Who is Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, leader of Syrian rebel HTS?

Standing before a cheering crowd in Damascus’ historic Umayyad Mosque, the broad and bearded Abu Mohammad al-Jolani declared a new chapter in Syria’s history.

Standing before a cheering crowd in Damascus’ historic Umayyad Mosque, the broad and bearded Abu Mohammad al-Jolani declared a new chapter in Syria’s history.

The leader of the rebellion that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime chose the ancient site — a symbol of Syrian heritage and one of Islam’s oldest centers of worship — to proclaim the country’s liberation.

"Syria is cleansed," he told the crowd. “To all nations, if they lost their rights, they must keep on asking for them until they get them."

Jolani is the head of the most powerful of the rebel groups that unseated Assad, and his words mark what many hope is the beginning of a new era for the ravaged country. But as Syria grapples with a new government and scrambles for new allies, the careful but charismatic fighter's extremist past casts a shadow over his future.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/abu-mohammad-al-jolani-leader-syrian-rebel-hts-rcna183402

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