The fall of Bashar Assad in Syria has led Iran-allied factions in neighboring Iraq to reconsider their push for U.S. forces to exit the country, multiple Iraqi and American officials told The Associated Press.

Russia has stepped up its military withdrawal from Syria, removing vehicles and containers from its key Tartous port on the country's Mediterranean coast, analysis by BBC Verify suggests. After the fall of the Assad regime in December,

By bnm Gulf bureau Russian forces have begun withdrawing from Syria, with two cargo vessels, the Sparta II and Sparta, departing from the port of Tartus on January 30, carrying significant military equipment.