As US close to victory vs. ISIS in Syria, Al Qaeda takes territorial control

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 74%. (I'm a bot)

Al Qaeda-linked militants continue to make significant advances and maintain territorial control some 150 miles west of the de facto caliphate capital of Raqqa, sweeping through the war-shattered country's province of Idlib.

The increasing HTS dominance could see the U.S. dragged further into the conflict, especially given the credible threat Al Qaeda still poses to the U.S. homeland.

HTS was previously known as Syria's Al Qaeda branch al-Nusra Front, and later named Jabhat Fateh al-Sham.

"The United States continues to target Al Qaeda in Idlib governorate and across Syria in order to protect the homeland from terrorist attacks," Eric Pahon, a spokesperson for the Department of Defense, told Fox News.

"The core of HTS is Al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria," the official said, noting that despite name changes, the terrorist group remains committed to "Eventually conducting attacks against the United States." The official stressed that the U.S. is "Committed to taking any and all steps toward countering al-Nusra," but declined to elaborate on whether plans were in motion for any military developments.

"HTS doesn't even try to hide its Al Qaeda relations; these are some bad people," noted Bassam Barabandi, a former Syrian diplomat and political adviser to the official opposition negotiations team at the Syrian High Negotiations Committee.

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