ISIS

Capt. Alex Quataert points out the areas the soldiers are visiting on the map.

U.S. Forces In Syria Tackle A More Complex — And Possibly Dangerous — Mission

4:59pm March 26, 2020

American soldiers are helping secure oil fields in northeast Syria — not only from ISIS extremists, but from Syria and Russia as well. It's a relatively new mission for these troops.

Syrians ride a motorcycle past a burnt vehicle near the northwest Syrian village of Barisha in the Idlib province of Syria, near where U.S. forces raided an ISIS compound.

The U.S. Investigates Possible Civilian Deaths During Baghdadi Raid In Syria

8:05pm March 13, 2020

The military is conducting a credibility assessment of claims of civilian casualties during the U.S. operation against ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

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Defense Secretary Mark told NPR on Monday that the U.S. has the constitutional authority to strike Iranian proxies in Iraq and Iran on its home soil in retaliation for attacks on American forces.

Esper: U.S. Could Strike Iran Or Proxies 'Where Legally Available And Appropriate'

10:26pm January 13, 2020

In an interview with NPR on Monday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said if U.S. troops or interests are threatened, the U.S. will have the right to retaliate.

A woman walks past a wrecked van near the northwestern Syrian village of Barisha. Local residents and medical staff tell NPR that noncombatant civilians were killed and injured in the van the night of the U.S. raid on the compound of ISIS leader Abu Bakr

Syrians Say U.S. Helicopter Fire Killed Civilians During The Raid On Baghdadi

10:13pm December 03, 2019

A Syrian man says his arm was blown off and two friends were killed by U.S. helicopter fire during the assault on ISIS's leader. A defense official said the military will review what happened.

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Abdirizak Mohamed Warsame, of Eagan, Minn., shown here in December 2015, is one of nine men convicted of plotting to join the Islamic State group in Syria.

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'They Wish Me Dead.' Convict In ISIS Case Faces Backlash For Helping Feds

3:05pm November 20, 2019

by Hannah Allam

Abdirizak Warsame was among nine Minnesota men who planned to travel to Syria to join ISIS. When the FBI foiled their plot, each faced a decision that would influence their sentencing.

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President Trump and first lady Melania Trump meet with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife, Emine Erdogan, outside the White House on Wednesday.

Trump, Erdogan Have "Frank" Discussion About Syria

5:47pm November 13, 2019

by Ayesha Rascoe

The U.S. president welcomed the Turkish leader to the White House for talks about Syria and also Turkey's decision to buy a Russian defense system.

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A convoy of U.S. military vehicles, arriving from northern Iraq, drives past an oil pump jack in the countryside of Syria's northeastern city of Qamishli on Oct. 26.

Opinion: Syria's Oil Output Is Low, But Here's Why It Matters

6:04pm October 31, 2019

What happens to the country's resources — once a revenue stream for ISIS — will be important not to world oil markets but to the future of Syria itself, write Roger Diwan and Daniel Yergin.

The late ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in an undated picture released this week by the Pentagon.

ISIS Confirms Baghdadi's Death And Names His Successor

5:54pm October 31, 2019

by Brakkton Booker

The Islamic State named Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi as its new leader days after ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed himself during a U.S. raid on his compound in northwest Syria.

A U.S. military vehicle drives past an oil pump jack in the countryside of Syria's northeastern city of Qamishli. President Trump is leaving some U.S. troops in Syria, with the goal of controlling Syria's oil fields. But legal experts say exploiting the o

If U.S. Takes Syrian Oil, It May Violate International Laws Against Pillage

3:41pm October 30, 2019

by David Welna

President Trump is leaving some U.S. troops in Syria, with the goal of controlling Syria's oil fields. But legal experts say exploiting the oil could amount to pillaging — a war crime.

Iraqi youth watch the news about ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's death, in Najaf, Iraq, on Sunday.

'We Didn't See A Body': Baghdadi's Death Draws Doubts In Lands Where ISIS Ruled

2:22pm October 29, 2019

In Iraq and Syria, the ISIS leader's death has stirred a mix of responses — from joy to disbelief to dread that the militants will rise again.