An ally of ISIS-linked Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa — AKA al-Julani — has killed two US soldiers and a civilian in an ambush in Syria, as well as wounding three other US troops. Al-Julani, who has previously been part of both al-Qaeda and ISIS, was invited to the UK by Keir Starmer in May 2025.
A Syrian government fighter, earlier in 2025, complete with ISIS patch.
Although Western political and media narratives paint al-Julani as a reformed figure, and Starmer has removed his HTS group from the UK’s terrorist list as part of this constructed rehabilitation, the reality looks very different.
At the time of the invitation, many of al-Sharaa’s forces were still wearing ISIS uniform patches and slaughtering ethnic and religious minorities in the aftermath of the US-backed ‘rebels’ victory over former president Bashar al-Assad.
Fighters were openly boasting that they would drink the blood of those minorities.
HTS frequently commit serious human rights abuses, including harassment, assassinations, kidnapping, and torture, as well as unlawful detention of civilians. Civilians have also been extorted and kidnapped for ransom.
The group has conducted formal military campaigns, assassinations, hostage takings, and ‘lone wolf’ operations, including suicide bombings. Members of religious minorities have been forced to convert to Islam and adopt Sunni customs — the European Union on al-Sharaa’s now-whitewashed group HTS.
Starmer was not the only politician more than ready to rub shoulders with the head of these terrorist forces — now ‘ex’ terrorists apparently. The US, UN and EU also classed Julani/Sharaa’s group as a terrorist organisation, though this did not stop the US (and UK) assisting HTS militarily against Assad’s forces until Assad fled.
Nor did it stop Trump removing the terrorist classification in July 2025 and promptly inviting al-Julani to meet him in the Oval Office. Trump even met him beforein person in Saudi Arabia while al-Julani was still officially a terrorist:
Image source: Donald Trump Truthsocial.
ISIS are ‘finished’
Like Western ‘mainstream’ media, the US military announced the identity of the killer of the three US citizens only as a “lone ISIS gunman.” This ignores the continuing links between the al-Julani regime and ISIS. Whitewash doesn’t change what’s underneath, no matter how many coats are applied. The narrative need of Western governments to rehabilitate the Syrian regime is clearly a pressing matter.
A spokesperson for the Syrian Ministry of Interior absurdly said:
We had known about this person’s radical ideas and we wanted to act against him but were waiting for Sunday to take the decision, because Sunday is the first day of the week.
Trump went even further, taking to social media to describe the ambush as “an ISIS attack.” He claimed that the Syrian regime was also the victim. This comes after Trump declared in January that he had “100%” defeated ISIS and it “was all done” for the group:
https://www.thecanary.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/3EF6M-cHD9sajOmX1.mp4
At the time of writing, Keir Starmer had not commented on the killings. The UK government is also accused of collaborating in Israel’s murder of three British aid workers last year.
No UK ‘mainstream’ news outlets appear to have asked Starmer whether his invitation to al-Julani still stands.
Featured image via Donald Trump Truthsocial
By Skwawkbox
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