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INITIATIVE Domestic Terrorism Post-9/11 Affiliations Glossary Abu Sayyaf Group: Abu Sayyaf Group or "Bearer of the Sword" is an Islamic separatist group in the southern Philippines which wants to form an independent Islamic state in the region. It split off from the Moro National Liberation Front (a major separatist group at the time) in the early 1990s. Abu Sayyaf Group engages in bombings, assassinations, kidnappings and extortion. The U.S. National Counterterrorism Center considers it to be the most violent separatist group in the region. Abu Sayyaf Group also has ties to the Indonesian group Jemaah Islamiyah and Al Qaeda. The U.S. State Department designated Abu Sayyaf Group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997. Al Qaeda: Al Qaeda is an international terrorist organization founded in the late 1980s by Osama bin Laden. At first, the group mainly consisted of anti-Soviet Islamic fighters in Afghanistan. After the Soviets left the country, Al Qaeda developed a broader goal: eliminating Western influence in Muslim countries and replacing their current governments with fundamentalist Islamic regimes. To that end, the group has engaged in a wide range of terrorist attacks on Western targets across the globe. In 1996 bin Laden declared war on the United States, pledging to remove American forces from Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries. Following the 9/11 attacks, the United States went to war to destroy Al Qaeda's bases in Afghanistan and remove the fundamentalist Muslim Taliban regime there. Today this effort continues, as the U.S. military seeks to eliminate Al Qaeda's remaining forces in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region while limiting the group's operational capabilities. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula: Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ("AQAP") formed in January 2009 when the Saudi Arabian and Yemeni offshoots of Al Qaeda merged under the leadership of Nasir Wuhaishi. The group seeks to overthrow both countries' governments and create an Islamic state. The group has vowed to attack oil facilities, foreigners and security forces. The U.S. State Department designated AQAP a Foreign Terrorist Organization in January 2010. Al Shabaab: Al Shabaab is a militant group based in Somalia, where it has been waging a war against the Transitional Federal Government ("TFG") and its foreign supporters. Al Shabaab began as the militant wing of the Islamic Courts Union, which controlled southern Somalia before the country was invaded by Ethiopian forces in December 2006, restoring the TFG to power. Ethiopian troops remained in Somalia until January 2009 and were one of Al Shabaab's key terrorist targets, along with the TFG and African Union peacekeeping troops. Al Shabaab's leaders claimed affiliation with Al Qaeda in 2007. It is unclear how many members outside of the senior leadership support Al Qaeda as Al Shabaab engages in forced conscription. In 2008 the U.S. State Department designated Al Shabaab a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. Anti-Government: An anti-government affiliation can be traced across a range of incidents, from relatively large-scale paramilitary organizations to isolated cases of individuals with a grudge against a particular court, agency or government jurisdiction. Examples: Judith Bruey, Edward Feltus, William Krar Ronald Allen Grecula, Gale Nettles, Hutaree. Jaish-e-Mohammed: Jaish-e-Mohammed ("JEM") is an extremist group based in Pakistan that seeks to reunite the Kashmir region (currently controlled by India) with Pakistan and remove foreign troops from Afghanistan. The group has openly declared war on the United States. Founded by Pakistani cleric Maulana Masood Azhar in 2000, the group is blamed for the 2001 suicide bombings of legislative buildings in Kashmir's Indian-controlled capital of Srinagar and the 2006 attacks on Indian police officials in the same city. They are also implicated in two assassination attempts on former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Since June 2008 the group has shifted more of its focus to Afghanistan in order to increase attacks on U.S. and Coalition forces. Since its formation, JEM has splintered into two smaller groups, Khuddam ul-Islam and Jamaat ul-Furqan. Despite the existence of these two splinter groups, JEM is often referred to and seen as a singular, collective entity. The U.S. State Department designated JEM a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2001. Jamaat-al-Muslimeen: Jamaat-al-Muslimeen is an Islamic group active in Trinidad and Tobago linked to criminal activity including narcotics and weapons trafficking, and kidnapping for ransom. In 1990 the group tried to overthrow the government of Trinidad and Tobago by storming the parliament and taking the prime minister and cabinet members hostage. The group was founded by Yasin Abu Bakr and focuses on gaining the support of Afro-Trinidadian Muslims. Muslims of East Asian descent, a large portion of the Trinidadian Muslim community, are often targets of Jamaat-al-Muslimeen attacks. Jammat-al-Muslimeen has not been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department. Jamaat-ud-Dawa: Jamaat-ud-Dawa or "Party of the Calling" was formed in mid-2002 by leaders of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a militant Pakistani Islamic group. Created shortly after LeT was banned by the Pakistani government, Jamaat-ud-Dawa officially claims it is an Islamic charity organization. International officials believe Jamaat-ud-Dawa is little more than an alias for the terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba. The U.S. State Department lists Jamaat-ud-Dawa as an alternate name for Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh: Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh ("JIS") or "The Association of True Islam" is a radical Islamic prison gang that formed out of California State Prison-Sacramento (also known as New Folsom Prison). U.S. citizen Kevin James formed the group in prison in 1997 with the goal of eventually creating an Islamic state in the U.S. After one of James' recruits was released from prison, the group researched possible targets to attack throughout Los Angeles, including the Israeli consulate. This group is not a U.S. State Department designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. Jemaah Islamiyah: Jemaah Islamiyah is a militant Islamic group seeking to create an Islamic state across the southeast Asia region. The group has carried out attacks in Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines, but it is most well-known for its 2002 bombing of a nightclub in Bali (a predominantly Hindu island) which left 202 dead. Besides an additional bombing in Bali in 2005, Jemaah Islamiyah has carried out attacks in Jakarta and Manila and in 1995 plotted to bomb 11 U.S. commercial airliners in Asia. While the spiritual leader of the group, Abu Bakar Bashir, denies direct connections to Al Qaeda, he has expressed support for Osama bin Laden. The U.S. State Department designated Jemaah Islamiyah a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2002. Lashkar-e-Taiba: Lashkar-e-Taiba ("LeT") or "Army of the Pure" is a militant Islamic group operating primarily out of Pakistan that objects to Indian control of Jammu and Kashmir. The group targets Hindus within the Kashmir region and trains Muslim extremists within India. The Indian government blames it for several incidents, including a 2001 attack on the Indian parliament, a July 2006 attack on the Mumbai commuter rail, and the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The Pakistani government banned the group in January 2002. The U.S. State Department designated LeT a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2001. Militia: A militia is an armed paramilitary group. While historically militias have been called upon by governments during times of emergency, modern militias are typically strongly anti-government. Some extreme anti-government militias have launched outright attacks against the government or symbols of it, such as federal courthouses. Examples: Alabama Free Militia; Hutaree; Judith Bruey, Edward Feltus, William Krar. Palestinian Islamic Jihad: Palestinian Islamic Jihad ("PIJ") is violently opposed to the existence of Israel, seeking to create an Islamic state in all of historical Palestine. The organization has launched numerous rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, with both Israeli military and civilian targets. While the group has never directly targeted U.S. interests, U.S. citizens have died during PIJ attacks. The U.S. State Department designated PIJ a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997. Taliban: The Taliban is an Islamic fundamentalist group that emerged during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan during the 1980s. The Taliban took control of the Afghani government from 1996 until the regime was removed by U.S. forces in 2001. The group is infamous for publically executing criminals, outlawing the education of women, requiring women to wear head-to-toe veils known as burkas (burqas), and providing a haven to Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. While officially ousted, the Taliban continue to exert influence in rural regions to the south and east of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, as well as in neighboring Pakistan. Terik-e Taliban: Terik-e Taliban Pakistan ("TTP") is a militant extremist group that operates primarily in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas ("FATA") in Pakistan. The group officially announced its formation in December 2007 under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud. The group replaced former tribal leadership in the region by killing many tribal elders and attempts to enforce Islamic law and remove foreign and Pakistani military operations from the region. The TTP launched suicide attacks on a U.S. military base in Khowst, Afghanistan in December 2009 and the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan in April 2010. The U.S. State Department designated Terik-e Taliban as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in September 2010. White Supremacy: White Supremacy is generally characterized by racist beliefs about the inferiority of racial and ethnic minorities. Examples: Judith Bruey, Edward Feltus, William Krar; Demetrius "Van" Crocker; James W. von Brunn
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