The Islamic State intensified attacks against Syrian government forces in February. The uptick followed a voice recording released by the group’s spokesman, Abu Hudhayfah al Ansari, that announced “a new phase of operations” in Syria.
The Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have continued implementing a January transition agreement. US Central Command has maintained pressure on the Islamic State with airstrikes and withdrew from the Tanf garrison in southern Syria. Damascus is assuming control of Islamic State detention sites in the eastern part of the country. Senior US, Syrian, and SDF officials met in Munich to discuss integration, the ceasefire implementation, and safeguarding rights amid Syria’s changing security landscape.
Around 5,000 Islamic State detainees have been transferred from Syria to Iraq under a US-facilitated mission that began in late January, following security shifts in eastern Syria. The number of detainees transferred is expected to reach up to 7,000. Iraqi officials say the transfers may conclude by February 12 and that the detainees will face investigation and prosecution. Iraq has stressed it will not become a permanent repository for foreign fighters and has urged countries to repatriate their citizens now in Iraqi custody.
Syria’s foreign minister joined a US-led anti-Islamic State coalition meeting in Riyadh on February 9, signaling deeper coordination after Damascus joined the coalition in November. The meeting followed a January 29 agreement between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces enabling government deployments into northeastern Syria. Coalition members praised the deal and discussed transfers of Islamic State detainees to Iraq. As Syrian forces move into SDF-held areas, the transition faces challenges, particularly in Kobani, where humanitarian conditions remain dire despite reduced violence.
Syrian government forces deployed into Al Hasakah and Qamishli in eastern Syria in early February under a January 30 agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The deal is aimed at ending clashes and restoring central authority in mainly Kurdish areas that the SDF still controls. The government deployment coincided with reports of continued US transfers of Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq and US strikes on Islamic State targets.
In Part 37 of Big Yikes in Syria, Bill Roggio and Ahmad Sharawi unpack yet another round of bad alliances and strategic failure in the war-torn country.
Battles between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have continued to intensify despite a US-mediated ceasefire agreement. The latest clashes have involved drone strikes, rocket and artillery fire, and suicide bombings.
Russia evacuated troops from the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli ahead of interim Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa’s second visit to Moscow. Whether Russia will retain access to two key military facilities in western Syria was a part of the discussion between the two leaders.
US forces completed their withdrawal from Ain al Assad Airbase, the Iraqi government said on January 18, fulfilling a US agreement with Iraqi authorities going back to 2024. The withdrawal took place as Syrian government forces pushed back the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in Syria. On January 21, US Central Command said it would transfer up to 7,000 Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq.
Syrian government forces advancing into eastern Syria are increasingly taking over areas where Islamic State members have been held in prisons and detention facilities by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The SDF said it lost control of Al Shaddadi prison, and the Syrian government asserted that it would secure the facility and round up prisoners who may have fled. Clashes also occurred near Aqtan prison north of Raqqa.
Following intense fighting between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syrian government forces, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi ordered the withdrawal of his personnel from contested areas of Aleppo province.
US Central Command stated that the strikes were in “direct response to the deadly ISIS [Islamic State] attack on U.S. and Syrian forces in Palmyra, Syria, on Dec. 13, 2025.” However, the Islamic State has not claimed credit for that attack, which was carried out by a member of the Syrian security forces that are largely comprised of Al Qaeda’s former branch in Syria and Al Qaeda-allied groups.
Syrian army units have surrounded the Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh in Aleppo, both of which are controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The siege, which followed clashes, is the latest escalation after the two sides failed to move forward on a March 2025 agreement to integrate the SDF into the government.
The Kingdom of Jordan conducted airstrikes targeting drug smuggling networks in southern Syria between December 23 and 25. The Jordanians coordinated with regional partners, although reports did not specify whom. The strikes targeted rural areas near the Jordanian border in Syria’s southern Suwayda Governorate, which is currently controlled by Druze forces.
On December 19, US Central Command announced that US forces conducted “a large-scale strike against ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites in Syria.” Al Arabiya reported that the United States hit “70 ISIS targets in sites in central Syria.”
US Central Command (CENTCOM) published new data in the wake of the killing of two American soldiers and an interpreter in Syria on December 13, showing that US and partner forces have carried out 80 operations in the country since July 2025. “We will continue to work closely with our Syrian partners to hunt down ISIS networks and prevent their resurgence,” Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of CENTCOM, said. There have also been several security operations in Syria and Iraq conducted by Syrian and Iraqi security forces in the wake of the attack.
The Iowa National Guard released the names of two US soldiers who were killed by an Islamic State member in Syria on December 13. In the aftermath of the attack, Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al Shaibani spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on December 14 and said the Syrian government would work with the US to degrade and destroy the Islamic State (IS). Syria’s Interior Ministry also conducted an anti-IS operation and detained five people. In northern Syria, an armed group killed four Syrian Interior Ministry personnel.
US Central Command announced that “two U.S. service members and one U.S. civilian were killed, and three service members were injured, as a result of an ambush by a lone [Islamic State] gunman in Syria.” A Syrian government official confirmed reports that the attacker was a member of the government’s security forces, stating that he had been under investigation and may have had “extremist ideas.”
Tensions between Israel and Syria have continued in the wake of an Israeli raid in southern Syria on November 27. On December 4, Syria accused Israel of a new incursion into the Yarmouk Basin near the Golan. US President Donald Trump has called for a dialogue between Israel and Syria.
On November 29, members of Suwayda’s National Guard, a militia affiliated with Druze spiritual leader Hikmat al Hijri, carried out a series of arrests against political opponents in Syria’s predominantly Druze Suwayda province.
On November 27, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched an operation in the southern Syrian village of Beit Jinn to arrest operatives linked to the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood.
Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported on November 26 that Palestinian Islamic Jihad has been “increasingly strengthening its military wing in Syria in recent weeks,” particularly around Palestinian refugee camps in Damascus.
On November 19, the Syrian Army and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) battled near Maadan, Syria. While the two factions have not entered into full-blown conflict, tensions between them are rising as the end-of-year deadline for an integration agreement signed in March 2025 approaches.
On November 19, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited a buffer zone in southern Syria that is controlled by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The zone, which the IDF took over after the fall of the Bashar al Assad regime in December 2024, has been a source of tension between Israel and Syria. Netanyahu led a large Israeli delegation, including government ministers and commanders, to the area and said Israel’s presence there is of “immense importance.” Syrian officials condemned the visit as reports emerged of security talks between Israel and Syria hitting a “dead end.”
A Reuters report claims that the United States will establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus, Syria, “to help enable” a security agreement between Syria and Israel.
On October 26, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) announced that it was withdrawing its fighters from Turkey as part of a peace process with the Turkish government. Media reports indicate that the PKK may be moving to northern Iraq, leading to questions about how the withdrawal may affect the Kurdish regions of eastern Syria and northern Iraq.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are moving forward on integration with the security forces of the Syrian transitional government. SDF leader Mazloum Abdi has given several interviews saying that a preliminary agreement has been made with Damascus.
The US military killed Muhammad Abd al Wahhab al Ahmad, a “senior Al-Qaeda affiliated attack planner” who was a member of Ansar Islam. Ahmad was killed in Idlib province, the stronghold of the Syrian government, where Ansar Islam operates with the government’s approval.
Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa met with US Envoy Tom Barrack and the head of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, in Damascus on October 7. The meeting came in the wake of clashes between factions backed by the Syrian transitional government and Kurdish fighters in two neighborhoods in Aleppo. The head of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazlum Abdi, also met with Syria’s defense minister and agreed to a ceasefire between the SDF and government forces. Barrack, Cooper, and Abdi separately met in eastern Syria on October 6 to discuss integration between Syria’s east and Damascus, plus continued operations against the Islamic State.
Ahmad Sharawi is back with Bill Roggio to discuss the ongoing spectacle of Syrian interim President and former Al Qaeda member Ahmed al Sharaa, from massacres whitewashed and sanctions lifted with no conditions to foreign fighters handed Syrian citizenship — in its rush to embrace him, is the West willfully ignoring Sharaa’s blood-soaked past?