SHOTLIST

RAQQA, SYRIA (JAN. 18, 2026) (ANADOLU - ACCESS ALL)

1. VARIOUS OF MILITARY VEHICLES MOVING IN TABQA DISTRICT WITH SOLDIERS ON BOARD RAQQA, SYRIA - JAN. 18: The Syrian army regains control of the Tabqa district in Syria’s Raqqa province on Sunday, Jan. 18, Syrian state media reports.

Syria’s official news agency SANA, citing the Syrian Army Operations Directorate, says the army establishes full control over the strategically significant district after removing YPG/SDF members from the area.

The Syrian Defense Ministry’s Media and Communications Directorate says 483 YPG/SDF members contact authorities seeking to leave the group. The statement adds that 181 members surrender.

On Jan. 13, the Syrian army declared areas west of the Euphrates River under the occupation of the YPG/SDF terrorist organization, primarily Deir Hafir and Maskanah, as military zones.

Earlier on Saturday, the Syrian Army announced it had taken control of the town of Dibsi Afnan and was moving toward Tabqa in Raqqa province. It also said it had established full military control over the cities of Deir Hafir and Maskanah in the eastern Aleppo countryside.

The developments came as Ferhat Abdi Sahin, a ringleader of the YPG/SDF terror group targeted by the army's military operation west of the Euphrates, claimed that terror elements would withdraw to regions east of the river starting at 7 am local time (0400GMT).

In March 2025, the Syrian presidency announced an agreement for the terrorist organization YPG/SDF's integration into state institutions, reaffirming the country’s territorial unity and rejecting any attempts at division.