U.S. airstrikes in Syria target Khorasan Group terrorist network

U.S. military forces conducted airstrikes Wednesday night against five targets of Khorasan Group near Sarmada, Syria, and the al-Qaida-affiliated group was plotting to attack in Europe or the U.S. homeland, U.S. Central Command said on Thursday.

Initial indications were that it had the intended results, striking terrorists and destroying several vehicles, as well as bomb-making and training facilities, the Central Command said in a statement, without specifying the exact target of the strikes.

The airstrikes, which involved U.S. bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft, were "decisive action to protect our interests and remove their capability to act," it said.

The U.S. military made clear the strikes were specifically directed at Khorasan instead of more broadly at Nusra Front. "The strikes were not in response to the Nusrah Front's clashes with the Syrian moderate opposition, they (Central Command officials) added, and did not target the Nusrah Front as a whole," the statement said.

Khorasan Group is a term used to refer to a network of Nusrah Front and al-Qaida core extremists who share a history of training operatives, facilitating fighters and money, and planning attacks against U.S. and Western targets, according to the statement.

Rather, it said, the Khorasan Group is taking advantage of the Syrian conflict to advance attacks against Western interests and its focus is not on overthrowing the Assad regime or helping the Syrian people.

The U.S. Central Command will continue to take any action necessary to disrupt attack plotting against U.S. interests, it added. Enditem