The regional warfare that erupted following the Hamas incursion into Israel on October 7, 2023 laid bare the challenges to the region posed by non-state actors willing and able to defy state authority to pursue their separate ideologies and further the objectives of their outside backers. In three cases – Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, all […]| The Soufan Center
The Syrian people, as well as Western and regional leaders, hoped that the fall of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad to Islamist rebels professing moderation and tolerance would quickly produce domestic stability. Regional and European countries anticipated an end to civil conflict might encourage the more than 6 million Syrian refugees and 7 million […]| The Soufan Center
The current environment in Syria is tailor-made for the Islamic State (ISIS) to exploit in an effort to help facilitate its comeback and resurgence, not just in the country but across the region. Still, the situation is complex. While ISIS will almost certainly gain from the absence of the Assad regime, providing ISIS with greater […]| The Soufan Center
After a steep drop in operational tempo in late 2024 and early 2025 when the Assad regime imploded, the Islamic State (IS) in Syria has since increased its attack frequency month over month, targeting both security forces and soft targets in territories controlled by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian transitional government. […]| The Soufan Center
