HTS Extremists Appoint New Prime Minister Of Syria

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the former Al-Qaeda affiliate that has just assumed control over Syria, has appointed Mohammad Bashir as the head of a new Syrian transitional authority. Bashir was the prime minister of the HTS-led Salvation Government, which was formed in 2017 and ruled Syria's northern province of Idlib – where HTS was based before the massive Turkish-backed assault against Syria that began late last month. 

According to reports on Monday, Bashir has been chosen as the new prime minister of Syria, and is coordinating with outgoing Syrian premier Mohammad al-Jalali, who announced on Sunday that he is ready for a "smooth transition" and will cooperate with "any leadership chosen by the Syrian people."

HTS – formerly known as Al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, the Nusra Front – has been implicated in numerous atrocities, including kidnapping, public executions, indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas, and other war crimes. 

In 2016, the Nusra Front was rebranded and expanded into Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, a coalition of armed factions with support from Qatar. The following year, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham became HTS in another Qatari-sponsored rebranding initiative aimed at legitimizing the group. 

HTS has been a proscribed terrorist organization by the UN, US, UK, and EU. Despite a large US bounty on the head of HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the extremist leader sat with CNN for an interview last week. 

Officials in Washington are considering removing HTS from the US terror list, The Washington Post reported on 9 December. "US officials are in contact with all the groups involved in fighting in Syria, including the main group that ousted Assad, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which was once affiliated with Al-Qaeda and remains on a US terrorist list," the newspaper wrote. 

A US official told the outlet that the US government has not ruled out removing the terror designation from HTS to enable deeper US contact and cooperation with the group.

"We have to be smart … and also very mindful and pragmatic about the realities on the ground," the official said.

Another US official said the White House is in the process of conducting a "real-time assessment" about HTS, which took control of Damascus on Saturday after a lightning two-week offensive launched from its stronghold in Syria's northwest Idlib governorate. 

Meanwhile Syrian embassies around the world are hoisting a new flag:

The UK government is also considering removing HTS from the list of banned terrorist groups.