Who is Ahmed al-Sharaa? Terror commander-turned rebel who once carried $10 million US bounty, ousted Syria’s Assad; Trump is hosting him at White House because…

US President Doland Trump will host Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, aka Abu Mohammad al-Julani, at the White House on November 10, a historic visit, which will be the first by a Syrian President to Washington in over eight decades.

Notably, Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former terrorist commander-turned-rebel leader, who allegedly had ties to the Al Qaeda and the dreaded Islamic State (ISIS) group, was once one of the most wanted men for the United States, and carried a federal bounty of $10 million on his head.

Let us find more about this mystery figure who upended the regional power balance in the Middle East when he ousted Syrian President Bashar-al Assad from power in December last year.

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 interim 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.

While many believe that al-Sharaa is a Syrian from the Golan, who was born in Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria and reportedly studied medicine before joining an Islamist extremist outfit, other sources trace his origin to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, where his father used to work. However, Ahmed al-Sharaa is said to have grown up in Syrian capital Damascus.

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 of the masterminds behind 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.

Why is Trump hosting Al-Sharaa at White House?

According to Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, the agenda for talks between Ahmed al-Sharaa and Doland Trump would “the lifting of sanctions and opening of a new chapter between the United States and Syria,” adding that Damascus seeks “to establish a very strong partnership between the two countries”, and mark the opening of a “new chapter” in US-Syria relations.

Trump’s Syria envoy Tom Barrack said al-Sharaa is expected to sign an agreement during his visit to join an international US-led alliance against the ISIL (ISIS) terrorist group, Al Jazeera reported, citing Axios.

Earlier, Al-Sharaa met Doland Trump in Saudi Arabia in May this year, marking the first encounter between the leaders of the two nations in nearly 25 years. The meeting took place on the sidelines of Trump’s talks with Gulf Cooperation Council leaders and was described as a significant development for a Syria emerging from over five decades of Assad family rule, according to Al Jazeera.