US lifts $10m bounty on HTS leader after talks in Syrian capital

In face-to-face meeting, Ahmed al-Sharaa gave assurances IS would not be allowed to operate in Syria, US official says

The US has lifted a $10m bounty on Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the strongest force to emerge in Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, after the first face-to-face meeting between American diplomats and the HTS leadership.

Barbara Leaf, the state department’s senior diplomat for the Middle East, said Sharaa had given assurances in the meeting in Damascus that Islamic State (IS) and other terrorist groups would not be allowed to operate in Syrian territory.

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