The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces had conducted an airstrike that killed ISIS leader Abu Yusif in eastern Syria.
One other ISIS operative was also killed in the strike that occurred on Thursday, the agency said in a release on Friday morning.
"As stated before, the United States — working with allies and partners in the region — will not allow ISIS to take advantage of the current situation in Syria and reconstitute," CENTCOM Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said. "ISIS has the intent to break out of detention the over 8,000 ISIS operatives currently being held in facilities in Syria."
"We will aggressively target these leaders and operatives, including those trying to conduct operations external to Syria," he said.
The agency said they carried out the targeted airstrike in the eastern province of Deir ez Zor in Syria, noting that it's part of their ongoing commitment to "disrupt and degrade efforts" by terrorists.
They said the area was previously controlled by the Syrian regime and Russian forces before the recent fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Al-Assad fled to Russia earlier this month and ended a nearly 14-year struggle to maintain power in his country.
Attacks by the Turkish military on Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have increased since the Syrian president fled to Russia on Dec. 8.
Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Ryder said that in light of the instability in the region, as well as al-Assad's departure, there are 2,000 U.S. troops deployed in Syria.
Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
Hezbollah lost its most important supply route from Iran through Syria with the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad, the group’s chief admitted Sunday.
It was the first public acknowledgment of how upheaval in Syria had hurt the Iranian proxy, which had propped up Assad and is now fighting a war in Lebanon with Israel. Weapons to counter the Israeli campaign flowed from Iran through Syria and into Lebanon for Hezbollah.
"Yes, Hezbollah lost in this phase its military supply line through Syria, but this loss is merely a detail in the overall of the resistance," said Naim Qassem in a televised address.
"The supply line might come back normally with the new regime, and we can always look for other ways, the resistance is flexible and can adapt," he added.
Assad’s ousting jeopardized Syria’s close ties to Iran. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group that led the overthrow of Assad, had lamented that Syria had become a "playground for Iran." Hezbollah had fought off the rebel groups on Assad’s behalf.
As it became clear Assad’s grip on power was coming undone, Hezbollah and Iran’s military forces made their exit from Syria.
Qassem took over as Hezbollah’s secretary general in October after its leader for three decades, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in Israeli airstrikes south of Beirut. Hezbollah and Iran had long intervened on behalf of Assad in Syria’s 13-year civil war, but depleted by war with Israel, refused to come to his defense during the swift takeover of Damascus.
Israel has also used the chaos of Assad’s fall to destroy the Syrian army’s strategic and chemical weapons in more than 350 airstrikes across the country. And it has moved into the buffer zone that separates it from Syria – the first time the Golan buffer zone has seen Israeli forces since 1973.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is not interested in meddling in Syria’s domestic politics but is looking to protect Israel’s borders. "We have no interest in a conflict with Syria. We will determine Israeli policy regarding Syria according to the reality on the ground," he said Sunday, adding Israel would continue to strike "as necessary, in every arena and at all times" to prevent the rebuilding of Hezbollah.
HTS, a former al Qaeda affiliate, has sought to portray itself as a moderating force in Syria, and the U.S. has been in direct contact with the leading rebel group. But Israel is leery of the group’s long-term intentions.
"The immediate risks to the country have not disappeared, and the latest developments in Syria are increasing the intensity of the threat – despite the moderate appearance rebel leaders are pretending to portray," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday.
Hezbollah kicked up its cross-border attacks on Israel after Oct. 7, 2023, in support of Hamas, another Iranian proxy. Since late November, the cease-fire has mostly held, despite some Israeli airstrikes against Hezbollah operatives.
Qassem defended his decision to stick to the cease-fire, saying it did not mean the end of Hezbollah's "resistance," but was necessary to "stop the aggression" of Israel in Lebanon.
Countries in Europe are slamming the brakes on asylum cases filed by Syrian migrants in the wake of the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad, but it is not yet clear whether the U.S. will take similar action.
The U.K. and Norway, along with E.U. countries of Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Finland, Ireland and Sweden, have suspended applications from Syrians after the fall of the Assad regime.
While it does not necessarily mean those people will be returned to Syria, it puts those applications in limbo in a continent that saw a massive surge of Syrian migration during the 2015 European migration crisis.
The European Union has also said that conditions are not currently in place for the safe return of nationals to Syria.
While Europe has seen a considerably more sizeable influx of migrants from Syria than the U.S., it is not clear how those cases in the U.S. will change, if at all, given the changing political dynamics in the Middle Eastern country.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services handle asylum cases, and asylum officers are instructed to consider changes in circumstances when considering those cases. So, if an applicant’s country becomes more stable, then the consideration of that case changes dynamically. Therefore, if Syria stabilizes, it may make it harder for Syrians to receive a positive ruling on their cases.
But so far, there have been no pauses of Syrian asylum cases announced by the Biden administration. The White House did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.
One factor that could change in the next year is Temporary Protected Status, which grants deportation protection and work permits for nationals of countries deemed unsafe. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas extended and redesignated Syria for TPS in January, and that lasts until September 2025.
Should the Trump administration choose not to extend or redesignate Syria for TPS, it would require those who are no longer protected from deportation and who do not have another legal status to leave the U.S. or face deportation.
However, the number of Syrians protected under TPS is relatively few, compared to other nationalities and the situation in Europe. DHS estimated that around 8,000 Syrians were eligible for TPS in January.
The Center for Immigration Studies cited statistics showing that the number of Syrians granted asylum between 2011 and 2023 was just over 7,000. Meanwhile, data obtained by Fox News Digital this week shows that there are 741 Syrians with deportation orders on Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) non-detained docket. In Europe, around 183,000 Syrians applied for asylum in 2023, according to the Associated Press.
The U.N. refugee agency has called for "patience and vigilance" for Syrian migrants, arguing that much will depend on whether Syria's new government is respectful of law and order.
President-elect Donald Trump is gearing up for his second White House term just weeks after the abrupt toppling of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria— a pivotal moment that could test Trump's long-held promises to end U.S. involvement in so-called "forever wars" in the Middle East or putting more American boots on the ground in these countries.
With roughly six weeks to go before he takes office, Trump does not appear to be backing down on his promises of pursuing a foreign policy agenda directed toward prioritizing issues at home and avoiding entanglements overseas.
However, Trump's promises about ending U.S. military commitments abroad could be tested in Syria, where conditions in the country are now vastly different from Trump's first term — creating a government seen as ripe for exploitation by other foreign powers, including governments or terrorist groups.
"This is not our fight. Let it play out. Do not get involved," Trump said on Truth Social over the weekend, as rebel-backed fighters advanced into Damascus, forcing Assad to flee to Moscow for safe haven.
Trump, for his part, has acknowledged the foreign policy situation he stands to inherit in 2025 could be more complex than he saw in his first term, especially in the Middle East.
It "certainly seems like the world is going a little crazy right now," Trump told leaders earlier this week in Paris, where he attended a grand reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Here is a rundown of what Trump did in Syria in 2019 and how his actions could be insufficient today.
In Syria, the speed at which rebel forces successfully wrested back control of major cities and forced Assad to flee to Moscow for safe haven took many by surprise, including analysts and diplomats with years of experience in the region.
It is currently an "open question" who is currently in charge in Syria, White House National Security communications advisor John Kirby told reporters earlier this week.
However, the rebel-led group that ousted Assad is currently designated as a terrorist organization in the U.S., raising fresh uncertainty over whether Trump might see their rise to power as a threat to U.S. national security and whether he might move to position U.S. troops in response.
The conditions are also ripe for exploration by other governments and adversaries, which could seize on the many power vacuums created by the collapse of Assad's regime.
In the days following Assad's flight to Moscow, senior Biden administration officials stressed that the U.S. will act only in a supporting capacity, telling reporters, "We are not coming up with a blueprint from Washington for the future of Syria."
"This is written by Syrians. The fall of Assad was delivered by Syrians," the administration official said.
Still, this person added, "I think it’s very clear that the United States can provide a helping hand, and we are very much prepared to do so." It's unclear whether Trump will see the situation the same.
In October 2019, Trump announced the decision to withdraw U.S. troops from northeastern Syria, news that came under sharp criticism by some diplomats and foreign policy analysts, who cited fears that the decision risked destabilizing one of the only remaining stable parts of Syria and injecting further volatility and uncertainty into the war-torn nation.
However, at the time, that part of the country was stable. U.S. troops were stationed there alongside British and French troops, who worked alongside the Syrian Defense Force to protect against a resurgence of Islamic State activity. However, the situation is different now, something that Trump's team does not appear to be disputing, for its part.
Additionally, while seeking the presidency in 2024, Trump continued his "America first" posture that many believe helped him win the election in 2016 — vowing to crack down on border security, job creation, and U.S. oil and gas production, among other things — incoming Trump administration officials have stressed the degree to which they've worked alongside the Biden administration to ensure a smooth handover when it comes to geopolitical issues.
Unlike his first White House transition, Trump's preparations for a second presidential term have been remarkably detailed, efficient and policy oriented. That includes announcing nominations for most Cabinet positions and diplomats, and releasing policy blueprints for how the administration plans to govern over the next four years.
"For our adversaries out there that think this is a time of opportunity that they can play one administration off the other, they’re wrong, and we… we are hand in glove," Trump's pick for national security adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., told Fox News in an interview following Trump's election in November. "We are one team with the United States in this transition."
A top Israeli diplomat insisted his nation is "not getting involved" in Syria’s domestic politics after the nation launched an aggressive campaign of airstrikes and seized control of a buffer zone in Syria.
"We are not getting involved in what's happening domestically inside Syria. But we have concerns about our border," Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, told Fox News Digital.
"It’s been a quiet border, relatively, but we hope it will continue to be the same."
Israel has launched an assault on military and chemical weapons sites within Syria, fearing they could fall into the wrong hands after the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad and his government over the weekend.
The ouster left a power vacuum that leaves Israel and the U.S. to wonder which forces may seize dominance in the nation and how friendly they might be.
In that vacuum, Israel moved troops into the Golan buffer zone for the first time since it was established after the 1973 Mideast war.
Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have condemned the Israeli incursion, accusing it of exploiting the situation.
Danon seemed hopeful the next Syrian government would not be under the thumb of Iran but warned "bad actors" had been involved in the overthrow of Assad.
"Iran was heavily invested in Syria. And I'm sure that today it will change, and the Iranians will not be welcome anymore in Syria. So, on that front, I think it's an achievement. But, at the same day, we have to look what's happening on other fronts," said Danon.
"We have to remember that it's not like a peaceful revolution. You know, they walked with al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. So, we have to pay attention to that."
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was the key faction behind the fall of Damascus and the fleeing of Assad and now controls the capital city. But the Islamist militant group was founded as an offshoot of al Qaeda, and its leader has a $10 million bounty on his head.
The group in recent years has worked to soften its image and lobbied to be delisted as a terrorist organization by the U.S.
Israel has also taken control of Mount Hermon, the highest point on the border between the two countries and a blind spot in its defenses that Iran had been exploiting to send low-flying drones.
"That was a defensive, temporary act," said Danon. "We want to see what’s happening there."
The ambassador said Israel hopes Syria will have a "better future," but its only goal is to "not allow terrorists to be on the fence."
"For more than 50 years, the Assad family tortured the Syrian people, massacred hundreds of thousands of civilians. So, we are the one humanitarian point of view. We do hope that they will have a better life."
The fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, the culmination of years of civil war, has given way to a power vacuum with different factions protecting their own interests – and vying for power in the Middle Eastern nation.
The U.S., worried about the resurgence of an ISIS stronghold, has struck targets associated with the Islamic State in central Syria.
Turkey, which controls a zone of Syria on its northern border, has continued to attack U.S.-backed Kurdish forces.
Both work with different proxy groups.
Here’s a look at the different forces vying for control in the region:
HTS was the key faction behind the fall of Damascus and the fleeing of Assad, and now controls the capital city. But the Islamist militant group is far from a U.S. ally – its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head and has been designated a terrorist since 2013. The group governed just a sliver of northwest Syria in Idlib.
The group, founded as an al Qaeda affiliate, still remains largely aligned with al Qaeda but focuses on establishing fundamentalist Islamic rule in Syria rather than a global caliphate.
The U.N., U.S. and Turkey all designate HTS as a terrorist organization. The group, in recent years, has worked to soften its image and lobbied to be delisted as a terrorist group, highlighting its government services in Idlib and promising to protect religious and cultural sites, even churches, in Aleppo.
Experts believe Turkey, which has long looked to topple Assad, may have been at play in HTS’ offensive.
Syria’s forces loyal to Assad have staved off coup attempts since 2011, often through violent crackdowns on protests and rebellion.
By 2020, government troops backed by Iran, Russia and Lebanese Hezbollah had pushed rebel forces back to the northwest corner of Syria.
In the waning days of November, rebel factions swiftly overpowered government troops, seizing control of Aleppo – a city previously reclaimed by Assad's forces in 2016. Eight days later, the insurgents successfully captured not only Aleppo, but also Hama, Homs and Damascus.
On Monday, HTS granted Assad’s forces "a general amnesty for all military personnel conscripted under compulsory service."
"Their lives are safe and no one may assault them," the group said in a statement.
The SNA is a loosely bound coalition of Turkish-backed forces primarily intent on fighting Kurdish forces. But the coalition, which carries out Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s anti-Assad efforts, was also involved in the fall of Damascus. The groups have – in the past – also battled HTS and other Islamic State terrorists.
The SNA coalition believes U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in Syria to be linked to Turkey’s Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a militant group that has launched Kurdish nationalist attacks in Turkey.
SDF is a coalition of U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, centered in northeastern Syria. They have long worked alongside the U.S. in battling Islamic State forces in Syria.
In addition to fighting the Islamic State, they’ve been fending off attacks from Turkish-backed fighters.
Kurdish forces were not involved in the offensive that toppled Assad, but they hailed the offensive campaign.
"In Syria, we are living through historic moments as we witness the fall of the authoritarian regime in Damascus. This change presents an opportunity to build a new Syria based on democracy and justice that guarantees the rights of all Syrians," said Mazlum Abdi, the commander of the SDF, on Sunday morning.
After relatively friendly relations with Syria throughout the early 2000s, Turkey condemned Assad over the violent 2011 crackdown on protesters.
While Turkey and the U.S. are allies – bound to protect each other through NATO – they are on opposing sides in Syria, even as both celebrated Assad's downfall. The Turkish military fired on U.S.-backed forces in Syria over the weekend, where fighting erupted between rebel groups in Manbij, a Kurdish-controlled city near Syria's border with Turkey. Turkey has long had a goal of pushing the Kurds away from its border, and is looking to use the current turmoil to capture control along the border and decimate the Kurdish population there.
Kurdish separatists have fought Turkey for years, looking to carve out their own autonomous nation.
Since 2015, Russia has effectively acted as Assad’s air force, but its capacity to intervene on the dictator’s behalf has diminished since resources were needed for the war with Ukraine.
Iran was Assad’s biggest supporter, providing arms and military advice and directing its proxy Lebanese Hezbollah to fight the insurgents. But Hezbollah had to direct its troops back to Lebanon to fight Israel, leaving Assad’s forces in a weakened position.
HTS leader al-Golani lamented in a speech on Sunday that Syria had become "a playground for Iranian ambitions."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu credited his forces’ weakening of Hezbollah for playing a key role in the fall of Assad. Israel has consistently launched strikes against Syria with the strategic aim of disrupting the channels Iran uses to supply arms to Hezbollah.
After Assad’s fall, Israel, on Sunday, struck Assad’s chemical weapons facilities within Syria, for fear of what hands they may fall into in his absence.
Israel also captured control of a buffer zone within the Golan Heights, the first time they’ve captured territory in Syria since the war in 1973.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) moved in on Sunday and told residents to remain in their homes until further notice. They said they needed to capture the territory to ensure border security.
They also captured Mount Hermon – the highest point on the border between the two countries and a blind spot in their defenses that Iran had been exploiting to send low-flying drones.
Some 900 U.S. troops remain in Syria, where they are partnered with the SDF to fight ISIS.
On Sunday, President Biden said U.S. troops would remain there to "ensure stability."
The U.S. carried out dozens of precision strikes on more than 75 ISIS targets in central Syria over the weekend to prevent the terrorist group from exploiting the unrest to rebuild.
"We're clear-eyed about the fact that ISIS will try to take advantage of any vacuum to re-establish its capability to create a safe haven," Biden said. "We will not let that happen."
Biden said the U.S. would support Syria's neighbors – Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Israel – "should any threat arise from Syria during this transition."
The president added that the fall of Assad created a "historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria."
President Biden said during a Sunday afternoon press conference that the U.S. will support Syria's neighboring nations and help bolster stability in the region after dictator Bashar al-Assad fled the country amid an ongoing civil war.
"At long last, the Assad regime has fallen. This regime brutalized and tortured and killed literally hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians. A fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice. It's a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better future for their proud country. It's also a moment of risk and uncertainty," Biden said Sunday during a press conference from the White House.
Biden detailed that following Assad's departure in the face of rebel forces, the U.S. will support Syria's neighboring countries – such as Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Israel – "should any threat arise from Syria during this period of transition." Biden said this effort will include senior administration officials meeting with world leaders, and the president also speaking directly with leaders in the neighboring nations.
"Second, we will help stability, ensure stability in eastern Syria. Protecting any personnel, our personnel, against any threats, and will remain our mission against ISIS will be maintained, including security of detention facilities where ISIS fighters are being held as prisoners," Biden continued of the U.S. plan of action after the collapse of the Assad regime. "….Third, we will engage with all Syrian groups, including within the process led by the United Nations to establish a transition away from the Assad regime toward an independent sovereign" Syria.
Bashar al-Assad fled Syria after rebels stormed the capital city of Damascus on Saturday. Assad, whose government used chemical weapons repeatedly on its residents, reportedly fled with his wife and children.
Biden said the U.S. did not have confirmation on Assad's whereabouts, noting that "there's word that he's in Moscow."
Syria has been in the midst of a nearly 14-year civil war as Islamist rebels attempted to overthrow Assad and his family's dynasty, which had ruled the country for the last 50 years.
"The United States will do whatever we can to support [Syrians], including through humanitarian relief, to help restore Syria after more than a decade of war and generations of brutality by the Assad family," Biden said.
"And finally, we will remain vigilant. Make no mistake, some of the rebel groups that took down Assad have their own grim record of terrorism and human rights abuses. We've taken note of statements by the leaders of these rebel groups in recent days. And they're saying the right things now, but as they take on greater responsibility, we will assess not just their words, but their actions," Biden continued Sunday.
The president noted that the U.S. will also continue efforts to secure American journalist Austin Tice, who has been missing in Syria for more than a decade.
"We are mindful that there are Americans in Syria, including those who reside there, as well as Austin Tice, who was taken captive more than 12 years ago. We remain committed to returning him to his family," Biden said.
Ahead of reports of Assad fleeing, President-elect Trump warned that the U.S. should not get involved in the civil war.
"Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!" he wrote.
Trump added on Truth Social early Sunday morning: "Assad is gone. He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer. There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place. They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever."
"Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success," his post continued. "Likewise, Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians. There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu touted the fall of Assad's regime on Sunday, saying it was a "direct result" of Israel's attacks on Iran and Hezbollah, while noting the situation overall is "fraught with significant dangers." Israel is in the midst of a more than year-long war after Hamas launched attacks on the nation on Oct. 7, 2023.
"This is a historic day for the Middle East. The collapse of the Assad regime, the tyranny in Damascus, offers great opportunity but also is fraught with significant dangers. This collapse is the direct result of our forceful action against Hezbollah and Iran, Assad's main supporters. It set off a chain reaction of all those who want to free themselves from this tyranny and its oppression," Netanyahu said Sunday.
"We send a hand of peace to all those beyond our border in Syria: to the Druze, to the Kurds, to the Christians, and to the Muslims who want to live in peace with Israel. We're going to follow events very carefully. If we can establish neighborly relations and peaceful relations with the new forces emerging in Syria, that's our desire. But if we do not, we will do whatever it takes to defend the State of Israel and the border of Israel," Netanyahu added.
Fox News Digital's Michael Lee and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
Islamist leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who led a lightning offensive through Syria, has a long history of extremism despite a recent appeal to moderate policies.
"Golani is a specially designated global terrorist," Bill Roggio, managing editor of Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital. "He was a member of al Qaeda… the U.S. keeps him on the list for a reason."
Roggio’s comments come after Islamist rebels led by Golani’s organization, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led an offensive throughout Syria that resulted in the capture of the country’s capital, Damascus, and the overthrow of the regime of Bashar Assad, who fled the country Saturday as rebels closed in on the city.
Golani was first drawn to jihadi thinking following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S., according to a report from the Guardian.
He left Syria and joined al Qaeda in Iraq, only to return to his home country in 2011 during a revolt against Assad’s regime, eventually joining the side of al Qaeda’s Ayman al-Zawahiri in 2013.
Golani would cut ties with al Qaeda in 2016 and lead a merger between HTS and other Islamist groups in northwest Syria in 2017, bringing him control of territory that had fallen out of government hands during the country’s long civil war.
The U.S. Department of State designated Geolani as a specially designated global terrorist in May 2013, citing his leadership in multiple terrorist attacks throughout Syria that often targeted civilians.
But the terrorist leader has attempted to strike a more moderate tone in recent years, a trend that continued as rebels began their sweeping offensive across Syria.
"No one has the right to erase another group. These sects have coexisted in this region for hundreds of years, and no one has the right to eliminate them," Golani said in regard to Syria’s religious minority groups in an interview with CNN Friday.
But Roggio said there is little evidence that moderate tone would continue as rebels take charge of Syria, arguing Golani plays a good political game.
"He plays the moderate game very well, but he’s a global jihadist. He’s an expert at manipulating," Roggio said.
While Roggio acknowledged there is legitimate justification for Syrians to cheer for the fall of Assad, the worry now turns to what comes next for the long-suffering population.
"It’s understandable that many Syrians are ecstatic over the fall of Assad’s regime, he was a monster," Roggio said. "But I think they’re going to find that what replaces him isn’t going to be much better."
Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, who fled the country Saturday as rebels closed in on the capital of Damascus, has arrived in Moscow and has been granted asylum by the Russian government, according to Russian News Agency Tass.
Speculation about where Assad might land has been widespread since the longtime dictator fled the country, with allies such as Iran and Russia being at the top of the list.
Assad was forced to flee the country after a coalition of largely radical Islamist groups led a sweeping offensive across Syria, culminating in the capture of the country's capital city and the fall of Assad's regime, which had seen his family rule Syria for over 50 years.
The offensive was the latest development in a bloody civil war that has ravaged Syria for almost 14 years, a war that also led to the rise of the Islamic State terrorist organization and yearslong interventions by countries such as the United States, Russia, Iran and Turkey.
Assad has been a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had for more than a decade dedicated military resources to the defense of Assad's regime and its government forces.
Assad now arrives in Russia with his family, according to an Interfax news agency report, citing a Kremlin source.
"President Assad of Syria has arrived in Moscow. Russia has granted them (him and his family) asylum on humanitarian grounds," the source told the outlet.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the fall of Bashar Assad's regime in Syria on Sunday and argued that it was a "direct result" of Israeli attacks on Iran and Hezbollah.
Netanyahu made the remarks in a public address shortly after news broke that Assad had fled Damascus on Saturday night with his family. Islamist rebels took over the city on Sunday. Netanyahu cautioned that the fall of the Assad regime is nevertheless "fraught with significant dangers."
"This is a historic day for the Middle East. The collapse of the Assad regime, the tyranny in Damascus, offers great opportunity but also is fraught with significant dangers. This collapse is the direct result of our forceful action against Hezbollah and Iran, Assad's main supporters. It set off a chain reaction of all those who want to free themselves from this tyranny and its oppression," Netanyahu said.
The Israeli leader also noted that the fall of the Syrian regime also prompted action by the Israel Defense Forces, who were forced to take positions abandoned by the Syrian Army near the border with Israel.
"But it also means that we have to take action against possible threats. One of them is the collapse of the Separation of Forces Agreement from 1974 between Israel and Syria. This agreement held for 50 years. Last night, it collapsed," he continued. "The Syrian army abandoned its positions. We gave the Israeli army the order to take over these positions to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel. This is a temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found."
Netanyahu closed by offering a "hand of peace" to people in Syria, including to "Muslims who want to live in peace with Israel."
"Equally, we send a hand of peace to all those beyond our border in Syria: to the Druze, to the Kurds, to the Christians, and to the Muslims who want to live in peace with Israel. We're going to follow events very carefully. If we can establish neighborly relations and peaceful relations with the new forces emerging in Syria, that's our desire. But if we do not, we will do whatever it takes to defend the State of Israel and the border of Israel," Netanyahu finished.
President-elect Trump reacted Sunday morning to the news that Syrian dictator Bashar Assad had fled Syria after rebels stormed the capital city of Damascus.
"Assad is gone," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. "He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer. There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place. They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever."
"Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success," his post continued. "Likewise, Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians. There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin."
Trump added: "Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse. I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!"
Assad, who used chemical weapons multiple times on his population, and his British-born wife, Asma al-Assad, fled with their three children, according to Syrian television reports, although it was not known where they were headed.
A video statement from a group of men on Syrian state TV said that Assad had been overthrown and that all prisoners had been released.
The man who read a statement said the Operations Room to Conquer Damascus is calling on all opposition fighters and citizens to preserve state institutions of "the free Syrian state."
"Long live the free Syrian state that is to all Syrians and all" their sects and ethnic groups, the statement said.
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said early Sunday he did not know where Assad was.
Crowds of Syrians gathered in the central squares of Damascus to celebrate Assad's departure.
Syria has been embroiled in a bloody, nearly 14-year civil war as Islamist rebels sought to overthrow Assad and end more than 50 years of Assad family rule over the Syrian Arabian Republic.
A Syrian national was charged after allegedly funneling more than $9 million in U.S.-funded humanitarian aid to terrorist organizations — including al Qaeda.
According to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office, District of Columbia, 53-year-old Mahmoud Al Hafyan was charged in a 12-count indictment for allegedly diverting more than $9 million in U.S.-funded humanitarian aid intended for Syrian civilians to armed combatant groups.
The groups included the Al-Nusrah Front (ANF), which is a designated foreign terrorist organization affiliated with al Qaeda in Iraq, the release said.
"This defendant not only defrauded the U.S. government, but he also gave the humanitarian aid he stole to a foreign terrorist organization," U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves said. "While this foreign terrorist organization fought with the cruel al-Assad regime, the people who were supposed to receive the aid suffered."
According to the indictment, Al Hafyan had access to U.S.-funded humanitarian aid after positioning himself as the head of a non-governmental organization (NGO). Authorities said that he managed 160 NGO employees at the humanitarian station in Syria.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said that the NGO Alf Hafyan headed was awarded $122 million between January 2015 through November 2018. The agency noted that the money was intended to provide food and medical supplies in the war-torn country.
Along with at least two co-conspirators, Al Hafyan directed food kits valued at millions of dollars to commanders leading ANF. The designated foreign terrorist organization's primary objective was the overthrow of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has a long-documented history of conducting mass executions of civilians, suicide bombings and kidnappings.
To make it look like NGO was dispersing the kits to war-affected families in Syria, they allegedly inflated the amount of food kits received and falsified beneficiary logs, the agency said.
According to the affidavit, obtained by Fox News, Al Hafyan threatened the NGO's employees who refused to comply to follow his orders to defraud. Along with threatening noncompliant workers, Al Hafyan forced employees at the NGO to donate portions of their salaries to support the terrorist organization.
"Not only was Al Hafyan supporting violent terrorists, but he was stealing money from the U.S. government that was meant for humanitarian efforts. This public indictment is the culmination of years of work," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani of the Washington Field Office Counterterrorism Division.
Authorities said that the Syrian national sold the humanitarian kits on the black market to ANF commanders for this personal benefit.
"Al Hafyan and his coconspirators falsified beneficiary logs and inflated the number of food kits received by war-affected families in the Syrian villages of Bweiti, Lof, [and] Mazratt-Sh," the agency said.
