News - Middle East: The United States has granted approval for Syria to incorporate thousands of foreign Takfiri militants into the country’s new military, after the head of the HTS-led regime expressed readiness to normalize ties with Israel, a report says.

On Monday, Reuters cited three Syrian military officials as saying that under the new administration’s plan, some 3,500 foreign militants, who fought alongside the Syrian opposition against former president Bashar al-Assad, would join a newly-formed unit, “the 84th Syrian army division”.

Asked by Reuters whether Washington approved the move, US President Donald Trump's special envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack said, "I would say there is an understanding, with transparency."

He claimed it was better to keep the militants, many of whom are "very loyal" to Syria's HTS-led administration, within a state project than to exclude them.

Washington had been opposing the move, but its approach to Syria has changed sharply since Trump met the head of the HTS-led administration in Syria, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, in Saudi Arabia in May.

During the trip to Riyadh, Trump announced that all US sanctions on Syria would be lifted.

According to the report, thousands of foreign Takfiri militants fought against the government of former President Bashar al-Assad during the 13-year militancy.

Some militants formed their own groups, while others joined established ones such as the Daesh terrorist group.

Jolani has said that foreign militants and their families may be granted Syrian citizenship due to their role in fighting the former government.

Abu Mohamad al-Jolani, who is a former senior commander in both al-Qaeda and Daesh, is now the de facto president of Syria.

In December, armed groups led by HTS militants, announced that they had fully captured the Syrian capital and announced the fall of President Assad’s government.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently described how the Israeli military helped the HTS takeover of Syria in December.

The security situation in Syria under the HTS - an offshoot of the al-Qaeda terrorist group - remains tenuous. Incidents of sectarian violence, including the massacre of hundreds of Alawites in March, have hardened fears among minority groups about the now dominant militants.

Source: Press TV