US will not pursue $10m bounty on HTS leader after diplomats visit Syria

A delegation of American diplomats held their first in-person meeting with representatives of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Damascus on Friday, as Washington ramps up engagement with the US-designated terrorist group following its overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad government earlier this month. The delegation included Barbara Leaf, the State Department's top Middle East diplomat; Roger Carstens, the presidential envoy for hostage affairs; and senior advisor Daniel Rubinstein, who is now leading the department's Syria engagement efforts. After meeting with HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known by his nom de guerre...