Al-Nusra leader meets Western military officials in Jordan

The leader of the terrorist al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front has held secret talks with a group of Western military officials in Jordan, informed sources say.

The sources said al-Nusra Front leader Abu-Mohammad al-Jolani met with senior military and intelligence officials from the United States, Britain, France and Jordan in Amman on September 10.

Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Defense Minister Prince Salman bin Sultan also attended the talks which lasted for two hours.

The combat readiness of armed groups operating in Syria in the event of foreign military intervention was discussed during the meeting.

The sources said the US team told Jolani that in case of an attack, Syria’s sensitive and strategic targets, including airports and missile bases, will be hit before armed groups are sent in to complete the field operation.

During the meeting, the Western officials called on militants to concentrate on southern Syria, where the army holds the upper hand, and find ways to infiltrate the region.

US and Saudi officials also urged al-Nusra Front leader to cooperate with the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) and end infightings. Jolani accepted the request and promised to set up a joint operation room with FSA against the Syrian army.

Saudi Arabia also guaranteed to continue its financial and logistic support for al-Nusra Front.

The meeting is reported to be the second between Jolani and US and Saudi officials in Jordan.

On Tuesday, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren said Tel Aviv prefers al-Qaeda groups rather than government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

“The initial message about the Syria issue was that we always wanted [President] Bashar Assad to go, we always preferred the bad guys who weren’t backed by Iran to the bad guys who were backed by Iran,” the Israeli daily Jerusalem Post quoted Oren as saying.