BY STUART HENDERSON
DAMASCUS - The collapse of President Bashar al-Assad's regime has opened Syria to an uncertain future following 13 years of civil war and decades of his family's brutal rule.
Victory by rebel groups - spearheaded by Hayat al-Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate - marked one of the biggest turning points for the Middle East in generations.
International governments have welcomed the demise of Assad, who has fled to Russia to seek asylum from Vladimir Putin. However, the country now faces a period of risk and uncertainty, if only because HTS is still designated as a terrorist group by the UK, US and the United Nations.
The developments are also a significant blow to Iran, which has supported the Assad regime and was a key ally in Iran's attempts to seek ever-increasing strength and influence in the region.
US military strikes 75 ISIS targets in Syria
The US military said it carried out dozens of precision strikes against ISIS targets in central Syria on Sunday.
US Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations, said it struck ISIS leaders, operatives, and camps to prevent the terrorist group from rebuilding in central Syria amid the chaos.
Assad prisoner describes moment freed by rebels
Bashar Barhoum woke in his dungeon prison cell in Damascus at dawn Sunday, thinking it would be the last day of his life.
The 63-year-old writer was supposed to have been executed after being imprisoned for seven months. But he soon realised the men at the door weren't from former Syrian President Bashar Assad ’s notorious security forces, ready to take him to his death. Instead, they were rebels coming to set him free.
Israel seizes land and bombs Damascus
Benjamin Netanyahu said IDF troops had captured a buffer zone in the Golan Heights on the same day a lightning rebel offensive toppled the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad.
Netanyahu said the move was to protect Israeli residents after Syrian troops abandoned positions, and after rebel fighters infiltrated the UN monitored area. It came as Israeli fighter jets began a bombardment of weapons sites in Damascus.
The Israeli airstrikes hit the Mazzeh district of Damascus on Sunday, according to one Lebanese and one Syrian security source speaking to Reuters. Additionally, jets believed to be Israelis bombed the Khalkhala air base in southern Syria that was evacuated by the Syrian army overnight.
Israel has watched the rapid overthrow of Assad’s government with a mixture of hope and concern as officials weigh the consequences of one of the most significant strategic shifts in the Middle East in years.
Israel captured the Golan in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it. The international community, except for the United States, views it as occupied, and the Arab League on Sunday condemned what it called Israel’s efforts to take advantage of Assad’s downfall to occupy more territory.
Ousted Assad 'granted asylum' in Moscow
Syria's ousted President Bashar al Assad has arrived in Moscow, Russian state media has confirmed.
Mr Assad and members of his family arrived in the Russian capital on Sunday, a Kremlin source told the TASS news agency. The source added: "Russia, for humanitarian reasons, has granted them asylum."
What we know about Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
One major player will almost certainly be HTS, which is led by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, a Syrian who fought against US occupation in Iraq alongside a branch of Al Qaeda.
Jolani severed his ties with Al Qaeda in 2016 and formed a new group, which eventually became HTS in 2017. Since then, Jolani has portrayed himself as a more moderate leader to gain international legitimacy. Both the United States and the United Nations still list HTS as a terrorist organization.
Collapse of Syria is blow to Iran
Syria was an important geographical link that allowed Iran to move weapons and other supplies to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Its loss now further weakens Hezbollah, whose powerful arsenal in southern Lebanon had put Iranian influence directly on the border of its nemesis Israel.
“Iran’s deterrence thinking is really shattered by events in Gaza, by events in Lebanon and definitely by developments in Syria,” a senior diplomat from the United Arab Emirates, Anwar Gargash, said at the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Manama Dialogue in Bahrain.
