Background Information on
Terrorist Groups
(2006)
Abu
Nidal Organization (ANO)
Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade
Ansar al-Sunna (AS)
Armed Islamic Group (GIA)
Asbat al-Ansar
Aum Shinrikyo (Aum)
Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)
Communist Party of Philippines/New People's
Army (CPP/NPA)
Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA)
Gama'a al-Islamiyya (IG)
HAMAS
Harakat ul-Mujahedin (HUM)
Hizballah
Islamic Jihad Union (IJU)
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM)
Jemaah Islamiya Organization (JI)
Al-Jihad (AJ)
Kahane Chai (Kach)
Kongra-Gel (KGK/PKK)
Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LT)
Lashkar i Jhangvi (LJ)
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG)
Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM)
Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)
National Liberation Army (ELN)
Palestine Liberation Front (PLF)
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
(PFLP)
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General
Command (PFLP-GC)
Al-Qaida (AQ)
Al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI)
Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
[Formerly Salafist Group for Call and Combat
(GSPC)]
Real IRA (RIRA)
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
Revolutionary Nuclei (RN)
Revolutionary Organization 17 November
Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front
(DHKP/C)
Shining Path (SL)
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
(AUC)
Abu Nidal
Organization (ANO)
a.k.a. Arab Revolutionary Brigades; Arab
Revolutionary Council; Black September; Fatah
Revolutionary Council; Revolutionary Organization
of Socialist Muslims
Description
The ANO international terrorist organization
was founded by Sabri al-Banna (a.k.a.
Abu Nidal) after splitting from the Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1974.
The group's previous known structure
consisted of various functional committees,
including political, military, and financial.
In August 2002, Abu Nidal died in Baghdad;
the new leadership of the organization
remains unclear.
Activities
The ANO has carried out terrorist attacks
in 20 countries, killing or injuring
almost 900 persons; however, the group
has not staged a major attack against
Western targets since the late 1980s.
Major attacks included the Rome and Vienna
airports in 1985, the Neve Shalom synagogue
in Istanbul, the hijacking of Pan Am
Flight 73 in Karachi in 1986, and the
City of Poros day-excursion ship attack
in Greece in 1988. The ANO is suspected
of assassinating PLO deputy chief Abu
Iyad and PLO security Chief Abu Hul in
Tunis in 1991. The ANO was responsible
for the December 1985 simultaneous Rome
and Vienna airport attacks in which 12
people died, including five American
citizens.
Strength
Current strength and operational status are
unknown.
Location/Area
of Operation
Although former and possibly current ANO
associates may be in Iraq and Lebanon, the
group is largely considered inactive.
External
Aid
The ANO received considerable support, including
safe haven, training, logistical assistance,
and funding from Iraq, Libya, and Syria (until
1987). The ANO's current access to resources
is unclear, but it is likely severely impacted
by the decline in state support.
Abu Sayyaf
Group (ASG)1
a.k.a. Al Harakat al Islamiyya
Description
The ASG is a violent Muslim terrorist group
operating in the southern Philippines.
Some ASG leaders allegedly fought in
Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion
and are students and proponents of radical
Islamic teachings. The group split from
the much larger Moro National Liberation
Front in the early 1990s under the leadership
of Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani, who
was killed in a clash with Philippine
police in December 1998. His younger
brother, Khadaffy Janjalani, replaced
him as the nominal leader of the group.
In September 2006, Janjalani was killed
in a gun battle with the Armed Forces
of the Philippines. Radullah Sahiron
is assumed to be the new ASG leader.
Activities
The ASG engages in kidnappings for ransom,
bombings, beheadings, assassinations,
and extortion. The group's stated goal
is to promote an independent Islamic
state in western Mindanao and the Sulu
Archipelago, areas in the southern Philippines
heavily populated by Muslims, but the
ASG primarily has used terror for financial
profit. Recent bombings may herald a
return to a more radical, politicized
agenda, at least among certain factions.
In August 2006, the Armed Forces of the
Philippines began "Operation Ultimatum," a
sustained campaign that has disrupted
ASG forces in safe havens on Jolo Island
in the Sulu archipelago, and resulted
in the killing of ASG leader Khadafy
Janjalani in September 2006.
The group's
first large-scale action was a raid on
the town of Ipil in Mindanao in April 1995.
In April 2000, an ASG faction kidnapped
21 persons, including ten Western tourists,
from a resort in Malaysia. In May 2001,
the ASG kidnapped three U.S. citizens and
17 Filipinos from a tourist resort in Palawan,
Philippines. Several of the hostages, including
U.S. citizen Guillermo Sobero, were murdered.
A Philippine military hostage rescue operation
in June 2002 freed U.S. hostage Gracia
Burnham, but her husband Martin Burnham
and Filipina Deborah Yap were killed. U.S.
and Philippine authorities blame the ASG
for exploding a bomb near a Philippine
military base in Zamboanga in October 2002
that killed a U.S. serviceman. In February
2004, Khadaffy Janjalani's faction bombed
SuperFerry 14 in Manila Bay, killing 132.
In March 2004, Philippine authorities arrested
an ASG cell whose bombing targets included
the U.S. Embassy in Manila.
The ASG also claimed responsibility for
the 2005 Valentine's Day bombings in Manila,
Davao City, and General Santos City, which
killed eight and injured more than 150.
Strength
ASG is estimated to have 200 to 500 members.
Location/Area
of Operation
The ASG was founded in Basilan Province and
operates primarily in the provinces of the
Sulu Archipelago, namely Basilan, Sulu, and
Tawi-Tawi. The group also operates on the
Zamboanga peninsula, and members occasionally
travel to Manila. In mid-2003, the group
started operating in Mindanao's city of Cotobato
and on the provincial coast of Sultan Kudarat,
Mindanao. The ASG was expelled from Mindanao
proper by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) in mid-2005. The group expanded its
operational reach to Malaysia in 2000 with
the abduction of foreigners from a tourist
resort there.
External
Aid
The ASG is funded through acts of ransom
and extortion, and receives funding from
both regional terrorist groups such as Jemaah
Islamiya (JI), which is based mainly in Indonesia,
and Middle Eastern Islamic extremists.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigade (al-Aqsa)
a.k.a. al-Aqsa Martyrs Battalion; Fatah Tanzim
Description
The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades consists of
localized cells of Palestinian militants
loyal to the secular-nationalist Fatah
movement. Al-Aqsa emerged at the outset
of the 2000 Palestinian al-Aqsa Intifadah,
splitting from the Fatah party to attack
Israeli military targets and settlers
with the aim of driving Israel from the
West Bank and Gaza Strip and establishing
a Palestinian state. Al-Aqsa has no central
leadership; the cells operate with autonomy,
although they remained ideologically
loyal to Palestinian Authority (PA) President
and Fatah party head Yassir Arafat until
his death in 2004.
Activities
Al-Aqsa initially focused on small arms attacks
against Israeli military personnel and
settlers in the West Bank. In 2002, the
group began to conduct suicide bombings
against Israeli civilians. After a March
2002 bombing, the U.S. State Department
designated Al-Aqsa a foreign terrorist
organization. Al-Aqsa suspended most
anti-Israel attacks as part of the broader
unilateral Palestinian ceasefire agreement
during 2004 but resumed them following
HAMAS's electoral victory in January
2006. Al-Aqsa members have continued
anti-Israeli as well as intra-Palestinian
violence and contribute to the overall
chaotic security environment inside the
Palestinian territories. Al-Aqsa has
not targeted U.S. interests as a policy,
although its anti-Israeli attacks have
killed some dual U.S.-Israel citizens.
Strength
Current strength is unknown.
Location/Area
of Operation
Al-Aqsa operates mainly in the West Bank
but has conducted attacks inside Israel and
the Gaza Strip. The group has members in
refugee camps in southern Lebanon and overseas,
although it has not demonstrated transnational
capability.
External
Aid
Iran has exploited Al-Aqsa's lack of leadership
and funds by providing aid and exerting influence
over the organization.
Ansar al-Sunna
(AS) 1
a.k.a. Ansar al-Islam; Ansar Al-Sunna Army;
Devotees of Islam; Followers of Islam in
Kurdistan; Helpers of Islam; Jaish Ansar
Al-Sunna; Jund Al-Islam; Kurdish Taliban;
Kurdistan Supporters of Islam; Partisans
of Islam; Soldiers of God; Soldiers of Islam;
Supporters of Islam in Kurdistan
Description
Ansar al-Sunna (AS) is a Salafi terrorist
group whose goals include expelling the
U.S.- led Coalition from Iraq and establishing
an independent Islamic Iraqi state. This
amorphous group has changed its name
several times over the years and was
last known as Ansar al-Islam. AS announced
its creation in 2003 by posting a statement
to the Internet calling all extremists
in Iraq to unite under the new name.
The bid to become a jihadist umbrella
organization failed, but the name AS
stuck. AS has ties to the al-Qaida central
leadership and al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI);
it has a competitive relationship with
AQI, and did not join the AQI-dominated "Islamic
State of Iraq." Some members of AS trained
in al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan, and
the group provided safe haven to al-Qaida
fighters before Operation Iraqi Freedom
(OIF). Since OIF, AS has become the second-most
prominent group engaged in anti-Coalition
attacks in Iraq behind AQI and has maintained
a strong propaganda campaign.
Activities
AS continues to conduct attacks against a
wide range of targets including Coalition
Forces, the Iraqi government and security
forces, and Kurdish and Shia figures.
AS has claimed responsibility for many
high profile attacks, including the simultaneous
suicide bombings of the Patriotic Union
of Kurdistan and Kurdistan Democratic
Party offices in Irbil in February 2004,
the bombing of the U.S. military dining
facility in Mosul in December 2004, and
numerous kidnappings, executions, and
assassinations.
Strength
Precise numbers are unknown, but AS is the
second largest Sunni jihadist group in
Iraq, behind AQI.
Location/Area
of Operation
Primarily central, western, and northern
Iraq.
External
Aid
AS receives assistance from a loose network
of associates in Europe and the Middle East.
Armed Islamic
Group (GIA) 1
a.k.a. Al-Jama'ah al-Islamiyah al-Musallah;
Groupement Islamique Arme
Description
An Islamic extremist group, the GIA aims
to overthrow the Algerian regime and
replace it with a fundamentalist Islamic
state. The GIA began its violent activity
in 1992 after the military government
suspended legislative elections in anticipation
of an overwhelming victory by the Islamic
Salvation Front, the largest Islamic
opposition party.
Activities
The GIA has engaged in attacks against civilians
and government workers. The GIA began
conducting a terrorist campaign of civilian
massacres in 1992, sometimes wiping out
entire villages and killing tens of thousands
of Algerians, thus alienating itself
from the Algerian populace in the process.
Since announcing its campaign against
foreigners living in Algeria in 1992,
the GIA killed more than 100 expatriate
men and women, mostly Europeans, in the
country. Many of the GIA's members have
joined other Islamist groups or have
been killed or captured by the Algerian
government. The government's September
2005 reconciliation program led to an
increase in the number of GIA terrorist
suspects who surrendered to security
forces. The GIA's most recent significant
attacks occurred in August 2001.
Strength
Precise numbers are unknown, but probably
fewer than 100.
Location/Area
of Operation
Algeria, the Sahel, and Europe.
External
Aid
The GIA has members in Europe that provide
funding but mostly the group engages in criminal
activity to finance activities and raise
funds.
Asbat al-Ansar
a.k.a. League of the Followers; Partisans'
League
Description
Asbat al-Ansar, the League of the Followers
or Partisans' League, is a Lebanon-based
Sunni extremist group composed primarily
of Palestinians with links to Usama bin
Ladin's al-Qaida organization and other
Sunni extremist groups. Asbat is well
positioned to play an important role
should al-Qaidaattempt to expand further
its terrorist operations to Lebanon.
The group follows an extremist interpretation
of Islam that justifies violence against
civilian targets to achieve political
ends. Some of the group's goals include
overthrowing the Lebanese government
and thwarting perceived anti-Islamic
and pro-Western influences in the country.
Activities
Asbat al-Ansar maintains close ties with
the al-Qaida network, and had a "front-line" command
post relatively close to Israel's border
in the Ain al-Hilwah (Palestinian) refugee
camp. In early to mid-March, Lebanese authorities
arrested several members of the group. Some
were Palestinians, some were Lebanese. Members
of this group were believed by some to have
been responsible for a Katyusha rocket attack
on the Galilee (Israel) in December 2005.
On April 3, 2006, a video was posted to an
Islamic website claiming that five members
of Asbat al-Ansar were killed fighting in
Iraq; the date of death was not provided.
Asbat al-Ansar members have been involved
in fighting Coalition Forces in Iraq since
at least 2005 and several members of the
group have been killed in anti-Coalition
operations.
Since it first
emerged in the early 1990s, Asbat al-Ansar
has carried out multiple terrorist attacks
in Lebanon; in the mid-1990s the group
assassinated Lebanese religious leaders
and bombed nightclubs, theaters, and liquor
stores. It was involved in clashes in northern
Lebanon in December 1999, and carried out
a rocket-propelled grenade attack on the
Russian Embassy in Beirut in January 2000.
Asbat al-Ansar's leader, Ahmad Abd al-Karim
al-Sa'di a.k.a. Abu Muhjin, remains at
large despite being sentenced to death
in absentia for the 1994 murder of a Muslim
cleric. In September 2004, operatives with
links to the group were believed to be
involved in a planned terrorist operation
targeting the Italian Embassy, the Ukrainian
Consulate General, and Lebanese government
offices. In October 2004, Mahir al-Sa'di,
a member of Asbat al-Ansar, was sentenced
in absentia to life imprisonment for plotting
to assassinate then U.S. Ambassador to
Lebanon David Satterfield in 2000. Al-Sa'di
was working in cooperation with Abu Muhammad
al-Masri, the head of al-Qaida at the 'Ayn
al-Hilwah refugee camp, where fighting
has occurred between Asbat al-Ansar and
Fatah elements.
Strength
The group commands about 300 fighters in
Lebanon.
Location/Area
of Operation
The group's primary base of operations
is the ‘Ayn al-Hilwah Palestinian
refugee camp near Sidon in southern Lebanon.
External
Aid
Probably receives money through international
Sunni extremist networks.
Aum Shinrikyo
(Aum)
a.k.a. A.I.C. Comprehensive Research Institute;
A.I.C. Sogo Kenkyusho; Aleph; Aum Supreme
Truth
Description
Shoko Asahara established Aum in 1987, and
the cult received legal status as a religious
entity in 1989. At first, Aum aimed to
take over Japan and then the world, but
over time it began to emphasize the imminence
of the end of the world. Asahara predicted
1996, and 1999 to 2003, as likely dates
and said that the United States would
initiate Armageddon by starting World
War III with Japan. The Japanese government
revoked its recognition of Aum as a religious
organization following Aum's deadly sarin
gas attack in Tokyo in March 1995. In
1997, however, a government panel decided
not to invoke the Operations Control
Law against the group that would have
outlawed it. A 1999 law authorized the
Japanese government to maintain police
surveillance over the group because of
concerns that Aum might launch future
terrorist attacks. Under the leadership
of Fumihiro Joyu, the chief of Aum's
once thriving Moscow operation, Aum changed
its name to Aleph in January 2000 and
tried to distance itself from the violent
and apocalyptic teachings of its founder.
In late 2003, however, Joyu stepped down
under pressure from members who wanted
to return fully to the worship of Asahara.
A growing divide between members supporting
Joyu and those who remain loyal to Asahara
is splitting the cult into factions.
In 2006, Joyu officially split from Aleph
over recognizing Shoko Asahara as the
sole authority.
Activities
In March 1995, Aum members simultaneously
released the chemical nerve agent sarin
on several Tokyo subway trains, killing
12 persons and causing up to 6,000 to
seek medical treatment. Subsequent investigations
by the Japanese government revealed the
group was responsible for other mysterious
chemical incidents in Japan in 1994,
including a sarin gas attack on a residential
neighborhood in Matsumoto that killed
seven and hospitalized approximately
500. The group's attempts to conduct
attacks using biological agents were
unsuccessful. Japanese police arrested
Asahara in May 1995, and in February
2004 authorities sentenced him in to
death for his role in the 1995 attacks.
In September 2006, Asahara lost his final
appeal against the death penalty.
Since 1997,
the cult has recruited new members, engaged
in commercial enterprises, and acquired
property, although it scaled back these
activities significantly in 2001 in response
to a public outcry. In July 2001, Russian
authorities arrested a group of Russian
Aum followers who had planned to set off
bombs near the Imperial Palace in Tokyo
as part of an operation to free Asahara
from jail and smuggle him to Russia.
Strength
Aum's current membership in Japan is estimated
to be about 1,650 persons. At the time
of the Tokyo subway attack, the group
claimed to have as many as 40,000 members
worldwide, including 9,000 in Japan and
30,000 members in Russia.
Location/Area
of Operation
Aum's principal membership is located in
Japan, while a residual branch comprising
about 300 followers lives in Russia.
External
Aid
None.
Basque Fatherland
and Liberty (ETA)
a.k.a. Askatasuna; Batasuna; Ekin; Epanastatiki
Pirines; Euskal Herritarrok; Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna;
Herri Batasuna; Jarrai-Haika-Segi; K.A.S.;
Popular Revolutionary Struggle; XAKI
Description
ETA was founded in 1959 with the aim of establishing
an independent homeland based on Marxist
principles encompassing the Spanish Basque
provinces of Vizcaya, Guipuzcoa, and
Alava, as well as the autonomous region
of Navarra and the southwestern French
territories of Labourd, Basse-Navarre,
and Soule. Spain and the European Union
both have listed ETA as a terrorist organization,
and in 2002 the Spanish parliament banned
the political party Batasuna, ETA's political
wing, charging its members with providing
material support to the terrorist group.
In 2004, Spain and France formed a joint
counterterrorism and judicial unit to
combat ETA and Islamic terrorist groups.
During 2005 and 2006, police in both
countries together arrested around 100
individuals associated with ETA, dismantled
several of the group's cells, and dealt
a significant blow to its operational
capability. Spanish and French prisons
are estimated to hold a total of more
than 500 ETA members. In March 2006,
ETA announced that it would implement
a "permanent" cease-fire. On December
30, ETA exploded a massive car-bomb that
destroyed much of the covered parking
garage outside the new Terminal 4 of
Madrid's Barajas International Airport
and effectively broke its nine-month "permanent
cease-fire." Two individuals killed in
the blast became ETA's first fatalities
in more than three years. The Government
of Spain suspended talks with ETA, and
government officials subsequently said
political negotiations with the group
had ended.
Activities
ETA primarily conducts bombings and assassinations;
targets are typically Spanish government
officials, security and military forces,
politicians, and judicial figures, but
the group also has targeted journalists
and tourist areas. The group is responsible
for killing more than 800 and injuring
thousands more since it began its lethal
attacks in the late 1960s. Security service
scrutiny and a public outcry after the
Islamic extremist train bombings in Madrid
in March 2004, have limited ETA's capability
and willingness to inflict casualties.
ETA conducted no fatal attacks in 2005,
but did mount more than 30 low-level
bombings, most preceded by a warning
call, that caused minor injuries and
property damage. In February 2005, ETA
detonated a car bomb in Madrid at a convention
center where Spanish King Juan Carlos
and then Mexican President Vicente Fox
were scheduled to appear, wounding more
than 20 people. In June 2005, ETA launched
grenades at the airport that serves the
city of Zaragoza, shutting down the airport
but causing no damage or injuries. ETA
also detonated an explosive device at
a stadium constructed as part of Madrid's
bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games; there
were no injuries in that attack. Just
days before its March 2006 cease-fire
announcement, ETA claimed responsibility
for a spate of roadside blasts in northern
Spain that caused no injuries.
Its late 2006 attack at Madrid's airport
is the group's first fatal attack since
March 2003. ETA finances its activities
primarily through bribery and extortion.
Strength
Not precisely known, but believed to number
in the low hundreds.
Location/Area
of Operation
Operates primarily in the Basque autonomous
regions of northern Spain and southwestern
France, but also has attacked Spanish and
French interests elsewhere.
External
Aid
Has received training at various times in
the past in Libya, Lebanon, and Nicaragua.
Some ETA members allegedly fled to Cuba and
Mexico, while others reside in South America.
ETA members have operated and been arrested
in other European countries, including Belgium,
the Netherlands, and Germany.
Communist
Party of Philippines/New People's Army
(CPP/NPA)
a.k.a. Communist Party of the Philippines;
CPP; New People's Army; NPA
Description
The military wing of the Communist Party
of the Philippines (CPP), the NPA is
a Maoist group formed in March 1969 with
the aim of overthrowing the government
through protracted guerrilla warfare.
Jose Maria Sison, the chairman of the
CPP's Central Committee and the NPA's
founder, reportedly directs CPP and NPA
activity from the Netherlands, where
he lives in self-imposed exile. Luis
Jalandoni, a fellow Central Committee
member and director of the CPP's overt
political wing, the National Democratic
Front (NDF), also lives in the Netherlands
and has become a Dutch citizen. Although
primarily a rural-based guerrilla group,
the NPA has an active urban infrastructure
to support its terrorist activities and
at times uses city-based assassination
squads.
Activities
The NPA primarily targets Philippine security
forces, government officials, local infrastructure,
and businesses that refuse to pay extortion,
or "revolutionary taxes." The NPA extorts
politicians running for office in NPA-influenced
areas, charging them for "campaign permits." The
group opposes any U.S. military presence
in the Philippines and in the past has
attacked U.S. military interests; it
killed several U.S. service personnel
before the U.S. base closures in 1992.
The NPA claimed responsibility for the
assassination of two congressmen, from
Quezon in May 2001 and Cagayan in June
2001, among other killings. Periodic
peace talks with the Philippine government
stalled after these incidents. In December
2005, the NPA publicly expressed its
intent to target U.S. personnel if they
were discovered in NPA operating areas.
Strength
Estimated at less than 9,000, a number
significantly lower than its peak strength
of approximately 25,000 in the 1980s.
Location/Area
of Operations
Operates in rural Luzon, Visayas, and parts
of northern and eastern Mindanao. Has cells
in Manila and other metropolitan centers.
External
Aid
Unknown.
Continuity
Irish Republican Army (CIRA)
a.k.a. Continuity Army Council; Continuity
IRA; Republican Sinn Fein
Description
CIRA is a terrorist splinter group formed
in 1994 as the clandestine armed wing
of Republican Sinn Fein, which split
from Sinn Fein in 1986. "Continuity" refers
to the group's belief that it is carrying
on the original Irish Republican Army's
(IRA) goal of forcing the British out
of Northern Ireland. CIRA's aliases,
Continuity Army Council and Republican
Sinn Fein, are included in its FTO designation.
CIRA cooperates with the larger Real
IRA (RIRA).
Activities
CIRA has been active in Belfast and the border
areas of Northern Ireland, where it has
carried out bombings, assassinations,
kidnappings, hijackings, extortion, and
robberies. On occasion, it has provided
advance warning to police of its attacks.
Targets have included the British military,
Northern Ireland security forces, and
Loyalist paramilitary groups. CIRA did
not join the Provisional IRA in the September
2005 decommissioning and remains capable
of effective, if sporadic, terrorist
attacks. In late 2006 CIRA members issued
a list of up to 20 individuals they were
targeting for paramilitary attacks, several
of whom were wounded in subsequent shootings.
Strength
Membership is small, with possibly fewer than 50
hard-core activists. Police counterterrorist operations
have reduced the group's strength, but CIRA continues
to recruit, train, and plan operations.
Location/Area
of Operation
Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.
Does not have an established presence in
Great Britain.
External
Aid
Suspected of receiving funds and arms from
sympathizers in the United States. May have
acquired arms and materiel from the Balkans
in cooperation with the Real IRA.
Gama'a al-Islamiyya
(IG)
a.k.a. Al-Gama'at; Egyptian al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya;
Islamic Gama'at (IG); Islamic Group
Description
The IG, Egypt's largest militant group, has
been active since the late 1970s and
is a loosely organized network, whose
primary goal is to overthrow the Egyptian
government and replace it with an Islamic
state. It has an external wing with supporters
in several countries. The group's issuance
of a cease-fire in 1997 led to a split
into two factions: one, led by Mustafa
Hamza, supported the cease-fire; the
other, led by Rifa'i Taha Musa, called
for a return to armed operations. The
IG issued another ceasefire in March
1999, but its spiritual leader, Shaykh
Umar Abd al-Rahman, sentenced to life
in prison in January 1996 for his involvement
in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing
and incarcerated in the United States,
rescinded his support for the cease-fire
in June 2000. IG has not conducted an
attack inside Egypt since the 1997 Luxor
attack, which killed 58 tourists, four
Egyptians, and wounded dozens more. In
February 1998, a senior member signed
Usama bin Ladin's fatwa calling for attacks
against the United States.
In early 2001,
Taha Musa published a book in which he
attempted to justify terrorist attacks
that would cause mass casualties. Taha
Musa disappeared several months thereafter,
and there is no information as to his current
whereabouts. In March 2002, members of
the group's historic leadership in Egypt
declared use of violence misguided and
renounced its future use, prompting denunciations
by much of the leadership abroad. The Egyptian
government continues to release IG members
from prison; approximately 900 were released
in 2003, and most of the 700 persons released
in 2004 at the end of the Muslim holy month
of Ramadan were IG members. Ayman al-Zawahiri
announced in August 2006 that IG had merged
with al-Qaida, but the group quickly denied
this claim.
Activities
IG conducted armed attacks against Egyptian
security and other government officials,
Coptic Christians, and Egyptian opponents
of Islamic extremism before the 1997
cease-fire; after the cease-fire, the
faction led by Taha Musa launched attacks
on tourists in Egypt, most notably the
1997 Luxor attack. IG claimed responsibility
for the June 1995 assassination attempt
on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Strength
Unknown. At its peak IG probably commanded
several thousand hard-core members and
a like number of sympathizers. The 1999
cease-fire, security crackdowns following
the 1997 attack in Luxor, and post-September
11 security efforts, have probably resulted
in a substantial decrease in the group's
numbers.
Location/Area
of Operation
IG Operates mainly in the Al-Minya, Asyut,
Qina, and Sohaj Governorates of southern
Egypt. It also appears to have support in
Cairo, Alexandria, and other urban locations,
particularly among unemployed graduates and
students. The IG has an external presence,
including in the United Kingdom, Afghanistan,
Yemen, and in various locations in Europe.
External
Aid
Unknown. Usama Bin Ladin and Afghan militant
groups support the organization. IG also
may obtain some funding through various Islamic
non-governmental organizations.
The Islamic
Resistance Movement (HAMAS)
a.k.a. Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya; Izz
al-Din al Qassam Battalions; Izz al-Din al
Qassam Brigades; Students of Ayyash; Students
of the Engineer; Yahya Ayyash Units
Description
HAMAS, which includes military and political
wings, was formed at the onset of the
first Palestinian uprising or Intifadah
in late 1987, as an outgrowth of the
Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The armed element, called the Izz al-Din
al-Qassam Brigades, conducts anti-Israeli
attacks, including suicide bombings against
civilian targets inside Israel. Social-political
elements engage in "Dawa" or ministry
activities, which include running charities
and schools, fund-raising and political
activities. A Shura council based in
Damascus, Syria, sets overall policy.
Since winning Palestinian Authority (PA)
elections in 2006, HAMAS has taken control
of significant PA ministries, including
the Ministry of Interior. HAMAS formed
an expanded, overt militia called the
Executive Force, subordinate to the Ministry.
Activities
Prior to 2005, HAMAS conducted numerous anti-Israeli
attacks including suicide bombings, rocket
attacks, IED attacks, and shootings.
The group curtailed terrorist attacks
in February 2005 after agreeing to a
temporary period of calm brokered by
the PA, and ceased most violence after
winning control of the PA legislature
and cabinet in 2006. After HAMAS staged
a June 25 attack on IDF soldiers near
Kerem Shalom that resulted in two deaths
and the abduction of Corporal Gilad Shalit,
Israel took steps that severely limited
the operation of the Rafah crossing.
HAMAS maintained and expanded its military
capabilities during this time. HAMAS
has not directly targeted U.S. interests,
although the group makes little or no
effort to avoid targets frequented by
foreigners.
Strength
HAMAS probably has several hundred members
in its armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades,
along with its reported 6,000-man Executive
Force and tens of thousands of supporters
and sympathizers.
Location/Area
of Operation
HAMAS has an operational presence in every
major city within the Palestinian territories
and has focused its anti-Israeli attacks
on targets in those territories and Israel.
The group retains a cadre of leaders and
facilitators that conduct diplomatic, fundraising,
and arms smuggling activities in Lebanon,
Syria, and other states.
External
Aid
Receives some funding, weapons and training
from Iran. Also receives donations from Palestinian
expatriates around the world and private
benefactors in Arab states. Some fundraising
and propaganda activity takes place in Western
Europe and North America.
Harakat ul-Mujahedin
(HUM) 1
a.k.a. Al-Faran; Al-Hadid; Al-Hadith; Harakat
ul-Ansar; Harakat ul-Mujahideen; HUA; Jamiat
ul-Ansar (JUA)
Description
HUM, an Islamic militant group based in Pakistan,
is politically aligned with the radical
political party Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam's
Fazlur Rehman faction (JUI-F), and operates
primarily in Kashmir. Reportedly under
pressure from the Government of Pakistan,
HUM's long time leader Fazlur Rehman
Khalil stepped down and, in January 2005,
was replaced by Dr. Badr Munir as the
head of HUM. Khalil has been linked to
Usama bin Ladin, and his signature was
found on Bin Ladin's fatwa in February
1998 calling for attacks on U.S. and
Western interests. HUM operated terrorist
training camps in eastern Afghanistan
until Coalition air strikes destroyed
them in autumn 2001. Khalil was detained
by Pakistani authorities in mid-2004
and subsequently released in late December.In
2003, HUM began using the name Jamiat
ul-Ansar (JUA). Pakistan banned JUA in
November 2003.
Activities
HUM has conducted a number of operations
against Indian troops and civilian targets
in Kashmir. It is linked to the Kashmiri
militant group al-Faran that kidnapped
five Western tourists in Kashmir in July
1995; one was killed in August, and the
other four reportedly were killed in
December of the same year. HUM was responsible
for the hijacking of an Indian airliner
in December 1999 that resulted in the
release of Masood Azhar, an important
leader in the former Harakat ul-Ansar
who was imprisoned by India in 1994 and
founded Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) after
his release. Ahmed Omar Sheik also was
released in 1999, and was later convicted
of the abduction and murder in 2002 of
U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl.
Strength
HUM has several hundred armed supporters
located in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, and
India's southern Kashmir and Doda regions
and in the Kashmir valley. Supporters
are mostly Pakistanis and Kashmiris,
but also include Afghans and Arab veterans
of the Afghan war. HUM uses light and
heavy machine guns, assault rifles, mortars,
explosives, and rockets. In 2000, HUM
lost a significant share of its membership
in defections to the JEM.
Location/Area
of Operation
Based in Muzaffarabad, Rawalpindi, and several
other towns in Pakistan, HUM conducts insurgent
and terrorist operations primarily in Kashmir,
but members have also been found operating
in Afghanistan. HUM trains its militants
in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
External
Aid
Collects donations from wealthy and grassroots
donors in Pakistan, Kashmir, Saudi Arabia,
and other Gulf and Islamic states. HUM's
financial collection methods also include
soliciting donations in magazine ads and
pamphlets. The sources and amount of HUM's
military funding are unknown. Its overt fundraising
in Pakistan has been constrained since the
government clampdown there on extremist groups
and the freezing of terrorist assets.
Hizballah
(Common alternate spellings: Hezbollah, Hizbullah,
Hizb`allah)
a.k.a. Party of God; Islamic Jihad
Description
Formed in 1982 in response to the Israeli
invasion of Lebanon, this Lebanese-based
radical Shia group takes its ideological
inspiration from the Iranian revolution
and the teachings of the late Ayatollah
Khomeini. The group follows the religious
guidance of Khomeini's successor, Iranian
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Hizballah
is closely allied with Iran and often
acts at its behest, but it also can and
does act independently. Although Hizballah
does not share the Syrian regime's secular
orientation, the group has been a strong
ally in helping Syria advance its political
objectives in the region. The Majlis
al-Shura, or Consultative Council, is
the group's highest governing body and
has been led by Secretary General Hasan
Nasrallah since 1992.
Hizballah remains
the most technically capable terrorist
group in the world. It has strong influence
in Lebanon's Shia community, which comprises
about one-third of Lebanon's population.
The Lebanese government still recognizes
Hizballah as a legitimate "resistance group" and
political party. Hizballah maintains offices
in Beirut and elsewhere in the country,
has official liaison officers to the security
services, claims 14 elected officials in
the 128-seat Lebanese National Assembly
and was represented in the Cabinet for
the first time, by the Minister of Water
and Electricity Mohammed Fneish, until
his resignation, along with other Shia
ministers on November 11, 2006. Hizballah
has largely withdrawn its military presence
from southern Lebanon in accordance with
UNSCR 1701, although likely maintains weapons
caches in southern Lebanon and justifies
its continued arms status by claiming to
act in defense of Lebanon against acts
of Israeli aggression, such as regular
Israeli overflights of Lebanese airspace.
Hizballah alleges that Israel has not withdrawn
completely from Lebanese territory because,
in Hizballah's view, the Shebaa Farms and
other areas belong to Lebanon. Hizballah
supports a variety of violent anti-Western
groups, including Palestinian terrorist
organizations. This support includes the
covert provision of weapons, explosives,
training, funding, and guidance, as well
as overt political support.
Activities
In 2006, Hizballah launched a number of attacks
on Israel, including the May 28 and July
12 attack, which resulted in the capture
and kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers.
(See Chapter 2, Country Reports.)
Hizballah continued to call for the destruction
of Israel and provided support to select
Palestinian groups to augment their capacity
to conduct attacks against Israel. Since
at least 2004, Hizballah has provided
training and logistics to select Iraqi
Shia militants, including for the construction
and use of shaped charge IEDs, which
Hizballah developed against Israeli forces
in southern Lebanon during the late 1990s
and which can penetrate heavily armored
vehicles. Hizballah is known to have
been involved in numerous anti-U.S. and
anti-Israeli terrorist attacks, and prior
to September 11, 2001, was responsible
for more American deaths than any other
terrorist group; its terrorist attacks
have included the suicide truck bombings
of the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Marine barracks
in Beirut in 1983 and the U.S. Embassy
annex in Beirut in 1984. Four members
of Hizballah, Imad Mughniyah, Hasan Izz-al-Din,
Mohammed Hamadei, and Ali Atwa, are on
the FBI's list of most wanted terrorists
for the 1985 hijacking of TWA flight
847, during which a U.S. Navy diver was
murdered. Elements of the group were
responsible for the kidnapping, detention,
and murder of Americans and other Westerners
in Lebanon in the 1980s. Hizballah also
has been implicated in the attacks on
the Israeli Embassy in Argentina in 1992
and the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association
(AMIA) in Buenos Aires in 1994.* The
U.S. Government has indicted a member
of Lebanese Hizballah for his participation
in the June 1996 truck bomb attack of
the U.S. Air Force dormitory at Khobar
Towers in Saudi Arabia. In 2000, Hizballah
operatives captured three Israeli soldiers
in the Sheba'a Farms area and kidnapped
an Israeli non-combatant.
Strength
Thousands of supporters, several thousand
members, and a few hundred terrorist
operatives.
Location/Area
of Operation
Operates in the southern suburbs of Beirut,
the Beka'a Valley, and southern Lebanon.
Has established cells in Europe, Africa,
South America, North America, and Asia.
External
Aid
Receives training, weapons, and explosives,
as well as political, diplomatic, and organizational
aid, from Iran, and diplomatic, political,
and logistical support from Syria. Hizballah
also receives funding from religious donations,
and profits from legal and illegal businesses.
Islamic Jihad
Union (IJU) 1
a.k.a. Al-Djihad al-Islami; Dzhamaat Modzhakhedov;
Islamic Jihad Group of Uzbekistan;
Jama'at al-Jihad; Jamiat al-Jihad al-Islami;
Jamiyat; The Jamaat Mujahedin; The Kazakh
Jama'at; The Libyan Society
Description
The IJU is an extremist organization which
splintered from the Islamic Movement
of Uzbekistan. They oppose secular rule
in Uzbekistan and seek to replace it
with a government based on Islamic law.
Activities
The IJU issued a statement in May 2004 fully
supporting the armed attacks on Uzbek
police and military personnel in Andijon,
Uzbekistan, and called for the overthrow
of the Uzbekistani regime. The group
first conducted attacks in March-April
2004 targeting a popular bazaar and police
at several roadway checkpoints. These
attacks killed approximately 47 people,
including 33 terrorists, some of whom
were suicide bombers. The IJU's claim
of responsibility, which was posted to
multiple militant Islamic websites, denounced
the leadership of Uzbekistan. These attacks
marked the first use of suicide bombers
in Central Asia. In July 2004, the group
struck again with near-simultaneous suicide
bombings of the U.S. and Israeli Embassies
and the Uzbekistani Prosecutor General's
office in Tashkent. The IJU again claimed
responsibility via an Islamic website
and stated that martyrdom operations
by the group would continue. The statement
also indicated that the attacks were
done in support of IJU's Palestinian,
Iraqi, and Afghan brothers in the global
insurgency. The date of the July attack
corresponded with the trial of individuals
arrested for their alleged participation
in the March-April attacks.
Strength
Unknown.
Location/Area
of Operation
Militants are scattered throughout Central
Asia and probably parts of South Asia.
External
Aid
Unknown.
Islamic Movement
of Uzbekistan (IMU) 1
Description
The IMU is a group of Islamic militants
from Uzbekistan and other Central Asian states.
The IMU's goal is to overthrow Uzbekistani
President Islam Karimov and establishing
an Islamic state in Uzbekistan. The IMU is
affiliated with al-Qaida and, under the leadership
of Tohir Yoldashev, has embraced Usama bin
Ladin's ideology.
Activities
Since Operation Enduring Freedom, the IMU
has been predominantly occupied with
attacks on U.S. and Coalition soldiers
in Afghanistan. Although it is difficult
to differentiate between IMU and Islamic
Jihad Union members, Pakistani security
forces continue to arrest probable IMU
operatives in the Federally Administered
Tribal Areas (FATA).
The IMU was
active in terrorist operations in Central
Asia. Tajikistan arrested several IMU members
in 2005. In November 2004, the IMU was
blamed for an explosion in the southern
Kyrgyz city of Osh that killed one police
officer and one terrorist. In May 2003,
Kyrgyz security forces disrupted an IMU
cell that was seeking to bomb the U.S.
Embassy and a nearby hotel in Bishkek,
Kyrgyzstan. The IMU was also responsible
for explosions in Bishkek in December 2002
and Osh in May 2003 that killed eight people.
The IMU primarily targeted Uzbekistani
interests before October 2001, and is believed
to have been responsible for several explosions
in Tashkent in February 1999. IMU militants
took foreigners hostage in Kyrgyzstan for
two consecutive years: in August 1999,
IMU militants took four Japanese geologists
and eight Kyrgyz soldiers hostage, and
in August 2000, they took four U.S. mountain
climbers hostage.
Strength
Approximately 500 members.
Location/Area
of Operation
IMU militants are scattered throughout South
Asia, Central Asia, and Iran. Their area
of operation includes Afghanistan, Iran,
Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan,
and Uzbekistan.
External
Aid
The IMU receives support from a large Uzbek
diaspora, Islamic extremist groups and patrons
in the Middle East, Central Asia, and South
Asia.
Jaish-e-Mohammed
(JEM) 1
a.k.a. Army of Mohammed; Jaish-i-Mohammed;
Khudamul Islam; Khuddam-ul-Islam; Kuddam
e Islami; Mohammed's Army; Tehrik ul-Furqaan
Description
Jaish-e-Mohammed is an Islamic extremist
group based in Pakistan founded by Masood
Azhar, a former senior leader of Harakat
ul-Ansar, upon his release from prison
in India in early 2000. The group's aim
is to unite Kashmir with Pakistan, and
it has openly declared war against the
United States. It is politically aligned
with the radical political party Jamiat
Ulema-i-Islam's Fazlur Rehman faction
(JUI-F). Pakistan outlawed JEM in 2002.
By 2003, JEM had splintered into Khuddam
ul-Islam (KUI),headed by Azhar, and Jamaat
ul-Furqan (JUF), led by Abdul Jabbar,
who was released from Pakistani custody
in August 2004 after being detained for
suspected involvement in the December
2003 assassination attempts against President
Pervez Musharraf. Pakistan banned KUI
and JUF in November 2003.
Activities
Jaish-e-Mohammed continues to operate openly
in parts of Pakistan despite President
Musharraf's 2002 ban on its activities.
The group is well-funded, and is said
to have tens of thousands of followers
who support attacks against Indian targets,
the Pakistani government, and sectarian
minorities. Since Masood Azhar's 2000
release from Indian custody in exchange
for 155 hijacked Indian Airlines hostages,
JEM has conducted many fatal terrorist
attacks in the area. JEM continues to
claim responsibility for several suicide
car bombings in Kashmir, including a
suicide attack on the Jammu and Kashmir
legislative assembly building in Srinagar
in October 2001 that killed more than
30. The Indian government has publicly
implicated the JEM, along with Lashkar
e-Tayyiba, for the December 2001 attack
on the Indian Parliament that killed
nine and injured 18. Pakistani authorities
suspect that JEM members may have been
involved in the 2002 anti-Christian attacks
in Islamabad, Murree, and Taxila that
killed two Americans. In December 2003,
Pakistan implicated elements of JEM in
the two assassination attempts against
President Musharraf. In July 2004, Pakistani
authorities arrested a JEM member wanted
in connection with the 2002 abduction
and murder of U.S. journalist Daniel
Pearl. In 2006, JEM claimed responsibility
for a number of attacks, including the
killing of several Indian police officials
in the Indian-administered Kashmir capital
of Srinagar.
Strength
JEM has at least several hundred armed supporters,
including a large cadre of former HUM
members, located in Pakistan, in India's
southern Kashmir and Doda regions, and
in the Kashmir Valley. Supporters are
mostly Pakistanis and Kashmiris, but
also include Afghans and Arab veterans
of the Afghan war. The group uses light
and heavy machine guns, assault rifles,
mortars, improvised explosive devices,
and rocket-propelled grenades.
Location/Area
of Operation
Pakistan and Kashmir. Until autumn 2001,
JEM maintained training camps in Afghanistan.
External
Aid
Most of JEM's cadre and material resources
have been drawn from the Pakistani militant
groups Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HUJI) and
the Harakat ul-Mujahedin (HUM). In anticipation
of asset seizures by the Pakistani government,
JEM withdrew funds from bank accounts and
invested in legal businesses, such as commodity
trading, real estate, and production of consumer
goods. In addition, JEM collects funds through
donation requests in magazines and pamphlets,
and al-Qaida is suspected of providing funding.
Jemaah Islamiya
(JI) 1
Description
The Southeast Asia-based Jemaah Islamiya
(JI) is a terrorist group that seeks
the establishment of an Islamic caliphate
spanning Indonesia, Malaysia, southern
Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, and the
southern Philippines. More than 300 JI
operatives, including operations chief
Hambali, have been captured since 2002.
Several are no longer incarcerated, however,
including JI emir Abu Bakar Bashir who
was released from prison in 2006 after
serving a 25-month sentence for his involvement
in the 2002 Bali bombings. The death
of top JI bombmaker Azahari bin Husin
in November 2005, and further arrests
of several close associates of senior
JI operative Noordin Mat Top in 2006
likely disrupted JI's anti-Western attacks that
occurred annually from 2002-2005.
Activities
The group's most recent high-profile attack
occurred in Bali on October 1, 2005 and
left 26 persons dead. Other major JI
attacks include the September 2004 bombing
outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta,
the August 2003 bombing of the J. W.
Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, and the October
2002 Bali bombing. The 2002 Bali attack,
which killed more than 200, remains one
of the deadliest terrorist attacks since
9/11. In December 2001, Singaporean authorities
uncovered a JI plot to attack the U.S.
and Israeli Embassies and British and
Australian diplomatic buildings in Singapore.
JI is also responsible for the coordinated
bombings of numerous Christian churches
in Indonesia in December 2000 and was
involved in the bombings of several targets
in Manila the same month.
Strength
Exact numbers currently are unknown. Estimates
of total JI members vary from the hundreds
to one thousand.
Location/Area
of Operation
JI is based in Indonesia and believed to
have cells in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the
Philippines.
External
Aid
Investigations indicate that JI is fully
capable of its own fundraising, although
it also receives financial, ideological,
and logistical support from Middle Eastern
contacts, and non-governmental organizations.
Al-Jihad
(AJ)
Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ); Egyptian
al-Jihad; New Jihad; The Jihad Group
Description
This Egyptian Islamic extremist group merged
with Usama Bin Ladin's al-Qaida organization
in 2001. Usama Bin Ladin's deputy, Ayman
al-Zawahiri, was the former head of AJ.
Active since the 1970s, AJ's primary
goal has been the overthrow of the Egyptian
government and the establishment of an
Islamic state. The group's targets, historically,
have been high-level Egyptian government
officials as well as U.S. and Israeli
interests in Egypt and abroad. Regular
Egyptian crackdowns on extremists have
greatly reduced AJ capabilities in Egypt.
Activities
The original AJ was responsible for the 1981
assassination of Egyptian President Anwar
Sadat. It claimed responsibility for
the attempted assassinations in 1993
of Interior Minister Hassan al-Alfi and
Prime Minister Atef Sedky. AJ has not
conducted an attack inside Egypt since
1993 and has never successfully targeted
foreign tourists there. The group was
responsible for the Egyptian Embassy
bombing in Islamabad in 1995 and a disrupted
plot against the U.S. Embassy in Albania
in 1998.
Strength
Believed to have several hundred hard-core
members inside and outside of Egypt.
Location/Area
of Operation
Most AJ members today are outside Egypt in
countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan,
Lebanon, the United Kingdom, and Yemen. AJ
activities have been centered outside Egypt
for several years under the auspices of al-Qaida.
External
Aid
Since 1998 AJ has received most of its funding
from al-Qaida; these close ties culminated
in the eventual merger of the groups in June
2001. Some funding may come from various
Islamic non-governmental organizations, cover
businesses, and criminal acts.
Kahane Chai
(Kach)
a.k.a. American Friends of the United Yeshiva;
American Friends of Yeshivat Rav Meir;
Committee for the Safety of the Roads; Dikuy
Bogdim; DOV; Forefront of the Idea;
Friends of the Jewish Idea Yeshiva; Jewish
Idea Yeshiva; Jewish Legion; Judea Police;
Judean Congress; Kach; Kahane; Kahane Lives; Kahane Tzadak; Kahane.org;
Kahanetzadak.com; Kfar Tapuah Fund; Koach;
Meir's Youth; New Kach Movement;
Newkach.org; No'ar Meir; Repression of Traitors;
State of Judea; Sword of David; The Committee
Against Racism and Discrimination (CARD);
The Hatikva Jewish Identity Center;
The International Kahane Movement;
The Jewish Idea Yeshiva; The Judean Legion; The Judean
Voice; The Gomemiyut Movement; The Rabbi Meir David Kahane Memorial
Fund; The Voice of Judea; The Way of the Torah; The
Yeshiva of the Jewish Idea; Yeshivat Harav Meir
Description
Kach's stated goal is to restore the
biblical state of Israel. Kach was founded
by radical Israeli-American rabbi Meir Kahane.
Its offshoot Kahane Chai, (translation: "Kahane
Lives") was founded by Meir Kahane's son
Binyamin following his father's 1990 assassination
in the United States. Both Kach and Kahane
Chai were declared terrorist organizations
in 1994 by the Israeli Cabinet under its
1948 Terrorism Law. This designation followed
the groups' statements in support of Dr.
Baruch Goldstein's attack in February 1994
on the Ibrahimi Mosque (Goldstein was affiliated
with Kach) and their verbal attacks on the
Israeli government. Palestinian gunmen killed
Binyamin Kahane and his wife in a drive-by
shooting in December 2000 in the West Bank.
Activities
Kach has harassed and threatened Arabs, Palestinians,
and Israeli government officials, and
has vowed revenge for the death of Binyamin
Kahane and his wife. Kach is suspected
of involvement in a number of low-level
attacks since the start of the al-Aqsa
intifada in 2000.
Strength
Unknown.
Location/Area
of Operation
Israel and West Bank settlements, particularly
Qiryat Arba' in Hebron.
External
Aid
Receives support from sympathizers in the
United States and Europe.
Kongra-Gel
(KGK/PKK)
(Despite name changes, the group is still
most commonly referred to as the PKK; for
the purposes of this report we refer to the
group as Kongra-Gel/PKK or KGK/PKK.)
a.k.a. Kurdish Freedom Hawks (TAK); Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK); Freedom and Democracy Congress of Kurdistan
(KADEK); Halu Mesru Savunma Kuvveti (HSK); Kurdistan
Freedom and Democracy Congress; Kurdistan People's
Congress (KHK); Partiya Karkeran Kurdistan; People's
Congress of Kurdistan; The People's Defense Force.
Description
The KGK/PKK was founded by Abdullah Ocalan
in 1974 as a Marxist-Leninist separatist
organization. The group, composed primarily
of Turkish Kurds, launched a campaign
of violence in 1984. The KGK/PKK aspired
to establish an independent Kurdish state
in southeastern Turkey, but in recent
years has spoken more often about cultural
or linguistic rights. In the early 1990s,
the KGK/PKK moved beyond rural-based
insurgent activities to include urban
terrorism. In the 1990s south-eastern
Anatolia was the scene of significant
violence; some estimates place casualties
at approximately 30,000 persons. Following
his capture in 1999, Ocalan announced
a "peace initiative," ordering members
to refrain from violence and requesting
dialogue with Ankara on Kurdish issues.
Ocalan's death-sentence was commuted
to life-imprisonment; he remains the
symbolic leader of the group. The group
foreswore violence until June 2004, when
the group's hard-line militant wing took
control and renounced the self-imposed
cease-fire of the previous five years.
Striking over the border from bases within
Iraq the KGK/PKK engaged in terrorist
attacks in eastern and western Turkey.
Activities
Primary targets have been Turkish government
security forces, local Turkish officials,
and villagers who oppose the organization
in Turkey. The group conducted attacks
on Turkish diplomatic and commercial
facilities in West European cities in
1993 and again in spring 1995. In an
attempt to damage Turkey's tourist industry,
the KGK/PKK bombed tourist sites and
hotels and kidnapped foreign tourists
in the early-to-mid-1990s. Turkish authorities
have confirmed or suspect that the group
is responsible for dozens of bombings
since 2004 in western Turkey, particularly
in Istanbul and increasingly in resort
areas on the western coast where foreign
tourists, among others, have been killed.
There have also been dozens of military
clashes between Turkish security forces
and KGK/PKK militants.
Strength
Approximately 4,000 to 5,000; 3,000 to 3,500
are currently located in northern Iraq.
Location/Area
of Operation
Operates primarily in Turkey, Iraq, Europe,
and the Middle East.
External
Aid
Kongra-Gel/PKK has historically received
safe haven and modest aid from Syria, Iraq,
and Iran. Since 1999, Syria and Iran have
cooperated with Turkey against the PKK, in
a limited fashion. The KGK/PKK funds raise
in Europe.
Lashkar e-Tayyiba
(LT) 1
a.k.a. Al Mansooreen; Al Mansoorian; Army
of the Pure; Army of the Pure and Righteous;
Army of the Righteous; Jamaat ud-Dawa and
Al Monsooreen; Lashkar e-Toiba; Lashkar-i-Taiba;
Paasban-e-Ahle-Hadis; Paasban-e-Kashmir;
Paasban-i-Ahle-Hadith; Pasban-e-Ahle-Hadith;
Pasban-e-Kashmir
Description
LT began as the militant wing of the Islamic
extremist organization Markaz Dawa ul-Irshad
(MDI), which was formed in the mid-1980s.
MDI changed its name to Jamaat ul-Dawa
(JUD) in 2001, probably in an effort
to avoid Pakistan government restrictions.
LT, which is not connected to any political
party, is led by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed
and is one of the three largest and best-trained
groups fighting in Kashmir against India.
The Pakistani government banned the group
and froze its assets in January 2002.
Elements of LT and Jaish-e-Muhammad combined
with other groups to mount attacks as "The
Save Kashmir Movement."
Activities
LT has conducted a number of operations against
Indian troops and civilian targets in
Jammu and Kashmir since 1993. LT claimed
responsibility for numerous attacks in
2001, including an attack in January
on Srinagar airport that killed five
Indians; an attack on a police station
in Srinagar that killed at least eight
officers and wounded several others;
and an attack in April against Indian
border security forces that left at least
four dead. The Indian government publicly
implicated LT, along with JEM, for the
December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament
building, although concrete evidence
is lacking. LT is also suspected of involvement
in May 2002 attack on an Indian Army
base in Kaluchak that left 36 dead. India
blamed LT for an October 2005 attack
in New Delhi and a December 2005 Bangalore
attack. Senior al-Qaida lieutenant Abu
Zubaydah was captured at an LT safe house
in Faisalabad in March 2002, which suggested
that some members were facilitating the
movement of al-Qaida members in Pakistan.
Government of India officials hold LT
responsible for the July 11, 2006 train
attack in Mumbai.
Strength
LT has several thousand members in Azad Kashmir,
Pakistan, in the southern Jammu and Kashmir
and Doda regions, and in the Kashmir
Valley. Almost all LT members are Pakistanis
from madrassas across Pakistan or Afghan
veterans of the Afghan wars.The group
uses assault rifles, light and heavy
machine guns, mortars, explosives, and
rocket-propelled grenades.
Location/Area
of Operation
Based in Muridke (near Lahore) and Muzaffarabad.
External
Aid
Collects donations from the Pakistani expatriate
communities in the Middle East and United
Kingdom, Islamic NGOs, and Pakistani and
other Kashmiri business people. LT also maintains
a website under the name Jamaat ud-Daawa
through which it solicits funds and provides
information on the group's activities. The
precise amount of LT funding is unknown.
Lashkar i
Jhangvi (LJ) 1
a.k.a. Lashkar e Jhangvi; Lashkari-i-Jhangvi
Description
Lashkar i Jhangvi (LJ) is the militant offshoot
of the Sunni Deobandi sectarian group
Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan. LJ focuses primarily
on anti-Shia attacks and was banned by
Pakistani President Musharraf in August
2001 as part of an effort to rein in
sectarian violence. Many of its members
then sought refuge in Afghanistan with
the Taliban, with whom they had existing
ties. After the collapse of the Taliban,
LJ members became active in aiding other
terrorists with safe houses, false identities,
and protection in Pakistani cities, including
Karachi, Peshawar, and Rawalpindi. In
January 2003, the United States added
LJ to the list of designated Foreign
Terrorist Organizations.
Activities
LJ specializes in armed attacks and bombings
and has admitted responsibility for numerous
killings of Shia religious and community
leaders in Pakistan. In January 1999,
the group attempted to assassinate former
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother
Shabaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Punjab
Province. Pakistani authorities have
publicly linked LJ members to the 2002
abduction and murder of U.S. journalist
Daniel Pearl. Media reports linked LJ
to attacks on Christian targets in Pakistan,
including a March 2002 grenade assault
on the Protestant International Church
in Islamabad that killed two U.S. citizens,
but no formal charges were filed against
the group. Pakistani authorities believe
LJ was responsible for the July 2003
bombing of a Shiite mosque in Quetta,
Pakistan. Authorities also implicated
LJ in several sectarian incidents in
2004, including the May and June bombings
of two Shiite mosques in Karachi that
killed more than 40 people. In May 2006,
Pakistani police arrested two LJ militants
suspected of involvement in the April
bombing outside the U.S. Consulate in
Karachi that killed one U.S. official;
investigations are ongoing. In late 2006,
Pakistani security agencies arrested
eight suspects allegedly involved in
the October blast at the Ayub Park in
Rawalpindi and in planting anti-tank
rockets at several locations in Islamabad.
The Pakistani Interior Minister claimed
these suspects have links to LJ and al-Qaida.
Strength
Probably fewer than 100.
Location/Area
of Operation
LJ is active primarily in Punjab and Karachi.
Some members travel between Pakistan and
Afghanistan.
External
Aid
Unknown.
Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
a.k.a. Ellalan Force; The Tamil Tigers
Description
Founded in 1976, LTTEis the most powerful
Tamil secessionist group in Sri Lanka.
LTTE wants to establish an independent
Tamil state in the island's north and
east. It began its insurgency against
the Sri Lankan government in 1983 and
has relied on a guerrilla strategy that
includes the use of terrorist tactics.
LTTE nominally hasobserved a cease-fire
agreement with the Sri Lankan government
since 2002. The United States designated
LTTE as a Foreign Terrorist Organization
in October 1997.
Activities
LTTE has integrated a battlefield insurgent
strategy with a terrorist program that
targets key personnel in the countryside
and senior Sri Lankan political and military
leaders in Colombo and other urban centers.
It also has conducted a sustained campaign
targeting rival Tamil groups and figures,
and assassinated the head of government
of two countries: Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi of India in 1991 and President
Premadasa of Sri Lanka in 1993. LTTE
is most notorious for the Black Tigers,
its cadre of suicide bombers. Political
assassinations and bombings were commonplace
tactics prior to the cease-fire and have
increased again since mid-2005. Fighting
between LTTE and the Sri Lanka government
escalated in 2006.
Strength
Exact strength is unknown, but LTTE is estimated
to have 8,000 to 10,000 armed combatants
in Sri Lanka, with a core of 3,000 to
6,000 trained fighters.LTTE also has
a significant overseas support structure
for fundraising, weapons procurement,
and propaganda activities.
Location/Area
of Operations
Headquartered in northern Sri Lanka, LTTE
controls portions of the northern and eastern
coastal areas of Sri Lanka, where it has
set up a comprehensive administrative structure,
but also has conducted operations throughout
the island. LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran
has established an extensive network of checkpoints
and informants to keep track of any outsiders
who enter the group's area of control.
External
Aid
LTTE's overt organizations support Tamil
separatism by lobbying foreign governments
and the United Nations. LTTE also uses its
international contacts and the large Tamil
Diaspora in North America, Europe, and Asia
to procure weapons, communications, funding,
and other needed supplies.
Libyan Islamic
Fighting Group (LIFG) 1
Description
The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG)
emerged in the early 1990s among Libyans
who had fought Soviet forces in Afghanistan
and the Qadhafi regime in Libya. The
LIFG declared Libyan President Muammar
Qadhafi un-Islamic and pledged to overthrow
him. Some members maintain a strictly
anti-Qadhafi focus and organize against
Libyan government interests, but others,
such as Abu al-Faraj al-Libi, who was
arrested in Pakistan in 2005, are aligned
with Usama bin Ladin and believed to
be part of al-Qaida's leadership structure
or active in the international terrorist
network. The United States designated
the LIFG a Foreign Terrorist Organization
in December 2004.
Activities
Libyans associated with the LIFG are part
of the broader international terrorist
movement. Spanish media in August 2005
linked Ziyad Hashem, an alleged member
of the LIFG's media committee, as well
as the imprisoned amir Abdullah al-Sadeq,
with the Tunisian Islamist Serhane Ben
Abdelmajid Fakhet, the suspected ringleader
in the 2004 Madrid attacks. The LIFG
is one of the groups believed to have
planned the Casablanca suicide bombings
in May 2003. The LIFG continues to target
Libyan interests, and attempted to assassinate
Qadhafi a total of four times; the last
attempt was in 1998. The LIFG engaged
Libyan security forces in armed clashes
during the 1990s.
Strength
Probably has several hundred active members
or supporters.
Location/Area
of Operation
Since the late 1990s many members have fled
to various Asian, Arabian Gulf, African,
and European countries, particularly the
United Kingdom. It is likely that LIFG maintains
a clandestine presence in Libya.
External
Aid
Unknown. The LIFG has used Islamic charitable
organizations as cover for raising and transferring
money and documents.
Moroccan
Islamic Combatant Group (GICM) 1
a.k.a. Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain
Description
The Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM)
is a clandestine transnational terrorist
group currently centered in the Moroccan
diaspora communities of Western Europe.
Its goals include establishing an Islamic
state in Morocco and supporting al-Qaida's
war against the West by assisting in
the assimilation of al-Qaida operatives
into Moroccan and then European society.
The group appears to have emerged in
the 1990s and is comprised of Moroccan
recruits who trained in armed camps in
Afghanistan, including some who fought
in the Soviet Afghan war. GICM members
interact with other North African extremists,
particularly in Europe. In November 2002,
the United States designated the GICM
for asset freeze under EO 13224 following
the group's submission to the UNSCR 1267
Sanctions Committee. The United States
designated GICM as a Foreign Terrorist
Organization on October 11, 2005.
Activities
The GICM carried out its first attack in
Casablanca, Morocco on May 16, 2003,
and GICM members were responsible for
the Madrid attack. Moroccans associated
with the GICM are part of the broader
international terrorist movement; GICM
members have been implicated in the recruitment
network of individuals for Iraq, and
at least one GICM member has carried
out a suicide attack against Coalition
Forces in Iraq.
Strength
Much of the GICM's leadership in Morocco
and Europe have been killed, imprisoned,
or are awaiting trial. Alleged leader
Mohamed al-Guerbouzi has been convicted
in absentia by the Moroccan government
for his role in the Casablanca attacks
but remains free in exile in the United
Kingdom.
Location/Area
of Operation
Morocco, Western Europe, Afghanistan, and
Canada.
External
Aid
The GICM is involved heavily in narcotics
trafficking in North Africa and Europe to
fund their operations. Moroccan security
officials believe money from drug trafficking
largely financed the 2003 Casablanca attacks.
The Madrid attacks were financed mainly by
the narcotics trafficking of Moroccan jihadist
Jamal Ahmidan.
Mujahedin-e
Khalq Organization (MEK)
a.k.a. MKO; Mujahedin-e Khalq; Muslim Iranian
Students' Society; National Council of Resistance;
National Council of Resistance (NCR); Organization
of the People's Holy Warriors of Iran; The
National Liberation Army of Iran (NLA); The
People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI);
National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI);
Sazeman-e Mujahedin-e Khalq-e Iran
Description
The MEK advocates the violent overthrow of
the Iranian regime and was responsible
for the assassination of several U.S.
military personnel and civilians in the
1970's. MEK leadership and members across
the world maintain the capacity and will
to commit terrorist acts in Europe, the
Middle East, the United State, Canada,
and beyond.
The MEK emerged
in the 1960s as one of the more violent
political movements opposed to the Pahlavi
dynasty and its close relationship with
the United States. MEK ideology has gone
through several iterations and blends elements
of Marxism, Islam, and feminism. Following
its participation in the 1979 Islamic Revolution,
the group rapidly fell out of favor with
the Iranian people. The new Iranian government
under Supreme Leader Khomeini systematically
arrested and targeted many MEK members,
causing most MEK leadership to flee to
Europe. In 1986, MEK leaders and operatives
were evicted from France and provided a
safe haven in Iraq by Saddam Hussein. The
group has planned and executed terrorist
operations against the Iranian regime for
nearly three decades from its European
and Iraqi bases of operations. Additionally,
it has expanded its fundraising base, further
developed its paramilitary skills, and
aggressively worked to expand its European
ranks. In addition to its terrorist credentials,
the MEK has also displayed cult-like characteristics.
Upon entry into the group, new members
are indoctrinated in MEK ideology and revisionist
Iranian history. Members are also required
to undertake a vow of "eternal divorce" and
participate in weekly "ideological cleansings." Additionally,
children are reportedly separated from
parents at a young age. MEK leader Maryam
Rajavi has established a "cult of personality." She
claims to emulate the Prophet Muhammad
and is viewed by members as the "Iranian
President in exile."
Activities
The group's worldwide campaign against the
Iranian government uses propaganda and
terrorism to achieve its objectives and
has been supported by reprehensible regimes,
including that of Saddam Hussein. During
the 1970s, the MEK assassinated several
U.S. military personnel and U.S. civilians
working on defense projects in Tehran
and supported the violent takeover in
1979 of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Despite
U.S. efforts, MEK members have never
been brought to justice for the group's
role in these illegal acts.
In 1981, MEK
leadership attempted to overthrow the newly
installed Islamic regime; Iranian security
forces subsequently initiated a crackdown
on the group. The MEK instigated a bombing
campaign, including an attack against the
head office of the Islamic Republic Party
and the Prime Minister's office, which
killed some 70 high-ranking Iranian officials,
including Chief Justice Ayatollah Mohammad
Beheshti, President Mohammad-Ali Rajaei,
and Prime Minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar.
These attacks resulted in a popular uprising
against the MEK and an expanded Iranian
government crackdown which forced MEK leaders
to flee to France. For five years, the
MEK continued to wage its terrorist campaign
from its Paris headquarters. Expelled by
France in 1986, MEK leaders turned to Saddam
Hussein's regime for basing, financial
support, and training. Near the end of
the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War, Baghdad armed
the MEK with heavy military equipment and
deployed thousands of MEK fighters in suicidal,
mass wave attacks against Iranian forces.
The MEK's relationship
with the former Iraqi regime continued
through the 1990s. In 1991, the group reportedly
assisted in the Iraqi Republican Guard's
bloody crackdown on Iraqi Shia and Kurds
who rose up against Saddam Hussein's regime;
press reports cite MEK leader Maryam Rajavi
encouraging MEK members to "take the Kurds
under your tanks." In April 1992, the MEK
conducted near-simultaneous attacks on
Iranian embassies and installations in
13 countries, demonstrating the group's
ability to mount large-scale operations
overseas. In April 1999, the MEK targeted
key Iranian military officers and assassinated
the deputy chief of the Iranian Armed Forces
General Staff, Brigadier General Ali Sayyaad
Shirazi.
In April 2000,
the MEK attempted to assassinate the commander
of the Nasr Headquarters, Tehran's interagency
board responsible for coordinating policies
on Iraq. The pace of anti-Iranian operations
increased during "Operation Great Bahman" in
February 2000, when the group launched
a dozen attacks against Iran. One of those
attacks included a mortar attack against
a major Iranian leadership complex in Tehran
that housed the offices of the Supreme
Leader and the President. In 2000 and 2001,
the MEK was involved in regular mortar
attacks and hit-and-run raids against Iranian
military and law enforcement personnel,
as well as government buildings near the
Iran-Iraq border. Also in 2001, the FBI
arrested seven Iranians in the United States
who funneled $400,000 to an MEK-affiliated
organization in the UAE which used the
funds to purchase weapons. Following an
initial Coalition bombardment of the MEK's
facilities in Iraq at the outset of Operation
Iraqi Freedom, MEK leadership negotiated
a cease-fire with Coalition Forces and
voluntarily surrendered their heavy-arms
to Coalition control. Since 2003, roughly
3,400 MEK members have been encamped at
Ashraf in Iraq, under the supervision of
Coalition Forces.
In 2003, French
authorities arrested 160 MEK members at
operational bases they believed the MEK
was using to coordinate financing and planning
for terrorist attacks. Upon the arrest
of MEK leader Maryam Rajavi, MEK members
took to Paris' streets and engaged in self-immolation.
French authorities eventually released
Rajavi. Although currently in hiding, Rajavi
has made appearances via video-satellite
to "motivate" MEK-sponsored conferences
across the globe.
According to
evidence which became available after the
fall of Saddam Hussein, the MEK received
millions of dollars in Oil-for-Food program
subsidies from Saddam Hussein from 1999
through 2003, which supported planning
and executing future terrorist attacks.
In addition to discovering 13 lists of
recipients of such vouchers on which the
MEK appeared, evidence linking the MEK
to the former Iraqi regime includes lists,
as well as video footage of Saddam Hussein
handing over suitcases of money to known
MEK leaders, and video of MEK operatives
receiving training from the Iraqi military.
Strength
Estimates place MEK's worldwide membership
in the several thousands, with large
pockets in Paris and other major European
capitals. In Iraq, roughly 3,400 MEK
members are gathered under Coalition
supervision at Camp Ashraf, the MEK's
main compound north of Baghdad, where
they have been designated as "protected
persons" under Article 27 of the Fourth
Geneva Convention. This status does not
affect the group's members outside of
Camp Ashraf or the MEK's designation
as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
As a condition of the 2003 cease-fire
agreement, the MEK relinquished more
than 2,000 tanks; armored personnel carriers;
and heavy artillery. A significant number
of MEK personnel have voluntarily left
Ashraf, and an additional several hundred
MEK defectors have been voluntarily repatriated
to Iran. Many MEK leaders and operatives,
however, remain at large, and the number
of at-large MEK operatives who received
weapons and bomb-making instruction from
Saddam Hussein's regime remains a source
of significant concern.
Location/Area
of Operation
In the 1980s, the MEK's leaders were forced
by Iranian security forces to flee to France.
Following France's recognition of the Iranian
regime in 1986, the group's leadership was
forced out of France and took up residence
in Iraq. The MEK maintains its main headquarters
in Paris and has concentrations of members
across Europe, in addition to the large concentration
of MEK located at Camp Ashraf in Iraq. The
MEK's global support structure remains in
place with associates and supporters scattered
throughout Europe and North America. Operations
target Iranian regime elements across the
globe, including in Europe and Iran. MEK's
political arm, the NCRI, has a global support
network with active lobbying and propaganda
efforts in major Western capitals. NCRI also
has a well-developed media communications
strategy.
External
Aid
Before Operation Iraqi Freedom began in 2003;
the MEK received all of its military assistance
and most of its financial support from Saddam
Hussein. The fall of Saddam's regime has
led MEK to increasingly rely on front organizations
to solicit contributions from expatriate
Iranian communities.
National
Liberation Army (ELN)
a.k.a. Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional
Description
The ELN is a Colombian Marxist insurgent
group formed in 1965 by urban intellectuals
inspired by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara.
It is primarily rural-based, although
it possesses several urban units. In
December 2005, the ELN began preliminary
talks with the Colombian government in
Cuba, but had not yet agreed to begin
a formal peace process.
Activities
ELN conducts kidnapping, hijacking, bombing,
and extortion. It has minimal conventional
military capability. The group conducts
kidnappings for ransom, often targeting
foreign employees of large corporations,
especially in the petroleum industry.
ELN derives some revenue from taxation
of the illegal narcotics industry, and
its involvement may be increasing. It
assaults energy infrastructure and has
inflicted major damage on pipelines and
the electrical distribution network but
has lost much of its capacity to carry
out attacks in the past few years.
Strength
Approximately 3,000 armed combatants and
an unknown number of active supporters.
Location/Area
of Operation
Mostly in rural and mountainous areas of
northern, northeastern, and southwestern
Colombia, and Venezuelan border regions.
External
Aid
Cuba provides some medical care and political
consultation.
Palestine
Liberation Front (PLF)
a.k.a. PLF-Abu Abbas Faction
Description
In the late 1970s the Palestine Liberation
Front (PLF) splintered from the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General
Command (PFLP-GC), and later split into
pro-PLO, pro-Syrian, and pro-Libyan factions.
The pro-PLO faction was led by Muhammad
Zaydan (a.k.a. Abu Abbas) and was based
in Baghdad prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Activites
Abbas's group was responsible for the 1985
attack on the Italian cruise ship Achille
Lauro and the murder of U.S. citizen
Leon Klinghoffer. In 1993, the PLF officially
renounced terrorism when it acknowledged
the Oslo accords, although it was suspected
of supporting terrorism against Israel
by other Palestinian groups into the
1990s. In April 2004, Abu Abbas died
of natural causes while in U.S. custody
in Iraq. Current leadership and membership
of the relatively small PLF appears to
be based in Lebanon and the Palestinian
territories.
Strength
Unknown.
Location/Area
of Operation
Based in Iraq from 1990 until 2003, the group
currently is based in Lebanon.
External
Aid
Unknown.
Palestine
Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
a.k.a. Islamic Jihad of Palestine; PIJ-Shaqaqi
Faction; PIJ-Shallah Faction; Al-Quds Brigades
Description
Formed by militant Palestinians in the Gaza
Strip during the 1970s, Palestine Islamic
Jihad (PIJ) is committed to the creation
of an Islamic state in all of historic
Palestine and the destruction of Israel
through attacks against Israeli military
and civilian targets.
Activities
PIJ terrorists have conducted numerous attacks,
including large-scale suicide bombings
against Israeli civilian and military
targets. In 2006, the group conducted
two suicide bombings and launched numerous
homemade rockets from the Gaza Strip
into neighboring Israeli towns. PIJ continues
to plan and direct attacks against Israelis
both inside Israel and in the Palestinian
territories. Although U.S. citizens have
died in PIJ mounted attacks, the group
has not directly targeted U.S. interests.
Strength
Unknown.
Location/Area
of Operation
Primarily Israel, the West Bank, and the
Gaza Strip. The group's central leadership
resides in Syria. Other leadership elements
reside in Lebanon and official representatives
are scattered throughout the Middle East.
External
Aid
Receives financial assistance primarily from
Iran. Syria provides the group with safe
haven.
Popular Front
for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
Description
Formerly a part of the PLO, the Marxist-Leninist
PFLP was founded by George Habash when
it broke away from the Arab Nationalist
Movement in 1967. The PFLP does not view
the Palestinian struggle as religious,
seeing it instead as a broader revolution
against Western imperialism. The group
earned a reputation for spectacular international
attacks in the 1960s and 1970s, including
airline hijackings that killed at least
20 U.S. citizens.
Activites
The PFLP has stepped up its operational activity
since the start of the current intifada,
highlighted by at least two suicide bombings
since 2003, multiple joint operations
with other Palestinian terrorist groups,
and the assassination of Israeli Tourism
Minister Rehavam Ze'evi in 2001, to avenge
Israel's killing of the PFLP Secretary
General earlier that year. In March 2006,
the PFLP's current Secretary General,
Ahmed Sa'adat, who had been imprisoned
by the Palestinian Authority for his
involvement in the Ze'evi assassination,
was seized from the Jericho prison compound
by Israeli forces and is now awaiting
trial.
Strength
Unknown.
Location/Area
of Operation
Syria, Lebanon, Israel, the West Bank, and
the Gaza Strip.
External
Aid
Receives safe haven and some logistical assistance
from Syria.
Popular Front
for the Liberation of Palestine-General
Command (PFLP-GC)
Description
The PFLP-GC split from the PFLP in 1968,
claiming it wanted to focus more on fighting
and less on politics. Originally, the
group was violently opposed to the Arafat-led
PLO. Ahmad Jibril, a former captain in
the Syrian Army, whose son Jihad was
killed by a car bomb in May 2002, has
led the PFLP-GC since its founding. The
PFLP-GC is closely tied to both Syria
and Iran.
Activites
The PFLP-GC carried out dozens of attacks
in Europe and the Middle East during
the 1970s and 1980s. The organization
was known for cross-border terrorist
attacks into Israel using unusual means,
such as hot-air balloons and motorized
hang gliders. The group's primary focus
now is on guerrilla operations in southern
Lebanon, training members of other Palestinian
terrorist groups, and weapons smuggling.
The PFLP-GC maintains an armed presence
in several refugee camps and military
bases throughout Lebanon.
Strength
Several hundred.
Location/Area
of Operation
Headquartered in Damascus with bases in Lebanon.
External
Aid
Receives logistical and military support
from Syria and financial support from Iran.
Al-Qaida1
a.k.a. International Front for Fighting Jews
and Crusaders; Islamic Army; Islamic
Army for the Liberation of Holy Sites;
Islamic Salvation Foundation; The Base;
The Group for the Preservation of the
Holy Sites; The Islamic Army for the
Liberation of the Holy Places; The World
Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews
and Crusaders; Usama bin Ladin Network;
Usama bin Ladin Organization; Qaidat
al-Jihad
Description
Al-Qaida was established by Usama bin Ladin
in 1988 with Arabs who fought in Afghanistan
against the Soviet Union. The group helped
finance, recruit, transport, and train
Sunni Islamic extremists for the Afghan
resistance. Al-Qaida's goal is uniting
Muslims to fight the United States and
its allies, overthrowing regimes it deems "non-Islamic," and
expelling Westerners and non-Muslims
from Muslim countries. Its ultimate goal
is the establishment of a pan-Islamic
caliphate throughout the world. Al-Qaida
leaders issued a statement in February
1998 under the banner of "The World Islamic
Front for Jihad Against the Jews and
Crusaders" saying it was the duty of
all Muslims to kill U.S. citizens, civilian
and military, and their allies everywhere.
Al-Qaida merged with al-Jihad (Egyptian
Islamic Jihad) in June 2001, renaming
itself "Qaidat al-Jihad."
Activities
Even as al-Qaida's top leaders continue to
plot and direct terror attacks worldwide,
terrorists affiliated with al-Qaida but
not necessarily controlled by bin Ladin
have increasingly carried out high-profile
attacks. Over the past four years, al-Qaida,
its affiliates, and those inspired by
the group were also involved in anti-U.S.
and anti-Coalition attacks in Africa,
Europe, the Middle East, Afghanistan,
Pakistan, and Iraq, including suicide
bombings and vehicle-borne improvised
explosive devices.
In 2006, al-Qaida
and affiliated organizations continued
major efforts to attack the West and its
interests. For example, in mid-August,
U.K. and U.S. authorities foiled a plot
to blow up as many as ten aircraft. Al-Qaida
may have been complicit in the plot but
the group has made no public statement
claiming its involvement. Additionally,
al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula claimed
responsibility for the February 24, 2006,
attack on the Abqaiq petroleum processing
facility, the largest such facility in
the world, in Saudi Arabia. The Salafist
Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) officially
merged with al-Qaida in September 2006,
subsequently changed its name to al-Qaida
in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and attacked
a U.S. contractor bus in December 2006
in greater Algiers, marking its first attack
against a U.S. entity.
Bin Ladin's
deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri claimed responsibility
on behalf of al-Qaida for multiple attacks
in 2005 against the London public transportation
system. The extent of senior leadership
involvement in planning the July 2005 attacks
is unclear, however, some suspects in the
attacks included homegrown United Kingdom-based
extremists who were inspired by al-Qaida.
In 2003 and
2004, Saudi-based al-Qaida operatives and
associated extremists launched more than
a dozen attacks, killing at least 90 people,
including 14 Americans in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Qaida may have been connected to the
suicide bombers and planners of the November
2003 attacks in Istanbul that targeted
two synagogues, the British Consulate,
and the HSBC Bank, and resulted in the
deaths of more than 60 people. Pakistani
President Musharraf blames al-Qaida for
two attempts on his life in December 2003.
In October 2002,
al-Qaida directed a suicide attack on the
French tanker MV Limburg off the coast
of Yemen that killed one and injured four.
The group also carried out the November
2002 suicide bombing of a hotel in Mombasa,
Kenya, which killed 15. Al-Qaida probably
provided financing for the October 2002
Bali bombings by Jemaah Islamiya that killed
more than 200.
On September
11, 2001, 19 al-Qaida members hijacked
and crashed four U.S. commercial jets --
two into the World Trade Center in New
York City, one into the Pentagon near Washington,
DC, and a fourth into a field in Shanksville,
Pennsylvania -- leaving nearly 3,000 individuals
dead or missing. In October 2000, al-Qaida
conducted a suicide attack on the USS Cole
in the port of Aden, Yemen, with an explosive-laden
boat, killing 17 U.S. Navy sailors and
injuring 39. Al-Qaida also carried out
the August 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies
in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam killing at
least 301 individuals and injuring more
than 5,000 others. Al-Qaida and its supporters
claim to have shot down U.S. helicopters
and killed U.S. servicemen in Somalia in
1993, and to have conducted three bombings
that targeted U.S. troops in Aden in December
1992.
Strength
Al-Qaida's organizational strength is difficult
to determine in the aftermath of extensive
counterterrorist efforts since 9/11.
The arrests and deaths of mid-level and
senior al-Qaida operatives have disrupted
some communication, financial, and facilitation
nodes and disrupted some terrorist plots.
Additionally, supporters and associates
worldwide who are inspired by the group's
ideology may be operating without direction
from al-Qaida's central leadership; it
is impossible to estimate their numbers.
Al-Qaida also serves as a focal point
of inspiration for a worldwide network
that is comprised of many Sunni Islamic
extremist groups, including some members
of the Gama'at al-Islamiyya, the Islamic
Movement of Uzbekistan, the Islamic Jihad
Group, Lashkar i Jhangvi, Harakat ul-Mujahedin,
Ansar al-Sunnah, the Taliban, Jemaah
Islamiya, and the Libyan Islamic Fighting
Group.
Location/Area
of Operation
Al-Qaida's worldwide networks are augmented
by ties to local Sunni extremists. The group
was based in Afghanistan until Coalition
Forces removed the Taliban from power in
late 2001. While the largest concentration
of senior al-Qaida members now reside in
Pakistan, the network incorporates members
of al-Qaida in Iraq and other associates
throughout the Middle East, Southeast Asia,
Africa, Europe, and Central Asia who continue
working to carry out future attacks against
U.S. and Western interests.
External
Aid
Al-Qaida primarily depends on donations from
like-minded supporters and individuals who
believe that their money is supporting a
humanitarian or other cause. Some funds are
diverted from Islamic charitable organizations.
Additionally, parts of the organization raise
funds through criminal activities; for example,
al-Qaida in Iraq raises funds through hostage-taking
for ransom, and members in Europe have engaged
in credit card fraud. U.S. and international
efforts to block al-Qaida funding have hampered
the group's ability to raise money.
Al-Qaida
in Iraq (AQI) 1
a.k.a. Al-Qaida Group of Jihad in Iraq; Al-Qaida
Group of Jihad in the Land of the Two Rivers;
Al-Qaida in Mesopotamia; Al-Qaida in the
Land of the Two Rivers; Al-Qaida of Jihad
in Iraq; Al-Qaida of Jihad Organization in
the Land of The Two Rivers; Al-Qaida of the
Jihad in the Land of the Two Rivers; Al-Tawhid;
Jam'at al-Tawhid Wa'al-Jihad; Tanzeem Qaidat
al Jihad/Bilad al Raafidaini; Tanzim Qaidat
al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn; The Monotheism
and Jihad Group; The Organization Base of
Jihad/Country of the Two Rivers; The Organization
Base of Jihad/Mesopotamia; The Organization
of al-Jihad's Base in Iraq; The Organization
of al-Jihad's Base in the Land of the Two
Rivers; The Organization of al-Jihad's Base
of Operations in Iraq; The Organization of
al-Jihad's Base of Operations in the Land
of the Two Rivers; The Organization of Jihad's
Base in the Country of the Two Rivers
Description
In an attempt to unify Sunni jihadists in
Iraq, in January 2006, al-Qaida in Iraq
(AQI) created the Mujahidin Shura Council
(MSC), an umbrella organization meant
to encompass the various Sunni jihadist
groups in Iraq. AQI claimed its attacks
under the MSC until mid-October, when
Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi's successor, Abu
Ayyub al-Masri, took the first step toward
al-Qaida's goal of establishing a caliphate
in the region by declaring the "Islamic
State of Iraq" (ISI), under which AQI
now claims its attacks.
On June 7, 2006,
AQI leader Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi was killed
in a U.S. airstrike. Following his death,
the MSC announced Abu Hamza al-Muhajir,
also known at Abu Ayyub al-Masri, as Zarqawi's
successor. Abu Ayyub promptly issued a
statement pledging to continue what Zarqawi
had started, and AQI has continued its
strategy of targeting Coalition Forces
and Shi'a civilians in an attempt to foment
sectarian strife. Although Coalition and
Iraqi security force operations also have
cost AQI dozens of lieutenants and high-ranking
network members, overall violence in Iraq
is at a higher level than it was while
Zarqawi was alive.
Activities
In August 2003, Zarqawi's group carried out
a major terrorist attack in Iraq when
it bombed the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad,
followed 12 days later by a suicide vehicle-borne
improvised explosive device (VBIED) attack
against the UN Headquarters in Baghdad
that killed 23, including the Secretary-General's
Special Representative for Iraq, Sergio
Vieira de Mello. That same month the
group conducted a VBIED attack against
Shia worshippers outside the Imam Ali
Mosque in al Najaf, killing 85, including
the leader of the Supreme Council for
the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI).
The group kept up its attack pace throughout
2003, striking numerous Iraqi, Coalition,
and relief agency targets such as the
Red Cross. Zarqawi's group conducted
VBIED attacks against U.S. military personnel
and Iraqi infrastructure throughout 2004,
including suicide attacks inside the
Green Zone perimeter in Baghdad. The
group successfully penetrated the Green
Zone in the October 2004 bombing of a
popular café and market. It also
claimed responsibility for the videotaped
execution by beheading of Americans Nicholas
Berg (May 8, 2004), Jack Armstrong (September
20, 2004), and Jack Hensley (September
21, 2004). AQI was likely involved in
other hostage incidents as well. In 2005,
AQI largely focused on conducting multiple
high-profile, coordinated suicide attacks.
AQI claimed numerous attacks primarily
aimed against civilians, the Iraqi government,
and security forces, such as the coordinated
attacks against polling sites during
the January elections and the coordinated
VBIED attacks outside the Sheraton and
Palestine hotels in Baghdad on October
24. The group also continued assassinations
against Shia leaders and Shia
militia--Jaysh al-Mahdi and Badr Corps.
AQI increased
its external operations in 2005 by claiming
credit for three attacks: suicide bomber
attacks against hotels in Amman on November
9; a rocket attack against U.S. Navy ships
in the port of Aqaba in August, which resulted
in limited damage in Jordan and in Eilat,
Israel; and the firing of several rockets
into Israel from Lebanon in December. In
August 2005, an AQI operative was arrested
in Turkey while planning an operation targeting
Israeli cruise ships. Prior to 2005, AQI
planned and conducted limited attacks in
Jordan, including the assassination of
USAID official Laurence Foley in 2002.
In October 2006, AQI declared the ISI would
become a platform from which AQI would
launch jihad throughout the world. Following
the announcement, AQI members marched through
cities they considered to be part of their
new state as a show of force. AQI attack
claims, which the group released under
the auspices of the Mujahidin Shura Council
and now the ISI, increased in 2006.
Strength
Precise numbers are unknown, but AQI is the
largest terrorist group in Iraq.
Location/Area
of Operation
AQI's operations are predominately Iraq-based,
but the group maintains an extensive logistical
network throughout the Middle East, North
Africa, Iran, South Asia, and Europe.
External
Aid
AQI probably receives funds from donors in
the Middle East and Europe, local sympathizers
in Iraq, a variety of businesses and criminal
activities, and other international extremists
throughout the world. In many cases, AQI's
donors are probably motivated by support
for terrorism rather than affiliation with
any specific terrorist group.
Al-Qaida
in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) [Formerly
Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat
(GSPC)]
a.k.a. Le Groupe Salafiste pour la Predication
et le Combat; Salafist Group for Call and Combat
Description
The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat
(GSPC) officially merged with al-Qaida
in September 2006, and subsequently changed
its name to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb
(AQIM). GSPC members abandoned the Armed
Islamic Group (GIA) over disagreements
about leadership and tactics, but retained
the mission of overthrowing the Algerian
Government and installing an Islamic
regime. AQIM/GSPC is the most effective
and largest armed group inside Algeria.
In contrast to the GIA, it has pledged
to avoid civilian attacks inside Algeria.
Activities
AQIM/GSPC attacked a U.S. contractor bus
in December 2006 in greater Algiers.
In Zawahiri's September 11 speech announcing
the GSPC's merger with al-Qaida, Zawahiri
called on it to be "a bone in the throat
of the American and French crusaders" and
to sow fear "in the heart of the traitors
and apostate sons of France." AQIM/GSPC
continues to conduct operations aimed
at government and military targets, primarily
in rural areas, although civilians are
sometimes killed. AQIM/GSPC executed
simultaneous attacks on October 30 on
two police stations just east of Algiers,
killing three civilians, wounding 14
police officers, and causing substantial
damage to both facilities. In 2005, the
GSPC claimed responsibility for an attack
on a remote Mauritanian military outpost,
killing 15, while indicating a shift
in its strategy toward a more global
war beyond Algerian borders.
Police in France,
Italy and Spain arrested several Algerians
suspected of providing support to AQIM/GSPC,
and French officials announced that the
AQIM/GSPC had issued an Internet call-to-action
against France, declaring France "public
enemy number one." The Government of Algeria
scored major counterterrorism successes
against AQIM/GSPC in 2004, killing AQIM/GSPC
leader Nabil Sahraoui and separately taking
custody of Abderazak al-Para, who led a
AQIM/GSPC faction that held 32 European
tourists hostage in 2003.
Strength
Several hundred fighters with an unknown
number of facilitators outside Algeria.
Location/Area
of Operation
Algeria, the Sahel, Canada, and Western Europe.
External
Aid
Algerian expatriates and AQIM/GSPC members
abroad, many residing in Western Europe,
provide financial and logistical support.
AQIM/GSPC members also engage in criminal
activity.
Real IRA
(RIRA)
a.k.a. 32 County Sovereignty Committee; 32
County Sovereignty Movement; Irish Republican
Prisoners Welfare Association; Real Irish
Republican Army; Real Oglaigh Na Heireann
Description
Like the Continuity IRA, RIRA did not participate
in the September 2005 weapons decommissioning.
RIRA was formed in 1997 as the clandestine
armed wing of the 32 County Sovereignty
Movement, a "political pressure group" dedicated
to removing British forces from Northern
Ireland and unifying Ireland. RIRA also
seeks to disrupt the Northern Ireland
peace process. The 32 County Sovereignty
Movement opposed Sinn Fein's adoption
in September 1997 of the Mitchell principles
of democracy and non-violence; it also
opposed the amendment in December 1999
of Articles 2 and 3 of the Irish Constitution
that laid claim to Northern Ireland.
Despite internal rifts and calls by some
jailed members, including the group's
founder Michael "Mickey" McKevitt, for
a cease-fire and disbandment, RIRA has
pledged additional violence and continues
to conduct attacks.
Activities
Many RIRA members are former Provisional
Irish Republican Army members who left
that organization after it renewed its
cease-fire in 1997. These members brought
a wealth of experience in terrorist tactics
and bomb-making to RIRA. Targets have
included civilians (most notoriously
in the Omagh bombing in August 1998),
British security forces, police in Northern
Ireland, and local Protestant communities.
RIRA's most recent fatal attack was in
August 2002 at a London army base, killing
a construction worker. The organization
wants to improve its intelligence-gathering
ability, engineering capacity, and access
to weaponry; it also trains members in
the use of guns and explosives. RIRA
continues to attract new members, and
its senior members are committed to launching
attacks on security forces. Three suspected
RIRA members that engaged in cigarette
smuggling were arrested in Spain in 2006.
Strength
The number of activists may have fallen to less than
100. The organization may receive limited support
from IRA hardliners and Republican sympathizers dissatisfied
with the IRA's continuing cease-fire and with Sinn
Fein's involvement in the peace process. Approximately
40 RIRA members are in Irish jails.
Location/Area
of Operation
Northern Ireland, Great Britain, and the
Irish Republic.
External
Aid
Suspected of receiving funds from sympathizers
in the United States and of attempting to
buy weapons from U.S. gun dealers. RIRA also
is reported to have purchased sophisticated
weapons from the Balkans.
Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
a.k.a. Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de
Colombia
Description
The FARC is Latin America's oldest, largest,
most capable, and best-equipped insurgency.
It began in the early sixties as an outgrowth
of the Liberal Party-based peasant self-defense
leagues, but took on Marxist ideology,
although it only nominally fights in
support of Marxist goals today. The FARC
is governed by a general secretariat
led by long-time leader Manuel Marulanda
(a.k.a. "Tirofijo") and six others, including
senior military commander Jorge Briceno
(a.k.a. "Mono Jojoy"). The FARC is organized
along military lines and includes some
specialized urban fighting units. A Colombian
military offensive targeting FARC fighters
in their former safe haven in southern
Colombia has experienced some success,
with several FARC mid-level leaders killed
or captured. France, Spain, and Switzerland
formed an international commission in
November 2005 to aid the Colombian government
and the FARC with humanitarian exchange
negotiations, which are currently stalled.
Activities
FARC has carried out bombings, murder, mortar
attacks, kidnapping, extortion, and hijacking,
as well as guerrilla and conventional
military action against Colombian political,
military, and economic targets. In February
2003, when a U.S. plane crashed in a
FARC-held area, the FARC murdered a U.S.
citizen and a Colombian; it continues
to hold hostage the three other U.S.
citizens that were on the plane. Foreign
citizens often are targets of abductions
that FARC carries out in pursuit of ransom
and political leverage. The FARC has
well-documented ties to the full range
of narcotics trafficking activities,
including taxation, cultivation, and
distribution.
Strength
Approximately 15,000 combatants and several
thousand more supporters, mostly in rural
areas.
Location/Area
of Operation
Primarily in Colombia with some activities
such as extortion, kidnapping, weapons sourcing,
logistics, and R&R in neighboring countries.
External
Aid
Cuba and Venezuela provide some medical care,
safe haven, and political consultation. The
FARC often uses the Colombia/Venezuela and
Colombia/Ecuador border areas for cross-border
incursions and Venezuelan and Ecuadorian
territory as a safe haven, although the degree
of government acquiescence is not clear and
seems to vary.
Revolutionary
Nuclei (RN)
a.k.a. Revolutionary Cells
Description
Revolutionary Nuclei (RN) emerged from
a broad range of anti-establishment and anti-U.S./NATO/EU
leftist groups active in Greece between 1995
and 1998. The group is believed to be the
successor to or offshoot of Greece's most
prolific terrorist group, Revolutionary People's
Struggle (ELA), which has not claimed an
attack since January 1995. Indeed, RN appeared
to fill the void left by ELA, particularly
as lesser groups faded from the scene. RN's
few communiqués show strong similarities
in rhetoric, tone, and theme to ELA proclamations.
RN has not claimed an attack since November
2000, nor has it announced its disbandment.
Activites
Since it began operations in January 1995,
the group has claimed responsibility
for some two dozen arson attacks and
low-level bombings against a range of
U.S., Greek, and other European targets
in Greece. In its most infamous and lethal
attack to date, the group claimed responsibility
for a bomb it detonated at the Intercontinental
Hotel in April 1999 that resulted in
the death of a Greek woman and injury
of a Greek man. RN's modus operandi includes
warning calls of impending attacks, attacks
targeting property instead of individuals,
use of rudimentary timing devices, and
strikes during the late evening to early
morning hours. RN may have been responsible
for two attacks in July 2003 against
a U.S. insurance company and a local
bank in Athens. RN's last confirmed attacks
against U.S. interests in Greece came
in November 2000, with two separate bombings
against the Athens offices of Citigroup
and the studio of a Greek-American sculptor.
Greek targets have included judicial
and other government office buildings,
private vehicles, and the offices of
Greek firms involved in NATO-related
defense contracts in Greece. Similarly,
the group has attacked European interests
in Athens.
Strength
Group membership is believed to be small,
probably drawing from the Greek militant
leftist or anarchist milieu.
Location/Area
of Operation
Primary area of operation is in the Athens,
Greece metropolitan area.
External
Aid
Unknown but believed to be self-sustaining.
Revolutionary
Organization 17 November (17N)
a.k.a. Epanastatiki Organosi 17 Noemvri;
17 November
Description
17 November (17N) is a radical leftist group
established in 1975 and named for the
student uprising in Greece in November
1973 that protested the ruling military
junta. 17N is an anti-Greek establishment,
anti-United States, anti-Turkey, and
anti-NATO group that seeks the ouster
of U.S. bases from Greece, the removal
of Turkish military forces from Cyprus,
and the severing of Greece's ties to
NATO and the European Union (EU).
Activities
Initial attacks were assassinations of senior
U.S. officials and Greek public figures.
Five U.S. Embassy employees have been
murdered since 17N began its terrorist
activities in 1975. The group began using
bombings in the 1980s. In 1990, 17N expanded
its targets to include Turkish diplomats,
EU facilities, and foreign firms investing
in Greece, and added improvised rocket
attacks to its methods. The group supported
itself largely through bank robberies.
A failed 17N bombing attempt in June
2002 at the port of Piraeus in Athens,
coupled with robust detective work, led
to the arrest of 19 members, the first
17N operatives ever arrested, including
a key leader of the organization. In
December 2003, a Greek court convicted
15 members, five of whom were given multiple
life terms. Four other alleged members
were acquitted for lack of evidence.
In December 2005, against the backdrop
of a sympathetic press, a group appeals
trial opened for the 15 convicted members
and two of the previously acquitted members.
The appeals trial essentially represents
a new trial for the convicts because
new evidence and facts can be introduced
under Greek law. Moreover, convicted
17N terrorist Nikos Papanastasiou was
released from prison in July 2006 on
medical grounds. Papanastasiou was the
third convicted 17N terrorist to be granted
early release from prison for health
reasons, following Konstantinos Telios
and Pavlos Serifis in 2005.
Strength
Unknown but presumed to be small.
Location/Area
of Operation
Athens, Greece.
External
Aid
Unknown.
Revolutionary
People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C)
a.k.a. Dev Sol; Dev Sol Armed Revolutionary
Units; Dev Sol Silahli Devrimci Birlikleri;
Dev Sol SDB; Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Partisi-Cephesi;
Devrimci Sol; Revolutionary Left
Description
This group originally formed in 1978 as Devrimci
Sol, or Dev Sol, a splinter faction of
Dev Genc (Revolutionary Youth). It was
renamed in 1994 after factional infighting. "Party" refers
to the group's political activities,
while "Front" is a reference to the group's
militant operations. The group espouses
a Marxist-Leninist ideology and is vehemently
anti-U.S., anti-NATO, and anti-Turkish
establishment. Its goals are the establishment
of a socialist state and the abolition
of F-type prisons, which contain one-
to three-man prison cells. DHKP/C finances
its activities chiefly through donations
and extortion.
Activities
Since the late 1980s, the group has targeted
primarily current and retired Turkish
security and military officials. It began
a new campaign against foreign interests
in 1990, which included attacks against
U.S. military and diplomatic personnel
and facilities. To protest perceived
U.S. imperialism during the Gulf War,
Dev Sol assassinated two U.S. military
contractors, wounded an Air Force officer,
and bombed more than 20 U.S. and NATO
military, commercial, and cultural facilities.
In its first significant terrorist act
as DHKP/C in 1996, the group assassinated
a prominent Turkish businessman and two
others. DHKP/C added suicide bombings
to its repertoire in 2001, with successful
attacks against Turkish police in January
and September. Since the end of 2001,
DHKP/C has typically used improvised
explosive devices against official Turkish
targets and soft U.S. targets of opportunity;
attacks against U.S. targets beginning
in 2003 probably came in response to
Operation Iraqi Freedom. Operations and
arrests against the group have weakened
its capabilities.
Strength
Probably several dozen terrorist operatives
inside Turkey, with a large support network
throughout Europe.
Location/Area
of Operation
Turkey, primarily Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir,
and Adana. Raises funds in Europe.
External
Aid
Widely believed to have training facilities
or offices in Lebanon and Syria.
Shining Path
(SL)
a.k.a. Sendero Luminoso; Ejercito Guerrillero
Popular (People's Guerrilla Army); Ejercito
Popular de Liberacion (People's Liberation
Army); Partido Comunista del Peru (Communist
Party of Peru); Partido Comunista del Peru
en el Sendero Luminoso de Jose Carlos Mariategui
(Communist Party of Peru on the Shining Path
of Jose Carlos Mariategui); Socorro Popular
del Peru (People's Aid of Peru)
Description
Former university professor Abimael Guzman
formed SL in Peru in the late 1960s,
and his teachings created the foundation
of SL's militant Maoist doctrine. In
the 1980s, SL became one of the most
ruthless terrorist groups in the Western
Hemisphere. Approximately 35,000 persons
have died since Shining Path took up
arms in 1980. The Peruvian government
made dramatic gains against SL during
the 1990s, but recent SL attacks against
Peruvian counternarcotics police and
kidnappings of counternarcotics NGO workers
underscore the continuing threat SL poses,
as well as the group's increasing ties
to narcotrafficking. SL's stated goal
is to destroy existing Peruvian institutions
and replace them with a communist peasant
revolutionary regime. It also opposes
any influence by foreign governments.
In response to SL's bloody attacks in
late 2005, Peruvian authorities have
stepped up counterterrorism efforts against
the group. More recently, SL members
have attempted to influence the local
populace through indoctrination versus
violence.
Activities
SL has conducted indiscriminate bombing campaigns,
ambushes, and selective assassinations.
Its increased drug ties have raised operating
revenue.
Strength
Unknown but estimated to be some 300 armed
militants.
Location/Area
of Operation
Peru, with most activity in rural areas,
specifically the Huallaga Valley, the Ene
River, and the Apurimac Valley of central
Peru.
External
Aid
None.
United Self-Defense
Forces of Colombia (AUC)
a.k.a. Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia
Description
The AUC, commonly referred to as the paramilitaries,
is an umbrella group formed in April
1997 to organize loosely affiliated illegal
paramilitary groups that emerged to retaliate
against leftist guerillas fighting the
Colombian government and the landed establishment.
The AUC increasingly discarded its counter-guerilla
activities, electing instead to involve
itself in the illegal drug trade. Recently,
as the result of a large demobilization
process, most of the AUC's centralized
military structure has been dismantled,
all the top paramilitary chiefs have
stepped down, and the majority of the
chiefs are being held in a maximum security
facility. More than 31,000 paramilitary
members demobilized bloc by bloc from
2003 to 2006. Colombia now faces criminal
gangs formed by demobilized paramilitaries
and other individuals, as well as a few
paramilitary groups that refused to disarm.
Unlike the AUC, the new criminal groups
make little claim to fighting guerrillas
and are more clearly criminal enterprises
focused primarily on drug trafficking,
other lucrative illicit activity, and
controlling local politics. They are
not part of the AUC.
Activities
Paramilitary operations vary from assassinating
suspected insurgent supporters to engaging
guerrilla combat units. As much as 70
percent of the paramilitary operational
costs are financed with drug-related
earnings, with the rest coming from "donations" from
sponsors. These groups generally avoid
actions against U.S. personnel or interests.
Paramilitary operations are reduced as
a result of the demobilization of all
AUC groups, although some individuals
appear to be violating the commitments
they made when they demobilized. Colombia's
homicide rate is at its lowest level
in 18 years, in part because of the cease-fire
agreement and demobilization. Other violence
indicators such as kidnapping and terror
attacks have also decreased significantly.
Strength
The Colombian government has stated that
the AUC no longer exists. An estimated
3,000 former members have re-engaged
in criminal activities.
Location/Areas
of Operation
Paramilitary forces were strongest in northwest
Colombia in Antioquia, Cordoba, Sucre, Atlantico,
Magdelena, Cesar, La Guajira, and Bolivar
Departments, with affiliate groups in the
coffee region, Valle del Cauca, and Meta
Department.
External
Aid
None.
OTHER
GROUPS OF CONCERN
The following groups of concern have not
been designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations
under 8 USC Section 1189, although many have
been designated under other U.S. Government
counterterrorism authorities.
Contents
Al-Badhr Mujahedin (al-Badr)
Al-Ittihad al-Islami (AIAI)
Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB)
Anti-Imperialist Territorial Nuclei (NTA)
Cambodian Freedom Fighters (CFF)
Communist Party of India (Maoist)
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)/United
People's Front
Democratic Forces for the Liberation
of Rwanda (FDLR)
East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM)
First of October Antifascist Resistance
Group (GRAPO)
Harakat ul-Jihad-I-Islami (HUJI)
Harakat ul-Jihad-I-Islami/Bangladesh
(HUJI-B)
Hizb-I Islami Gulbuddin (HIG)
Hizbul-Mujahedin (HM)
Irish National Liberation Army (INLA)
Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Islamic Army of Aden (IAA)
Islamic Great East Raiders-Front (IBDA-C)
Islamic International Peacekeeping
Brigade (IIPB)
Jamaatul-Mujahedin Bangladesh (JMB)
Jamiat ul-Mujahedin (JUM)
Japanese Red Army (JRA)
Kumpulan Mujahedin Malaysia (KMM)
Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)
Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF)
Movement for the Emancipation of the
Niger Delta (MEND)
New Red Brigades/Communist Combatant
Party (BR/PCC)
People Against Gangsterism and Drugs
(PAGAD)
Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM)
Red Hand Defenders (RHD)
Revolutionary Proletarian Initiative
Nuclei (NIPR)
Revolutionary Struggle (RS)
Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage
Battalion of Chechen Martyrs ( RSRSBCM)
Sipah-I-Sahaba/Pakistan (SSP)
Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR)
Al-Tawhid w'al Jihad (TWJ)
Tenrik Mifaz-E-Shariah Mohammadi (TNSM)
Tunisian Combatant Group (TCG)
Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA)
Turkish Hizballah
Ulster Defense Association/Ulster Freedom
Fighters (UDA/UFF)
Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA)
Al-Badhr
Mujahedin (al-Badr)
Description
The al-Badhr Mujahedin split from Hizbul-Mujahedin
(HM) in 1998. It traces its origins to 1971,
when a group named al-Badr attacked Bengalis
in East Pakistan. The group later operated
as part of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hizb-I Islami
(HIG) in Afghanistan and, from 1990, as a
unit of HM in Kashmir. The group was relatively
inactive until 2000. Since then, it has increasingly
claimed responsibility for attacks against
Indian military targets. Since the late 1990s,
al-Badhr leader Bakht Zamin repeatedly has
expressed his support for Usama bin Ladin
and the Taliban, and in 2002 declared jihad
against U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Activities
The organization has conducted a number
of operations against Indian military targets
in Jammu and Kashmir. Since late 2001, al-Badhr
members have reportedly targeted Coalition
Forces in Afghanistan.
Strength
Perhaps several hundred.
Location/Area
of Operation
Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
External
Aid
Unknown.
Al-Ittihad
al-Islami (AIAI) 123
Description
AIAI, a Somali extremist group that was formed
in the 1980s and reached its peak in
the early 1990s, failed to obtain its
objective of establishing a Salafist
emirate in Somalia and steadily declined
following the downfall of the Siad Barre
regime in 1991 and Somalia's subsequent
collapse into anarchy. AIAI was not internally
cohesive, lacked central leadership,
and suffered divisions between factions.
AIAI was militarily defeated by Ethiopian
forces in 1997. In recent years, the
existence of a coherent entity operating
as AIAI has become difficult to prove.
After the downfall of the Somali Council
of Islamic Courts in late 2006, AIAI
has re-emerged. Former elements of AIAI
continue to pursue a variety of agendas
ranging from social services and education
to insurgency activities in the Ogaden
region of eastern Ethiopia. Some sheikhs
formerly associated with AIAI espouse
a fundamentalist version of Islam, with
particular emphasis on a strict adherence
to Sharia (Islamic law), a view often
at odds with Somalis' emphasis on clan
identity. A small group of former AIAI
members embrace global jihad and support
al-Qaida members in East Africa. 1267
al-Qaida/Taliban/Usama bin Laden Sanctions
Committee has listed AIAI for its associations
with al-Qaida.
Activities
Individuals formerly associated with AIAI
may have been responsible for several
kidnappings and murders of relief workers
in Somalia and Somaliland since 2003
and in the late 1990s. Prior to its destruction
in 1997, factions of AIAI also may have
been responsible for a series of bomb
attacks in public places in Addis Ababa
in 1996 and 1997. Most AIAI factions
in recent years have concentrated on
broadening their religious base, renewed
an emphasis on building businesses, and
undertaken "hearts and minds" actions,
such as sponsoring orphanages and schools
and providing security that uses an Islamic
legal structure in the areas where it
is active.
Strength
The actual membership strength is unknown.
Location/Area
of Operation
Primarily in Somalia, with a presence in
the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, Kenya, and
possibly Djibouti.
External
Aid
Receives funds from Middle East financiers
and Somali diaspora communities in Europe,
North America, and the Arabian Peninsula.
Alex Boncayao
Brigade (ABB) 2
Description
The ABB, the breakaway urban hit squad of
the Communist Party of the Philippines/New
People's Army, was formed in the mid-1980s.
The ABB was added to the Terrorist Exclusion
List in December 2001.
Activities
Responsible for more than 100 murders, including
the murder in 1989 of U.S. Army Col.
James Rowe in the Philippines. In March
1997, the group announced it had formed
an alliance with another armed group,
the Revolutionary Proletarian Army (RPA).
In March 2000, the group claimed credit
for a rifle grenade attack against the
Department of Energy building in Manila
and strafed Shell Oil offices in the
central Philippines to protest rising
oil prices. The group has not been active/conducted
attacks in recent years.
Strength
Unknown, but believed to number below 500.
Location/Area
of Operation
The largest RPA/ABB groups are on the Philippine
islands of Luzon, Negros, and the Visayas.
External
Aid
Unknown.
Anti-Imperialist
Territorial Nuclei for the Construction
of the Communist Combatant Party (NTA-PCC)
a.k.a. Anti-Imperialist Territorial Units
Description
The NTA-PCC is a clandestine leftist extremist
group that first appeared in Italy's
Friuli region in 1995. It adopted the
class struggle ideology of the Red Brigades
of the 1970s and 1980s, and a similar
logo--an encircled five-point star--for
its declarations. It seeks the formation
of an "anti-imperialist fighting front" with
other Italian leftist terrorist groups,
including Revolutionary Proletarian Initiative
Nuclei and the New Red Brigades. The
group opposes what it perceives as U.S.
and NATO imperialism, and condemns Italy's
foreign and labor policies. In a leaflet
dated January 2002, NTA-PCC identified
experts in four Italian government sectors--federalism,
privatizations, justice reform, and jobs
and pensions--as potential targets.
Activities
To date, NTA-PCC has conducted attacks only
against property. During the NATO intervention
in Kosovo in 1999, NTA-PCC members threw
gasoline bombs at the Venice and Rome
headquarters of the then-ruling party,
Democrats of the Left. NTA-PCC claimed
responsibility for a bomb attack in September
2000 against the Central European Initiative
office in Trieste and a bomb attack in
August 2001 against the Venice Tribunal
building. In January 2002, police thwarted
an attempt by four NTA-PCC members to
enter the Rivolto military air base.
In 2003, NTA-PCC claimed responsibility
for the arson attacks against three vehicles
belonging to U.S. troops serving at the
Ederle and Aviano bases in Italy. There
has been no reported activity by the
group since the arrest in January 2004
of NTA-PCC's founder and leader.
Strength
Accounts vary from one to approximately 20
members.
Location/Area
of Operation
Primarily northeastern Italy and U.S. military
installations in northern Italy.
External
Aid
None evident.
Cambodian
Freedom Fighters (CFF)
a.k.a. Cholana; Kangtoap Serei Cheat; Kampouchea
Description
The Cambodian Freedom Fighters (CFF) emerged
in November 1998 in the wake of political
violence that saw many influential Cambodian
leaders flee and the Cambodian People's
Party assume power. With an avowed aim
of overthrowing the government, the U.S.-based
group is led by a Cambodian-American,
a former member of the opposition Sam
Rainsy Party. The CFF's membership reportedly
includes Cambodian-Americans based in
Thailand and the United States, and former
soldiers from the Khmer Rouge, Royal
Cambodian Armed Forces, and various political
factions.
Activities
Alleged CFF leader Chhun Yasith was arrested
in June in the United States on charges
of conspiracy to kill in a foreign country,
conspiracy to damage or destroy property
in a foreign country, and engaging in
a military expedition against a nation
with which the United States is at peace.
If convicted, Yasith faces life imprisonment
without parole for each of the charges.
Meanwhile, a Cambodian court in October
dropped charges against five alleged
CFF members arrested in April 2004 in
connection with a bombing at a ferry,
which slightly injured three persons.
In 2003, the Cambodian government arrested
seven CFF members who were reportedly
planning an unspecified terrorist attack
in southwestern Cambodia. Cambodian courts
in February and March 2002 prosecuted
38 CFF members suspected of staging an
attack in Cambodia in 2000. The courts
convicted 19 members, including one U.S.
citizen, of "terrorism" and/or "membership
in an armed group," and sentenced them
to terms of five years to life imprisonment.
A Cambodian court later judged that the
three-year sentences of six other members
were too light and decided in December
2005 to extend them to 6 to 10 years.
The group had claimed responsibility
for an attack in late November 2000 on
several government installations that
killed at least eight persons and wounded
more than a dozen. In April 1999, five
CFF members also were arrested for plotting
to blow up a fuel depot outside Phnom
Penh with anti-tank weapons.
Strength
Exact strength is unknown, but totals probably
never have exceeded 100 armed fighters.
Location/Area
of Operation
Northeastern Cambodia near the Thai border,
and the United States.
External
Aid
U.S.-based leadership collects funds from
the Cambodian-American community.
Communist
Party of India (Maoist)
a.k.a. Maoist Communist Center of India (MCCI)
and People's War (PW)
Description
The Indian groups known as the Maoist
Communist Center of India and People's War
(a.k.a. People's War Group) joined in September
2004 to form the Communist Party of India
(Maoist), or CPI (Maoist). The MCCI was originally
formed in the early 1970s, while People's
War (PW) was founded in 1975. Both groups
are referred to as Naxalites, after the West
Bengal village where a revolutionary radical
Left movement originated in 1967. The new
organization continues to employ violence
to achieve its goals of peasant revolution,
abolition of class hierarchies, and expansion
of Maoist-controlled "liberated zones," eventually
leading to the creation of an independent "Maoist" state.
The CPI (Maoist) reportedly has a significant
cadre of women. Important leaders include
Ganapati (the PW leader from Andhra Pradesh),
Pramod Mishra, Uma Shankar, and P.N.G. (alias
Nathuni Mistry, arrested by Jharkhand police
in 2002).
Activities
Prior to its consolidation with the PW,
the MCCI ran a virtual parallel government
in remote areas, where it collected a "tax" from
villagers and, in turn, provided infrastructure
improvements such as building hospitals,
schools, and irrigation projects. It ran
a parallel court system wherein allegedly
corrupt block development officials and landlords
- frequent MCCI targets - were punished by
amputation and even death. People's War conducted
a low-intensity insurgency that included
attempted political assassination, theft
of weapons from police stations, kidnapping
police officers, assaulting civilians, extorting
money from construction firms, and vandalizing
the property of multinational corporations.
Together the two groups were reportedly responsible
for the deaths of up to 170 civilians and
police a year. The group conducted two major
attacks in 2005. In June, some 500 members
attacked a village in Uttar Pradesh, killing
several local policemen, destroying buildings,
and seizing weapons. In November, an estimated
300 members attacked a prison in Bihar, killing
two people, freeing more than 300 inmates,
and abducting 30 landowners belonging to
a group opposed to the Naxalites.
Strength
Although difficult to assess with any
accuracy, media reports and local authorities
suggest the CPI's (Maoist) membership may
be as high as 31,000, including both hard-core
militants and dedicated sympathizers.
Location/Area
of Operation
The CPI (Maoist), which is believed to
be enlarging the scope of its influence,
operates in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh,
Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and
parts of West Bengal. It also has a presence
on the Bihar-Nepal border.
External
Aid
The CPI (Maoist) has loose links to other
Maoist groups in the region, including the
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), but does
not appear dependent on outside sources of
support. The MCCI was a founding member of
the Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties
and Organizations of South Asia (CCOMPOSA).
Communist
Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN/M) 23
Description
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) insurgency
grew out of the radicalization and fragmentation
of left-wing parties following Nepal's
transition to democracy in 1990. The
United People's Front, a coalition of
left-wing parties, participated in the
elections of 1991, but the Maoist wing
failed to win the required minimum number
of votes, leading to its exclusion from
voter lists in the elections of 1994
and prompting the group to launch the
insurgency in 1996. The CPN/M's ultimate
objective is the overthrow of the Nepalese
government and the establishment of a
Maoist state. On October 31, 2003, the
United States designated Nepal's Maoists
under E.O. 13224 for terrorist activity.
Activities
The Maoists have used traditional guerrilla
warfare tactics and engage in murder,
torture, arson, sabotage, extortion,
child conscription, kidnapping, bombings,
and assassinations to intimidate and
coerce the populace. In 2002, Maoists
claimed responsibility for assassinating
two Nepalese U.S. Embassy guards, citing
anti-Maoist spying, and in a press statement
threatened foreign embassies, including
the U.S. Mission, to deter foreign support
for the Nepalese government. Maoists
are suspected in the September 2004 bombing
at the American Cultural Center in Kathmandu.
The attack, which caused no injuries
and only minor damage, marked the first
time the Maoists had damaged U.S. Government
property. The Maoists entered into peace
talks with the government in 2001 and
2003, but negotiations failed after a
few months. In 2005, the group announced
a unilateral cease-fire in September,
and entered into an alliance with the
seven-party alliance of opposition political
parties in November.
Strength
Approximately several thousand full-time
members.
Location/Area
of Operation
Operations are conducted throughout Nepal.
Press reports indicate some Nepalese Maoist
leaders reside in India.
External
Aid
None.
Democratic
Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)
a.k.a. Army for the Liberation of Rwanda
(ALIR); a.k.a. FAR/Interahamwe
Description
In 2001, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation
of Rwanda (FDLR) supplanted the Army
for the Liberation of Rwanda (ALIR),
the armed branch of the Party for the
Liberation of Rwanda (PALIR). ALIR was
formed from the merger of the Armed Forces
of Rwanda (FAR), the army of the ethnic
Hutu-dominated Rwandan regime that orchestrated
the genocide of over 500,000 Tutsis and
regime opponents in 1994, and Interahamwe,
the civilian militia force that carried
out much of the killing. This occurred
after the two groups were forced from
Rwanda into the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (DRC, then Zaire) that year.
Though directly tied to those who organized
and carried out the genocide, identified
ALIR/FDLR leaders are not thought to
have played a role in the killing. They
have worked to build bridges to other
opponents of the Kigali regime, including
ethnic Tutsis.
Activities
ALIR sought to topple Rwanda's Tutsi-dominated
government, reinstitute Hutu domination,
and, possibly, complete the genocide.
In 1996, a message--allegedly from the
ALIR--threatened to kill the U.S. Ambassador
to Rwanda and other U.S. citizens. In
1999, ALIR guerrillas critical of U.S.-UK
support for the Rwandan regime kidnapped
and killed eight foreign tourists, including
two U.S. citizens, in a game park on
the DRC-Uganda border. Three suspects
in the attack are in U.S. custody awaiting
trial. In the 1998-2002 Congolese war,
the ALIR/FDLR was allied with Kinshasa
against the Rwandan invaders. ALIR/FDLR's
political wing mainly has sought to topple
the Kigali regime via an alliance with
Tutsi regime opponents. It established
the ADRN Igihango alliance in 2002, but
this has not resonated politically in
Rwanda. In March 2005, FDLR representatives
announced a willingness to cease military
actions and return to Rwanda. FDLR denounced
the genocide, committed to a political
struggle rather than a military one,
and indicated it would voluntarily demobilize
and repatriate. No large-scale FDLR repatriation
to Rwanda has occurred, however, owing
to FDLR concerns about security and the "political
space" it would be allowed in Rwanda.
Strength
Exact strength is unknown, but an estimated
8,000 to 10,000 FDLR guerrillas operate
in the eastern DRC close to the Rwandan
border. In 2003, the United Nations,
with Rwandan assistance, repatriated
close to 1,500 FDLR combatants from the
DRC. A senior FDLR military commander
returned to Rwanda in November 2003 and
has been working with Kigali to encourage
the return of his comrades.
Location/Area
of Operation
Mostly in the eastern Democratic Republic
of the Congo.
External
Aid
The Government of the Democratic Republic
of the Congo provided training, arms, and
supplies to ALIR forces to combat Rwandan
armed forces that invaded the DRC in 1998.
Kinshasa halted that support in 2002, though
allegations persist of continued support
from several local Congolese warlords and
militias, including the Mai Mai.
East Turkistan
Islamic Movement (ETIM) 132
Description
The East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM)
is a small Islamic extremist group linked
to al- Qaida and the international jihadist
movement. It is the most militant of
the ethnic Uighur separatist groups pursuing
an independent "Eastern Turkistan," an
area that would include Turkey, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan,
and Western China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous
Region. On September 12, 2002, the group
was designated under E.O. 13224 for its
terrorist activity. ETIM is also listed
by the UN 1267 al-Qaida/Taliban/Usama
bin Laden Sanctions Committee for its
associations with al-Qaida.
Activites
ETIM militants fought alongside al-Qaida
and Taliban forces in Afghanistan during
Operation Enduring Freedom. In October
2003, Pakistani soldiers killed ETIM
leader Hassan Makhsum during raids on
al-Qaida-associated compounds in western
Pakistan. U.S. and Chinese government
information suggests that ETIM is responsible
for various terrorist acts inside and
outside China. In May 2002, two ETIM
members were deported to China from Kyrgyzstan
for plotting to attack the U.S. Embassy
in Kyrgyzstan as well as other U.S. interests
abroad.
Strength
Unknown. Only a small minority of ethnic
Uighurs supports the Xinjiang independence
movement or the formation of an independent
Eastern Turkistan.
Location/Area
of Operation
Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan.
External
Aid
ETIM has received training and financial
assistance from al-Qaida.
First of
October Antifascist Resistance Group
(GRAPO);
Grupo de Resistencia Anti-Fascista
Primero de Octubre
Description
GRAPO was formed in 1975 as the armed wing
of the illegal Communist Party of Spain
during the Franco era. It advocates the
overthrow of the Spanish government and
its replacement with a Marxist-Leninist
regime. GRAPO is vehemently anti-American,
seeks the removal of all U.S. military
forces from Spanish territory, and has
conducted and attempted several attacks
against U.S. targets since 1977. The
group issued a communiqué following
the September 11, 2001, attacks in the
United States, expressing its satisfaction
that "symbols of imperialist power" were
decimated and affirming that "the war" has
only just begun. Spanish authorities
believed they had nearly eradicated GRAPO,
but a joint Spanish, French, and Italian
police operation in October 2005 that
resulted in the arrest of two GRAPO members
led observers to speculate that the group
may be reconstituting itself. GRAPO in
a November 2006 internal publication
announced that it was trying to find
new members and resources but admitted
it was having difficulty reorganizing
because of sporadic arrests that continued
well into 2006. The group was designated
under E.O. 13224 in December 2001.
Activities
GRAPO suffered setbacks in 2004, with several
members and sympathizers arrested and
sentences upheld or handed down in the
appellate case for GRAPO militants arrested
in Paris in 2000. Press reports indicate
that as of mid-2006, about 30 people
connected with the terrorist group were
in prison. The group's operations traditionally
have been designed to cause material
damage and gain publicity rather than
inflict casualties, but the terrorists
have conducted lethal bombings and close-range
assassinations; GRAPO has killed more
than 90 persons and injured more than
200 since its formation. GRAPO claimed
responsibility for the murder in Zaragoza
on 6 February 2006 of a Spanish businesswoman.
Members of the group also have been charged
with engaging in extortion and for carrying
out a series of bank robberies in recent
years.
Strength
Fewer than two-dozen activists remain. Police
have made periodic large-scale arrests
of GRAPO members, crippling the organization
and forcing it into lengthy rebuilding
periods. In 2002, Spanish and French
authorities arrested 22 suspected members,
including some of the group's reconstituted
leadership. More members have been arrested
in the past three years.
Location/Area
of Operation
Spain.
External
Aid
None.
Harakat ul-Jihad-I-Islami
(HUJI) 2
a.k.a Movement of Islamic Holy War
Description
HUJI, a Sunni extremist group that follows
the Deobandi tradition of Islam, was
founded in 1980 in Afghanistan to fight
in the jihad against the Soviets. It
also is affiliated with the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam's
Fazlur Rehman faction (JUI-F) of the
extremist religious party Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam
(JUI). The group, led by Qari Saifullah
Akhtar and chief commander Amin Rabbani,
is made up primarily of Pakistanis and
foreign Islamists who are fighting for
the liberation of Jammu and Kashmir and
its accession to Pakistan.
Activities
The group has conducted a number of operations against
Indian military targets in Jammu and Kashmir. It
is linked to the Kashmiri militant group al-Faran
that kidnapped five Western tourists in Jammu and
Kashmir in July 1995; one was killed in August 1995,
and the other four reportedly were killed in December
of the same year.
Strength
Exact numbers are unknown, but there may be several
hundred members in Kashmir.
Location/Area
of Operation
Pakistan and Kashmir. Trained members in
Afghanistan until fall of 2001.
External
Aid
Specific sources of external aid are unknown.
Harakat-ul-Jihad-I-Islami/Bangladesh
(HUJI-B)
Description
The goal of HUJI-B is to establish Islamic
rule in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi veterans
of the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan
are the group's core membership. HUJI-B
has connections to the Pakistani militant
groups Harakat ul-Jihad-I-Islami (HUJI)
and Harakat ul-Mujahedin (HUM), which
advocate similar objectives in Pakistan
and Jammu and Kashmir. The leaders of
HUJI-B and HUM both signed the February
1998 fatwa sponsored by Usama bin Ladin
that declared American civilians to be
legitimate targets for attack.
Activities
HUJI-B was accused of stabbing a senior Bangladeshi
journalist in November 2000 for making
a documentary on the plight of Hindus
in Bangladesh. HUJI-B and its detained
leader, Mufti Hannan, are suspected in
the assassination attempt in July 2000
of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina.
Strength
Unknown. Some estimates of HUJI-B cadre strength
suggest several thousand members.
Location/Area
of Operation
The group operates in Bangladesh.
External
Aid
HUJI-B funding comes from a variety of sources.
Several international Islamic NGOs, including
the South African-based Servants of Suffering
Humanity, may have funneled money to Bangladeshi
militant groups, including HUJI-B. HUJI-B
also can draw funding from militant madrassa
leaders and teachers in Bangladesh.
Hizb-I Islami
Gulbuddin (HIG)
Description
Gulbuddin Hikmatyar founded Hizb-I Islami
Gulbuddin (HIG) as a faction of the Hizb-I
Islami party in 1977, and it was one
of the major mujahedin groups in the
jihad against the Soviet occupation of
Afghanistan. Hikmatyar has long-established
links with Usama bin Ladin. In the early
1990s, Hikmatyar ran several terrorist
training camps in Afghanistan and was
a pioneer in sending mercenary fighters
to other Islamic conflicts. Hikmatyar
offered to shelter bin Ladin after the
latter fled Sudan in 1996 and has consistently
offered public support for him since
the 9/11 attacks. Hikmatyar has issued
regular statements on the need for Afghans
to reject the international community's
presence in their country. In 2005, he
responded to protests against Danish
cartoons of the prophet Mohammad with
a new call for the expulsion of international
troops from Afghanistan.
Activities
HIG has staged small attacks in its attempt
to force the international community
to withdraw from Afghanistan, overthrow
the Afghan government, and establish
an Islamic state. U.S. troops have encountered
regular violence in Konar, the area of
Afghanistan in which HIG is most active,
which has occasionally led to U.S. casualties,
and it is likely that HIG is responsible
for at least some of this violence.
Strength
Unknown, but possibly could have hundreds
of veteran fighters on which to call.
Location/
Area of Operation
Eastern Afghanistan, particularly Konar and
Nurestan Provinces, and adjacent areas of
Pakistan's tribal areas.
External
Aid
Unknown.
Hizbul-Mujahedin
(HM)
Description
Hizbul-Mujahedin (HM) is the largest Kashmiri
militant group, and was founded in 1989.
It officially supports the liberation
of Jammu and Kashmir and its accession
to Pakistan, although some members favor
independence. The group is the militant
wing of Pakistan's largest Islamic political
party, the Jamaat-i-Islami, and targets
Indian security forces and politicians
in Jammu and Kashmir. It reportedly operated
in Afghanistan in the mid-1990s and trained
with the Afghan Hizb-I Islami Gulbuddin
(HIG) in Afghanistan until the Taliban
takeover. The group, led by Syed Salahuddin,
is composed primarily of ethnic Kashmiris.
Activities
HM has conducted a number of operations against
Indian military targets in Jammu and
Kashmir. The group also occasionally
strikes at civilian targets, but has
not engaged in terrorist acts outside
India. HM claimed responsibility for
numerous attacks within Kashmir in 2006.
Strength
Exact numbers are unknown, but estimates
range from several hundred to possibly
as many as 1,000 members.
Location/Area
of Operation
Jammu, Kashmir, and Pakistan.
External
Aid
Specific sources of external aid are unknown.
Irish National
Liberation Army (INLA)
Description
The INLA is a terrorist group formed in 1975
as the military wing of the Irish Republican
Socialist Party (IRSP), which split from
the Official IRA (OIRA) because of OIRA's
cease-fire in 1972. The group's primary
aim is to end British rule in Northern
Ireland, force British troops out of
the province, and unite Ireland's 32
counties into a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary
state. It is responsible for some of
the most notorious killings of "The Troubles," including
the bombing of a Ballykelly pub that
killed 17 people in 1982. Bloody internal
feuding has repeatedly torn the INLA.
The INLA announced a cease-fire in August
1998 but continues to carry out occasional
attacks and punishment beatings.
Activities
The INLA has been active in Belfast and the
border areas of Northern Ireland, where
it has conducted bombings, assassinations,
kidnappings, hijackings, extortion, and
robberies. It is also involved in drug
trafficking. On occasion, it has provided
advance warning to police of its attacks.
Targets include the British military,
Northern Ireland security forces, and
Loyalist paramilitary groups. The INLA
did not join the IRA's September 2005
weapons decommissioning, but continues
to observe a cease-fire because, in the
words of its leadership in 2003, a return
to armed struggle is "not a viable option
at this time." However, the group continues
to recruit members and was responsible
for a 2005 arson attack against the home
of a local official.
Strength
Unclear, but probably fewer than 50 hardcore
activists. Police counterterrorist operations
and internal feuding have reduced the
group's strength and capabilities.
Location/Area
of Operation
Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.
Does not have a significant established presence
on the UK mainland.
External
Aid
Suspected in the past of receiving funds
and arms from sympathizers in the United
States.
Irish Republican
Army (IRA)
a.k.a. Provisional Irish Republican Army
(PIRA); the Provos
Description
Formed in 1969 as the clandestine armed wing
of the political movement Sinn Fein,
the IRA is devoted both to removing British
forces from Northern Ireland and to unifying
Ireland. The IRA conducted attacks until
its cease-fire in 1997 and agreed to
disarm as part of the 1998 Belfast Agreement,
which established the basis for peace
in Northern Ireland. Dissension within
the IRA over support for the Northern
Ireland peace process resulted in the
formation of two more radical splinter
groups: Continuity IRA (CIRA) in 1995,
and the Real IRA (RIRA) in 1997. The
IRA, sometimes referred to as the PIRA
to distinguish it from RIRA and CIRA,
is organized into small, tightly-knit
cells under the leadership of the Army
Council.
Activities
Traditional IRA activities have included
bombings, assassinations, kidnappings,
punishment beatings, extortion, smuggling,
and robberies. Before the cease-fire
in 1997, the group had conducted bombing
campaigns on various targets in Northern
Ireland and Great Britain, including
senior British government officials,
civilians, police, and British military
targets. In August 2002, three suspected
IRA members were arrested in Colombia
on charges of helping the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) improve
its explosives capabilities; the men
subsequently escaped from prison and
appeared in Ireland in 2005. Irish police
have questioned the men but have filed
no charges. Colombia has requested their
extradition, which is unlikely, since
Ireland has no extradition treaty with
Colombia.
In July 2005,
a spokesperson for the IRA made a statement
calling for an end to all forms of IRA
illegal activity. This statement was confirmed
in September 2005 by the Independent International
Commission on Decommissioning's announcement
that the IRA had met its commitments to
put all arms beyond use. The Independent
Monitoring Commission (IMC) also reported
that since the September decommissioning
the IRA has shown no evidence of training
and recruiting terrorists or an intent
to return to violence. There have been
indications of IRA members using violence
in 2006; however, the IMC reports that
these incidents were not sanctioned by
IRA leadership. The IRA has yet to abandon
its extensive criminal activities, which
reportedly provide the IRA and the political
party Sinn Fein with millions of dollars
each year.
Strength
Several hundred members and several thousand
sympathizers, despite the defection of
some members to RIRA and CIRA.
Local/Area
of Operation
Northern Ireland, Irish Republic, Great Britain,
and Europe.
External
Aid
In the past, the IRA has received aid from
a variety of groups and countries, and considerable
training and arms from Libya and the PLO.
It is suspected of receiving funds, arms,
and other terrorist-related materiel from
sympathizers in the United States. In addition
to the apparent contact with the FARC, similarities
in operations suggest the IRA has links to
the ETA.
Islamic Army
of Aden (IAA) 123
a.k.a. Aden-Abyan Islamic Army (AAIA)
Description
The Islamic Army of Aden (IAA) emerged publicly
in mid-1998 when the group released a
series of communiqués that expressed
support for Usama bin Ladin and called
for the overthrow of the Yemeni government
and for operations against U.S. and other
Western interests in Yemen. IAA was first
designated under E.O. 13224 in September
2001.
Activities
The IAA, a group with established connections
to al-Qaida and whose membership includes
veteran fighters from the Soviet-Afghan
war, in the past has engaged in small-scale
operations such as bombings, kidnappings,
and small arms attacks to further its
agenda. In June 2003, the group reportedly
was behind an attack against a medical
convoy in the Abyan Governorate. Yemeni
authorities responded with a raid on
a suspected IAA facility that killed
several individuals and captured others,
including Khalid al-Nabi al-Yazidi, the
group's leader. The IAA's previous involvement
in terrorist attacks includes the throwing
of a grenade into the British Embassy
compound in Sanaa in October 2000. In
2001, Yemeni authorities found an IAA
member and three associates responsible
for that attack. In December 1998, the
group kidnapped 16 British, American,
and Australian tourists near Mudiyah
in southern Yemen. The group's involvement
in a 2003 attack against the medical
convoy and reports that its leader was
released from prison in October 2003
suggest that the IAA, or at least elements
of the group, may remain active. However,
Yemeni officials previously have claimed
that IAA is operationally defunct, and
the group has not claimed any attacks
since 2003.
Strength
Not known.
Location/Area
of Operation
Operates in the southern governorates of
Yemen, primarily Aden and Abyan.
External
Aid
Not known.
Islamic Great
Eastern Raiders-Front (IBDA-C)
Description
The Islamic Great Eastern Raiders-Front (IBDA-C)
is a Sunni Salafist group that supports
Islamic rule in Turkey, is sympathetic
to al-Qaida, and believes that Turkey's
present secular leadership is "illegal." It
has been known to cooperate with various
opposition elements in Turkey in attempts
to destabilize the country's political
structure. The group supports the establishment
of a "pure Islamic" state to replace
the present "corrupt" Turkish regime
that is cooperating with the West. Its
primary goal is the establishment of
the Federative Islamic State, a goal
backed by armed terrorist attacks primarily
against civilian targets. It has been
active since the mid-1970s.
Activities
IBDA-C has engaged in activities that minimize
personal risk, such as bombings, throwing
Molotov cocktails, and sabotage. The
group has announced its actions and targets
in publications to its members, who are
free to launch independent attacks. IBDA-C
typically has attacked civilian targets,
including churches, charities, minority-affiliated
targets, television transmitters, newspapers,
pro-secular journalists, Ataturk statues,
taverns, banks, clubs, and tobacco shops.
One of IBDA-C's more renowned attacks
was the killing of 37 people in a firebomb
attack in July 1993 on a hotel in Sivas.
In May 2004, Turkish police indicted
seven members of the group for the assassination
of retired Colonel Ihsan Guven, including
the alleged leader of the "Dost" (Friend)
sect, and his wife. Turkish police believe
that IBDA-C has also claimed responsibility
for attacks carried out by other groups
in order to elevate its image. Turkish
government crackdowns continued into
2006. In a May operation, the government
arrested 18 members.
Strength
Unknown.
Location/Area
of Operation
Turkey.
External
Aid
Unknown
Islamic International
Peacekeeping Brigade (IIPB) 132
Description
The IIPB is a terrorist group affiliated
with the Chechen separatist movement
demanding a single Islamic state in the
North Caucasus. In 1998 Chechen extremist
leader Shamil Basayev established the
IIPB, consisting of Chechens, Arabs,
and other foreign fighters, which he
led with Saudi-born mujahedin leader
Ibn al-Khattab until the latter's death
in March 2002. In July 2006, Basayev
himself was killed by Russian forces.
The IIPB was one of three groups affiliated
with Chechen guerrillas that seized Moscow's
Dubrovka Theater and took more than 700
hostages in October 2002. While this
group has not been identified by the
mujahedin media as conducting attacks
since its designation three years ago,
those Arab mujahedin still operating
in Chechnya now fall under the command
of Abu Hafs al-Urduni, who assumed the
IIPB leadership in April 2004 after the
death of Khattab's successor, Abu al-Walid.
IIPB was designated under E.O. 13224
in February 2003 and listed by the UN
al-Qaida/Taliban Sanctions Committee
for its associations with al-Qaida.
Activities
The IIPB has engaged in terrorist and guerilla
operations against Russian forces, pro-Russian
Chechen forces, and Chechen non-combatants.
Strength
At its peak, up to 400 fighters, including
as many as 100 Arabs and other foreign
fighters, but almost certainly has suffered
significant attrition.
Location/Area
of Operation
Primarily in Russia and adjacent areas of
the North Caucasus, particularly in the mountainous
south of Chechnya, with major logistical
activities in Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey.
External
Aid
The IIPB and its Arab leaders appear to be
a primary conduit for Islamic funding of
the Chechen guerrillas, in part through links
to al-Qaida-related financiers on the Arabian
Peninsula.
Jamaatul-Mujahedin
Bangladesh (JMB)
Description
JMB is a Bangladeshi Islamic extremist group
dedicated to the use of violence to achieve
its objective of a state based on Islamic
law. JMB, which emerged in the late 1990s,
has been associated with several bombings
during the past several years. The Bangladeshi
government banned the group in February
2005.
Activities
On August 17, 2005, JMB claimed responsibility
for nearly 500 simultaneous explosions
throughout Bangladesh. Subsequent bombings,
possibly involving suicide bombers, targeted
judges, police, government offices, traditional
folk festivals and cultural groups, and
local non-governmental organizations.
The Bangladeshi government has captured
several of the group's most important
leaders.
Strength
Estimates range as high as 11,000.
Location/Area
of Operation
Bangladesh.
External
Aid
JMB probably also receives some support from
persons of Bangladeshi origin living in Europe
and the Middle East.
Jamiat ul-Mujahedin
(JUM) 2
Description
The JUM is a small pro-Pakistan militant
group formed in Jammu and Kashmir in
1990 that seeks to unite Jammu and Kashmir
with Pakistan. Followers are mostly Kashmiris,
but the group includes some Pakistanis.
Activities
Has conducted a number of operations against
Indian military and political targets
in Jammu and Kashmir, including two grenade
attacks in 2004.
Strength
Unknown.
Location/Area
of Operation
Jammu, Kashmir, and Pakistan.
External
Aid
Unknown.
Japanese
Red Army (JRA) 2
a.k.a. Anti-Imperialist International Brigade
(AIIB)
Description
The JRA is an international terrorist group
formed around 1970 after breaking away
from the Japanese Communist League--Red
Army Faction. The JRA's historical goal
has been to overthrow the Japanese government
and monarchy and to help foment world
revolution. The JRA's leader, Fusako
Shigenobu, claimed that the forefront
of the battle against international imperialism
was in Palestine, and in the early 1970s
she led her small group to the Middle
East. After her arrest in November 2000,
Shigenobu announced she intended to pursue
her goals using a legitimate political
party rather than revolutionary violence,
and the group apparently disbanded in
April 2001.
Activities
During the 1970s, the JRA carried out a series
of attacks around the world, including
the 1972 massacre at Lod Airport in Israel,
two Japanese airliner hijackings, an
attempted takeover of the U.S. Embassy
in Kuala Lumpur, and the 1974 seizure
of the French Embassy in The Hague, in
which the ambassador was among the hostages.
During the late 1980s, the JRA began
to single out American targets and used
car bombs and rockets in attempted attacks
on U.S. Embassies in Jakarta, Rome, and
Madrid. In April 1988, JRA operative
Yu Kikumura was arrested with explosives
on the New Jersey Turnpike, apparently
planning an attack to coincide with the
bombing of a USO club in Naples, a suspected
JRA operation that killed five, including
a U.S. servicewoman. Kikimura was convicted
of the charges and is serving a lengthy
prison sentence in the United States.
JRA operative Tsutomu Shirosaki, captured
in 1996, is also jailed in the United
States. In 2000, Lebanon deported four
members it arrested in 1997 to Japan,
but granted a fifth operative, Kozo Okamoto,
political asylum. Longtime leader Shigenobu
was arrested in November 2000 and faced
charges of terrorism and passport fraud.
In February 2006, Shingenobu was sentenced
to 20 years in prison for coordinating
the 1974 French embassy siege. Four JRA
members remain in North Korea following
their involvement in an airline hijacking
in 1970; five of their family members
returned to Japan in 2004.
Strength
At its peak, the group claimed to have 30
to 40 members.
Location/Area
of Operation
Possibly in Asia.
External
Aid
Unknown.
Kumpulan
Mujahedin Malaysia (KMM)
a.k.a. Kumpulan Militan Malaysia
Description
Kumpulan Mujahedin Malaysia (KMM) favors
the overthrow of the Malaysian government
and the creation of an Islamic state
comprising Malaysia, Indonesia, and the
southern Philippines (and Southern Thailand).
Malaysian authorities believe an extremist
wing of the KMM has engaged in terrorist
acts and has close ties to the regional
terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiya
(JI). Key JI leaders, including the group's
spiritual head, Abu Bakar Bashir, and
JI operational leader Hambali, reportedly
had great influence over KMM members.
The Government of Singapore asserts that
a Singaporean JI member assisted the
KMM in buying a boat to support jihad
activities in Indonesia.
Activities
Malaysia continues to hold a number of KMM
members under the Internal Security Act
for activities deemed threatening to
Malaysia's national security, including
planning to wage jihad, possession of
weaponry, bombings, robberies, the murder
of a former state assembly member, and
planning attacks on foreigners, including
U.S. citizens. A number of those detained
also are believed to be members of Jemaah
Islamiya. Several of the arrested KMM
militants reportedly have undergone military
training in Afghanistan, and some fought
with the Afghan mujahedin during the
war against the former Soviet Union.
Some members allegedly have ties to Islamic
extremist organizations in Indonesia
and the Philippines. One alleged KMM
member was sentenced to 10 years in prison
for unlawful possession of firearms,
explosives, and ammunition; eight other
alleged members in detention since 2001
were later released in July and November
2004; three others were freed in November
2005. In March 2004, alleged KMM leader
Nik Adli Nik Abdul Aziz and other suspected
KMM members went on a hunger strike as
part of an unsuccessful bid for freedom,
but the Malaysian court in September
2004 rejected their applications for
a writ of habeas corpus. In September
2005, detention orders for Aziz and eight
other alleged KMM members were extended
for another two years. The Malaysian
government is confident that the arrests
of KMM leaders have crippled the organization
and rendered it incapable of engaging
in militant activities. In May 2004,
Malaysian officials denied Thailand's
charge that the KMM was involved in the
Muslim separatist movement in southern
Thailand.
Strength
KMM's current membership is unknown.
Location/Area
of Operation
The KMM is reported to have networks in the
Malaysian states of Perak, Johor, Kedah,
Selangor, Terengganu, and Kelantan. They
also operate in Kuala Lumpur. The KMM has
ties to radical Indonesian Islamic groups.
External
Aid
Largely unknown, probably self-financing.
Lord's Resistance
Army (LRA)2
Description
The LRA, founded in 1987, succeeded the
ethnic Acholi-dominated Holy Spirit Movement
and other insurgent groups. LRA leader
Joseph Kony has called for the overthrow
of the Ugandan government and its replacement
with a regime run on the basis of the
Ten Commandments. More frequently, however,
he has spoken of the liberation and honor
of the Acholi people, whom he sees as
oppressed by the "foreign" government
of Ugandan President Museveni. Kony is
the LRA's undisputed leader. He claims
to have supernatural powers and to receive
messages from spirits, which he uses
to formulate the LRA's strategy.
Activities
Since the early 1990s, the LRA has kidnapped
some 20,000 Ugandan children, mostly
ethnic Acholi, to replenish its ranks.
Kony despises Acholi elders for having
given up the fight against Museveni and
relies on abducted children who can be
brutally indoctrinated to fight for the
LRA. The LRA kidnaps children and adult
civilians to become soldiers, porters,
and "wives" for LRA leaders. The LRA
prefers to attack camps for internally
displaced persons and other civilian
targets, avoiding direct engagement with
the Ugandan military. The LRA stepped
up its activities from 2002 to 2004 after
the Ugandan army, with the Sudanese government's
permission, attacked LRA positions inside
Sudan. By late 2003, the number of internally
displaced persons had doubled to 1.4
million, and the LRA had pushed deep
into non-Acholi areas where it had never
previously operated. During 2004, a combination
of military pressure, offers of amnesty,
and several rounds of negotiation markedly
degraded LRA capabilities due to death,
desertion, and defection of senior commanders.
In October 2005, the International Criminal
Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for
Kony and four other top LRA leaders.
Since February 2006, the Government of
Southern Sudan has been holding peace
talks between the LRA and the Ugandan
government.
Strength
Estimated at 500 to 700 fighters.
Location/Area
of Operation
Northern Uganda, southern Sudan, and northeast
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
External
Aid
Although the LRA has been supported by the
Government of Sudan in the past, the Sudanese
now appear to be cooperating with the Government
of Uganda in a campaign to eliminate LRA
sanctuaries in Sudan.
Loyalist
Volunteer Force (LVF)
Description
An extreme Loyalist group formed in 1996
as a faction of the Ulster Volunteer
Force (UVF), the LVF did not emerge publicly
until 1997. It is composed largely of
UVF hardliners who have sought to prevent
a political settlement with Irish nationalists
in Northern Ireland by attacking Catholic
politicians, civilians, and Protestant
politicians who endorse the Northern
Ireland peace process. LVF occasionally
uses the Red Hand Defenders as a cover
name for its actions but has also called
for the group's disbandment. In October
2001, the British government ruled the
LVF had broken the cease-fire it declared
in 1998 after linking the group to the
murder of a journalist. According to
the Independent International Commission
on Decommissioning, the LVF decommissioned
a small amount of weapons in December
1998, but it has not repeated this gesture.
The LVF was designated under E.O. 13224
in December 2001.
Activities
The group conducts bombings, kidnappings,
and close-quarter shooting attacks. It
finances its activities with drug money
and other criminal activities. LVF attacks
have been particularly vicious; the group
has murdered numerous Catholic civilians
with no political or paramilitary affiliations,
including an 18-year-old Catholic girl
in July 1997 because she had a Protestant
boyfriend. LVF terrorists also have conducted
successful attacks against Irish targets
in Irish border towns. From 2000 to August
2005, the LVF engaged in a violent feud
with other Loyalists, which left several
men dead. In October 2005, the group
said that it would stand down its "military
units," but the Independent Monitoring
Commission has no evidence of the LVF
disbanding.
Strength
Small, perhaps dozens of active members.
Location/Area
of Operation
Northern Ireland and Ireland.
External
Aid
None.
New Red Brigades/Communist
Combatant Party (BR/PCC) 2
a.k.a. Brigate Rosse/Partito Comunista Combattente
Description
This Marxist-Leninist group is a successor
to the Red Brigades, active in the 1970s
and 1980s. In addition to ideology, both
groups share the same symbol, a five-pointed
star inside a circle. The group is opposed
to Italy's foreign and labor policies
and to NATO.
Activities
In 2003, Italian authorities captured at
least seven members of the BR/PCC, dealing
the terrorist group a severe blow to
its operational effectiveness, and the
group continued to suffer setbacks in
2005 and 2006, with its leadership in
prison, key suspects convicted and sentenced,
and additional arrests made. In June
2005, a Rome court sentenced five BR/PCC
members to life in prison for the 2002
assassination of Labor Ministry external
adviser Marco Biagi. One month later,
three of the five also were found guilty
of the assassination of Labor Ministry
external adviser Massimo D'Antona in
1999, again incurring a life sentence.
An additional nine BR/PCC suspects were
sentenced to between four and nine years,
and some convicted members provided valuable
information to Italian authorities, leading
to additional arrests. In December 2005,
an Italian judge refused to pardon Adriano
Sofri, leader of Continuous Struggle
(Lotta Continua), a precursor movement
to the Red Brigades, whose life sentence
was suspended for health reasons. Italian
authorities in early December 2006 arrested
Fabio Matteini, suspected of trying to
recruit new members in an effort to revive
the group. The BR/PCC in recent years
has financed its activities in part through
armed robberies.
Strength
Fewer than 20.
Location/Area
of Operation
Italy.
External
Aid
Has obtained weapons from abroad.
People Against
Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD)
a.k.a. Muslims Against Global Oppression;
Muslims Against Illegitimate Leaders
Description
People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD)
and its ally Qibla (an Islamic fundamentalist
group that favors political Islam and
takes an anti-U.S. and anti-Israel stance),
view the South African government as
a threat to Islamic values. The two groups
work to promote a greater political voice
for South African Muslims. PAGAD has
used front names such as Muslims Against
Global Oppression and Muslims Against
Illegitimate Leaders when launching anti-Western
protests and campaigns.
Activities
PAGAD formed in November 1995 as a vigilante
group in reaction to crime in some neighborhoods
of Cape Town. In September 1996, a change
in the group's leadership resulted in
a change in the group's goal, and it
began to support violent jihad to establish
an Islamic state. Between 1996 and 2000,
PAGAD conducted a total of 189 bomb attacks,
including nine bombings in the western
Cape that caused serious injuries. PAGAD's
targets included South African authorities,
moderate Muslims, synagogues, gay nightclubs,
tourist attractions, and Western-associated
restaurants. PAGAD is believed to have
masterminded the bombing on August 1998
of the Cape Town Planet Hollywood and
the 2000 attack on a New York Bagel restaurant
in Cape Town. Since 2001, PAGAD's violent
activities have been severely curtailed
by law enforcement and prosecutorial
efforts against leading members of the
organization. Qibla leadership has organized
demonstrations against visiting U.S.
dignitaries and other protests, but the
extent of PAGAD's involvement is uncertain.
Strength
Early estimates were several hundred members.
Current operational strength is unknown,
but probably vastly diminished.
Location/Area
of Operation
Operates mainly in the Cape Town area.
External
Aid
May have ties to international Islamic extremists.
Rajah Solaiman
Movement (RSM)
Description
The RSM is a Philippines-based Islamic extremist
group comprising Christian converts to
Islam, many of whom had embraced extremist
Islamic ideology while working in the
Middle East. RSM promotes the use of
violence and terrorism against Philippine
Christians and Westerners with the aim
of turning the Philippines into an Islamic
state. The group is named after Rajah
Solaiman, the last indigenous Muslim
ruler of Manila before Spanish rule began
in the 16th century.
Activities
The RSM has assisted with the terrorist plots
of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in Manila
and other areas in the northern Philippines.
It was involved in ASG's bombing of SuperFerry
14 in February 2004, and the February
2005 Valentine's Day bombings, according
to Philippine security officials. In
2005 the RSM suffered several major setbacks
when in March, Philippine security forces
seized more than 1,300 pounds of explosives
from an RSM safe house in metropolitan
Manila, and in October, Philippine intelligence
agents arrested RSM leader Ahmad Santos
in Zamboanga City and charged him with
plotting to bomb high profile targets,
including the U.S. Embassy in Manila.
Two months later, Philippine security
forces arrested another RSM leader in
Zamboanga City. Philippine officials
subsequently claimed that debriefing
captives helped them thwart an alleged
RSM plot to conduct attacks in Manila
during the Christmas 2005 holiday season.
In late 2006, another RSM leader, Feliciano
de los Reyes was arrested.
Strength
The exact number of members in the RSM is
unknown, but the group likely has fewer
than 50 members.
Location/Area
of Operation
The RSM operates throughout the Philippines
and maintains a significant presence in metropolitan
Manila. Some RSM operatives trained alongside
members of the Abu Sayyaf Group and other
militants in the southern Philippines.
External
Aid
The Abu Sayyaf Group and Jemaah Islamiya
have provided training, funds, and operational
assistance to the RSM. Some Middle East-based
non-governmental organizations and other
sympathizers also may provide funds to the
RSM.
Red Hand
Defenders (RHD)
Description
The RHD is a terrorist group formed in 1998
and composed largely of Protestant hardliners
from Loyalist groups observing a cease-fire.
RHD seeks to prevent a political settlement
with Irish nationalists by attacking
Catholic civilian interests in Northern
Ireland. In January 2002, the group announced
all staff at Catholic schools in Belfast
and Catholic postal workers were legitimate
targets. Despite calls in February 2002
by the Ulster Defense Association (UDA),
Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), and Loyalist
Volunteer Force (LVF) to announce its
disbandment, RHD continued to make threats
and issue claims of responsibility. RHD
is a cover name often used by elements
of the banned UDA and LVF. RHD was designated
under E.O. 13224 in December 2001.
Activities
In early 2003, the RHD claimed responsibility
for killing two UDA members as a result
of what is described as Loyalist internecine
warfare. It also claimed responsibility
for a bomb that was left in the offices
of Republican Sinn Fein in West Belfast,
although the device was defused and no
one was injured. In recent years, the
group has carried out numerous pipe bombings
and arson attacks against "soft" civilian
targets such as homes, churches, and
private businesses. In January 2002,
the group bombed the home of a prison
official in North Belfast. Twice in 2002
the group claimed responsibility for
attacks--the murder of a Catholic postman
and a Catholic teenager--that were later
claimed by the UDA-UFF, further blurring
distinctions between the groups. In 2001,
RHD claimed responsibility for killing
five persons.
Strength
Up to 20 members, some of whom have experience
in terrorist tactics and bombmaking.
Police arrested one member in June 2001
for making a hoax bomb threat.
Location/Area
of Operation
Northern Ireland.
External
Aid
None.
Revolutionary
Proletarian Initiative Nuclei (NIPR)
Description
The NIPR is a clandestine leftist extremist
group that appeared in Rome in 2000.
It adopted the logo of the Red Brigades
of the 1970s and 1980s, an encircled
five point star, for its declarations.
NIPR opposes Italy's foreign and labor
policies. The group has targeted property
interests rather than personnel in its
attacks.
Activities
The NIPR has not claimed responsibility for
any attacks since an April 2001 bomb
attack on a building housing a U.S.-Italian
relations association and an international
affairs institute in Rome's historic
center. The NIPR claimed to have carried
out a bombing in May 2000 in Rome at
an oversight committee facility for implementation
of the law on strikes in public services.
Strength
Fewer than 20 members.
Location/Area
of Operation
Mainly in Rome, Milan, Lazio, and Tuscany.
External
Aid
None evident.
Revolutionary
Struggle (RS)
Description
RS is a radical leftist group that is anti-Greek
establishment and ideologically aligns
itself with the Revolutionary Organization
17 November.
Activities
RS is widely regarded as the most dangerous
indigenous Greek terrorist group still
active and has been linked to attacks
against Americans. RS first became known
when the group conducted a bombing in
2003 against the courthouse where trials
of alleged 17 November members were occurring.
In 2004, the group detonated four improvised
explosive devices at a police station
in Athens. These two attacks were notable
for their apparent attempts to target
and kill first responders, the first
time a Greek terrorist group had used
this tactic. RS claimed responsibility
for a large explosion in December 2005
in Constitution Square in the center
of Athens, apparently targeting the Ministry
of National Economy, injuring three and
badly damaging the facade of a post office
and other buildings. The group claimed
responsibility for a bomb explosion in
May 2006, near the residence of former
Minister of Public Order Giorgos Voulgarakis.
The remotely detonated bomb was placed
next to a school along the minister's
usual route to work and exploded just
minutes before he was due to pass. The
explosion wrecked several cars but caused
no injuries. RS also claimed responsibility
for a rocket-propelled-grenade (RPG)
attack against the U.S. Embassy on January
12, 2007. The attack occurred early in
the morning when few Embassy personnel
were working and there were no injuries,
but the RPG damaged a room at the front
of the Embassy.
Strength
Likely less than 50 members.
Location/Area
of Operation
Athens, Greece.
External
Aid
Unknown.
Riyadus-Salikhin
Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion
of Chechen Martyrs (RSRSBCM) 123
Description
Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage
Battalion of Chechen Martyrs (RSRSBCM),
led by Chechen extremist Shamil Basayev,
uses terrorism as part of an effort to
secure an independent Muslim state in
the North Caucasus. Basayev claimed the
group was responsible for the Beslan
school hostage crisis of September 2004,
which culminated in the deaths of about
330 people; simultaneous suicide bombings
aboard two Russian civilian airliners
in August 2004; and a third suicide bombing
outside a Moscow subway that same month.
The group has not mounted a terrorist
attack since the Beslan operation. The
RSRSBCM, whose name translates into English
as "Requirements for Getting into Paradise," was
not known to Western observers before
October 2002, when it participated in
the seizure of the Dubrovka Theater in
Moscow. The group was designated under
E.O. 13224 in February 2003. The group's
viability is in question since its leader
Shamil Basayev was killed by Russian
forces in July 2006.
Activities
RSRSBCM has primarily engaged in terrorist
and guerilla operations against Russian
forces, pro-Russian Chechen forces, and
Russian and Chechen non-combatants.
Strength
Probably no more than 50 fighters at any
given time.
Location/Area
of Operation
Primarily Russia.
External
Aid
May receive some external assistance from
foreign mujahedin.
Sipah-I-Sahaba/Pakistan
(SSP)
a.k.a. Millat-I-Islami Pakistan
Description
The Sipah-I-Sahaba/Pakistan (SSP) is a Sunni
sectarian group that follows the Deobandi
school. Violently anti-Shia, the SSP
emerged in central Punjab in the mid-1980s
as a response to the Iranian revolution.
Pakistani President Musharraf banned
the SSP in January 2002. In August 2002,
the SSP renamed itself Millat-i-Islami
Pakistan, and Musharraf re-banned the
group in November 2003. The SSP also
has operated as a political party, winning
seats in Pakistan's National Assembly.
Activities
The group's activities range from organizing
political rallies calling for Shia to
be declared non-Muslims to assassinating
prominent Shia leaders. The group was
responsible for attacks on Shia worshippers
in May 2004, when at least 50 people
were killed.
Strength
The SSP may have approximately 3,000 to 6,000
trained activists who carry out various
kinds of sectarian activities.
Location/Area
of Operation
The SSP has influence in all four provinces
of Pakistan. It is considered to be one of
the most powerful sectarian groups in the
country.
External
Aid
The SSP reportedly receives significant funding
from Saudi Arabia and wealthy private donors
in Pakistan. Funds also are acquired from
other sources, including other Sunni extremist
groups, madrassas, and contributions by political
groups.
Special Purpose
Islamic Regiment (SPIR) 123
Description
The SPIR is one of three Chechen-affiliated
terrorist groups that furnished personnel
to carry out the seizure of the Dubrovka
Theater in Moscow in October 2002. The
SPIR has had at least seven commanders
since it was founded in the late 1990s.
Movsar Barayev, who led and was killed
during the theater standoff, was the
first publicly identified leader. The
group continues to conduct guerrilla
operations in Chechnya under its current
leader, Amir Aslan, whose true identity
is not known. SPIR was designated under
E.O. 13224 in February 2003. In 2006,
SPIR continued to target official Russian
targets and Chechen elements it believe
to be sympathetic to Russia.
Activities
SPIR has primarily engaged in guerrilla operations
against Russian forces. Has also been
involved in various hostage and ransom
operations, including the execution of
ethnic Chechens who have cooperated with
Russian authorities.
Strength
Probably no more than 100 fighters at any
given time.
Location/Area
of Operation
Primarily Russia.
External
Aid
May receive some external assistance from
foreign mujahedin.
Al-Tawhid
w'al Jihad (TWJ)
a.k.a. Tawhid Islamic Brigades; al-Tawhid
Wa al-Jihad; Monotheism and Jihad Organization
Description
The TWJ is an Egypt-based Islamic extremist
group motivated by Cairo's harsh treatment
of the Bedouin community and difficult
economic conditions in the Sinai. This
group is comprised of radicalized Sinai
Bedouin, criminals, and smugglers who
use their knowledge of the rugged Sinai
terrain and their compartmented cell
structure to attack Western and Israeli
tourist targets.
Activities
The TWJ has conducted bombings and suicide
attacks, such as attacks at Taba in October
2004, Sharm ash Shaykh in July 2005,
Dhahab in April 2006, and against the
Multinational Force and Observers (MFO)
in August 2005 and April 2006.
Strength
Unknown. Egyptian security services have
killed or captured many high-ranking
TWJ members during the past two years.
Location/Area
of Operation
Sinai, Gaza.
External
Aid
Unknown.
Tunisian
Combatant Group (TCG) 123
a.k.a. Jama'a Combattante Tunisienne
Description
The Tunisian Combatant Group (TCG), also
known as the Jama'a Combattante Tunisienne,
seeks to establish an Islamic regime
in Tunisia and has targeted U.S. and
Western interests. The group is an offshoot
of the banned Tunisian Islamist movement,
an-Nahda. Founded around 2000 by Tarek
Maaroufi and Saifallah Ben Hassine, the
TCG has drawn members from the Tunisian
diaspora in Europe and elsewhere. It
has lost some of its leadership, but
may still exist, particularly in Western
Europe. Belgian authorities arrested
Maaroufi in late 2001 and sentenced him
to six years in prison in 2003 for his
role in the assassination of anti-Taliban
commander Ahmed Shah Massoud two days
before 9/11. The TCG was designated under
E.O. 13224 in October 2002. Historically,
the group has been associated with al-Qaida
as well. Members also have ties to other
North African extremist groups. The TCG
was designated for sanctions under UNSCR
1333 in December 2000.
Activities
Tunisians associated with the TCG are part
of the support network of the broader
international terrorist movement. According
to European press reports, TCG members
or affiliates in the past have engaged
in trafficking falsified documents and
recruiting for terror training camps
in Afghanistan. Some TCG associates were
suspected of planning an attack against
the United States, Algerian, and Tunisian
diplomatic missions in Rome in April
2001. Some members reportedly maintain
ties to the Algerian Salafist Group for
Preaching and Combat.
Strength
Unknown.
Location/Area
of Operation
Western Europe and Afghanistan.
External
Aid
Unknown.
Tupac Amaru
Revolutionary Movement (MRTA)
Description
MRTA is a traditional Marxist-Leninist revolutionary
movement formed in 1983 from remnants
of the Movement of the Revolutionary
Left, a Peruvian insurgent group active
in the 1960s. It aims to establish a
Marxist regime and to rid Peru of all
imperialist elements, primarily U.S.
and Japanese influence. Peru's counterterrorist
program has diminished the group's ability
to conduct terrorist attacks, and the
MRTA has suffered from infighting, the
imprisonment or deaths of senior leaders,
and the loss of leftist support.
Activities
MRTA previously conducted bombings, kidnappings,
ambushes, and assassinations, but recent
activity has fallen drastically. In December
1996, 14 MRTA members occupied the Japanese
Ambassador's residence in Lima and held
72 hostages for more than four months.
Peruvian forces stormed the residence
in April 1997, rescuing all but one of
the remaining hostages and killing all
14 group members, including the remaining
leaders. The group has not conducted
a significant terrorist operation since
and appears more focused on obtaining
the release of imprisoned MRTA members,
although there are reports of low-level
rebuilding efforts.
Strength
Believed to be no more than 100 members,
consisting largely of young fighters
who lack leadership skills and experience.
Location/Area
of Operation
Peru, with supporters throughout Latin America
and Western Europe. Many exiled members live
in Bolivia.
External
Aid
None.
Tehrik Nefaz-I-Shariat
Muhammad (TNSM)
Description
Maulawi Sufi Muhammed (now imprisoned) established
TNSM in May 1989 in the former Malakand
District of the Northwest Frontier Province
(NWFP) of Pakistan with the goal of instituting
strict Islamic law in the region because
they believe the government failed to
institute Sharia law in the NWFP. The
group held massive rallies in 1994 and
effectively shut down the Malakand District.
The uprising ended after the Pakistani
government agreed to implement Sharia
law in the Malakand District. Islamabad
banned the group in 2002 in response
to TNSM's deployment of fighters to Afghanistan
to fight with the Taliban. Since Sufi
Muhammad's arrest in early 2002, the
leadership of the group has been in flux.
Both Maulawi Faqir Muhammad and Maulawi
Fazlullah-Sufi Muhammad's son-in-law-have
been mentioned as possible leaders of
the group. Faqir Muhammad in November
2006 publicly pledged to continue the
jihad in Afghanistan under Taliban leader
Mullah Omar.
Activites
TNSM is a party to 2006 peace negotiations
with Pakistan. Prior to the peace negotiations,
the Pakistani government released nine
prisoners associated with TNSM, to include
Faqir Muhammad's brother and two senior
clerics. On October 28, 2006, TNSM staged
an anti-U.S. rally and vowed to continue
to support the Taliban but agreed not
to shelter foreigners. On October 30,
2006, a madrassa suspected of hosting
a terrorist training camp was destroyed
in a counterterrorism operation and Pakistani
forces killed Maulana Liaqat, the madrassa's
director and deputy for the group. At
a protest rally following the operation,
Faqir Muhammad declared he would continue
to wage jihad, but he renewed his pledge
to abide by the peace accords and not
attack the Pakistani government. Faqir
also denied reports that al-Qaida deputy
leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was present
at the madrassa. Press reports alleged
TNSM was responsible for a suicide bombing
on November 8 that killed 35 soldiers
in Dargai, Pakistan, although the group
did not claim responsibility. Pakistan
security agencies have reopened investigations
on members following this attack. Newspaper
announcements requested certain members
to appear in court and face charges filed
against them under anti-terrorism laws.
Strength
Exact numbers are unknown; however, TNSM
has recruited very high numbers of fighters
in the past (in the thousands) and has
also held demonstrations attended by
several thousand people.
Location/Area
of Operation
Eastern Afghanistan, Northern Pakistan -
particularly Bajaur Agency and Malakand District.
External
Aid
TNSM was founded to pursue the implementation
of Sharia in the NWFP and stongly supports
the Taliban. The group has also been linked
to al-Qaida, especially through Faqir Muhammad
who has stated that he would welcome Ayman
al-Zawahiri and Usama Bin Ladin if they were
to come to his area.
Turkish Hizballah
Description
Turkish Hizballah is a Kurdish Sunni Islamic
terrorist organization that arose in
the early 1980s in response to the Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK)'s secularist approach
of establishing an independent Kurdistan.
Turkish Hizballah spent its first 10
years fighting the PKK, accusing the
group of atrocities against Muslims in
southeastern Turkey, where Turkish Hizballah
seeks to establish an independent Islamic
state.
Activities
Beginning in the mid-1990s, Turkish Hizballah,
which is unrelated to Lebanese Hizballah,
expanded its target base and modus operandi
from killing PKK militants to conducting
low-level bombings against liquor stores,
bordellos, and other establishments the organization
considered "anti-Islamic." In January 2000,
Turkish security forces killed Huseyin Velioglu,
the leader of Turkish Hizballah, in a shootout
at a safe house in Istanbul. The incident
sparked a year-long series of counterterrorist
operations against the group that resulted
in the detention of some 2,000 individuals;
authorities arrested several hundred of them
on criminal charges. At the same time, police
recovered nearly 70 bodies of Turkish and
Kurdish businessmen and journalists whom
Turkish Hizballah had tortured and brutally
murdered during the mid-to-late 1990s. The
group began targeting official Turkish interests
in January 2001, when its operatives assassinated
the Diyarbakir police chief in the group's
most sophisticated operation to date. Turkish
Hizballah has not conducted a major operation
since 2001, and probably is focusing at present
on recruitment, fundraising, and reorganization.
Strength
Possibly a few hundred members and several
thousand supporters.
Location/Area
of Operation
Primarily the Diyarbakir region of southeastern
Turkey.
External
Aid
It is widely believed that Turkey's security
apparatus originally backed Turkish Hizballah
to help the Turkish government combat the
PKK. Alternative views are that the Turkish
government ignored Turkish Hizballah activities
because its primary targets were PKK members
and supporters, or that the government simply
had to prioritize scarce resources and was
unable to wage war on both groups simultaneously.
Allegations of collusion have never been
laid to rest, and the Government of Turkey
continues to issue denials. Turkish Hizballah
also is suspected of having ties with Iran,
although there is not sufficient evidence
to establish a link.
Ulster Defense
Association/Ulster Freedom Fighters (UDA/UFF)
Description
The Ulster Defense Association (UDA), the
largest Loyalist paramilitary group in
Northern Ireland, was formed in 1971
as an umbrella organization for Loyalist
paramilitary groups such as the Ulster
Freedom Fighters (UFF). Today, the UFF
constitutes almost the entire UDA membership.
The UDA/UFF declared a series of cease-fires
between 1994 and 1998. In September 2001,
the UDA/UFF's Inner Council withdrew
its support for Northern Ireland's Good
Friday Agreement. The following month,
after a series of murders, bombings,
and street violence, the British government
ruled the UDA/UFF's cease-fire defunct.
The dissolution of the organization's
political wing, the Ulster Democratic
Party, soon followed. In January 2002,
however, the UDA created the Ulster Political
Research Group to serve in a similar
capacity. In October 2006, a splinter
group of the UDA, calling itself Beyond
Conflict, publicly announced its mission
to assist former UDA members to disengage
from the conflict and develop dialogue
with local neighborhoods. Designated
under E.O. 13224 in December 2001.
Activities
The UDA/UFF has evolved into a criminal organization
deeply involved in drug trafficking and
other moneymaking criminal activities
through six largely independent "brigades." It
also has been involved in murder, shootings,
arson, assaults, and exiling. According
to the Independent Monitoring Commission
(IMC), "the UDA has the capacity to launch
serious, if crude, attacks." Some UDA
activities of a sectarian nature directed
at the Catholic community are aimed at
so-called "soft" targets, and often have
taken place at the interface between
the Protestant and Catholic communities,
especially in Belfast.
Strength
Estimates vary from 2,000 to 5,000 members,
with several hundred active in paramilitary
operations.
Location/Area
of Operation
Northern Ireland.
External
Aid
Probably obtains weapons from abroad.
Ulster Volunteer
Force (UVF)
Description
The UVF is a Loyalist terrorist group formed
in 1966 to oppose liberal reforms in
Northern Ireland that members feared
would lead to unification of Ireland.
The group adopted the name of an earlier
organization formed in 1912 to combat
Home Rule for Ireland. The UVF's goal
is to maintain Northern Ireland's status
as part of the United Kingdom; to that
end, it has killed some 550 persons since
1966. The UVF and its offshoots have
been responsible for some of the most
vicious attacks of "The Troubles", including
horrific sectarian killings like those
perpetrated in the 1970s by the UVF-affiliated "Shankill
Butchers." In October 1994, the Combined
Loyalist Military Command, which included
the UVF, declared a cease-fire, and the
UVF's political wing, the Progressive
Unionist Party, has played an active
role in the peace process. Despite the
cease-fire, the organization has been
involved in a series of bloody feuds
with other Loyalist paramilitary organizations,
although the UVF is considering a stand-down
similar to that of the Irish Republican
Army. The Red Hand Defenders is linked
to the UVF.
Activities
The UVF has been active in Belfast and the
border areas of Northern Ireland, where
it has carried out bombings, assassinations,
kidnappings, hijackings, extortion, and
robberies. UVF members have been linked
to recent racial attacks on minorities;
however, the UVF leadership reportedly
did not authorize these assaults. On
occasion, it has provided advance warning
to police of its attacks. Targets include
nationalist civilians, Republican paramilitary
groups, and, on occasion, rival Loyalist
paramilitary groups. The UVF is a relatively
disciplined organization with a centralized
command. The Independent Monitoring Commission
has said that UVF members were responsible
for the attempted murder in 2006 of Mark
Haddock, a former UVF member turned police
informant, and main suspect in the 1997
murder of Raymond McCord. Additionally,
UVF members are suspected of murdering
one individual and attempting to murder
another, but the IMC assesses these actions
were not sanctioned by UVF leadership.
Strength
Unclear, but probably several hundred supporters,
with a smaller number of hard-core activists.
Police counterterrorist operations and
internal feuding have reduced the group's
strength and capabilities.
Location/Area
of Operation
Northern Ireland. Some support on the UK
mainland.
External
Aid
Suspected in the past of receiving funds
and arms from sympathizers overseas.
United Liberation
Front of Assam (ULFA)
Description
Northeast India's most prominent insurgent
group, ULFA, an ethnic secessionist organization
in the Indian state of Assam, which borders
Bangladesh and Bhutan, was founded in
1979 at Rang Ghar, during anti-foreigner
agitation organized by the state's powerful
students' union. The group's objective
is an independent Assam. ULFA enjoyed
widespread support in upper Assam in
its initial years, especially from 1985
to 1992. ULFA's kidnappings, killings,
and extortion led New Delhi to ban the
group and start a military offensive
against it in 1990, which forced it to
go underground. ULFA began to lose popularity
in the late 1990s after it increasingly
targeted civilians, including a prominent
NGO activist. It lost further support
for its anti-Indian stand during the
1999 Kargil conflict. In recent years,
the group has been in decline, losing
popular support and suffering from aggressive
counterinsurgency operations by Indian
security forces. The Royal Bhutan Army's
attack on ULFA camps in Bhutan in 2003,
and the suspension of operations by Bodo
tribal insurgent groups in Assam, also
contributed to the group's decline. Despite
the ban on the group, New Delhi held
official talks with ULFA's representative
Peace Consultative Group in October 2005,
which apparently have had little effect
on dampening ULFA's operations against
business and government targets in 2006.
Activities
ULFA trains, finances, and equips its cadres
for a "liberation struggle", while extortion
helps finance military training and weapons
purchases. ULFA conducts hit-and-run
operations on security forces in Assam,
selective assassinations, and explosions
in public places. During the 1980s and
1990s, ULFA undertook a series of abductions
and murders, particularly of businessmen.
In 2000, ULFA assassinated an Assam state
minister. In 2003, ULFA killed more than
60 "outsiders" in Assam, mainly residents
of the bordering state of Bihar. Some
important ULFA functionaries surrendered
in Assam, but incidents of violence continue,
although of a lesser magnitude than in
the past. In 2004, ULFA started targeting
civilians and killed some 14 people in
August that year.
Strength
ULFA's earlier strength of more than 3,000
dropped following the December 2003 attack
on its camps in Bhutan. Total cadre strength
now is estimated at several hundred,
plus supporters providing safe houses
and logistical and intelligence assistance.
Location/Area
of Operation
ULFA is active in the state of Assam, and
members transit and periodically conduct
operations in parts of the neighboring states
of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Nagaland.
All ULFA camps in Bhutan are reportedly demolished.
External
Aid
ULFA reportedly procures and trades in
arms with other Northeast Indian groups.
* On
October 25, 2006, the Argentine AMIA special
prosecutors issued an indictment charging eight
Iranian government officials and one member
of Hizballah with the attack.
1 Listed
on the UN 1267 Committee List.
2 Listed
on the Terrorist Exclusion List.
3 Designated
under Executive Order 13224.
Source: “Country
Reports on Terrorism,” Office of
the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, U.S.
State Department, (April 30, 2007) |
