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Syria

February 17, 2026

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This photograph taken on Jan. 20, 2026, organized by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, shows Saudi-backed Yemeni forces in the city of Mukalla in Yemen's coastal southern Hadhramaut province.

Saudi-UAE rift complicates Israel's counter-Iran efforts, normalization

Israel fears that the rivalry between the UAE and Saudi Arabia will further push Riyadh toward countries that espouse political Islam policies.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2nd L), Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani (3rd R) and SDF commander Mazlum Kobane (4th R) meet on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, on Feb. 13, 2026 in Munich.

Rubio holds joint talks with Syria's FM, SDF commander in Munich

SDF commander-in-chief Gen. Mazloum Kobane said it was a "positive session."

A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands guard in a prison where men suspected to be afiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group are jailed in northeast Syria in the city of Hasakeh on Oct. 26, 2019.

US military completes evacuation of ISIS prisoners from Syria to Iraq

The detainee transfer opens the door for US troops to further withdraw from Syria ahead of a potential military confrontation with Iran.

A campfire burns inside al-Hol camp on Jan. 26, 2026 in Al Hasakah, Syria.

Exclusive

Syrian Kurdish officials say 66 Turkish ISIS fighters transferred for relocation to Iraq

The detainees were handed over from SDF custody to the US-led coalition for transfer to Iraqi prisons.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Exclusive

100 non-Syrian Kurds return to PKK’s Qandil stronghold under SDF-Damascus deal

SDF commander in chief, Mazlum Kobane, meets with Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, on Feb. 5, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

In Syria, Sharaa's brothers take spotlight with Saudi, Russian dealings

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a meeting with Russian President at the Kremlin in Moscow on January 28, 2026. (Photo by MAXIM SHIPENKOV / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey's army chief says 'no plans to withdraw' from Syria

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Saudi-backed airline to test Syria’s aviation recovery

This picture shows a Syrian Arab Airlines Airbus A320-200 aircraft and the control tower at Damascus international airport as the new Syrian authorities prepare to reopen it, on December 16, 2024. Damascus's airspace reopened on December 12, the airport director told AFP, after a closure since December 8, when president Bashar al-Assad's government fell. Syrian Airlines aircraft maintenance director said takeoffs and landing would be decided by the transport ministry, adding that the carrier hoped to "expan

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

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

Turkey, Syria hold high-level security summit as SDF integration talks ramp up

The summit comes as Turkey and Syria coordinate over the future of the Kurdish-led SDF, amid US mediation efforts to meet the year-end integration deadline with Damascus.

Yazan

Culture

Healing through art: Syria’s artists seek to unite a fractured nation

From Damascus to Idlib, a new generation of Syrian artists is reclaiming public space and rebuilding cultural life through contemporary art.

Lebanese Presidency/AFP via Getty Images

Syria’s FM pays Lebanon first official visit since Assad’s fall: What to know

Lebanon and post-Assad Syria are seeking to rebuild their relations by addressing longstanding issues that caused tension between the two countries for decades.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

US Senate approves repeal of Caesar Act sanctions on Syria: What to know

The 2019 Caesar Act imposed sweeping sanctions on Syria to hold the government accountable for human rights abuses committed during the country’s civil war.

MOHAMAD DABOUL/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Syria: Siege persists in Aleppo’s Kurdish enclaves despite SDF-Damascus truce

Tensions are rising over plans to integrate the Kurdish-led SDF into the new Syrian military amid clashes between government-affiliated and Kurdish forces in Syria’s largest city.

This picture taken on Aug. 20, 2021 shows a view of smoke rising from bombardment on the outskirts of Syria's rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib.

US strike in Syria kills al-Qaeda-linked planner, hints at changing militant networks

Members of Syria’s al-Qaeda branch, Huras ad-Din, have been joining Ansar al-Islam as US drone strikes have continued to pick off Huras ad-Din's leaders, a report to the UN Security Council noted in July.

A man walks past a mural depicting supporters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), one of them raising a flag showing the face of Abdullah Ocalan — founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) outlawed by Turkey, in Syria's northeastern city of Qamishli on Dec. 16, 2024.

Turkey wants PKK leader Ocalan to sway Kurdish-led SDF on joining Syria army

Ankara seeks to leverage peace talks with PKK while renewing threats against the SDF.

Members of the Syrian Kurdish Asayish security forces stand guard at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of suspected Islamic State (IS) group fighters in the northeastern Hasakeh governorate, on April 18, 2025, as the Syrian Democratic Forces mount a security campaign against IS "sleeper cells" in the camp.

Damascus declares truce with Syria’s Kurdish forces after Aleppo skirmishes

US military helicopters delivered Syrian Kurdish commander Mazlum Kobane to Damascus in push to halt a burst of fighting overnight in Aleppo that risked unravelling the fragile rapprochement between Syria's two largest post-Assad forces.

OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel adapts, Turkey rises, Iran ruined: How 2 years of Gaza war reshaped Middle East

Turkey’s involvement worries Israel in Syria but also raises hopes for pressuring Hamas to agree to President Donald Trump's ceasefire proposal.

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

A member of Syria's local committees votes in the country's selection process to designate an interim parliament, in Damascus on Oct. 5, 2025.

Syrian women win 4% of seats as election postponed in 12 districts

Syria has announced the preliminary results of its first parliamentary elections since the fall of the Assad regime.

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

CENTCOM chief meets Syrian Kurdish leader in push for postwar unity

A senior US Navy admiral joined Trump envoy Tom Barrack in efforts to break the impasse between Syria’s Kurdish-led forces and Damascus on postwar unification.