Following Bashar al-Assad’s fall from power, a new government is taking shape in Syria that has many wondering if it will moderate its Islamist stance or, as some have predicted, function like the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The U.S.-designated terrorist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) had been ruling the Idlib Governate in northwest Syria and set up its own regime known as the Syrian Salvation Government and said it had shed its global Jihadist aims for a focus on local governance. In Idlib, HTS created a bureaucratic system and various ministries to administer some public services, including public safety.
“By all accounts, it has ruled with an iron fist there,” Natasha Hall, senior fellow with the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Fox News Digital.
At its height, HTS ruled over approximately 2 million people in Idlib Province. Its leader, Mohammed al-Golani attempted to rebrand HTS and distance the group from the global jihadist elements of al Qaeda and instead focused on local issues in Idlib.Â
While HTS governed Idlib in northeast Syria, the group targeted rival Islamist groups, including Ahrar Al-Sham, Hurras Al-Din and other Jihadist groups tied to al Qaeda and ISIS. Much like U.S. negotiations with the Taliban in Afghanistan, combating terrorism and ensuring that Syria does not become a safe haven for terrorists will be a prerequisite for any recognition by the U.S. and other allies.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed on Saturday that the U.S. has had direct contact with HTS since it overthrew the regime of Bashar al-Assad. HTS has already said it would cooperate with the U.S. in the search for Austin Tice, the American journalist missing in Syria since 2012 and who was believed to be held captive by the Assad regime. The initial contact with the rebel group and their promise to work with the U.S. to bring Tice home could further legitimize the group as it looks to consolidate its control over post-Assad Syria.
A picture taken at the entrance of the Kweyris military airfield in the eastern part of Aleppo province on Dec. 3, 2024 shows a portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a national flag in the garbage dumpster following the takeover of the area by rebel groups. (Photo by RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images)
The U.S. and U.K. are considering whether to remove HTS off its foreign terrorist list, which will be important if HTS consolidates its rule over Syria. Hall says that HTS must establish a checklist to implement in order to get itself removed from the terrorist designation list.
“It’s vitally important right now, and it’s important to do it quickly, because if a designated terrorist group is running a country, it could have devastating humanitarian and economic effects, the likes of which we have not seen in the past decade,” she said.
Fox News Digital’s Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.
