$re = '/<{\s*foreach\(\s*\$(?<variable>\w+)\s+as\s+\$(?<value>\w+)\s*\)\s*}>(?<body>.+)<{\s*endforeach\s*}>/si';
$str = '<ul class="row">
<{ foreach( $users as $user ) }>
<li><{ $user }></li>
<{ endforeach }>
</ul>';
$subst = "";
$result = preg_replace($re, $subst, $str, 1);
echo "The result of the substitution is ".$result;
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for PHP, please visit: http://php.net/manual/en/ref.pcre.php