Syria to join fight against Islamic State after WH talks

Syria is joining the global coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group, a US official said on Monday, hours after President Donald Trump welcomed his Syrian counterpart, Ahmed al-Sharaa, for historic White House talks.

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Mr Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, was the first Syrian leader to visit the White House since the Middle Eastern country's independence in 1946.

But the 43-year-old's landmark visit to the Oval Office came just days after Washington removed him from its terrorism list. Mr Sharaa's group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), was formerly affiliated with al-Qaeda.