WASHINGTON, December 18. /TASS/. The US is still offering the reward of $10 million for information on Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham armed group (HTS, outlawed in Russia) that had seized power in Syria, US Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller has told reporters.
When asked whether the reward was still in force, he replied briefly: "it is."
At the same time, he did not speculate on what the US administration will do if al-Sharaa is handed over to the US, saying only that "the reward that we issued through our Rewards for Justice program is still valid and outstanding."
Earlier, NBC television reported citing high-ranking US officials that Washington was looking into the possibility of removing its terrorist designation for HTS.
Miller said that the terrorist designation can be removed as a result of HTS deeds, not declarations. He added that Washington will closely monitor the armed group’s actions before introducing any changes to its policies.
On November 27, members of armed opposition groups launched a large-scale offensive against government forces' positions in Aleppo and Idlib governorates. By the evening of December 7, opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad had captured several major cities: Aleppo, Hama, Deir ez-Zor, Deraa, and Homs. They entered Damascus on December 8, after which Syrian army units withdrew from the city. Assad resigned as president of Syria and fled the country, instructing for the peaceful transfer of power.