US Intel Report Blasts Jolani's Forces For 'Violence, Instability' In Syria

The US Department of National Intelligence acknowledged in its Annual Threat Assessment of 2025 that Syrian government forces were responsible for the massacres committed against minorities on Syria’s coast earlier this month. 

"The fall of president Bashar al-Assad’s regime at the hands of opposition forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – a group formerly associated with Al-Qaeda – has created conditions for extended instability in Syria and could contribute to a resurgence of ISIS and other Islamist terror groups," the report noted, adding that "HTS-led interim government forces, along with elements of Hurras al-Din and other jihadist groups, engaged in violence and extrajudicial killings in northwestern Syria in early March 2025 primarily targeting religious minorities that resulted in the death of more than 1,000 people, including Alawite and Christian civilians."

The report went on to say that "some remaining jihadist groups refuse to merge into the HTS Ministry of Defense, and ISIS has already signaled opposition to HTS’s call for democracy and is plotting attacks to undermine its governance."

It also highlights that Syrian transitional president Ahmad al-Sharaa, who headed HTS and its precursor group the Nusra Front, "claims to be willing to work with Syria’s array of ethno-sectarian groups to develop an inclusive governance model." Yet, these groups are skeptical of his intentions, therefore "protracted negotiations could devolve into violence."

The massacres took place in early March in Syria’s coastal cities and surrounding towns and villages after an armed uprising launched by militants affiliated with Syria’s former army. 

During a widescale security operation to quell the uprising, the Syrian Military Operations Department – consisting of numerous extremist factions who have been incorporated into the country’s new army – carried out a massive campaign of executions.

Militants went door to door killing civilians, including women and children. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), at least 1,500 people were killed, most of them Alawites. 

Syrian authorities pledged to open an investigation into the massacres. Extrajudicial killings carried out by government forces have continued, however. 

SOHR reported last week that 72 people were killed in a period of 24 hours by "armed groups affiliated with the General Security and Syrian military factions" in several areas of Syria. Three European envoys warned Syrian authorities during a meeting in Damascus earlier this month that international support for the country would depend on the government "cracking down" on extremist elements, according to Reuters.  

"The abuses that have taken place in recent days are truly intolerable, and those responsible must be identified and condemned. There is no blank check for the new authorities," a French Foreign Ministry spokesman told the outlet when asked about the message delivered by the European envoys in Damascus. 

"We asked for accountability. The punishment should go on those who committed the massacres. The security forces need to be cleaned up," one of the envoys was cited as saying. 

Syria's security and military forces are dominated by members of HTS (formerly Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria) and fighters from what was known as the Syrian National Army (SNA) – a Turkish proxy formed in 2017.

The SNA groups, which were incorporated into the Syrian army and security apparatus, are known to have scores of ex-ISIS fighters and commanders within their ranks. 

After the fall of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s government last year, the US swiftly removed a $10 million bounty on Sharaa, who was previously a member of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), the group which turned into ISIS.