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Hezbollah and its backer, Iran, were close allies of Assad, helping him to prop him up in office during the long civil war in Syria.

In recent days, allies of Trump adopted an approach that is not novel for the president-elect and his followers: Make life extremely uncomfortable for anyone who dares to oppose him.

HTS and allied rebel factions seized control of the Syrian capital Damascus on Sunday after years of civil war.

The women's team losing a boardroom ally is a concern for some supporters, though.

The regime eventually laid siege to it and, along with its ally Russia, indiscriminately bombed the area as it sought to gain control of it from rebel fighters led by the group Jaish al-Islam.