Syria President Sharaa admits Al-Qaeda past, denies role in Iraq’s sectarian war 

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa has admitted to joining Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) during the US-led invasion of the country but insists his actions were aimed at gaining experience and “defending” Iraqis.

“We didn’t have the capabilities or enough experience, so I decided to go wherever I could gain experience,” Al-Sharaa said in an interview on the Rest is Politics podcast. He confirmed that his time in Iraq led him to the terrorist group, stating, “I worked with several factions, but they began to dwindle until I found myself with Al-Qaeda in Iraq.”

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AQI, under the late Jordanian leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, became notorious for its role in fuelling Iraq’s sectarian conflict, carrying out mass-casualty bombings, executions and attacks on civilians. Al-Zarqawi’s group was responsible for some of the deadliest atrocities, including the 2006 bombing of the Al-Askari shrine in Samarra, which triggered a wave of sectarian violence. AQI also executed hostages in gruesome propaganda videos and conducted indiscriminate suicide bombings in Shia-majority areas.

Al-Sharaa, previously known as Abu Mohammed Al-Jolani, was imprisoned for five years in US-run facilities, including the notorious Abu Ghraib and Camp Bucca. He said his time in detention shaped his political outlook, though he rejected sectarian war narratives. “Some factions inside the prison criticised me for not adopting ISIS’s [Daesh’s] ideology later on,” he explained.

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This week on Leading, @RoryStewartUK & @campbellclaret sit down with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. They discuss:

🗳️ From Al-Qaeda to politics
🧠 The toll of living in… pic.twitter.com/k55CDyJ1HE

— The Rest Is Politics (@RestIsPolitics) February 10, 2025

He was released just two days before the Syrian uprising began in 2011 and quickly returned to Syria, forming what later became Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) – a former Al-Qaeda affiliate which became the dominant rebel faction. “We started with just six people, but within a year, we grew to 5,000,” he said.

Al-Sharaa distanced himself from Al-Qaeda in Iraq’s methods, claiming this led to a violent split. “A rift formed between us, and a large war broke out in which we lost over 1,200 fighters,” he noted.

Meanwhile, Iraqi judicial sources confirmed an arrest warrant for Al-Sharaa over terror-related offences, though legal experts say Iraq’s amnesty law does not apply to him. The US had offered a $10 million bounty for his capture but withdrew it after a diplomatic visit to Damascus.

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