Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, whose name means Organization for the Liberation of the Levant, was the main rebel group leading the latest offensive, launching a surprise assault in late November from northwestern Syria that quickly led to the fall of President Bashar al-Assad. It is now leading the transition to a new Syrian government.

The news comes a day after Syria’s new interim leader Mohammed al-Bashir announced he was assuming the role of the country’s caretaker prime minister until March 1. Bashir previously served as the head of the rebel administration’s self-formed “salvation government.

Israel has attacked Syrian military assets and has troops operating in the Golan buffer zone and slightly beyond.

Bloomberg’s national security editor Nick Wadhams talks about some of the choices facing the US and other nations as a result of the turmoil in Syria (Source: Bloomberg)

Israel denied on Tuesday that its forces had penetrated into Syrian territory beyond the buffer zone with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, after Syrian sources said the incursion had extended to within 25 km (15 miles) of the capital Damascus.

Israel has attacked Syrian military assets and has troops operating in the Golan buffer zone and slightly beyond.