Donate

Raqqa

boy in his room playing guitar

His stepfather took him to Syria in 2014. His ordeal had just begun.

Shadow of ISIS

When ISIS was in power, between 2014 and 2019, the terrorist group recruited and trained children to take part in its fight. Some were brought to Syria by their parents. Others were born there. These children became part of the global terrorist movement. And today, five years since the group was defeated, hundreds of these minors and adolescents remain detained in Syria.

Wafaa Mustafa was married to American ISIS fighter Russell Dennison.

‘We have no future’: A Syrian woman speaks about her life with an American ISIS member

Shadow of ISIS

‘I have to work to help my family’: Child laborers in Raqqa face dangerous conditions

Shadow of ISIS
A woman walks inside a medical center that deals with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing in Idlib, Syria, April 13, 2020.

ISIS families held in Syrian camps face uncertain futures. Now, the coronavirus also looms.

COVID-19
Smoke rises after an air strike during fighting between members of the Syrian Democratic Forces and Islamic State militants in Raqqa, Syria,

Pentagon’s civilian death count was off by a factor of 10

Conflict & Justice
A middle-aged man stands at a podium with the Turkish and Iranian flag behind him.

Turkey to delay Syria operation as ISIS mounts attack

President Donald Trump’s plans to withdraw US troops from Syria has drawn criticism, but NATO ally Turkey has “cautiously” welcomed the move. The decision removes a source of friction between the US and Turkey over US support for Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters.

Macer Gifford, a British volunteer who joined the Kurds in the fight against ISIS in Syria.

British volunteers in Syria took on ISIS. Now they face possible arrest back home.

Conflict

Macer Gifford gave up a career in London as a currency trader to fight ISIS with Kurdish troops in Syria. He’s uncertain what will happen if he heads back to Britain.

A girl attends her first class at a school in Hazema in north Raqqa, Syria.

In Syria, all girls want is safety and school

Conflict

Some Syrian parents are marrying off their young daughters to protect them from the ravages of war, but these girls yearn for an education.

Syrian Democratic Forces fighters dance along a street in Raqqa, Syria, on Oct. 18, 2017.

Raqqa liberated from ISIS: ‘My city is now ruined and burned down’

Conflict

After brutal battling over Raqqa, challenges lie ahead for the alliance now holding the Syrian city: Kurdish and Arab fighters, backed by the US, have to rule over a Sunni Arab city that they destroyed, and a population that views them with suspicion.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) celebrate the defeat of ISIS in Raqqa, Syria.

A Raqqa resident asks why militia had to destroy his city to liberate it

Conflict

Some former Raqqa residents worry about what’s next for their city.