Biden lifts $10M bounty on Syria's Islamist group leader

The Biden administration has taken the step of lifting the $10 million bounty on the head of Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the group that overthrew Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

In return, the United States demanded that al-Sharaa (or Abu Mohammad al-Jolani) ensure that terrorist organizations in Syria do not pose a threat to either the United States or Syria's neighbors, as Fox News reported.

"We had a good, thoroughgoing discussion on a range of regional issues," Barbara Leaf, the U.S.’s top envoy to the Middle East, told reporters of her Friday meeting with al-Sharaa.

Just earlier this month, HTS ousted Assad from Damascus. Even while there are still other opposition groups spread out across Syria, HTS has taken over a large portion of the country.

US Interactions

In an effort to obtain information regarding the whereabouts of detained U.S. journalist Austin Tice and to advocate for a pragmatic government, U.S. officials have traveled to Syria.

Because of its militant Islamist origins, the United States has maintained a contentious relationship with HTS.

HTS is not classified as a terrorist organization, according to Al-Sharaa, as it does not target civilians or civilian areas. Additionally, they regard themselves as victims of the crimes committed by the Assad regime.

The United States has initiated an aggressive campaign of airstrikes in northeastern Syria to eliminate ISIS militants. The Pentagon has expressed concern that the ongoing upheaval in Syria could result in the release of over 8,000 IS detainees, which would be a "significant security concern."

On the Group

Though it split from al Qaeda in 2016, HTS has its start as an affiliate of the terrorist organization. It developed out of the 2012-designated Nusrah Front, and in 2018, the United States added HTS' terrorism label.

"It was a policy decision… aligned with the fact that we are beginning a discussion with HTS," Leaf explained.

"So if I’m sitting with the HTS leader and having a lengthy detailed discussion about the interests of the US, interests of Syria, maybe interests of the region, it's suffice to say a little incoherent then to have a bounty on the guy’s head."

Al-Sharaa has stated that he does not want Syria to follow Afghanistan's path and that he supports women's education in an effort to dispel the group's extremist image and designation.