Raqqa

November 21, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Clashes erupt between Syrian government troops and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces

On November 19, the government-controlled Syrian army and the predominantly Kurdish, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) battled in the area of Maadan, east of Raqqa. According to Syrian...

November 20, 2025 | |

Syrian Government Condemns Israeli Prime Minister’s Visit to Troops in Southern Syria

Latest Developments ‘Violation of Sovereignty and Unity’: The Syrian government strongly condemned a November 19 visit to Israeli-controlled Syrian territory by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin...

October 6, 2025 | |

New Syrian Parliament Takes Shape as Local Bodies Appoint Legislators Under Post-Assad Interim Constitution

Syria Announces First Results: The Syrian authorities announced preliminary results of the first parliamentary selection process since the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad’s...

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...

August 15, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Sunni Arab tribes mobilize against the Syrian Democratic Forces

Several Sunni Arab tribes in northeastern Syria, an area that encompasses 30 percent of Syrian territory and is currently under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have called...

July 28, 2025 | David Daoud |

Syrian Druze are not entitled to self-determination, and Kurds cannot yet pursue secession

Syria is a patchwork of identities, par for the course in a region where novel nationalities vie with tribe and religion for the citizenry’s loyalty. For most of the country’s history, the Assad family...

July 18, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Clashes intensify between Arab Bedouin tribes and Druze militias in Suwayda, Syria

Tensions in the Syrian governorate of Suwayda continue to rise following clashes between government forces and Druze militias affiliated with prominent Druze leader Hikmat al Hijri between July 14 and...

May 20, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Trump Tells Syria to Expel Foreign Fighters, But Sharaa Gives Them Army Divisions

“Tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria,” President Donald Trump told interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa in Riyadh on May 14 — just after lifting all U.S. sanctions on Syria. Yet on May 18, Syria’s...

March 7, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Fierce clashes erupt between Assad loyalists and government forces in western Syria

On March 6, Syria witnessed the most intense and bloodiest clashes between the new Syrian government and loyalists to dictator Bashar al Assad since the Assad regime’s downfall on December 8. These battles...

February 28, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Syria’s National Dialogue Conference: A Missed Opportunity

Ahmad al-Sharaa, Syria’s interim president, pledged in December that the country’s national dialogue conference on February 25 would chart a clear course for the country’s transition...

December 17, 2024 | Bill Roggio |

US military strikes Islamic State camps and personnel in central Syria

On December 16, the US military launched a second round of strikes against Islamic State personnel and infrastructure in Syria since the fall of the regime of Bashir al Assad on December 8. US operations...

December 16, 2024 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Al-Hol camp is a test for future of Syria

In eastern Syria, there is a camp called Al-Hol, sometimes spelled al-Hawl, where many former ISIS members reside.

December 14, 2024 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Turkey moves to isolate the Kurds in Syria, and prepares a way for new attacks

The main group in Ankara's cross-hairs is the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, which was formed in 2015 with US backing.

December 10, 2024 | |

Turkish-Backed Syrian National Army Seizes Manbij from U.S. Allied, Kurdish-Led Forces

Turkish-Backed Forces Advance on SDF Territory: On November 30, the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) launched “Operation Dawn of Freedom” targeting the Manbij region...

March 28, 2024 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Invading Rafah: The lessons IDF should take from northern Gaza

As Israel looks towards a future operation in Rafah, the battle will be overshadowed by lessons learned from other parts of the Gaza operation over the last five months.

October 22, 2023 | Jacob Nagel |

The hidden danger in Khamenei’s multi-phased plan: will Iran go nuclear?

The fourth stage in Khamenei’s satanic plan is a breakout to a nuclear weapon under the cover of a general war.

October 14, 2023 | Jacob Nagel |

One week since the war broke, initial conclusions, and where we are heading? – analysis

We are not in a Gaza cycle; we are in an ALL-OUT war, and that is how we win without restraints.

October 13, 2023 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Report from the Gaza Front: A New Playbook

I spent the first days of the war on the Gaza border, mostly near Kibbutz Zikim. On the fifth day, October 11, I went to the Gaza border city of Sderot and spent time in the community, speaking with locals...

March 14, 2022 | Ben Evansky, Benjamin Weinthal

Russia’s Putin looks to import Syrian mercenaries to do the ‘dirty tricks’ against Ukraine’s population

Putin launches recruitment operation of Syrian armed forces

December 3, 2021 | Aykan Erdemir, Sinan Ciddi, John Hardie

Collusion or Collision?

Turkey-Russia Relations Under Erdogan and Putin