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Maya Gebeily
In this file photo taken on April 30, 2017, a member of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces removes an Islamic State flag in the town of Tabqa, about 55 kilometers (35 miles) west of the jihadists then de facto capital of Raqqa. (AFP Photo/Delil Souleiman)
August 7, 2018, 8:54 pm
On the backfoot, Islamic State turns to old tactics to gain new strength
Having lost its 'caliphate,' jihadist group likely to increasingly focus on executing and kidnapping members of minorities to maintain its relevance
By Maya Gebeily
In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrians inspect the site of a suicide attack in Sweida, Syria, July 25, 2018. (SANA via AP)
July 26, 2018, 7:36 pm
Islamic State attack leaves Syrian Druze reeling from largest losses of war
Monitor raises death toll in Sweida to 246 as members of minority group bury the dead; Russia, Hezbollah condemn assault
By Maya Gebeily
Illustrative: Smoke billows from the eastern city of Deir Ezzor during an operation by Syrian government forces against Islamic State (IS) group jihadists on November 2, 2017. (AFP/Stringer)
June 18, 2018, 3:09 pm
At least 52 pro-regime fighters said killed in east Syria strike
US-led coalition denies regime accusation it was behind attack in Deir Ezzor, reportedly one of the deadliest on Assad-allied troops
By Maya Gebeily
Pro-government supporters and regime forces attend a flag raising ceremony at the entrance of the Hajar al-Aswad neighborhood on the southern outskirts of the capital Damascus on May 24, 2018 (AFP/Louai Beshara)
May 25, 2018, 4:12 pm
War, displacement reshuffle Syria’s demographic map
Assad's minority Alawite regime has long ruled over Sunni-majority, but country is now still more divided after 11 million driven from homes
By Maya Gebeily and Rouba El Husseini
A picture taken on April 3, 2018 shows campaign posters, for the upcoming Lebanese parliamentary election, hanging in the Tariq Jedideh district of Beirut. (AFP Photo/Anwar Amro)
April 18, 2018, 6:14 am
Hezbollah rising as election fever hits Lebanon, nine years since last vote
New electoral system has shaken up the political scene for Israel's northern neighbor, but observers fear changes could help terror group Hezbollah sweep parliamentary seats
By Maya Gebeily
Syrian children ride their bike past destroyed buildings in the former rebel-held town of Zamalka, in Eastern Ghouta on April 5, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / STRINGER)
April 7, 2018, 6:02 am
Airstrikes return to Syria’s Ghouta, killing 40 civilians as talks sputter
Russian-backed regime forces advance on last rebel-held town near capital after truce with Islamist fighters collapses
By Maya Gebeily
A woman cries as she looks at her house in Raqqa on October 20, 2017, after a Kurdish-led force expelled the Islamic State terror group from the northern Syrian city. (AFP Photo/Bulent Kilic)
October 21, 2017, 6:33 am
Heartbroken Raqqa residents return to city in ruins
While celebrating Islamic State's defeat, locals also mourn the destruction wrought on their homes, businesses
By Maya Gebeily
Preparations for liberation celebrations in the iconic Al-Naim square in Raqqa, October 18, 2017. (AFP/BULENT KILIC)
October 19, 2017, 4:26 pm
US-backed fighters in Syria’s Raqqa prepare for civilian handover
With Islamic State jihadists driven from their stronghold, work to begin on rehabilitating destroyed city
By Maya Gebeily
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 woman, who along with members of her family was used as human shields by Islamic State (IS) group fighters, holds a new born baby after fleeing from the center of Raqqa, Syria, October 6, 2017. (AFP//BULENT KILIC)
October 9, 2017, 12:30 pm
Trapped in Syria’s Raqqa, civilians become human shields for Islamic State
As coalition forces close in, IS fighters force residents into buildings that might be targeted in airstrikes
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)
September 26, 2017, 1:12 pm
Returning home, Syrians find Raqqa battered beyond recognition
'I don't even know where we are,' says former resident after offensive against Islamic State leaves homes smashed, streets littered with rubble
By Maya Gebeily
Lebanese activists use an installation of wedding dresses by Lebanese artist Mireille Honein at Beirut's Corniche to ramp up their campaign to press parliament to scrap Article 522 of Lebanon's penal code which allows rapists to escape punishement (AFP/Patrick Baz)
April 22, 2017, 10:06 pm
Lebanon activists ramp up pressure on reviled rape law
Installation in Beirut of wedding dresses hanging from nooses protests law allowing rapists who marry their victims to go free
By Maya Gebeily
A convoy of humanitarian aid waits in front of the UNRWA offices before making their way into the rebel-held towns of Madaya, Zabadani and al-Moadhamiya in the Damascus countryside, as part of a UN-sponsored aid operation, in Damascus, Syria, February 17, 2016. (AP)
March 29, 2017, 5:19 pm
Evacuation deal reached for four Syrian towns
Critics saying Assad redrawing map with forced displacement after agreement to involve more than 30,000 people
By Maya Gebeily
Illustrative: smoke billows following a reported car bomb explosion at a Syrian pro-government position during clashes between rebel fighters and regime forces to take control of an area in the southern city of Daraa on February 20, 2017. (AFP Photo/Mohamad Abazeed)
February 20, 2017, 5:55 pm
Syria army ramps up shelling near capital ahead of talks
Opposition accuses regime of again increasing its attacks to cement gains ahead of planned peace conference
By Maya Gebeily
Mustafa Dakhlool, a Palestinian refugee, arranges letters spelling out the name of the Burj al-Shamali refugee camp next to aerial pictures of the site, in Mediterranean coastal city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, on February 5, 2017. (AFP Photo/Mahmoud Zayyat)
February 19, 2017, 5:38 pm
On a balloon and a shutter, Palestinian camp in Lebanon plans for future
Residents of Burj al-Shamali hope new DIY aerial map will help improve urban planning in congested refugee encampment
By Maya Gebeily
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