How “Khorasan” Went From Nowhere To The Biggest Threat To The U.S.

◼ The Islamist group targeted in airstrikes in Syria was almost unknown to the American public until recently. Now the Obama administration says they present a direct threat to the U.S. - Buzzfeed

An Al-Qaeda-connected group that the Obama administration has targeted with airstrikes alongside ISIS was almost totally unknown to the American public until the U.S. started bombing them, though sources say the group has been known to the administration and to Congress for some time....

That started to change in the last week, as stories about Khorasan began appearing in the media. U.S. officials have described the group as being part of Jabhat al-Nusra, an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria fighting both Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces as well as ISIS.

According to a source familiar with the situation, U.S. officials have been aware of Khorasan for months. And Rep. Peter King, the former Homeland Security Committee chair, said that members of Congress have “known about it for several months.”

“I’m surprised it [the name] even came out,” King said. “It was supposed to be top secret, classified, and it wasn’t until last week that an AP story had it in there. But we weren’t supposed to talk about it.”