DAMASCUS (Dispatches) -- Self-appointed Syrian president Abu Muhammad al-Jolani met with the head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Charles Bradley Cooper, on Friday to discuss regional security and cooperation, his office announced.
U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack also attended the meeting with Jolani in the People’s Palace in Damascus.
“The meeting discussed prospects for cooperation in the political and military fields, in a way that serves common interests and consolidates the foundations of security and stability in Syria and the region,” the Syrian presidency said in a statement.
The meeting between top U.S. officials and Jolani, a former Al-Qaeda and Daesh in Iraq commander, occurred one day after the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. 
The U.S. government claims Al-Qaeda carried out the attacks that toppled the World Trade Center buildings and damaged the Pentagon, killing over 3,000 people.
“The meeting reflected the positive atmosphere and shared commitment to strengthening the strategic partnership and expanding channels of communication between Damascus and Washington at various levels,” the statement issued by Jolani’s office said.
U.S. President Donald Trump met with Jolani on May 13 in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. 
During the meeting, Trump announced the lifting of sanctions on Syria, praised Jolani, and informed him of the need to take several measures, most notably normalizing relations with Israel.
Jolani became known in Iraq for dispatching suicide bombers to kill U.S. troops and Shia civilians after the 2003 U.S. invasion. 
After his detention at the U.S.-run Bucca Prison in Basra, Jolani was released by U.S. officials and became the leader of Daesh in Mosul. 
In 2011, he traveled to Syria under the direct orders of Daesh founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and established the Nusra Front, which became the official Al-Qaeda affiliate in the country.
U.S., Israeli, and UK intelligence supported Jolani and the Nusra Front for over a decade as part of the operation to topple the government of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, starting in 2011.
The CIA spent $1 billion per year on the operation to topple Assad, known as Timber Sycamore, which involved flooding Syria with weapons to arm the Nusra Front and other extremist Salafist armed groups. 
Nusra, which later rebranded as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), took power in Damascus in December 2024.
Syrian forces loyal to Jolani carried out the massacre of Alawite civilians in the coastal region of the country in March, followed by the massacre of Druze civilians in Sweida governorate in July.