And despite efforts by HTS to distance itself from al Qaeda, the US designated the group a terror organization in 2018, saying it evolved from the original group, Jabhat al-Nusrah.
“As you know, they are formerly known as ‘Nusrah Front,’ an al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, but bottom line is: still a designated terrorist organization,” Ryder said Monday of HTS.
Amid the renewed unrest in the country, roughly 900 US service members are deployed in Syria as part of the anti-ISIS mission.
And on Friday, he said, US forces conducted a “self-defense strike near MSS Euphrates,” taking out a potential threat to the US base.
Ryder said that was “completely unrelated to the ongoing situation in northwestern Syria.” He added that there have not yet been any US force posture changes in Syria.
Persons:
Pat Ryder, Hayat Tahrir, ”, Jake Sullivan, Assad, ” Sullivan, we’re, Abu Mohammad al, ” Ryder, Matthew Miller, Bashar al, —, Ryder, “, CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Michael Conte
Organizations:
Washington CNN, ISIS, Pentagon, CNN, State, State Department
Locations:
Aleppo, Syria, Syria’s, United States, Russia, Iran, al Qaeda Syrian, al Qaeda, Moscow, Idlib, Iraq