After capturing the Syrian capital Aleppo in just three days, the rebels are now on the verge of capturing the strategically important city of Hama. The rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has suddenly cornered Bashar al-Assad, who has ruled this Middle Eastern country for two decades. Not only that, the operation has also generated widespread curiosity around the world about the group's leader, Abu Muhammad al-Gholami.

Born in Saudi Arabia in 1982, 42-year-old Abu Muhammad al-Gholami, whose real name is Muhammad al-Sara, moved from Riyadh to Syria with his family when he was just 7 years old. The Golan Heights, which are occupied by the occupying Israelis, were the ancestral homeland of his ancestors.

However, in 2023, Gholami migrated to neighboring Iran. There, he joined Al-Qaeda to fight against US troops. At that time, like-minded Al-Qaeda groups led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi united to form the extremist 'Islamic State' of Iran. After working with this group for a while, Gholami was captured by US forces in 2006. He served 5 years in prison.

This rebel leader was later released in 2011. At that time, there was a huge movement in Syria to overthrow the Assad government. On this occasion, Baghdadi gave Gholami the responsibility of establishing the Al-Nusra Front as an offshoot of Al-Qaeda in the country. This brought Gholami widespread recognition and power. And Gholami used this opportunity very well. He created a strong position for his forces in the Idlib region of Syria.

As a result, the United States designated the Nusra Front as a terrorist organization as the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda. At the same time, a price of $10 million was placed on Al-Gholami's head.

In 2014, Al-Gholami gave an interview to the Qatari-based media outlet Al-Jazeera. In that interview, he said that he wanted to rule Syria according to Islamic Sharia law. Therefore, there is no place for Alawites, Shiites, Druze communities, and Christians.

Meanwhile, in 2006, al-Gholami dramatically announced in a video message that he had completely severed ties with al-Qaeda. A year later, he founded Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. At the same time, he changed his appearance and style of speech. He also announced that the rights of minorities would be ensured under his rule.

In an interview with the US investigative program Frontline in 2021, he said that ISIS had adopted certain policies to manage the war situation that were causing the deaths of many people. Therefore, he stepped down because he did not want to be the cause of the deaths of innocent people.

Incidentally, President Assad controlled about 70 percent of Syria. However, last week, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's capture of Aleppo once again signaled that the civil war in Syria is not over.