"Local authorities believe the suspect acted alone, however Hans-Jakob Schindler - a counter-terrorism expert has said it's too early to dismiss that the driver was working with others.

The senior director of the Counter Extremism Project at the International Center for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) believed reports of a 'suspicious bag' could indicate that the suspect had help."

"Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, says the gap that allowed the attacker to access the market must be "explored and rectified".

"No car should come close, let alone be on a Christmas market," he tells the BBC News channel."

CEP Senior Advisor Edmund Fitton-Brown was interviewed on BBC News World Service's Newsday, discussed the Houthis in Yemen and a new report from CEP that discusses the group's security and intelligence service, as well as its humanitarian aid diversion. 

"The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) on Thursday published a report delving into the unique brutality of the Yemen Houthi intelligence services.

The report, which The Jerusalem Post exclusively obtaining a copy of the report prior to its publication, names some of the top Yemen Houthis intelligence officials which could also lead to new sanctions against some of those individuals."

"Dr Hans-Jakob Schindler, Senior Director at the Counter Extremism Project, said: “To fully assess the emerging terrorism challenges emanating from the fall of the Assad regime and the rise of HTS, it is important to understand that from a global Islamist terrorist perspective, these events did not happen in a vacuum. “Islamist terrorist sympathizers think that their forces were able to drive American and international forces out of Afghanistan in 2021; expel the French, the United Nations, and American and European forces out of West Africa since 2022; and now defeat Russia and Iran in Syria.”"

 

“The threats posed by the IS terror network have increased in recent years. The terror network has expanded its branches, gained more fighters and increased financial income. IS has expanded in Syria, Iraq and West Africa. The attack in Moscow in March, the attempted attacks on Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna and the attack in Solingen show the increased activities of IS. How can attacks be prevented in the future? What role does the Internet play in this? Terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler says: "Online, all terrorists are alone." Hans-Jakob Schindler explains the current challenges in the fight against international terrorism on SWR1 Leute. Hans-Jakob Schindler heads the Counter Extremism Project, an international organization that aims to counteract the threat posed by extremist ideologies.”

CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler referenced: "Parts of the HTS alliance in Syria are clearly extremist and Islamist, even if their leader appears moderate, explains extremism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler.”"

"Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, a diplomat with years of experience in Middle East affairs, former coordinator at the UN Security Council and now director of the Counter Extremism Project, a non-profit organization with offices in New York and Berlin, tells iMEdD that it will take time to prove that the shift away from Islamic extremism advocated by HTS is sincere. “The group’s history is really also the current leader’s history,” says Dr. Schindler, highlighting al-Jolani’s role in the creation and development of the organization.”"

""Internally, the Iranian regime is weakened. However, there is currently no sign of disruption," Hans-Jakob Schindler, Senior Director at the Berlin-based think tank Counter Extremism Project, told our editorial team. According to Schindler, the revolutionary potential in Iran and Syria is not comparable. "The resistance in Iran has energy, but no vision for the country's future. And it has neither organization nor structure. The opposition in Syria had all of these things," the expert emphasizes.”"