DeKalb GA News

According to Pamela Geller, “The terrorist Abu Mohammed al-Jolani had a ten million dollar bounty on his head for killing Americans in Iraq. Biden removed the bounty when his guerilla army took over Syria.”

Geller questions, “We have roughly two thousand soldiers in Syria. Why?” suggesting it as another reason to withdraw American troops from Syria.

Geller refers to Bill Roggio's statement: “The US State Department removed the $10 million reward for Abu Mohammad al Jolani, the Specially Designated Global Terrorist who leads Haytat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), which State describes as an Al Qaeda branch. The bounty on Jolani was removed as US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf met with him and other Hayat Tahrir al Sham leaders in Damascus on December 20.”

Leaf argued that it would be “a little incoherent […] to have a bounty on the guy’s head” while meeting with Jolani, despite the active designations on him and his group. She described Jolani, who now uses his real name, Ahmed al Sharaa, in an effort to rebrand and distance himself from his terrorist nom de guerre, “as pragmatic.”

“Jolani’s path to victory in Syria is steeped in both blood and allegiance to Al Qaeda. He joined Al Qaeda in Iraq after the US invasion in 2003 and battled US forces until being captured and detained for five years at Camp Bucca, a prison that was effectively run by Al Qaeda on the inside. Jolani was “a close associate of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi” before the latter was killed by the US in 2006, according to The Times of Israel.”

“After his release, Jolani reported to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, who later became the leader of Al Qaeda’s Islamic State of Iraq. Jolani returned to Syria during the so-called Arab Spring and the uprising against Assad and became Al Qaeda’s leader in that country.”