The US is set to take the Syrian Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) off its list of foreign terrorist organizations on Tuesday, according to a state department memo, the BBC reports.
The group led a rebel offensive in December that toppled the Assad regime, which had ruled Syria for 54 years. Its leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is now the country’s interim president.
HTS, also known as al-Nusra Front, was previously al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria until al-Sharaa severed ties in 2016.
In recent months, Western countries have sought to reset relations with Syria – which has faced heavy sanctions aimed at the old regime.
