Syria Civil War:  Today rebels staged a coup in Syria and captured the capital Damascus. President Bashar-al-Assad fled the country as soon as the rebels arrived. The rebels have also announced a coup. No one could shake Assad's power for 24 years, but the rebels toppled it in 11 days.

After this incident in Syria, one name is much discussed and that is Mohammad Al Jolani. 

The US has placed a bounty of up to 10 million dollars (more than 84 crores 67 lakhs) on Jolani. Mohammad Jolani has become the main face of the rebels in the civil war. After all, let's find out who is Jolani...

Worked with father, lived early life in anonymity

Jolani's real name is Ahmed al-Shara. Jolani was born in 1982 and lived in Damascus. He claims that he spent his early life struggling and even worked in a grocery store with his father.

During the war of 1967, his family had to leave their home, after which he was forced to live a life of anonymity. 

He was arrested in 2005

After this, when America started the war against terror in Syria after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Jolani went there to fight in Lebanon. In Baghdad, Jolani started a war against the American army. Here he joined Al Qaeda and fought with the American army in Iran. In 2005, Jolani was arrested in Mosul and kept in American jail. 

head of al-Qaeda-linked organization

According to Rewards for Justice, Muhammad al-Jawlani is known as Abu Muhammad al-Jolani. Al-Jolani leads the al-Qaeda (AQ)-linked al-Nusrah Front (ANF) in Syria. In January 2017 the ANF merged with several other radical groups to form Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). However, Jolani is no longer the HTS chief but remains the leader of the al-Qaeda-linked ANF.

Attacked several times in Syria

Under Jolani's leadership, the al-Nusrah Front has carried out numerous terrorist attacks across Syria. In April 2015, the ANF reportedly kidnapped about 300 Kurdish civilians from a checkpoint in Syria and later released them. 

How did you get into the Syrian civil war?

Jolani entered the Syrian civil war after his release from American prison. Al Qaeda and Iran showed themselves as Islamic State under the leadership of Abu Bakr Baghdadi. At this time Baghdadi and Jolani were friends, although later both became enemies. In 2011, when Assad's government attacked the rebels in Syria, the leader of Islamic State sent Jolani there as their leader. 

It was in Syria that Jolani served as an ally of al-Qaeda in the civil war.