"The Turkistanis comprise many Uighurs who have fled from China and the group is said to have been founded in Afghanistan, according to the Counter Extremism Project think tank. Playing a key role alongside HTS’s operations, the Turkistan Islamic Party regularly carried out suicide bombings during the civil war and in 2018 praised the 2001 Al Qaeda attack on the World Trade Centre in New York."

"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.”"

 

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.”"

"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.

'Will there be democracy? Probably not in the Western sense - but some kind of consultative system, possibly involving elections, could emerge,' he said.

'HTS seem clear that they want Islamic governance but also show awareness of minority rights. It is not clear that they will fall into the Taliban trap of ignoring domestic and international opinion, women's rights and other key issues.'"

CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed: "FBI Director explains his decision to resign. Dr. Hans Jakob Schindler details how Hayat Tahrir al Sham overthrew Bashar al Assad’s regime in Syria overthrown so fast."

"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 extremely delicate situation - for two reasons," said Schindler in an interview with IPPEN.MEDIA.”

"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 from the transatlantic think tank Counter Extremism Project (CDP) and Phoebe Gaa in Gaziantep, Turkey, on the border with Syria."

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