Trump presses Sharaa on foreign fighters as jihadists rise in Syria’s new army

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump held talks with Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a designated terrorist by both the US and the United Nations and the former head of Syria’s Al Qaeda branch. During the 33-minute meeting, Trump pressed Sharaa to “sign onto the Abraham accords with Israel, tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria, deport Palestinian terrorists, help the United States to prevent the resurgence of ISIS and assume responsibility for ISIS detention centers in Northeast Syria.”

In March, the United States handed Syria a list of conditions it wanted Damascus to fulfill in exchange for partial sanctions relief. A key demand was ensuring foreign fighters were not installed in senior roles in Syria’s governing structure. However, in December 2024, Sharaa approved the promotion of numerous military commanders, many of whom are foreign fighters previously affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), a US-designated terrorist group, and other factions that participated in the “Deterring Aggression” campaign against Bashar al Assad. 

Sharaa has not only promoted these fighters but also installed them in high-ranking positions within his newly formed army. For example, Abdul Rahman Hussein al Khatib, a Jordanian and a former top commander in HTS, has been appointed to lead Syria’s newly formed Republican Guard. Once tasked with protecting the Assad regime, the Guard now conducts operations under Khatib, including raids in Al Qusayr to dismantle weapons caches and Captagon sites. Khatib, who studied medicine in Jordan and was previously arrested for jihadist ties, has long been close to Sharaa. Meanwhile, Turkish national Omar Mohammed Jaftashi, also known as Mukhtar al Turki, now commands the “Protector of Damascus” unit. Jaftashi, an enigmatic figure loyal to Sharaa, is believed to coordinate with Turkish intelligence despite being wanted by Turkey.

There is a continued presence and collaboration of Al Qaeda-affiliated foreign jihadist groups in Syria that are operating under or alongside HTS. These groups remain integral to HTS’s military campaigns and ideological network. Among them is the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), a Uighur jihadist group whose overall leader, Abdul Haq al Turkistani, sits on Al Qaeda’s central shura council. TIP has long fought with Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and is a close battlefield ally of HTS in Syria, playing a major role in the offensive that brought down the Assad regime.

Similarly, the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), an Uzbek group tied to both Al Qaeda and the Taliban, maintains a Syrian branch that operates under HTS’s umbrella. Although its current structure is opaque, the IJU’s past alignment with HTS through its former guise as Ansar Jihad is well documented.

Another example is Ansar al Tawhid, a group composed of local and foreign jihadists who broke away from Al Qaeda’s Hurras al Din and frequently coordinates operations with HTS. Within Ansar al Tawhid operates Firqat al Ghuraba, a French jihadist faction led by US-designated terrorist Omar Diaby, that has deep Al Qaeda sympathies and fought alongside HTS in the recent campaign to topple the Assad regime. These foreign contingents reflect HTS’s enduring ties to the global jihadist movement, regardless of its attempts to formally rebrand or distance itself from Al Qaeda.

Sharaa has been reluctant to remove foreign fighters in Damascus’s response to US demands to expel these individuals. Syrian officials told former US envoy David Rubinstein that addressing the role of foreign fighters in Syria “requires a broader consultative session.” While the Syrian leadership suspended the promotions of six foreign individuals, it remains unclear if their ranks were revoked or if further steps will follow. A source noted that Damascus intends to delay action, believing that foreign fighters who helped topple Assad deserve respect. In a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, Sharaa said that foreign fighters came to Syria individually to support the revolution, not as organized groups. He promised they would pose no threat to neighboring or originating countries. On citizenship, Sharaa said the future Syrian constitution would determine eligibility for foreign fighters and their families.

Whether Sharaa will crack down on foreign fighters remains in doubt after his meeting with Trump. Syrian sources reported that Syria’s General Security Service has begun arresting foreign fighters with Arab nationalities in Hama and Idlib, and reports emerged that Shamel al Ghazi, a Gazan commander within HTS, was also arrested. However, these reports were later denied by Interior Ministry Spokesman Nur al Din al Baba, who said, “No such campaign was carried out by the Ministry or its security bodies.”

Ahmad Sharawi is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focused on Iranian intervention in Arab affairs and the levant.