{"id":131881,"date":"2025-11-08T06:09:26","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T06:09:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/?p=131881"},"modified":"2025-11-08T06:14:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T06:14:11","slug":"nctc-director-visits-syria-iraq-to-boost-cooperation-against-isis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/131881\/","title":{"rendered":"NCTC director visits Syria, Iraq to boost cooperation against ISIS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013<\/strong> Joe Kent, Director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), announced on Friday that he had concluded a visit to Syria and Iraq, where he met with U.S. and local counterterrorism partners involved in the ongoing fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), al-Qaeda, and Iran-backed militias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a post on X, Kent said he was \u201cinspired by the progress\u201d achieved by the U.S.-backed forces in both countries and praised their \u201ccommitment to the shared fight against terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was personally very special for me to visit with the Iraqi Special Forces, Counter Terrorism Service,&#8221; Kent added. &#8220;My ODA helped form them in 2003, then I fought alongside them in Baghdad, Fallujah, Mosul, and everywhere between. They are incredible warriors,\u201d Kent wrote.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kent\u2019s visit highlights Washington\u2019s continued engagement in counterterrorism operations in northeastern Syria and Iraq, despite growing debates in Washington over the future of U.S. military presence in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The NCTC director\u2019s trip also comes amid renewed activity by ISIS sleeper cells in both countries, particularly in the desert areas of Anbar, Deir ez-Zor, and Raqqa, as well as frequent attacks on U.S. and Coalition bases by Iranian-backed militias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kent, a former U.S. Army Green Beret, was appointed NCTC director earlier this year. In his confirmation hearings, he emphasized shifting U.S. counterterrorism policy toward empowering regional partners and avoiding \u201cendless wars\u201d through intelligence-driven cooperation and targeted operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His visit underscores Washington\u2019s intent to sustain these partnerships amid growing regional instability and the rising influence of Iran-backed groups following recent escalations between the U.S. and militia forces in Iraq and Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>By Jwan Shekaki<\/strong><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Joe Kent, Director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), announced on Friday that he had concluded a visit to Syria and Iraq, where he met with U.S. and local counterterrorism partners involved in the ongoing fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), al-Qaeda, and Iran-backed militias. In a post on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":131882,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39,7,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-military-developments","category-syria"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>NCTC director visits Syria, Iraq to boost cooperation against ISIS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Joe Kent, Director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), announced on Friday that he had concluded a visit\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/131881\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NCTC director visits Syria, Iraq to boost cooperation against ISIS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Joe Kent, Director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), announced on Friday that he had concluded a visit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/131881\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"North press agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NPA.SYR\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-08T06:09:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-08T06:14:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/\u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628-\u0635\u0648\u0631-\u0648\u0641\u064a\u062f\u064a\u0648.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"semav1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@NPA_English\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@NPA_English\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"semav1\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/131881\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/131881\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"semav1\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1cc380944b76ba86440ef8ad099f16a0\"},\"headline\":\"NCTC director visits Syria, Iraq to boost cooperation against ISIS\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-08T06:09:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-08T06:14:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/131881\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":290,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/131881\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/\u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628-\u0635\u0648\u0631-\u0648\u0641\u064a\u062f\u064a\u0648.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"HOME\",\"Military and Security Developments\",\"SYRIA\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/131881\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/131881\\\/\",\"name\":\"NCTC director visits Syria, Iraq to boost cooperation against ISIS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/131881\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/131881\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/\u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628-\u0635\u0648\u0631-\u0648\u0641\u064a\u062f\u064a\u0648.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-08T06:09:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-08T06:14:11+00:00\",\"description\":\"QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Joe Kent, Director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), announced on Friday that he had concluded a visit\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/131881\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/131881\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/131881\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/\u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628-\u0635\u0648\u0631-\u0648\u0641\u064a\u062f\u064a\u0648.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/\u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628-\u0635\u0648\u0631-\u0648\u0641\u064a\u062f\u064a\u0648.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"Joe Kent, NCTC Director, with SDF Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi and YPJ Commander Rohlat Afrin \u2013 Joe Kent X Platform\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/131881\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"NCTC director visits Syria, Iraq to boost cooperation against ISIS\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"North press agency\",\"description\":\"North press agency\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"North press agency\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/npasyria.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/npasyria.jpg\",\"width\":682,\"height\":388,\"caption\":\"North press agency\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/NPA.SYR\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/NPA_English\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/northpressagency\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCyGMim0bdq_6W-ryV9WI29A\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1cc380944b76ba86440ef8ad099f16a0\",\"name\":\"semav1\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4dd32221f0f6234b81e7d16b824fc92b9c1a8794a5fa04024fb4ddedd3a61599?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4dd32221f0f6234b81e7d16b824fc92b9c1a8794a5fa04024fb4ddedd3a61599?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4dd32221f0f6234b81e7d16b824fc92b9c1a8794a5fa04024fb4ddedd3a61599?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"semav1\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/semav1\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NCTC director visits Syria, Iraq to boost cooperation against ISIS","description":"QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Joe Kent, Director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), announced on Friday that he had concluded a visit","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/131881\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"NCTC director visits Syria, Iraq to boost cooperation against ISIS","og_description":"QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Joe Kent, Director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), announced on Friday that he had concluded a visit","og_url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/131881\/","og_site_name":"North press agency","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NPA.SYR\/","article_published_time":"2025-11-08T06:09:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-08T06:14:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/\u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628-\u0635\u0648\u0631-\u0648\u0641\u064a\u062f\u064a\u0648.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"semav1","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@NPA_English","twitter_site":"@NPA_English","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"semav1","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/131881\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/131881\/"},"author":{"name":"semav1","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/1cc380944b76ba86440ef8ad099f16a0"},"headline":"NCTC director visits Syria, Iraq to boost cooperation against ISIS","datePublished":"2025-11-08T06:09:26+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-08T06:14:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/131881\/"},"wordCount":290,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/131881\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/\u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628-\u0635\u0648\u0631-\u0648\u0641\u064a\u062f\u064a\u0648.jpg","articleSection":["HOME","Military and Security Developments","SYRIA"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/131881\/","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/131881\/","name":"NCTC director visits Syria, Iraq to boost cooperation against ISIS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/131881\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/131881\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/\u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628-\u0635\u0648\u0631-\u0648\u0641\u064a\u062f\u064a\u0648.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-08T06:09:26+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-08T06:14:11+00:00","description":"QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Joe Kent, Director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), announced on Friday that he had concluded a visit","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/131881\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/131881\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/131881\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/\u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628-\u0635\u0648\u0631-\u0648\u0641\u064a\u062f\u064a\u0648.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/\u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628-\u0635\u0648\u0631-\u0648\u0641\u064a\u062f\u064a\u0648.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"Joe Kent, NCTC Director, with SDF Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi and YPJ Commander Rohlat Afrin \u2013 Joe Kent X Platform"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/131881\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"NCTC director visits Syria, Iraq to boost cooperation against ISIS"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/","name":"North press agency","description":"North press agency","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#organization","name":"North press agency","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/npasyria.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/npasyria.jpg","width":682,"height":388,"caption":"North press agency"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NPA.SYR\/","https:\/\/x.com\/NPA_English","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/northpressagency\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCyGMim0bdq_6W-ryV9WI29A"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/1cc380944b76ba86440ef8ad099f16a0","name":"semav1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4dd32221f0f6234b81e7d16b824fc92b9c1a8794a5fa04024fb4ddedd3a61599?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4dd32221f0f6234b81e7d16b824fc92b9c1a8794a5fa04024fb4ddedd3a61599?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4dd32221f0f6234b81e7d16b824fc92b9c1a8794a5fa04024fb4ddedd3a61599?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"semav1"},"url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/author\/semav1\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131881"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131883,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131881\/revisions\/131883"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}