The first major news story to cover the Khorasan group using that name came from the Associated Press on September 13, 2014. In the article, reporters Ken Dilanian and Eileen Sullivan introduced the Khorasan group to the public as “a mix of hardened jihadis from Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and Europe” that U.S. officials consider “a more direct and imminent threat to the United States” than ISIS.Ken Dilanian and Eileen Sullivan, “AP Enterprise: Al-Qaida’s Syrian Cell Alarms US,” Associated Press, September 13, 2014, http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ap-enterprise-al-qaidas-syrian-cell-alarms-us. The AP article also quoted U.S. Representative Adam Schiff, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, who had described concerns among intelligence officials regarding “an unholy mix of people in Iraq and Syria right now—some who come from AQAP, some who come from Afghanistan and Pakistan, others from the Maghreb.” AP publicly introduced the bomb threat posed by Khorasan and its connections to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula bombmaker Ibrahim al-Asiri.Ken Dilanian and Eileen Sullivan, “AP Enterprise: Al-Qaida’s Syrian Cell Alarms US,” Associated Press, September 13, 2014, http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ap-enterprise-al-qaidas-syrian-cell-alarms-us.

Later that day, the International Business Times published an article based off of the AP story titled, “Al Qaeda Bigger Immediate Threat than ISIS: US Officials.”Howard Koplowitz, “Al Qaeda Bigger Immediate Threat Than ISIS: US Officials,” International Business Times, September 13, 2014, http://www.ibtimes.com/al-qaeda-bigger-immediate-threat-isis-us-officials-1688012. The article added that deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center Nicholas Rasmussen had also referenced the group in January 2014, albeit without naming it Khorasan.  Rasmussen had said “the group's repeated efforts to conceal explosive devices to destroy aircraft demonstrate its continued pursuit of high-profile attacks against the West, its increasing awareness of Western security procedures and its efforts to adapt to those procedures that we adopt.”Howard Koplowitz, “Al Qaeda Bigger Immediate Threat Than ISIS: US Officials,” International Business Times, September 13, 2014, http://www.ibtimes.com/al-qaeda-bigger-immediate-threat-isis-us-officials-1688012. A number of news outlets that weekend republished the AP story, including Boston Globe,Associated Press, “Al Qaeda Cell in Syria Could Be a Threat to US Aviation,” Boston Globe, September 14, 2014, http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2014/09/13/qaeda-cell-syria-could-pose-threat-aviation/GnqIdES9Ar4DZjTfbZyGXI/story.html. Huffington Post,Associated Press, “Al-Qaida’s Syrian Cell Alarms U.S. More Than Islamic State Militants,” Huffington Post,, September 13, 2014, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/13/syria-obama-isis_n_5815388.html. UK-based The Telegraph,Associated Press, “Al-Qaeda Recruiting European Jihadists in Syria to Attack US Planes, Say American Officials,” The Telegraph, September 15, 2014, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11097660/Al-Qaeda-recruiting-European-jihadists-in-Syria-to-attack-US-planes-say-American-officials.html. and the Israeli news outlet, Haaretz.Associated Press, “IS Has World’s Attention, but It’s the Nusra Front that Poses Greatest Threat to U.S.,” Haaretz, September 14, 2014, http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.615700.

Despite the breaking article by the Associated Press, original news reporting on the Khorasan group wasn’t published again until September 18, 2014, when U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper became the first public official to mention Khorasan by name.Associated Press, “James Clapper Said He Spoke in Error About NSA Surveillance as He Rolls Out New Intel Strategy,” Fox News, September 18, 2014, http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/09/18/james-clapper-said-spoke-in-error-about-nsa-surveillance-as-rolls-out-new-intel/. At an Intelligence and National Security Summit, Clapper said that “in terms of threat to the homeland, Khorasan may pose as much of a danger as the Islamic State.”Mark Mazzetti, Michael S. Schmidt and Ben Hubbard, “U.S. Suspects More Direct Threats Beyond ISIS,” The New York Times, September 20, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/21/world/middleeast/us-sees-other-more-direct-threats-beyond-isis-.html.

This statement prompted a number of media responses that continued to compare the two groups.  Fox News referenced the comparison between Khorasan and ISIS from the AP story in addition to Clapper’s slightly more tame description of Khorasan during the summit.Associated Press, “James Clapper Said He Spoke in Error About NSA Surveillance as He Rolls Out New Intel Strategy,” Fox News, September 18, 2014, http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/09/18/james-clapper-said-spoke-in-error-about-nsa-surveillance-as-rolls-out-new-intel/. CBS was quick to align with the AP description, titling its first article on the topic, “Al Qaeda's Quiet Plan to Outdo ISIS and Hit U.S.”“Al Qaeda’s Quite Plan to Outdo ISIS and Hit U.S.,” CBS News, September 18, 2014, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/al-qaeda-khorasan-syria-bigger-threat-to-us-than-isis/. Later that morning, CBS conducted an interview with former CIA deputy director Mike Morrell,“What Is Khorasan?,” CBS News, September 18, 2014, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/khorasan-al-qaeda-al-nusra-external-operations-wing-in-syria/. who called Khorasan “a serious threat” and “the external operations arm” of al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, the al-Nusra Front.“What Is Khorasan?,” CBS News, September 18, 2014, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/khorasan-al-qaeda-al-nusra-external-operations-wing-in-syria/.

The Wall Street Journal published its own report that day, quoting former top counterterrorism official at the Homeland Security Department John Cohen as saying, “[t]he threats emanating from Syria go beyond the threat posed by ISIS.”Siobhan Gorman and Julian E. Barnes, “U.S. Tracks Threats Against West by Al Qaeda Affiliate in Syria,” September 18, 2014, http://online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-tracks-threats-against-west-by-al-qaeda-affiliate-in-syria-1411083639.

On September 20, The New York Times published its first article on the Khorasan group, titling it, “U.S. Suspects More Direct Threats Beyond ISIS.”Mark Mazzetti, Michael S. Schmidt and Ben Hubbard, “U.S. Suspects More Direct Threats Beyond ISIS,” The New York Times, September 20, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/21/world/middleeast/us-sees-other-more-direct-threats-beyond-isis-.html. In the article, the Times introduced the group as “the most intent on hitting the United States or its installations overseas with a terror attack” according to U.S. officials. The Times also named Khorasan’s leader, Muhsin al-Fadhli, and provided a short biography. The article then went on to compare the group to ISIS, saying ISIS is “viewed to be more focused on consolidating territory it has amassed in Syria and Iraq than on attacking the West.”Mark Mazzetti, Michael S. Schmidt and Ben Hubbard, “U.S. Suspects More Direct Threats Beyond ISIS,” The New York Times, September 20, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/21/world/middleeast/us-sees-other-more-direct-threats-beyond-isis-.html.

RT published an article the following day entitled “US Admits There Is a Much Scarier Terrorist Group Than ISIS,”“US Admits There Is a Much Scarier Terrorist Group Than ISIS,” RT, September 21, 2014, last updated September 23, 2014, http://rt.com/usa/189448-khorasan-terrorist-qaeda-isis-syria/. while the UK International Business Times published an article titled “Rival Terror Group ‘Khorasan’ Poses More Direct Threat Than ISIS, Warn US Officials.”Tom Porter, “Rival Terror Group ‘Khorasan’ Poses More Direct Threat Than Isis, Warn US Officials,” September 21, 2014, International Business Times, http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/rival-terror-group-khorasan-poses-more-direct-threat-isis-warn-us-officials-1466495.

On September 22, 2014, The Independent published a profile on Muhsin al-Fadhli, calling him “the man leading a terror group more feared by US officials than Isis.” “Terrence McCoy, “Khorasan: Muhsin al-Fadhli - the Man Leading a Terror Group More Feared by US Officials Than Isis,” Independent, September 22, 2014, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/khorasan-muhsin-alfadhli--the-man-leading-a-terror-group-more-feared-by-us-officials-than-isis-9748404.html.