U.S. forces patrol oil fields near Syria’s northeastern border near Turkey on Sept. 3, 2024.
Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images
The US has been involved in Syria in several important ways, including sanctioning Bashar al-Assad’s government for more than a decade.
A fighter from the Syrian Democratic Forces during a battle against Islamic State in Baghouz, northeastern Syria, in 2019.
Olmo Couto / Shutterstock
Since the fall of Assad, areas of Rojava have come under attack.
Supporters greet Abu Mohammed al-Golani as the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus on Dec. 8, 2024.
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Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, with origins in the terrorist group Nusra Front, spearheaded the rebel advance that ousted longtime Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
A street in Omdurnam, twi city of the country’s capital Khartoum.
Mudathir Hameed/dpa/Alamy Live News
The past few years have been among the most violent of any time since the second world war.
An Islamic State fighter waves the group’s flag during a military parade in Raqqa, Syria, in 2014.
Handout / Alamy Stock Photo
Islamic State may have lost all of its territory, but the group’s ideological and operational capabilities are far from eradicated.
Iraqi Yazidi women cry as they hold pictures of victims and missing relatives during a ceremony in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, marking the 10th anniversary of the Yazidi genocide.
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A scholar of Iraq describes the ongoing loss following the genocidal violence by IS − not just of human lives, but of a rich cultural heritage.
Scott A Garfitt/AP
Authorities have cancelled the singer’s three shows in Vienna after foiling a terrorist threat. In an environment of rising global tensions, vigilance is key.
A Yazidi family in a camp for displaced people in the city of Zakho, northern Iraq.
Eddie Gerald / Alamy Stock Photo
Many of the Iraqi Yazidi minority terrorised by IS a decade ago have been unable to rebuild their lives.
Pictures of Yezidis slain in 2014 by Islamic State group militants, found in a small room at the Lalish shrine in northern Iraq.
AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo
Yezidis are an example of what one scholar calls ‘liminal minorities’: faith communities whose religions’ legitimacy is denied by more powerful groups.
Michel Euler/AP
While there has been a surge of terror plots in Europe in recent months, an attack on the Olympics would require a group to have the intent, capability and opportunity.
The Taliban are in talks with Russia over improved co-operation.
AP/Alamy
The Taliban is likely to be hoping for economic and political benefits from an improved relationship with Russia.
Paul Braven/AAP
Sydney has seen two stabbing incidents within days of each other. Grim comparisons are inevitable, but what makes them different?
South African troops patrol in Mozambique as part of the SADC intervention force.
Alfredo Zuniga/AFP via Getty Images
The SADC mission shows how difficult it is to run a large-scale military intervention, especially if the host government is not taking full ownership and supporting the operation.
The aftermath of the concert hall attack in Moscow on March 23, 2024.
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At least 137 people were killed in the Moscow attack – the latest in a a series of ISIS-K operations outside its traditional stronghold.
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Islamic State has fallen out of the public attention in the UK and Europe but remains active in Africa.
Yahya Arhab/EPA
Many people in Yemen and throughout the Middle East believe terror groups are a tool that Western-backed oppressive regimes have long used to maintain power.
Under pressure: Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivers an economic briefing, January 30 2024.
ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy Stock Photo
Facing a parliamentary election in March, the Islamic Republic is trying to distract attention away from its economic woes with a show of strength.
More than 100 people were killed in the blast in Kerman, Iran, on Jan. 3, 2024.
Mahdi/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images
The terrorist attack in Iran follows a concerted effort by the Islamic State affiliate to ‘internationalize’ its strategy.
A Palestinian militant rides on the back of a motorcycle near a crossing between Israel and the northern Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023.
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A scholar of the Islamic State group says Hamas has undergone a radical ISIS-inspired transformation that has not yet gotten widespread public attention.
EPA-EFE/Wael Hamzeh
Israel is effectively fighting a war on two fronts.