Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate would not use Syria as a launching pad for attacks on the West, its chief said in a wide-randing televised interview late Wednesday.

Without showing his face, Abu Mohamed al-Jolani said his group, Al-Nusra Front, would protect Syrian minorities that renounced the regime.

The interview was Jolani's second with Qatari-owned Al-Jazeera TV since a similar appearance in 2013. 

"Our mission in Syria is the downfall of the regime, its symbols, and its allies, like Hezbollah," Jolani said.

Jolani also denied the existence of the "Khorasan group," which the US had said was an offshoot of al-Qaeda that was plotting attacks against the US.