Syrians living in Turkey celebrate with opposition flags after Syrian rebels announced that they have ousted Bashar al-Assad on December 8, 2024, in Istanbul, Turkey. (Burak Kara via Getty Images)
A crucifix is pictured outside the Syriac Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Aleppo, Syria, on December 12, 2024. (Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images)
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of Syria's Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, is welcomed by supporters at the capital's landmark Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria, on December 8, 2024. (Abdulaziz Ketaz/AFP via Getty Images)
A member of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service raises the victory gesture as others hold upside-down the black flag of the Islamic State in Mosul, Iraq, on June 30, 2017. (Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images)