Large parts of Syria were once overrun by the terrorist group Islamic State. The country’s new government has just committed to a global effort to fight the group.

In 2019, President Trump sent U.S. commandos to a small village in Syria to kill the leader of Islamic State. On Monday, Syria’s president, a former associate of that leader, will take another step to strengthen his alliance with the White House.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara’s meeting with President Trump in Washington signifies a new turn for al-Shara, a former Islamist rebel leader who was once designated by the United States as a terrorist with a $10 million bounty on his head. Our reporter Christina Goldbaum describes the meeting.

In 2019, President Trump sent U.S. commandos to a small village in Syria to kill the leader of the Islamic State. On Monday, Syria’s president, a former associate of that leader, will take another step to strengthen his alliance with the White House.

The visit by President Ahmed al-Shara is another step in the transformation of the former rebel leader once wanted by the United States as a terrorist.

The decision comes days before the Syrian president, Ahmed al-Shara, is expected in Washington for the first time since he came to power.

The president, Ahmed al-Shara, was until recently wanted by the United States as a terrorist with a $10 million bounty on his head.

Ten months after rebels toppled the long-entrenched Assad regime, little-checked bloodshed has led many Syrians to abandon hope that the years of brutality may be over.