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The eruption of the anti-Assad revolution in Syria has had many unintended consequences, among which is the opportunity it offered Sunni jihadists to establish a foothold in the heart of the Middle East. That Syria's ongoing civil war is so brutal and protracted has only compounded the situation, as have developments in Iraq and Lebanon. Ranging across the battlefields and international borders have been dozens of jihadi Islamist fighting groups, of which some coalesced into significant factions such as Jabhat al Nusra and the Islamic State. This book assesses and explains the emergence since 2011 of Sunni jihadist organizations in Syria's fledgling insurgency, charts their evolution and situates them within the global Islamist project. Unprecedented numbers of foreign fighters have joined such groups, who will almost certainly continue to host them.



About the Author

Charles R. Lister

Charles Lister is a resident fellow at the Middle East Institute, where he focuses on terrorism, insurgency and sub-state security threats across the Middle East. In recent years, his work has focused on assessing the status of the conflict in Syria, especially the makeup of the anti-government insurgency and its various jihadist components.

Lister is also a Senior Consultant to The Shaikh Group's Track II Syria Initiative, within which he has helped manage a two-year process of face-to-face engagement with the leaderships of over 100 Syrian armed opposition groups.

Lister was formerly a Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar and head of MENA at the London-based IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre.



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