Organisational path
| Period | Documented event |
|---|---|
| Iraq, after 2003 | Joined the jihadist insurgency in Iraq and was linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq / the Islamic State of Iraq before being sent to Syria. 1 |
| 2011–2012 | Sent to Syria by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to build a local branch; Jabhat al-Nusra was announced in January 2012. 1 |
| 2013 | Rejected al-Baghdadi’s announcement merging al-Nusra into ISIS and pledged allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri, keeping al-Nusra tied to al-Qaeda. 2 |
| 2016 | Announced the break of organisational ties with al-Qaeda; the group was renamed Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. 2 |
| 2017 | Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham was formed, with al-Sharaa as its most prominent leader. 2 |
| 2024–2025 | HTS and its allies led the offensive that ended with the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government; al-Sharaa moved to lead the new authorities and then became President. 3 |
Sanctions and designations: what changed?
| Authority | Listing / previous status | Removal / change |
|---|---|---|
| United Nations | Listed as QDi.317 on the ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida sanctions list. | Removed on 6 November 2025 by Security Council resolution 2799. 4 |
| United States | Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT); formerly the subject of a Rewards for Justice offer. | Individual designation revoked in November 2025. 5 |
| European Union | Individual listing under the EU ISIL (Da’esh) / Al-Qaida sanctions regime. | Listing removed in November 2025. 6 |
| Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (organisation) | Jabhat al-Nusra / HTS was listed by the UN and by the United States. | U.S. FTO designation revoked on 8 July 2025; UN delisting on 27 February 2026; SDGT/SDN removal on 24 August 2026. 7 8 |
Abuses linked to organisations he led
Supported by independent sources
Human Rights Watch documented Jabhat al-Nusra’s participation, among other groups, in executions and abuses against civilians during the 2013 offensive in rural Latakia. This documents the group’s conduct; it does not by itself establish al-Sharaa’s personal criminal responsibility for each incident. 9
Later reports documented arbitrary arrests, torture and other abuses in areas of Idlib controlled by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham. 10