Syrian President al-Sharaa says he traveled to Iraq in 2002 to defend its people

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said he traveled to Iraq in 2002, before U.S. forces entered the country, with the aim of standing with its people. In a televised interview, al-Sharaa said the visit took place when he was 20 years old and that he had no other purpose or agenda. The Syrian leader said he did not assume any independent leadership role in Iraq and was arrested, receiving a five-year prison sentence. During his detention, he said he was held alongside Iraqis in the same prison and identified himself as Iraqi, using the name Amjad Muzaffar Hussein during that period. Al-Sharaa added that he had been on the ground in Iraq ahead of the 2003 U.S. intervention before being taken into custody. No further details about the circumstances of his arrest or release were immediately available.