Sharaa's Islamist group is stamping its authority on Syria's state with the same lightning speed that it seized the country, deploying police, installing an interim government and meeting foreign envoys - raising concerns over how inclusive Damascus' new rulers intend to be.

Images show the fighters standing next to the burning gravesite of Hafez al-Assad in the former president's hometown.

Travis Timmerman, 29, from Missouri, was found this week by residents wandering barefoot in a suburb south of Syria's capital.

An American man identifying himself as Travis Timmerman has been found near the Syrian capital Damascus after being freed from a prison as rebels took over the country.

Travis Timmerman, a missing American from Missouri, was freed from a Syrian prison and found Thursday outside of Damascus trying to make his way out of the country on foot.

Jens Spahn, a senior member of Germany’s opposition Christian Democrats ( cdu ), suggested handing €1,000 ($1,050) to any Syrian who wished to go home. Austria’s government even instructed officials to prepare deportation plans.

Najem al-Moussa was delighted when news of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's overthrow first beamed from the television in his tiny Athens apartment. Then came a dreaded thought: what if Assad's fall meant he and his family would be forced to return to the devastated country they had fled nine years before?

Assad's regime, many Syrians abroad are celebrating the demise of the long-time ruler. But as European nations now review their asylum policies, some fear they will be forced back to the country before it is stable.

The top U.S. diplomat will meet with regional leaders to emphasize U.S. support for a Syrian-led transition to “an accountable and representative government.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Turkey on Thursday for talks focused on a critical aspect of establishing stability in Syria: clashes in the north of the country between U.S.-backed Kurdish forces and Turkey-backed rebels.