War on ISIS

Iraq targets lingering ISIS pockets with airstrikes, operations in security vacuum after US pullout

"F-16 aircraft carried out two airstrikes targeting a hideout belonging to remnants of Daesh elements in the Nareen area, resulting in its complete destruction."

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Shi'ite fighters launch a rocket during clashes with Islamic State militants on the outskirts of al-Alam, Iraq.
Dr Jihad, or Tareq Kamleh, calls for jihad to be waged in the West in an Islamic State propaganda video.

Australia's 'Dr. Jihad' found in Iraqi prison 10 years after declared dead in ISIS siege - report

Tareq Kamleh was presumed to have been killed in Syria over a decade ago, but was actually being held in a high-security Baghdad prison, according to a report by The Australian.

|ByTOBIAS HOLCMAN
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani looks on during a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman, Jordan August 12, 2025.

Syrian officials attend anti-ISIS coalition talks in Saudi Arabia

Syrian officials attended meetings of the International Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Riyadh on February 8 to 9, marking Syria’s growing role in the US led alliance.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Relatives mourn their kin who was killed in his farm following an attack by Islamic State-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, in Mbimbi location of Oicha in Beni territory, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo September 10, 2025.

Islamic State-linked rebels kill 89 civilians in east Congo attacks, UN force says

Fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attacked several localities of Congo's North Kivu province and killed at least 20 women and an undetermined number of children.

|ByREUTERS

One of France's most advanced warships docks in Haifa

"France and Israel hold intensive dialogue on international issues of mutual interest," a statement from the French embassy said.

MARCH 31, 2019BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Languedoc FREMM Multipurpose Frigate (Courtesy/French Embassy in Israel)

Burning fires blanket last ISIS stronghold in Syria

The Syrian Democratic Forces and the US-led Coalition hope this is the final battle, after months of laying siege to Baghuz.

MARCH 12, 2019BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Flares are seen in the sky during fighting in the Islamic State's final enclave, in the village of Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province, Syria March 11, 2019

Will European countries take back hundreds of their ISIS-member citizens?

UK State of Security Minister Ben Wallace said that British citizens in Syria have a right to return, but that the UK would not put officials at risk to bring the Britons home

FEBRUARY 14, 2019BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) run from ISIS gunmen in Raqqa, Syria, July 3, 2017.

Israeli strikes in Syria reveal new battlefield for post-civil war era

As Israel continues to strike at Iran more publicly the Syrian conflict enters a new phase.

JANUARY 21, 2019BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Kurdish-led militiamen ride atop military vehicles as they celebrate victory over Islamic State in Raqqa, Syria, October 17, 2017

U.S. military: Withdrawal from Syria could take several months

The plan has no set timetable, so the withdrawal may be slower than originally anticipated.

DECEMBER 28, 2018ByTAMAR URIEL-BEERI
U.S. President Donald Trump, flanked by Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, holds a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington.

Person killed in stabbing attack in Melbourne, ISIS claims responsibility

ISIS took responsibility for the attack through the group's Amaq news website. However, they did not provide evidence for the claim.

NOVEMBER 9, 2018ByTAMAR URIEL-BEERI
A burnt out vehicle is surrounded by police tape on Bourke Street in central Melbourne, 2018.

Analysis: The Islamic State's push for a new caliphate

New reports suggest the terror group is recovering in Iraq and Syria; Khorasan Province is eyeing a new caliphate in Afghanistan.

AUGUST 16, 2018ByCHARLES BYBELEZER/THE MEDIA LINE
A fighter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) holds an ISIL flag and a weapon on a street in the city of Mosul June 23, 2014.

Global fight against terror-tainted black market antiquities intensifies

The British Museum is slated to open a major exhibition of Assyrian artifacts as experts warn that ISIS-looted items is still a problem.

JULY 3, 2018ByMAYA MARGIT/THE MEDIA LINE
A statue destroyed by Islamic State militants is seen in the town of Bashiqa, after it was recaptured from the Islamic State, east of Mosul, Iraq November 10, 2016

Bringing hope to Raqqa after ISIS

Free Burma Rangers bring aid to liberated parts of Syria.

MAY 30, 2018BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
One of the playgrounds in Raqqa donated by the Free Burma Rangers.

ISIS’s new insurgency in Kirkuk and Hawija in Iraq

Iraq needs to get a handle on the bubbling insurgency.

MARCH 13, 2018BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
ISIS Vandalizes Churches In Iraq