Israel carried out a series of powerful strikes on the Syrian capital Damascus Wednesday, escalating a campaign it says is in support of the country’s Druze population – an Arab minority group involved in deadly clashes with Syrian government forces.
The strikes, which Syria said killed at least three people in its capital, sent US officials scrambling to prevent a larger clash between the neighboring countries, with Syria agreeing to withdraw its troops from the southern city of Suwayda and a new ceasefire deal with Druze militia in the area.
Read more…
Source: CNN News
Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Syria: Bombing targeting oil facility guards killed four people and wounded nine others
October 16, 2025
Syria’s energy authorities on Thursday strongly condemned what it described as a “cowardly terrorist attack” that killed four people and wounded nine others when a roadside bomb struck a bus carrying oil facility guards near the town of Saalo in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour. In a statement, the energy authorities said the attack targeted ...
- Syria: Two people injured in IED explosion inside car in Jdaydit Artouz
September 27, 2025
An IED planted early in a car, exploded while a person was attempting to dismantle it in front of Al-Fardous building in Jdadit Artouz town in Rif Dimashq. The explosion left two persons injured, while official follow-up continues to establish the circumstances of the incident. Read more… Source: SOHR News Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters The latest news ...
- Syria: Explosion of IED leaves member of the Awqaf Committee injured in Al-Bukamal city
September 25, 2025
Deir Ezzor province: A member of the Awqaf Committee was injured, at noon, due to the explosion of an IED while he was in front of a mosque in Al-Bukamal city in eastern Deir Ezzor countryside. He was taken to a hospital for treatment. This comes in light of the ongoing security chaos in several areas ...
- Turkey begins training Syrian forces under new security deal
September 9, 2025
Turkey has begun training Syrian forces under a security agreement signed between the two countries in August, several sources familiar with the issue told Middle East Eye. One source said around 300 Syrians, mostly soldiers, but also some police officers, are currently being trained at two bases in central and eastern Turkey. A second source told ...
- Syria: 10,672 people killed in Syria since fall of Al-Assad regime, including 3,020 people extrajudicially executed
September 7, 2025
Nine months passed after the fall of Al-Assad regime and dissociation of military and security institutions, which caused critical security vacuum throughout Syria and left military forces which later took control of the country facing considerable challenges at all levels, especially the security and economic situations; this, in turn, has led to a state of ...
- UNOCT: Terror threat posed by ISIL ‘remains volatile and complex’
August 20, 2025
The threat posed by the terrorist group ISIL remains dynamic and diverse, with Africa currently experiencing the highest level of activity worldwide. While multiple ISIL leaders have perished in the past few years, “the group has managed to retain its operational capacity”, Vladimir Voronkov, head of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) told the Security Council ...
- Syria: Explosive device planted inside car goes off in Mezzeh area of Damascus
August 16, 2025
An explosive device planted inside an old car exploded this evening in the Mezzeh area of Damascus, causing no injuries. Commander of the Internal Security Forces in Damascus Governorate, Brigadier General Osama Mohammad Khair Atikah, said in a statement on Saturday that the explosion was caused by an explosive device planted inside an old Austin car ...
- UK continues support for mine clearance in Syria
August 15, 2025
The UK has stressed its continued support for efforts to clear Syrian territory of mines. The British envoy for Syria, Ann Snow, warned in a post on X platform that “Syria is set to record the highest number of civilian landmine casualties in the world’’. Snow noted that Britain supports the work of the Mine Advisory ...
- UN Syria Commission finds March coastal violence was widespread and systematic
August 14, 2025
GENEVA – The UN Syria Commission of Inquiry today published a report on the wave of violence that engulfed coastal and western central Syria from January, finding that acts that may amount to war crimes were committed. The violence – which primarily targeted Alawi communities and culminated in massacres in early March – included murder, torture ...
- Syria and Turkey strike new military deal
August 13, 2025
Syria and Turkey have struck a deal on military training and consultancy during a high-level Syrian delegation’s visit to Ankara on Wednesday, Turkey’s Defence Ministry announced. The agreement was signed for the regular exchange of personnel to enhance military co-operation; specialised skills training; and a series of programmes in counterterrorism, mine clearance, cyber defence, military engineering, ...
- Syria: Death toll from violence in the south tops 1,000
July 20, 2025
Calm returned to southern Syria’s Sweida province on Sunday after a week of sectarian violence between Druze fighters and rival groups. A ceasefire announced on Saturday appeared to be holding after earlier agreements failed to end fighting between longtime rivals the Druze and the Bedouin that spiralled to draw in the Islamist-led government, the Israeli military ...
- Syria withdraws troops from Suwayda city to avoid ‘open war’ after powerful Israeli strikes on Damascus
July 16, 2025
Israel carried out a series of powerful strikes on the Syrian capital Damascus Wednesday, escalating a campaign it says is in support of the country’s Druze population – an Arab minority group involved in deadly clashes with Syrian government forces. The strikes, which Syria said killed at least three people in its capital, sent US officials ...
- UN Syria Commission deeply alarmed by Suwayda violence, urges de-escalation, civilian protection and respect for human rights
July 15, 2025
GENEVA – The most recent violence in Suwayda governorate in southern Syria has reportedly resulted in the deaths of dozens, including women and children, and the injury of more than one hundred others, with clashes reportedly ongoing. A conflict between Bedouin tribal forces and local armed groups drawn from the Druze community has escalated significantly in ...
- Syria: Fierce clashes in Suwayda leave 89 dead
July 14, 2025
At least 89 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in violent clashes erupting in Syria’s Suwayda province, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) warning of a “risk of a new massacre” as government security forces are reportedly siding with Bedouin tribes against the local Druze population. Rami Abdulrahman, the director of the Syrian ...
- Pentagon Allocates $130 Million in 2026 for Syrian Democratic Forces Operations
July 7, 2025
The U.S. Department of Defense has designated $130 million in its Fiscal Year 2026 budget under the Counter-ISIS Train and Equip Fund (CTEF) to support vetted Syrian groups and individuals, including the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian Free Army (SFA), for their central role in the enduring defeat of ISIS across Northeast (Western ...
- Syria: Emergency Minister, International Organizations discuss structure of National Mine Action Center
June 29, 2025
Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed al-Saleh discussed with representatives of international organizations and UN agencies the draft work plan for the National Mine Action Center in Syria and its structure, in line with humanitarian priorities and international practices. During the meeting, the participants underlined the importance of completing a review of the center’s scope ...
- Syria: At least 20 killed in Damascus church bombing attack, dozens wounded
June 22, 2025
A suicide bomber in Syria has carried out an attack inside a church filled with people, killing at least 20 people and wounding dozens more, according to the Syria’s Ministry of Health and security officials. The explosion in Dweil’a on the outskirts of Damascus took place as people were praying during mass inside the Mar Elias ...
- Syria: People killed and injured by landmines in Deir ez-Zor as they return home
June 5, 2025
People returning to their war-torn homes and villages in Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria, are being wounded or even killed after encountering unexploded devices. Between 28 May and 1 June, four incidents resulted in eight casualties, including the deaths of four children, highlighting the urgent need for the area to be cleared of explosive remnants of war ...
- US gives nod to Syria to bring foreign jihadist ex-rebels into army
June 2, 2025
The United States has given its blessing to a plan by Syria’s new leadership to incorporate thousands of foreign jihadist former rebel fighters into the national army, provided that it does so transparently, President Donald Trump’s envoy said. Three Syrian defence officials said that under the plan, some 3,500 foreign fighters, mainly Uyghurs from China and ...
- ISIS Claims First Attack on Syria’s New Government Forces since Assad’s Fall
May 30, 2025
The so-called Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for its first attack targeting Syria’s new government forces since the oust of Bashar al-Assad, marking a significant development in the militant group’s resurgence efforts, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). According to SOHR the ISIS statement published Thursday, claimed it detonated an improvised explosive ...
- Syria: War remnants kill, injure 13 people in one day in areas controlled by Damascus government
May 29, 2025
Unexploded ordnance continues to threaten the lives of civilians in areas controlled by the Damascus government, especially in areas that witnessed previous fighting. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that yesterday, Wednesday, four people, including two children, were killed and nine children were injured in several separate incidents caused by the explosion of mines and ...
- Syria: SDF foils ISIS attack in Deir ez-Zor governorate
May 26, 2025
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Monday that it thwarted an attack from the Islamic State (ISIS) in the eastern Deir ez-Zor province, which injured a civilian, amid a spate of militant attacks in the area. “Yesterday, our forces foiled a terrorist attack carried out by an ISIS cell on one of our ...