WASHINGTON—Two weeks after outlining a narrow fight with Islamic State, the U.S. suddenly expanded its offensive, opening a two-front war in Syria against the original target and an al Qaeda-linked group known as Khorasan.
The Obama administration said the decision to include Khorasan—whose leader may have been killed in the rapid succession of airstrikes—was made based on fears that it was planning terrorist attacks on the U.S. and Europe.
Khorasan was “nearing the execution phase” in which it had the ability to act quickly, a U.S. official said. The plans involved airline plots with U.S. targets, bombings in Europe and additional plots against Jordan, according to people familiar with the intelligence reports. Read more here.
