Rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, declared a “historic” victory from Damascus’s Umayyad Mosque after his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group seized control of the Syrian capital, forcing President Bashar al-Assad to flee to Moscow. Al-Sharaa celebrated the end of Assad’s oppressive rule and the purification of Syria from Iranian influence and sectarianism.
‘Syria being purified’: Watch rebel leader Jolani’s victory speech from mosque
