HTS then pursued a "Syrianisation" programme, focused on establishing a stable civilian administration that provides services and connects to humanitarian organizations in addition to maintaining law and order.

[67][68] While the organisation officially adhered to the Salafi school, the High Council of Fatwa of the Syrian Salvation Government – to which it is religiously beholden – consisted of ulema from Ash'arite and Sufi traditions as well.

[72] On 29 January 2025, at the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference held in Damascus, Hussein Abdel Ghani, spokesperson for the Military Operations Administration, announced the dissolution of HTS and several armed factions and declared that they would become part of "state institutions".

The statement urged all opposition factions to join forces with HTS and warned Syrian Sunnis; asserting that Iran will "enslave the region" if the rebels lose the war.

[99] On 22 February, the last of Liwa al-Asqa's 2,100 militants left their final positions in Khan Shaykhun, with unconfirmed reports in pro-government media that they were to join ISIL in the Ar-Raqqah Province after a negotiated withdrawal deal with Tahrir al-Sham and the Turkistan Islamic Party.

[126] Syrian intelligence commander Hassan Daaboul was among the 40 assassinated by Hayyat Tahrir al-Sham, in twin bomb attacks at complexes of the Ba'athist secret police in Homs.

[90] In February 2018, Tahrir al-Sham was accused of killing Fayez al-Madani, an opposition delegate tasked with negotiations with the government over electricity delivery in the northern Homs Governorate, in the city of al-Rastan.

Hundreds of people, including fighters of the Men of God Brigade, part of the Free Syrian Army's National Liberation Movement group,[143][144][145] proceeded to demonstrate against HTS in the city on 13 February.

In late February, a group of armed factions, including Failaq al-Rahman and Jaysh al-Islam, wrote to the UN declaring they were ready to "evacuate" remaining HTS fighters from Eastern Ghouta within 15 days.

Following their victory, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham would immediately violate the ceasefire treaty brokered by Turkey and Russia by placing combat units in the demilitarized zone along the Idlib-Syrian Government border, and attack SAA encampments near the area.

In response to these attacks, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad increased the number of troops garrisoned near Idlib, which some have argued is an impending renewed offensive in the region, following the Northwestern Syria Campaign, where pro-government forces retook the formerly rebel-controlled Abu al-Duhur Military Airbase that was captured by the FSA and Army of Conquest in 2015.

During this time, Turkey was protesting the siege of Turkish military observation points deployed according to the Astana agreement by regime forces and wanted Assad to stop his attack on the Idlib region.

[164][165] The Washington Post reported in January 2022 that the group was "trying to convince Syrians and the world that it is no longer as radical and repressive as it once was", voicing rhetoric about combating extremism, and shifting its focus to providing services to the refugees and residents of Idlib province through the Salvation Government.

[166] In 7 January, Abu Muhammad al-Joulani announced the inauguration of the Aleppo-Bab al-Hawa International Road, presenting the event as part of "a comprehensive plan... to achieve development and progress for the region".

[163] In August 2022, HTS ideologue Abu Maria al-Qahtani issued a statement demanding the dissolution of Al-Qaeda and urged all AQ branches to cut ties from the organization.

[168] The U.S. State Department alleged in 2023 that the group obstructed humanitarian efforts in Idlib through licensing and registration protocols as well as through the imposition of taxes and fees on Western NGOs and regulations on aid distribution and beneficiary selection.

HTS additionally facilitated the creation of a unified operations room in southern Syria, synchronizing military actions with approximately 25 rebel groups to encircle Damascus from multiple fronts.

[18] Abu Jaber Shaykh, a prominent scholar and chief of the Shura Council of Tahrir al-Sham, was arrested several times by the Ba'athist regime, which accused him of holding Salafi jihadi beliefs.

[183] Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi of the Combating Terrorism Center claimed in February 2017 that despite public statements by Tahrir al-Sham's leaders and partisans, the group (at the time) was essentially al-Qaeda-aligned.

[184] In an interview given to the PBS Frontline documentarian Martin Smith, Abu Mohammad al-Julani stated regarding the religious doctrines and political goals of Tahrir al-Sham:[185] To limit the description of the HTS to only being a Salafist or jihadist, I believe, needs a long discussion.

According to Bassam Sihiouni, an influential member of the High Council of the Fatwa: "The schools of jurisprudence are among the safest ways of preserving a correct and inventive intellectual orientation while applying the laws, ethics and morals of Islam.

"[187]Ines Barnard and Charlie Winter have described HTS as the "most complex and sophisticated Islamist group" in Syria, which integrates mobilisation of popular support and military operations through its strategic communication networks.

In contrast to organizations like the more hardline Taliban or extremist Islamic State, HTS didn't impose the harsher aspects and interpretations of Sharia over the populations of the regions it governs.

[243] In November 2017, HTS launched a wide-scale crackdown on Al-Qaeda elements in Idlib and arrested prominent leaders from Af-Pak region and Al-Nusra Front such as Sami al-Oraydi.

[162] According to Istanbul-based academic Abbas Sharifeh, the measures were part of a strategy by HTS for governance consolidation: "Golani simply does not want any competitors in Idlib, especially from a jihadi current affiliated with al-Qaeda.

[1] In his 2021 interview to PBS News, Abu Muhammad al-Julani argued that financial co-operation with Al-Qaeda was necessary to defend Syrians from the tyranny of the Assad regime, and stated that "even at that time when we were with Al Qaeda, we were against external attacks".

[168] Following the fall of the Assad regime during the 2024 Syrian opposition offensives spearheaded by Tahrir al-Sham, the BBC News reported that the UK government could remove HTS from its list of terrorist groups.

[266] In response to the American designation of HTS as a terrorist organisation; Abu Muhammad al-Julani, distancing himself from past involvement with Al-Qaeda, stated in a 2021 interview to PBS Frontline: Our message to them is brief.

[274][280] A U.S. State Department report in 2023 asserted that women in HTS-controlled regions of Idlib faced widespread discrimination and violence, including arbitrary detention, sexual abuse in custody, and death sentences for charges such as "adultery" or "blasphemy".

[274][279][277] According to a report issued by US State Department in 2023, HTS significantly obstructed humanitarian aid in areas under its control, severely hindering assistance to those in need, particularly internally displaced persons.