Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa said early on Sunday that government forces had secured Tabqa and the nearby Euphrates Dam, Syria’s largest, after expelling fighters linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), labelled a “terrorist” group by Turkiye, the European Union and the United States.

Iraq’s Counter‑Terrorism Service (CTS) announced Sunday that its forces arrested three Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in intelligence‑driven raids carried out in Anbar and Sulaymaniyah provinces, the Xinhua news agency reported.

For some commentators, the current conflict in Syria boils down to the new Syrian government attacking Kurdish forces. While this is correct in some ways, it is also very simplistic.

U.S. military forces carried out precision airstrikes against a facility used by Iran-backed militia groups along the Iraq–Syria border. The site served as a coordination hub for the shipment and transfer of advanced conventional weapons.

The U.S. withdrawal of troops from Ain al-Asad Airbase was completed by Friday as part of regional consolidation following progress on ISIS as CENTCOM calls for "teamwork."

Overnight on January 17 and 18, there were major changes on the ground as Arab tribal fighters claimed to seize control of a number of villages and two oil fields on the East side of the Euphrates. Syrian government forces have continued to press their offensive against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces over the last day of fighting in Syria.

In the space of two days, the Syrian military, aided by tribal militia, has driven Kurdish forces from wide swathes of northern Syria that they have held for more than a decade.

Coordination with the international coalition will continue with regards to completely eliminating IS’s presence in Syria,” says military committee.

Government forces seized a strategic town and oil fields Sunday in northeastern Syria, part of an ongoing push against Kurdish-led forces east of the Euphrates River. This came after tensions between Damascus and the U.