Syria's Nusra Front Cuts Ties With al-Qaeda

— -- The most powerful rebel group in the Syrian civil war, known until now as the Nusra Front, announced this week that it would cut ties with al-Qaeda, an apparent attempt to re-brand itself and dissuade world powers from attacking it.

The Nusra Front has been designated a foreign terrorist group by the United States and was excluded from previous cease-fire agreements. Its ultimate goal is to take control of country away from both President Bashar al-Assad and ISIS.

The group's leader, Abi Mohammed al-Golani, appeared in a video statement Thursday in which he announced the group would now be known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, or "the Front for the Conquest of the Levant." Reuters news agency quotes him as saying the the move was necessary "to remove the excuse used by the international community -- spearheaded by America and Russia -- to bombard and displace Muslims in the Levant: that they are targeting the Nusra Front which is associated with al-Qaeda."

The video also depicted a new white flag for the group, replacing a black one similar to those used by al-Qaeda and ISIS.

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But Washington does not seem impressed by the group's sudden independence.

"The United States continues to assess that Nusra Front leaders continue to maintain the intent to conduct eventual attacks in and against the West," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Thursday. "And there continues to be increasing concern about Nusra Fronts' growing capacity for external operations that could threaten both United States and Europe."

The State Department said the group is still being judged by its past actions.

"Affiliations may be a factor, but ultimately it’s their actions, ideology and goals that matter the most," State Department spokesman John Kirby said. "And that’s how we’re going to judge going forward, as we have in the past ... and they are still considered a foreign terrorist organization."

Meanwhile, the U.S. is desperately trying to organize its military operations with Russia, which continues to conduct some strikes in Syria counter to U.S. interests. Both Russia and the U.S. consider the Nusra Front a fair target, but the Russians also target CIA-backed rebel groups and seem to focus mainly on propping up the Assad regime.