Trump says former al-Qaeda militant turned Syrian president ‘had a rough past’

Trump says former al-Qaeda militant turned Syrian President, Ahmed al-Sharaa "had a rough past" after the pair met at the White House on Monday (10 November). The Syrian leader was the former head of the Islamist militant group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham which, although once aligned with al-Qaeda, severed ties in 2017. He stormed to power in December last year, leading rebel forces that toppled Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Sharaa, who once had a $10 million US bounty on his head, has been dubbed by Mr Trump as the Middle East’s new “young, attractive tough guy”. Trump welcomed Sharaa after lifting sanctions imposed on Syria, which had been a pariah state for decades before rebel forces toppled former President Bashar Assad last December.