Summary
The U.S. says it has hit a little-known group called "Khorasan" in Syria, but experts and activists argue it actually struck Al-Qaeda's affiliate the Nusra Front, which fights alongside Syrian rebels.
Experts and activists cast doubt on the distinction between Khorasan and Nusra, which is Al-Qaeda's Syrian branch.
When Washington added Nusra to its list of "terrorist" organizations, even the internationally-backed Syrian opposition National Coalition criticized the decision.
The coalition's support for the group cooled after Nusra officially pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri and was named the group's official Syrian branch.
The cooperation between moderate and Islamist rebels and Nusra has even extended beyond the fight against Assad to the creation of a coalition that began fighting ISIS jihadists in January.
Targeting Nusra could even prove controversial within Washington's anti-jihadist alliance.
...