Why The Legendary Region Of Khorasan Is Important To The Islamic State

Wikipedia

ISIS Targets Afghanistan Just as the U.S. Quits -- Sami Yousafzai and Christopher Dickey, Daily Beast

As the United States moves out of Afghanistan, ISIS is moving in to compete with al Qaeda and the Taliban in the legendary region of Khorasan, which also includes Pakistan and Iran.

LONDON — Few sayings of the Prophet Mohammed have a stronger hold on the imagination of the world’s jihadists than his prophecy about the flags: "If you see the black banners coming from Khorasan, join that army, even if you have to crawl over ice,” he is supposed to have admonished the faithful. “No power will be able to stop them and they will finally reach Baitul Maqdisi”—Jerusalem— “where they will erect flags."

And where was this magical land of Khorasan, whence the conquerors would come? Think Afghanistan and pieces of all the countries that surround it, including and especially Iran.

For the great ideologues of modern jihadist terror, Ayman al Zawahiri of al Qaeda and Abu Bakr al Baghdadi of the so-called Islamic State, the strategic and symbolic importance of Khorasan is huge, and there are already signs that they are competing for control there. Some factions of both the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban and some members of al Qaeda in the area have pledged allegiance to Baghdadi’s self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria and Iraq. Zawahiri’s most elite group of operatives, meanwhile, has become known as the Khorasan Group.

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My Comment: Why is Jerusalem important to Jews/Christians/Muslims. Why is Rome important to Catholics .... or Mecca for Muslims. History plays a pivotal role for all religions and faiths .... and for Islamic extremists .... that is Khorasan.

US Launches Air Strikes Against Al Qaeda's Khorasan Group And Other Islamist Rebels In Syria

Khorasan Extremist Group Targets in Syria Hit by U.S. -- Bloomberg Businessweek

The U.S. military said it attacked targets linked to the Khorasan terrorist group for the second time since the beginning of airstrikes in Syria.

B-1B bombers, F-16s fighters and Reaper armed drones yesterday struck targets near Sarmada, including facilities making improvised explosive devices, according to the military. The targets were ones “that we’ve been watching, and the time was right to strike,” Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters.

Asked whether the attacks may have killed French bomb-maker David Drugeon, a Muslim convert who joined the Khorasan Group, General Lloyd Austin, head of the U.S. Central Command, said in Washington today, “He is clearly one of the leadership elements and one of the dangerous elements in that organization. Any time that we can take their leadership out it’s a good thing.”

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More News On The US Launching Air Strikes Against Al Qaeda's Khorasan Group And Other Islamist Rebels In Syria

U.S.-Led Air Strikes Hit Al Qaeda Affiliate In Syria -- Reuters
U.S. airstrikes target al-Qaeda faction in Syria -- Washington Post
US airstrike hits Syrian rebel compound, activists say -- FOX News/AP
US-led Syria strikes hit Qaeda, Islamist rebels -- AFP
Syria conflict: Khorasan group targeted by US air strikes -- BBC
U.S. Attacks Al Qaeda-Linked Militant -- WSJ
Report: Airstrikes target another Islamist group in Syria -- CNN
Latest US-led coalition airstrikes target Syrian Islamist group Ahrar al Sham -- Al Bawaba
Khorasan group back in US crosshairs as air strikes hit non-Isis targets in Syria -- The Guardian
US Airstrikes 'Hit Syrian Rebel Group' Fighting Islamic State -- Vice News
U.S. airstrikes reportedly kill al-Qaida bomb-maker David Drugeon -- UPI
US Official: Top Bomb-Maker Hit in Syria Strikes -- AP
U.S. strike in Syria reportedly kills key bomb-maker -- CNN

Why The Khorasan Group Is A Threat

Al-Qaida Reasserts Itself With Khorasan Group -- Dina Temple-Raston, NPR

One of the first targets of U.S. airstrikes in Syria was an al-Qaida unit that American officials call the Khorasan Group. Because few outside the intelligence community had ever heard of it, some critics have said Khorasan was created out of whole cloth to give the U.S. an excuse to bomb Syria.

They aren't alone: Rebel fighters on the ground say they have never heard of Khorasan. Others claim it's just another name for what's been known for years as Core al-Qaida, the branch of the terrorist group led by Ayman al-Zawahiri that Obama administration officials have claimed the U.S. decimated years ago.

"We've been watching this group for a long time," Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a news conference this week. "I can't account for the fact that it wasn't a household name in America or elsewhere around the world. The notion that we would just, you know, make them up or fancify the threat that they posed, you know, to justify a military action is just absolutely ridiculous."

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My Comment: A sobering and must read analysis on Al Qaeda and it's long term goals in the Middle East.

WNU Editor: A hat tip to reader Jason for this NPR link.

Initial U.S. Airstrikes On al-Qaeda-Linked Khorasan Group in Syria 'Failed'

Strike: In September a US-led coalition launched air strikes in Syria against members of ISIS - the extremist Islamic group occupying territory in Iraq and Syria - but also went after a little-know group called Khorasan

U.S. Airstrikes On al-Qaeda-linked Khorasan Group 'Failed' Because Leaders Managed To Escape With Dangerous Explosives, Officials Say -- Daily Mail

* The Khorasan Group is an al-Qaeda cell in northern Syria
* U.S.-led coalition bombed key Khorosan facilities during an airstrike mission that was targeting ISIS in September
* The Pentagon said at the time they were 'very successful'
* However three officials now say the mission failed
* 'They thought people were there but they were not there,' one official said this week
* Suspected leaders and members escaped, it's believed

U.S. airstrikes in Syria in September that were aimed at a faction of al-Qaeda militants said to be plotting attacks against the West failed to deliver a decisive blow against them, U.S. officials familiar with the operation said late this week.

While U.S. intelligence agencies are still assessing the results of the Tomahawk cruise missile strikes, three U.S. officials said indications are that many suspected leaders and members of the Khorasan Group escaped, along with high-tech explosive devices they were said to be preparing to attack civil aviation or similar targets.

'They thought people were there but they were not there,' said one U.S. official familiar with the Obama administration's plan.

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More News On Reports That The U.S. Airstrikes On al-Qaeda-Linked Khorasan Group in Syria 'Failed'

Strikes on Khorasan in Syria did not inflict decisive blow, US sources say -- Sydney Morning Herald
US airstrikes on Khorasan Group failed: Officials -- Press TV (Iran)
Update: 'Khorasan Leaders Continuing to Plot Terror After Escaping Air Strikes' Say US Officials -- IBTimes
Was the ‘Khorasan Group’ Plotting an Imminent Attack? -- Andrew C. McCarthy, NRO

U.S. Special Forces Were Prepared To Attack Al Qaeda Targets In Syira In June

Exclusive: U.S. Special Ops Readied Syria Attack In June -- Eli Lake, Daily Beast

Months before the U.S. started bombing Syria, American commandos made detailed plans to hit al Qaeda planners there. But the targeting packages weren’t even sent to the White House.

In late June, the U.S. military and the U.S. intelligence community had concluded that a shadowy network of al Qaeda veterans in Syria were planning to attack airliners flying to the United States.

Within the American government, the threat was considered serious enough that the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command—the Pentagon’s elite hunter-killers—prepared detailed targeting packages for the group, with the specific locations of the group’s leaders. But those plans never made it to the White House, according to senior U.S. intelligence and Pentagon leaders.

“There was sufficient targeting information on these guys in June,” said one senior U.S. intelligence official. “It was good information on who, what, and where and there was an acknowledgment of this at the highest levels.”

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More News On The Debate Over The Existence Of The Khorasan Group

'Khorasan Group' is new name coined by Obama for old foe, critics claim -- FOX News
Khorasan Group targeted by US in Syria a special unit of al-Qaida -- Jerusalem Post
Is Khorasan's real name "the Wolf Unit of Jabhat al-Nusra"? -- Max Fisher, Vox
Analysts: Khorasan a New Name, Not a New Group -- Jennifer G. Hickey, Newsmax
http://www.newsmax.com/US/Khorasan-group-al-Qaida-Obama-administration/2014/10/02/id/598196/
Khorasan group shows why al-Qaeda is still a force to be reckoned with -- Trinh Theresa Do, CBC News
‘So-called Khorasan Group’ Is Actually ‘Wolf Unit’ of al-Qaeda’s Syrian Franchise – Report -- Andrew C. McCarthy, NRO
The curious case of the Khorasan group -- Roula Khalaf, Financial Times

European Intelligence Agencies Were Never Briefed By The U.S. On The Khorasan Group

A fighter from the Islamist Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra is seen in front of a burning vehicle. Reuters

Europeans Say U.S. Never Briefed Them On Plot By al-Qaida Group -- Kansas.com/McClatchy News

IRBIL, Iraq

European counterterrorism specialists say their American counterparts never mentioned an imminent plot by al-Qaida operatives in Syria to attack Western targets and didn’t brief them on the group that’s supposedly behind the plan, a previously unknown terrorist unit that American officials have dubbed the Khorasan group.

The interviews with the specialists, from two European NATO allies with close intelligence ties to the United States, raise questions about why the United States used its first series of airstrikes on the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, in Syria to also attack eight installations belonging to the Nusra Front, an al-Qaida affiliate that anti-government rebel groups consider an important ally in their fight to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

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Update #1: Khorasan Demystified: Nothing Terrifying about this Group -- IBTimes
Update #2: The Khorasan Group: Anatomy of a Fake Terror Threat to Justify Bombing Syria -- Glenn Greenwald and Murtaza Hussain

My Comment: All of the terrorism experts/websites/pundits that I follow on my news feed never heard of the Khorasan Group until recently .... and now the European Intelligence Agencies are saying the same thing. This is just more evidence that something is not right.

SITE: Jihadist's Tweets Indicate That The Leader Of The Khorasan Group Is Dead

The messages appeared to provide confirmation that U.S. airstrikes in Syria might have killed Khorasan leader Muhsin al-Fadhli. (Courtesy: ABC News)

Khorasan Leader Killed By U.S. Strike In Syria: SITE Quoting Jihadist -- Reuters

(Reuters) - A Twitter account run by an Qaeda member said the leader of the al Qaeda-linked Khorasan group was killed in a U.S. air strike in Syria, SITE monitoring service said on Sunday, following several days of uncertainty over whether he survived the raid.

A U.S. official on Sept. 24 said the United States believed Mohsin al-Fadhli, a senior al Qaeda operative, had been killed in a strike a day earlier, but the Pentagon said several hours later that it was still investigating what had happened to him.

In a message posted on Sept. 27, the jihadist offered condolences for the death of Kuwaiti-born Fadhli, otherwise known as Abu Asmaa al-Kuwati or Abu Asmaa al-Jazrawi, following the Sept. 23 air strike, SITE reported.

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Update: Jihadist's tweets suggest Khorasan leader's death: SITE -- Ahram Online/AFP

My Comment: The debate on the importance of the Khorasan Group continues.

Is The Khorasan Group A Deliberate White House Lie?

The Khorosan Group Does Not Exist -- Andrew C. McCarthy, NRO

It’s a fictitious name the Obama administration invented to deceive us.

We’re being had. Again.

For six years, President Obama has endeavored to will the country into accepting two pillars of his alternative national-security reality. First, he claims to have dealt decisively with the terrorist threat, rendering it a disparate series of ragtag jayvees. Second, he asserts that the threat is unrelated to Islam, which is innately peaceful, moderate, and opposed to the wanton “violent extremists” who purport to act in its name.

Now, the president has been compelled to act against a jihad that has neither ended nor been “decimated.” The jihad, in fact, has inevitably intensified under his counterfactual worldview, which holds that empowering Islamic supremacists is the path to security and stability. Yet even as war intensifies in Iraq and Syria — even as jihadists continue advancing, continue killing and capturing hapless opposition forces on the ground despite Obama’s futile air raids — the president won’t let go of the charade.

Hence, Obama gives us the Khorosan Group.

The who?

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My Comment: I have been doing this blog for a number of years .... and I have been covering/studying/analyzing terror groups and their operations for just as long. I use multiple sources to obtain my information .... and I am always alert to when a new organization "pops - up". Case in point .... the Islamic State/ISIS/ISIL is a group that I have been following for years .... that is why I am not surprised to see their success. As to the Khorasan Group .... a group that is suppose to be incredibly dangerous (if not the most dangerous) .... I only learned about them a few weeks ago. I must admit that this has been bothering me for the past two weeks. I am on top of these things .... not knowing about the existence of the most dangerous terror group in the world who are planning an imminent attack is something that I have trouble reconciling with. I know my stuff .... or so I thought.

I used the search engine for this blog ("War News Search" on the top left hand of this page) to find out if I did mention this group in some post at some time in the past .... there are 60,000 blog posts for this blog .... so if this group did something in the past .... I am confident that somewhere in this blog there is post on them. I did my search ... and I did get a hit from December 29, 2011 .... Pakistani Death Squads Are Now Targeting CIA Drone Informants. Apparently there is a group called the Khorasan Mujahedin, and they operate on the Afghan - Pakistan border .... but they are not the same group.

So does the Khorasan Group exist? I am now leaning to a No.

Update: Some experts are saying that it does .... The Khorasan Group — it’s legit (Powerline)

Was The Khorasan Group Planning An Attack On the West?

US Officials Unclear On Threat Posed By Obscure al-Qaida Cell In Syria -- The Guardian

Senior officials say Khorasan was involved in ‘actual plotting that was ongoing’, but is a terror attack really imminent?

Three days after the United States unexpectedly launched air strikes against an al-Qaida cell in Syria, officials are offering varied and conflicting explanations on the precise nature of the threat posed by the group.

Hours after Tomahawk missiles slammed into buildings near Aleppo believed to be used by Khorasan, an obscure group said to be focused on exporting terrorism from Syria, the US military described it as involved in “imminent attack plotting” against western targets.

Yet it is unclear what Khorasan was planning, how far that planning advanced, and whether the US itself was a target. Nor is the US confident as yet that it has either killed Khorasan’s leaders or significantly degraded any threat Khorasan may pose.

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My Comment: U.S. officials do not know .... they are acting on assumptions based on the intel that they have received.

Jihadi Websites: Khorasan Group Leader Muhsin al-Fadhli 'Killed In U.S. Air Strike In Syria'

'We've Killed World’s Most Wanted Terrorist': American Officials Believe Muhsin al-Fadhli Died In Airstrikes On Syria Where He Was Plotting Toothpaste Tube Bomb Attacks On US And Europe -- Daily Mail

* Fresh wave of airstrikes hit ISIS targets in north west Syria overnight, according to a conflict monitoring group
* Witnesses allege aircraft came from the direction of Turkey, but Turkey denies its airspace was used for attacks
* Meanwhile American forces carried out separate overnight attacks on ISIS in both eastern Syria and inside Iraq
* Blitz comes as jihadists claim leader of the Al Qaeda-linked Khorasan Group was killed in yesterday's air strikes
* Muhsin al-Fadhli was apparently nearing 'execution phase' of terror plot he had masterminded against the West
* Khorasan group has specialised in making sophisticated bombs for attacks against airports and passenger planes

Airstrikes in northern Syria killed the 'world's most wanted terrorist' before his band of Islamist militants were able to carry out deadly 'toothpaste tube bomb attacks' on the U.S. and Europe, American officials believe.

Muhsin al-Fadhl, 33, was identified as the leader of the Al Qaeda-affiliated Khorasan Group - a radical terror collective specializing in intercepting Western jihadists on their arrival in Syria, and training them to carry out deadly bomb attacks on targets in their home nations.

As well as an American and Arab coalition hitting targets relating to ISIS militants in Syria yesterday, the U.S. air force also independently struck Khorasan as intelligence suggested the group were nearing ‘the execution phase’ of a terror atrocity against a Western target that could have rivalled 9/11.

Details of the alleged death of al-Fadhl emerged this afternoon from a U.S. military official speaking on condition of anonymity.

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More News On The Death Of Khorasan Group Leader Muhsin al-Fadhli 'Killed In U.S. Air Strike In Syria'

U.S. says still assessing fate of Khorasan figure after Syria strike -- Reuters
Syria Air Strikes: Khorasan Group Leader Muhsin al-Fadhli 'Killed In US Attack' -- The Independent
Khorasan Leader Killed In Syria - US Official -- SKY News
Leader of Khorasan group 'killed' in Syria strike -- World Bulletin
US official claims 'most wanted terrorist' could've been killed during airstrikes on Syria -- RT
Khorasan Leader Muhsin al-Fadhli 'Killed' In Syria Air Strikes -- IBTimes
U.S. Can't Confirm If Airstrikes Killed the Leader of Khorasan Group -- Wire
Khorasan leader a skilled al Qaeda fighter, fundraiser -- CBS
Who Is Muhsin Al-Fadhli? Khorasan Group Leader Believed Dead In Syria Airstrike -- IBTimes

U.S. Airstrikes In Syria Also Targeted The Khorasan Group

‘Imminent Attack’ on U.S. Prompted Strikes on Khorasan Group -- Bloomberg

Airstrikes in Syria against the extremist Khorasan group were prompted by planning for an “imminent” terror attack on U.S. soil, the Pentagon said.

“We believe the individuals plotting and planning it were eliminated” in the eight U.S. airstrikes overnight, Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, said today in an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” program.

Amid attention on the threat from Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Khorasan has emerged in recent weeks as a more immediate peril in the view of the U.S. intelligence community because it’s more focused on attacking America and Europe.

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Previous Post: A Look At The Khorasan Terror Group That U.S. Intelligence Regards As More Dangerous Than Al Qaeda Or ISIS

More News On U.S. Airstrikes Targeting The Khorasan Group

U.S. hits Khorasan Group in Syria, which was thought to be plotting against U.S. -- CNN
US strikes target Al Qaeda veterans in Syria plotting ‘imminent attack’ -- FOX News
US Averts 'Active Plotting Against Homeland' By Hitting Al Qaeda Cell Khorasan in Syria -- ABC News
Al-Qaeda Khorasan cell in Syria attack 'was imminent' -- BBC
US 'eliminated' al Qaeda plotters in Syria: Pentagon -- AFP
Targeted by U.S. airstrikes: The secretive al-Qaeda cell plotting an ‘imminent attack’ -- Washington Post
Syria air strikes: US targeted Khorasan terrorist group to stop 'imminent attack' -- Independent
US air strikes in Syria target al-Qaida linked Khorasan group as well as Isis -- The Guardian
U.S. Bombs ISIS Sites in Syria and Targets Khorasan Group -- NBC
Top general: Too early to say who was killed in strikes against an al-Qaida cell in Syria -- AP
How dangerous is Khorasan? Sleeper terrorist group finalized plans for attack on U.S. -- New York Daily News
Meet the terror group in Syria that could actually threaten the US -- Quartz
Khorasan: Muhsin al-Fadhli - the man leading a terror group more feared by US officials -- The Independent
US Bombs 'Khorasan' Sites in Syria; Officials Say This Terror Group Is as Big a Threat to US as ISIS -- Christian Post
What We Know So Far About the Khorasan Group, the More ‘Imminent’ Threat Than ISIS -- NYMag
What Is Khorasan? Syrian Jihadist Group As Dangerous As ISIS -- IBTimes

A Look At The Khorasan Terror Group That U.S. Intelligence Regards As More Dangerous Than Al Qaeda Or ISIS

CBS News: New Syrian Al Qaeda Cell Developing Bomb Plots Against US Flights -- CBS

WASHINGTON (CBS DC) – A cell of “veteran al Qaeda fighters” may not be dominating headlines like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, but the group of explosive-making experts from Osama bin Laden’s old network are a direct threat to U.S. aviation.

The al Qaeda cell calling itself “Khorasan” has U.S. counterterrorism agencies warning that they are unable to track the group’s Western passport-holding recruits in Syria. The veteran operatives are explosives experts, loyal to al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri and have raised U.S. and Great Britain-bound airport security for their ability to crate hard-to-detect bombs, CBS News reports.

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More News On the Terror Group "Khorasan"

U.S. Tracks Threats Against West by Al Qaeda Affiliate in Syria -- WSJ
US admits there is a much scarier terrorist group than ISIS -- RT
Veteran al Qaeda fighters 'are quietly plotting to out-do ISIS and attack the U.S. by putting explosives on planes' -- Daily Mail
New al-Qaeda cell in Syria poses threat -- CNN
Report: Jihadi Cell More Direct Threat Than ISIL, Say Intelligence Officials -- Wire
Khorasan: Who are they? Could there be another 9/11 plot? -- Christian Today
Al Qaeda cell in Syria poses ISIS-level threat, intel chief says -- FOX News
Syria's 'Khorasan' Bigger Threat to US than ISIS? -- CBN
Khorasan, al Qaeda Offshoot: What Is Khorasan? Facts About Terrorist Cell That Poses Threat to US -- Epoch Times
Khorasan: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know -- Heavy.com
What is Khorasan? -- CBS