Mostafa Mahamed, one of the group's leaders, says that prior to the split al-Nusra "was an official branch of al Qaeda. (CNN) Jabhat al-Nusra, one of the biggest jihadist groups in Syria, has cut its ties with al Qaeda, and changed its name. Why did the group split from al Qaeda? "Al Qaeda as an international organization has been changing," says Lister. "When we were part of al Qaeda, and as our five year track record shows, our core policy was to focus all of our efforts on the Syrian issue.

Source: CNN August 01, 2016 21:00 UTC