Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is a jihadist group in Syria led by Ahmed al-Sharaa. It grew out of Jabhat al-Nusra, which was an al-Qaeda affiliate. In 2015, while still operating as Jabhat al-Nusra, the group massacred around 20 Druze villagers.
After the fall of the Assad regime, al-Sharaa and HTS took power and began attempting to rebuild the Syrian state.
Clerical assent is still needed for key decisions within the movement. In November 2025, when al-Sharaa sought to join the American-led anti-Islamic State coalition, he needed time to secure the backing of influential clerics. Twenty of them gave their blessing during a session of a special religious council. "The movement is still constrained by its past," according to Jérôme Drevon of the International Crisis Group.
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