Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syrian President who once carried $10 million US bounty, arrives in Washington to meet Trump; know what’s on agenda

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, aka Abu Mohammad al-Julani, once a wanted terrorist commander with a $10 million US bounty, on Saturday arrived in Washington to hold a historic meeting with US President Doland Trump on November 10 (Monday).

Al-Sharaa’s visit is the first by a Syrian president in nearly eight decades, since the country’s independence in 1946, Sharaa had previously met Trump on the sidelines of a Gulf leaders’ summit in Saudi Arabia, which paved the way for his visit to the United States.

What’s on agenda for al-Sharaa-Trump meeting?

According to reports, citing White House sources, Ahmed al-Sharaa is expected to announce Syria’s support for US fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) group in the Middle East. Earlier, ahead of Ahmed al-Sharaa’s arrival in the US, Syrian Home Ministry said they launched fresh attacks on ISIS bases in the region, stating that the Syrian Army targeted ISIS bases in several provinces.

The US is also planning to establish a military base near Damascus to coordinate and monitor developments between Syria and Israel, AFP reported, citing a Syrian diplomatic source. Al-Sharaa-led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former splinter group of the al-Qaeda which ousted Bashar al-Assad from power, was removed from Washington’s terrorist group list in July, and is expected to join US forces in the fight against ISIS.

Trump and al-Sharaa are also likely to discuss the reconstruction of Syria, which sustained severe infrastructural damage due to the decade-long Syria Civil War.

US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the al-Sharaa government is meeting US demands to find missing Americans and destroy chemical weapons. Pigott said that removing Sharaa from the US blacklist will promote regional stability as well as an inclusive and Syrian-owned political process.

Who is Ahmed al-Sharaa?

Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, the leader of controversial Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that ousted former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power late last year, became the head of the the country’s interim government after Assad’s fall.

However, al-Sharaa, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, remains a mysterious figure with different sources making contradicting claims about his origins, even his real name.

According to the UN and European Union,  Ahmed al-Sharaa was born between 1975 and 1979. Interpol believes he was born in 1979, whereas a report by As-Safir mentions his birth date as 1981. Nonetheless, while, al-Julani’s origins remain shrouded in mystery, one thing is clear, he was the mastermind of the rebel insurgency that resulted in the fall of the Assad regime in Syria in late 2024.

Why Al-Sharaa carried a $10 million US bounty?

Notably, Ahmed al-Sharaa-led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), was formerly an offshoot of Al-Qaeda, but Al-Sharaa reportedly broke away from the global terror group about a decade ago, and later clashed with the ISIL (Islamic State) outfit.

Ahmed al-Sharaa previously carried a $10 million US bounty on his head and was imprisoned by American forces during the Iraq conflict, but Washington has revoked sanctions against him after he took power from Assad.

After assuming power, Al-Sharaa has claimed he’s working to rebuild Syria’s ties with world powers that had distanced themselves during Assad’s rule, and in September, addressed he United Nations General Assembly in New York, signalling his efforts to bring Damascus back into global diplomatic circles.