Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

October 8, 2025 | |

Erdogan Demands SDF Complete Integration With Syrian Government

Erdogan Demanding Full Kurdish Integration: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Syrian Kurds to integrate with the Syrian government following a ceasefire between the Kurdish-led...

October 8, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Ceasefire Gives Breathing Room to Syrian Government and Kurdish-Led Forces

A ceasefire between the government in Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), agreed to on October 7, pulls Syria back from the brink of bloodshed. Tensions, already high, rose the...

October 7, 2025 | Seth J. Frantzman |

After sectarian clashes in Aleppo, US, SDF, and Syrian government officials meet in Damascus

Several rounds of meetings between US and Syrian leaders over the last two days reflect a push for integrating eastern Syria with Damascus and an attempt to reduce tensions between the Syrian...

October 5, 2025 | Caleb Weiss |

Shabaab claims prison assault in Mogadishu

Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu was yet again the victim of a brazen terrorist attack conducted by Shabaab, Al Qaeda’s branch for East Africa. Yesterday, at least seven Shabaab gunmen stormed the...

October 3, 2025 | Hussain Abdul-Hussain |

Will Syria’s New President Live Up to the World’s Hope? The Signs Aren’t Good

Last week, Ahmad Sharaa became the first Syrian president in 60 years to visit New York for the UN General Assembly’s annual meeting.

September 30, 2025 | Carey Abramson, David Adesnik

The New Syrian Regime’s Dilemma

On September 24, Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara’a addressed the UN General Assembly in New York, where he is still on the UN sanctions list for his leadership of an al-Qa’ida affiliate (though...

September 30, 2025 | Gadeer Kamal-Mreeh, Hussain Abdul-Hussain

Tom Barrack’s diplomacy of optics: Fast deals, fragile peace

Tom Barrack’s high-speed diplomacy in Syria and Lebanon backfired, fueling instability, alienating allies and deepening mistrust across the region.

September 26, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi, Sinan Ciddi

When Erdoğan Shifted Focus to the Kurds in Syria

2015 marked a change in the Syria policy of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He began to walk back his initial goal of toppling the Asad regime and turned towards Syria’s surging Kurdish forces....

September 26, 2025 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Syrian integration in focus as Syrian President Sharaa speaks at UN

On September 24, Syrian interim President Ahmed al Sharaa addressed the UN General Assembly and spoke about the country’s attempt to rebuild itself after years of conflict. “Syria...

September 26, 2025 | Seth J. Frantzman |

From Pariah to Partner? Inside Syria’s Washington Comeback Bid

Syria’s transitional President Ahmed al-Shara’a and Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani travelled to Washington and New York for a week of key meetings in the third...

September 26, 2025 | Seth J. Frantzman |

How a New Arab Regional Order Is Taking Shape

A more integrated Middle East is also a Middle East more open to connections with neighboring regional powers.

September 25, 2025 | RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, Max Lesser

5 Recent Instances of Foreign Malign Influence Threatening U.S. National Security

America is letting its adversaries win the information war. The latest blow to U.S. efforts to fight this war came in August, when the U.S. intelligence community learned of the reduction in size and reorganization...

September 19, 2025 | Bill Roggio |

Taliban rejects US attempt to return to Afghanistan’s Bagram Air Base

The Taliban immediately spurned US efforts to return to Bagram Air Base after President Donald Trump said, “We want that base back” on September 18, 2021. Bagram Air Base was the key hub for operations...

September 18, 2025 | Bridget Toomey |

US designates 4 Iran-backed Iraqi militias as Foreign Terrorist Organizations

The US State Department designated four Iran-backed militias in Iraq as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) on September 17. These militias, Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba, Kataib Sayyid al Shuhada,...

September 17, 2025 | Clifford D. May |

All wars must end

But 24 years after 9/11, the War on the West is still going strong

September 14, 2025 | Jonathan Schanzer |

Who Remembers Afghanistan?

REVIEW: 'To Lose A War: The Fall and Rise of the Taliban' by Jon Lee Anderson

September 5, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Profiles of militias in newly formed Druze national guard in Suwayda, Syria

On August 23, armed factions in the Suwayda province, Syria announced the formation of a national guard under the leadership of the Druze spiritual leader Hikmat al Hijri, the most prominent...

September 3, 2025 | Sinan Ciddi |

Turkey’s Quiet Relationship with ISIS

On June 29, 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State in al-Sham (ISIS), was recorded on video speaking at the al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul, Iraq. (“Al-Sham” is the traditional Arabic...

September 3, 2025 | Caleb Weiss |

Iraqi intel busts Islamic State financial network in West Africa

The Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS) announced yesterday that it rolled up an Islamic State (IS) financial network that spanned three unspecified West African countries. According to Iraqi media...

August 27, 2025 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Can Syria’s New Leaders and U.S.-Backed Forces Unite to Defeat ISIS?

US Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led a delegation to Syria that met with Syria’s transitional President, Ahmed al-Shara’a, on...