Syrian government soldiers flash victory signs as they sit on the top of a tank while entering the town of Deir Hafer, Syria on January 17, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP
U.S. special envoy Tom Barrack and the head of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, arrived in Erbil on Saturday (January 17, 2026) for a meeting, a source in the presidency of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region told AFP.
Mr. Barrack will first sit down with Iraqi Kurdish political leader Massoud Barzani, then with Abdi, then with the President of Iraqi Kurdistan, Nechirvan Barzani, the source said.
The meetings come after clashes between Kurdish forces and the Syrian army in and around Aleppo in recent days.
Published – January 17, 2026 04:38 pm IST
