Syria

The U.S. president welcomed the Turkish leader to the White House for talks about Syria and also Turkey's decision to buy a Russian defense system.

Many U.S. special operators have been ordered out of Kurdish-controlled areas of Syria, but other troops have arrived to guard oil installations. The Pentagon says the mission is still to fight ISIS.

What happens to the country's resources — once a revenue stream for ISIS — will be important not to world oil markets but to the future of Syria itself, write Roger Diwan and Daniel Yergin.

The Islamic State named Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi as its new leader days after ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed himself during a U.S. raid on his compound in northwest Syria.

President Trump is leaving some U.S. troops in Syria, with the goal of controlling Syria's oil fields. But legal experts say exploiting the oil could amount to pillaging — a war crime.

In Iraq and Syria, the ISIS leader's death has stirred a mix of responses — from joy to disbelief to dread that the militants will rise again.

The president is renewing his push for U.S. control of Syrian oil. Experts say the limited oil there belongs to Syria, but it may provide a pretext for a continued U.S. presence in the country.

Turkey says U.S. officials should not meet with Syrian Democratic Forces chief Mazloum Abdi, whom Ankara considers a terrorist. In Syria, U.S. forces are preparing to protect the eastern oil fields.

Turkey's invasion of Syria this month has displaced 80,000 children who are "really in deep distress," UNICEF's Fran Equiza tells NPR. "The price children pay is absolutely disproportionate."

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to jointly patrol an area in northern Syria previously controlled by Kurdish forces with U.S. support.

Other U.S. troops will pivot to fighting ISIS in Iraq rather than immediately heading home. Some 300,000 people have reportedly been displaced since Turkey's offensive began.