US will not pursue $10m bounty on HTS leader after diplomats visit Syria
A delegation of American diplomats held their first in-person meeting with representatives of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Damascus on Friday, as Washington ramps up engagement with the US-designated terrorist group following its overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad government earlier this month.
The delegation included Barbara Leaf, the State Department's top Middle East diplomat; Roger Carstens, the presidential envoy for hostage affairs; and senior advisor Daniel Rubinstein, who is now leading the department's Syria engagement efforts.
After meeting with HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, Leaf said Washington will no longer pursue the $10m bounty placed on Sharaa's head more than a decade ago.
The webpage for Sharaa's $10m bounty was available on the State Department's website until 17 December, according to an archived version of the site seen by Middle East Eye. The webpage is no longer available.
Leaf described Sharaa as "pragmatic" and said the US delegation had a positive, productive, and detailed meeting with the HTS leader to discuss Syria's political future post-Assad.
During their trip to Damascus, the diplomats discussed Syria's political transition and worked on issues related to the fate of missing journalist Austin Tice, Syrian American doctor Majd Kamalmaz and other citizens who disappeared under Assad's government.
