ISIS

The end of the SDF: What the dissolution means for the Kurds and Sharaa's state - opinion

Following an agreement with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the SDF's mission ended and was being dissolved "as an independent military force" and being integrated into the Syrian army.

|ByNEVILLE TELLER
Soldiers from the Syrian Democratic Forces stand in front of the detainees before the first exchange operation between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian government in Aleppo, Syria, April 3, 2025.
An abandoned improvised mortar system is seen on the side of a road in Sinjar, Iraq, with a Kurdish flag flying in the background, January 26, 2016

Yazidi fighters disarm in Iraq's Sinjar after a decade of division - what comes next? - analysis

Baghdad’s push to bring armed groups under state control is gaining traction with the YBS, unlike with Iraq’s more powerful, Iranian-backed militias.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri

Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, what has happened to al-Qaeda? - explainer

While al-Qaeda suffered losses and dislocation after the invasion of Afghanistan, its profile rose, and it expanded massively in the years that followed.

|ByREUTERS
Israel Police and IDF readiness drills continue as part of Operations Advancing the Wall and Southern Wind to prepare in case of future Octover 7-style attacks, September 7, 2026.

Israeli resident charged over ISIS ties, marking fourth in under two weeks

The concentrated run of cases includes two alleged plots to attack Israeli security forces and a former IDF soldier accused of training to join ISIS abroad. 

|BySARAH BEN-NUN

Lawyers for Bondi shooting suspect seek ban on naming his family

Lawyers for Naveed Akram on Monday requested a court in Sydney prohibit the publication of the names of his mother, brother and sister, as well as their home address and places of work and schooling.

MARCH 9, 2026ByREUTERS
One of the suspected shooters in the Bondi Beach mass shooting, December 14, 2025.

Who are the Kurdish groups and leaders that the US might work with in Iran? - explainer

The US is reaching out to Kurdish Iranian opposition groups as tensions rise, following airstrikes on Iran. Kurdish factions recently formed a coalition to oppose the Iranian regime.

MARCH 4, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) walk back to their outpost near Erbil, Kurdistan region of Iraq on Saturday, June 10, 2023. The KDPI, a leftist Kurdish group of Iran that has been running an armed struggle against the Islamic Republic's regime in Iran from exile for decades

For the first time, Israeli-grown hops make it into commercial beer

White Rabbit and ISAAC breweries showcase beers made with locally grown Golan hops, highlighting Israel’s brewing capabilities.

MARCH 1, 2026ByDOUG GREENER
The White Rabbit Brewery in Tel Aviv made the first beer brewed with Israeli grown hops. They were from Moshav Odem on the Golan Heights.

Security gaps in Syrian camps and prisons raise risk of ISIS reemergence

A senior Syrian security source familiar with intelligence reports said: “There are indications that some ISIS detainees managed to escape from certain prisons during the past months.”

FEBRUARY 28, 2026ByRIZIK ALABI/THE MEDIA LINE
Women and children seen inside al-Hol camp, amongst them some 6,200 women and children from around 40 nationalities, and including relatives of suspected Islamic State jihadists in the desert region of Hasakah province on January 25, 2026 in Al Hasakah, Syria.

What's behind the latest fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan? - explainer

Pakistan's defense minister said Afghanistan committed acts of "open war," as tensions have heated up since Kabul launched air strikes on Taliban terror targets last weekend.

FEBRUARY 27, 2026ByREUTERS
Taliban soldiers carry a rocket launcher in a vehicle, following exchanges of fire between Pakistan and Afghanistan forces, near Torkham border in Afghanistan, February 27, 2026.

Syria blames SDF withdrawal for chaos and escapes at al-Hol camp

The camp, located near the Iraqi border, had long housed relatives of suspected Islamic State (IS) members alongside civilians displaced by years of conflict.

FEBRUARY 26, 2026ByTHE MEDIA LINE STAFF
Syrian army increases security measures in and around al-Hol camp, located south of Al-Hasakah, where families of Daesh members, most of them women and children, are being held, in Syria, on January 25, 2026.

Russian nationals among ISIS prisoners in Iraq to be repatriated, officials say - analysis

Iraq took in around 6,000 male ISIS members over the last month as US Central Command transferred them from Syria to Iraq.

FEBRUARY 26, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A Russian policeman stands in front of the Iraqi embassy in Moscow, July 29, 2003. Russia said an embassy employee went to a police station around dawn on Tuesday to report that several armed men had entered the embassy overnight and stolen at least $3 million from a safe in the mission.

‘Signal of command and control’: New ISIS audio shows consolidation, not comeback, analysts say

Leadership messaging points to internal discipline and network survival rather than renewed territorial expansion.

FEBRUARY 25, 2026ByGIORGIA VALENTE/THE MEDIA LINE
Illustration of ISIS terrorists.

Trump warns Iraq of the dangers Nouri al-Maliki returning, but will he be outmaneuvered? - opinion

Trump tells Iraq’s parliament that reinstating Maliki would risk chaos, poverty, and undermine US support.

FEBRUARY 25, 2026ByNEVILLE TELLER
US President Donald Trump makes a fist at the end of an event during a visit to Coosa Steel Corporation, in Rome, Georgia, US, February 19, 2026.

EU memo raises security concerns over mass escape from IS-linked Syria camp

The memo said the status of third-country national escapees remained unclear, with many in the camp being "highly radicalised."

FEBRUARY 24, 2026ByREUTERS
Members of the Syrian government security forces stand guard as a group of female 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.