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Syria

November 8, 2026

Damascus 1:54 am

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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 swimmer Baean Jouma trains for the 2016 Rio Olympics with posters of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad hung in the background, in Damascus, Syria July 16, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki SEARCH "SYRIANS OLYMPICS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES - RTSKZVR

Despite war, Syrian athletes ready for Olympics

All athletes struggle and sacrifice to reach the Olympics, but Syrian athletes have faced more than the usual trials.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan (R) meets with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Group of 20 (G20) leaders summit in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, Turkey, November 16, 2015. REUTERS/Kayhan Ozer/Pool - RTS7AJJ

Can Turkey really turn to Russia?

Despite anger at the West after the recent failed coup, the strategic ties some desire with Russia do not appear realistic.

Members of al Qaeda's Nusra Front ride on a tank as they head towards their positions during an offensive to take control of the northwestern city of Ariha from forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, in Idlib province May 28, 2015. The Syrian army has pulled back from the northwestern city of Ariha after a coalition of insurgent groups seized the last city in Idlib province in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border that was still held by the government. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah - RTR4XXNO

Al-Qaeda affiliate’s desperate 'switch' validates US Syria policy

Fear of US and Russian airstrikes on eve of Syrian offensive a sign that Jabhat al-Nusra may be feeling the heat; Turkey’s de-Gulenification campaign in context; retired Saudi general probes Israeli commitment to peace settlement.

ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH
The man credited with smuggling 50,000 photos said to document Syrian government atrocities, a Syrian Army defector known by the protective alias Caesar (disguised in a hooded blue jacket), listens to his interpreter as he prepares to speak at a briefing to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington July 31, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) TEMPLATE OUT - RTR40T2R

Lobbying 2016: Brits, Saudis help Assad foes get their message through to Washington

The leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas, makes a speech during a rally in Istanbul, Turkey, June 5, 2016. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTSG2V7

Why de-escalation of Ankara-PKK clashes doesn’t mean path to peace

The Turkish government has lowered the temperature of the war against the PKK because of the prevailing chaos in the army, police and intelligence services, but this is not a step toward peace.

Residents and Palestinians who fled the Yarmouk refugee camp wait in line to receive parcels of humanitarian aid from the United Nations Relief and Works Organization (UNRWA) in the beseiged southern outskirts of Damascus May 23, 2015. REUTERS/Ward Al-Keswani - RTX1E8VS

Can PLO help protect Palestinian refugees in Syria?

The slaughter of a Palestinian child by the Nureddin Zengi Brigade in Syria put the spotlight on the PLO’s role and its failure to protect Palestinian refugees in Syria.

People inspect a site hit by airstrikes in the rebel held town of Atareb in Aleppo province, Syria, July 25, 2016. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah - RTSJHBF

US rebukes Russia Aleppo plan as 'demand for surrender'

The United States criticized a Russian Defense Ministry announcement of “humanitarian corridors” for civilians to leave rebel-held eastern Aleppo, but US-Russian negotiations on deeper cooperation continue as the city is steadily falling to the regime.

Fighters of the Syria Democratic Forces take an overwatch position in northern province of Raqqa, Syria May 27, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2EIZ3

Is new strategy needed for fighting IS in Syria?

In an interview with Al-Monitor, a senior member of the New Syrian Army, Abdulsalam Muzil, talks about his force’s achievements and what's to come in the battle against the Islamic State.

An Israeli air force drone is seen flying over Gaza as seen from the northern Gaza strip border April 9, 2011. Israel killed four Palestinian militants and wounded half a dozen others as it pursued air raids in Gaza for a third day on Saturday, responding to increased rocket fire out of the territory, local medics said.

REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (ISRAEL - Tags: MILITARY SOCIETY IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR2L11O

Who sent mystery drone into Israeli airspace?

Israel's air force is investigating a triple failure to bring down a drone that flew over the Golan Heights and is still unidentified.

Israeli soldiers from the 605 Combat Engineering Corps battalion take part in a training session on the Israeli side of the border between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights June 1, 2016.REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX2F6VN

Will Israel create safe zone in southern Syria?

According to Syrian opposition figures, Israel is increasingly interested in creating a safe zone in southern Syria, and actions on the ground suggest that such a project may be underway.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a funeral service for victims of the thwarted coup in Istanbul at Fatih Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, July 17, 2016. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis - RTSIEMM

Erdogan's crackdown on enemies just getting started after failed coup

Is the Turkish military "infested" with Gulenists? Iran expects shift in Turkey’s Syria policies after standing by Erdogan; Turkish documents detail Islamic State operations.

Graves of unidentified refugees and migrants who drowned at sea during an attempt to cross a part of the Aegean Sea from the Turkish coast are seen at a cemetery near the village Kato Tritos on the Greek island of Lesbos, February 4, 2016. Picture taken February 4, 2016. REUTERS/Giorgos Moutafis - RTX26UW1

Nameless graves leave grim reminders of refugee plight on Turkey's coasts

Nameless refugee graves on the Turkish and Greek coasts remain as grim reminders of the deadly refugee flow across the Aegean Sea, which has been largely stemmed since the Turkey-EU deal in March.