Damascus

A source in the Syrian Ministry of Interior told The Media Line that anti-narcotics units carried out what he described as a “high-quality” security operation in Homs province.

Syria has been receiving a number of investments in recent months, from oil and energy deals to talk of investment in train lines and airports.

Thirty-four Australians in a northern Syrian facility holding families of suspected Islamic State militants are expected to return home after their release was conditionally approved by authorities.

The ISIS detainees were mostly captured in 2019 when ISIS was defeated in its last enclave near the Euphrates River by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

Syria’s foreign minister is hinting that Damascus and Jerusalem may be able to come to more arrangements in the future, in the wake of talks held in Paris in January.

Hukmiya Mohamed, a co-director of Roj camp, told Reuters that the 34 Australians had been released to their families, who had come to Syria for the release.

In a short statement, the defense authority in Damascus said its army assumed control of the facility south of Al Hasakah city. The announcement did not specify when the transfer took place.

Professor Eytan Gilboa warned that Tehran may pressure Iraq to allow the country to become a ground to challenge the Sharaa regime.

The KRG has helped smooth the transition in eastern Syria by working with Damascus and the Syrian Democratic Forces, also hosting US forces and other anti-ISIS coalition forces.

Israel must now prepare for a reality where its northern border is contested by a regime that seeks to prove its Islamist credentials by succeeding where Assad failed.