The Terrorist Organization Compendium , page 1

Hello once again ATS!

Recently I found myself wanting to know the answer to a simple question... which terror organizations and radical Imams were involved in a single country. To my dismay, I could not find any central resource that would provide me with a simple, one stop, summary of the things I wanted to know.

So, being a bit off ( ;D ) and having some free time on my hands, I did what any respectable ATS'er would do. I made one. And since there are many of us on ATS who like to reference these things, I thought I would share!

It is my intention ( and hope - God and fate willing ) for this to be the first installment in a three thread series. This one, listing cataloged global terrorist entities, and providing a bit of background for each. The next will be a comprehensive list of all traceable Government sponsored and Corporate intelligence agencies and apparatus. The last will be an attempt to try and tie all of the players from this thread and the next thread together... a sort of time-line of terrorism, terrorist acts, and who sponsored it all.

I want to state up front that this is certainly not an all inclusive compilation of all of the available information. Think of it as the Cliff notes version. Anything more in depth would end up being a book, or booklet at least. But with the brief snipped provided here, along with the accompanying links, I think this will be a fine reference tool for the ATS membership to utilize if they so choose.

So, for you ATS, a few hours of my time invested in, what I hope, will be a helpful resource.

Note: Any spelling inconsistencies or errors, in the quoted sections or list are due to the sources. A few of the F.B.I. spellings for these groups did not exactly match the spelling elsewhere.

From the U.S. Department of State

Bureau of Counterterrorism
January 27, 2012

Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) are foreign organizations that are designated by the Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended. FTO designations play a critical role in our fight against terrorism and are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to get out of the terrorism business.

source for above and skeleton of list below

Current List of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations

01) Abdallah Azzam Brigades (AAB)

Abdullah Azzam Brigades is an Sunni Islamist militant group affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the global jihad movement. The group, which began operating in 2009, has local networks in various countries. It is named after the late Sheikh Abdullah Azzam, a Palestinian from Jordan who was among the first Arabs to volunteer to join the Afghan jihad against the forces of the then Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

02) Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)

The Abu Nidal Organization named for its leader Sabri al-Banna, a veteran Palestinian terrorist known by the nom de guerre Abu Nidal—is a secular international terrorist group that has been sponsored by Syria, Libya, and Iraq, and has attacked a wide range of Western, Israeli, and Arab targets. Over the years, the Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) mounted terrorist operations in twenty countries, killing about three hundred people and wounding hundreds more. In the mid-1980s, the group was seen as the world’s most dangerous terrorist organization, but some experts say the group is inactive and no longer poses much of a threat. The ANO—also called the Fatah Revolutionary Council, the Arab Revolutionary Brigades, or the Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims—remains on the U.S. State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations.

03) Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)

Abu Sayyaf Group ASG, Filipino: Grupong Abu Sayyaf) also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya is one of several military Islamist separatist groups based in and around the southern Philippines, in Bangsamoro (Jolo and Basilan), where for almost 30 years various Muslim groups have been engaged in an insurgency for an independent province in the country. The name of the group is derived from the Arabic ابو, abu ("father of") and sayyaf ("Swordsmith "). The group calls itself "Al-Harakat Al-Islamiyya" or the "Islamic Movement".

Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortion in what they describe as their fight for an independent Islamic province in the Philippines.[8]
Ideology: Abu Sayyaf seeks the establishment of an Iranian-style Islamic theocracy in the southern Philippines.
Manpower: Abu Sayyaf forces in Basilan and in Zamboanga Peninsula were, by June 2003, believed to number less than 500, down from more than 1,000 a year earlier.
Equipment: Abu Sayyaf uses mostly grenades, bombs (modified IED's and land mines), machine guns, rifles, rocket launchers and other weapons have been reported.

The United States Department of State has classified the group as a terrorist group by adding it to the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. In 2002, fighting Abu Sayyaf became a mission of the American military's Operation Enduring Freedom and part of the U.S. War on Terror. The CIA has deployed paramilitary officers from their elite Special Activities Division to hunt down and kill or capture key terrorist leaders.[not in citation given] Several hundred United States soldiers are also stationed in the area to mainly train local forces in counter terror and counter guerrilla operations, but as a status of forces agreement and under Philippine law are not allowed to engage in direct combat.

The Abu Sayyaf are also a part-time operating criminal gang, where they conduct drive-by-shootings, larceny, drug dealing and excess theft in Mindanao.

04) Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AAMS)

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade is a coalition of Palestinian nationalist militias in the West Bank. The group's name refers to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The organization has been designated as a terrorist group by the governments of Israel, the United States, Canada, Japan and the European Union.

The al-Aqsa brigades are responsible for dozens of suicide bombings and many more shooting attacks against Israeli vehicles in the West Bank. For a complete list of the suicide bombings carried out by the organization see: List of Palestinian suicide attacks.

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05) Al-Shabaab

Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (HSM) Somali: Xarakada Mujaahidiinta Alshabaab, "Mujahideen Youth Movement" or "Movement of Striving Youth"), more commonly known as al-Shabaab (Arabic: الشباب‎, "The Youth" or "The Boys"), is the Somalia-based cell of the militant Islamist group al-Qaeda, formally recognized in 2012. As of 2012, the outfit controls large swathes of the southern parts of the country, where it is said to have imposed its own strict form of Sharia law. Al-Shabaab's troop strength as of May 2011 was estimated at 14,426 militants. In February 2012, Al-Shabaab leaders quarreled with Al-Qaeda over the union, and quickly lost ground.

The group is an off-shoot of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which splintered into several smaller factions after its defeat in 2006 by the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the TFG's Ethiopian military allies. Al-Shabaab describes itself as waging jihad against "enemies of Islam", and is engaged in combat against the TFG and the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM). Alleging ulterior motives on the part of foreign organizations, group members have also reportedly intimidated, kidnapped and killed aid workers, leading to a suspension of humanitarian operations and an exodus of relief agents. Al-Shabaab has been designated a terrorist organization by several Western governments and security services. As of June 2012, the United States Department of State has open bounties on several of the outfit's senior commanders.

In early August 2011, the TFG's troops and their AMISOM allies reportedly managed to capture all of Mogadishu from the Al-Shabaab militants. An ideological rift within the group's leadership also emerged in response to pressure from the recent drought and the assassination of top officials in the organization. Al Shabaab is hostile to Sufi traditions and has often clashed with the militant Sufi group Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a.

06) Ansar al-Islam (AAI)

Ansar al-Islam (Supporters or Partisans of Islam) was a Sunni Islamist group of Iraqis, promoting a radical interpretation of Islam, close to the official Saudi ideology of Wahhabism with strict application of Sharia. The group was formed in the northern provinces of Iraq near the Iranian border, and previously had established bases occupying Biyara to the northeast of Halabja. Ansar al-Islam is known as an affiliate of the Al-Qaeda terror network.

Members of Ansar al-Islam mostly reside in Iran after a joint mission by the Kurdistan Regional Government's Armed Forces and US Army Special Forces destroyed the group's stronghold in 2003. Since then, the group has allegedly launched frequent attacks against the Kurdistan Region in attempt to reestablish themselves in the region. Kurdish authorities allege that the group frequently aids Iran in its border incursions against Kurdish rebels along the Iran-Iraq border.

In 2007 after major defeats by the KRG's Peshmerga's forces, Ansar al-Islam largely disbanded and splinter groups were formed, including al-Qaeda Kurdish Battalions. However AAI is still believed to be active in northwest Iran.

On December 15, 2011 Ansar al-Islam announced a new emir, Sheikh Abu Hashim Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman al Ibrahim.

07) Asbat al-Ansar

Osbat al-Ansar or Asbat an-Ansar (League of the Partisans) is a Lebanon-based Sunni fundamentalist group established in the early 1990s which professes the Salafi form of Islam and the overthrow of the Lebanese-dominated secular government. The organization is largely based in Ain al-Hilweh.

Osbat al-Ansar is on the United States' list of terrorist organizations for alleged connections with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda, and the American administration decided to freeze all assets of Osbat al-Ansar following the attacks on September 11th, 2001. The group has reportedly received funding from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and has been proscribed as a terrorist group by Australia, the United Nations, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Osbat al-Ansar is also connected with fundamentalist groups Osbat al-Nour, Jund Ash Sham, the Dinniyeh Group and Takfir wal Hijra. Ahmed Abd al-Karim al-Saadi is the ostensible leader of the group; however, since he went into hiding in 1999, the group has been led by his brother Abu Tariq. Osbat al-Ansar is estimated to have between 100 and 200 members, mostly Lebanese, Palestinians and Syrians living in Ain al-Hilweh.

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08) Aum Shinrikyo (AUM)

Aum Shinrikyo (currently known as Aleph) is a Japanese cult, listed as a terrorist organization by several countries. The group was founded by Shoko Asahara in 1984. The group gained international notoriety in 1995, when it carried out the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway.

The name "Aum Shinrikyo" (Ōmu Shinrikyō?) derives from the Sanskrit syllable Aum, which represents the universe, followed by Shinrikyo written in kanji, roughly meaning "religion of Truth". In English "Aum Shinrikyo" is usually translated as "Supreme Truth". In January 2000, the organization changed its name to Aleph in reference to the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, Hebrew alphabet and Phoenician alphabets. It changed its logo as well.

In 1995, the group claimed they had over 9,000 members in Japan, and as many as 40,000 worldwide. Police consider the existing groups Aleph and Hikari no Wa to be branches of the "dangerous religion".
Aum Shinrikyo/Aleph is a syncretic belief system that incorporates Asahara's idiosyncratic interpretations of Yoga with facets of Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and the writings of Nostradamus. In 1992 Asahara published a book, within which he declared himself "Christ", Japan's only fully enlightened master and identified with the "Lamb of God". His purported mission was to take upon himself the sins of the world, and he claimed he could transfer to his followers spiritual power and ultimately take away their sins and bad karma. He also saw dark conspiracies everywhere promulgated by Jews, Freemasons, the Dutch, the British Royal Family, and rival Japanese religions.

Ultimately, Asahara outlined a doomsday prophecy, which included a World War III instigated by the United States. Asahara described a final conflict culminating in a nuclear "Armageddon", borrowing the term from the Book of Revelation. Humanity would end, except for the elite few who joined Aum. Aum's mission was not only to spread the word of "salvation", but also to survive these "End Times". Asahara predicted Armageddon would occur in 1997. He named the United States as The Beast from the Book of Revelation, predicting it would eventually attack Japan.

09) Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)

ETA ETA, one of Western Europe's last terrorist groups, is rumored to be weakening as a split forms between those who call for violent resistance and those who advocate negotiation. The November 2008 arrest of the group's alleged military leader, Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina, may help swing the group away from violent tactics. Spain has historically resisted ETA and the idea of an independent Basque homeland. In November 2008, left-leaning political party Eusko Alkartasuna (EA), which had previously belonged to a coalition affiliated with ETA, announced it will run in regional elections in March 2009. This, experts say, could restart the integration of the group into the political process. ETA's violent past, however, keeps it designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, and United Nations.

What is ETA?

ETA, which is pronounced "etta," is a leftist group that conducts terrorist attacks to win independence for a Basque state in northern Spain and southwestern France. ETA stands for Euskadi ta Askatasuna, which means “Basque Fatherland and Liberty” in the Basque language. When the group formed in 1959, its founders focused on Gen. Francisco Franco's suppression of the Basque language and culture. More moderate Basque nationalist organizations, including the Basque Nationalist Party, the Partido Nacionalista Vasco, were denounced as collaborators by ETA, which evolved by the 1960s into a revolutionary Marxist group. In 2003, the Spanish Supreme Court banned the Batasuna political party, which was considered the political arm of ETA, and successive efforts by Spanish governments to negotiate with ETA have failed.

10) Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army (CPP/NPA)

Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army (CPP/NPA) [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_the_Philippines[/url] The Communist Party of the Philippines (in Filipino: Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas) is a leading communist party in the Philippines. It remains an underground political organization since its founding on December 26, 1968 and has been operating in clandestine manner since its founding. It aims to overthrow the Philippine government through armed revolution with its direct leadership over the New People's Army and National Democratic Front.

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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.

he NPA primarily targets Philippine security forces, government officials, local infrastructure, and businesses that refuse to pay extortion, or "revolutionary taxes." The NPA also extorts politicians running for office in NPA-influenced areas by charging them for "campaign permits." The group opposes any U.S. military presence in the Philippines and attacked U.S. military interests, killing several U.S. service personnel, before the U.S. base closures in 1992. The NPA has claimed responsibility for the assassination of two congressmen, from Quezon in May 2001 and Cagayan in June 2001, and for many other killings. In December 2005, the NPA publicly expressed its intent to target U.S. personnel if they were discovered in NPA operating areas.

11) Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA)

The Continuity Irish Republican Army , otherwise known as the Continuity IRA (CIRA) and styling itself as Óglaigh na hÉireann, is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that aims to bring about a united Ireland. It emerged from a split in the Provisional IRA in 1986 but did not become active until the Provisional IRA ceasefire of 1994. It is designated as an illegal organisation in the Republic of Ireland and as a terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and the United States.

The CIRA considers itself a direct continuation of the Irish Republican Army (the army of the unilaterally-declared 1919–1922 Irish Republic) that fought in the Irish War of Independence; as such, its supporters regard it as the national army of a 32 county Irish Republic.

Its main targets are the security forces of Northern Ireland. This includes the British Army and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). To date, it has been responsible for the death of one PSNI officer.

12) Gama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group)

Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya "the Islamic Group"; also transliterated El Gama'a El Islamiyya; also called "Islamic Groups" and transliterated Gamaat Islamiya, al Jamaat al Islamiya) is an Egyptian Sunni Islamist movement, and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union. The group is (or was) dedicated to the overthrow of the Egyptian government and replacing it with an Islamic state.

The group(s) is said to have constituted "the Islamicist movement's only genuine mass organizations" in Egypt. The group is reported to be responsible for the killing of hundreds of Egyptian policemen and soldiers, civilians, and dozens of tourists in a violent campaign in the 1990s. While the assassination of the Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in 1981 is generally thought to have been carried out by another Islamist group, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, some have suggested al-Gamaa was responsible for or at least related to the assassination. In 2003 the imprisoned leadership of the group renounced bloodshed, and a series of high-ranking members have since been released by Egyptian authorities, and the group has been allowed to resume semi-legal peaceful activities. The now imprisoned cleric Omar Abdel-Rahman was a spiritual leader of the movement, which actively campaigns for his release.

Following the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the movement formed a political party, the Building and Development Party, which gained 13 seats in the 2011-2012 elections to the lower house of the Egyptian Parliament.

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13) HAMAS (Islamic Resistance Movement)

Hamas "Islamic Resistance Movement" is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Since June 2007 Hamas has governed the Gaza portion of the Palestinian Territories, after it won a majority of seats in the Palestinian Parliament in the January 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections and then defeated the Fatah political organization in a series of violent clashes. The European Union, the United States, Canada, Israel and Japan classify Hamas as a terrorist organization, while the Arab nations, as well as some other countries including Russia and Turkey, do not.

Based on the principles of Islamic fundamentalism gaining momentum throughout the Arab world in the 1980s, Hamas was founded in 1987 (during the First Intifada) as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Co-founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin stated in 1987 and the Hamas Charter affirmed in 1988 that Hamas was founded to liberate Palestine from Israeli occupation and to establish an Islamic state in the area that is now Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. In July 2009, Khaled Meshal, Hamas's Damascus-based political bureau chief, said the organization was willing to cooperate with "a resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict which included a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders," provided that Palestinian refugees hold the right to return to Israel and that East Jerusalem be the new nation's capital.

The Hamas charter exhibits the influence of antisemitic conspiracy theories throughout, as evidenced by the explicit mention of the "The Protocols of the Elder of Zion," or statements labeling "Freemasons, The Rotary and Lions clubs" as "sabotage groups ... behind the drug trade and alcoholism in all its kinds." Some experts and advocacy groups believe that statements by some Hamas leaders display similar conspiratorial influences, though Hamas officials are clear to describe the conflict with Israel as political and not religious.

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the Hamas affiliated military wing, has launched attacks with both military and civilian victims. Tactics have included rocket attacks and, from 1993 to 2008, suicide bombings. Military targets included Israeli and Egyptian outposts and border crossings and rival Palestinian militias in the occupied territories.

In the January 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections Hamas won a decisive majority in the Palestinian Parliament, defeating the PLO-affiliated Fatah party. Following the elections, the United States and the EU halted financial assistance to the Hamas-led administration. In March 2007 a national unity government, headed by Prime Minister Ismail Haniya of Hamas, was briefly formed, but this failed to restart international financial assistance. Tensions over control of Palestinian security forces soon erupted into the 2007 Battle of Gaza, after which Hamas retained control of Gaza while its officials were ousted from government positions in the West Bank. Israel and Egypt then imposed an economic blockade on Gaza, on the grounds that Fatah forces were no longer providing security there.

In June 2008, as part of an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire, Hamas ceased rocket attacks on Israel and made some efforts to prevent attacks by other organizations. After a four months calm, the conflict escalated when Israel carried out a military action with the stated aim to prevent an abduction planned by Hamas, using a tunnel that had been dug under the border security fence, killing seven Hamas operatives. In retaliation, Hamas attacked Israel with a barrage of rockets. In late December 2008, Israel attacked Gaza, withdrawing its forces from the territory in mid-January 2009. After the Gaza War, Hamas continued to govern the Gaza strip and Israel maintained its economic blockade. On May 4, 2011, Hamas and Fatah announced a reconciliation agreement that provides for "creation of a joint caretaker Palestinian government" prior to national elections scheduled for 2012. As part of that agreement, Hamas' resistance would be peaceful and not military, according to Israeli news reports.

14) Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami/Bangladesh (HUJI-B)

The Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B) was established in 1992, reportedly with assistance from Osama bin Laden’s International Islamic Front (IIF). On April 30, 1992, several of the HuJI-B leaders addressed a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club in capital Dhaka and demanded that Bangladesh be converted into an Islamic State.

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The outfit’s activities, however, were noticed in June 1996 after the Awami League (AL) came to power.

HuJI-B aims to establish Islamic Hukumat (rule) in Bangladesh by waging war and killing progressive intellectuals. It draws inspiration from bin Laden and the erstwhile Taliban regime of Afghanistan. At one point of time, the groups issued a slogan, Amra Sobai Hobo Taliban, Bangla Hobe Afghanistan (We will all become Taliban and we will turn Bangladesh into Afghanistan). HuJI-B recruits are indoctrinated in the mould of radical Islam.

The HuJI-B was proscribed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led coalition Government on October 17, 2005.

15) Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM)

The Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), a Pakistan-based terrorist outfit, has been in existence twice in the history of that country’s involvement in cross-border terrorism. In the interim between the two phases, it continued to exist, but under the name of the Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA). While the first renaming was an outcome of a reorganisation effected by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s external intelligence agency, among its various sponsored terrorist outfits in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the second renaming was necessitated by a US proscription of the outfit.

The HuA was categorised as a terrorist outfit by the US in 1997 following reports that it was linked with Osama bin Laden, and his Al Qaeda, a global terrorist network that has struck at several US targets around the world. The outfit immediately adopted the name of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen to escape the ramifications of the proscription. Despite public knowledge that the HuM was a recast version of the HuA, the US had refused to categorise the outfit as a terrorist outfit. However, following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington in the US, the outfit came under scrutiny of the US government for its extensive links with Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the terrorist attacks. On September 25, US President George W. Bush signed an order officially banning the outfit.

The HuM was originally formed in 1985, to participate in the Jehad against Soviet forces protecting the Communist regime in Afghanistan. It was a formed by a group that walked out of another jehadi group, the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI). With the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989, the outfit turned its attention to J&K, where terrorist violence had been unleashed by Pakistan supported outfits in 1988.

...the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen merged with another terror outfit, the Harkat-ul-Jehad-al-Islami (HuJI), to form the Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA) in 1993. This merger apparently failed to form an effective instrument for Pakistan’s campaign in J&K as Indian security forces (SFs) arrested three of its top leaders in quick succession. First, Nasrullah Mansur Langrayal, chief of the former Harkat-ul Mujahideen was arrested in November 1993. Three months later, the HuA’s General Secretary, Maulana Masood Azhar, and its J&K unit chief Sajjad Afghani were arrested in Srinagar.

16) Hizballah (Party of God)

Hizballah Formed in 1982 in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, Hizballah (the “Party of God”), a Lebanon-based Shia terrorist group, advocates Shia empowerment within Lebanon. The group also supports Palestinian rejectionist groups in their struggle against Israel and provides training for Iraqi Shia militants attacking Coalition forces in Iraq. Hizballah has been involved in numerous anti-US terrorist attacks, including the suicide truck bombings of the US Embassy in Beirut in April 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut in October 1983, and the US Embassy annex in Beirut in September 1984, as well as the hijacking of TWA 847 in 1985 and the Khobar Towers attack in Saudi Arabia in 1996. Although Hizballah’s leadership is based in Lebanon, the group has established cells worldwide.

In July 2011 the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) indicted four Hizballah members—including a senior Hizballah official—for the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri,
who was killed by a car bomb in Beirut on 14 February 2005. Nasrallah has publicly stated that Hizballah will not allow any members to be arrested, and continues to paint the STL as
a proxy of Israel and the United States.

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17) Islamic Jihad Union (IJU)

The Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), initially known as Islamic Jihad Group (IJG), is a terrorist organization and has conducted attacks in Uzbekistan and attempted attacks in Germany.

IJU was founded in March 2002 by those separated from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas.[2] The organization failed attacks in Uzbekistan in 2004 and early 2005. Then it changed its name, Islamic Jihad Group, into Islamic Jihad Union. After this period, it became closer to core al Qaida.[2] Since its reorientation, the organization’s focus shifted and it began plotting terror attacks in Pakistan and Western Europe, especially Germany.[2] Mirali in South Waziristan is the organization's base where Western recruits for attacks in the West are trained. The recruits are mainly Turks from Turkey and Turkish communities in Western Europe, but also Muslim converts from Europe.

18) Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)

The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) is a militant Islamist group formed in 1991 by the Islamic ideologue Tahir Yuldashev, and former Soviet paratrooper Juma Namangani—both ethnic Uzbeks from the Fergana Valley. Its objective was to overthrow President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, and to create an Islamic state under Sharia.

Operating out of bases in Tajikistan and Taliban-controlled areas of northern Afghanistan, the IMU launched a series of raids into southern Kyrgyzstan in 1999 and 2000. However, in 2001 the IMU was largely destroyed while fighting alongside the Taliban against coalition forces in Afghanistan. Namangani was killed, and the IMU's remaining fighters were dispersed. Yuldeshev and an unknown number of fighters escaped with remnants of the Taliban to Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Since then the IMU has reportedly opened training camps in Waziristan and is now involved with other groups attempting to overthrow the government of Pakistan.

Despite occasional proclamations from Yuldeshev, and rumours of a re-emergence under the name the Islamic Movement of Turkestan (IMT), there is no reliable evidence indicating that the IMU/IMT remains an operational force in Central Asia outside of the Afghanistan/Pakistan border region.

19) Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) (Army of Mohammed)

Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM)—also known as the Army of Mohammed, Khudamul Islam, and Tehrik ul-Furqaan among other names—is an extremist group based in Pakistan. It was founded by Masood Azhar in early 2000 upon his release from prison in India. The group’s aim is to unite Kashmir with Pakistan and to expel foreign troops from Afghanistan. JEM has openly declared war against the United States. Pakistan outlawed JEM in 2002, and by 2003 JEM had splintered into Khuddam ul-Islam (KUI), headed by Azhar, and Jamaat ul-Furqan (JUF), led by Abdul Jabbar. Pakistani authorities detained Abdul Jabbar for suspected involvement in the December 2003 assassination attempts against President Pervez Musharraf but released him in August 2004. Pakistan banned KUI and JUF in November 2003.

JEM has at least several hundred armed supporters located in Pakistan, 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 against the Soviets. The group uses light and heavy machineguns, assault rifles, mortars, improvised explosive devices, and rocket-propelled grenades in its attacks.

20) Jemaah Islamiya organization (JI)

Jemaah Islamiya (JI) Jemaah Islamiya (JI) is an Indonesia-based clandestine terrorist network formed in the early 1990s to establish an Islamic state encompassing southern Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, and the southern Philippines. Its operatives, who trained in camps in Afghanistan and the southern Philippines, began conducting attacks in 1999. The network’s existence was discovered in late 2001 when Singaporean authorities disrupted a cell that was planning to attack targets associated with the US Navy. JI is responsible for a series of lethal bombings targeting Western interests in Indonesia and the Philippines from 2000-2005, including attacks in 2002 against two nightclubs in Bali that killed 202 people; the 2003 car bombing of the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta that killed 12; the 2004 truck bombing of the Australian Embassy that killed 11; and the 2005 suicide bombing of three establishments in Bali that killed 22. A JI splinter group under Noordin Mat Top in July 2009 conducted suicide bombings at two hotels in Jakarta.

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Since 2009, JI has been overshadowed by the activities of its splinter groups and other Indonesia-based terrorists, some of whom are experienced operatives previously affiliated with JI and other convicted terrorists who completed prison sentences and have since resumed their activities. An Indonesian court in June 2011 sentenced extremist cleric and JI co-founder Abu Bakar Bashir to 15 years imprisonment for his role in planning and funding the disrupted terrorist training camp in Aceh.

21) Jemmah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT)

Jemmah Anshorut Tauhid Today ( 02/23/12 ), the Department of State designated Jemmah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224. An Indonesia-based group, JAT is responsible for multiple coordinated attacks against innocent civilians, police, and military personnel in Indonesia. These designations coincide with the Department of the Treasury’s designation of three JAT leaders: JAT’s acting Emir Mochammad Achwan, JAT spokesperson Son Hadi bin Muhadjir, and JAT leadership figure Abdul Rosyid Ridho Ba'asyir, involved in recruiting and fundraising activities.

JAT seeks to establish an Islamic caliphate in Indonesia, and has carried out numerous attacks on Indonesian Government personnel and civilians in order to achieve this goal. Abu Bakar Ba’asyir, the founder and leader of JAT, and a UN 1267 listed individual, was convicted and sentenced to prison in 2011 for his role in organizing a militant training camp in Aceh. Ba’asyir is also the co-founder and former leader of Jemmah Islamiya (JI), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), which is responsible for the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed more than 200 people.

JAT has conducted multiple attacks targeting civilians and Indonesian officials, resulting in the deaths of several Indonesian police. JAT has robbed banks and carried out other illicit activities to fund the purchase of assault weapons, pistols, and bomb-making materials. This past year, on September 25, 2011, a JAT suicide bomber detonated explosives inside a church in Central Java, killing the bomber and wounding dozens. Indonesian police arrested other JAT members in connection with this bombing and uncovered a plot for additional suicide attacks. In April 2011, a suicide bomber carried out an attack at a mosque in West Java that injured dozens of police officers and killed the bomber.

22) Kahane Chai (Kach)

Kahane Chai Kahane Chai is a Jewish terrorist group aimed at ousting all Arabs from Israel and restoring a religiously homogenous state. The group, and its parent organization Kach, were declared terrorist organizations by the Israeli Cabinet in 1994.

Kach was established by rabbi Meir Kahane, a radical Israeli-American who espoused anti-Palestinian and Arab views and was dedicated to the restoration of a purely-Jewish Israel. Rabbi Kahane was also responsible for the creation of the Jewish Defense League (JDL) in New York in 1968. In 1990, Kahane was assassinated in the U.S. and his son, Binyamin, founded the Kahane Chai organization in his name. The group, headquartered in Qiryat Arba’ in Hebron condones violent means for reaching their goals of an Arab-free state. Binyamin Kahane and his wife were killed in 2000 as a result of a drive-by shooting perpetrated by Palestinian militants in the West Bank.

Kahane Chai was listed under the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Terrorist Organization List as of 1994, although they have not been involved in any major attacks since then. While the organization still exists, they have reportedly been minimizing their violent tendencies with hope that they will be removed from terrorist sanctioning lists.

Much of Kahane Chai’s activities are directed towards the Israeli government. They have organized mass protests against the government, and have threatened government officials. Vowing revenge for the groups’ leader and his wife, their more violent tactics are reserved for Palestinians and Arab populations living within Israel. The majority of their tactics include assassinations and some amushes, along with the use of knives, and some hand grenades. The group’s most notorious attack is attributed to Dr. Baruch Goldstein’s ambush on the Ibrahim Mosque (also known as the Tomb of Patriarchs because the Prophet Mohammad is believed to be buried beneath the mosque) in 1994 where 29 Muslim worshipers were killed, and dozens more injured. They are alleged to have been responsible for numerous low-level assault attacks from the beginning of the Second Intifada in September 2000.

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24) Kongra-Gel (KGK, formerly Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK, KADEK)

Kongra-Gel (KGK) Kongra-Gel, formerly the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), is a Kurdish separatist group primarily active in part of northern Iraq and southern Turkey. Composed mostly of Turkish Kurds, the group in 1984 began a campaign of armed violence, including terrorism, which has since resulted in over 30,000 deaths. The KGK’s stated goal is to create an independent Kurdish state. Historically, KGK has directed members to target mainly Turkish security forces, government offices, and villagers who opposed the group. However, KGK’s imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, publicly called for a KGK “unilateral cease-fire” in October 2006, which in practice meant stopping terrorist attacks and limiting violence to “defensive” attacks against Turkish soldiers and security forces.

Despite the unilateral cease-fire, attacks continued in response to Turkish security operations against the group. In particular, the KGK-affiliated Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) began using terrorist tactics—including suicide bombings—to target Turkish tourist destinations in 2005 in order to damage the Turkish economy. The KGK in July 2008 kidnapped three German tourists on Mount Ararat, Turkey, in retaliation for German actions against the group, including banning KGK’s primary media outlet, Roj-TV, from operating in Germany. In early 2008 Germany convicted two KGK members on terrorism charges. Using the KGK-affiliated Firat News Agency Web site, TAK in February 2008 announced a new wave of terrorist actions against Turkey; the announcement was similar to the group’s March 2007 statement that it would continue targeting Turkish tourist sites, specifically citing the February 2007 arrests of KGK members in Europe and warning that the group was going to target European tourists.

25) Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LT) (Army of the Righteous)

Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT) Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, also known as Army of the Righteous, is one of the largest and most proficient of the Kashmir-focused militant groups. LT formed in the early 1990s as the military wing of Markaz-ud-Dawa-wal-Irshad, a Pakistan-based Islamic fundamentalist missionary organization founded in the 1980s to oppose the Soviets in Afghanistan. Since 1993, LT has conducted numerous attacks against Indian troops and civilian targets in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir state, as well as several high-profile attacks inside India itself, and concern over new LT attacks in India remains high. The United States and United Nations have designated LT an international terrorist organization. The Pakistani Government banned the LT and froze its assets in 2002. In 2008 the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on four senior LT leaders.

LT’s exact size is unknown, but the group probably has several thousand members, predominantly Pakistani nationals seeking a united Kashmir under Pakistani rule. Elements of LT are active in Afghanistan and the group also recruits internationally, as evidenced by Headley’s arrest and the indictment of 11 LT terrorists in Virginia in 2003. LT maintains facilities in Pakistan, including training camps, schools, and medical clinics. In March 2002, senior al-Qa‘ida lieutenant Abu Zubaydah was captured at an LT safehouse in Faisalabad, suggesting that some LT members assist the group.

LT coordinates its charitable activities through its front organization, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which spearheaded humanitarian relief to the victims of the October 2005 earthquake in Kashmir. JUD activities, however, have been limited since December 2008 by the UN’s designation of the group as an alias for LT. During the 2010 floods in Pakistan, Jamaat-ud-Dawa and an affiliated charity, the Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation, were widely reported to have provided aid to flood victims.

26) Lashkar i Jhangvi (LJ)

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is a militant organization. Formed in 1996, it has operated in Pakistan since Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP) activist Riaz Basra broke away from the SSP over differences with his seniors. The group is considered a terrorist organisation by Pakistan and the United States, and has been involved in attacks on Shia civilians.

The Government of Pakistan designated the LJ a terrorist organization in August 2001, and the U.S. classified it as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under U.S. law in January 2003. As a result, its finances are blocked worldwide by the U.S government.

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27) Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is the only terrorist group which once possessed its own ‘Military’ – Tigers (infantry), Sea Tigers (sea wing) and Air Tigers (Air Wing), in the world, began its armed campaign in Sri Lanka for a separate Tamil homeland in 1983. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in its January 10, 2008 report said that the LTTE is one of the most dangerous and deadly extremist outfits in the world and the world should be concerned about the outfit as they had ‘inspired’ networks worldwide, including the al-Qaeda in Iraq.

However, with the killing of its Chief Velupillai Prabhakaran on May 18, 2009 and its defeat it in Eelam War IV the outfit has become inactive inside Sri Lanka, though reports indicate that it still attempts to revive itself with the help of Tamil Diaspora.

The LTTE has been proscribed, designated or banned as a terrorist group by a number of Governments - India, Malaysia, USA, Canada, UK, Australia, European Union - where the LTTE has significant terrorist infrastructure for disseminating propaganda, raising funds, procuring and shipping supplies to support their terrorist campaign in Sri Lanka. While India was the first country to ban LTTE in May, 1992, Sri Lanka itself is the latest in the list banning the organisation on January 7, 2009.

The LTTE aims to create a separate homeland for the Tamils known as the Tamil Eelam (State) in the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. The Tigers control most of the areas in the Northern Province but also conduct operations throughout the island. They have recently been wiped out of the Eastern Province and are losing considerable ground in the Northern Province.

28) Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG)

The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) also known as Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyyah al-Muqatilah bi-Libya is a group active in Libya which played a key role in deposing Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime, allying itself with the National Transitional Council. However the organisation has a troubled history being under pressure from Muammar Gaddafi and shortly after the 9-11 attacks, LIFG was banned worldwide (as an affiliate of al-Qaeda) by the UN 1267 Committee. Listed at the Foreign Terrorist Organizations, the group has denied ever being affiliated with al-Qaeda, stating that it refused to join the global Islamic front Osama bin Laden declared against the west in 1998. Members of the group participated in the 2011 Libyan Civil War under the name Libyan Islamic Movement (al-Harakat al-Islamiya al-Libiya).

In March 2011, members of the LIFG in Ajdabiya declared to the press that the group supports the revolt against Gaddafi's rule, and had placed themselves under the leadership of the National Transitional Council. They also stated that the group had changed its name to Libyan Islamic Movement (al-Harakat al-Islamiya al-Libiya), had around 500–600 militants released from jail in recent years, and denied any past or present affiliation with Al-Qaeda.

A leader of the LIFG, Abdelhakim Belhadj, became the commander of the Tripoli Military Council after the rebels took over Tripoli during the 2011 Battle of Tripoli. On March 2011, Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi, a leading member of the group, admit to the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore that his fighters had al-Qaeda links. Al-Hasidi was captured in 2002 in Peshwar, Pakistan, later handed over to the US, and then held in Libya before being released in 2008. He admit in the same interview that he had earlier fought against "the foreign invasion" of Afghanistan.

29) Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM)

Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group or Moroccan Islamic Fighting Group is a Sunni Islamist terrorist organization affiliated with al-Qaeda. It is sometimes referred to as GICM after its French name Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain. GICM is one of several North African terrorist franchises spawned in Afghanistan during the tenure of the Taliban; compare Libyan Islamic Fighting Group. Along with other al-Qaeda affiliates, GICM has been banned worldwide by the UN 1267 Committee since shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks. It is therefore banned also by various individual countries including the United States.

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GICM claims to intend to install a fundamentalist Islamist regime in Morocco, but has members around Western Europe and French Canada as well. The GICM has been associated with major militant attacks. In May 2003, an attack in Casablanca killed 45 people, including the 12 suicide bombers. In 2004, an attack on the public transportation system in Madrid killed 191 and wounded more than 1900. Salafia Jihadia, an offshoot of the GICM, is blamed for both. It was named by Spanish interior minister Angel Acebes as the "priority" for investigations into the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks, although he insisted that the possible involvement of other militant organisations had not been ruled out.

30) Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)

The People's Mujahedeen of Iran, more commonly known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq or MEK, is listed as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the United States for its killing of U.S. personnel in Iran during the 1970s and its links to Saddam Hussein in the 1980s and 1990s. The U.S. State Department is considering whether to delist the group, a decision expected later this year.

The MEK helped Islamists overthrow the Western-backed Shah in 1979, but broke violently with the clerics shortly after the revolution and were forced into exile in France in 1981. The group moved its base of operations to eastern Iraq in 1986, but a new Iraqi regime has called for the group to be resettled elsewhere in 2012. International efforts have been under way to relocate the group to a temporary base outside Baghdad and then eventually to other countries. The State Department considers MEK's successful relocation as a "key factor" in its forthcoming decision about delisting. The group publicly renounced terrorism in 2001 and has waged a sophisticated lobbying campaign in Washington to have its official status changed.

31) National Liberation Army (ELN)

The National Liberation Army (Spanish: Ejército de Liberaciَn Nacional, ELN) is a revolutionary guerrilla army who have fought in the Colombian Civil War since it began in 1964. The ELN advocate a composite Communist ideology of Marxism and Liberation Theology; they conduct military operations throughout the national territory of Colombia; in 2010, it was estimated that the ELN forces consisted of approximately 5,000 guerrillas. In the forty-eight-year Colombian Civil War, the National Liberation Army of Colombia is the lesser known of two Communist guerrilla armies who operate in Colombia; the other guerrilla army is the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC–EP) who are Marxist–Leninist in their approach to the national liberation of Colombia.

32) Palestine Liberation Front (PLF)

The Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) is a Palestinian militant group, which is designated as a terrorist organization by Canada, the European Union and the USA. It is presently led by Dr. Wasel Abu Yousef.

The PLF was originally founded by Ahmed Jibril and Shafiq al-Hout in 1961, and enjoyed strong Syrian backing. In 1967 the PLF merged with two other groups, the Arab Nationalist Movement-affiliated Heroes of the Return (abtal al-awda) and The Young Avengers, to form the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

The PFLP was led by former ANM-leader George Habash, but in April 1968 Jibril split from this group to form the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC), which returned to the strongly pro-Syrian position of the former PLF.

This eventually led to a reestablishment of the PLF, as the organization broke apart after Jibril's PFLP-GC had followed Syria into battle against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1976, during the Lebanese Civil War. Open fighting between the rival factions ensued, and only after mediation by Yassir Arafat did their relationship stabilize. On April 24, 1977, the PFLP-GC deserters formed the new PLF, under the leadership of Muhammad Zaidan (Abu Abbas) and Tal'at Ya'qub. Sporadic fighting continued between PFLP-GC and PLF, and included an August 1977 bombing of the PLF headquarters, which killed some 200 people.

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33) Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)

Palestinian Islamic Jihad The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is an Islamic, Palestinian nationalist organization that violently opposes the existence of Israel. Designated as a U.S. State Department terrorist organization in 1997, the PIJ targets Israeli civilian and military personnel in its commitment to the creation of an Islamic regime in “all of historic Palestine,” according to the State Department’s 2006 Country Report on terrorism. The PIJ, unlike Fatah or Hamas, does not participate in the political process.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad wants to reestablish a sovereign, Islamic Palestinian state with the geographic borders of the pre-1948 mandate Palestine. The PIJ advocates the destruction of Israel through violent means; it approaches the Arab-Israeli conflict as an ideological war, not a territorial dispute. PIJ members see violence as the only way to remove Israel from the Middle East map and reject any two-state arrangement in which Israel and Palestine coexist.

The PIJ, unlike other Palestinian separatist groups, refuses to negotiate or engage in the diplomatic process. It does not seek political representation within the Palestinian Authority. The PIJ is also accused of attempting to hinder the efforts of the 1993 Oslo Accords by launching several terrorist attacks on Israeli targets.

34) Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the largest being Fatah. Currently the PFLP is boycotting participation in the Executive Committee of the PLO. It considers both the Fatah-led government in the West Bank and the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip as illegal due to the lack of new elections to the Palestinian National Authority since 2006.

The PFLP has generally taken a hard line on Palestinian national aspirations, opposing the more moderate stance of Fatah. It opposes negotiations with the Israeli government, and favours a one-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The military wing of the PFLP is called the Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades. The PFLP is well known for pioneering armed aircraft hijackings in the late '60s and early '70s.

The PFLP's armed wing, in the West Bank and Gaza, the Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades, draws much of its support from student organizations in universities like Al-Quds University (eastern Jerusalem), Bir Zeit University (Ramallah area), An-Najah National University (Nablus), and the Arab American University - Jenin. The movement has thousands of active or passive activists in the West Bank, and a few hundred behind bars in Israeli prisons. In December 2009, around 70,000 supporters demonstrated in Gaza to celebrate the PFLP's 42nd anniversary. The PFLP's leader in Gaza is Dr. Rabah Muhanna.

35) PFLP-General Command (PFLP-GC)

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command is a Palestinian nationalist organization, backed by Syria and Iran. It is considered a terrorist organisation by more than 30 countries.

The PFLP-GC was founded in 1968 as a Syrian-backed splinter group from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). It was - and still is - headed by Secretary-General Ahmed Jibril, also known by the kunya "Abu Jihad" (not to be confused with Khalil al-Wazir, the head of Fatah's armed wing who used the same nom de guerre), a former military officer in the Syrian Army who had been one of the PFLP's early leaders. The PFLP-GC declared that its primary focus would be military, not political, complaining that the PFLP had been devoting too much time and resources to Marxist philosophizing.

Although the group was initially a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), it always opposed Yassir Arafat and opposes any political settlement with Israel; for this reason, it has never participated in the peace process. The PFLP-GC left the PLO in 1974 to join the Rejectionist Front, protesting what they saw as the PLO's move towards an accommodation with Israel in the Arafat-backed Ten Point Program of the Palestinian National Council (PNC). Unlike most of the organizations involved in the Rejectionist Front, the PFLP-GC never resumed its role within the PLO.

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36) al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI)

Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia are popular names for the Iraqi division of the international Salafi jihadi militant organization al-Qaeda. It is part of the Iraqi insurgency.

The group was founded in 2003 as a reaction to the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq, and first led by the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who declared allegiance to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in October 2004. It first operated under the name Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, since 2004 its official name has been Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn ("Organization of Jihad's Base in Mesopotamia"). Foreign (non-Iraqi) fighters are widely thought to play a key role in its network.

37) al-Qa’ida (AQ)

Al-Qa‘ida Established by Usama Bin Ladin in 1988 with Arabs who fought in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union, al-Qa‘ida’s declared goal is the establishment of a pan-Islamic caliphate throughout the Muslim world. Toward this end, al-Qa‘ida seeks to unite Muslims to fight the West, especially the United States, as a means of overthrowing Muslim regimes al-Qa‘ida deems “apostate,” expelling Western influence from Muslim countries, and defeating Israel. Al-Qa‘ida 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 US citizens—civilian and military—and their allies everywhere. The group merged with the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (al-Jihad) in June 2001.

Despite leadership losses, al-Qa‘ida remains committed to conducting attacks in the United States and against American interests abroad. The group has advanced several unsuccessful Western plots in the past two years, including against the United States and Europe. This highlights al-Qa‘ida’s ability to continue some attack preparations while under sustained counterterrorism pressure and suggests it may be plotting additional attacks against the United States at home or overseas.

38) al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

Al-Qa‘ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) Yemen-based Sunni group al-Qa‘ida in the Arabian Peninsula since 2009 has orchestrated high-profile terrorist attacks and expanded its activities outside of Yemen, most notably by sending Nigerian-born Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who attempted to detonate an explosive device aboard a Northwest Airlines flight on 25 December 2009—the first attack inside the United States by an al-Qa‘ida affiliate since 11 September 2001. That was followed by an attempted attack in which explosive-laden packages were sent to the United States on 27 October 2010. The year 2010 also saw the release of the first three issues of the Inspire magazine, an AQAP-branded, English-language publication that first appeared in July. Dual US-Yemeni citizen Anwar al-Aulaqi, who had a worldwide following as a radical ideologue and propagandist, was the most prominent member of AQAP; he was killed in an explosion in September 2011.

AQAP is based primarily in the tribal areas outside of Sanaa, which for the most part remain largely outside the control of the
Yemeni Government.

39) al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (formerly GSPC)

The Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is an Islamist militant organization which aims to overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state. To that end, it is currently engaged in an insurgent campaign.

The group has declared its intention to attack Algerian, Spanish, French, and American targets. It has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. Department of State, and similarly classed as a terrorist organization by the European Union.

Membership is mostly drawn from the Algerian Kabyle and the South Moroccan Sahrawi communities. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is heavily involved in drug trafficking, smuggling as well as other criminal activities.

40) Real IRA (RIRA)

The Real Irish Republican Army, otherwise known as the Real IRA (RIRA), and styling itself as سglaigh na hةireann (Volunteers of Ireland) is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation which aims to bring about a united Ireland. Formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional IRA, it is an illegal organisation in the Republic of Ireland and designated as a terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and the United States.

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The organisation has been responsible for a number of bombings in Northern Ireland and England, most notably the 15 August 1998 Omagh bombing, which killed 29 people. On 7 March 2009 RIRA members claimed responsibility for an attack on the Massereene Barracks that killed two British soldiers, the first to be killed in Northern Ireland since 1997.

On 26 July 2012, it was announced that the Real IRA was merging with the Republican Action Against Drugs, other independent republican paramilitary groups and some former members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (but, notably, not with the Continuity Irish Republican Army) into a unified formation known simply as the "Irish Republican Army", and that the Real IRA would subsequently cease to exist as a separate entity.

41) Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Established in 1964 as the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de Colombia) is Latin America’s oldest, largest, most capable, and best-equipped insurgency of Marxist origin—although it only nominally fights in support of Marxist goals today. The FARC primarily operates in Colombia, with some activities—including extortion, kidnapping, weapons acquisition, and logistics—occuring in neighboring countries.

FARC tactics include bombings, murder, mortar attacks, kidnapping, extortion, and hijacking, as well as guerrilla and conventional military action against Colombian political, military, and economic targets. The FARC has well-documented ties to a range of drug trafficking activities including taxation, cultivation, and distribution. The group considers US persons to be legitimate military targets due to US support for the Colombian Government. FARC’s most widely known operation was its kidnapping of three US contractors—Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes, and Keith Stansell; together with French politician Ingrid Betancourt—in February 2002. The four were freed by Colombian security forces in July 2008.

Juan Manuel Santos, elected as president in May 2010, has continued Bogota’s policy of aggressive military operations—known as Democratic Security—against the FARC as evidenced by the raid that killed Mono Jojoy and continuing government raids targeting FARC Supreme Leader Alfonso Cano. Santos, a former defense minister, has publicly vowed to strengthen Colombia’s military and police forces in order to defeat the FARC and end the conflict, now nearly 50 years long.

42) Revolutionary Organization 17 November (17N)

Revolutionary Organization 17 November Revolutionary Organization 17 November (Greek: إًليلَôلôéêق دٌمـيùَç 17 حïفىâٌç, Epanastatiki Organosi dekaefta Noemvri), (also known as 17N or N17) was a Marxist urban guerrilla organization (characterized as a terrorist group by the Greek state[1] and the United States and the United Kingdom) formed in 1975 and believed to have been disbanded in 2002 after the arrest and trial of a number of its members. The group assassinated 23 people in 103 attacks on U.S., British, Turkish and Greek targets.

The group's name, 17N, refers to the final day of the 1973 Athens Polytechnic uprising, in which a protest against the Greek Military Junta (1967–1974), also known as the Regime of the Colonels took place. The uprising was bloodily suppressed by the army. 17N self-identified as Marxist, even anarchist. In addition to assassinations, kidnappings, and symbolic attacks on corporate and government offices, 17N supported its operations with at least 11 bank robberies netting approximately US$ 3.5 million. Members of 17N kept detailed financial records, found in one of their safe houses in 2002, to document that the stolen money was used for revolutionary purposes.

43) Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C)

Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) The Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) was 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. The group espouses a Marxist-Leninist ideology and is vehemently anti-US, anti-NATO, and anti-Turkish establishment. Its goals are the founding of a socialist state and the abolition of one- to three-man prison cells, called F-type prisons, in Turkey. DHKP/C finances its activities chiefly through donations and extortion.

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44) Revolutionary Struggle (RS)

en.wikipedia.org..." target="_blank" class="postlink" rel="nofollow">Revolutionary Struggle is a Greek rebel group known for its attacks on Greek government buildings and the American embassy in Athens. It is designated as a terrorist group by the Greek government, EU and United States.

Revolutionary Struggle (EA) is a Greek militant group which borrows their ideological resume from various former terrorist groups in the region such as Revolutionary Organization 17 November (N17) and Revolutionary People’s Struggle (ELA). They espouse a staunch anti-globalization and anarchist ideology, participating in violent activities against the Greek security forces and major banking and business institutions, in order to force a revolution in the European nation. In addition, they have significant anti-Capitalist ideals and have often targeted U.S. interests, and attempt to encourage the disengagement of Greece in the US’ “War on Terror.”

The EA is a newer group in the anarchist movement. In 2002, Greek security forces led a resistance against members of the Revolutionary Organization 17 November (N17), and arrested 15 of the group’s leaders and members. The arrests crippled the group and they became inactive. Some researchers believe that Revolutionary Struggle was established by the remaining members of N17 that weren’t detained. The group officially emerged in 2003 with the bombing of a courthouse in Athens where one police officer died. Since then, they have been charged with the assassinations of government officials and bombings of police stations, U.S. government interests, banks, and other businesses.

The European Union (EU) designated the group as a recognized terrorist organization in June 2007. As part of a series of raids in April 2010, Greek security forces arrested six members of EA who were suspected of being involved in a string of bombings. Included in this group is Nikos Maziotis, the suspected leader of the organization. It remains to be seen whether the arrests may have a significant impact on EA’s violent activity and their ability to reform under new leadership and continue their violent operations. While this particular group may not survive, other anti-Capitalist and anarchist movements will continue to grow and prosper as the Greek financial crisis exacerbates and unemployment and other social prob.

45) Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso, SL)

The Communist Party of Peru (Spanish: Partido Comunista del Perْ), more commonly known as the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso), is a terrorist Maoist organization in Peru. When it first launched the internal conflict in Peru in 1980, its stated goal was to replace what it saw as bourgeois democracy with "New Democracy". The Shining Path believed that by imposing a dictatorship of the proletariat, inducing cultural revolution, and eventually sparking world revolution, they could arrive at pure communism.[citation needed] Their representatives said that existing socialist countries were revisionist, and claimed to be the vanguard of the world communist movement. The Shining Path's ideology and tactics have been influential on other Maoist insurgent groups, notably the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and other Revolutionary Internationalist Movement-affiliated organizations.

Widely condemned for its brutality, including violence deployed against peasants, trade union organizers, popularly elected officials and the general civilian population, the Shining Path is described by the Peruvian government as a terrorist organization. The group is on the U.S. Department of State's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, and the European Union, and Canada likewise describe it as a terrorist organization and prohibit providing funding or other financial support.

Since the capture of its leader Abimael Guzmلn in 1992, the Shining Path has declined in activity. Certain factions of the Shining Path now claim to fight in order to force the government to reach a peace treaty with the rebels.[citation needed] Similar to militant groups in Colombia, some factions of Shining Path have adapted as a highly efficient coc aine-smuggling operation, with an ostensibly paternalistic relationship to villagers.

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46) United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC)

The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, or AUC was created as an umbrella organization of regional far-right paramilitary groups in Colombia, each intending to protect different local economic, social and political interests by fighting left-wing insurgents in their areas. It is estimated that it has more than 31,000 militants. The AUC has been designated a terrorist organization by many countries and organizations, including the United States and the European Union. The organization was formed in April 1997 and it has been alleged that it was supported covertly by elements in the Colombian government and the Colombian Armed Forces.

The AUC claimed its primary objective was to protect its sponsors and its supporters from insurgents and their activities, because the Colombian state had historically failed to do so. The AUC asserted itself as a regional and national counter-insurgency force. Former AUC leader Carlos Castaٌo in 2000 claimed 70 percent of the AUC's operational costs were financed with coc aine-related earnings, the rest coming from "donations" from its sponsors. The group's sponsors have included landowners, cattle ranchers, mining or petroleum companies and politicians. The AUC has also been linked to elements within the Colombian Army with whom they maintained cooperation, including their participation in joint operatives. The Colombian military has been accused of delegating to AUC paramilitaries the task of murdering peasants and labor union leaders, among others, targeted by the group under the suspicion of allegedly being guerrilla infiltrators.

The bulk of the AUC's blocs demobilized by early 2006 and its former top leadership was extradited to the U.S. in 2008. However, local successors such as the Black Eagles continue to exist and death threats have been made using its name. On May 8, 2008, employees of a community radio station (Sarare FM Stereo) received a message stating: "For the wellbeing of you and your loved ones, do not meddle in subjects that do not concern the radio station. AUC, Arauca". A few days later the letters AUC were daubed on the front of their office. This threat was made due to their participation in a public meeting attended by members of a Congressional Human Rights Commission on the 27 September 2007. Here, members of the public denounced human rights abuses committed in Arauca Department by different parties to the armed conflict, including the AUC.

47) Harakat-ul Jihad Islami (HUJI)

Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) is an Islamic fundamentalist organization most active in South Asian countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India since the early 1990s. It was banned in Bangladesh in 2005. The operational commander of HuJI, Ilyas Kashmiri, was reportedly killed in a U.S. Predator drone strike in South Waziristan on June 4, 2011. He was linked to the February 13, 2010 bombing of a German bakery in the Indian city of Pune. A statement was released soon after the attack which claimed to be from Kashmiri; it threatened other cities and major sporting events in India. A local Taliban commander named Shah Sahib was named as Kashmiri's successor.

HuJI, along with other jehadi groups such as Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), HuM, and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) emerged from the same source,[vague] and therefore had similar motivations and goals.[6] However, HuJI and HuM were both strongly backed by the Taliban, and therefore the group professed Taliban-style fundamentalist Islam. HuJI espoused a Pan-Islamic ideology, but it believed in violent means to liberate Kashmir and make it a part of Pakistan.

48) Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP)

Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is an alliance of militant groups in Pakistan formed in 2007 to unify groups fighting against the Pakistani military in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. TTP leaders also hope to impose a strict interpretation of Qur‘anic instruction throughout Pakistan and to expel Coalition troops from Afghanistan. TTP maintains close ties to senior al-Qa‘ida leaders, including al-Qa‘ida’s former head of operations in Pakistan.

Baitullah Mahsud, the first TTP leader, was killed in an explosion on 5 August 2009 and was succeeded by Hakimullah Mahsud, who vowed to deploy suicide operatives to the United States. The group has repeatedly threatened to attack the US homeland, and a TTP spokesman claimed responsibility for the failed vehicle bomb attack in Times Square in New York City on 1 May 2010. In June 2011, a spokesman vowed to attack the United States and Europe in revenge for the death of Usama Bin Ladin.

~Continued...

49) Jundallah

Jundallah, or Jondollah ("Soldiers of God"), also known as People's Resistance Movement of Iran (PRMI) is a militant organization based in Pakistan that claimed to be fighting for the rights of Sunni Muslims in Iran. It was allegedly founded by Abdolmalek Rigi who was captured and executed in Iran in 2010. It is believed to have between 700 to 2,000 fighters and is said to be responsible for killing 154 and injuring 320 Iranian citizens since 2003, while Jundullah commanders claim the group has killed up to 400 Iranian soldiers.

The group has been designated a terrorist organization by Iran, and the United States and it has been linked to, and taken credit for, numerous acts of terror, kidnapping and the smuggling of narcotics. According to many sources, the group is linked to al-Qaeda.

Iran has been critical of the U.S. and U.K. governments for allegedly supporting Jundallah. Several other sources such as the ABC News, Daily Telegraph, and journalist Seymour Hersh have also reported that Jundullah has received support from the United States against Iran.

50) Army of Islam (AOI)

Army of Islam, also known as Tawhid and Jihad Brigades s the name used by the Doghmush Hamula (clan) for their Islamic militant activities. It is located at the Tzabra neighborhood in the center of the Gaza Strip bordered by Israel and Egypt. The United States Department of State has designated it a terrorist organization.

Notorious for the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and the kidnapping of BBC reporter Alan Johnston, Army of Islam, which appears to draw inspiration from, or is linked to, al-Qaeda, have also conducted at least one bombing of a Palestinian civilian target (an empty school) and a number of other kidnappings. The group has been previously closely related to Hamas, but has been since shunned by both Hamas and Fatah. The group has also been known as The Organization of al-Qaeda in Palestine and is linked to Abu Qatada, the British-based Palestinian-Jordanian extremist Sheikh who they demanded be released in exchange for Johnston.

On 3 November 2010 senior Army of Islam leader Mohammad Namnam was killed in a targeted killing when the car he was driving in Gaza City was hit by a missile fired from an Israeli military helicopter. Israel killed Namnam after Egyptian authorities reportedly tipped-off Israel that Namnam was helping plan a future attack on multinational security forces in Sinai. Following the November 3 air strike, the Israeli Air Force killed two other members of the group. Mohammed and Islam Yassif were killed in an air strike, fired from an unmanned drone, on 17 November 2010. The attack, coordinated with Israeli security services, Shin Bet, came around dawn on a busy street in Gaza City, and cited the same security issues as that in the killing of Namnam.

51) Indian Mujahideen (IM)

Indian Mujahideen (IM) is a terrorist group based In India, known for carrying out several attacks against civilian targets in India.

Believed to be a "shadow amalgam of the Students Islamic Movement of India", the Indian Mujahideen on 4 June 2010 was declared a terrorist organization and banned by the Government of India. On 22 October 2010, New Zealand declared it a terrorist organization. In September 2011, the United States officially placed the Indian Mujahideen on its list of terrorist organisations, with the State Department acknowledging that the group had engaged in several terrorist attacks In India and had regional aspirations with the ultimate aim of creating an "Islamic caliphate" across South Asia. The terror group was banned by UK as it aimed at creating Islamic State and implementing Shariat law in India, by use of indiscriminate violence.

Investigators believe that Indian Mujahideen is one of many groups composed of lower-tier SIMI members. According to the Indian Intelligence Bureau, SIMI took new titles because the top leadership of SIMI have been detained and would be available for interrogation. The change in names is believed to signal a change in tactics as SIMI affiliated militants attempt to garner more support from India's Muslim community rather than be seen as a group consisting of foreigners. Two days after the 13 May 2008 Jaipur bombings, the extremist group sent an e-mail to Indian media In which they claimed responsibility for the attacks and said they would "demolish the faiths (all religions apart from Islam) of the infidels of India". The biggest and boldest attack to date by the group was the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts, where it gained national notoriety with a casualty count towards 50.

~Continued...

Listed Domestic Terror Threats:

Here The F.B.I. defines domestic terrorism as:

Domestic terrorism is the unlawful use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual based and operating entirely within the United States or Puerto Rico without foreign direction committed against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof in furtherance of political or social objectives.

But a much broader definition seems to exist in the legal interpretation found here, at Cornell, Law

the term “domestic terrorism” means activities that—
(A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State;
(B) appear to be intended—
(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or
(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and
(C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.

emphasis mine

I wonder... is a nation filled with disenchanted and angry citizens something that could be construed as "intimidation or coercion"???

Anyway - to the F.B.I. specific entries on domestic terrorist threats.

ELF and ALF - ecoterrorists

Sovereign Citizens

White Supremacists

Anarchist Extremists

And some further amplification from Wikipedia:

Alpha 66 and Omega 7[/]

Alpha 66 (still existent) and Omega 7 (now defunct) were two affiliated Cuban exile action groups who have carried out many bombings and acts of sabotage. While many of these attacks have historically been directed at Cuba and the Castro government, many of them occurred domestically, especially during the period of Cuba-US diplomacy and negotiations in the 1970s known as "el Diلlogo" (the dialogue) when powerful anti-Castro figures in Miami attempted to terrorize those in their community who favored a more moderate approach. Luciano Nieves, for instance, was killed for advocating peaceful coexistence with Cuba. WQBA-AM news director Emilio Milian lost his legs in a car bomb after he publicly condemned Cuban exile violence. These cases of terrorism were documented extensively in the book Miami by Joan Didion. Human Rights Watch released a report in 1992 in which they claimed that the more extreme exiles have created a political environment in Miami where "moderation can be a dangerous position."

Army of God

The Army of God (AOG)[4] is a loose network of individuals and groups connected by ideological affinity and the determination to use force to end abortion in the United States. Acts of anti-abortion violence increased in the mid-1990s culminating in a series of bombings by Eric Robert Rudolph, whose targets included two abortion clinics, a gay and lesbian night club, and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Letters sent to newspapers claim responsibility for the bombing of the abortion clinics in the name of the Army of God.

Aryan Nations

Aryan Nations (AN) is a white nationalist neo-Nazi organization founded in the 1970s by Richard Girnt Butler as an arm of the Christian Identity group known as the Church of Jesus Christ-Christian. As of December 2007 there were two main factions that claimed descent from Butler's group. The Aryan Nations has been called a "terrorist threat" by the FBI, and the RAND Corporation has called it the "first truly nationwide terrorist network" in the USA.

Black Liberation Army

A splinter group made up of the more radical members of the Black Panther Party, the Black Liberation Army (BLA) sought to overthrow the US government in the name of racial separatism and Marxist ideals. The Fraternal Order of Police blames the BLA for the murders of 13 police officers. According to a Justice Department report on BLA activity, the group was suspected of involvement in over 60 incidents of violence between 1970 and 1980.

~Continued...

Weathermen

The Weather Underground Organization was a far left organization active from 1969 to 1975. It originated in 1969 as a faction of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) composed for the most part of the national office leadership of SDS and their supporters. The group collapsed shortly after the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam in 1975.

Some of the above groups are now defunct, but I felt that including them helped to provide texture and an understanding of the bigger picture.

And then there is, of course, the new, emerging groups that are beginning to be associated with the term "terrorist"...

New Islamic Groups As They Form - Good or Bad
Internet Posters Who Dissent
Peaceful Protesters
Victims of Addiction
The Mentally Ill

The lists keep growing longer and longer... How long before you, or someone you love, is on one? And why, in a world where so many evil people are so easily and plainly seen - from ruthless African warlords to above the law Corporate criminals are their names not on any of the lists???


Who is the terrorist du jour?

If you know of any entities, actors, or organizations I missed ( And, yes, I did mention another thread coming to cover all of the government sponsored Intelligence agencies and their traceable offshoots - so we'll get to them later ) please feel free to add them.

Thanks for reading good denizens of ATS.

As always, I am...

~Heff

Resources

Council on Foreign Relations
Wikipedia
Federation of American Scientists
The Federal Bureau of Investigationp/url]
[url=http://ise.gov/]Information Sharing Environment
Cornell University Law School
National Counterterrorism Center
Public Safety Canada
South Asia Terrorism Portal
Unites States Department of State
Terrorism 101
USnews.com
Institute for the Study of Violent Groups

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