Dhaka, July 1 -- US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order terminating a US sanctions programme on Syria, allowing an end to the country's isolation from the international financial system and building on Washington's pledge to help it rebuild after a devastating civil war.

The move will allow the US to maintain sanctions on Syria's ousted former president Bashar al-Assad, his associates, human rights abusers, drug traffickers, people linked to chemical weapons activities, the Islamic State and ISIS affiliates and proxies for Iran, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters in a briefing on Monday.

Assad was toppled in December in a lightning offensive by Islamist-led rebels and Syria has since taken steps to ...