Throughout the civil war in Syria, there has often been a tendency to talk about or analyse the various insurgent groups that have emerged over the years in semi-abstract ways. This tendency is a function of both the focus on policy analysis and the wider obstacles facing researchers.

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Within the realm of 'terrorism studies' and in wider media discourse, the name of the 'Order of Nine Angles' (O9A), conventionally described as a Nazi Satanist organisation, has become increasingly prominent in recent years, partly on account of some well-publicised instances of criminal activity in which the O9A's name has come up. Most notable in this regard is the case of Ethan Melzer, who was sentenced in March 2023 to 45 years in prison for attempting to murder American military personnel, material support for terrorism, and illegal transmission of information.

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Prior to the current war between Israel and Hamas, various 'new groups' in Iraq were claiming attacks on U.S. forces both in Iraq and Syria as part of a bid to force them out of both countries. These groups, normally operating under the moniker of the 'Islamic Resistance,' have often only been identified through social media (in particular, Telegram) and have generally been careful not to disclose information about possible connections with other existing armed factions in Iraq, especially prominent pro-Iranian ones that have brigades on the registers of the Popular Mobilisation (Hashd Sha'abi) Commission (e.g. Kata'ib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba')

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By now, reports about the plight of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region of western China (East Turkestan) have become widespread on an international level. For example, many mainstream media outlets in the West have run stories on Uyghurs and reported on various forms of oppression they have faced at the hands of China's government. In other words, the Uyghur cause has become much more prominent on an international level, and this remains true even if much of the global media focus right now is on Gaza or the response of Muslim countries towards China on this issue has fallen far short of what one might expect of 'Muslim solidarity.'

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The National Defence Forces (NDF) is one of the best-known pro-Syrian government auxiliary formations in the Syrian civil war, first emerging at the end of 2012 as a nationwide organisation of various pro-government armed groups that emerged in the 2011-2012 period. Iran and Hezbollah played a role in the creation, training and arming of the NDF initially, but this does not mean that the NDF should be seen as some sort of 'Iranian proxy' or Iranian/Hezbollah-backed 'parallel army' in Syria, but rather simply one of multiple contributions by the Syrian government's allies to bolstering the forces on its side. Organisationally, Iran and Hezbollah have been much more closely involved in the 'Local Defence Forces' network that first emerged during this same period.

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