Syria's interior ministry forces enter key city under deal with Kurdish-led SDF

AL-HASSAKEH, Syria (AP) — A small contingent of security forces with Syria’s interior ministry entered the city of al-Hassakeh on Monday as part of a deal between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, which control the city.

The SDF announced the new agreement with the central government on Friday, aiming to stabilize a ceasefire in the country that ended weeks of fighting, in which the Kurdish-led force lost most of the territory it previously held in northeastern Syria. It lays out steps toward integrating the force into the army and police forces, and integrating civilian institutions in SDF-controlled areas into the central government.

Under the deal, government military forces won't enter Kurdish-majority areas, but small contingents of security forces reporting to the interior ministry will enter the cities of al-Hassakeh and Qamishli to secure state-affiliated institutions such as the civil registry, passport offices and the airport, and to restart work at those institutions.

Local Kurdish police forces will continue to patrol both cities and will eventually be integrated into the interior ministry as well.

The entry of government forces into al-Hassakeh went forward as planned without any outbreaks of violence.

Later Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the SDF against any attempts to “sabotage” the agreement reached with the Syrian government.

“With the latest agreements, a new page has now been opened before the Syrian people,” Erdogan said in a televised address. “Whoever attempts to sabotage this, I say clearly and openly, will be crushed under it.”

Turkey is a strong ally of the government in Damascus and regards the SDF as an extension of a Kurdish militant group that has led a decades-long insurgency in Turkey.

Also Monday, a court in Iraq announced that it has begun investigative procedures with 1,387 accused members of the Islamic State group who were recently transferred by the U.S. military from prisons in Syria to Iraq.

The First Investigative Court in the Karkh district of Baghdad said in a statement that the investigations are being carried out by specialized judges in counterterrorism under the direct supervision of the president of the Supreme Judicial Council.

Altogether, around 7,000 accused IS militants are set to be transferred from Syria to Iraq for trial. Amid the fighting between the SDF and government forces last month, some suspected IS members escaped from one prison, although the government said most were later captured.

Abdul-Zahra reported from Baghdad. Suzan Fraser contributed to this report from Ankara, Turkey.

Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) combatants look on as a contingent of Syria's Interior Ministry security forces arrive to implement an agreement aimed at stabilizing a ceasefire in al-Hassakeh, eastern Syria, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) female soldiers look on as a contingent of Syria's Interior Ministry security forces arrive to implement an agreement aimed at stabilizing a ceasefire in al-Hassakeh, eastern Syria, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) soldiers, left and right, stand along the road as vehicles carrying a contingent of Syria's Interior Ministry security forces arrive to implement an agreement with the SDF aimed at stabilizing a ceasefire in al-Hassakeh, eastern Syria, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Members of the Syrian army stands at a checkpoint in the town of Sarin, where government forces were already present, as additional units move toward al-Hasakah to implement an agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) aimed at stabilizing a ceasefire, in al-Hasakah province, eastern Syria, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Members of the Syrian army stand at a checkpoint in the town of Sarin, where government forces were already present, as additional units move toward al-Hasakah to implement an agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) aimed at stabilizing a ceasefire, in al-Hasakah province, eastern Syria, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

A man rides his motorcycle past the wall of a U.S. military base bearing graffiti in Arabic that reads, "Syria is more beautiful, no Assad, no SDF," and in yellow, "Al-Shaddadi without SDF terrorism," near the village of Al-Shaddadi, al-Hassakeh province, eastern Syria, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian security forces gather before entering the town of al-Hassakeh to implement an agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to stabilize a ceasefire, in Wadi al-Raml, al-Hassakeh province, eastern Syria, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian security forces gather before entering the town of al-Hassakeh to implement an agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to stabilize a ceasefire, in Wadi al-Raml, al-Hassakeh province, eastern Syria, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

NEW YORK (AP) — Kamala Harris “wrote off rural America" during the 2024 presidential campaign and failed to attack Donald Trump with sufficient “negative firepower," according to a long-awaited post-election autopsy released on Thursday by the Democratic National Committee.

The committee's chair, Ken Martin, shared the 192-page report only after facing intense internal pressure from frustrated Democratic operatives concerned with his leadership. Martin had originally promised to release the autopsy, only to keep it under wraps for months because he was concerned it would be a distraction ahead of the midterms as Democrats mobilize to take back control of Congress.

On Tuesday, Martin apologized for his handling of the situation and conceded that the report was withheld because it “was not ready for primetime."

Although the autopsy criticizes Democrats' focus on “identity politics,” it sidesteps some of the most controversial elements of the 2024 campaign. The report does not address former President Joe Biden’s decision to seek reelection, the rushed selection of Harris to replace him on the ticket or the party's acrimonious divide over the war in Gaza.

“I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards,” Martin wrote in an essay on Substack on Thursday. “I don’t endorse what’s in this report, or what’s left out of it. I could not in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on it. But transparency is paramount.”

A spokesperson for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The initial reaction from Democratic operatives was a mix of bafflement and anger over Martin's handling of the situation.

“Why not say this in 2024, or bring in more people to finish it, instead of turning this into the dumbest media cycle for 7-8 months?” Democratic strategist Steve Schale wrote on social media.

The postelection report, which was authored by Democratic consultant Paul Rivera, calls for “a renewed focus on the voters of Middle America and the South, who have come to believe they are not included in the Democratic vision of a stronger and more dynamic America for everyone.”

“Millions of Americans are suffering from poor access to healthcare, manufacturing and job losses, and a failing infrastructure, yet continue to be persuaded to vote against their best interests because they do not see themselves reflected in the America of the Democratic Party,” the report says.

The autopsy points to a reduction in support and training for Democratic state parties, voter registration shifts and “a persistent inability or unwillingness to listen to all voters.”

Thursday's release comes as Martin confronts a crisis of confidence among party officials who are increasingly concerned about the health of their political machine barely a year into his term. Some Democratic operatives have had informal discussions about recruiting a new chair, even though most believe that Martin’s job wasn't in serious jeopardy ahead of the midterm elections.

The report found that Harris and her allies failed to focus enough on Trump's negatives, especially his felony convictions. This was part of a broader criticism that Democrats' messaging is too focused on reason and winning arguments, “even in cycles when the electorate is defined by rage.”

“There was a decision in the 2024 Democratic leadership not to engage in negative advertising at the scale required,” the report states. “The Trump campaign and supportive Super PACs went full throttle against Vice President Harris, but there was not sufficient or similar negative firepower directed at Trump by Democrats.”

The report continues: “It was essential to prosecute a more effective case as to why Trump should have been disqualified from ever again taking office. The grounds were there, but the messaging did not make the case.”

Trump's attack on Harris' transgender policies were cited as a key contrast.

Specifically, the report suggested the Democratic nominee was “boxed” in by the Trump campaign's “very effective” ad that highlighted Harris' previous statement of support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgeries for prison inmates.

Democratic pollsters believed that “if the Vice President would not change her position – and she did not – then there was nothing which would have worked as a response," the report said.

The report criticized Harris' outreach to key segments of America while condemning the party's focus on “identity politics.”

“Harris wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate. The math doesn’t work,” the report says. “You can’t lose rural areas by overwhelming margins and make it up elsewhere when rural voters are a significant share of the electorate. If Democrats are to reclaim leadership in the Heartland or the South, candidates must perform well in rural turf. Show up, listen, and then do it again.”

The report also references Democrats' underperformance with male voters of color.

“Male voters require direct engagement. The gender gap can be narrowed. Deploy male messengers, address economic concerns, and don’t assume identity politics will hold male voters of color,” it says.

President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a fireside chat on Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

FILE - Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at DNC headquarters, Jan. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert, File)