International Terrorist Organizations
“Terrorism” is a subjective term. The list of organizations included here is that of the US Department of State, issued on 8 Apr 2008. The list is updated periodically. Translations and acronyms of organizations’ names are given in bold parenthetically; names and acronyms by which organizations are also known follow and are not in bold.
Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) (Fatah Revolutionary Council, Arab Revolutionary Brigades, Black September, Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims) Founded in 1974 as a splinter group from the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO); led bySabri al-Banna. country or region of operation: Middle East, primarily Iraq and Lebanon; has also operated in Asia and Europe primary goals: elimination of Israel, establishment of a Palestinian state Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)
Founded in the early 1990s as a splinter group from Moro National Liberation Front by Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani; mainly made up of semiautonomous factions. country or region of operation: Philippines, Malaysia
primary goals: establishment of an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines Ansar al-Islam (Partisans of Islam) Founded in 2001 as an offshoot of the Islamic Movement in Iraqi Kurdistan; led by Najmeddin Faraj Ahmed, aka Mullah Krekar (currently in custody in Norway awaiting deportation to Iraq). country or region of operation: Iraq
primary goals: establishment of an Islamic state in the Kurdish areas of northern Iraq, expulsion of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) coalition from Iraq al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades Founded in 2000 as an offshoot of Fatah; diffuse cell-based leadership structure. country or region of operation: Gaza Strip, West Bank, Israel
primary goals: removal of Israeli forces from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital Armed Islamic Group (GIA) Founded in 1992; leadership uncertain; fewer than 50 active members thought to be at large. country or region of operation: Algeria
primary goals: replacement of secular Algerian government with an Islamic state Asbat al-Ansar
Founded in the late 1980s, a splinter faction of Muslim fighters in Lebanon’s civil war; led by Abou Mahjan, aka Abdel Karim al-Saadi.
country or region of operation: Lebanon
primary goals: replacement of secular Lebanese government with an Islamic state based on the ancient caliphate system of government AUM Shinrikyo (AUM Supreme Truth, Aleph) Founded in 1987 by Shoko Asahara; led by Fumihiro Joyu. country or region of operation: Japan primary goals: takeover of Japan and the world Basque Fatherland and Liberty (Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna, ETA) Founded in 1959; allegedly led by Mikel Albizu Iriarte, aka Mikel Antza.
country or region of operation: Basque autonomous regions of northern Spain and southwestern France primary goals: establishment of an independent Basque state based on Marxism Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army (CPP/NPA) Founded in 1969 as a Maoist successor to the pro-Soviet Partido Komunista Pilipinas; led from exile by Jose Maria Sison.
country or region of operation: Philippines primary goals: overthrow of the Philippine government Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIrA)
Founded in 1994 as a splinter group of Irish Republican Army (IRA) after the latter declared its first cease-fire. country or region of operation: Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland primary goals: removal of British forces from Northern Ireland Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) Founded in 1987 by Sheikh Ahmed Yasin as an offshoot of Muslim Brotherhood; led by Khalid Meshal. country or region of operation: Gaza Strip, West Bank, Israel; also present throughout the Middle East primary goals: elimination of Israel, establishment of an Islamic Palestinian state Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami/Bangladesh (HUJI-B) Founded in the 1990s; affiliated with al-Qaeda. country or region of operation: Bangladesh primary goals: establishment of Bangladesh as an Islamic state Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM) (Movement of Holy Warriors) Founded in the mid-1980s or early 1990s; led by Farooq Kashmiri. country or region of operation: the Kashmir region of Pakistan and India primary goals: establishment of Kashmir as part of an Islamic state
International Terrorist Organizations
Hezbollah (Party of God) (Islamic Jihad, Revolutionary Justice Organization, Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine) Founded in 1982; governed by the Majlis al-Shura (Consultative Council) led by Hassan Nasrallah; spiritual leader Sheikh Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah. country or region of operation: Lebanon; also has cells worldwide
primary goals: establishment of Islamic rule in Lebanon, elimination of Israel, liberation of occupied Arab lands
Islamic Jihad Group (IJG)
Founded in 2004; offshoot of Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU). country or region of operation: Central Asia
primary goals: replacement of the secular Uzbekistan government with an Islamic state Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) Founded in 1996; led by Tohir Yoldashev.
country or region of operation: Central and South Asia, primarily Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan
primary goals: replacement of the secular Uzbekistan government with an Islamic state Jaish-e-Mohammed (Army of Muhammad) Founded in 2000 as a spin-off from Harakat ul-Mujahidin; led by Maulana Masood Azhar. country or region of operation: South Asia, primarily Pakistan and India primary goals: establishment of Pakistani control over India-administered Kashmir al-Jama’ah al-Islamiyah (Islamic Group, IG) Founded in the late 1970s; loosely organized in two factions led by Mustafa Hamza (currently in custody in Egypt) and Rifai Taha Musa; spiritual leader Sheikh Umar Abd al-Rahman. country or region of operation: Egypt; also operates in several countries worldwide primary goals: replacement of Egyptian government with an Islamic state Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) Founded in the mid-1990s as a successor to Darul Islam; led by Abu Bakar Baasyir. country or region of operation: Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia primary goals: establishment of a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia al-Jihad (Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Jihad Group, Islamic Jihad) Founded in the late 1970s by Ayman al-Zawahiri; merged with al-Qaeda in 2001.
country or region of operation: Egypt and other countries, including Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, and Great Britain; activities now centered mainly outside Egypt
primary goals: replacement of Egyptian government with an Islamic state, attacks on US and Israeli interests Kahane Chai(Kach)
Founded in 1971 by Meir Kahane; Kahane Chai founded as follow-up group by Binyamin Kahane after Meir’s assassination in 1990; Binyamin Kahane assassinated in 2000. country or region of operation: Israel, West Bank primary goals: expansion of Israel, removal of Palestinians Kongra-Gel (KGK) (formerly Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, KADEK) Founded in 1974; led by Abdullah Ocalan (imprisoned since 1999). country or region of operation: Turkey; also operates in Europe and the Middle East primary goals: establishment of independent Kurdish state Lashkar-i Tayyaba (LT, Army of the Righteous)
Founded in 1990 as the military arm of Markaz-ud-Dawa-wal-Irshad (MDI), a Pakistani-based Islamic fundamentalist organization; led by Abdul Wahid Kashmiri. country or region of operation: South Asia, primarily Pakistan and India
primary goals: establishment of Pakistani control over India-administered Kashmir, creation of a pan-Islamic state in Central Asia
Lashkar I Jhangvi
Founded in 1996 as an offshoot of the Sipah-e Sahaba (the Army of Muhammad’s Companions); decentralized leadership structure. country or region of operation: Pakistan
primary goals: replacement of the Pakistani government with an Islamic state Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Founded in 1976; led by Velupillai Prabhakaran. country or region of operation: Sri Lanka primary goals: establishment of an independent Tamil state Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) Founded in 1995 among Libyans who had fought against Soviet forces in Afghanistan; led by Anas Sebai. country or region of operation: Libya, various Middle Eastern and European countries primary goals: overthrow of the government of Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM) Founded in the 1990s as an offshoot of the Moroccan organization Shabiba Islamiya (Islamic Youth). country or region of operation: Afghanistan, Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, France, Morocco, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom
primary goals: creation of an Islamic state in Morocco
International Terrorist Organizations
Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK) (National Liberation Army of Iran [NLA, the militant wing], People’s Mujahidin of Iran [PMOI], National Council of Resistance [NCR], Muslim Iranian Student’s Society [front organization to garner financial support]) Founded in the 1960s; led by Maryam and Masud Rajavi. country or region of operation: Iran, Iraq primary goals: establishment of a secular government in Iran National Liberation Army (ELN) Founded in 1965; led by Nicolas Rodriguez Bautista. country or region of operation: Colombia
primary goals: replacement of the ruling Colombian government with a Marxist state Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) Founded in the mid-1970s as splinter group from PFLP-GC. country or region of operation: Israel, Iraq
primary goals: elimination of Israel, establishment of a Palestinian state Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
Founded in the 1970s; most active faction led by Ramadan Shallah.
country or region of operation: Israel, West Bank, Gaza Strip; also elsewhere in Middle East, primarily Lebanon and Syria
primary goals: elimination of Israel, establishment of an Islamic Palestinian state Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
Founded in 1967 as part of the PLO by George Habash (discontinued PLO participation in 1993); led by Ahmed Sadat (imprisoned by the Palestinian Authority since 2002). country or region of operation: Syria, Lebanon, Israel, West Bank, Gaza Strip
primary goals: promotion of national unity and revitalization of the PLO, opposition to peace negotiations with Israel
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC)
Founded in 1968 as splinter group from PFLP; led by Ahmad Jabril. country or region of operation: Syria, Lebanon, Israel, West Bank, Gaza Strip primary goals: opposition to the PLO and to peace negotiations with Israel al-Qaeda
Founded in the late 1980s; established and led by Osama bin Laden. country or region of operation: worldwide
primary goals: establishment of worldwide Islamic rule, overthrow of non-Islamic governments, expulsion of Western influences from Muslim states, killing of US citizens al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (formerly Salafist Group for Call and Combat, GSPC) Founded in 1996 as a splinter of the Armed Islamic Group; led by Abou Mossaab Abdelouadoud. country or region of operation: primarily Algeria, with significant activity elsewhere in North Africa and in Europe
primary goals: replacement of the Algerian government with an Islamic state Real IRA (True IRA)
Founded in 1998 as a splinter group of the Irish Republican Army (IRA); led by Michael “Mickey” McKevitt (imprisoned since 2001).
country or region of operation: Northern Ireland; also elsewhere in Great Britain and in Ireland primary goals: removal of British forces from Northern Ireland, unification of Ireland Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Founded in 1964 as the military branch of the Colombian Communist Party; governed by a group led by Manuel Marulanda (until his death in March 2008) and including Jorge Briceno and five others. country or region of operation: Colombia; also some operations in Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama primary goals: replacement of the ruling Colombian government with a Marxist state Revolutionary Nuclei (Revolutionary Cells) Founded in 1995 as an offshoot of or successor to Revolutionary People’s Struggle (ELA). country or region of operation: Greece, primarily Athens
primary goals: elimination of US military bases in Greece, opposition to capitalism and NATO/EU membership
Revolutionary Organization 17 November
Founded in 1975; relatively small group operating secretly, allegedly led by Alexandros Giotopoulos (imprisoned in Greece since 2002).
country or region of operation: Greece, primarily Athens
primary goals: elimination of US military bases in Greece, removal of Turkish forces from Cyprus, opposition to capitalism and NATO/EU membership Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) (Devrimci Sol, Revolutionary Left, Dev Sol) Founded in 1978 as a splinter group from Turkish People’s Liberation Party/Front; led by Dursun Karatas. country or region of operation: Turkey, primarily Istanbul primary goals: promotion of Marxism, opposition to US and NATO al-Shabaab
Founded in 2006 by fighters from the recently ousted Islamic Courts Union. country or region of operation: Somalia
primary goals: ejection of Ethiopian and other foreign troops from Somalia, reestablishment of an Islamic government in the country
Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso, SL)
Founded in the late 1960s by Abimael Guzman; led by Macario Ala. country or region of operation: Peru, primarily rural areas
primary goals: replacement of the Peruvian government with a communist state, opposition to influence by foreign governments
Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (QJBR, al-Qaeda in Iraq) (formerly Jamaat al-Tawhid waal-Jihad, JTJ, al-Zarqawi Network)
Founded in April 2004 by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi shortly after the commencement of OIF; adopted current name in October 2004 after merging with Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda. country or region of operation: Iraq
primary goals: explulsion of OIF coalition from Iraq, establishment of Islamic state in Iraq United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, AUC) Founded in 1997 as an umbrella organization of paramilitary groups; led by Carlos Castano. country or region of operation: Colombia
primary goals: opposition to and defense against leftist guerrilla groups
