The Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which seized Aleppo in a shock offensive over the weekend, is an Islamist movement that has long ruled swathes of the country's northwest.

The Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which seized Aleppo in a shock offensive over the weekend, is an Islamist movement that has long ruled swathes of the country’s northwest. The group has sought to moderate its image in recent years,

Syrian opposition fighters have launched a lightning offensive, capturing most of Aleppo and arriving as far south as Hama in a matter of days as government forces retreated. The rebels’ rapid gains – the most significant since 2016 – have thrust Syria’s various opposition factions back into the spotlight.