DAMASCUS -- An opposition leader in Syria's Idlib province has been tasked with forming a new Syrian government, local media reported Monday.

Muhammad al-Bashir, born in 1983 and an electrical engineer and head of the "Syrian Salvation Government" (SSG) in Idlib under the aegis of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), will lead efforts to form a new cabinet following the rapid fall of President Bashar al-Assad's government on Sunday, online media outlet Sawt al-Asima reported.

Formed in 2017 by the HTS and other Syrian opposition groups during the Syrian civil war, the SSG wielded administrative and service-related authority in areas under the HTS control in Syria.

The militant groups led by the HTS waged a major offensive from northern Syria since Nov 27 and had since swept southwards through government-held areas, capturing the capital Damascus within 12 days.