Trump’s Syria envoy calls Israeli air strikes on base ‘unnecessary escalation’ - POLITICO

It’s the Trump administration’s latest condemnation of an Israeli military operation since the two countries launched a joint attack on Iran in February.…

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/18/tom-barrack-israel-syria-strike-01040051

 

Islamic State emerges from rubble of north-east Syria to exploit discontent with al-Sharaa

'Rebranded' terror group seeks to recruit those alienated by Damascus government's western pivot…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/28/islamic-state-north-east-syria-ahmed-al-sharaa 

US launches airstrikes on dozens of Islamic State targets in Syria

Militant group's infrastructure and weapons storage facilities were hit, as Washington praised Damascus for fresh coalition role…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/14/us-airstrikes-syria-islamic-state-targets

 

U.S. strikes dozens of sites in Syria in retaliation for troops’ deaths - The Washington Post

The strikes were ongoing and expected to target Islamic State infrastructure and weapons storage locations, said one of the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the operation…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/12/19/us-strikes-syria/

Divided country struggles to escape cycle of violence

A year after the fall of Assad, Syria's new rulers have successfully reintegrated the country into the global community, far exceeding the expectations of even the country's most enthusiastic advocates. 

But inside Syria, tensions continue to simmer. With a transitional justice process moving too slowly for its victims, old grievances are surfacing in new cycles of violence, threatening fragile efforts to rebuild the state…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/08/stalled-justice-violence-syria-assad-one-year-on

 

Syria carries out preemptive raids against Islamic State

Syria has carried out nationwide preemptive operations targeting Islamic State cells, a spokesperson for the interior ministry said on Saturday, as the country's president arrived in the US for talks with Donald Trump. 

Syrian security forces carried out 61 raids, with 71 people arrested and explosives and weapons seized, the spokesperson told state-run Al Ekhbariya TV...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/08/syria-carries-out-preemptive-strikes-against-islamic-state

 

‘Tense calm’ returns to Syria’s Sweida province after week of deadly violence

The violence was triggered by a dispute between a Bedouin tribesman and a member of the Druze, who are a minority in wider Syria, which prompted government forces to intervene. Druze fighters resisted their entry into the province and violence escalated, turning into days of terror for local people. In response, Israel, which has vowed to protect the Druze community, launched airstrikes on Syria's defence ministry in Damascus and dozens of military targets in the south of the country...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/20/tense-calm-syria-sweida-province-week-deadly-violence-bedouin-druze

 

ISIS has an army in waiting — and Trump's next move could decide whether it rises again

Speaking in the Oval Office this month, Trump hinted that he was thinking about withdrawing the 2,000 U.S. troops that remain in Syria, many from elite units that are still fighting ISIS alongside SDF and preventing its resurgence. 

"Syria's its own mess," he said. "They don't need us involved." 

Asked about the prospect of a full withdrawal before Trump spoke, Hanan said that "it would be a disaster," and that the security vacuum left in the region might allow for a resurgence of ISIS...

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/isis-islamic-state-syria-prisons-al-hol-camp-trump-assad-hts-rcna188710

 

New revelations complicate the Gabbard, RFK Jr. confirmation fights

Asked if she was aware of the threats made by Hassoun, Gabbard said under oath, "I was not and had not heard that until today." It was against this backdrop that the Post reported: 

"[D]ocuments reviewed by The Washington Post indicate that Gabbard was aware of Hassoun's threats soon after she returned from her controversial visit to the country in January 2017. The documents, which appear within a larger trove from Gabbard's former congressional office, show that Hassoun's comments on suicide bombers were flagged as problematic by one of her aides in early 2017 and were identified in an external vetting process as the likeliest source of negative publicity about the trip."…

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/new-revelations-complicate-gabbard-rfk-jr-confirmation-fights-rcna190496

 

Rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa made transitional president of Syria

Sharaa said that the country's priorities were "filling the power vacuum, preserving civil peace, building state institutions"...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/29/rebel-leader-ahmad-al-sharaa-made-transitional-president-of-syria

Israel launches dozens of airstrikes on Syria despite rebel leader's peace pledge

Israel struck dozens of sites in Syria overnight with airstrikes, despite the Syrian rebel leader, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, saying his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group was not interested in conflict with Israel...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/15/israel-launches-dozens-of-airstrikes-on-syria-despite-rebel-leader-peace-pledge

Fear and uncertainty in Golan Heights as Israeli troops drive deeper into Syria

Israel captured the Golan Heights in 1967 and announced its unilateral annexation in 1981. Most countries do not recognise Israel's sovereignty over the land, though the Trump administration recognised the annexation in 2019...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/11/golan-heights-israeli-troops-syria-assad

Rebels enter Aleppo three days into surprise offensive

Insurgents had recaptured territory around Syria's second city with civilians including children killed in fighting…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/29/syrian-rebels-launch-surprise-attack-on-aleppo

US and UK complicit in detentions at camps where torture rife, says Amnesty

Report says thousands of people held in little-reported facilities where authorities are violating human rights on a large scale…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/17/us-uk-complicit-detentions-syria-camps-torture-rife-amnesty-international

US announces fresh strikes on Iran-linked sites in Syria

Defence secretary says US will defend its personnel and interests in the region amid surge in attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/13/us-announces-fresh-strikes-on-iran-linked-sites-in-syria

U.S. carries out airstrikes in Syrian camp used by Iran-backed militias | PBS NewsHour

"Today's strikes were necessary to protect and defend U.S. personnel," Central Command spokesman Col. Joe Buccino said in a statement...

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/u-s-carries-out-airstrikes-in-syrian-camp-used-by-iran-backed-militias

The U.S. Bombed a Dam in Syria That Was on a ‘No-Strike’ List - The New York Times

… The revelation of Task Force 9's role in the dam attack follows a pattern described by The New York Times: The unit routinely circumvented the rigorous airstrike approval process and hit Islamic State targets in Syria in a way that repeatedly put civilians at risk...

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/us/airstrike-us-isis-dam.html

Ted Lasso with a bone saw (Tommy Vietor; Pod Save the World podcast)

Tommy and Ben talk about why US special forces were on a training mission in Taiwan, the Saudi government buys a soccer team, Biden’s Syria policy, stealing US Navy secrets, a breakthrough in the fight against Malaria, what a $20 million home in Beverly Hills tells us about Afghanistan, Iraq’s election results, Ted Cruz and the far-right in Spain, an Ethiopia update and gift giving in the Trump era.

Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-a5qx6-1088809c

UN: Over 10,000 Islamic State fighters active in Iraq, Syria - ABC News

More than 10,000 Islamic State fighters are estimated to remain active in Iraq and Syria two years after the militant group’s defeat, and their attacks have significantly increased this year, the U.N. counter-terrorism chief said Monday. Vladimir Voronkov told the U.N. Security Council that Islamic State fighters move freely “in small cells between the two countries.” https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/10000-islamic-state-fighters-active-iraq-syria-72579975

Inside A Secret Library In Syria (The 1A)

In a small Syrian town called Darayya, residents found refuge from the country’s civil war in an unlikely place: a secret library.

Amid 2016’s violence, a group scavenged dilapidated buildings, risking their lives to collect books to build underground library from scratch.

Anas Ahmad, one of the founders of the library, told BBC reporter Mike Thomson:

“In many cases we get books from bomb or shell-damaged homes. The majority of these places are near the front line, so collecting them is very dangerous.”

The library represents a community clinging to hope and investing in the future even when it feels out of sight.

We’ll speak to Thomson about his book, “Syria’s Secret Library: Reading and Redemption in a Town Under Siege,” and the state of the library today.
Interview:
https://the1a.org/segments/inside-a-secret-library-in-syria/