Officials: Strikes on terror cell don't stop plots
The barrage of US cruise missiles aimed at a cell of al-Qaeda militants in Syria last month failed to stop ongoing terror plots to blow up airplanes over Europe and the United States, American intelligence officials say.
The strikes on a facility near Aleppo killed only one or two key members of what is referred to as the Khorasan Group, officials said, because many of the militants had scattered amid news reports highlighting their activities.
Among those who survived is a French-born jihadist who fought in Afghanistan with a military prowess that is of great concern to US intelligence officials. The group is believed to be continuing its plans to attack the West, officials say
"The strikes were certainly effective in setting back the Khorasan Group, but no one thinks they were a permanent solution or a death blow to the threats that come from this cell," said Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who serves on the House Intelligence Committee.
