Analysis Turkey bets on US deconfliction as Israel widens Syria red lines As Washington pushes a new deconfliction mechanism between Turkey and Israel, the Jewish state shows little incentive to accept tighter constraints on its freedom of action in Syria, experts say. By Ezgi Akin , Rina Bassist
Analysis Israel fears Turkey’s Syria ambitions and doubts Trump will stop them Israeli officials remain skeptical of Turkish and Syrian denials over Ankara’s military ambitions in Syria, warning that a deeper Turkish foothold could threaten Israel’s security and strain its ties with Washington. By Ben Caspit In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense
Turkey signals restraint as war of words with Israel escalates over Syria The Turkish president’s top communications aide says Ankara will not be drawn into the Israeli government's “games” as Washington pushes a Turkey-Israel-Syria deconfliction mechanism. Turkey
Syria’s FM pays Pakistan first visit in 19 years amid new regional alignments Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani is paying his office's first visit to Pakistan in nearly two decades after Islamabad, Ankara and Riyadh signed a joint defense pact. Syria
Syria announces capture of senior ISIS official near Manbij: What to know By Jared Szuba In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military
What we know about Israeli strikes on Syrian air base tied to Turkey By Adam Lucente In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change
Will Russia recruit Syrian Kurds to fight in Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict? While Russia will likely avoid direct involvement in the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, there are signs it could draw lessons from Libya and recruit fighters from Syria to do its bidding. Syria
Car bombing kills more than a dozen in Syria's al-Bab The town controlled by Turkish-backed Syrian rebel forces continues to experience violence. Syria
Assad accuses Turkey of instigating Nagorno-Karabakh conflict The hostilities have killed hundreds of people since late September. Syria
Rights groups ask Germany to investigate Syria’s use of chemical weapons The criminal complaint covers attacks on rebel territory in Eastern Ghouta in 2013 and Khan Sheikhoun in 2017. Syria
Did Erdogan approve Azerbaijan escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh? The Turkish president is the author of a militarized regional policy that now stretches from the Caucuses to Libya. Iraq
US sanctions Syria’s central bank chief, intel head The Trump administration sanctioned more than a dozen Syrian officials and entities in its latest push to choke off the regime's financial network. Syria
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. Syria
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. Syria
After breaches, UN Security Council urges Libya’s backers to respect arms embargo The council also called for a cease-fire and extended the UN mission in Libya by another 12 months. Libya
Iraq, counter-IS coalition kill, capture Islamic State figures The US-led anti-IS coalition provided helicopter transport for the Iraqi raid in al-Rutba. Iraq
Egypt rallies Arab League to counter Turkey's regional policies Egypt called on Arab countries to adopt a unified policy to deter the Turkish interference in the Arab region, especially in Libya, Syria and Iraq. Egypt