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Source: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-east-watch/ahmed-al-sharas-foreign-jihadist-problem
Ahmed Al-Shara's Foreign Jihadist Problem
(National Interest) Ahmad Sharawi - The White House has cast the government of Syria's new leader, Ahmed al-Shara, as a path to stability and an opportunity to counter extremists. But rather than removing extremists, Shara is absorbing them into his national army. Groups affiliated with the world's most dangerous jihadists are being folded into Syria's armed forces. Up to 3,000 fighters from the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) - a Uyghur-led jihadist group tied to al-Qaeda - have been integrated into Syria's new military under Shara's watch. Yet many of these fighters are still loyal to al-Qaeda's leadership, have engaged in sectarian violence, and pose a serious threat to Shara's authority, especially if he pursues policies they oppose. The writer is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.