Syria
Follow the latest Syria news, videos, and analysis from ABC News.
December 24, 2024 at 6:02 PM

Advocacy group working to find Americans missing in Syria

Mouaz Moustafa, the executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, provides an update on the work being done to find missing Americans in Syria.
December 24, 2024 at 6:02 PM
VIDEO: Advocacy group working to find Americans missing in Syria
December 20, 2024 at 8:41 PM

Abu Yusif dead: US officials announce ISIS leader killed in airstrike

U.S. officials announced they conducted an airstrike on Syrian soil that killed two ISIS members, including a top official.
December 20, 2024 at 8:41 PM
Stock concept photo of U.S. and Syria.
December 20, 2024 at 3:16 PM

US delegation visits Syria to 'meet with representatives of HTS'

Senior U.S. officials are in Syria for the first time since Bashar al-Assad fled Damascus, the State Department announced Thursday evening. ABC News’ Marcus Moore reports.
December 20, 2024 at 3:16 PM
US delegation visits Syria to 'meet with representatives of HTS'
December 18, 2024 at 3:21 PM

Israel launching more strikes on Syria 'a real concern'

Kings College London’s ICSR Associate Fellow Broderick McDonald says further fighting in the region will allow ISIS to "expands its operations and ramp up attacks."
December 18, 2024 at 3:21 PM
VIDEO: Israel launching more strikes on Syria 'a real concern'
December 17, 2024 at 3:46 PM

Syrians uncovering 'massive' graves could find 100,000 bodies, NGO says

Mouaz Moustafa, the head of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, told ABC News there are believed to be well over 100,000 bodies in a "massive" grave outside Damascus. ABC News' Marcus Moore reports.
December 17, 2024 at 3:46 PM
VIDEO: Syrians uncovering 'massive' graves could find 100,000 bodies, NGO says
December 17, 2024 at 3:26 PM

Syrians uncovering 'massive' graves could find 100,000 bodies, NGO says

Mouaz Moustafa, the head of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, told ABC News there are believed to be well over 100,000 bodies in a "massive" grave outside Damascus.
December 17, 2024 at 3:26 PM
Members of Syria's White Helmets civil defense service prepare to transport bodies uncovered at a mass grave in Damascus on Dec. 16, 2024.
December 16, 2024 at 11:15 PM

Syria's Assad blames 'terrorism' for regime loss

Former Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday made his first official statement since being topped by a rebel offensive and fleeing the country for Russia.
December 16, 2024 at 11:15 PM
VIDEO: Syria's Assad blames 'terrorism' for regime loss
December 16, 2024 at 4:47 PM

Syria's Assad blames 'terrorism' for regime collapse

Ofir Akunis, the consul general of Israel in New York, says Israel doesn’t wants a new terror organization to replace former Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime.
December 16, 2024 at 4:47 PM
VIDEO: Syria's Assad blames 'terrorism' for regime collapse
December 16, 2024 at 2:38 PM

Syria's Assad blames 'terrorism' for regime collapse in first statement since defeat

Former Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday made his first official statement since being topped by a rebel offensive and fleeing the country for Russia.
December 16, 2024 at 2:38 PM
A billboard with a picture of Syria's former President Bashar Assad shows damage by bullet holes after his ousting in Damascus, Syria, on Dec. 16, 2024.
December 16, 2024 at 11:37 AM

Israel ramps up assault in Syria

ABC News' chief international correspondent James Longman reports from Damascus as Israeli military forces target weapon facilities and air defenses in Syria.
December 16, 2024 at 11:37 AM
VIDEO: Israel ramps up assault in Syria
December 16, 2024 at 3:25 AM

Post-Assad Syria begins to take shape after 50-year reign ends

ABC News’ James Longman reports on the latest developments in Syria.
December 16, 2024 at 3:25 AM
VIDEO: Post-Assad Syria begins to take shape after 50-year reign ends
December 15, 2024 at 2:56 PM

Top diplomats from US and Middle East gather to discuss Syria

The rebel group that led the overthrow of Bashar Assad’s regime, known as HTS, is still considered a terrorist organization by the U.S.
December 15, 2024 at 2:56 PM
VIDEO: Top diplomats from US and Middle East gather to discuss Syria
December 14, 2024 at 4:10 PM

American Travis Timmerman on his way home

U.S. military is flying the former captive out of Syria after months in captivity.
December 14, 2024 at 4:10 PM
VIDEO: American Travis Timmerman on his way home
December 14, 2024 at 10:05 AM

Inside Assad’s secret police headquarters: Reporter's notebook

Much of the evidence of Assad’s crimes is lost, but in one room saved from a fire, we got a glimpse into the system of fear.
December 14, 2024 at 10:05 AM
ABC's James Longman inside of Assad’s secret police headquarters, Branch 235.
December 14, 2024 at 6:13 AM

American freed and returning home after 7 months in Syrian prison

Travis Timmerman, the American who was freed after seven months in a Syrian prison, is on his way home after being flown out of the country on a U.S. military helicopter. 
December 14, 2024 at 6:13 AM
American freed and returning home after 7 months in Syrian prison
December 14, 2024 at 3:49 AM

How Syria's dictator funded a regime of terror

ABC's James Longman explores a warehouse filled with illicit drugs that financed Bashar Assad's regime and goes inside the secret headquarters of a notorious division of the Syrian intelligence.
December 14, 2024 at 3:49 AM
How Syria's dictator funded a regime of terror
December 14, 2024 at 3:49 AM

How rebel groups in Syria brought down the regime

ABC News’ Phil Lipof speaks with Kings College London’s ICSR Associate Fellow Broderick McDonald about the fall of Syria’s regime and what the new leaders could look like moving forward.
December 14, 2024 at 3:49 AM
How rebel groups in Syria brought down the regime
December 14, 2024 at 1:01 AM

American flown out of Syria, now in US military custody

The exchange took place at the remote U.S. base in southeastern Syria known as At Tanf garrison, close to the border with Jordan.
December 14, 2024 at 1:01 AM
In this photo released by the Syrian Department of Political Affairs, journalist Travis Timmerman, who was kidnapped during the Assad regime, is handed over to America officials.
December 13, 2024 at 7:27 PM

Did the synthetic stimulant Captagon help lead to Assad regime’s downfall in Syria?

Captagon trade under the Assad regime generated billions annually for Syria, according to a 2023 study by the nonprofit Observatory of Political and Economic Networks.
December 13, 2024 at 7:27 PM
A Syrian rebel fighter holds a container of pills of Captagon, a brand name of the drug psychostimulant Fenethylline, discovered at a drug manufacturing facility in the city of Douma in the Eastern Ghouta region on the eastern outskirts of Damascus, Dec. 12, 2024.
December 13, 2024 at 7:02 PM

UNICEF official on humanitarian aid needed for Syria

UNICEF official Salim Oweis discusses the needs on the ground in Syria for civilians and children following the collapse of the al-Assad regime.
December 13, 2024 at 7:02 PM
VIDEO: UNICEF official on humanitarian aid needed for Syria
December 13, 2024 at 6:03 PM

Parents of missing American found in Syria speak out

The parents of Travis Timmerman recall those first moments they heard he was found alive and safe in Syria.
December 13, 2024 at 6:03 PM
VIDEO: Parents of missing American found in Syria speak out
December 13, 2024 at 5:34 PM

Who was in ousted Syrian President Assad's inner circle and where are they now?

After insurgents toppled Syrian President Bashar Assad this month, many senior officials and members of his dreaded intelligence and security services appear to have melted away
December 13, 2024 at 5:34 PM
FILE - Bashar Assad, right, and his brother Maher Assad, center, stand during the funeral of their father, former President Hafez Assad, in Damascus, Syria, June 13, 2000. (AP Photo, File)
December 13, 2024 at 5:14 PM

Inside Syria's notorious Saydnaya prison

ABC News Chief Foreign Correspondent James Longman reports at Saydnaya prison, where Syrians are searching for their lost loved ones.
December 13, 2024 at 5:14 PM
ABC's James Longman visits Sednaya Prison near Damascus, Syria.
December 13, 2024 at 4:36 PM

Iran the ‘big loser’ with changing Syria: International security expert

Emily Harding of the Center for Strategic and International Studies discusses what Syria’s shift in power means for the Middle East.
December 13, 2024 at 4:36 PM
VIDEO: Iran the ‘big loser’ with changing Syria: International security expert
December 13, 2024 at 3:21 PM

Austin Tice's parents reveal how the family coped for the last 12 years

The parents of Austin Tice spoke out in an interview with ABC News as the U.S. works to uncover their son’s whereabouts after the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria.
December 13, 2024 at 3:21 PM
Freelance journalist Austin Tice went missing in Syria in 2012 and has not been heard from since.
December 13, 2024 at 2:41 PM

Famous Syrian activist Mazen Al-Hamada found dead in Saydnaya

Al-Hamada travelled the world to share his testimony on the horrors of Assad's regime that he experienced in prison.
December 13, 2024 at 2:41 PM
Mazen Al-Hamada is shown in a scene from the documentary "Syria's Disappeared," by Afshar Films.
December 13, 2024 at 12:47 PM

US believes circulating video could show missing American, officials say

The U.S. said it believes a person seen in a video circulating online could be Travis Pete Timmerman, an American who went missing from Hungary earlier in the year.
December 13, 2024 at 12:47 PM
Travis Timmerman, a U.S. citizen who had entered Syria from Lebanon on a Christian pilgrimage and had been detained for several months, speaks with reporters in a house in Damascus on Dec. 12, 2024, after he was found in the village of Thihabiyeh east of the capital, after rebels toppled longtime president Bashar al-Assad.
December 13, 2024 at 2:37 AM

Inside Syria’s fallen regime

ABC News’ James Longman reports on the fall of the Assad regime and gets up close look inside Assad’s former palace, personal home and infamous prison.
December 13, 2024 at 2:37 AM
Inside Syria’s fallen regime
December 13, 2024 at 1:49 AM

Missing American believed to be found in Syria

Plus, Donald Trump was named Time’s Person of the Year. Our panel weighs in on the latest headlines.
December 13, 2024 at 1:49 AM
VIDEO: Missing American believed to be found in Syria
December 13, 2024 at 1:37 AM

Missing American found alive wandering barefoot in Syria

After seven months in captivity, Travis Timmerman was found wandering barefoot on Monday morning. He's one of thousands freed from prisons since rebel forces ousted the ruthless dictator Bashar Assad.
December 13, 2024 at 1:37 AM
VIDEO: Missing American found alive wandering barefoot in Syria
December 13, 2024 at 12:58 AM

How Syrian rebels took down Bashar al-Assad

The armed Islamist faction Hayat Tahrir al-Sham led a revolution toppling Syria's former president, and forcing him to resign and flee to Moscow.
December 13, 2024 at 12:58 AM
The armed Islamist faction Hayat Tahrir al-Sham led a revolution toppling Syria's former president, and forcing him to resign and flee to Moscow.
December 12, 2024 at 9:03 PM

US believes circulating video could show missing American, officials say

The U.S. believes an individual seen in a video circulating online could be Travis Pete Timmerman, an American who went missing from Hungary earlier in the year.
December 12, 2024 at 9:03 PM
The U.S. believes an individual seen in a video circulating online could be Travis Pete Timmerman, an American who went missing from Hungary earlier in the year.
December 12, 2024 at 7:09 PM

'We are all angry': Syrian doctor describes bodies from prisons showing torture

Family members and friends of thousands of missing Syrians are continuing their search for those disappeared by former President Bashar Assad's regime.
December 12, 2024 at 7:09 PM
A father hugs his 15-year-old son after they identify his older son, Mohammad, at a morgue in Damascus, Syria, on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024.
December 12, 2024 at 5:22 PM

Syrian families search for their missing; American found near Damascus

ABC News' Marcus Moore reports on the thousands of families in Syria searching for their loved ones who vanished under Assad's regime.
December 12, 2024 at 5:22 PM
VIDEO: Syrian families search for their missing; American found near Damascus
December 12, 2024 at 3:45 PM

Iran's leader blames US, Israel for Assad's fall, shifts tone toward Syrian groups

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech Wednesday that the U.S. and Israel were behind the fall of former President Bashar Assad.
December 12, 2024 at 3:45 PM
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with a group of people in Tehran, Iran, Dec. 11, 2024.
December 12, 2024 at 3:17 PM

Syrian families look for loved ones after fall of Bashar Assad

ABC News’ James Longman reports on families’ frenzied search for loved ones who vanished under Assad’s brutal regime.
December 12, 2024 at 3:17 PM
VIDEO: Syrian families look for loved ones after fall of Bashar Assad
December 12, 2024 at 1:28 PM

EU countries double down on halt to Syrian asylum claims but won't send people back

Some European Union countries are doubling down on their decision to rapidly halt asylum procedures for Syrian migrants in Europe
December 12, 2024 at 1:28 PM
Hungary's Interior Minister Sandor Pinter, center-left, speaks with Romania's interior Minister Catalin Predoiu, left, Bulgaria's Interior Minister Atanas Ilkov, center-right, and Slovenia's Interior Minister Bostjan Pokjukar during a round table meeting of EU justice and interior ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Dec 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
December 12, 2024 at 10:12 AM

US sent Austin Tice 'message' to Syria's HTS rebels emptying Assad prisons

The U.S. is communicating with rebel groups inside Syria amid the search for missing American journalist Austin Tice, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
December 12, 2024 at 10:12 AM
This file photo shows U.S. journalist Austin Tice who went missing in Syria in 2012.
December 12, 2024 at 7:42 AM

Families desperately searching for missing loved ones across Syria

Syrians have been searching for their loved ones who vanished under the brutal Assad regime, as leaders of the new government vow to go after former top officials.
December 12, 2024 at 7:42 AM
VIDEO: Families desperately searching for missing loved ones across Syria
December 11, 2024 at 5:55 PM

The threats of a post-Assad Syria in the region

Sinam Sherkany Mohamad, the Syrian Democratic Council's representative to the U.S., discusses the escalating fighting between U.S.-backed Kurds and rebel groups supported by Turkey.
December 11, 2024 at 5:55 PM
VIDEO: The threats of a post-Assad Syria in the region
December 11, 2024 at 5:43 PM

Inside Assad’s abandoned palace in Syria

ABC News’ James Longman steps inside the ransacked and looted palace in Damascus after rebel forces toppled Bashar Assad’s regime.
December 11, 2024 at 5:43 PM
VIDEO: Inside Assad’s abandoned palace in Syria
December 11, 2024 at 3:24 PM

IDF says they've destroyed almost all Assad regime capability

Retired Israeli brigadier general Assaf Orion and ABC News’ Britt Clennett discuss the Israel Defense Forces’ airstrikes which have destroyed most of Assad regime army's capability throughout Syria.
December 11, 2024 at 3:24 PM
VIDEO: IDF says they've destroyed almost all Assad regime capability
December 11, 2024 at 3:17 AM

Israel unleashes wave of devastating airstrikes across Syria

Israel is conducting airstrikes on military bases and naval ships to prevent them from falling into the hands of Syrian rebels. ABC News goes inside Assad’s presidential palace and a notorious prison.
December 11, 2024 at 3:17 AM
VIDEO: Israel unleashes wave of devastating airstrikes across Syria
December 10, 2024 at 9:20 PM

Former prisoner at Saydnaya prison in Syria recalls inhumane treatment

During Syria's civil war, human rights groups estimate that over 100,000 Syrians, including children, were held in appalling conditions at the notorious Saydnaya prison.
December 10, 2024 at 9:20 PM
A picture shows a cell at the Saydnaya prison as Syrian rescuers search for potential hidden basements at the facility in Damascus, Dec. 9, 2024.
December 10, 2024 at 8:11 PM

Historic fall of Syrian government ends 50-year rule of Assad family

David Lesch, professor of Middle Eastern history at Trinity University discusses the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime and his authoritarian rule.
December 10, 2024 at 8:11 PM
VIDEO: Historic fall of Syrian government ends 50-year rule of Assad family
December 10, 2024 at 7:19 PM

Inside one of Assad's presidential palaces  

ABC News' James Longman tours a palace in Damascus known as "the people's palace."
December 10, 2024 at 7:19 PM
VIDEO: Inside one of Assad's presidential palaces  
December 10, 2024 at 6:23 PM

The impact of Syrian rebel takeover on the region

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Aaron Zellin discusses the future of Syria under Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group that led the coalition of rebels that defeated Bashar al-Assad’s regime
December 10, 2024 at 6:23 PM
VIDEO: The impact of Syrian rebel takeover on the region
December 10, 2024 at 5:32 PM

Fall of Assad is huge blow to Iran: Former DHS official

ABC News’ Marcus Moore and Elizabeth Neumann, the former DHS assistant secretary for counterterrorism, discuss the latest news out of Syria.
December 10, 2024 at 5:32 PM
VIDEO: Fall of Assad is huge blow to Iran: Former DHS official
December 10, 2024 at 4:44 PM

US engaging with Syrian rebels will be ‘very difficult’: Defense expert

Mick Mulroy, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, discusses what happens in the wake of rebel forces toppling the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
December 10, 2024 at 4:44 PM
VIDEO: US engaging with Syrian rebels will be ‘very difficult’: Defense expert
December 10, 2024 at 3:48 PM

Chaos, uncertainty in Syria after sudden fall of Assad regime

Russian President Vladimir Putin has granted political asylum to Bashar Assad as rebel fighters continue their assert of power in the country after the collapse of Assad’s regime.
December 10, 2024 at 3:48 PM
VIDEO: Chaos, uncertainty in Syria after sudden fall of Assad regime