Following almost daily hostilities during the civil war, Idlib started to experience a ‘period of calm’543 and relative stability as of March 2025.544 Nevertheless, during the reference period of this report, armed clashes erupted between Firqat al-Ghuraba and forces of the Syrian Transitional Government on 21 and 22 October 2025.545 On 23 October, Uzbek foreign fighters arrived in support of Firqat al-Ghuraba,546 resulting in a ‘multi-faction battle’.547 A ceasefire was negotiated between the militants and government forces,548 which reportedly allowed MoI forces to enter the camp.549 Other confrontations involving Uzbek militants occurred at the beginning of May 2026.550 Syrian authorities arrested 16 Uzbek fighters in Idlib551 after a raid on a robbery suspect’s home552 triggered an armed stand-off at a Criminal Security headquarters. 553 According to sources, the integration of foreign fighters into the new Syrian security forces ‘entails risks,’554 and there are growing tensions regarding loyalties and autonomy.555
Idlib city as well as Idlib countryside experienced an escalation of ISIL operations in late 2025.556 On 1 December 2025, the MoI reported of two operations in the north of the governorate and in the west of Idlib city which targeted cells affiliated with ISIL.557 On 16 December, Syrian forces dismantled another ISIL cell, which was associated with a series of attacks targeting security and military patrols in northwestern Syria558 since November 2025.559 Furthermore, many of the roughly 6 000 foreigners with links to ISIL who were previously held in al-Hol camp reportedly travelled to Idlib and Aleppo after control of the camp was taken over by the Syrian government from SDF forces in January 2026, sparking security concerns.560 In March 2026, two ISIL attacks were reported in Idlib.561
After several years in the role of a ‘protective power’ for the Idlib governorate – preventing Assad’s forces from retaking the area from the HTS –562 Türkiye’s focus shifted away from Idlib, which had come to hold less strategic significance, towards northern Aleppo and the Kurdish conflict.563
- 543
UN, Emerging from War, Syrians Embark on a Path to Stability and Development, 17 March 2025, url
- 544
Harmoon Center, Harmoon Center Monitoring Report for March 2025, 20 April 2025, url, p. 7
- 545
Shtuni, A., From Insurgency to Statecraft: Al-Sharaa and Syria’s Foreign Fighters Test, 19 February 2026, url, pp. 4-5
- 546
BISI, Syrian Forces Besiege Jihadist Camp: Government Raid Signals Future Challenges, 4 November 2025, url
- 547
SARI Global, Syrian Government Raid on Foreign Fighters in al-Fardan, 22 October 2025, url
- 548
BISI, Syrian Forces Besiege Jihadist Camp: Government Raid Signals Future Challenges, 4 November 2025, url
- 549
New Arab (The), Syria reaches truce with French-led militant group in Idlib, 24 October 2025, url
- 550
Reuters, Syrian forces detain Uzbek fighters in security sweep, 6 May 2026, url; National (The), Syria arrests armed Uzbek fighters after stand-off in Idlib, 6 May 2026, url
- 551
National (The), Syria arrests armed Uzbek fighters after stand-off in Idlib, 6 May 2026, url; International Crisis Group, The Struggle to Pacify Syria’s Foreign Legions, 13 May 2026, url
- 552
National (The), Syria arrests armed Uzbek fighters after stand-off in Idlib, 6 May 2026, url
- 553
National (The), Syria arrests armed Uzbek fighters after stand-off in Idlib, 6 May 2026, url; International Crisis Group, The Struggle to Pacify Syria’s Foreign Legions, 13 May 2026, url
- 554
International Crisis Group, The Struggle to Pacify Syria’s Foreign Legions, 13 May 2026, url
- 555
Shtuni, A., From Insurgency to Statecraft: Al-Sharaa and Syria’s Foreign Fighters Test, 19 February 2026, url, p. 5
- 556
SOHR, Amid noticeable escalation of ISIS cells’ operations | Leaflets promising the return of “Islamic state” distributed in Idlib, 17 December 2025, url; Shtuni, A., From Insurgency to Statecraft: Al-Sharaa and Syria’s Foreign Fighters Test, 19 February 2026, url, p. 7
- 557
Enab Baladi, Syrian Interior Ministry announces targeting Islamic State cells in Idlib, 1 December 2025, url
- 558
Media Line (The), Syrian Forces Say They Broke Up Islamic State Cell Behind Attacks in Idlib, Aleppo, 17 December 2025, url
- 559
ISW and CTP, ISIS Activity in Idlib and Aleppo, December 16, 2025 [Map], 16 December 2025, url
- 560
Al Jazeera, Exodus of ISIL-linked detainees from Syria camp sparks security concerns, 17 February 2026, url
- 561
SOHR, Worrying escalation | 15 civilians and combatants killed in 22 attacks carries out by ISIS in different areas across Syria in March, 1 April 2026, url
- 562
SWP, The Fall of the Assad Regime: Regional and International Power Shifts, February 2025, url, p. 2
- 563
EPC, The Turkish Role in Rebuilding Syria’s Military and Security Capabilities, 30 December 2025, url