Tag: syria

US To Formalize Military Presence In Syria In Deal With AQ-Linked Govt

The US is working to formalize its military presence in Syria by signing a deal with the new al-Qaeda-linked government, according to a report from The New Arab.

The report was published Friday and said that a high-level US military delegation was expected to meet with Syrian officials in the coming days with the goal of shifting the US military presence from an illegal occupation to a formalized, legal partnership.

The report comes as the US has been drawing down its forces in northeastern Syria and handing over some bases to the Kurdish-led SDF. The US is expected to maintain only one base in Syria, the al-Tanf Garrison in the south, which is situated where the borders of Syria, Iraq, and Jordan converge.

From al-Tanf, the US helped its proxy militia, known as the Syrian Free Army (previously known as the Revolutionary Commando Army), join in on the offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that ousted former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on December 8, 2024.

A formal deal on al-Tanf would signal that the US is planning a long-term or even potentially a permanent military presence in Syria. The Pentagon has said that it’s currently working to reduce its forces in Syria to fewer than 1,000 troops in the country. According to the latest reports, approximately 1,500 US troops are currently stationed in the country.

The US has embraced the new Syrian government that’s led by HTS despite the group still being listed by the State Department as a foreign terrorist organization due to its al-Qaeda roots.

President Trump recently met with HTS’s leader and Syria’s de facto president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, and praised him as a “young, attractive guy” with a “very strong past.”

Sharaa got his start with al-Qaeda in Iraq, where he fought an insurgency against US troops before being imprisoned from 2006 to 2011. In 2012, he traveled to Syria and formed al-Qaeda’s affiliate in the country, the al-Nusra Front.

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US official admits misleading Trump on US troop numbers in Syria

Outgoing Ambassador Jim Jeffrey, the U.S. special envoy for Syria, admitted in an interview with Defense One to misleading President Donald Trump about the true number of U.S. troops deployed in Syria and convincing the president not to withdraw troops.

Jeffrey said, “We were always playing shell games to not make clear to our leadership how many troops we had there.” Jeffrey said the actual number of troops in northeast Syria is “a lot more than” the approximately 200 troops Trump agreed to keep in the country in 2019.

According to anonymous sources who spoke with Defense One, the true number of U.S. troops in Syria is said to be around 900, though the precise number is classified and reportedly remains unknown even to Trump and other members of his administration hoping to bring U.S. troops out of foreign engagements.

Trump called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria at the end of 2018 and again in October 2019, both times receiving pushback. Despite calling for the withdrawals, both times Trump was convinced to leave a contingent of U.S. troops in the county.

“What Syria withdrawal? There was never a Syria withdrawal,” Jeffrey told Defense One. “When the situation in northeast Syria had been fairly stable after we defeated ISIS, [Trump] was inclined to pull out. In each case, we then decided to come up with five better arguments for why we needed to stay. And we succeeded both times. That’s the story.”

After his October 2019 call for the withdrawal of troops from Syria, Trump was convinced last year to agree to keep between 200 and 400 U.S. troops in the country to maintain control of oil fields. The actual number of troops in the country is said to be much higher than Trump was led to believe.

CNN national security correspondent Jim Sciutto similarly tweeted hearing claims that Department of Defense officials deceived Trump about the true U.S. presence in Syria.

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Syrian officials visited Israel for secret security talks: Report

Syrian officials visited Israel in April to meet with Israeli defense officials after Tel Aviv opened a direct line of communication with Damascus, Haaretz reported on 8 May, citing Syrian sources.

According to one source speaking with the Hebrew daily, a Syrian delegation, reportedly composed of officials from the Quneitra province and one senior defense official, secretly visited Israel for several days at the end of April.

Syria’s government is led by former Al-Qaeda in Iraq commander Ahmad al-Sharaa. Militants from the former Al-Qaeda affiliate, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), toppled the government of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December.

The Israeli military supported HTS, at the time known as the Nusra Front, during the CIA-backed covert war to topple Assad that began in 2011, including by bombing positions of the Syrian army in defense of Nusra fighters.

The April visit of Syrian officials to Israel coincided with the highly publicized visit by Syrian Druze religious leaders to northern Israel to visit Jethro’s Tomb. The Druze identify Jethro with the Prophet Shuayb, the most revered prophet in the Druze faith.

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Did the CIA Covertly Support Chechen Separatist Terrorism? Of Course They Did

In December, the rapid fall of the Syrian government to Western-backed jihadists stunned the world and sparked a wide range of reactions amid the fallout. Unsurprisingly, the collective West was quick to celebrate the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, a long-time U.S. foreign policy objective billions of dollars in the making. More unexpected were the public comments made by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who dismissed the notion that Assad’s ouster represented a strategic defeat for Moscow.

To the contrary, Putin insisted Russia had achieved its goal in Syria of preventing the creation of a “terrorist enclave similar to what we’ve seen in Afghanistan,” citing the cosmetically rebranded character of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militants who seized power in Damascus. The Saudi-born leader of HTS, Ahmed al-Sharaa—who until recently had a $10 million bounty on his head offered by the U.S. State Department—even dropped his nom de guerre (Abu Mohammad al-Julani) after dissolving the Syrian constitution and appointing himself president.

Now sporting a blazer instead of fatigues and a turban, Sharaa still required a female CNN news anchor to wear hijab for an interview and refused to shake hands with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during a state visit. Was Putin’s wishful thinking serious, or was he trying to save face? The Russian parliament recently passed a law allowing the reversal of bans on listed terror groups which would enable Moscow to normalize relations with both the Afghan Taliban and Syria’s new regime.

While the extent to which the so-called “moderate rebels” in Syria have tempered their extremism is highly questionable (as the recent mass killings of Alawites and Christians attest), Putin was speaking from experience. Just a thousand miles from Sochi, one of the primary motivations for the Russian intervention beginning in 2015 was the legitimate security risk of Syria becoming a hotbed of terrorism that could reignite Chechen separatism in the Caucasus.

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Global Silence As HTS & Allies Take Alawite Women As Sex Slaves In Syria

Since December, when the former Al-Qaeda affiliate, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), toppled the government of Bashar al-Assad, Syria has witnessed a chilling wave of mysterious kidnappings of young women, predominantly from the Alawite community.

Evidence continues to emerge that these women, primarily from the Alawite religious sect, have been abducted and taken to live as sex slaves in Idlib governorate, the traditional HTS stronghold, by armed factions affiliated with the new Syrian government.

Shockingly, the mass kidnapping and enslavement of Alawite women now being carried out by HTS-affiliated factions mirrors the enslavement of the thousands of Yezidi women by ISIS during the 2014 genocide in Sinjar, Iraq.

In a now deleted Facebook post, Hiba Ezzedeen, a Syrian activist from Idlib, described her encounter with a woman she believes was captured and taken to the governorate as a sex slave during the wave of massacres carried out by government-affiliated factions and security forces against Alawites in the country’s coastal areas on March 7.

“During my last visit to Idlib, I was at a place with my brother when I saw a man I knew with a woman I had never met before,” Hiba explained. 

“This man had been married multiple times before and is believed to currently have three wives. What caught my attention was the woman’s appearance – specifically, it was clear she didn’t know how to wear a hijab properly, and her scarf was draped haphazardly.”

After inquiring further, Ezzedeen learned that the woman was from the coastal areas where the March 7 massacres, in which over 1,600 Alawite civilians were killed, took place. “This man had brought her to the village and married her, with no further details available. No one knew what had happened to her or how she got there, and naturally, the young woman was too afraid to speak,” Ezzedeen added.

Because the situation was so strange and alarming to her, she began asking everyone she knew, “rebels, factions, human rights activists,” about the abduction of Alawite women from the coast.  “Unfortunately, many confirmed that this had indeed happened, and not just by one faction. Based on what friends said, accusations point to factions of the National Army and some foreign fighters, with varying motives,” she reported. 

Syria’s new HTS-led security forces have incorporated armed extremist groups, including Uyghurs from the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) and Syrian Turkmen from factions of the Turkish-intelligence-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), into their ranks since coming to power in Damascus. 

Various SNA commanders and foreign extremists have been appointed to top positions in the Syrian Ministry of Defense.

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Tensions escalate as US, Turkey, Israel race to carve up Syria

The tragedy of Syria is a message to the whole world of how the political West’s aggression can destroy an entire nation and push what was once a civilized society into the madness of the Dark Ages. The so-called “Syrian Civil War” that started in 2011 pushed the unfortunate country into a bloodbath for nearly a decade and a half. It should be understood that the very notion of “civil war” in this case is false, as Syria was faced with a brutal and truly unprovoked crawling NATO aggression on virtually all sides. The political West used tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of Islamic radicals from all over the world to invade Syria while also suffocating the country with crippling sanctions, blockades, isolation and even direct attacks every once in a while.

Worse yet, these sanctions were still in place even when a devastating earthquake hit the border area between Turkey and Syria back in 2023. While Ankara got aid from over 90 countries that sent nearly 150,000 people to help with disaster relief, Damascus was left to fend for itself, with the US/NATO refusing to lift some of the sanctions which would’ve enabled aid to reach Syria. Combined with well over a decade of constant warfare, all these factors contributed to the weakening of the central authority. By late 2024, inflation was so high in Syria that a regular terrorist fighter had a higher salary than even generals in the Syrian Arab Army. This crippled the country’s ability to sustain its economy, leading to a total disaster in early December last year when Assad fell.

Ever since, the situation has only gotten worse, with the new terrorist “government” engaging in the slaughter of Alawites, Christians and other minorities. It should also be noted that loyalist Sunnis were also targeted, particularly those who were protecting their Alawite and Christian neighbors. For most Syrians, the diversity of their ancient society was always seen as an asset rather than a liability, which is why they rejected the EU/NATO-backed barbaric murderers who hijacked their country. Unfortunately, there was little they could do to prevent the takeover of Syria. Now that the terrorists are in charge, the actual Syrian Civil War has only started, with minorities desperately trying to survive. Those who haven’t already been slaughtered are now fighting back with any means at their disposal.

Others were lucky enough to reach the safety of Russian military bases in Tartus and Khmeimim. Thousands are housed there, with the Russian military being the only thing standing between them and certain death. In stark contrast, the political West is now carving up Syria and facilitating the destruction of its once-vibrant society. Namely, the United States, Turkey and Israel are supporting various factions and terrorist groups, most of whom are now officially integrated into the new “government”. However, this facade of institutional unity is slowly crumbling as the interests of the occupying foreign powers keep diverging. The US, which supports several factions, including the Kurdish-led SDF, as well as the so-called “Syrian Free Army” (SFA), is looking to expand its zone of control.

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Turkiye ‘wants no confrontation’ with Israel in Syria: FM

Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on 4 April on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting that his country does not want a confrontation with Israel in Syria.

“Turkey wants no confrontation with Israel in Syria” after the massive wave of attacks Tel Aviv launched on the country in recent days, which have “undermined the new government’s ability to deter threats,” Fidan told Reuters. 

The Turkish foreign minister added that Israel’s actions in Syria are paving the way for instability in the region. 

He added that if Damascus wishes to have “certain understandings” with Israel, then that is “their own business.”

His comments came one day after a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement called Israel the “greatest threat” to peace in West Asia, condemning dozens of Israeli airstrikes that hit several military sites in Syria on Wednesday.

“Israel has become the foremost threat to the security of our region through its attacks on the territorial integrity and national unity of the regional countries. As a strategic destabilizer in the region, Israel causes turmoil and fuels terrorism,” the statement issued on 3 April reads, which also calls on Israel to withdraw from land it occupied, particularly Syria. 

The Israeli air force launched over a dozen airstrikes on various cities in Syria on 2 April, targeting the Barzeh scientific research center just outside Damascus, the Hama military airport in western Syria, and the T4 airbase near Palmyra. The Hama airport was almost completely destroyed.

Israeli airstrikes also hit the countryside of Syria’s southern Deraa governorate.

According to a report by Middle East Eye (MEE) on 1 April, the Turkish military has been preparing plans to take control of the T4 airbase, which had been bombed by Israel several times before the strikes on Wednesday. 

Plans included the installation of air defense systems, and construction has reportedly begun already. Turkiye has been illegally occupying Syria since 2016, with its enmity towards Kurdish militant groups serving as the main pretext for its presence there. 

It operated two illegal military bases prior to the fall of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s government, and is reportedly planning to establish at least two more, which could potentially be used to train the forces of the new administration.

Following the latest Israeli attacks, Israeli Army Radio reported that the “primary goal” of the late-night blitz was to “send a warning to Turkish President Erdogan.”

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Turkiye calls Israel ‘biggest threat to regional peace’ after deadly Syria strikes

The Turkish Foreign Ministry says Israel is the “greatest threat” to peace in West Asia, condemning dozens of Israeli airstrikes that hit several military sites in Syria on Wednesday.

“Israel has become the foremost threat to the security of our region through its attacks on the territorial integrity and national unity of the regional countries. As a strategic destabilizer in the region, Israel causes turmoil and fuels terrorism,” a Foreign Ministry statement issued on 3 April reads.

“Therefore, in order to establish security throughout the region, Israel must first abandon its expansionist policies, withdraw from the territories it occupies, and stop undermining efforts to establish stability in Syria,” the statement adds.

On Wednesday night, Israeli warplanes launched an intense bombing campaign across Syria that killed at least 11 people. The main targets of the attack were the Barzeh Scientific Research Center just outside Damascus, the Hama military airport in western Syria, and the T4 airbase near Palmyra. 

The Israeli blitz almost entirely destroyed Hama airport.

According to several reports in Israeli media, the attacks were intended to send a message to the Turkish government. “We will not allow you to establish a presence in Syria,” officials told the Jerusalem Post.

In recent weeks, Ankara has begun the process of taking over the Tiyas Air Base in Syria’s central governorate of Homs, also known as the T4 airbase, with plans to equip it with a complex defense system that includes short, medium, and long-range capabilities against jets, drones, and missiles.

Earlier on Thursday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Ankara of playing a “negative role” in Syria, saying that “they are doing their utmost to have Syria as a Turkish protectorate. It’s clear that is their intention.”

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Jerf el-Ahmar and Göbeklitepe: Connecting Neolithic Symbolism and Architecture

During the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) period in the Near East, spanning approximately 10,000 to 8,000 BCE, people underwent a transformative shift from nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyles to more settled agricultural communities. Among the myriad archaeological sites from this period, Jerf el-Ahmar in northern Syria and Göbeklitepe in southeastern Türkiye stand out as pivotal locales that offer profound insights into early Neolithic societal transformations.​

Göbeklitepe features monumental stone pillars arranged in circular enclosures, decorated with intricate carvings of animals and abstract symbols. These structures, likely among the earliest known temples, indicate that PPN communities placed a strong emphasis on ritual and communal gatherings.The site’s complexity and scale indicate a high degree of social organization and cooperation, challenging previous notions that such architectural feats were beyond the capabilities of pre-agricultural societies.

Jerf el-Ahmar: A Shift in Neolithic Architecture and Community Life

Early Communal Architecture and Storage

Jerf el-Ahmar provides a different yet complementary perspective on PPN life. The site features communal architecture, including large, circular buildings that likely served as centers for community activities and storage. Notably, these structures exhibit early examples of rectilinear architecture, marking a transition from round to rectangular building designs that became prevalent in later Neolithic periods. The presence of communal storage facilities at Jerf el-Ahmar underscores the emerging importance of food surplus management and collective resource sharing in early agricultural communities.

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US Intel Report Blasts Jolani’s Forces For ‘Violence, Instability’ In Syria

The US Department of National Intelligence acknowledged in its Annual Threat Assessment of 2025 that Syrian government forces were responsible for the massacres committed against minorities on Syria’s coast earlier this month. 

“The fall of president Bashar al-Assad’s regime at the hands of opposition forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – a group formerly associated with Al-Qaeda – has created conditions for extended instability in Syria and could contribute to a resurgence of ISIS and other Islamist terror groups,” the report noted, adding that “HTS-led interim government forces, along with elements of Hurras al-Din and other jihadist groups, engaged in violence and extrajudicial killings in northwestern Syria in early March 2025 primarily targeting religious minorities that resulted in the death of more than 1,000 people, including Alawite and Christian civilians.”

The report went on to say that “some remaining jihadist groups refuse to merge into the HTS Ministry of Defense, and ISIS has already signaled opposition to HTS’s call for democracy and is plotting attacks to undermine its governance.”

It also highlights that Syrian transitional president Ahmad al-Sharaa, who headed HTS and its precursor group the Nusra Front, “claims to be willing to work with Syria’s array of ethno-sectarian groups to develop an inclusive governance model.” Yet, these groups are skeptical of his intentions, therefore “protracted negotiations could devolve into violence.”

The massacres took place in early March in Syria’s coastal cities and surrounding towns and villages after an armed uprising launched by militants affiliated with Syria’s former army. 

During a widescale security operation to quell the uprising, the Syrian Military Operations Department – consisting of numerous extremist factions who have been incorporated into the country’s new army – carried out a massive campaign of executions.

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