Eye on Extremism: December 11, 2024

“Syria's new interim leader announced on Tuesday he was taking charge of the country as caretaker prime minister with the backing of the former rebels who toppled President Bashar al-Assad three days ago. In a brief address on state television...

"A rebel group that was born out of al-Qaida overthrew Syria President Bashar al-Assad within 10 days. Hayat Tahrir al Sham are now in control of the country, and Assad is in Russia. In this week’s episode of “The Hunt with WTOP National Security...

"Terror expert and Middle East expert Hans-Jakob Schindler from the Counter Extremism Project sees another risk that could also affect Europe and Germany in the medium term. "From the perspective of international counterterrorism, this is an...

"Edmund Fitton-Brown, Senior Advisor to the Counter Extremism Project, told MailOnline that a best-case scenario could see HTS work with other factions to achieve stability."

“... One thing is clear: the Syrian alliance Hai'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which together with other groups overthrew Assad, is not a simple rebel alliance, but an Islamist militia. Some of the main founding members of HTS have their origins in the...

"Russia has been a close ally of Syria and has leases on two military bases in the country, giving it a strategic foothold in the Middle East. "It hits them hard," Edmund Fitton-Brown, a senior advisor to the Counter Extremism Project, said of Russia...

"Is a peaceful future in Syria realistic? Can power be shared among the rebel groups ? How could other Islamist groups such as the Islamic State benefit from the current situation? ZDFheute live speaks with terrorism researcher Hans-Jakob Schindler...

“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...