Syria joins global alliance against Daesh

AL SHARAA IS FIRST SYRIAN LEADER TO VISIT WHITE HOUSE SINCE 1946

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Donald Trump, left, and Ahmad Al Sharaa at the White House in Washington, Monday.

(AP)

Syria is joining the global coalition against Daesh, a US official said Monday, hours after President Donald Trump welcomed his Syrian counterpart Ahmed Al Sharaa for historic White House talks.

Al Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar Al Assad late last year, is 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 days after Washington removed him from its terrorism list. Al Sharaa's group, Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, was formerly affiliated with Al Qaeda.