BEIRUT, Lebanon –
The leader of Syria’s most powerful insurgent group toured the seized city of Aleppo on Wednesday in a surprise visit — the first since the group captured large parts of the city over the weekend as fierce fighting intensifies in the government-led counter-offensive in northern Hama.
Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who heads the jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, greeted crowds of supporters near the city’s iconic citadel as he smiled and waved in dark green military garb. Surrounded by masked gunmen in flak jackets, men and boys chanted “God is great” as he walked through the heart of Syria’s largest city.
The sudden capture of Aleppo, also an ancient business hub, was a stunning prize for Syrian opponents of President Bashar Assad.
It was the first opposition attack on the city since 2016, when a …