“Parts of the HTS alliance in Syria are clearly extremist and Islamist, even if their leader appears moderate, explains extremism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler.”

Eye on Extremism: December 10, 2024

“The ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, after rebel forces swept into Damascus this weekend, shattered Iran's network of influence in the Middle East but Israel, the United States and Arab powers must now deal with the risk of instability...

"External experts are divided as to how HTS might govern. Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former UN terror expert and senior adviser to the Counter Extremism Project, said “good academic experts know HTS and disagree very sharply with each other. Some will...

"Edmund Fitton-Brown, a senior advisor to the Counter Extremism Project, an international organization formed to combat the threat from extremist ideologies, said the main US concerns revolve around whether the HTS would seek stable governance, or...

“Until two weeks ago, the Syrian civil war maintained a certain stability of status quo. Dictator Bashar al-Assad ruled in the south, the Kurds ruled in the northeast, and a Turkish- backed militia controlled the northwest… "The choice between Mr...

“The rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded the lightning offensive against the capital, is an Islamist movement that has controlled Syria's northwestern areas for several years… Hans-Jakob Schindler, director of the international...

Eye on Extremism: December 9, 2024

“Syrians awakened on Monday to a hopeful if uncertain future, after rebels seized the capital Damascus and President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia, following 13 years of civil war and more than 50 years of his family's brutal rule. With a curfew...

"The regime of President Bashar al-Assad has collapsed after a lightning rebel offensive that began less than two weeks ago. The alliance of opposition groups is led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Hans-Jakob Schindler of the Counter Extremism...

CEP Strategic Advisor Liam Duffy writes: "Really, Prevent’s statistics tell us more about those making the referrals than they do about the nature of the terror threat to Britain. Prevent uses the public sector — especially education — as its main...

Eye on Extremism: December 6, 2024

“Iran will send missiles, drones and more advisers to Syria, a senior Iranian official said on Friday, as rebel forces pushed their lightning offensive south towards the city of Homs in the biggest challenge for years to President Bashar al-Assad's...