As the Pentagon announced that the U.S. had not only attacked Islamic State targets inside of Syria, but also an Al Qaeda splinter group described by President Obama as "seasoned al Qaeda operatives," officials said the attack was undertaken to thwart the possibility of a planned terror attack that might even be aimed at the United States.
"These strikes were undertaken to disrupt imminent attack plotting against the United States and Western targets," said Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby.
If the name of the Al Qaeda cell - the "Khorasan Group" wasn't familiar - you're not alone.
It was just last week that U.S. officials publicly used the name "Khorasan Group" to identify the Al Qaeda cell, as the Director of National Intelligence referred to them at an intelligence conference in Washington, D.C.
The Khorasan Group has been described by U.S. intelligence officials as a cell of veteran al-Qaida fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan who are trying to recruit Western extremists to attack Europe and the U.S.
American officials told the AP it posed a more imminent threat than the Islamic State group.
President Obama referred to the group on Tuesday morning when he discussed the attacks in Syria, saying the U.S. will not tolerate "safe havens" for any terrorists.
Reporters pressed for answers at the Pentagon today on whether the strikes had been successful or not, as officials did not have an answer.
"Give us some time to assess the targets and the success we had last night," said Lt. Gen. Bill Mayville at a briefing for reporters.
Some in the foreign policy arena though were publicly skeptical about the group, since it only publicly surfaced last week.
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