US diplomats met with the Ahmed al-Sharaa, head of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which led the Syrian rebel offensive against Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Barbara Leaf, the top US diplomat for the Middle East, said Washington was scrapping a a $10 million bounty on al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. Meanwhile, the US military announced the killing of Islamic State (IS) leader “Abu Yusif” and another member in a Dec. 19 airstrike in Syria’s Deir Ezzor province, part of intensified anti-IS operations following Bashar al-Assad’s fall. Turkish President Erdogan vowed to combat terrorist groups, including IS and Kurdish forces. Syrians celebrated the end of Assad’s regime, removing his father’s name from the Umayyad Mosque. US diplomats met with Syrian rebel leaders, discussing sanctions and potential removal of HTS from the terrorist list. n18oc_crux
