5 facts about Syria’s Islamist rebel group HTS and its leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani

Supporters welcome the leader of Syria's Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that headed a lightning rebel offensive snatching Damascus from government control, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani (C), before his address at the capital's landmark Umayyad Mosque on December 8, 2024. Jolani, now using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, gave a speech as the crowd chanted
Supporters welcome the leader of Syria's Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that headed a lightning rebel offensive snatching Damascus from government control, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani (C), before his address at the capital's landmark Umayyad Mosque on December 8, 2024. Jolani, now using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, gave a speech as the crowd chanted "Allahu akbar (Allah is greatest)," a video shared by the rebels on their Telegram channel showed. | AREF TAMMAWI/AFP via Getty Images

Rebels in Syria, led by the Islamist alliance Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, have captured Damascus, about a week after taking over Aleppo and Hama, and ousted President Bashar al-Assad.

As this dramatic shift in the ongoing conflict continues to unfold, here are five facts about HTS and its leader, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, you should know.

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