U.S. President Barack Obama says the United States now recognizes a newly-formed Syrian coalition of opposition groups -- a move aimed at piling pressure against embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Mr. Obama, speaking Tuesday on U.S. television, said the new coalition is now representative enough of the Syrian population that it can be seen as the "legitimate representative" of the Syrian people "in opposition to the Assad regime."
The widely-expected move is aimed at strengthening the hand of rebels seeking to topple the Assad government. But it stops short of any U.S. commitment to arm the opposition, which the administration says includes terrorist participation.
In the ABC television interview, the president noted a "small element" within the opposition coalition that is, in his words, " affiliated with al-Qaida in Iraq, and we have designated them, al-Nusra, as a terrorist organization."
Hours earlier, the U.S. State Department formally declared Jabhat al-Nusra a terrorist organization -- a move that freezes its assets. It also announced sanctions against two armed militia groups that back the Syrian president.
Analysts say al-Nusra has been among the most effective of the rebel groups fighting the Assad government. That effectiveness has raised U.S. concerns that hardline extremists are commandeering the 21-month-old revolt.