US Gives Nod to Syria to Bring Foreign Jihadist Into Army

"Washington's approach to Syria has changed sharply since Trump toured the Middle East last month"

Published: June 3, 2025, 8:25 pm

    Source: Reuters

    The United States has given its blessing to a plan by Syria’s new leadership to incorporate thousands of foreign jihadist former rebel fighters into the national army, provided that it does so transparently, President Donald Trump’s envoy said. Three Syrian defence officials said that under the plan, some 3,500 foreign fighters, mainly Uyghurs from China and neighbouring countries, would join a newly-formed unit, the 84th Syrian army division, which would also include Syrians.

    Asked by Reuters in Damascus whether Washington approved the integration of foreign fighters into Syria’s new military, Thomas Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey who was named Trump’s special envoy to Syria last month, said: “I would say there is an understanding, with transparency.”

    He said it was better to keep the fighters, many of whom are “very loyal” to Syria’s new administration, within a state project than to exclude them.

    The fate of foreigners who joined Syria’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels during the 13-year war between rebel groups and President Bashar al-Assad has been one of the most fraught issues hindering a rapprochement with the West since HTS, a one-time offshoot of al Qaeda, toppled Assad and took power last year.

    At least until early May, the United States had been demanding the new leadership broadly exclude foreign fighters from the security forces.

    But Washington’s approach to Syria has changed sharply since Trump toured the Middle East last month. Trump agreed to lift Assad-era sanctions on Syria, met Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh and named Barrack, a close friend, as his special envoy.

    Two sources close to the Syrian defence ministry told Reuters that Sharaa and his circle had been arguing to Western interlocutors that bringing foreign fighters into the army would be less of a security risk than abandoning them, which could drive them into the orbit of al Qaeda or Islamic State.

    The U.S. State Department and a Syrian government spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

    CHINESE CONCERNS

    Thousands of Sunni Muslim foreigners joined Syria’s rebels early in the 13-year civil war to fight against Assad, who was himself aided by Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias.

    Some fighters formed their own factions, while others joined established groups such as Islamic State, which briefly declared a caliphate in swathes of Syria and Iraq before being routed by an array of forces backed both by the United States and Iran.

    Foreign fighters within HTS earned a reputation as loyal, disciplined and experienced militants, and formed the backbone of the group’s elite so-called suicide units.

    The Uyghur fighters from China and Central Asia are members of the Turkistan Islamic Party, a group designated as terrorists by Beijing. A Syrian official and a foreign diplomat said China had sought to have the group’s influence in Syria restricted.

    A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said: “China hopes that Syria will oppose all forms of terrorism and extremist forces in response to the concerns of the international community.”

    Osman Bughra, a TIP political official, told Reuters in a written statement that the group had officially dissolved and integrated into the Syrian army.

    “At present, the group operates entirely under the authority of the Ministry of Defence, adheres to national policy, and maintains no affiliations with external entities or groups,” he said.

    In December, the appointment of a handful of foreign jihadists who were part of HTS’s senior leadership to top military posts had alarmed Western governments, raising concerns over the direction of Syria’s new Islamist leadership.

    Demands to freeze the appointments and expel rank-and-file foreign fighters became a key point of contention with Washington and other Western countries up until the week of Trump’s landmark meeting with Sharaa.

    Sharaa has said that foreign fighters and their families may be granted Syrian citizenship due to their role in fighting Assad.

    Abbas Sharifa, a Damascus-based expert on jihadist groups, said the fighters being included in the army had shown loyalty to Syria’s leadership and were “ideologically filtered.”

    But “if you abandon them they become prey to ISIS or other radical groups” he said.

    Timour Azhari

    editor@freewestmedia.com

    Consider donating to support our work

    Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.

    Keep ​your language polite​. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in​,​ for example​, ​Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.

    If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violation​s​ of​ any​ law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.

    If your comments are subject to preview ​by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.

    We reserve the right to del​ete​ comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.

    No comments.

    By submitting a comment you grant Free West Media a perpetual license to reproduce your words and name/web site in attribution. Inappropriate and irrelevant comments will be removed at an admin’s discretion. Your email is used for verification purposes only, it will never be shared.

    US Should Not Become a Pawn in Israel’s New War

    A pawn in Netanyahu's increasingly megalomaniacal moves to prolong his political life

    White House Says Tactical Nuclear Weapon vs Fordow Is Possible

    Psychological warfare, or?

    Trump’s False Binary of Deal or War Ignored a Better, Third Option

    The US could have just continued to live with a near-nuclear Iran as it had for many, many years

    Israel Is Running Low on Air Defense Interceptors, Rationing Has Started

    A night of missile defense burns through roughly $285 million — ultimately covered by Uncle Sam

    Trump Says Will Decide Whether to Attack Iran in Two Weeks, but Tells Netanyahu to “Keep Going”

    WSJ reported Trump has approved the attack plan but is waiting to give the final order

    Trump Delayed Iran Strikes Over Doubt About ‘Bunker Buster’ Bomb

    Netanyahu assures him the GBU-57 will be good enough. He's not convinced taking out access tunnels is enough to matter

    Zionism Is Not an American Principle

    Yet its stranglehold on DC has never been greater

    Strikes on Iran Ease Pressure on Israel to End Starvation in Gaza

    Europeans had been growing uneasy with their role in enabling the Gaza horrors. Now they're rooting for IDF vs Tehran

    Israel Says Police Actively Hunting Down Anyone Filming Missile Strike Locations

    War on footage of missiles getting through

    Super Influential, Pro-Israel General Kurilla Is the Major Force Behind the Push to Attack Iran

    Heads CENTCOM but wields influence far in excess of his lowly post

    Go to archive