Iraq War News

Khorasan Group

Home > Conflict with ISIS > Khorasan Group

The Khorsan Group was little known to the international community except for those intelligence and military members working in the world of antiterrorism and counterterrorism. The group contains al-Qaeda core operatives from Afghanistan and Pakistan who made their way to Syria.

In June 2014 the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command readied targeting packets to attack the al-Qaeda operatives located in Syria. However, the intelligence was not robust enough to launch an operation. 1.

On September 22, 2014 the United States conducted airstrikes against these Syria-based terrorists. It is speculated that the air attacks killed some of the leaders of the Khorasan Group and possibly derailed plans underway to conduct a terrorist attack against the United States.

References

1. The "Khorasan Group" in Syria, by Christopher M. Blanchard, Congressional Research Service (CRS), September 24, 2014, IN10155.
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/232512.pdf

Endnotes

1. For more on JSOC targeting the Khorasan Group read "Exclusive: U.S. Special Ops Readied Syria Attack in June", The Daily Beast, October 2, 2014.
www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/02/exclusive-u-s-special-ops-readied-syria-attack-in-june.html