President Joe Biden’s administration has retracted its $10 million counter-terror bounty against Ahmad al-Sharaa, an insurgent leader who played a key role in driving Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad from power in recent weeks.
Sharaa, who is also known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Sunni Islamist faction currently designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. government. HTS is a rebrand of Jabhat al-Nusra, which formed as an offshoot of al-Qaeda.
The decision to drop the bounty against Sharaa coincided with a U.S. diplomatic visit to Syria on Dec. 20. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara A. Leaf announced the bounty decision in a call with reporters after meeting with Sharaa....
