Assad fall may make Syria a draw for Islamist extremists

The US bombing of Syria so quickly after the rebels seized power suggests nervousness in the West about what's coming

- SAM KILEY

Washington seemed stunned by the sudden collapse of Bashar al-Assad's murderous regime in Syria over the weekend. Albeit not as “stunned” as whoever found themselves on the ground when the US Air Force unleashed dozens of air raids on 785 sites in Syria – while Assad was still on his way to exile in Moscow.

The Americans weren’t suddenly swinging in behind the rebellion that swept away more than 50 years of rule by the Assads. The Pentagon unleashed B-52 bombers, F-15 fighters and A-10 Warthogs because the coalition that roared into Damascus, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has its roots in violent global Islamist extremism.

The US, aided by small units of British Special Forces and MI6, has a significant presence in eastern Syria, where it uses bases protected by Syrian Kurds, and some desert hideouts, to campaign against what remains of the so-called Islamic State.

The sudden victory of rebels over the Syrian government meant that, no matter how newly moderate HTS and its allies may say they are, Isis will want to reclaim some of the territory it once ruled. And it’s got a lot more in common with Syria’s rebels now than it ever did with the ousted, secular, Assad regime.

In Damascus, the HTS leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, called for the establishment of a transitional government. His people have issued orders banning random shooting and insisting that women should not be forced into conservative Islamic dress. His message is “we’re not Isis”.