Nusra Front Terrorists Try to Rebrand, US Updates Sanctions Against It

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States has updated the designation of the Nusra Front despite the its decision to split from the al-Qaeda and rebrand (both terror groups are outlawed in Russia), the US Department of State said in a press release on Thursday.

"The Department of State has amended the designation of al-Nusra Front — an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria — to include Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other aliases," the release stated. "[T]oday’s designation serves notice that the United States is not fooled by this al-Qaeda affiliate’s attempt to rebrand itself."

READ MORE: Russia Has No Evidence US-Led Coalition Targets Nusra Front Terrorists — Lavrov

US Coordinator for Counterterrorism Nathan Sales said in the release that regardless of the organization's title the United States will continue to block it from obtaining resources to spread terror.

The Nusra Front, also known as Jabhat al-Nusra and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, is an affiliate of al-Qaeda.

The group established the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham in January of 2017 to secure the territories it holds in Syria, the release said.