Comment on US to lift $10M bounty on Syrian rebel leader as Washington opens discussions with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham

Aref TAMMAWI / AFPThe US plans to remove a $10 million bounty on HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.It follows a meeting between US diplomats and the Syrian rebel leader earlier this week.Jolani has worked to portray himself as a more moderate leader to the West.The US is set to remove a $10 million bounty on Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the opposition group that spearheaded an offensive against Bashar Assad's Syrian government forces.Barbara Leaf, the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, made the announcement in an online briefing on Friday while discussing a diplomatic trip to Damascus where US representatives met with Jolani.Leaf said the US delegation "welcomed positive messages" from the leader — who now goes by his birthname Ahmed al-Sharaa — and that he assured them that terrorist groups would not be allowed to pose a threat in Syria."And so based on our discussion, I told him we would not be pursuing the Rewards for Justice reward offer that has been in effect for some years," she said.Pressed for more information on why the US had decided to lift the bounty, Leaf said it was a "policy decision" that "aligned with the fact that we are beginning a discussion with HTS," adding that it would be "a little incoherent then to have a bounty on the guy's head" while sitting down for discussions on regional interests.HTS, which is listed as a terrorist organization by both the US and the United Nations, traces its origins to Al Qaeda.