Al Qaeda is constructing its main regional base in areas of Syria where Bashar al-Assad’s regime has lost control, according to Mosaic magazine.
The group will export terrorism and radical Islam throughout the region and then to the West, according to a report from an Israeli security research institute.
The report identified the Al Nusra Front as Al Qaeda's official arm in Syria; they added that the organization is quickly entrenching itself in the north and east of Syria, where the Assad regime's rule has collapsed. […]
The researchers who composed the report assessed the chances of Al Nusra realizing its goal of building a caliphate as low, due to Syria's diverse sectarian, ethnic, and religious population, and strong tradition of secular Arab nationalism.
Nevertheless, they said, the group is on course to become one of the most prominent rebel entities, and will play a key role in shaping a post-Assad Syria, while using its growing presence as a springboard to launch international terrorist attacks.
The group has 6,000 to 7,000 operatives, according to the report. Its goal is to topple Assad’s regime and implement Sharia law.