Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)

Force in Play

Controls Syrian transitional government

The United States began bombing ISIS targets in Syria in September 2014. Eleven years later, Washington announced it will withdraw all remaining troops within two months—ending a ground presence that once numbered over 2,000 soldiers. The withdrawal follows a cascade of changes: Assad's fall in December 2024, a new HTS-led government taking control, and an agreement integrating America's Kurdish allies into the Syrian national army.

Updated Feb 18

Force in Play

Transitioned to state power under Ahmed al-Sharaa

The five-hour meeting collapsed. On January 20, Syrian President al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi met in Damascus with the defense and foreign ministers present—the highest-level direct talks since the January 18 ceasefire. Al-Sharaa offered Mazloum the position of Deputy Defense Minister and asked him to nominate Hasakah's governor in exchange for cutting PKK ties and accepting Syrian forces into the province. Mazloum requested that Hasakah remain under full SDF administration. Al-Sharaa refused, conditioning the agreement on Interior Ministry forces entering Hasakah. The talks collapsed entirely. Within hours, Damascus announced a four-day ceasefire through January 24 and Syrian forces began deploying toward Hasakah—the last major SDF-held city. Trump called al-Sharaa the same day, securing a pledge not to advance on Hasakah while affirming Kurdish rights 'within the framework of the Syrian state.' But by January 21, Syrian forces controlled Raqqa city, al-Hol ISIS detention camp, and were positioned outside Hasakah. The question shifted from whether the SDF survives to whether it surrenders or fights.

Updated Jan 21

Force in Play

Dissolved January 2025, integrated into state institutions

On December 8, 2024, Bashar al-Assad's regime collapsed after a lightning 11-day offensive by rebel forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The 53-year Assad family dynasty ended not with a prolonged siege but with regime forces simply melting away. Assad fled to Moscow. On January 7, 2025, a Qatar Airways flight landed in Damascus—the first international arrival in 13 years—as the new transitional government began the monumental task of rebuilding a shattered nation.

Updated Jan 7

Force in Play

Controls Damascus, leading Syria's transitional government

A lone ISIS gunman killed two Iowa National Guardsmen and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra, Syria, on December 13, 2025—the first American combat deaths since dictator Bashar al-Assad fled the country a year earlier. Six days later, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth launched Operation Hawkeye Strike: F-15s, A-10s, Apache helicopters, and HIMARS artillery hammering 70 ISIS targets across central Syria with over 100 precision munitions. Jordan sent fighter jets. Trump called it vengeance. Then U.S. forces kept hunting—11 more raids between December 20-29 killed or captured 25 ISIS operatives and destroyed four weapons caches.

Updated Dec 31, 2025