Al Qaeda operative Sulayman Abu Ghayth told U.S. investigators that he, Masri and other al Qaeda operatives were arrested in Shiraz, Iran, in April 2003 and jailed in Tehran for nearly two years. In 2012, the State Department added al Nusra Front to the list of aliases for al Qaeda in Iraq, which had already been designated a foreign terrorist organization. The former al Qaeda insider described Masri as an officious bookkeeper with little charisma who was often mocked by other jihadists. Al Qaeda has given the split its blessing, according to veteran Egyptian operative Ahmad Hasan Abu al Khayr al-Masri, who has been elevated to the No. (CNN) Syrian jihadist group Jabhat al Nusra has announced it is severing ties with al Qaeda and changing its name to Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham, according to a video statement from leader Abu Mohammad al-Golani.

Source: CNN July 28, 2016 23:03 UTC