Sharaa's Islamist group is stamping its authority on Syria's state with the same lightning speed that it seized the country, deploying police, installing an interim government and meeting foreign envoys.

The rebels who ended the Assad family’s brutal rule in Syria began asserting control on Monday. They took up positions outside public buildings in Damascus and directed traffic in a show of their newly claimed authority.

The main commander of the fighters who toppled Bashar al-Assad said on Wednesday that he would dissolve the security forces of the former regime, close its prisons and hunt down anyone involved in the torture or killing of detainees.