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Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces
Banners advertising shops and clinics are pictured hanging in a street in the Syrian city of Raqqa on October 18, 2018. (Delil Souleiman/AFP)
October 19, 2018, 10:36 am
One year after IS ‘defeat,’ Syria’s Raqqa still lives in fear
Jihadists no longer control the war-ravaged city, but sleeper cells continue to terrorize the population; a new local security force looks to bring quiet
By Delil Souleiman
Mohammed Haydar Zammar leaves a mosque in Germany on Oct. 3, 2001. (Knut Mueller/Der Spiegel via AP)
April 19, 2018, 1:47 am
Kurdish commander claims German jihadist tied to 9/11 attacks caught in Syria
Pentagon looking into reports that al-Qaeda recruiter Mohammed Haydar Zammar was detained by separatist forces
By AFP
US soldiers, left, sit in a house turned into an outpost on a road leading to the tense front line between US-backed Syrian Manbij Military Council fighters and Turkish-backed fighters, at Halawanji village, north of Manbij town, Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
April 4, 2018, 6:12 pm
Trump advisers urge against hasty American retreat from Syria
Pentagon officials fear Islamic State will regroup in Deir el-Zour after many US-backed Kurds shifted focus to fighting Turkish forces around Afrin
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE
A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by US special forces, monitors the area on the western frontline in Raqqa on October 8, 2017. (AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC)
October 11, 2017, 2:43 pm
With IS surrounded, talks held on civilian exit from Raqqa
US-backed forces prepare final push to recapture de facto Syrian capital of the Islamic State group’s self-proclaimed caliphate
By Maya Gebeily
A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) sprints through the debris in the old city center on the eastern frontline of Raqqa on September 25, 2017. (AFP PHOTO/BULENT KILIC)
October 9, 2017, 8:18 pm
US-backed Syrian fighters preparing for final push in Raqqa
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces reinforcing positions ahead of battle to take control of Islamic State stronghold
By Bassem Mroue
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters stand at a crossing point where Iraqis fleeing the fighting between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants cross to the Kurdish controlled area, in the Nineveh plain, northeast of Mosul, Nov. 17, 2016 (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
August 16, 2017, 4:23 pm
Turkey warns Iraqi Kurdish referendum risks ‘civil war’
Vehemently opposed to Kurdish autonomy, Ankara cites ‘importance of preserving Iraq’s territorial integrity’ in next month’s non-binding vote
By AFP
A member of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), made up of an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, looks on in the town of Tabqa, about 55 kilometres (35 miles) west of Raqa city, on April 30, 2017 (AFP PHOTO / DELIL SOULEIMAN)
June 3, 2017, 2:35 pm
US-backed Syrian fighters advancing toward IS-held Raqqa
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces say they are in control of 90 percent of the town of Mansoura
By AP
Syrian protesters take part in a demonstration outside the United Nations office in the capital Damascus, on April 11, 2017, in support of the country's strongman Bashar Assad, depicted in the portrait. (AFP Photo/Louai Beshara)
April 18, 2017, 2:17 am
After US strikes, Trump’s Syria plan starts coming into view
As with Obama’s policy, the US looks to focus on the fight against IS, then seek stability ahead of a peaceful transition that removes Assad from power
By Josh Lederman and Matthew Lee
In this February 22, 2015, file photo, Turkish military vehicles and tanks drive in the Syrian town of Ayn al-Arab, also known as Kobani, Syria. (AP Photo/Mursel Coban, Depo Photos, File)
March 12, 2017, 3:24 am
Turkey’s determination against Kurds alienates US, Russia
Ankara’s move against Kurdish-held Manbij has brought rare agreement between Moscow and Washington – and led US troops into the fray
By Sarah El Deeb
Turkey's Chief of Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar, center, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford, left, and Russia's Chief of Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov attend a meeting in the Mediterranean coastal city of Antalya, Turkey, Tuesday, March 7, 2017. (Turkish Military, Pool Photo via AP)
March 8, 2017, 12:53 am
Heads of Turkish, US, Russian militaries meet on Syria tensions
Each backs a different side in six-year civil war, raising fears of possible clashes between their forces in war-wracked country
By Bassem Mroue and Suzan Fraser
In this frame grab provided by the Russian Defense Ministry press service, a Russian long range Tu-22M3 bomber carries out an air strike over Aleppo region of Syria on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service photo via AP)
March 1, 2017, 10:32 pm
Russian jets accidentally bomb US-backed forces in Syria
Airstrikes targeting Islamic State jihadists quickly called off after American soldiers communicate error to Russians
By AFP
File: Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Syria President Bashar Assad arrive for a meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, October 20, 2015. (Alexei Druzhinin, RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
December 26, 2016, 11:36 pm
Assad gains Aleppo, but others likely to shape Syria’s fate
Victory underscores the influence Turkey, Iran, and Russia have on the region
By PHILIP ISSA
A tank is seen on a street on November 27, 2016 in the Masaken Hanano district in eastern Aleppo, a day after Syrian pro-government forces resized it from rebel fighters. (AFP PHOTO / GEORGE OURFALIAN)
November 28, 2016, 10:55 am
Syria rebels said to lose all of northeast Aleppo
Kurdish forces cooperating with government as army pushes offensive to retake the battered city
By AFP
Kurdish fighters of the YPG flash victory signs as they sit on their pickup on their way to battle against the Islamic State, near Kezwan mountain, northeast Syria, May 20, 2015. (The Kurdish fighters of the People's Protection Units via AP/File)
August 21, 2016, 5:00 am
Westerners seen flocking to battle Islamic State while they still can
As jihadis lose ground and morph into traditional terror group, frontline volunteers note uptick in Americans and others looking to join fight while there still is one
By Thomas WATKINS
US-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters advance into the Islamic State's bastion of Manbij, in northern Syria, on June 23, 2016. (AFP/Delil Souleiman)
July 25, 2016, 4:48 pm
US-backed Syrian fighters offer escape to besieged jihadis
Kurdish force grants safe passage to wounded fighters in exchange for allowing civilians to leave
By AP
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