|
Trending Topics
|
U.S. Tracks Threats Against West by Al-Qaeda Affiliate in Syria
(Wall Street Journal) Siobhan Gorman and Julian E. Barnes - The U.S. is tracking multiple terror plots based out of Syria that target the West - traced to al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate and not to the Islamic State. Two such groups are the Nusra Front and a cell of al-Qaeda leaders now in Syria that works closely with the Nusra Front known as Khorasan. Together, the Nusra Front and Khorasan are suspected to have multiple plots in the works targeting countries in Europe as well as the U.S. Some counter-terrorism specialists also say it is a mistake for the U.S. to focus the new offensive solely on the Islamic State. "It's a half measure to target only ISIS on the Iraq and Syria fronts, when it misses the group that appears to be most extensively involved in Western plotting, including the USA, and that's the Nusra Front," said Seth Jones, a terrorism specialist at Rand Corp.