Khorasan: Al-Qaeda offshoot planning 'major attacks'

WASHINGTON: A little-known Al-Qaeda offshoot, Khorasan found itself in the crosshairs of the United States on Tuesday as the extremist outfit finalized imminent attacks on Western targets from bases inside Syria.

With Islamic State jihadists terrorizing the region and seizing large chunks of Iraq and Syria, it came as a surprise to many that the Pentagon aimed its Tomahawk cruise missiles and other firepower not just at IS positions, but at a far smaller band of former Al-Qaeda operatives in northwestern Syria who had largely operated in secret.