WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a sweeping change of long standing U.S. counterterrorism policy, the State Department has rescinded a 10 million dollar Rewards for Justice bounty on Abu Mohammad al Jolani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al Sham, an organization the United States has formally identified as an Al Qaeda affiliate with a long record of terrorist violence.
This is Abu Mohammad al Jolani , the former head of Al-Qaeda in Syria and leader of ISIS in Iraq. Now he is the Syrian president. His group beheaded dozes of American hostages, carried out countless suicide attacks killing doses of American soldiers, kidnapped, raped, tortured and killed thousands of innocent civilian women and children. The United States Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security posted a $10 million reward for information leading to his location. The U.S. announced it was dropping the $10 million reward on December 20, 2024
This is Abu Mohammad al Jolani , the former head of Al-Qaeda in Syria and leader of ISIS in Iraq. Now he is the Syrian president. His group beheaded dozes of American hostages, carried out countless suicide attacks killing doses of American soldiers, kidnapped, raped, tortured and killed thousands of innocent civilian women and children. The United States Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security posted a $10 million reward for information leading to his location. The U.S. announced it was dropping the $10 million reward on December 20, 2024
The decision coincided directly with a December 20 meeting in Damascus between U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf and Jolani along with other senior HTS figures. Leaf publicly defended the move, stating it would be incoherent to maintain a bounty on Jolani while engaging him diplomatically, effectively placing political expediency above established counterterrorism standards.
Jolani, who has begun using the name Ahmed al Sharaa in a rebranding effort, has an extensive and well documented history within global jihadist networks. He joined Al Qaeda in Iraq following the 2003 U.S. invasion and actively fought American forces before being captured and detained for five years at Camp Bucca, a detention facility widely known for functioning as an internal incubator for Al Qaeda leadership.
Following his release, Jolani reported directly to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, who later rose to lead the Islamic State of Iraq. Jolani was later dispatched to Syria, where he became Al Qaeda’s top commander during the uprising against the Assad government. Under his leadership, the Al Nusrah Front, the predecessor to HTS, conducted numerous terrorist attacks across Syria, including operations targeting civilians.
The U.S. government previously designated Jolani as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, citing his leadership role in an organization that carried out suicide bombings, guerrilla attacks, and coordinated assaults using small arms and explosives. Intelligence assessments further note that Jolani openly called for retaliatory attacks against U.S. led coalition forces following airstrikes in Syria.
Despite this record, the Biden administration reversed course immediately after HTS led a rapid military campaign that toppled Bashar al Assad’s government. HTS and allied forces seized Damascus on December 8 after a ten day offensive advancing south from Idlib province, demonstrating the group’s continued operational capability and willingness to use overwhelming force to achieve political objectives.
In defending the policy shift, Leaf described Jolani as pragmatic and cited his recent public statements on women’s rights and minority protections. Critics argue that such claims represent a strategic rebranding rather than a substantive ideological transformation, noting that HTS remains committed to governance rooted in a fundamentalist interpretation of Islamic law.
The removal of the reward sends a clear and troubling signal. A figure with a long and uninterrupted history of terrorist activity, allegiance to Al Qaeda, and direct involvement in violence against civilians has now been effectively normalized through diplomatic engagement without accountability or renunciation of past crimes.
This decision raises serious questions about the coherence and credibility of U.S. counterterrorism policy. By eliminating a primary financial incentive for information or capture, Washington risks establishing a precedent in which battlefield success and political leverage outweigh documented terrorist conduct.
The record against Jolani remains unchanged. What has changed is the willingness of the United States to look past it.
And to think the Trump administration called Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good as domestic terrorists !
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