Syria

Trump’s Maliki message underscores Iraq’s growing strategic risk, won't back him as PM - analysis

Maliki was last in charge in 2014, when ISIS took over part of Iraq. He spent years in the wilderness before returning to the spotlight.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
US President Donald Trump walks during the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2026
SDF leader Mazloum Abdi (L) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) signing a deal to end the war between their two groups, March 2025.

New security accord between Syria, SDF points to structural realignment, implementation uncertain

The new agreement, described as a “qualitative shift,” differs in both form and substance from previous understandings reached in recent years.

|ByRIZIK ALABI/THE MEDIA LINE
A police officer and a person stand amid damages at a police station, following militant attacks, in Quetta, Pakistan, February 1, 2026.

BLA attacks expose growing instability in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan region - analysis

The BLA attacks may prove to be yet another incident in the long conflict in Balochistan. However, it could also play into larger questions about how restive the Baloch region has become.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
An Iranian flag is seen on a computer's CPU (illustrative)

Islamic regime targeting dissidents, Israelis in new wave of advanced phishing attacks

A new phishing scheme allows alleged IRGC-affiliated hackers to snap photos from the victim’s device every 5 seconds, record audio in three-second segments, and geolocate the device every two seconds.

|ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD

Israel’s safety tied to Kurdish security, Kurdish-Jewish Alliance board tells 'Post'

Four Swiss Kurdish groups wrote to Israeli amb. Tibor Schlosser and President Isaac Herzog, hoping Jerusalem will provide aid to minorities attacked by the Sharaa regime.

JANUARY 25, 2026ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
Members of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrive at the Kurdish-held city of Ain al-Arab, also known as Kobane on January 23, 2026

Kobane under siege: Humanitarian corridors open amid Syria's Kurdish crackdown

A resident of Kobane said, “We are in a dire condition. We are melting snow through fire, but we do not have [enough] fire to melt the snow with."

JANUARY 25, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A group of civilians carry bags and belongings as they flee following renewed clashes between the Syrian army and the Syrian Democratic Forces, in Aleppo, Syria, January 7, 2026

Damascus acting with US backing to control Jabal al-Druze in southern Syria, official says - KAN

Citing the official, KAN reported that American support is conditional on Sharaa's actions not harming Israel's national security. 

JANUARY 25, 2026ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM
People stand next to a destroyed tank turret, following deadly clashes between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes and government forces, in Syria's predominantly Druze city of Sweida, Syria July 25, 2025.

The price of delusion: Trump’s Syria policy and the approaching storm - opinion

The Trump administration’s policy toward the region is built upon a house of cards constructed from major delusions.

JANUARY 25, 2026ByAMED MARDIN
A group of detainees gather at al-Hol camp after the Syrian government took control of it following the withdrawal of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in Hasaka, Syria, January 21, 2026.

Syria extends ceasefire with Kurds to support ISIS detainee transfer

The extension was decided to support a United States operation to transfer Islamic State prisoners from Syria to Iraq, Syria's defence ministry stated.

JANUARY 24, 2026ByREUTERS
Members of the Syrian government security forces stand guard as a group of detainees gather at al-Hol camp after the government took control of it following the withdrawal of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in Hasaka, Syria, January 21, 2026.

As end of ceasefire between Syrian gov’t and Kurds approaches, region asks if it will continue

An extension of the ceasefire would be in the interest of most groups involved.

JANUARY 24, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Syrian citizens celebrate and raise Syrian flags on January 20, 2026 in Raqqa, Syria.

Coup to crackdown: Erdogan’s unfinished war on Turkey’s Kurds - opinion

Fifteen percent of the Turkish population, approximately 16 million, are Kurds, and Erdogan needs to accept that they have a right to live their lives as they see fit.

JANUARY 24, 2026ByALON BEN-MEIR
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seen at parliament last Wednesday. The president’s consolidation of power since 2016 has reshaped institutions, narrowed civil liberties, and placed entire communities, particularly Kurds, under intensified repression and persecution, the writer says.

As Syrian forces push northeast, Kurds mobilize against new jihadi assault

BEHIND THE LINES: As Syrian forces push into Kurdish regions, the Syrian Democratic Council calls for urgent global intervention to prevent a massacre.

JANUARY 24, 2026ByJONATHAN SPYER
Soldiers ride on a tank as Syrian government forces make their way to the city of Hasakeh in northeastern Syria on Tuesday.

US considering complete withdrawal of troops from Syria - WSJ

Around 1,000 US troops are stationed in Syria, the Wall Street Journal reported, and are mainly co-stationed with Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) troops.

JANUARY 24, 2026ByGOLDIE KATZ
Members of the Syrian security forces gather at a back of a vehicle outside al-Aqtan prison, where some Islamic State detainees are held, in Raqqa, Syria January 23, 2026.

US to complete transfer of Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq in coming days, official says

The US military is transferring up to 7,000 ISIS detainees from Syrian prisons to Iraq, focusing on high-risk fighters amid growing security concerns following recent prison escapes.

JANUARY 23, 2026ByREUTERS
Children and women, relatives of suspected Islamic State jihadists, walk inside Al-Hol camp in the desert region of Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province on January 21, 2026; illustrative.