The US’ strikes against dozens of Islamic State targets in Syria highlight the challenges Damascus’ new government faces as it restores ties with Washington.
Friday’s retaliatory attacks, which followed the killing of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter, posed a test for the ties between the US and Syria just more than one year after rebel groups toppled Bashar al-Assad.
New President Ahmed al-Sharaa reportedly backed the operation as he tries to unite disparate factions within his country, but some “more hard-line supporters could bristle at strikes by a Western country on their homeland,” The New York Times wrote. “The government is trying very hard to walk a thin line,” an expert said.