"Charismatic", "a shrewd strategist", "a quality contact", "destined for great things": all those who have met Ahmed al-Dalati in recent weeks, from local contacts to Western intelligence officers not usually inclined to jihadist sympathies, sing his praises.
Known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Shami, the former military commander was in March made governor of the region of Quneitra, a Druze and tribal area in southern Syria, where his armed group, Ahrar al-Sham, has been traditionally well
