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listening. Terms apply. This is John Batchel, a conversation with colleague Hussain Akane, former ambassador

from Pakistan to the United States, now at the Hudson Institute,

about one of many of the jihadist groups gathered in Damascus with strong links to al-Qaeda,

sworn to al-Qaeda. At the same time, where they come from, Central Asia, is critical to understand

their origins and their sustained presence.

One particular, Bill Wrogeo has written up, the Turkestan Islamic Party.

This is a group of Uyghurs and sympathetic voices who are jihadists, and they're in Syria, they're in Afghanistan.

Their headquarters used to be in Pakistan. Now they're in Afghanistan, supported by the

Taliban, the Turkistan Islamic Party, an enemy of China's. Yes, I understand.

It gets extremely marked up the scorecard.

However, the jihadists that are gathering in Damascus are the cream of the crop.

This is the top of the pile throughout Central Asia.

And the idea that Syria is now in the hands of a very aggressive actress with well-armed, well-positioned,

aggressive towards all the governments across Central Asia, can be alarming, can be.

Not yet.

Here's Hossein Akani on the Turkestan Islamic Party of Afghanistan-based, now in Damascus and stretching all across Central Asia.

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