Leader of Syrian rebels who toppled Assad named interim president

Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the Syrian rebel group that toppled the Assad regime, has been named interim president in Damascus.

Sharaa, who was already widely seen as the country’s de facto leader, will head a temporary legislative council until lawmakers agree and implement a new constitution, Syria’s news agency said, citing a government spokesperson.

Sharaa is the leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, which led the overthrow of the Assad government in December. The group, which had links to Al-Qaida, is considered a terrorist organization by the US, although Washington has removed a $10 million bounty on Sharaa.

The Syrian spokesperson said that the armed groups that ousted Assad have also been dissolved, and will be integrated into state institutions.

Sharaa previously said it could take as long as four years until new elections can be held in the war-torn country.