Syrians wave the revolutionary flag and shout slogans as they celebrate during the second day of insurgents’ takeover of Damascus, Syria’s capital, on Dec. 9, 2024. To the side, a gaggle of young men and children swarmed over an abandoned Syrian army tank, chanting “May Allah curse your soul, Hafez,” — a reference to Assad’s father, Hafez, who ruled Syria …
CNN — Abu Mohammad al-Jolani’s road to Damascus has been long. It is no surprise that the Islamist rebel chose Damascus’s venerated Umayyad Mosque – not a TV studio, nor newly absented presidential palace, but a place of towering religious significance, which at 1,300 years old is one of the world’s most ancient mosques – to deliver that message. “This …
