No, this jihadist brandishing two severed heads isn’t Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa

[ad_1] On Wednesday, September 24, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa made the primary speech by a Syrian chief earlier than the UN Normal Meeting for practically 60 years. It marked a milestone in Syria's historical past and of the worldwide recognition of Sharaa, who turned Syria's interim president after Bashar al-Assad was overthrown final December.

“United Nation[s] is a joke,” wrote one X person, indignant about Sharaa’s newfound respectability. The publish, which garnered greater than 12.5 million views, additionally encompasses a montage of two pictures that the social media person claimed was proof that the Syrian president dedicated conflict crimes whereas main the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

The photograph on the prime of the montage reveals the Syrian president attending a UN assembly. The underside picture, which we have now cropped, reveals a jihadist brandishing two severed heads. This social media person claims that the jihadist is Sharaa.

<img fetchpriority="low" src="https://s.france24.com/media/display/e65985e4-a063-11f0-b0ed-005056a90284/w:980/image3-55.png" srcset="https://s.france24.com/media/display/e65985e4-a063-11f0-b0ed-005056a90284/w:246/image3-55.png 246w,https://s.france24.com/media/display/e65985e4-a063-11f0-b0ed-005056a90284/w:388/image3-55.png 388w,https://s.france24.com/media/display/e65985e4-a063-11f0-b0ed-005056a90284/w:720/image3-55.png 720w,https://s.france24.com/media/display/e65985e4-a063-11f0-b0ed-005056a90284/w:980/image3-55.png 980w" sizes="(max-width: 1023px) calc(100vw - 32px), (min-width: 1024px) 850px" alt="Contrary to the claims made by an X user who posted this photo montage on September 27, 2025, the man in the bottom image, who is brandishing two severed heads, is not Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Our team cropped the image from its original size." style="max-height:1036px" loading="lazy" class="a-img "/> Opposite to the claims made by an X person who posted this photograph montage on September 27, 2025, the person within the backside picture, who's brandishing two severed heads, isn't Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Our workforce cropped the picture from its unique measurement. © X An Australian jihadist Sharaa does have an extended historical past as a jihadist. When the US invaded Iraq in 2003, he joined al Qaeda after which the Islamic State (IS) group. After the Syrian civil conflict started in 2011, he based the al-Nusra Entrance, a bunch with ties to al Qaeda.

In 2017, Sharaa joined forces with different Islamist actions to type the HTS. The HTS seized a part of Idlib province and was accused of finishing up brutal abuses on dissenters. The US State Division had categorised HTS as a terrorist group till earlier this 12 months. On July 8, the motion was faraway from the division’s checklist of international terrorist organisations.

And but, the person brandishing two severed heads within the photograph isn't the Syrian president. Our workforce ran the photograph by means of a reverse picture search (try our useful information right here) and was capable of set up the person’s actual identification.

This photograph seems in a 2014 CNN article, which identifies the person as an Australian jihadist named Mohamed Elomar. A BBC article reported that he traveled to Syria after which Iraq in 2013 to combat with the IS group. The Australian police mentioned the photograph of Elomar holding up two severed heads was taken in Raqqa, Syria. Elomar is believed to have been killed in a drone strike in 2015.

Ahmed al-Sharaa supposedly listened to Netanyahu’s speech The primary photograph within the montage seems to indicate al-Sharaa attending a gathering on the UN. It was used to stage additional accusations on the Syrian president.

Quite a lot of UN delegations left the room in protest earlier than Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the stage. A social media person who shared the photograph of Sharaa on the UN claimed that the Syrian chief didn't depart the room and had stayed to hearken to Netanyahu.

"Congratulations in your Jewish revolution syrians,” the X person wrote in a publish seen 890,000 instances.

<img fetchpriority="low" src="https://s.france24.com/media/display/0f69de7a-a064-11f0-9f98-005056a90284/w:980/image1-64.png" srcset="https://s.france24.com/media/display/0f69de7a-a064-11f0-9f98-005056a90284/w:246/image1-64.png 246w,https://s.france24.com/media/display/0f69de7a-a064-11f0-9f98-005056a90284/w:388/image1-64.png 388w,https://s.france24.com/media/display/0f69de7a-a064-11f0-9f98-005056a90284/w:720/image1-64.png 720w,https://s.france24.com/media/display/0f69de7a-a064-11f0-9f98-005056a90284/w:980/image1-64.png 980w" sizes="(max-width: 1023px) calc(100vw - 32px), (min-width: 1024px) 850px" alt="This photo doesn’t show Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa listening to the speech given by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on September 26, 2025. The photo was taken on September 22." style="max-height:965px" loading="lazy" class="a-img "/> This photograph doesn’t present Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa listening to the speech given by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on September 26, 2025. The photograph was taken on September 22. © X Nonetheless, this declare is unsuitable. This photograph was posted on the Syrian president’s official Instagram account 4 days earlier than Netanyahu’s UN speech.