Latest news with #Kurdish-run
Newsweek
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Hunt for Missing Americans in Syria Turns Up Dozens of Suspected ISIS Victims
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The bodies of 30 individuals thought to have been killed by the ISIS Islamist militant group have been discovered in a remote town in Syria by a joint U.S.-Qatari mission, according to the Associated Press. Newsweek has reached out to the U.S. Department of State and the Qatari government for comments. Why It Matters The search began as President Donald Trump is headed to Qatar this week during a visit to the Middle East in his first overseas trip since his re-election. The cooperation in the search is another sign of the increasingly close ties between the United States and Qatar under Trump. A woman and child sit at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of suspected Islamic State (IS) group fighters in the northeastern Hasakeh governorate, on April 18, 2025, as the Syrian Democratic Forces mount... A woman and child sit at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of suspected Islamic State (IS) group fighters in the northeastern Hasakeh governorate, on April 18, 2025, as the Syrian Democratic Forces mount a security campaign against IS "sleeper cells" in the camp. More DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images What To Know The Qatari Internal Security Forces confirmed that the FBI requested the search and that DNA tests are underway to identify the remains, though they did not specify who the agency is seeking, according to the Associated Press on Monday. Among those killed by the group were American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff—abducted and executed in 2014—as well aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig. The Islamic State militant group, known as ISIS, rose to global prominence in 2014 when it seized large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate. President Ahmed al-Sharaa took power after Syria's rebels ousted longtime autocratic ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, following a 14-year civil war. Mass burial sites have been uncovered across northern Syria, holding the remains of people abducted by ISIS since the group lost power between 2017 and was considered defeated by 2019. The mission, led by Qatar, had found three bodies earlier this week when it launched a search in Syria for the remains of U.S. hostages killed by the Islamic State nearly ten years ago, Reuters reported. ISIS carried out mass executions, sexual slavery, and public beheadings, systematically targeting Christians and religious minorities. Its campaign extended globally, with some of the deadliest attacks across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. ISIS remains active in some regions. In 2019, the United States military conducted a special operations raid killing the group's then leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in a mission approved by Trump during his first presidential term. What Happens Next The remains discovered during the operation have not yet been identified, and efforts to determine their identities are ongoing.
Jordan Times
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
US to withdraw some 1,000 troops from Syria
A woman and child sit at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of suspected Daesh terror group fighters in the northeastern Hasakeh governorate, on April 18, 2025 (AFP photo) WASHINGTON — The United States will roughly halve the number of troops it has deployed in Syria to less than 1,000 in the coming months, the Pentagon said Friday. Washington has had troops in Syria for years as part of international efforts against the Daesh terror group, which rose out of the chaos of the country's civil war to seize swaths of territory there and in neighboring Iraq over a decade ago. The brutal extremists have since suffered major defeats in both countries, but still remain a threat. "Today the secretary of defense directed the consolidation of US forces in Syria... to select locations," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement, without specifying the sites where this would take place. "This deliberate and conditions-based process will bring the US footprint in Syria down to less than 1,000 US forces in the coming months," he said. President Donald Trump has long been skeptical of Washington's presence in Syria, ordering the withdrawal of troops during his first term but ultimately leaving American forces in the country. As Islamist-led rebels pressed forward with a lightning offensive last December that ultimately overthrew Syrian president Bashar Al Assad, Trump said Washington should "NOT GET INVOLVED!" "Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT," Trump, then the president-elect, wrote on his Truth Social platform. Years of war against Daesh The 2014 onslaught by Daesh prompted a US-led air campaign in support of local ground forces -- the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Iraqi government units. Washington also deployed thousands of American personnel to advise and assist local forces, with US troops in some cases directly fighting the jihadists. After years of bloody warfare, Iraq's prime minister announced a final victory over IS in December 2017, while the SDF proclaimed the defeat of the group's "caliphate" in March 2019 after seizing its final bastion in Syria. But the extremists still have some fighters in the countryside of both countries, and US forces have long carried out periodic strikes and raids to help prevent the group's resurgence. Washington stepped up military action against Daesh in Syria in the wake of Assad's overthrow, though it has more recently shifted its focus to strikes targeting Yemen's Huthi rebels, who have been attacking international shipping since late 2023. US forces in Iraq and Syria were repeatedly targeted by pro-Iran militants following the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, but responded with heavy strikes on Tehran-linked targets, and the attacks largely subsided. Washington for years said it had some 900 military personnel in Syria as part of international efforts against Daesh, but the Pentagon announced in December 2024 that the number of US troops in the country had doubled to around 2,000 earlier in the year. While the United States is reducing its forces in Syria, Iraq has also sought an end to the US-led coalition's presence there, where Washington has said it has some 2,500 troops. The United States and Iraq have announced that the coalition would end its decade-long military mission in federal Iraq by the end of 2025, and by September 2026 in the autonomous Kurdistan region.
The National
13-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
Kurdish militia cedes control to regime in Aleppo and north-east Syria
News MENA Ideologically opposed sides signed deal last month to bring Kurdish-run zones into post-Al Assad order
The National
09-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
Mother on trial in Austria after repatriation from Syrian detention camp
Woman faces a decade in prison if found guilty of being a member of ISIS An Austrian woman who spent almost eight years in a detention camp in Syria with her son, before both were repatriated, went on trial in Vienna on Wednesday. Evelyn T, who is accused of having been a member of a terrorist group from 2015 to 2017, could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. She left Austria for Syria's then ISIS-controlled area in 2016 to join her husband, 'supporting him psychologically and taking care of the household', according to the charges. Evelyn T has been in detention since returning to Austria last month with her son, seven, who was place in social services' custody. The son was born in 2017. The couple surrendered later that year, with Evelyn T and her son ending up in a Kurdish-run detention camp. On Wednesday, the 26-year-old was expected to plead guilty in court to the charges of being part of a terrorist group and a criminal organisation, according to her lawyer Anna Mair, in the first such case in the country. 'She takes responsibility for what she has done … and she wants to lead a normal life in the future,' Ms Mair said ahead of the trial's opening. Since ISIS was ousted from its self-declared 'caliphate' in 2019, the return of family members of fighters who were either captured or killed has been a thorny issue for European countries. Evelyn T was repatriated together with another woman, Maria G, and her two sons. Maria G, now 28, left Austria in 2017 to join ISIS in Syria. She has remained free since her return, while an investigation takes place. Last year, a Vienna court ordered that she and her sons be repatriated, stressing that it was 'in the children's greater interest'. Austria's Foreign Ministry had previously rejected her request to be repatriated, saying that only the children would be accepted. The EU member previously repatriated several children. Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands are among other countries that have repatriated relatives of militant group fighters.
Arab News
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Austrian woman on trial after repatriation from Syrian detention camp
VIENNA: An Austrian woman who was brought back alongside her son from a Syrian detention camp went on trial in Vienna on Wednesday, in the first such case in the country. Since the Daesh group was ousted from its self-declared 'caliphate' in 2019, the return of family members of fighters that were either captured or killed has been a thorny issue for European countries. Evelyn T., 26, has been in detention since she was repatriated to Austria last month, while her son, seven, was placed in social services' custody. On Wednesday, she was expected to plead guilty in court to the charges of being part of a terrorist group and a criminal organization, according to her lawyer Anna Mair. 'She takes responsibility for what she has done... and she wants to lead a normal life in the future,' Mair said ahead of the trial's opening. Evelyn T., who is accused of having been a member of a terrorist group from 2015 to 2017, could face up to 10 years in prison. She left Austria for Syria's then Daesh controlled area in 2016 to join her husband, 'supporting him psychologically and taking care of the household,' according to the charges. Their son was born in 2017. The couple surrendered later that year, with Evelyn T. and her son ending up in a Kurdish-run detention camp for suspected militants. The two were repatriated together with another woman, Maria G., and her two sons. Maria, now 28, left Austria in 2017 to join Daesh in Syria. She remains free since her return, while an investigation is ongoing. Last year, a Vienna court ordered that she and her sons be repatriated, stressing that it was 'in the children's greater interest.' Austria's foreign ministry had previously rejected her request to be repatriated, saying that only the children would be accepted. The EU member previously repatriated several children. Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands are among other countries that have repatriated relatives of militant fighters. Many of the women returned have been charged with terrorism crimes and imprisoned.
