UK considering removing Syria's HTS from terror list

The British government is considering removing Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from its list of designated terrorist organisations following the group's victory in Syria.

Speaking to the BBC a day after HTS-led rebels ousted President Bashar al-Assad, UK government minister Pat McFadden said any move to delist the former al-Qaeda affiliate would be a "relatively swift decision" considering the fluid situation in Syria.

"The leader of that group has distanced himself away from some of the things that have been said in the past," McFadden told the BBC's Today programme.

"He is saying some of the right things about the protection of minorities, about protecting people's rights. So we'll look at that in the days to come."

HTS is listed by the UK's Home Office as an "alternative name" for al-Qaeda, the armed group that carried out the 11 September 2001 World Trade Centre attacks.

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