"Authorities in Russia say more than 60 people have been killed after shooters opened fire in a concert hall near Moscow. It's the worst attack Russia has faced in 20 years. The so-called Islamic State claimed responsibility. Others reportedly escaped into a nearby forest.
00:00 Intro and report
02:28 DW speaks with Hans-Jakob Schindler, Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project"

"Afghanistan's IS branch was built by the group's envoys arriving from Iraq and Syria -- unlike almost everywhere else in the world, where pre-existing outfits pledged to its cause, said Hans-Jakob Schindler, director of the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) research outfit and a former UN terrorism expert."

"This year alone, over 2,300 refugees drowned in the Mediterranean while crossing to Europe. Particularly bizarre: In some cases it is the same gangs that tow refugee boats from the open sea back to the Libyan coast, torture the inmates and extort ransoms from their families. Terror expert Hans-Jakob Schindler from the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) says: As long as there is no political stability in Libya, this will never stop."

CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed: "This is an attempt to get a hold of this instrument of Russian aggression, that's what Wagner really is. As you know the U.S. government quite awhile ago already designated Wagner a global organized crime network, which I think is a little bit closer to the truth than necessarily using the terrorism label. Of course the terrorism label has a couple of advantages. If you declare a group a terrorist organization, then you have all of a sudden all of the counterterrorism instruments at your disposal to hinder the operations of the group that you didn't have at your disposal before." 

"Kacper Rekawek, a non-resident research fellow at the Counter Extremism Project, a Washington-based think tank, places the PMCs within a tradition of Russia having many different elements within its armed forces."

"'If you want to break up a demonstration, to toughen up your security forces at a rally, you can hire them,' said Kacper Rekawek, a researcher for the Counter-Extremism Project (CEP), a US-based charity.

'They've been used to target Russian liberals, the Russian opposition, Russian democrats, to simply beat them up. They are used to do the dirty job for others. They're not independent actors in that sense,' he added."

CEP Tweet linking to "Syria: Extremism and Terrorism" report quoted: "With Wagner Group’s presence in #Mali, #Russia has continued to make inroads across the Sahel, particularly in Mali’s southwestern neighbor Burkina Faso. The Wagner Group has been accused of indiscriminate killings in Mali. More on Russia’s interventions"

"A group of experts gathered by the Counter-Extremism Project believes the number of pro-Ukraine foreign fighters present in-country ranges from 'several hundred… to a few thousand.' Fighters from Eastern Europe and former Soviet republics still seem to constitute the bulk of arrivals, with Poland, Georgia, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania among the most frequently mentioned in open sources as countries of origin."

CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed: "Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler ist Senior Director beim 'Counter Extremism Project' (CEP) und leitet das Büro in Berlin. Er ist Mitglied des Beirates der Global Diplomatic Initiative in London, unabhängiger Direktor im Verwaltungsrat von 'Compliance and Capacity Skills International' (CCSI) New York und Lehrbeauftragter der Akademie für Sicherheit in der Wirtschaft. In der Vergangenheit war er Mitglied und Koordinator des ISIL, Al-Qaida and Taliban Monitoring Team des Sicherheitsrates der Vereinten Nationen."