Hayat Tahrir al-Sham

The United Nations said on Sunday that disaster relief for quake-ravaged towns in Syria is being held up by a “hardline group” that refuses to allow aid convoys from government-controlled areas to enter its turf. The group in question soon revealed itself to be Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the rebranded Nusra Front, which was itself an offshoot of al-Qaeda.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday told Syria and Russia to stop “bombing the hell” out of Syria’s last jihadist stronghold Idlib.

KHAN SHAYKHUN, Syria — Violence in northwest Syria has displaced more than 30,000 people this month alone, the United Nations said Monday, warning that a looming assault could create the century’s “worst humanitarian catastrophe.”

SUWAGHIYA, Syria – Buses began evacuating fighters and civilians from two besieged pro-regime towns in Syria early on Thursday morning under a deal that will allow thousands to leave after three years of encirclement.

A jihadist group linked to al-Qaeda has capitalized on the international troops’ near single-minded focus to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) to consolidate its power in northwestern Syria and surface as the last major terrorist group standing in the war-ravaged country.

Contents: Russia’s ‘humanitarian pause’ in Syria turns into farce on first day; Report: North Korea is selling chemical weapons supplies to Syria; Areas of control in Syria and Iraq

Contents: Turkey gets bogged down with military ‘Operation Olive Branch’ in Afrin, Syria; Syria says it will send its ‘popular forces’ to support the YPG against Turkey in Afrin

Contents: Russia’s Syria peace talks in Sochi dissolve into farce as Lavrov gets heckled; Russia sidelines the failed United Nations Syria peace process; War continues in full force, with Syria and Turkey killing ‘terrorists’

Contents: Syria’s Bashar al-Assad targets civilians and hospitals in never-ending war of extermination; Russia’s ‘de-escalation zones’ turn into total farce

Contents: Combined Syrian and Iranian forces taking control of enclave on Israel’s border; Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah heading for a military confrontation in Syria

Contents: Mattis and Tillerson work to prevent Iraq vs Kurd military confrontation in Kirkuk; ISIS fighters permitted to leave Raqqa, Syria, with human shields; Syria demands ‘immediately’ pullout of Turkey’s forces from Idlib province

Contents: Iraqi troops and tanks seen massing near Kirkuk, poised to attack Kurds; Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas announce unity agreement; Turkey’s tanks and troops cross border into Syria’s Idlib in apparent truce with HTS

Contents: Turkey announces major military operation in Syria’s Idlib province; Turkey’s success in Idlib is far from certain

Russia says one of its air strikes in Syria has critically injured the leader of an al-Qaeda-linked jihadist alliance and 12 of his field commanders.

Contents: Turkey reshuffles top military leaders in preparation for action in Syria; Turkey announces plans for military action against Kurds in northern Syria

Syrian jihadists affiliated with an al-Qaeda offshoot have captured the rebel-held northwestern Idlib province, placing the future of northern Syria “in big danger,” warns the U.S. State Department.

Jihadists on Sunday took Idlib in Syria, after rival rebels withdrew, strengthening their grip over the northwestern city and its province, one of the last beyond regime control.

Contents: Qatar crisis triggered by $1 billion ransom payment to Iran and al-Qaeda; How to stop lone wolf attacks in London and Manchester

Troops loyal to the Iran- and Russia-backed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad have reconquered areas in and around the Syrian capital of Damascus that they lost over the weekend after a surprise attack launched by al-Qaeda-linked jihadi rebels and other opposition groups.

Contents: Terrorist bombings in Damascus, airstrikes in Idlib, break Syria’s ceasefire; Russian troops join Americans, Kurds, Sunni rebels in Manbij, Syria; Syria’s Bashar al-Assad says that the Americans are invaders.

Contents: Al-Nusra descendant claims credit for massive terror attack in Damascus, Syria; Al-Nusra becomes Levant Liberation Committee (LLC) and gains at expense of ISIS