Abu Mohammad al-Julani, leader of the al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, delivered a victory speech at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, declaring the success of the “mujahideen” against former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has reportedly fled to Moscow.
“Today, Syria is purified, thanks to God almighty,” Julani said. “Thanks to God almighty, then thanks to the heroic mujahideen.”
Julani criticized Assad, whose family ruled Syria for more than 50 years, saying he had let the country become a haven “for Iranian greed.”
HTS began its lightning offensive on November 27 from the northwestern Idlib province, which it has controlled since 2017. HTS and its allies quickly seized Aleppo, Hama, and then Damascus.
Julani was formerly the leader of al-Nusra Front, which was the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria. In 2016, Julani rebranded, claiming to cut ties with al-Qaeda, and changed his group’s name to Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, which merged with other Islamist groups to form HTS in 2017.
The US has long sought the overthrow of Assad, and despite HTS’s links with al-Qaeda, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the US wouldn’t “cry” about the pressure Syria and its allies were facing from the militant group’s offensive.
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed al-Jalali, who stayed in the country, said he was willing to “cooperate” with whoever Syrians choose as their leader. “This country can be a normal country that builds good relations with its neighbors and the world,” Jalali said, according to The New Arab. “But this issue is up to any leadership chosen by the Syrian people. We are ready to cooperate with it (that leadership) and offer all possible facilities.”