Syrian Rebel Leader Still Has $10 Million U.S. Bounty on His Head

Ahmad al-Sharaa, known as Muhammad al-Jawlani or Abu Muhammad al-Golani, the leader of the Syrian rebels who ousted Bashar al-Assad and have taken over the country, still has a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head as a wanted terrorist.

A U.S. State Department website, “Rewards for Justice,” says:

Rewards for Justice is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information on Muhammad al-Jawlani, also known as Abu Muhammad al-Golani and Muhammad al-Julani. Al-Jawlani leads the al-Nusrah Front (ANF), al-Qa’ida’s (AQ) affiliate in Syria. In January 2017, ANF merged with several other hardline opposition groups to form Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). While al-Jawlani is not the leader of HTS, he remains the leader of AQ-affiliated ANF, which is at the core of HTS.

Under al-Jawlani’s leadership, ANF has carried out multiple terrorist attacks throughout Syria, often targeting civilians. In April 2015, ANF reportedly kidnapped, and later released, approximately 300 Kurdish civilians from a checkpoint in Syria. In June 2015, ANF claimed responsibility for the massacre of 20 residents in the Druze village of Qalb Lawzeh in Idlib province, Syria.

In April 2013, al-Jawlani pledged allegiance to AQ and its leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. In July 2016, al-Jawlani praised AQ and al-Zawahiri in an online video and claimed the ANF was changing its name to Jabhat Fath Al Sham (“Conquest of the Levant Front”).

On May 16, 2013, the U.S. Department of State designated al-Jawlani as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended. As a result of this designation, among other consequences, all property and interests in property of al-Jawlani that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with al-Jawlani. In addition, it is a crime to knowingly provide, or attempt or conspire to provide, material support or resources to ANF, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.

On Friday, al-Jawulani sat for a friendly interview with CNN, explaining that he had cut ties with Al Qaeda in 2017 to form “Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, also known as the Organization for the Liberation of the Levant.” He explained to CNN that “he has gone through episodes of transformation through the years.”

Al-Jawulani has also been trying to project an image of modeation. The Syrian rebels have been at pains to tell former Assad regime loyalists that they will not be harmed if they surrender, and to reassure Christians and other minorities. According to social media, they even tried to discourage people from firing into the air in celebration, lest the bullets harm people when they return to earth.

However, the fact remains that al-Jawulani is a terrorist whose forces include elements of Al Qaeda and the so-called “Islamic State,” or ISIS. His chosen nom de guerre is a reference to the Golan Heights, which Israel took from Syria in a defensive war in 1967, and has since annexed. The rebel leader wants people to know that he traces his roots to the Golan, and intends on reclaiming it for Syria.

Israel has, accordingly, moved tanks into the demilitarized zone between the two countries, sending a message of deterrence and not taking chances on the Syrian rebels’ goodwill.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.