US removes former al-Qaeda affiliate HTS from terrorist list as its leader governs Syria

The US removed Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham from its global terrorist organizations list on August 25, 2026. HTS, once al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate, severed those ties in 2016 and overthrew Bashar al-Assad in late 2024. Its leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is now Syria's president. The delisting aligns US counterterrorism designations with the post-Assad political reality Washington is now betting on.