Abu Mohammed Al Jolani is, lest anyone forgets, one of the world’s most wanted terrorists. File picture: Abu Mohamed al-Jolani | Photo Credit: AP
An unusual photograph continues to make the rounds on the part of social media obsessed with the Syrian conflict. It’s a photograph of Abu Mohammed Al Jolani, the head of Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, the militant group and former Al Qaeda-affiliate that controls Idlib, the last Syrian rebel province not in regime hands. Al Jolani is standing next to an American reporter, but it is his clothes that draw the most attention: instead of the usual military fatigues and Islamic prayer cap he usually wears, Al Jolani is dressed in a suit – the first time most of his supporters have ever seen him like that. Social media is bubbling with speculation that Al Jolani is rebranding himself as Western-friendly.