US Removes Terrorist Label from Al-Qaeda-Linked Syrian Group

According to Saednews, The US State Department announced on Monday that the designation of HTS as a terrorist group would formally end on Tuesday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed the step followed the group’s “dissolution” and Syria’s pledge to fight terrorism, despite widespread reports of HTS brutality and extremist ideology.

“Tomorrow’s action follows the announced dissolution of HTS and the Syrian government’s commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms,” Rubio said in a statement.

HTS, formerly known as Al-Nusra Front, served as Al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch before rebranding itself in 2016 in a bid to gain Western legitimacy.

Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the militant figure who led the armed coalition that overthrew President Bashar al-Assad last December, now rules as interim president under a temporary constitution that centralizes power in his hands.

The United States last week dismantled decades-old sanctions on Syria after pressure from its regional allies, notably Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which have long sponsored armed groups to destabilize the country.

The US had also quietly removed a bounty on Sharaa’s head after he seized power.

Washington’s decision was swiftly followed by Britain’s restoration of diplomatic ties with Damascus and the lifting of sanctions on the Syrian ministries of interior and defense.

Syria’s new authorities have pledged to cooperate with the US on reviving a disengagement agreement with Israel, underscoring the geopolitical bargains underlying Western overtures.

HTS, while posing as a civil administration in Idlib, has faced persistent accusations of repression, torture and extrajudicial killings of dissidents and civilians.

Analysts see the American reversal as an alarming signal that Washington is willing to legitimize former Al-Qaeda elements if they serve its regional ambitions against independent states.

Critics argue that this policy reveals the hypocrisy of US counterterrorism claims and a continuing strategy to weaken countries that resist Western hegemony.