US Strikes ISIS Insurgents in Syria Amid Chaos of Overthrow, and There's Concern About Rebel Leader

U.S. and Israeli forces are taking action just days after rebel forces took control of Damascus in Syria by overthrowing long-time dictator Bashar al-Assad. 

U.S. airstrikes on Islamic State militants are meant to ensure the insurgents don't try to take advantage of the chaos, and Israel also taking credit for the fall of Damascus.  

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu highlighted Israel's role in the fall of the Assad regime after the "heavy blows" its forces have inflicted on Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. 

MORE: Israel Denies Report Its Tanks, Troops Near Damascus; IAF Strikes More Than 300 Syrian Targets

He also said Israel is "dismantling the Iranian axis piece by piece" and changing the landscape of the Middle East.

"The State of Israel is establishing its position as a center of power in our region, as it has not been for decades. Those who cooperate with us, benefit greatly. Whoever attacks us, loses big," Netanyahu said.

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While Syrians are celebrating, thousands are also going to a notorious prison north of Damascus, searching for loved ones who had been taken by the regime. 

On the border with Turkey, those who fled the 14-year civil war are beginning to return home.

Mohammed el Mubuhar, 27, a Syrian refugee from Damascus said, "I came here six years ago and have been working. But now that Assad is gone, I decided to go back immediately.  We're going to go back now but it's a little difficult. The line isn't moving. My family is there (in Syria) I will see them, meet them. We're very happy Assad is gone. There's no more torture. God willing, Syria will be better."

Who Leads the Rebels, and What Comes Next?

In the midst of the celebration, there are concerns for the future. The new leader is a former Al Qaeda chief and the U.S. has a $10 million dollar bounty on his head. His Al Qaeda name was Abu Mohammed al-Golani, but he has since returned to using his real name, Ahmad al-Sharaa.

For now, he has renounced his longtime ties to Al Qaeda and is trying to depict himself as a champion of tolerance. But he also declared Assad's fall to be "a victory for the Islamic nation." The name of his group is Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), and the U.S. considers it a terrorist organization.

Bill Roggio senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told CBN's Faith Nation that he believes there will be infighting between the rebel factions.

"I don't think the war in Syria is over, I just think the Assad chapter in this war has ended," Roggio said.

What About Israel?

Meanwhile, Israel is offering peace to the Syrian people, but taking precautions with air strikes against the old regime's weapons supplies while also occupying a buffer zone on the Golan Heights to protect the border. 

"Today, everyone understands the great importance of our being there on the Golan, not at the foot of the Golan," Netanyahu said. "Our control of the Golan Heights guarantees our security, it guarantees our sovereignty." 

In the middle of this multi-front war, the prime minister will be spending several days a week this month in a courtroom testifying in a long-running case of fraud and corruption charges against him.

He says the charges are politically motivated.

Netanyahu said, "For 8 years, I have been waiting to reveal the method, a method of a brutal hunting expedition because these investigations were born in sin. There was no offense, so they were looking for an offense. They haven't found an offense so they invented an offense."