Is Al Qaeda's Syrian Affiliate Off The U.S. And Canadian Terror List?

A picture taken on October 25, 2013 shows members of jihadist group al-Nusra Front taking part in a parade calling for the establishment of an Islamic state in Syria. The group has morphed several times after absorbing other jihadi groups and is now calling itself Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham. (Al Nusra/HTS)

CBC: Syria's al-Qaeda affiliate escapes from Canada's terror list

Failure to list group keeps Canada in line with U.S., but complicates potential prosecutions

The Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, currently calling itself Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has succeeded in getting itself off Canada's list of designated terrorist entities following its latest identity shift.

That complicates the task of prosecuting Canadians who travel to join the group, send it money or propagandize on its behalf.

It also illustrates the pitfalls of Canada following the lead of the U.S. in designating terror groups.

HTS escapes being listed at a time when it is absorbing other jihadi groups and attracting more recruits, even as the Islamic State retreats on multiple fronts.

HTS has a history of renaming itself and altering its structure to confuse outsiders, and the Syrian population, about its true affiliations. But until now, few observers have accepted its claims to have distanced itself from its parent organization.

Read more ....

Update: State Department: Renamed Al-Qaeda Not A Terrorist Organization - Can Receive CIA Supplies (Moon of Alabama)

WNU Editor: There does appear to be some confusion .... and it does look like the U.S. is behind in designating these terror groups after they have changed their name. But one thing that has not changed is that the leader of the main group that is affiliated with HTS (the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda) .... is Muhammad al-Jawlani and there is a $10 million bounty on his head .... State offers $10 million for leader of ‘the Syria branch of al Qaeda’ (Long War Journal). Is this one of those cases where the bureaucracy is slow in designating a terror group as a terror group .... I hope so. If not .... that will raise some uncomfortable questions.

Hat tip to Jay for this link.