Qatari emir to visit Syria: Al Jazeera, Syrian embassy

Qatar's emir will fly to Damascus on Thursday, Al Jazeera and the Syrian embassy said, becoming the first head of state to visit since the toppling of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad.

Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani's expected trip, less than two months after Islamist-led rebels ousted Assad, follows a visit by Qatar's prime minister earlier this month.

"The Syrian embassy in Doha confirmed that the emir of Qatar will visit the Syrian capital, Damascus... to meet with the leader of the new administration in Syria," the Syrian embassy said in a statement to AFP.

Sheikh Tamim will meet interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa "in a historic visit that will address cooperation and aid in several sectors", the embassy said.

Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera cited unnamed sources as announcing the visit and said Syria's presidency confirmed the meeting with Sharaa.

Unlike other Arab countries, Qatar did not restore diplomatic ties with Syria under Assad and was one of the first to back the armed rebellion that erupted after his government crushed a peaceful uprising in 2011.

During his visit two weeks ago, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani pledged to support the rehabilitation of Syria's infrastructure, devastated by nearly 14 years of civil war.