Analysis

As rebels advance south, how much trouble is Syria's Assad in?

Syrian rebel groups have taken Aleppo and Hama and moving south to Homs, inching closer to Damascus in an urgent threat to the Assad regime.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

US sees increasing possibility that Syria’s Assad falls

The administration expects the Syrian rebels to capture the central city of Homs within days, if not sooner.

Syria

Austin Tice's family says captive journalist still alive as Syria’s war rekindles

The Tice family met with White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan as Syrian rebels advanced on the strategic city of Homs.

Syria

Syria’s US-backed Kurdish forces seize Deir ez-Zor as Assad hangs by thread 

The developments came as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham pressed its lightning offensive against Syrian government forces and is closing in on the country’s third-largest city, Homs.

Syria

As Turkey weighs next steps in Syria, Erdogan says target is Damascus

Rapid rebel advances in Syria have shifted negotiations between Turkey, Iran and Russia to whether the Syrian government will survive.

Turkey

Syria rebels advance, Jordan closes border as Assad loses ground: What to know

The Islamist-led rebels who launched a surprise assault on government-held Aleppo are now at the gates of Homs, after taking Hama, as clashes in Daraa threaten the government’s presence in the south.

Syria

Analysis

Israel cheers disintegration of Iran axis, mulls collapse of Assad's Syria

While pleased about the seeming collapse of the Iran-led "axis of resistance," Israeli leaders are concerned about its speed and Syria's possible disintegration.

By Ben Caspit

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

Interview

US-allied Syrian Kurdish woman commander: ISIS poised to carry 'fight to new level'

As Islamic State militants reportedly made advances in Syria on Thursday, the commander in chief of the Women’s Protection Units warned in an exclusive interview that the group’s plans included taking “over entire villages.”

Rojhelat Afrin

Women’s Protection Units Commander in Chief

Turkey’s Erdogan ups rhetoric, says Assad must ‘urgently engage' with rebels

Erdogan is urging the Syrian government to urgently launch a dialogue with rebels in a bid to end the civil war after insurgents captured Hama.

Turkey

Three US troops in Syria evaluated for brain injuries after Deir ez-Zor incident

It remains unclear whether the injured American troops were involved in supporting a nearby effort by US-backed militia to oust pro-Assad forces from local villages east of the Euphrates River.

Syria

Analysis

Rebel offensive to force Syria onto Trump’s agenda

With just over a month before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, Syria’s forgotten war has reignited.

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

US on sidelines, Russia’s foothold tested as rebels take Syria’s Hama

The rebel blitz over the past week, alongside the collapse of Syrian army positions, has delivered the Islamist militants to the city of Hama and within 90 miles of strategic Russian bases on the Mediterranean Sea.

Syria