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Khorasan group

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(Redirected fromKhorasan Group)
Islamic group

Not to be confused withGreater Khorasan orIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province.
Khorasan Group
خراسان(in Arabic)
TheShahada flag commonly used by al-Qaeda, the parent organization of Khorasan
Leaders
Dates of operationMarch 2012 – 2017[1]
Headquarters
Active regionsSyria NorthwesternSyria
IdeologySalafism
Size50[12]
Part ofal-Qaeda
Alliesal-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula(2012–present)
Jund al-Aqsa(2014–17)[10]
OpponentsU.S. Armed Forces
European Union
SyriaBa'athist Syria[14]
Russian Armed Forces
Battles and warsSyrian Civil War
Military intervention against ISIL

TheKhorasan group, sometimes known simply asKhorasan, was an alleged group of senioral-Qaeda members operating inSyria.[15] The group was reported to consist of a small number of fighters who are all on terrorist watchlists, and coordinated withal-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's official affiliate in Syria. At an intelligence gathering in Washington, D.C., on 18 September 2014,Director of National IntelligenceJames Clapper stated that "in terms of threat to the homeland, Khorasan may pose as much of a danger asISIS."[16]

The term first appeared in news media in September 2014, although the United States had reportedly been keeping track of the group for two years.[17] By early November 2014, the term had disappeared from political rhetoric.[18] Commentators have stated that the threat the Khorasan Group represented was exaggerated to generate public support forAmerican intervention in Syria, and some have questioned whether the group even exists as a distinct entity.[19]

On 28 May 2015, al-Nusra Front leaderAbu Mohammad al-Golani explicitly denied the existence of the supposed Khorasan group.[20] The al-Nusra Front had received specific orders since at least early 2015 from al-Qaeda leaderAyman al-Zawahiri to cease any activities related to attacking Western targets.[21]

In July 2015, both Muhsin al-Fadhli, said to be the operational leader of the group, and chief bombmaker David Drugeon, were killed by 2 US airstrikes.[22][23] After their deaths, FBI Director James Comey stated that the Khorasan group had become diminished, and that ISIL was now a bigger threat to the US.[24]

On 15 October 2015, a Coalition airstrike in northwest Syria killed Abdul Mohsen Adballah Ibrahim al Charekh (a.k.a. Sanafi al-Nasr), who was then the highest ranking leader of the Khorasan group.[25] He was the deputy leader of Khorasan before Muhsin al-Fadhli's death.[26]

Beginning in January 2017, it was reported that the US no longer referred to Khorasan fighters specifically, and that US officials no longer attempted to distinguish between Khorasan and al-Nusra Front militants, instead, labeling them all collectively as "al-Qaeda". Around this time, the US significantly increased the number of its airstrikes against al-Nusra Front and other al-Qaeda-affiliated targets.[27][28] After January 2017, the fate of the group was uncertain, as it had few fighters.

Name

[edit]

Khorasan refers to a region including parts of Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran. The U.S. intelligence community coined the term "Khorasan group" in reference to the Khorasan Shura, the leadership council withinal-Qaeda believed to have been hiding in the Afghanistan-Pakistan area.[15][29]

TheUnited States Central Command (CENTCOM) described the Khorasan Group as a "network ofNusrah Front andal-Qa'ida core extremists who share a history of training operatives, facilitating fighters and money, and planning attacks against U.S. and Western targets."[30]Patrick Ryder of CENTCOM defined the Khorasan Group "as a network of veteran al-Qaeda operations who were plotting external attacks against the United States and our allies."[31] TheLong War Journal described the Khorasan Group as "a collection of al-Qaeda operatives sent to Syria to perform various functions, including laying the groundwork for external operations against the West."[32]

Membership

[edit]

According to a source close to Nusra Front leadership, the Khorasan Group (KG) numbered several dozen experienced jihadists who had come from Afghanistan to Syria during theSyrian Civil War. The presence of these veterans was symbolic, as they were all wanted terrorists by the United States and directly followed al-Qaeda leadership.[15][33] A U.S. intelligence source indicated the group numbered about 50 members.[12] Members of the group were said to have worked with bomb-makers fromYemen to target civilian aircraft heading to the United States.[34]

The group found sanctuary in Idlib Province and the surrounding areas.[35]

KG militants came from both the Nusra Front and theIslamic State.[31] The cadre in the Khorasan Group was differentiated from the broader group of senior al-Qaeda leaders and operatives in Syria, such asAbu Firas al-Suri,Ahmed Refai Taha, andAhmad Salama Mabruk.[32]

According to US officials, the organization was led byMohammed Islambouli, whose brotherKhalid Islambouli assassinated Egyptian PresidentAnwar Sadat in 1981.[1][2] Another Khorasan Group member,Abu Yusuf Al-Turki, was reported to have been killed on 23 September 2014 by US airstrikes in Syria.

Notable members included:

NameCitizenshipDetailsSources
Sanafi al-NasrSaudiSenior al-Qaeda financial official, including a stint as al-Qaeda's chief financial officer in 2012. Played role in Khorasan Group's finances and facilitating routes for recruits to travel from Pakistan to Syria via Turkey. He also moved funds from thePersian Gulf into Iraq, then to al-Qaeda leaders.[4]
Muhsin al-FadhliKuwaitiProminent al-Qaeda member who went toIran after theUS invasion of Afghanistan. In charge of KG's external operations.[3][1]
David DrugeonFrenchBombmaker[17][35]
Abu Yusuf Al-TurkiTurkishSenior KG figure[36]

There are indications that some members of the Khorasan Group (including Abu Yusuf Al-Turki) were part of an elite sniper subunit of the al-Nusra Front that was known as the "Wolf Group".[37]

History

[edit]

The Khorasan Group's existence was first publicly acknowledged in mid-September 2014, when U.S. Director of national IntelligenceJames Clapper indicated it was operating in Syria and Iraq and was actively planning external operations against the West. According to U.S. officials, bombmakers in KG were in the final stages of planning terrorist attacks against the United States, with technical help fromIbrahim al-Asiri, al-Qaeda's master bombmaker in Yemen. According to CNN, the U.S. intelligence community had reportedly recently discovered KG plots against the United States, potentially involving a "a bomb made of a nonmetallic device like a toothpaste container or clothes dipped in explosive material" to beat airport security.[38][35]

Later statements by officials indicated that "there were no known targets or attacks expected in the next few weeks" at the time the US began bombing in Syria.[38] On 5 October 2014, FBI directorJames Comey stated, "I can't sit here and tell you whether their plan is tomorrow or three weeks or three months from now", but that "we have to act as if it's coming tomorrow."[citation needed]

American-led intervention

[edit]

As part of the broaderAmerican-led intervention in Syria targeting al-Qaeda and ISIS, the U.S. began conducting air strikes against targets it said were associated with the Khorasan Group on 22 September 2014.[35][31] By 24 March 2015, 17 Khorasan figures had reportedly been killed by U.S. airstrikes since the beginning of the air campaign.[39]

After the death of Muhsin al-Fadli was announced on 22 July 2015, FBI Director James Comey stated that Khorasan had become "diminished", and that ISIS had become a greater threat to the U.S. than al-Qaeda or the Khorasan group.[24]


DateLocationDetailsSource
23 September 2014West of AleppoAccording to the U.S., it conducted eight airstrikes against the group's training camps,command and control facilities, and other sites in the area west ofAleppo, Syria. The attacks were ineffective and killed only one or two militants, largely because the members of the group had been warned in advance.[8][17]
6 November 2014Idlib and Aleppo provincesU.S. claimed to bomb KG targets. According local activists and theSyrian Observatory for Human Rights,Ahrar ash-Sham and Nusra Front targets were also hit. KG's chief bombmaker David Drugeon was later believed to have been killed in the attack, but subsequent reports indicated he was only wounded.[40][41][42]
13 November 2014U.S. bombed KG targets.[31]
19 November 2014NearHarem, SyriaU.S. conducted airstrike on a storage facility associated with the group.[43]
1 December 2014Near AleppoU.S. airstrike[44]
20 May 2015Idlib ProvinceU.S. conducted 2 airstrikes on Khorasan targets, killing Algerian al-Qaeda operativeSaid Arif, the military chief ofJund al-Aqsa.[10]
1 July 2015Near AleppoU.S. airstrike kills Drugeon. His death was not reported until 11 September.[23]
8 July 2015NearSarmada, SyriaU.S. airstrike kills Muhsin al-Fadhli while traveling in a vehicle.[22]
15 October 2015Northwest SyriaU.S. airstrike kills Sanafi al-Nasr, formerly al-Qaeda's chief financial officer and the highest-ranking member of the Khorasan Group. According to the U.S. he was the fifth senior Khorasan Group leader killed by U.S. airstrikes in the previous 4 months.[4]

Other activity

[edit]

On 18 November, the Syrian Army ambushed a group of Khorasan militants in the countryside of Latakia in a separate operation. Eleven members of the group were killed and another 13 were wounded or captured. The Kazakh and Chechen field commanders of the unit, along with Burmese and Saudi jihadists, were among the dead. The attack also left seven al-Nusra Front fighters dead.[45]

On 3 April 2016, Abu Firas al Suri, al-Nusra's spokesman, and seen as a leading figure within the Khorasan group, was killed in a US airstrike.[46] The airstrike also killed al-Suri's son and 20 other al-Nusra andJund al-Aqsa militants.[47] Later in the same week, a second airstrike killed several Khorasan militants, including Rifai Ahmed Taha Musa, who attempted to unite Ahrar ash-Sham with al-Nusra Front in January 2016.[48]

On 12 January 2017, a US airstrike near Saraqib killed al-Nusra leaders Abd al-Jalil al-Muslimi, Abu Amas al-Masri, and Abu Ikrimah al-Tunsi, along with 10 or 15 other al-Nusra fighters. This came after a marked increase in US airstrikes on al-Nusra Front beginning in January 2017, at which time the US reportedly dropped the "Khorasan group" label and began referring to all al-Qaeda linked targeted as simply "al-Qaeda".[28]

On 26 February, a US airstrike in Al-Mastoumeh, Idlib Province, killedAbu Khayr al-Masri, who was the deputy leader of al-Qaeda. He had been dispatched to Syria by al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, and was nested in the Khorasan group.[5][6][49] The US airstrike also killed anotherTahrir al-Sham militant, who was traveling in the same car.[50][51]

Criticism of term

[edit]

Some independent experts and Syrian officials questioned whether the group was distinct from Nusra Front.[31] In an interview withAl Jazeera on 27 May 2015, Nusra Front leaderAbu Mohammed al-Golani, stated that the al-Nusra Front did not have intentions to "target the West", while warning against Western Coalition airstrikes. He also alleged that "there is nothing called [the] Khorasan group. The Americans came up with it to deceive the public".[20]

A 23 September 2014 article by theCarnegie Endowment for International Peace stated that "the sudden flurry of revelations about the 'Khorasan Group' in the past two weeks smacks of strategic leaks and political spin".[52] The article also stated that "Whatever one decides to call it, this is not likely to be an independent organization, but rather a network-within-the-network, assigned to deal with specific tasks."[52]

In an article inThe Intercept, journalistsGlenn Greenwald and Murtaza Hussain stated that "There are serious questions about whether the Khorasan Group even exists in any meaningful or identifiable manner", describing reports of the group as "propagandistic and legal rationale" for military intervention.[53] Similarly, according to an analysis inConflict News, "the US government made the decision to bomb this Wolf Group of Jabhat Al-Nusra, and then later came up with a way to sell to the public. This strategy ended up in the creation of 'Khorasan' a group which never existed in any form beyond the statements of US officials."[54]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcde"Al-Qaida Reasserts Itself With Khorasan Group".NPR. 3 October 2014. Retrieved23 July 2015.
  2. ^ab"French bomb-maker with Khorasan radicalized over 'several years'". Foreign Policy. 21 July 2015. Retrieved23 July 2015.(subscription required)
  3. ^ab"Key al-Qaeda figure Muhsin al-Fadhli killed in U.S. airstrike in Syria - Pentagon".BNO News. Archived fromthe original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved21 July 2015.
  4. ^abcBarbara Starr; Tim Hume."Al Qaeda leader killed in U.S. airstrike, Pentagon says". CNN.
  5. ^ab"BREAKING: Al-Qaeda's deputy leader killed in Idlib drone strike". Archived fromthe original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved27 February 2017.
  6. ^abKreiter, Marcy (26 February 2017)."Al Qaeda No. 2 Killed In Syria Drone Strike".International Business Times.
  7. ^"Details of the mission against militants in Syria". Associated Press. 23 September 2014. Archived fromthe original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved13 January 2015.
  8. ^abHerridge, Catherine (23 September 2014)."US strikes target Al Qaeda veterans in Syria plotting 'imminent attack'".Fox News. Retrieved6 October 2014.
  9. ^"Syria's Qaeda leader killed in explosion - ARA News".ARA News. Archived fromthe original on 8 March 2015. Retrieved23 October 2015.
  10. ^abc"An internal struggle: Al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate is grappling with its identity".Brookings Institution. 31 May 2015. Retrieved1 June 2015.
  11. ^Hudson, Valerie (30 June 2015).The Hillary Doctrine. Columbia University. p. 154.ISBN 9780231539104. Retrieved15 January 2016.
  12. ^ab"Airstrikes in Syria That Targeted Khorasan Group Disrupted Plots Against US, Gen. Dempsey Says".ABC News. 7 October 2014. Archived fromthe original on 9 October 2014. Retrieved10 October 2014.
  13. ^"The strange story behind the 'Khorasan' group's name".Washington Post. 25 September 2014. Retrieved13 October 2014.
  14. ^"Syrian Army Lays a Huge Ambush on the Khorasan Group in Latakia".Al-Masdar. Archived fromthe original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved26 November 2014.
  15. ^abcKarouny, Mariam (26 September 2014)."Insight - U.S.-led strikes pressure al Qaeda's Syria group to join with Islamic State". Reuters. Archived fromthe original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved19 October 2014.
  16. ^Karl, Jonathan (23 September 2014)."Today is the First Time Obama Has Said the Word 'Khorasan' in Public". ABC News. Retrieved28 July 2021.
  17. ^abc"Syria Airstrikes Failed To Cripple Khorasan Threat". Associated Press. 9 October 2014. Archived fromthe original on 10 October 2014. Retrieved10 October 2014.
  18. ^Banco, Erin (5 November 2014)."Khorasan Group disappears from US political rhetoric, raising questions about its existence".International Business Times. Retrieved21 May 2015.
  19. ^Makarechi, Kia (29 September 2014)."Did the government invent an "imminent" threat to bolster support for war?".Vanity Fair.
  20. ^ab"Nusra leader: Our mission is to defeat Syrian regime".Al Jazeera English. 28 May 2015. Retrieved24 July 2015.
  21. ^Lister, Charles (1 June 2015)."An Internal Struggle: Al Qaeda's Syrian Affiliate Is Grappling With Its Identity". Huffington Post. Retrieved1 June 2015.
  22. ^ab"Senior al-Qaida figure, Muhsin al-Fadhli, killed in US air strike in Syria, officials say".the Guardian. 21 July 2015.
  23. ^ab"French jihadist Drugeon killed in Syria: US official". AFP. 11 September 2015. Retrieved11 September 2015.
  24. ^abEvan Perez; Tom LoBianco (23 July 2015)."James Comey says Khorasan Group diminished".CNN.
  25. ^Release No: NR-400-15 (18 October 2015).Statement on Airstrike in Syria that Killed Sanafi al-Nasr. U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved: 18 October 2015.
  26. ^"Khorasan". Archived fromthe original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved19 October 2015.
  27. ^"Pentagon: Airstrikes kill 20 or more al Qaeda fighters in northern Syria | FDD's Long War Journal".www.longwarjournal.org.
  28. ^ab"US kills al Qaeda facilitator and external ops planner in Syrian airstrikes | FDD's Long War Journal".www.longwarjournal.org.
  29. ^"Al Qaeda Plotters in Syria 'Went Dark,' U.S. Spies Say".Newsweek. 23 September 2014. Retrieved13 October 2014.
  30. ^"Nov. 6: U.S. Military Forces Conduct Airstrikes Against Khorasan Group Terrorist Network in Syria".United States Central Command. 6 November 2014. Archived fromthe original on 9 November 2014. Retrieved10 November 2014.
  31. ^abcde"U.S. bombs Al-Qaeda group for third time in Syria".AFP. 14 November 2014. Retrieved22 December 2024.
  32. ^abJocelyn, Thomas (2 November 2016)."Pentagon: Al Qaeda veteran in Syria was planning attacks against the West".Long War Journal. Retrieved23 December 2024.
  33. ^"Meet The Khorasan, The Terrorist Group That's Suddenly A Bigger Threat Than ISIS".Business Insider Australia. 24 September 2014. Retrieved6 October 2014.
  34. ^"Syria's hard cell: Rise of Khorasan group alarms U.S." The Pueblo Chieftain. 14 September 2014. Archived fromthe original on 21 September 2014. Retrieved6 October 2014.
  35. ^abcd"French bomb-maker with Khorasan radicalized over 'several years'". CNN. 1 November 2014. Retrieved3 November 2014.
  36. ^"Khorasan leader's death suggested in militant tweets".AFP. 28 September 2014. Retrieved6 October 2014.
  37. ^Paraszczuk, Joanna (2 October 2014)."Wolf or Khorasan: Who was Jabhat al-Nusra's Abu Yusuf al-Turki?".Chechens in Syria. Archived fromthe original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved10 October 2014.
  38. ^abLevs, Josh; Cruickshank, Paul; Lister, Tim (23 September 2014)."U.S. strikes Khorasan Group in Syria".CNN. Retrieved6 October 2014.
  39. ^"Nusra Front quietly rises in Syria as ISIS targeted". 24 March 2015.
  40. ^"Report: Airstrikes target another Islamist group in Syria". CNN. 6 November 2014. Retrieved6 November 2014.
  41. ^"U.S. strike in Syria reportedly kills key bomb-maker". CNN. 6 November 2014. Retrieved6 November 2014.
  42. ^"Officials: Khorasan Group bomb maker thought dead survived".CNN. Retrieved10 December 2014.
  43. ^"Airstrikes Continue Against ISIL in Syria, Iraq".United States Department of Defense. 19 November 2014. Retrieved19 November 2014.
  44. ^"Airstrikes continue against ISIL in Syria, Iraq".United States Department of Defense. 1 December 2014. Retrieved22 December 2014.
  45. ^"Syrian Army Lays a Huge Ambush on the Khorasan Group in Latakia". Al-Masdar News. 18 November 2014. Archived fromthe original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved18 November 2014.
  46. ^"Al Nusrah Front confirms al Qaeda veteran killed in US airstrike | The Long War Journal".The Long War Journal. Retrieved13 April 2016.
  47. ^"Syria's Qaeda spokesman, 20 jihadists dead in strikes: monitor". Archived fromthe original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved15 February 2017.
  48. ^"US strikes al Qaeda's 'Khorasan Group' in Syria | The Long War Journal".The Long War Journal. Retrieved13 April 2016.
  49. ^"Stratfor: The World's Leading Geopolitical Intelligence Platform".worldview.stratfor.com.
  50. ^"2 Tahrir al-Sham fighters killed by US-led coalition drone near Idlib". Archived fromthe original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved28 February 2017.
  51. ^"Deputy al Qaeda leader killed In Syria".CNN. 28 February 2017.Archived from the original on 7 September 2022.
  52. ^ab"What Is the "Khorasan Group" and Why Is the U.S. Bombing It in Syria?".Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 23 September 2014. Archived fromthe original on 27 September 2014. Retrieved6 October 2014.
  53. ^Greenwald, Glenn; Hussain, Murtaza (28 September 2014)."The fake terror threat used to justify bombing Syria".The Intercept. Retrieved6 October 2014.
  54. ^Cruickshank, Michael (5 December 2014). "The myth of the Khorasan Group". Conflict News.

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