Long War Journal

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on September 3 that its 36th Division had cleared Hezbollah personnel from two underground routes beneath south Lebanon’s Ali al Taher Ridge, the site of a strategic underground installation built by the group, and achieved “operational control” above and below ground. The reported takeover occurred despite a lull in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has been in effect since June 19.

Moein Muhammad al Arabeed, who was captured by Israeli forces on September 1. Israeli special operations forces captured Moein Muhammad al Arabeed, a senior Hamas security official, during a September 1 raid in the Katiba area of western Gaza City. Meanwhile, the US-backed Board of Peace’s stabilization plan for Gaza, which had led to a temporary reduction in Israeli strikes amid a tenuous ceasefire, seems to have stalled as strikes resumed recently.

Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani (center) attends a funeral for six Peshmerga personnel who were killed in an Iranian attack in March 2026. (KRG on X) On August 29, the BBC reported that the US was planning to end military support to the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Peshmerga military force.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright (left) talks with Venezuelan Minister of People’s Power of Hydrocarbons Paula Henao (right). Henao received Wright when he arrived on his second official visit to Venezuela on September 1.

The UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team’s latest 1267 report traces a $50 million ransom from JNIM in the Sahel to Al Qaeda’s senior leadership, puts the Islamic State at a “lower ebb” after the killing of two of its deputy leaders, and finds that about two-thirds of both jihadist groups’ fighters are now in Africa. It also draws attention to risks from cross-border hostilities between Afghanistan and Pakistan and from jihadists released en masse from detention in Syria.

The internationally recognized government in Yemen based in the southern city of Aden announced today that its troops, alongside Saudi special operations forces, killed Abu Hudhayfah al Ansari, the official spokesman for the Islamic State. The Islamic State has not yet confirmed Ansari’s death.

The logo of Kataib Sayyid al Shuhada. Kataib Sayyid al Shuhada, an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq, has set conditions for placing its arms under the control of the Iraqi government. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi has sought to consolidate the arms of numerous Iranian-backed militias under state control. The attempt to disarm or regulate the weapons of these groups comes amid US pressure and a September 30 deadline for US troops who are part of the anti-Islamic State coalition to leave Iraq.

China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are engaged in “unprecedented” cooperation, and that is empowering Russian aggression in Ukraine and making the regime in Iran more lethal and resilient. Axis security cooperation is iterative and flowing in both directions across the bilateral relationships within the Axis, making its militaries more formidable and eroding the margin of safety for Americans and their partners. What is the latest in Ukraine? How are Axis members supporting Putin’s invasion?

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi (right) meets with US Chargé d’Affaires Joshua Harris on August 27. (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office) Iranian-backed militias in Iraq may be seeking to delay the government’s plan to disarm them. “A senior Iraqi official pushed back a September 30 deadline for pro-Iran factions to hand over their weapons, without offering an explanation for the move or providing a new date,” Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on August 24.

Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, announces the force’s dissolution from the People’s Palace in Damascus. (Ahmad_27 on X) Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US counterterrorism partner in the fight against the Islamic State (IS), announced on August 25 the dissolution of his forces following their full merger into Syrian state institutions, including both military and civilian bodies.