The rebel movement HTS, which overthrew the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, was part of the terrorist group Al Qaeda until eight years ago. Does this background mean that we should again fear terrorist attacks in the West? Terror expert and Arabist Pieter Van Ostaeyen (KU Leuven) analyzes how great the threat really is: “There is even a chance that the Islamic State will be completely eradicated.”

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