Anti-Shi'ism

The leader of HTS, after rejecting the pseudonym that has followed him for years – “Al-Jolani” is a Syrian alias referencing his origins and means “one from Jawlan,” the Arabic name for the Golan Heights – is making a clear and direct effort to define himself, particularly for the West.

The flare-up in the Syrian war has shaken an already unsteady region. At this point, without evidence, it is impossible to know whether the Islamist rebels of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) acted on their own, seeing the weakness of the regime's allies Russia and Iran, to take a large chunk of territory that includes Aleppo, or whether foreign powers pushed them to do so.

Syria is entering a new phase of conflict as the situation in the country has escalated dangerously in recent days.

Turkish authorities have detained 72 people suspected of having ties to the militant group Islamic State in operations across 13 provinces, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on social media platform X on Thursday. [Reuters]

Intelligence shared by Turkish authorities with Russia prevented a second attack planned by the ISIL-K terrorist organization following its deadly assault on a concert hall in Moscow in March, daily Hürriyet has reported.

The police have apprehended 33 suspects of the ISIL terrorist organization over allegedly preparing attacks ahead of the country's local elections later this month, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has said.

The suspects were "preparing and searching for action before the upcoming local elections," Yerlikaya wrote on X on March 10. Nationwide elections are due to be held on March 31.

With Turkish authorities escalating their pressure on ISIL after the deadly church attack in Istanbul on Jan. 28, the intelligence and security forces have dealt a blow to the terrorist organization's so-called Khorasan structure.

Late one night two months ago, a team of Taliban security officers assembled on the outskirts of Afghanistan's capital to prepare for a raid on an Islamic State group hideout.

Türkiye and the United States have slapped sanctions on two people believed to have raised money for two extremist groups operating in Syria, the countries have announced.

The announcement followed another joint move by Washington and Ankara four months ago, when they sanctioned a network of people and companies accused of helping deliver funds to ISIL.

A ground assault by the Taliban killed the ISIL terrorist who spearheaded the August 2021 suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that left 13 U.S. troops and about 170 Afghans dead during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, U.S. officials said Tuesday.