With Assad gone, Middle East battle lines are redrawn

The Syrian strongman had for nearly 14 years held off an uprising that many believed had been exhausted. But his downfall followed a series of battlefield convulsions for other allies of Iran.

PREMIUM Politics

Fighters with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) inspect damaged and abandoned military vehicles and equipment at the Qamishli international airport, formerly a joint Syrian-russian military base, in northeastern Syria's city of Qamishli on December 9, 2024. (AFP)