WASHINGTON — The United States, increasingly concerned about the threat posed by al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra to US national interests and allies, has discussed with Russia a proposal to target Jabhat al-Nusra as well as the so-called Islamic State (IS), under very strict conditions that Russia should meaningfully restrain Bashar al-Assad's regime for it to observe a partial Syria truce and allow in unfettered humanitarian aid.
“In Syria, as [IS] is losing territory in the east, its terrorist rival — Jabhat al-Nusra — is gaining ground in the west, putting down roots in Idlib province along the Turkish border,” Brett McGurk, the US special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter IS, said June 28 in written testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.