stability after Jordan's strikes

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Middle East, reporting on regional politics

Latest News

Analysis

Gaza progress, Syria pullback: What Turkey wants from Israel’s next government

Demonstrators hold a banner reading "Free Gaza, free world"

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Syria flash floods kill at least 5, force hundreds of families from camps

Mohammed Mir / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Interview

US oil firm HKN aims to double output in Syria's formerly Kurdish-run fields

A general view shows the Awad oil field in the eastern Qamishli countryside in northeastern Syria, on Feb. 15, 2026.

Matthew Zais

Matthew Zais

HKN vice president for government affairs

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

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

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Cagatay Cebe

In Istanbul, reporting on security and counterterrorism

Syrian university students protest in the city of Idlib on February 9, 2019 after jihadists of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham organisation closed many private education centres in the north-western Syrian province of Idlib. - The Idlib region is mainly controlled by the jihadists of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a Syrian group led by former Al-Qaeda fighters, after they pushed back smaller, Turkey-backed rebel outfits last month. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo credit should read OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Ge

Jihadist regime forbids philosophy in Syria’s Idlib

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls most of Syria’s Idlib province, forbids the teaching and even discussion of philosophy.

Smoke billows following a reported Russian airstrike on the western countryside of the mostly rebel-held Syrian province of Idlib, on September 20, 2020. (Photo by Mohammed AL-RIFAI / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED AL-RIFAI/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: HTS claims credit for death of Iraqi IS leader's brother

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has claimed responsibility for killing the brother of Hajj Taysir, an Iraqi Islamic State emir killed by the United States earlier this year.

Vehicles wait to cross into Syria at the recently reopened Nassib border post in the Deraa province,at the Syrian-Jordanian border south of Damascus on November 7, 2018. - Syrian regime forces retook control of the Nassib border crossing from rebels in July, and last month reopened it after a three-year closure, allowing Jordanians to dash over for cheap shopping. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo credit should read LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Jordan reopens major border crossing with Syria to truck traffic

The Jaber-Nassib crossing has reopened for the first time since it was closed in August.

TOPSHOT - Members of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and Women's Protection Units (YPJ) attend the funeral of Kurdish fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces that were killed in combat against Islamic State (IS) group in Deir Ezzor, on March 3, 2018, in Qamishli. / AFP PHOTO / DELIL SOULEIMAN (Photo credit should read DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Top official of Syria's Kurdish-led alliance survives new assassination attempt

Gunmen reportedly attacked a van carrying Laila al-Abdallah in Deir Ez-Zor.

A Turkish-Russian military convoy tows a damaged vehicle after its joint patrol was reportedly targeted on the strategic M4 highway, near the Syrian town of Urum al-Jawz in the south of the northwestern Idlib province, on August 25, 2020. - Russia and Turkey launched joint patrols along the M4 highway in March following a ceasefire agreement aimed at stopping heavy fighting in and around Idlib, the last major bastion of anti-government forces in Syria's civil war. (Photo by Abdulaziz KETAZ / AFP) (Photo by

Turkey's military deterrence breaks down in Syria's last rebel stronghold

Despite Turkey’s efforts to maintain the status quo in Idlib, a Russian-backed Syrian assault seems increasingly likely.

(L to R) Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Ghait, Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Ali al-Hakim, and Assistant Secretary-General Ambassador Hossam Zaki attend the Arab Foreign Ministers 153rd annual meeting at the Arab League headquarters in the Egyptian capital Cairo on March 4, 2020. (Photo by Mohamed el-Shahed / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt rallies Arab states against Turkey in Syria

Cairo is capitalizing on anger over the Turkish intervention in Syria to unite the Arab ranks in support of Damascus.

This picture taken on August 16, 2019 shows a smoke plume rising following a reported air strike in Kfar Ruma in Syria's northwestern Idlib province. - Air strikes on August 16 by Syria's regime and its Russian ally killed 15 civilians in the area controlled by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Idlib province, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The strikes came as regime forces battled HTS jihadists and allied rebels in the region, where fierce fighting

'Guardians of Religion' extremist group under siege in Syria's Idlib

The Guardians of Religion Organization, which has close ties to al-Qaeda in Syria, is under pressure from US drone strikes and a possible assault by Russian-backed Syrian forces.

US deploys Bradley armored vehicles to Syria after dustups with Russia’s troops

Four US service members were injured last month when a Russian troop carrier rammed a US military vehicle.

The Netherlands takes first step in holding Syria’s torturers to account

The Dutch Foreign Ministry says it will hold Syria responsible for "gross human rights violations" in a process that could make its way to the UN's International Court of Justice.

International humanitarian aid trucks cross into Syria's northwestern Idlib province through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey, on September 7, 2020. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP) (Photo by AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkish border guards reportedly abusing Syrians at border crossings

Hundreds of Syrians try to cross every day to Turkey, whose borders are now closed, making them take illegal smuggling routes; dozens have been subjected to inhuman treatment by the Turkish border guards.

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump waits to speak at a roundtable rally with Latino supporters at the Arizona Grand Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Arizona on September 14, 2020. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump now admits he wanted to kill Syria's Assad but Mattis stopped him

"I would've rather taken him out. I had him all set," President Donald Trump said of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Pro-government fighters sit in the back of vehicles brandishing their weapons and flashing the sign for victory in the central Syrian town of Al-Sukhnah, situated in the county's large desert area called the Badiya, on August 13, 2017 as they clear the area after taking control of the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters.
Supported by regime ally Russia, Syria's army has waged a months-long offensive to recapture the vast desert region that stretches from the country's centre to the Iraqi and Jordan

How the Islamic State found a haven in Syrian desert

The Syrian regime and Russian forces are facing a growing threat of the Islamic State, which continues to hold pockets across the desert in central Syria.