This thread is intended to collect info on groups that have been designated “terrorist” by various authorities but which are less globally well-known than phenomena like Al Qaeda, for example. (For the record, I condemn all acts of terrorism, and this thread is not intended to glorify any of the groups below.)

The designation “terrorist” is often a subjective one, of course, but my basic criterion for inclusion in this thread is whether the organization is a non-state actor that has been designated as a terrorist group by one or more states. This thread can include information on any group, past or present, active or defunct, that fits this definition and is not generally a household name outside of its field of operations.

I’ll be tossing up brief info on various groups in this thread. Feel free to add your own or to discuss anything related as you wish.

The National Democratic Front of Bodoland
(a.k.a.: NDFB, Bodo Security Force)

This organization seeks to establish an independent “Bodoland” for the Bodo people north of the Brahmaputra River in Assam, India. The organization was founded in 1983, and a majority of the original cadres were Bodo Christians. A ceasefire has been in effect since 2005, although there have been a few violent incidents since then.


Irish National Liberation Army
(a.k.a.: Arm Saoirse Náisiúnta na hÉireann, INLA)

This Irish Republican socialist paramilitary group was formed in 1974, with the goal of creating a socialist united Ireland that is separate from the UK. Less well-known than the IRA, it was nevertheless active in events from shootings to kidnappings during its 24-year campaign before a formal ceasefire in 1998. Despite the recent paucity of operations, however, it is still considered a proscribed terrorist movement in the UK and it is illegal in Ireland.


Jaish-e-Mohammed
(a.k.a.: جيش محمد or “The Army of Mohammad”)

This large jihadi group wishes to separate Kashmir from India. Coaesceiing between 2000 and 2003, the group is bnned in Pakistan and considered a terrorist group by India, the US, and the UK, among others. It is considered by many terrorist watchers to be particularly dangerous.

Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front
(a.k.a.: Devrimci Halk Kurtuluş Partisi-Cephesi , DHKP/C)

A Marxist-Leninist group in Turkey, it has been the product of various fractional splits and related groups riven by internal conflict. It is anti-American, anti-NATO, and considers Turkey to be under the thumb of western imperialism. The group’s primary targets have beeny current and retired Turkish security and military officials, although it also has a campaign against US military and diplomatic personnel and facilities in Turkey.


First of October Anti-Fascist Resistance Groups
(a.k.a.: Grupos de Resistencia Antifascista Primero de Octubre, GRAPO)

A Maoist group, GRAPO wants to form a Spanish republican state. It is anti-capitalist, opposed to Spain’s NATO membership, and highly anti-American. Its heyday was the 1970s and the 1980s. Although its last action was in 2006 and it had been in decline for some time beforehand, it is not considered officially dissolved.


Caucasus Emirate
(a.k.a: Имарат Кавказ, Imarat Kavkaz, Кавказский Эмират, Kavkazskiy Emirat)

This unrecognized group considers itself to already be a state entity, and it has been declared a terrorist organization by both the US and Rusia. There is a $5 million reward for the group’s leader, Dokka Umarov. The group is considered to be affiliated with Al-Qaida.

Kach and Kahane Chai
(a.k.a.: כ"ך‎/כהנא חי‎)

This extremist Israeli group, Kach (and latert Kahane Chai, which split from it in 1990) was founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane in the early 1970s. Kahane advocated a number of ultra-Zionist ideas, including the explusion of all Arabs from the Palestine, revocation of Israeli citizenship for non-Jews, and banning Jewish-Gentile marriages. These groups and related offshoots are banned and considered terrorists in multiple countries.


Communist Party of the Philippines
(a.k.a.: Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas )

Founded in 1968, this clandestine group seeks the overthrow of the Philippine government through armed revolution. It also controls the New People’s Army and the National Democratic Front. Relying heavily on traditional Marxist ideology, it has recently called for a step-up in struggle and wants to establish a new Maoist state in the Philippines within the current decade.


Balochistan Liberation Army
(a.k.a.: Baloch Liberation Army, Balochistan Liberation Army, BLA)

A separatist group within Balochistan (a territory straddling southern Iran and Pakistan), it has been involved in the Balochistan conflict. The group hopes to create an independent state of Balochistan, separate from both Iran and Pakistan. India has been accused by some of helping this group.

Try adding the Metropolitan police and the UK government along with the US, French, German etc.

Sorry not being flippant but look at what they do in their own countries as well as the rest of the world

Don't forget MEK. They will be playing a role in any Iranian conflict.

Just a short blurb from Wiki.

The People's Mujahedin of Iran(MEK, also PMOI, MKO) is a exile-Iranian organization that advocates the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Founded in September 5, 1965 by a group of leftist Iranian university students as an Islamic and Marxist political mass movement MEK was originally devoted to armed struggle against the Shah of Iran, capitalism, and Western imperialism. In the aftermath of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the MEK and the Tudeh Party at first chose to side with the clerics led by Ayatollah Khomeini against the liberals, nationalists and other moderate forces within the revolution. A power struggle ensued, and by mid-1981, MEK was fighting street battles against the Islamic Revolutionary Guards. During the Iran-Iraq War, the group was given refuge by Saddam Hussein and mounted attacks on Iran from within Iraqi territory. Government sources claim that over 17,000 Iranians were killed by the MEK.

The group claims to have renounced violence in 2001 and today it is the main component organization of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an "umbrella coalition" calling itself the "parliament-in-exile dedicated to a democratic, secular and coalition government in Iran. The group has had thousands of its members for many years in bases in Iraq, but according to the British Broadcasting Corporation "they were disarmed in the wake of the US-led invasion and are said to have adhered to a ceasefire."

The United States, Canada, Iraq and Iran have designated the MEK a terrorist organization. On January 26, 2009, following what the group called a “seven-year-long legal and political battle”, the Council of the European Union removed the MEK from the EU list of organizations it designates as terrorist.



I've been to Camp Ashraf which was a refugee camp for these folk. I never understood how the US Government could say they were a terrorists organization and at the same time provide a base of operations.

Iraq at the moment is actively shutting them down now.

Originally posted by FFS4000
Try adding the Metropolitan police and the UK government along with the US, French, German etc.

Sorry not being flippant but look at what they do in their own countries as well as the rest of the world

Please go back and read the criteron for inclusion in the first post. I explicitly defined the groups included herein as non-state actors that have been censored by states. That's all. It's very simple.

I am not here to make moral judgements. I am not saying "states are right and non-state actors are wrong 100% of the time." To be honest, its a fairly boring arguement to have.

The New Black Panthers

For attempting to incite race riots, and distributing murder for hire pamphlets.

Thanks for this thread, I have found it all very interesting.

Most people get caught up in the idea that the only terrorist group around its Al-Qa’ida and its many subsidiaries the reality however is vastly different. If you want to start with Al-Qa’ida and looking at its various fractions then there are a few that are not so well known such as Al-Qa’ida in Aceh many people also don’t even know that the real name for this franchised Al-Qa’ida group in Iraq was called Mujahedeen Shaura Council , there are quite literally hundreds of Islamic terrorist groups we could discuss in this thread it’s scary. I noticed that some else mentioned at Philippine Terrorist group the communist party of the Philippians, while these groups are active in the Phillippians, there are also Islamic groups such as the Abu Sayyaf group with links to Al-Qa’ida. Yet there are other Philippians groups with a violent Islamic ideology that are not part of Al-Qa’ida such as Moro Islamic Liberation Front, then there are others that are more political like the Moro National liberation Front.

Aside from the Moro National Liberation Front we also have other nationalist terrorist groups all over the world many may not have heard of such as the group the National Bolshevik Front or the Indian group All Tripura Tiger Force and not to mention the groups fighting in Spain such as ETA and in Ireland. Speaking of Ireland however many first think of republican groups such as the IRA and its various subsidiaries but what about the groups on the other side such as the UDA or the Orange Volunteers, Red Hand Commando’s and the Red Hand Defenders, there are loads of groups on both sides.

So there are loads of Violent Islamic extremist groups, loads of nationalistic groups then we have the Kashmiri Terrorists of whom there are many. Then there’s the guys kicking ass with the Russians over Chechnya. We have the Uyghur’s in China causing problems and let’s not forget about FARC and other problematic groups in Columbia.

This is really quite a good thread, but I do have a few criticisms to finish on, firstly lesser known terrorist groups is just to board, many people only really know of the main ones such as Al-Qa’ida, the IRA and ETA and then a few groups that are local to them. Speaking of which different states regard different groups as terrorists so responses to this thread are very much dependent on who one determines to be a terrorist group. And Lastly, sadly its only a matter of time before this thread becomes awash with people dropping one liners about “Al-CIAdu, the police, the government, the pope, all Muslims, terrorism doesn’t exist....” and so on which will in turn destroy a otherwise interesting thread.

SF, I look forward to reading some more, if i get bored later i might write a post about one specific group.

United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
(a.k.a.: Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, AUC)

The AUC began as an umbrella group of far-right organizations in Colombia fighting leftist insurgents. It claims it is intended merely to protect property and other interests from the leftists, but it has been accused of various shady deeds, including dirty work “outsourced” by the Colombian Army.


Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi
(a.k.a.: TNSM, Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law)

Founded by Sufi Muhammad in 1992 and banned in Pakistan in 2002, this group seeks to establish and enforce Sharia Law in Pakistan. It took over much of the Swat valley area in 2007. It is active throughout the chaotic “Af-Pac” border region, and is considered to be particularly dangerous and to be aligned with the Taliban. Group members are distinguished by their shoulder-length hair.


Kurdistan Workers' Party
(a.k.a: Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan, پارتی کار کهرانی کوردستان, Parti Karkerani Kurdistan, KGK, PKK)

Since 1984, this group has been struggling for Kurdish independence and cultural autonomy in Turkey. Originally the group’s ideology was a mix of leftist thought and Kurdish nationalism, although in recent years it has drifted away from the leftism and become more markedly Islamic in flavor. Most recently, it carried out various attacks on Turkish security forces between 2004 and 2010.

Originally posted by TDawgRex

The United States, Canada, Iraq and Iran have designated the MEK a terrorist organization. On January 26, 2009, following what the group called a “seven-year-long legal and political battle”, the Council of the European Union removed the MEK from the EU list of organizations it designates as terrorist.



I've been to Camp Ashraf which was a refugee camp for these folk. I never understood how the US Government could say they were a terrorists organization and at the same time provide a base of operations.

Iraq at the moment is actively shutting them down now.

edit on 27-3-2012 by TDawgRex because: (no reason given)

I was at Ashraf/FOB Grizzly also 2006-10. I agree, we designate them a terrorist group but then used them for intel on Iran. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend", applies i guess.

The refugees leaving the group actually had a pretty good carpentry shop going. They made me a desk/entertainment center for my CHU. Did a really good job too.

The group is itself was almost cult-like, it seemed. And women hold most of the top leadership positions.

The Iraqi govt started moving some of them to the old Camp Liberty area in Baghdad a couple months ago.

Originally posted by AutOmatIc
The New Black Panthers

For attempting to incite race riots, and distributing murder for hire pamphlets.

I do believe that they meet the criteria in the State Dept. description of a Terrorist Organization, but so does the Westboro folk.

It just isn't politically correct to designate them so.

At a minimum, both groups are seditious and should be charged as such.

In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order.