Though my research primarily concerns the Islamic State, Iraq and Syria, I also have various other interests pertaining to my academic studies in 'extremist' discourse and historical narratives therein. One of those interests is the conflict between 'Austrofascism' and National Socialism in Austria in the 1930s.

For context, Austrofascism refers to the period when Austria came under the domination of the Fatherland Front (Vaterländische Front), a process that began in 1933 and was consolidated in 1934. The period of Austrofascism came to an end in 1938 following the Anschluss, in which Nazi Germany annexed Austria.

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On Telegram there a number of prominent channels belonging to officials in Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and supporters of the organization. One of these channels is 'Osama al-Sahrawi', whose channel I noticed was promoted by 'al-Idrissi' of HTS. I connected with 'Osama al-Sahrawi', who describes himself as one of the military personnel of HTS, and conducted a brief interview with him today.

Q: How do you assess the current situation in the field of al-Sham generally?

A: The situation in the field is very good by the grace of God. The mujahideen are now developing themselves for the coming battles if God wills.

Q: Why have the mujahid factions lost many areas?

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Ras al-Ayn is a town in Hasakah province that was captured by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) from the Syrian Democratic Forces as part of the 'Peace Spring' operations launched east of the Euphrates last year. To learn more about the present situation in Ras al-Ayn I conducted an interview on 24-25 March 2020 with a military commander in the al-Hamza Division, one of the SNA formations present in the area. The interview is slightly edited and condensed for clarity. Any parenthetical insertions in square brackets are my own.

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Anah is a town in western Anbar that fell into the hands of the Islamic State in 2014 and was then retaken by Iraqi forces in 2017. The main tribes of Anah are:

- Dalah Ali
- al-Kahli
- al-Jubur
- al-Obaidi
- al-Mashahada
- al-Marasama
- al-Sada
- al-Mahamada
- al-Jumailat

Like other localities in Anbar, Anah has a local Hashd Sha'abi force that works with the Iraqi army. On 28 March 2020 I interviewed Ahmad Hani Muhammad Abd al-Hamid al-Marsumi, commander of the Hashd of Anah. Any parenthetical insertions in square brackets are my own.

Q: When was the Hashd of Anah formed? And in which area was it formed?

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