The spokesman, Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir, was killed in a strike shortly after the U.S. commando raid in which Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died, according to a U.S. official (Wall Street Journal)
World Leaders Stress Ongoing Fight After Baghdadi’s Death
World leaders warned that the Islamic State remains a significant threat following the death of its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, during a U.S. commando raid in Syria announced yesterday by President Donald J. Trump (New York Times)
U.S. Reportedly Weighs Keeping Troops in Syria
The United States is considering leaving around five hundred troops in northeastern Syria and sending new tanks and equipment to safeguard oil fields there, according to a report. U.S. troops had begun exiting the region amid a recent Turkish incursion against Kurdish forces (Wall Street Journal)
New Report Details Widespread Torture by Syrian Government
A new report from the nongovernmental Syrian Network for Human Rights describes more than seventy kinds of torture Bashar al-Assad’s regime has used over the course of the country’s civil war, including sexual violence and the removal of body parts (SNHR)
Russia, Turkey Reach Deal on Northern Syria
Under the new agreement, Kurdish forces must withdraw from a twenty-mile-deep strip along the Syrian border by October 29, after which Russia and Turkey will jointly patrol part of the region. Turkish forces alone would control the area it captured in its recent incursion (Associated Press)
Erdogan, Putin to Holds Talks on Northeast Syria
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Sochi today, as a cease-fire agreement between Turkish and Kurdish forces in northern Syria is set to expire (Al Jazeera)
U.S. Troops Transition from Syria to Iraq
U.S. troops were transferred from Syria to Iraq yesterday while Kurdish forces withdrew from the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain as part of an agreement brokered between the United States and Turkey (CNN)
Turkey Agrees to Pause Syria Offensive
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan negotiated a five-day pause in Turkey’s incursion into northern Syria, allowing Kurdish fighters to leave the area in exchange for U.S. sanctions relief. Under the agreement, Kurdish fighters who assisted U.S. efforts against the Islamic State in the region would have 120 hours to clear a corridor along the Syria-Turkey border (Al Jazeera)
Erdogan said Turkey plans to resettle up to two million Syrian refugees there (Reuters)
Despite the truce, fighting between Turkish and Kurdish forces continued today (New York Times)
U.S. Destroys Munitions In Withdrawal from Syria
The United States carried out planned air strikes in northern Syria yesterday, destroying armaments and other military equipment as the United States prepares to withdraw from the region (Reuters)
Erdogan Vows to Continue Syria Offensive
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected a U.S. call for a cease-fire in northern Syria, saying the Turkish military operation there will go on until a zone stretching more than two hundred miles is cleared of Kurdish fighters Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is set to meet with U.S. National Security Advisor Robert C. O’Brien today (Al Jazeera)
U.S. Sanctions Turkey Over Syria Incursion
U.S. President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order authorizing sanctions on Turkey over its military operation against Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria (U.S. State Department)
The order calls for an immediate cease-fire and, in a statement, Trump said that Washington will hike tariffs on Turkish steel to 50 percent and freeze ongoing trade negotiations (Twitter)
Amid the withdrawal of U.S. forces in northern Syria, Russia announced that its forces have begun patrolling between the Turkish and Syrian militaries there (Washington Post)
U.S. Troops to Leave Syria Amid Turkish Offensive
As Turkey continued a military operation to clear Kurdish forces from northern Syria, the United States announced plans to withdraw its remaining one thousand troops in the area by the end of the month (Wall Street Journal)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkish forces are in control of nearly seventy square miles in northern Syria, while Kurdish fighters said they made a deal with Damascus and Moscow to receive military support (New York Times)
Turkey Intensifies Strikes on Kurds in Northern Syria
Turkish forces intensified artillery and air strikes on several northern Syrian villages near the border today, with reports of more than one hundred killed in the first few days of the assault (Reuters)
The United Nations reported that an estimated one hundred thousand people have fled their homes this week (BBC)
Turkish Operation Advances Into Syria
A Turkish ground and air offensive against Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria has killed at least sixteen people, according to a UK-based monitoring group (New York Times)
Turkish air strikes have reportedly struck targets as far as thirty miles from the border (Al Jazeera)
The UN Security Council will meet today to discuss possible responses to the incursion (Reuters)
Turkish Military Offensive Begins in Northern Syria
Turkey today launched an offensive against U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in northern Syria. The Turkish military waited until the United States withdrew its military personnel from the region before conducting airstrikes near the Syrian border (Washington Post)
Turkey Readies Offensive Against Syrian Kurds
Turkey said it has completed preparations for a military operation to clear out Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria after the United States agreed to pull back its troops there (Reuters)
Kurdish leaders said they may seek support from Damascus and Moscow (Reuters)
Kurdish fighters vowed to act as human shields against an invasion (Al Jazeera)
U.S. Pulls Troops From Northern Syria as Turkey Prepares Offensive
The United States has begun withdrawing troops from northern Syria in advance of an expected Turkish military offensive against Kurdish forces in the area. Washington has long backed the Kurdish fighters in its fight against the Islamic State in the country (Washington Post)
Iraq, Syria Open Border Crossing
The opening marked a step toward normalization between the two countries and what Syria’s interior minister called “the result of our peoples’ victories” over the Islamic State and other terrorist groups. The Qaim border crossing had been closed since 2012 (Washington Post)
UN Unveils Syrian Committee to End War
A constitutional committee with representatives from Syria’s government and opposition will hold talks in Geneva aimed at negotiating an end to the country’s civil war, announced UN Secretary-General Guterres. Guterres said Iran, Russia, and Turkey have backed the committee (United Nations)
Russia, China Block UN Security Council Resolution on Syrian Cease-Fire
Russia and China blocked a UN Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire in northwest Syria. The two countries instead voted in favor of a resolution that called for a truce in the area but would exempt operations against designated terrorist groups (Reuters)
UN Security Council to Vote on Syria Resolutions
The council is set to vote today on rival resolutions that both call for a truce in northwest Syria. A proposal from China and Russia differs from one put forth by Belgium, Germany, and Kuwait in that it would exempt operations against Security Council–designated terrorist groups (Reuters)
In Ankara, Leaders Agree to Ease Tensions in Syria
The leaders of Iran, Russia, and Turkey, in a joint statement, said they will take “concrete steps” to respect previous de-escalation agreements in northern Syria to avoid a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the three countries “need to take more responsibility” for Syrian peace (Reuters)
Ankara Summit Aims for Truce in Syria’s Idlib
The leaders of Iran, Russia, and Turkey will meet in Ankara today to discuss implementing a cease-fire in northwest Syria. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently threatened retaliation from Turkish forces if any of their military posts in the area are attacked (Reuters)
UN Report Details Syrian War’s Devastation
A new report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria found that around thirteen million Syrians are displaced and up to seventy thousand people are living in “deplorable and inhumane conditions” at the Al-Hol camp. The report details cases of possible war crimes committed by both Syrian government forces and the U.S.-backed coalition (United Nations)
Israel Blamed for Syria Attack
A Syrian security official said Israel was responsible for air strikes that hit Iranian-backed militia posts in eastern Syria. The militant group Hezbollah also announced it had shot down an Israeli drone over southern Lebanon (Associated Press)