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Islamic militancy

Islamic militancy

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Islamic militancy. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

last updated:

9 September, 2024

Syrian refugees arrive in Malaysia in 2016. Photo: AFP

‘Now we know’: Malaysia’s Syrian refugees find Assad’s fall bittersweet

Malaysia offered sanctuary to thousands of Syrians who fled the Assad regime. Now Bashar is gone some want to return. Others aren’t so sure.

55 minutes agovideocam

China-Middle East relations

China urges efforts to curb Syria’s further descent and refugee crisis

13 Dec 2024 - 8:47PMvideocam

Syrian rebels expose ousted Assad regime’s drug trade, fuelled by Captagon

13 Dec 2024 - 12:55PM

Israel-Gaza war

Israel kills at least 66 in Gaza, strikes post office used as shelter

Strikes came after the UN General Assembly called for an immediate ceasefire in the devastated Palestinian territory.

13 Dec 2024 - 8:15AM

People make their way through rubble following an Israeli strike at a post office in Nuseirat in central Gaza Strip. Photo: Reuters

Isis says behind suicide blast that killed Afghan minister

Suicide blast in Afghanistan’s capital marks the highest-profile casualty since the Taliban retook power three years ago.

12 Dec 2024 - 10:17AM

Assad’s fall in Syria will not weaken ‘strong and powerful’ Iran: Khamenei

Assad has long played a strategic role in Iran’s anti-Israel ‘axis of resistance’, especially in supplying weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

11 Dec 2024 - 8:57PMvideocam

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War and conflict

Opinion | World watches and waits as Islamist group HTS leads a post-Assad Syria

From Russia and the Middle East to the EU and US, the rise of Islamist group HTS is cause for caution over optimism.

12 Dec 2024 - 1:07AMvideocam

Portraits of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad are dumped in a skip in the Damascus suburb of Daraya on December 9. Islamist-led rebels took Damascus in a lightning offensive on December 8, sending Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. Photo: AFP

Afghanistan’s refugees minister killed by suicide blast

Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani was killed in an explosion at the ministry’s offices in the capital Kabul.

11 Dec 2024 - 10:24PMvideocam

Israel-Gaza war

Israeli air strikes kill at least 38 Palestinians in Gaza, medics say

Israel’s military says it killed two senior, armed Hamas commanders in two separate air strikes.

12 Dec 2024 - 8:46AM

Syria’s infamous Sednaya prison was a ‘slaughterhouse’, ex-inmates say

Now the Assad dynasty has been toppled, its dungeons and torture chambers are giving up their secrets.

12 Dec 2024 - 11:33AMvideocam

A man shows two ropes tied in the shape of nooses, found in the infamous Sednaya military prison. Photo: AP

Isis comeback? Syria power vacuum marks opportunity for jihadists

A chaotic political transition following Bashar al-Assad’s exit from Syria could offer Isis’ scattered jihadists benefits.

10 Dec 2024 - 1:43PMvideocam

Portraits of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are dumped in a skip in the Damascus suburb of Daraya. Photo: AFP

Israeli troops near Damascus, say Syrian security, as strikes hit military sites

A Syria war monitor has recorded more than 300 Israeli strikes since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

10 Dec 2024 - 8:37PM

Fall of Syria’s Assad catches Middle East powers and the West off guard

Several foreign governments have put out cautious feelers to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham after it toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

9 Dec 2024 - 9:08PMvideocam

Syria’s Assad in Moscow after deal on military bases: Russian state media

Bashar al-Assad and family granted asylum in Russia after his regime was toppled in a lightning rebel advance.

9 Dec 2024 - 2:48PM

The Syrian presidential palace in Damascus after Islamist-led rebels took the Syrian capital in a lightning offensive. Photo: AFP

Syria rebels say they control Homs, are advancing on capital Damascus

President Assad’s 24-year rule is dangling by a thread, with one US official saying he could be ousted in the coming week.

8 Dec 2024 - 7:52AM

A rebel fighter sits on the back of a vehicle in the Homs countryside on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Burkina Faso junta sacks prime minister and dissolves government

Military leader Ibrahim Traore said officials in the dissolved government will continue to perform their duties until a new one is formed.

7 Dec 2024 - 7:59AMvideocam

Syria rebels claim to reach city of Daraa, as they seek to topple Assad

Daraa was the birthplace of a 2011 uprising against President Bashar al-Assad and would be the fourth city his forces have lost in a week.

7 Dec 2024 - 8:14PM

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Goal is to overthrow Assad with ‘all available means’: Syria’s rebel leader

Islamist-led rebels were at the gates of Syria’s Homs after wresting other key cities from government control.

6 Dec 2024 - 7:01PM

Hama residents cheer as Syrian anti government fighters enter the city. Photo: AFP

Hezbollah to pay US$77 million plus rent to families affected by war

Iran-backed group seeks to shore up its support base after a devastating conflict with Israel.

6 Dec 2024 - 10:00AM

Iraqi fighters head to Syria to battle rebels but Hezbollah stays out: sources

Iran also said it will provide ‘any support needed’ after rebels seized Aleppo last week in a lightning assault.

3 Dec 2024 - 10:08AM

Israel and Hezbollah trade fire, threatening Lebanon ceasefire

Hezbollah fired into an Israel-held area after multiple Israeli strikes in Lebanon since truce began.

3 Dec 2024 - 2:07PM

Israeli troops move between destroyed houses, in the south Lebanon village of Meiss El-Jabal, as they leave Lebanon on their way back into Israel. Photo: EPA-EFE

‘More of this can come’: what Syria attack means for Middle East power balance

Turkey and Israel’s ‘uncoordinated battle’ has raised questions about Iran and Russia’s ability to rescue Assad and his regime, analysts say.

2 Dec 2024 - 10:35PMvideocam

Syrian opposition fighters tear up a portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in central Aleppo on November 30, 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE

The Philippines

‘From terrorism to tourism’: after Abu Sayyaf horrors, is Sulu ‘100% safe’?

Sulu was battered by years of clashes between the militants and Philippine troops, but visitors are slowly returning due to better security.

2 Dec 2024 - 4:43PM

Israel-Gaza war

Editorial | Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire calls for care to ensure it remains

Diplomacy that clinched a 60-day deal between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon should also be put to work in Gaza.

30 Nov 2024 - 2:29AM

Syrian rebels seize most of Aleppo, Russian air strikes have ‘limited utility’

The attack by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham marks the most significant challenge in years to President Bashar al-Assad.

30 Nov 2024 - 8:31PM

Fighters fire at Syrian Army troops in the Rashidin district on the outskirts of Aleppo on Friday. Photo: AFP

China’s military drills

China and Pakistan talk security as they target terrorism against belt and road

Top Chinese military official meets Pakistani counterpart in wake of attacks against Chinese interests in the South Asian country.

28 Nov 2024 - 11:40PMvideocam

Zhang Youxia (left), vice-chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, meets his Pakistani counterpart Syed Asim Munir during a visit to Pakistan this week. Photo: Handout

Israel and Hezbollah trade accusations of ceasefire violations

Israel’s Netanyahu threatens ‘intense war’ if Hezbollah breaches fragile truce, which came into effect on Wednesday.

29 Nov 2024 - 9:15AM

Israel-Gaza war

Biden to launch Gaza ceasefire drive right away: adviser

Israel-Hezbollah deal was rare boost for Biden as he prepares to leave the White House.

27 Nov 2024 - 10:23PM

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