Barbara Leaf

The United States has withdrawn a USD 10 million reward for the capture of Ahmed al-Sharaa (Abu Mohammad al-Julani), Syria's newly appointed leader and head of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group. This decision follows significant talks held in Damascus earlier this month, marking the first visit by US officials to Syria since President Bashar al-Assad's ousting.

This photo shows a car belonging to the US delegation parked outside a hotel in Damascus on Dec. 20, 2024

The first U.S. diplomats to visit Syria since President Bashar Assad's ouster earlier this month are in Damascus on Dec. 20 to hold talks with the country's new leaders and seek information on the whereabouts of missing American journalist Austin Tice.

American envoys have arrived in Syria to talk directly to the new Islamist leaders, the State Department says, in the most official U.S. diplomatic mission to the country since the start of the long-running civil war.

Barbara Leaf, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs, criticized the Yemeni Houthis for their inhumane actions in capturing merchant ships, including the "Galaxy Leader", which holds two Bulgarian sailors. Leaf emphasized that such attacks on vessels unrelated to the Gaza conflict display recklessness and cruelty.

The United Arab Emirates pulled out of the air campaign fighting Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants after the capture of a Jordanian pilot who has since been killed by the extremists, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
      
The pilot was captured in December and ISIL militants released a video Tuesday showing the man in a cage being burned alive.