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Global Terrorist Organizations

Contents: 15 May Organization - Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) - Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) - Action Direct (AD) - Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades - Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB) - Ansar Al-Islam - Armed Islamic Group (GIA) - Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) - Army for the Liberation of Rwanda (ALiR) - Aum Shinrikyo (Aum ) - Babbar Khalsa International - Chukaku-Ha - Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) - Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine-Hawatmeh Faction (DFLP) - Egyptian Islamic Jihad - Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo (ERP) - Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) - Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) - First of October Antifascist Resistance Group (GRAPO) - Force 17 -Front du Liberation du Quebec (FLQ) - Gama'a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group, IG) - Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) - Harakat ul-Ansar (HUA) - Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM) - Hezbollah (Party of God) - Irgun - Irish Republican Army (IRA) - Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) - Jaish Ansar al-Sunna - Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) (Army of Mohammed) - Jamaat ul-Fuqra - Japanese Red Army (JRA)  - Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) - Kach and Kahane Chai - Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) - Khmer Rouge - Kosovo Liberation Army  (KLA) - Kurdish Hezbollah - Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT) - Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) - Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) - Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) - Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front (FPMR) - Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) - Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK, MKO) - National Liberation Front of Corsica (FLNC) - National Liberation Army (ELN) - New People's Army (NPA) - The Order - Organisation de l'Armée Secrète (OAS) - Palestinian Islamic Jihad-Shaqaqi Faction (PIJ) - Palestine Liberation Front-Abu Abbas Faction (PLF) - Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) - Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) - Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF) - Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) - Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) - Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-Special Command (PFLP-SC) - Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-Special Operations Group (PFLP-SG) - al-Qaeda - Qibla and People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD) - Real IRA (RIRA) - Red Army Faction - Red Brigades Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) - Revolutionary Organization 17 November (17 November) - Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C, Dev Sol) - Revolutionary People's Struggle (ELA) - Revolutionary United Front (RUF) - Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) - Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) - Stern Gang - Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) - Terra Lliure - Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) - Tupamaros (MLN) - al-Ummah - United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) - The Weathermen (UWO) - Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN)

Note on Terror Groups: There exist many different definitions of terrorism, but terrorism most commonly includes these elements: Use of premeditated, politically motivated violence or the threat of violence; Targeting noncombatants; Being a non-state actor; Absence of a state of war (specifically conventional warfare), thus excluding war crimes; Taking actions designed to coerce, frighten, or "send a message" to the public or a government (thus excluding organized crime performed for personal gain). The organizations listed on this page have verifiably used or attempted to use terrorist tactics, by the above criteria. Self-identification as a "terrorist" group is not required. This page does not condone, support or endorse violence or any of these groups which are listed below.  Groups are listed regardless of political or religious orientations. This page is intended purely for study and research purposes. 



15 May Organization 

1979                       15 May Organization established from remnants of Wadi Haddad's
                             Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-Special 
                             Operations Group. 
17 Jan 1980                Bombs the Royal Hotel in London.
1981                       Bombs El Al offices in Rome and Istanbul as well as the Israeli
                             embassies in Athens and Vienna.
11 Aug 1982                Responsible for the bombing of Pan Am 830.
23 Feb 1985                Bombs a Marks and Spencer department store in Paris.
c.1986                     Disbands. 

Leader
1979 - c.1986              Husayn Muhammed al-Umari "Abu Ibrahim" (b. 1936)
                             ("the Bomb man")

Locations:                 Baghdad, Iraq; Middle East, Europe
Strength:                  50-60



Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) (Fatah Revolutionary Council, Arab Revolutionary Brigades, Black September, and Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims)

[Palestine Liberation
                  Organization used by Abu Nidal]

1974                       The Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)(incl. Fatah Revolutionary
                             Council, Arab Revolutionary Brigades, Black September, and 
                             Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims) split from PLO.
                             Targets included the United States, the United Kingdom, France,
                             Israel, moderate Palestinians, the PLO, and various Arab 
                             countries. Carried out terrorist attacks in 20 countries, 
                             killing or injuring almost 900 persons. Formally named "Fatah
                             – The Revolutionary Council" (Fatah al-Majles al-Thawry).
11 Oct 1976                Attacks on Syrian embassies in Islamabad, Pakistan and Rome, Italy 
 3 Jun 1982                Attempted assassination of Shlomo Argov, Israeli ambassador to
                             the United Kingdom. The attack will trigger the war Israel waged 
                             in Lebanon against the PLO presence. 
27 Nov 1984                Assassination of the British High Commissioner in Bombay, India. 
23 Nov 1985                Hijacking of an Egyptian plane to Malta, where sixty-six people
                             were killed during a rescue attempt by the Egyptian forces. 
27 Dec 1985                Major attacks on Rome and Vienna airports, killing sixteen and 
                             wounding scores. 
Sep 1986                   Attempted hijacking of Pan-Am flight 73 at Karachi 
                             airport (22 persons killed). 
Jan 1991                   Suspected of assassinating PLO deputy chief Abu Iyad and PLO
                             security chief Abu Hul in Tunis.
Dec 1998                   Its leader, Sabri Al-Banna, relocated to Iraq. 
1999                       Authorities shut down the ANO's operations in Libya and Egypt.
14 Jan 2000                Austrian police arrest Halima Nimer (f).
16 Aug 2002                Abu Nidal dies or is assassinated in Baghdad.

Leader
1974 - 16 Aug 2002         Sabri al-Banna "Abu Nidal",            (b. 1937 - d. 2002)
                            "Amin al-Sirr", "Sabri Khalil Abd Al Qadir"

Locations:                 Iraq, Lebanon, Libya
Strength:                  A few hundred plus limited overseas support structure.



Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)

[Abu Sayyaf Group flag
                    (National Counterterrorism Center)]

1991                       Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) or simply "Abu Sayyaf" (also known as Al
                             Harakat Al Islamiyya), split from the Moro National Liberation
                             Front, to promote an independent Islamic state in western
                             Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago of the southern Philippines.
Apr 1995                   Raid on the town of Ipil.
27 Dec 1995                Militants kidnap 16 vacationers at Lake Sebu, Mindanao.
 3 Jan 1999                In Jolo, Philippines a grenade was lobbed into a crowd that had
                             gathered to watch firefighters put out a blaze in a neighborhood
                             supermarket. 10 people were killed, and at least 74 injured.
20 Mar 2000                53 hostages -including 22 school children and 5 teachers, and a 
                             priest were seized from two schools in Basilan, after Abu Sayyaf 
                             failed in an attempt to take an army outpost. The rebels
                             subsequently released 20 hostages in exchange for food.
22 Apr 2002                Three bombs went off in public places in the southern Philippines
                             city of General Santos killing 15 people and injuring more 
                             than 70.
23 Apr 2000                21 hostages were kidnapped from a Sipadan Island, Malaysia diving
                             resort by Abu Sayyaf. The hostages include three Germans, two
                             French, two South Africans, two Finns, one Lebanese and a 
                             Filipino working at the Sipadan Island Resort and
                             9 Malaysians working on the island were also seized.
20 Aug 2002                A group of Jehovah's witness Christian sect who worked as 
                             door-to-door salespeople were kidnapped by suspected Muslim
                             rebels on the Philippine island of Jolo. The group of three 
                             men and five women were working for a cosmetics company when
                             they were abducted in the town of Patikul.
23 Jul 2014                Leader Isnilon Totoni Hapilon swears allegiance to Abu Bakr
                             al-Baghdadi, the leader of Islamic State.

Leaders ("Emirs")
1991 - 18 Dec 1998         Abdurajik Abubakar Janjalani       (b. 1959 - d. 1998)
Dec 1998 -  4 Sep 2006     Khadafi Janjalani                  (b. 1975 - d. 2006)
2006 - Jun 2007            Radullan Sahiron "Commander Putol" (b. c.1952)
                             (interim)
Jun 2007 -                 Yasser Igasan "Abu Ali"            (b. 1972)
2016 - 16 Oct 2017         Isnilon Totoni Hapilon             (b. 1968 - d. 2017)
                             "Abu Abdullah al-Filipini"
                           (emir of all Islamic State forces in the Philippines)

Location:                  Philippines 
Strength:                  200 core fighters and more than 2,000 supporters.



Action Directe (AD)

[Action
                    Directe (AD) logo France 1977-1987]

1977                       Direct Action (Action Directe) (AD) founded as anti-NATO, based
                             in France.
 1 May 1979                First attack, AD machine guns the building of the CNPF (now 
                             Medef) French employers federation.
1984                       AD banned by France.
17 Nov 1986                AD kills Georges Besse, Chairman of Renault car company.
 8 Aug 1985                AD and Red Army Faction (RAF) claim joint responsibility for bomb 
                             blast at U.S. air base in Frankfurt, Germany that kills 2.
15 Jan 1986                Communiqué by AD and RAF states they will work together to attack
                             NATO targets.
16 May 1986                AD attacks the INTERPOL General Secretariat building in Saint Cloud,
                             France injuring a policeman and causing extensive damage to the
                             building.
21 Feb 1987                Remaining members arrested in Vitry-aux-Loges, France near Orléans;

                             organization becomes defunct.

Leaders
1977 - 21 Feb 1987         Jean-Marc Rouillan (founder)          (b. 1952)
                           + Nathalie Ménigon (f)                (b. 1957)
                           + Joëlle Aubron (f)                   (b. 1959 - d. 2006)
                           + Régis Schleicher (arrested 1984)    (b. 1957)
                           + Georges Cipriani                    (b. 1950)

Location:                  France, West Germany, Belgium
Strength:                  5 main members



al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades (Brigades of Shahid Yasser Arafat)

[Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
                  logo]

2000                       al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades (Kata'ib Shuhada' al-'Aqsa) created.
 2 Mar 2002                Attack on Beit Yisrael, Jerusalem- 11 killed.
 5 Jan 2003                Attack on Southern Tel Aviv central bus station- 22 killed.
18 Dec 2003                Fatah decided to ask the leaders of the Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigades
                             to join the Fatah Council, recognizing it officially as part
                             of the organization.
Dec 2003                   Assassinated the brother of Ghassan Shakaa, the mayor of Nablus.
29 Jan 2004                Attack on Rehavia, Jerusalem, bus line 19- 11 are killed.
14 Mar 2004                Port of Ashdod attack (together with Hamas)- 10 are killed. 
Jul 2004                   Riots in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian officers are kidnapped 
                             and PA security headquarters buildings and policemen were 
                             attack by armed gunmen.
11 Nov 2004                Announced that they will sign their attacks in the name "Brigades
                             of Shahid Yasser Arafat."
16 Oct 2005                Claimed responsibility for a shooting attack at the Gush Etzion
                             junction, killing three Israelis and wounding three others.
30 Jan 2006                European Union's Gaza offices were raided by 15 masked gunmen. 
                             They demanded apologies from Denmark and Norway regarding the 
                             "Jyllands-Posten" Muhammad cartoons.

High Commander
2002 -                     Marwan Hasib Ibrahim Barghouti       (b. 1959)
                             (imprisoned by Israel 15 Apr 2002)

Location:                  Gaza Strip, West Bank, Israel.
Strength:                  .... members, unknown amount of external aid.



Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB)

1984                       Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB) formed in the Philippines, emerging
                             as the breakaway urban 'hit squad' of the Communist Party of
                             the Philippines New People's Army.
May 1984                   Claims credit for assassination of Police General Tomas Karingal.
21 Apr 1989                Believed to have been involved in the murder of U.S. Army Colonel
                             James Rowe (b. 1938 - d. 1989).
Mar 1997                   ABB announced that it had formed an alliance with the Revolutionary
                             Proletarian Army (RPA) as the Revolutionary Proletarian Army –
                             Alex Boncayao Brigade.
 2 Dec 1997                Claimed credit for rifle grenade attack against Shell Oil Co. 
                             headquarters in Manila.
 6 Dec 2000                Dissolved with peace agreement with the Philippine government.

Leaders
1984 - 1997                Filemon "Ka Popoy" Lagman           (b. 1953 - d. 2001)
1997 -  6 Dec 2000         Nilo Dela Cruz "Sergio Romero"

Location:                  Manila, Philippines
Strength:                  500 members, unknown amount of external aid.



Ansar Al-Islam

[Ansar
                    Al-Islam]

 1 Sep 2001                Ansar Al-Islam ("Supporters of Islam") founded by the merger
                             of two radical Kurdish Muslim sects (Jund al-Islam and Islamic
                             Movement splinter group).
Sep 2001                   Ambushed and kills 42 PUK fighters.
Feb 2002                   Assassinated Franso Haririr, Christian Kurdish politician.
Spring 2002                Attempted assassination of Barham Salih, PUK leader.
Jun 2002                   Bombed a Kurdish restaurant.
Jul 2002                   Killed 9 PUK fighters and destroys Sufi shrines.
Oct 2002                   Murdered U.S. Agency for International Development officer 
                             Laurence Foley in Amman, Jordan.
Dec 2002                   Attacked PUK, killing 103 fighters and wounding 117.
 1 Apr 2003                U.S. and Kurdish forces destroy bases and force Ansar
                             to flee Iraq.

Leaders
2001 - Sep 2001            Abu Abdullah al-Shafi'i (Warya Holery)
                             (1st time)
Sep 2001 - 30 Mar 2003     Mullah Fateh Vahid Krekar                 (b. 1956)
                             (Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad)
                             (Feb 2003 - 26 Mar 2020 prisoner in Norway,
                             from 26 Mar 2020 Italian prisoner)

2003 -  3 May 2010         Abu Abdullah al-Shafi'i (Warya Holery)
                             (2nd time)(Iraqi prisoner from 3 May 2010)
2011 - 2014                Abu Hashim al Ibrahim

Locations:                 Formerly in northern Iraq pocket around Biyarah and Halabja.
Strength:                  500-700 (est. Jan 2003)



Armed Islamic Group (GIA)

[flag of Armed Islamic Group
                  (GIA)(Algeria)]

Dec 1991                   Algeria voids the election victory of the Islamic Salvation Front.
1992                       Armed Islamic Group (in Arabic al-Jama'ah al-Islamiyah al-Musallah;
                            (GIA, from French Groupe Islamique Armé), begins attacks to 

                             overthrow the secular Algerian government and replace it with an 
                             Islamic state.
Sep 1993                   Announces terrorist campaign against foreigners living in Algeria.
26 Aug 1994                Declared a "Caliphate", or Islamic government for Algeria, with
                             Gousmi as Commander of the Faithful, Mohammed Said as head 
                             of government.
Dec 1994                   Hijacked Air France flight to Algiers. 
27 May 1996                Bodies of seven monks from the monastery of Tibhirine (L'Abbaye
                             Notre-Dame de l'Atlas
) in Algeria, belonging to the Roman
                             Catholic Trappist Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance
                             are found. The monks were kidnapped on 26 Mar 1996. GIA claims
                             responsibility
.
 1 Aug 1996                GIA suspected in killing of French Archbishop of Oran.
1998                       The GSPC splinter faction appears to have eclipsed the GIA.
11 Jun 1999                GIA announced a jihad on French territory in a threatening letter
                             addressed to the media.

Leaders
1992 - Sep 1992            Allel Mohamed "Moh Leveilley"           (d. 1992)
1992 - Nov 1992            Tayyeb "El-Afghani"                     (d. 1992)
Jan 1993 - 1993/94         Abdelhak Layada "Abu Adlane"            (b. 1959)
1993/94 - 26 Feb 1994      Mourad Si Ahmed "Djaffar al-Afghani"    (d. 1994)
1994 - Mar 1994            Abou Khalil Mahfoudh (acting)
Mar 1994 - 26 Aug 1994     Chérif Gousmi "Abou-Abdellah"           (d. 1994)
Emirs
26 Aug 1994 - Sep 1994     Chérif Gousmi "Abou-Abdellah"           (s.a.)
Sep 1994 - 16 Jul 1996     Djamel Zitouni "Abou Abderrahmane Amine"(b. 1964 - d. 1996)
1996 -  8 Feb 2002         Antar Zouabri "Abou Rahana"             (b. 1970 - d. 2002)
2002 - Jul 2004            Rachid Abou Tourab                      (d. 2004)
2004                       Boulenouar Oukil
2004 - Nov 2004            Nourredine Boudiafi
2004                       Guechniti Redouane                      (d. 2004)
2004 - Dec 2004            Younes Chaabane                         (d. 2004)

Location:                  Algeria
Strength:                  Unknown, probably several hundred to several thousand.



Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) (Orly Group, 3rd October
Organization)

[Armenian Secret Army for
                  the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA] flag

1975                        Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA)
                              (Hayasdani Azadakrut'ean Hay Kaghtni Panag)(a.k.a. the Orly

                              Group, 3rd October Organization) formed as a Marxist-Leninist
                              grouped to compel the Turkish Government to acknowledge
                              publicly its alleged responsibility for the deaths 
                              of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915, pay reparations, and cede
                              territory for an Armenian homeland.
22 Oct 1975                 Turkish ambassador to Austria Danis Tunaligil is killed.
16 Feb 1976                 First acknowledged killing -Turkish diplomat, Oktay Cerit, in
                              Beirut.
 7 Aug 1982                 Bombing of Ankara airport 9 killed.
15 Jul 1983                 Bombing at Orly Airport kills 8.
19 Dec 1991                 Last attack targeted the bullet-proof limousine carrying the
                              Turkish Ambassador to Budapest, ambassador was not injured.

Leaders
1975 - 28 Apr 1988          Hagop Hagopian                    (b. 1951 - d. 1988)
                              (= Harutiun Takoshian)

1988 - 1991                 ....

Location:                   Lebanon, Western Europe, Armenia, United States, Syria, Turkey.
Strength:                   A few hundred members and sympathizers. 



Army for the Liberation of Rwanda (ALiR) (Interahamwe, Former Armed Forces [ex-FAR])

[Rwanda flag1962-2001 used
                  by Army for the Liberation of Rwanda (ALiR)
                  (Interahamwe, Former Armed Forces [ex-FAR])]

1994                       Army for the Liberation of Rwanda (Armée pour la Libération du
                             Rwanda, ALiR)(a.k.a. Interahamwe, Former Armed Forces of Rwanda 
                             [ex-FAR]) began actions to topple Rwanda's Tutsi-dominated 
                             government, and to restore Hutu control, and, possibly
                             complete the genocide begun early in 1994. FAR was the 
                             army of the Rwandan Hutu regime that carried out the genocide
                             of 500,000 or more Tutsis and regime opponents in 1994.
                             Interahamwe was its civilian militia counterpart, both merged 
                             in forced Congo exile.
1999                       ALIR kidnapped and killed 8 foreign tourists in a game park on 
                             the Congo-Uganda border.
Sep 2000                   Consolidated forces with a Kinshasa-based Hutu group to form the
                             Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) under
                             Ignace Murwanashyaka (b. 1963 - d. 2019).
18 Sep 2019                Sylvestre Mudacumura (b. 1954 - d. 2019), commander of FDLR killed
                             by the Congolese army in North Kivu, Congo (DRC).

President of Interahamwe
1994 - 1998                Jerry Robert Kajuga                    (b. 1960 - d. 2007)
                             (DRC Congo prisoner from 1996)

Locations:                 Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo 
Strength:                  Several thousand.



Aum Shinrikyo (Supreme Truth)

[Aum Shinrikyo
                        ("Supreme Truth")(Japan)]
1984 - 2000
[Religious flag
                        version of Aum Shinrikyo symbol ALEPH (Japan)]
Adopted 2000
1984                       Oumu Shinrikyō (Aum Shinrikyo)("Supreme Truth") an apocalyptic 
                             religious cult founded to take over Japan and then the world.
1987                       Received official status of a religion from the Japanese 
                             government.
20 Mar 1995                Sarin nerve gas attacks on several Tokyo subway trains that killed 
                             12 persons and injured up to 6,000.
May 1995                   Shoko Asahara arrested by Japanese police.
Jan 2000                   Renamed itself Aleph, claims to reject the violent and 
                             apocalyptic teachings of its founder.
2007                       Split into Aleph and Hikari no Wa ("Circle of Light").
 6 Jul 2018                Asahara and six followers were executed as a punishment for the
                            1995 attacks and other crimes and the remaining six on death row
                            were executed on 26 Jul 2018.

Supreme Leaders
1984 - 29 Dec 1999         Shōkō Asahara (= Chizuo Matsumoto) (b. 1955 - d. 2018)
29 Dec 1999 - 2007         Fumihiro Jōyū (de facto)           (b. 1962)

Location:                  Japan, previously had a presence in Australia, Russia, Ukraine, 
                             Germany, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, the former Yugoslavia, and the U.S.
Strength:                  Current membership is estimated at 1,600 (2002 est.)(the group 
                            claimed to have 9,000 members in Japan and up to 40,000 worldwide)



Babbar Khalsa International

[Babbar Khalsa International logo]

Spring 1978                Babbar Khalsa ("Tigers of the True Faith") a militant Sikh
                             separatist group formed.

23 Jun 1985                Bombing of Air India flight, more than 300 are killed.
29 Apr 1986                Joins in declaration of "Khalistan" independence from India.
22 May 2005                Attack at movie theater in Delhi, 1 person killed 49 injured.

Leaders
1978 -  8 Aug 1992         Jathedar Sukhdev Singh Babbar     (b. 1955 - d. 1992)
1992 - 26 Mar 2006         Paramjit Singh Bheora
                             (from 2000, in U.K. exile)

2006 -                     Wadhawa Singh Babbar "Chacha"     (b. 1954)

Locations:                 India, Pakistan
Strength:                  ....



Chukaku-ha (Nucleus or Middle Core Faction)

[Japan
                    Revolutionary Communist League, National Committee]

1959                       Japan Revolutionary Communist League, National Committee
                             (Kakumeiteki Kyōsanshugisha Dōmei, Zenkoku Iinkai) is a Japanese
                             far-left revolutionary group, often referred to as Chūkaku-ha
                             ("Central Core Faction") founded to protest Japan's imperial
                             system, Western imperialism, and later events such as the Gulf
                             War and the expansion of Tokyo's Narita Airport. Largest domestic
                             militant group; has small covert action wing called Kansai
                             Revolutionary Army .
1985/86                    Performed a number of sabotage attacks, including several attempts
                             to derail trains, as well as the launching of crude incendiary
                             rockets at United States Naval bases.
2001                       Chūkaku-ha's attacks continued into the later part of the 20th
                             century, with the last one occurring in 2001

Leaders
1959 - 2001                ....

Location:                  Japan
Strength:                  3,500; has not engaged in any terrorist activities
                             for nearly two decades.



Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA)

[Continuity Irish
                  Republican Army flag]

1986                       Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA), styling itself as the
                             Irish Republican Army (Óglaigh na hÉireann)(a.k.a. Continuity Army 

                             Council), formed as a radical terrorist splinter group formed 
                             as the clandestine armed wing of the political organization
                             Republican Sinn Fein (RSF). Goal: reunification of Ireland and 
                             to force British troops from Northern Ireland. But did not
                             become actives until Provisioal IRA's ceasefire in 1994.
13 Jul 1996                Car bomb containing up to 1,200lb of home-made explosives exploded 
                             outside Kilyhelvin Hotel, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.
29 Sep 1996                Car bomb containing 250lb of home-made explosives was abandoned 
                             in Belfast. 
31 Jul 1997                A bomb, estimated at between 500 and 1,000lbs, was left at the
                             grounds of Carrybridge Hotel, near Lisballaw, County Fermanagh. 
31 Oct 1997                Claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing of government 
                             offices Derry. 
24 Jan 1998                Car bomb exploded outside an entertainment club, the 'River Club'
                             on Factory Road in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.
20 Feb 1998                Exploded a large car bomb, estimated at 500lbs, outside the Royal
                             Ulster Constabulary  station in the center of Moria, County Down.
 6 Feb 2000                Bomb explosion at a hotel in Irvinestown; there were no injuries. 
 1 Jun 2000                Planted a bomb under Hammersmith Bridge, London. 
19 Jul 2000                Planted a bomb at Acton Underground Station, London.
 9 Mar 2009                CIRA claimed responsibility for the fatal shooting of a PSNI
                             officer in Craigavon, County Armagh, the first police fatality
                             in Northern Ireland since 1998. 

Chiefs of Staff of the Continuity Irish Republican Army
1986 -  1 Jan 1991         Dáithí Ó Conaill                 (b. 1938 - d. 1991)
1991? -                    Continuity Army Council

Locations:                 Northern Ireland, Irish Republic.
Strength:                  Fewer than 50 hard-core activists.



Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP)-Hawatmeh Faction 

[Democratic Front for the
                  Liberation of Palestine (DFLP)-Hawatmeh Faction]

1969                       Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PDFLP),
                             (Jabha al-Dimuqratiyya li-Tahrir Filastin) a Marxist-Leninist
                             organization, founded when it splits from
the PFLP. Opposed the
                             Israel-PLO peace agreement. Goal is to
achieve Palestinian
                             national goals through revolution of the
masses.
1974                       Renamed Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).
since mid-1990's           Has made limited moves toward merging with the Popular Front for 
                             the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
 4 Mar 1996                Assailants poured gasoline at the entrance to a restaurant in
                             Sitrah, Bahrain and threw Molotov cocktails inside, killing 
                             7 Bangladeshi employees and destroying the restaurant.
25 Aug 2001                At Marganit Outpost, Gaza Strip 2 Palestinian gunmen killed three
                             soldiers and wounded seven Friday night as they stormed a Gaza
                             Strip outpost in an attack unprecedented in the 11-month-long
                             intifada. Soldiers at the Marganit outpost shot and killed the 
                             two gunmen. The radical DFLP claimed responsibility for the
                             raid, in its first such claim in the intifada.

Secretary-general
1969 -                     Nayef Hawatmeh "Abu an-Nuf"        (b. 1938)

Locations:                 Syria, Lebanon, Gaza Strip, and West Bank
Strength:                  500



Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) (al-Jihad, Islamic Jihad, Jihad Group)

Late 1970's                al-Jihad (a.k.a. Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Jihad Group, Islamic
                             Jihad) formed to overthrow Egyptian government and replacement
                             with an Islamic state; attacks U.S. and Israeli interests in 
                             Egypt and abroad.
 6 Oct 1981                Responsible for assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
17 Mar 1992                Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina is bombed
                             29 killed, 250 injured by Islamic Jihad.
Jun 1992                   Activists in Egypt murdered author Faraj Fodah.
18 Aug 1993                Claims responsibility for attempted assassination of Egyptian
                             Interior Minister Hassan al-Alfi.
25 Nov 1993                Claims responsibility for attempted assassination of Egyptian
                             Prime Minister Atef Sedky.
1995                       Responsible for the Egyptian Embassy bombing in Islamabad, Pakistan
1998                       Zawahri formally merged Egyptian Islamic Jihad into al-Qaeda. 

Spiritual Leader
1970's - 18 Feb 2017       Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman            (b. 1938 - d. 2017) 

Emirs
1970's - 19..              Abboud el-Zumar al-Sharif          (b. 1948)
                             (jailed 19.. - 14 Mar 2011)
1980 - 15 Apr 1982        
Muhammad abd-al-Salam Faraj        (b. 1954 - d. 1982)
198. - 1991                Abboud el-Zumar                    (b. 1948)
                             (jailed 1981 - Mar 2011)
1991 - 1998                Ayman Mohammed al-Zawahri          (b. 1951 - d. 2022)
                             (jailed 1982-1984) 

- Talaa'al Fateh ("Vanguards of Conquest") faction -
1991 - 1993                Ahmed Husayn Agiza                 (b. 1962)           

Locations:                 Egypt, network outside Egypt, in Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, 
                             Sudan, Lebanon, and United Kingdom.
Strength:                  Unknown, suspected to be several hundred.



Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo (ERP) (People's Revolutionary Army)

[Ejército Revolucionario
                  del Pueblo (ERP) 1974-1977 (People's Revolutionary
                  Army (Argentina)]

1974                       Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo (ERP)("People's Revolutionary
                             Army") founded as the military branch of the Partido
                             Revolucionario de los Trabajadores ("Workers' Revolutionary
                             Party")
in Argentina.
1974                       Kidnapping of Esso executive Víctor Samuelsson and obtaining
                             a ransom of $12 million.
Mar 1976                   Argentine armed forces moved ahead with the Dirty War, 
                             dispensing with the civilian government.
late 1977                  Eradicated as a military force by Argentine armed forces.

Commanders
1974 - 19 Jul 1976         Mario Roberto Santucho            (b. 1936 - d. 1976)
1976 - 1977                Enrique Gorriarán Merlo           (b. 1941 - d. 2006)

Location:                  Argentina
Strength:                  100 fighters, with a 400 person support network,
                             some 2,500 sympathizers.



Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) (Basque Fatherland and Liberty) 

[Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA)
                  (Basque Fatherland and Liberty)(Spain and France)]

Note: there seems not to be one leader, but one or even more Executive committee's. The leaders listed seem to have been those who had most power.

31 Aug 1959                Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)(Euskadi Ta Askatasuna) formed
                             to established an independent homeland based on Marxist
                             principles
in the northern Spanish provinces of Vizcaya,
                             Guipuzcoa, Alava,
and Navarra and the southwestern French
                             departments of Labourd,
Basse-Navarra, and Soule.
1966                       ETA decides to start military struggle.
 7 Jun 1968                ETA carries out first planned killing: victim is Meliton Manzanas,
                             chief of secret police in Basque city of San Sebastian.
20 Dec 1973                Assassinates Premier Luis Carrero Blanco (likely Franco successor).
Oct 1974                   ETA divided into: ETA - 5th Assembly or Military ETA (ETA-m), and
                             ETA - 6th Assembly or Political-Military ETA (ETA-pm).
23 Feb 1981 -  Jan 1982    ETA-pm makes a truce which lasts until Jan 1982 when they kidnap
                             the father of singer Julio Iglesias.
20 Jan 1982                Many members of ETA-pm are arrested.
Sep 1982                   Many members of ETA-pm surrender.
 5 Feb 1984                ETA-pm is disbanded. What remains of its members joins the ETA-m.
1992                       ETA's three top leaders — military leader Francisco Mujika 
                             Garmendia "Pakito", political leader José Luis Alvarez
                             Santacristina "Txelis" and logistical leader José María Arregi
                             Erostarbe "Fiti", often referred to collectively as the "cupola"
                             of ETA or as the Artapalo collective [12] — were arrested in the
                             French Basque town of Bidart.
Sep 1998 -  3 Dec 1999     Observed a cease fire.
since 1960's               The group has killed more than 800 persons.
24 Mar 2006 - 30 Dec 2006  ETA declares a permanent cease-fire.
30 Dec 2006                Bomb in parking lot of Barajas International Airport in
                             Madrid kills 3.

Leaders
31 Aug 1959 - 19..         Executive Committee Heads
                           - Julen Kerman Madariaga Agirre     (b. 1932 - d. 2021)
                           - José Maria Benito del Valle       (b. 1927 - d. 2011)
- ETA-pm - 
19.. - 22 Feb 1983         José Astorquiza "Pottoka" 
- ETA-m -
19.. - 1987                Domingo Iturbe Abasolo "Txomin"     (b. 1943 - d. 1987)
19.. - c.1996              Félix Alberto López de Lacalle      (b. 1960)
                             "Mobutu"
c.1996 - 1998              Mikel Albizu "Antza" (1st time)     (b. 1961)
1998 - Sep 2000            Ignacio Gracia Arregui              (b. 1955)
                             "Iñaki de Rentería"
Sep 2000 - 22 Feb 2001     Francisco Javier García Gaztelu     (b. 1966)
                             "Txapote"                         (b. 1966)
Feb 2001 - Oct 2004        Mikel Albizu "Antza" (2nd time)     (s.a.)
                             (imprisioned Oct 2004)
Oct 2004 -                 ....

Locations:                 Northern Spain and southwestern France 
Strength:                  Unknown; may have hundreds of members, plus supporters.



Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN)

[Farabundo Martí National
                  Liberation Front (FMLN)(El Salvador)]

10 Oct 1980                Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (Frente Farabundo Martí
                             para la Liberación Nacional)(FMLN) formed with Cuban help as an
                             umbrella group for Communist and leftist insurgent groups in 
                             El Salvador.
 2 Jan 1991                Two U.S. crewmen, Lt. Col. David Pickett and Crew Chief PFC, 
                             Earnest Dawson were executed after their helicopter was downed
                             by the FMLN militants in San Miguel Department.
31 Dec 1991                Peace Agreement with El Salvadoran government; FMLN continues as a
                             legal political party.

Leader
10 Jan 1980 - 31 Dec 1991  Schafik Jorge Hándal              (b. 1930 - d. 2006)

Locations:                 El Salvador, Honduras
Strength:                  6,000-7,000


Fatah: see Palestine Liberation Movement

First of October Antifascist Resistance Group (GRAPO)

[First of October
                  Antifascist Resistance Group (GRAPO)(Spain)]

1975                       First of October Antifascist Resistance Group (GRAPO)(Grupo de
                             Resistencia Antifascista Primero de Octubre). The wing of
                             the illegal Communist Party of Spain of the Franco era. Formed
                             to overthrow of the Spanish government and replace it with a 
                             Marxist-Leninist regime. GRAPO is vehemently anti-U.S., calls
                             for the removal of all U.S. military forces from Spanish 
                             territory.
Nov 2000                   Spanish policeman is killed in reprisal for the arrest in France 
                             of several GRAPO leaders.

Leaders
1975 - ....                ....

Location:                  Spain 
Strength:                  Unknown but likely fewer than a dozen hard-core activists. 



Force 17

early 1970's               Force 17 (17 Alquat) formed by senior Fatah officers, shortly after
                             the PLO's
expulsion from Jordan. Originally intended as a
                             personal
security force for Gasser Aright and other PLO leaders.
                             Force
17 eventually became one of the PLO's elite units and 
                             functioned in various areas of operational activities under 
                             the direct guidance of Arafat.
Aug 1982                   As a result of the Israeli attack on its headquarters, Force 17 
                             along with the other PLO forces, left Lebanon for Tunisia.
22 Sep 1985                Killed two Israelis in the Marina of Larnaka in Cyprus.
22 Jul 1987                Palestinian caricaturist Nagy El-Ali assassinated in Kuwait.
1990                       Attempted sea born attack in Israeli beaches foiled.
1994                       Officially dissolved when Arafat returned to Gaza and merged 
                             it into al-Amn al-Ri'asah (Presidential security) unit commanded 
                             by Faisal Abu Sharah.
Dec 2007                   The remainder of the The Force was merged into the Presidential
                             Guard and the National Security Forces.

Commanders
1970's - 22 Jan 1979       Ali Hassan Salameh "Abu Hassan"    (b. 1941 - d. 1979)
22 Jan 1979 - 1994         Mahmoud al Natour "Abu Tayeb"
c.2001 - 2006              Mahmoud Awad Damra "Abu Awad"
                             (Israeli prisoner 2006-Jan 2012)

Locations:                 Israel, West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan
Strength:                  Estimated at 3,000 members.



Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ) (Quebec Liberation Front)

[Front de Libération du Québec
                  (FLQ)(Canada)]

Feb 1963                   Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ)("Liberation Front of Quebec")
                             is founded. Their ultimate goal is to establish an 

                             independent Quebec nation, free from any ties to the 
                             rest of Canada, through violent activities.
 5 Oct 1970                Kidnaps James Cross, British commercial envoy in Quebec.
18 Oct 1970                Assassinates Pierre LaPorte, Labor Minister of Quebec province.
af.Oct 1970                The FLQ members who are not arrested break off into
                             smaller splinter groups, each with varying agendas. 

Leaders
Feb 1963 - 19 Jun 1963     Georges Schoeters (imprisoned)      (b. 1930 - d. 1994)
1963 - 1964                Robert Hudon + Jean Gagnon 
1965 - 1971                Charles Gagnon                      (b. 1939 - d. 2005)

Locations:                 Quebec, Canada
Strength:                  Unknown, ideology supported by some French speakers.



al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group, IG)

late 1970's                al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group)(IG) formed with primary goal
                             is to overthrow the Egyptian
government and replace it with an
                             Islamic state, but certain
group leaders also may be interested
                             in attacking U.S. and
Israeli interests.
1991                       Murders Egypt's speaker of parliament. 
1992                       Attacks on Egyptian tourist sites begun.
 8 Jun 1992                Assassinates of Farag Foda. 
20 Apr 1993                Terrorists attempted to assassinate Egyptian Information Minister
                             Safw in Cairo, firing shots at his motorcade. The Minister was
                             slightly injured and his bodyguard was seriously wounded. 
27 Sep 1994                Three persons were killed and two were wounded when an assailant
                             fired on a downtown tourist area in Hurghada. Two Egyptians
                             and one German were killed in the attack. 
26 Jun 1995                Attempt in June 1995 to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni 
                             Mubarak in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
20 Oct 1995                Car bomb detonated outside the local police headquarters building
                             in Rijeka, killing the driver and injuring 29 bystander warning
                             that the attacks would continue unless authorities released an 
                             imprisoned Gama'at militant, Tala'at Fuad Kassem, who had been
                             arrested in Sep 1995.
19 Nov 1995                Car bomb attack on Egyptian embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan; 16 die.
28 Apr 1996                Europa Hotel shooting, Cairo. 18 Greek tourists killed.
18 Sep 1997                Attack on the Cairo National Antiquities Museum.
17 Nov 1997                Responsible for attack at Luxor that killed 58 foreign tourists
                             the "Hatshesut Temple massacre."
2003                       Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya renounced bloodshed.
 5 Aug 2006                Deputy leader of al-Qaeda Ayman al-Zawahiri announced a new
                            alliance with Al Gama'a al-Islamiyya, in a video released on
                            the internet. This was disputed by former members.

Spiritual Leader
1970's - 18 Feb 2017       Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman            (b. 1938 - d. 2017)
                             "the Blind Sheikh"
                             (U.S. prisoner from 24 Jun 1993)

Leaders
1970's - 1991              Ala Mohieddin                      (d. 1991)
1991 - 2003                ....
2006 - 31 Oct 2008         Mohammad Hasan Khalil al-Hakim     (b. c.1961 - 2008)
                             "Abu Jihad al-Masri
"

Locations:                 Egypt, network outside Egypt, in Sudan, the United Kingdom,
                             Afghanistan, Austria, and Yemen.
Strength:                  Unknown. At its peak, IG probably commanded several thousand
                             hard-core members and another several thousand sympathizers.



Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement)

 [Islamic
                        ResistanceMovement "Hamas"
                        (Palestine)]
Hamas Banner
[Islamic
                        ResistanceMovement "Hamas"
                        (Palestine)]
Hamas Banner Variant

[Islamic Resistance Movement
                          "Hamas" military branch
                          (Palestine)]Hamas military branch

1987                       Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya (Hamas)("Islamic Resistance
                             Movement"). Formed as an outgrowth of the Palestinian branch
                             of the Muslim Brotherhood. Aimed at establishing an Islamic
                             Palestinian state in place of Israel.
1989                       Israel outlaws Hamas and imprisons Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
16 Apr 1993                Hamas' first use of suicide bombing.
25 Feb 1996                A suicide bomber blew up a bus in Jerusalem, killing 26 people 
                             and injuring some 80 others.
Aug 1999                   Jordanian authorities closed the group's Political Bureau offices
                             in Amman, arrested its leaders, and prohibited the group from
                             operating on Jordanian territory.
 1 Jun 2001                A Palestinian suicide bomber detonated an explosives belt amid a
                             crowd of youngsters outside a beach front nightclub, 
                             Dolphinarium, on a Friday night, killing at least 20 and injuring
                             more than 120. The blast occurred shortly after 11:00 pm 
                             on Tel-Aviv's Promenade.
 9 Aug 2001                A suicide bombing at a pizza restaurant in the center of Jerusalem
                             killed 15 people -mostly young families and tourists- and wounded
                             more than 90. Six children were among the dead. At roughly 14:00,
                             a blast devastated a crowded Sbarro Pizzeria at the corner of
                             King George and Jaffa streets.
27 Mar 2002                29 Israelis were killed and around 150 were wounded, when a suicide
                             bomber detonated an explosive device in the dining room of the
                             Park Hotel in Netanya.
 7 May 2002                A suicide bomber detonated a powerful bomb in a crowded billiards
                             hall in Israel, killing at least 16 and wounding more than 50.
                             The attack took place at the "Sheffield Club" pool hall, on the
                             third floor of a building in Rishon LeZion, South of Tel-Aviv.
18 Jun 2002                A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up on a bus packed with
                             schoolchildren and office workers near the busy Patt Intersection
                             in southern Jerusalem, killing 20 people and wounding 52.
31 Jul 2002                At least 9 people were killed and seventy wounded in a bombing
                             at Hebrew University's Mount Scopus campus.
 4 Aug 2002                At least 10 people were killed, and more than 40 wounded in a
                             suicide bombing on a commuter bus in Meron Junction in northern
                             Israel.
15 Nov 2002                12 Israelis; four IDF soldiers, five Border Policemen and three
                             civilians, members of the emergency response squad of Kiryat 
                             Arba, were killed and 15 were injured in a Palestinian gunmen 
                             ambush in Hebron.
21 Nov 2002                A suicide bomber struck a municipal bus in Jerusalem, killing at
                             least ten people and injuring nearly 50. The bombing targeted
                             the number 20 Jerusalem bus as it passed through a quiet
                             residential neighborhood at the height of morning rush hour.
21 Mar 2004                Israel assassinates Sheik Ahmed Yasin in Gaza City, in Gaza Strip.
17 Apr 2004                Israel assassinates Rantissi in car explosion.
25 Jan 2006                In Palestinian parliamentary elections, Hamas wins 74 of 132 
                             seats and Fatah 45. Turnout is 78.2%. 
29 Mar 2006 - 14 Jun 2017  Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas is sworn in as prime minister of the
                             Palestinian government.
14 Jun 2017 -              Hamas seizes control of the Gaza Strip after Ismail Haniyeh is
                             dismissed as prime minister of the Palestinian government.
 7 Oct 2023                Hamas attacks on Israel began with a barrage of at least 4,300
                             rockets launched into Israel and vehicle-transported and powered
                             paraglider incursions into Israel. Hamas fighters breached the
                             Gaza–Israel barrier, attacking military bases and massacring
                             civilians in 21 communities, including Be'eri, Kfar Aza, Nir Oz,
                             Netiv Haasara, and Alumim. According to an IDF report that
                             revised the estimate on the number of attackers, 6,000 Gazans
                             breached the border in 119 locations into Israel, including 3,800
                             from the "elite Nukhba forces" and 2,200 civilians and other
                             militants. In total, 1,139 people were killed: 695 Israeli
                             civilians (including 38 children), 71 foreign nationals, and 373
                             members of the security forces. 364 civilians were killed and
                             many more wounded while attending the Nova music festival. About
                             250 Israeli civilians and soldiers were taken as hostages to the
                             Gaza Strip, alive or dead, and including 30 children.
31 Jul 2024                Ismail Haniyeh is assassinated by an explosive device planted in
                             his guesthouse in Tehran, Iran likely by Israeli Mossad agents.
16 Oct 2024                Yahya Sinwar is killed during a firefight with the Israeli
                             military in Tel al-Sultan, Gaza.

Leaders
1987 - 22 Mar 2004         Sheikh Ahmed Yassin               (b. 1936 - d. 2004)
                             (imprisoned 1989 - Oct 1997)
22 Mar 2004 - 17 Apr 2004  Abdel Aziz Ali Abdul Majid        (b. 1947 - d. 2004)
                             al-Rantis

Chairmen of the Political Bureau
1992 - 1996                Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook        (b. 1951)
1996 -  6 May 2017         Khaled Mashal                     (b. 1956)
 6 May 2017 - 31 Jul 2024  Ismail Abdel Salam Ahmed Haniyeh  (b. 1962 - d. 2024)
 6 Aug 2024 - 16 Oct 2024  Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar       (b. 1962 - d. 2024)
17 Oct 2024 -              Temporary Committee (acting)
                           - Khaled Mashal                   (s.a.)
                           - Khalil al-Hayya                 (b. 1960)
                           - Zaher Jabarin                   (b. 1968)
                           - Muhammad Ismail Darwish
                           - unnamed (political bureau secretary)

Locations:                 Israel, Gaza Strip, and West Bank
Strength:                  Unknown number of hard-core members; tens of thousands
                             of supporters and sympathizers.



Harakat ul- Ansar (HUA)

[flag of Harakat ul- Ansar
                  (HUA)]

Oct 1993                   Harakat ul-Ansar (HUA) founded as merger of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
                             and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) to oppose Indian troops in
                             Kashmir.
1994                       U.S. nationals kidnapped in New Delhi in effort to secure the 
                             release of imprisoned HUA leader Maulana Masood Azhar.
1997                       Renamed Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. Ahar split from the group to form
                             Jaish-e-Mohammed.

General secretary
Oct 1993 - 1997            Mohammad Masood Azhar Alvi             (b. 1968)
                            (Indian prisioner Feb 1994 - Dec 1999)

Locations:                 Pakistan, Kashmir
Strength:                  Several thousand armed supporters



Harakat ul-Mujahidin - al-Islami (HUM)

[Harakat ul-Mujahidin
                  flag]

1993                       Harakat ul-Mujahidin - al-Islami (HUM)(split from Harkat-ul-Jihad-
                             al-Islami) militant Islamic group formed to unite Indian
                             Kashmir with Pakistan.
Jul 1995                   Linked to the kidnapping of five Western tourists in Kashmir
                             who were later killed in Dec 1995.
Feb 1998                   Issues fatwa calling for attacks on U.S. and Western interests.
late 1999                  About 45% of HUM defects to join Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM).
24 Dec 1999                An India Airlines Airbus was hijacked en-route from Katmandu, 
                             Nepal to India. After making stops in India, Pakistan and the
                             United Arab Emirates, the plane was forced to land at Kandahar
                             in Afghanistan. 27 hostages, mostly women and children were
                             released when the plane made a re-fueling stop in the United 
                             Arab Emirates. 1 passenger was stabbed to death by the hijackers.
                             After 8 days of negotiations, the Indian government agreed to
                             free three Kashmiri militants in exchange for the release of the
                             remaining 154 hostages. One of those released was Maulana Masoud
                             Azhar, a senior member of the HUM.

Emirs
1993 - Feb 2000            Fazlur ur-Rehman Khalil           (b. 1963)
Feb 2000 -                 Farooq Kashmiri

Secretary-general
Feb 2000 -                 Fazlur Rehman Khalil

Locations:                 Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir
Strength:                  Several thousand armed supporters.



Hezbollah (Party of God) (Hizballah, Islamic Jihad,Revolutionary Justice Organization, 
Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, and Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine)

[Hezbollah (Party of God)
                        unofficial flag (Lebanon)]
Unofficial Flag
[Hezbollah (Party of
                        God) official flag (Lebanon)]
Official Flag

1982                       Hezbollah ("Party of God")(Hizballah, a.k.a. Islamic Jihad,
                             Revolutionary Justice Organization, Organization of the
                             Oppressed on Earth, and Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of
                             Palestine). Radical Shia organization founded in Lebanon to
                             increase its political power in Lebanon, opposing Israel

                             and the Middle East peace negotiations. Initially, members
                             of the "Islamic Resistance in Lebanon" conducted operations under
                             the name of Lebanese National Resistance Front, different
                             aliases or smaller groups that were eventually absorbed within
                             Hezbollah.

1982 - 1992                Kidnapped around 30 Westerners between 1982 and 1992, including 
                             American journalist Terry Anderson, British journalist John
                             McCarthy, the Archbishop of Canterbury's special envoy 
                             Terry Waite and Irish citizen Brian Keenan. 
 6 Jun 1982 - 22 May 2000  Southern Lebanon is occupied by Israeli forces during the Lebanon
                             Civil War (which ends 1991).
18 Apr 1983                Suicide bombing of the American Embassy in Beirut, killed

                             61 people and left more than 120 wounded.
23 Oct 1983                Suicide bombing of the U.S. Marines headquarters in Beirut, killed
                             39 and wounded 40 people. On the same day a suicide bombing of
                             the French army barracks in Beirut kills 74 and wounded about 15.
16 Mar 1984                U.S. CIA station station chief in Beirut William Francis Buckley
                             (b. 1928 - d. 1985) is taken hostage, tortured and killed by
                             Hezbollah.
20 Sep 1984                Truck bombing of replacement U.S. Embassy in East Beirut.

14 Jun 1985                Hijacking of TWA Flight 847 en route from Athens to Rome. 
1985                       The formation of Hezbollah is announced publicly.
17 Feb 1988                U.S. Col. William R. Higgins (b. 1945 - d. 1989), assigned to UN
                             Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), is taken hostage, 
                             tortured and killed by Hezbollah.
16 Feb 1992                Abbas al-Musawi, H
ezbollah's secretary-general killed by a
                             rocket attack launched by an Israel.
17 Mar 1992                Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires was car-bombed, 29 killed.
18 Jul 1994                A car bomb in Buenos Aires exploded at the Israeli-Argentine Mutual
                             Association
(AMIA), killing 100 persons and wounding more than
                             200 others.
The explosion caused the seven-story building to
                             collapse.

19 Jul 1994                A Panamanian flight was bombed in the Alas Chiricanas bombing,
                             leaving 21 people dead, including 12 Jews. 
26 Jul 1994                Car bomb exploded outside the Israeli embassy in London.
31 Mar 1998                6 Lebanese construction workers were killed in the explosion of
                             a roadside bomb. Two others were wounded. The men were all 
                             civilians engaged in construction work at an South Lebanese Army
                             (SLA) outpost near Marjayoun. The attack reportedly occurred
                             shortly after a visit by Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak 
                             Mordechai to SLA headquarters in nearby Marjayoun. 
 7 Oct 2000                3 Israeli soldiers – Adi Avitan, Staff Sgt. Benyamin Avraham, and
                             Staff Sgt. Omar Sawaidwere – were abducted by Hezbollah while
                             patrolling the Israeli side of the Israeli-Lebanese border.
                             The soldiers were killed either during the attack or in its
                             immediate aftermath.

12 Mar 2002                6 Israelis were killed when two H
ezbollah terrorists opened fire 
                             from ambush on Israeli vehicles traveling between Shlomi and 
                             Kibbutz Metzuba near the northern border with Lebanon.
12 Jul 2006 -  8 Sep 2006  Hezbollah rockets northern Israel, in response Israel attacks
                             and invades Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah militants. In the
                             fighting 1,200 Lebanese and 158 Israelis were killed.

12 Feb 2008                Hezbollah leader I
mad Mughnieh was killed by a car bomb in
                             Damascus, Syria.
 7-21 May 2008             Lebanon's 17-month long political crisis spiraled out of control.
                             H
ezbollah-led opposition fighters seized control of several West
                             Beirut neighborhoods from Future Movement militiamen loyal to
                             the American-backed government, in street battles that left 11
                             dead and 30 wounded before the government backed down and
                             Hezbollah was granted veto power in Lebanon's parliament
.
17-18 Sep 2024             Thousands of handheld pagers and hundreds of walkie-talkies
                             intended for use by Hezbollah exploded simultaneously across
                             Lebanon and Syria in an Israeli attack, killing 42 and injuring
                             about 3,500.
27 Sep 2024                Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, along with Hezbollah number
                             three leader Ali Karaki (b. 1967 - d. 2024) are killed in Beirut,
                             Lebanon by an Israeli forces strike on Hezbollah's main
                             headquarters.   

Spiritual Leader
1982 -  4 Jul 2010         Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein   (b. 1935 - d. 2010)
                             Fadlallah 

Secretaries-general
1983 - 1984                Sheikh Subhi al-Tufayli            (b. 1948)
1984 - 16 Feb 1992         Sheikh Abbas al-Musawi             (b. 1952 - d. 1992)
16 Feb 1992 - 27 Sep 2024  Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah            (b. 1960 - d. 2024)
28 Sep 2024 -              Sheikh Naim Qassem                 (b. 1953)
                             (acting to 29 Oct 2024)

Locations:                 Lebanon. Has established cells in Europe, Africa, South America, 
                             North America, and Asia.
Strength:                  Several thousand supporters and a few hundred terrorist operatives.



Irgun (Irgun Zvai Leumi, National Military Organization, Etzel)

[Irgun logo 1931-1948
                  (Palestine, Israel)]

1931                    Irgun Zvai Leumi ("National Military Organization") a militant 
                          Jewish Zionist group that operated in the British Mandate of 
                          Palestine founded.
20 Apr 1936             2 Arab workers in a banana plantation killed.
14 Nov 1937             6 Arabs killed in several shooting attacks in Jerusalem.
12 Apr 1938             2 Arabs and 2 British policemen killed by a bomb in train in Haifa. 
17 May 1938             An Arab policeman was killed in an attack on a bus in the 
                          Jerusalem-Hebron road.
26 Jun 1938             7 Arabs killed by a bomb in Jaffa.
 5 Jul 1938             7 Arabs killed in several shooting attacks in Tel-Aviv and
                          3 Arabs killed by a bomb detonated in a bus in Jerusalem.
 6 Jul 1938             18 Arabs and 5 Jews killed by two simultaneous bombs in the
                          Arab Melon market in Haifa. 
16 Jul 1938             10 Arabs killed by a bomb at a marketplace in Jerusalem.
26 Jul 1938             39 Arabs killed by a bomb at a marketplace in Haifa.
26 Aug 1938             24 Arabs killed by a bomb at a marketplace in Jaffa.
27 Feb 1939             33 Arabs killed in multiple attacks, incl. 24 by bomb in Arab market
                          in Suk Quarter of Haifa and 4 by bomb in Arab vegetable market
                          in Jerusalem.
29 May 1939             5 Arabs killed by a mine detonated at the Rex cinema in Jerusalem.
                          the same day, 5 Arabs were shot and killed during a raid on 
                          the village of Biyar 'Adas.
 2 Jun 1939             5 Arabs killed by a bomb at the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem. 
16 Jun 1939             6 Arabs killed in several attacks in Jerusalem.
19 Jun 1939             20 Arabs killed by explosives mounted on a donkey at a 
                          marketplace in Haifa.
29 Jun 1939             13 Arabs killed in multiple shootings during one hour period. 
 3 Jul 1939             An Arab killed by a bomb at a marketplace in Haifa, 6 Arabs were
                          killed in several attacks in Tel-Aviv, and 3 Arabs were killed
                          in Rehovot.
27 Aug 1939             2 British officers killed by a mine in Jerusalem.
1940 - 1943             Irgun declared a truce against the British, and supported Allied 
                          efforts against Nazi forces and their allies in the area by 
                          enlisting its members in British forces and the Jewish Brigade.
Oct 1945 - Jul 1946     Irgun was in an alliance with the Haganah and Lehi called the 
                          Jewish Resistance Movement, organized to fight British 
                          restrictions on Jewish immigration to Palestine.
22 Jul 1946             King David Hotel bombing against the British government of 
                          Palestine. Bomb exploded at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, 
                          which had been the base for the British Secretariat, the military
                          command and a branch of the Criminal Investigation Division 
                          (police). 91 people killed (most of them civilians: 28 British, 
                          41 Arab, 17 Jewish, and 5 others). Around 45 people were injured.
Jul 1946 - Jun 1948     Irgun fought as irregulars against the British mandate and Arab
                          forces, informally in coordination with Haganah forces. 
25 May 1948             Largest single operation was a successful assault on Jaffa.
28 May 1948             Merged into Israeli Defense Forces along with Hagana and "Lehi."

Leaders
1931 - 1937             Avraham Tehomi                         (b. 1903 - d. 1990) 
1937 - 1947             ....
1947 - 28 May 1948      Menachem Wolfovitch Begin              (b. 1913 - d. 1992)
                          (= Menachem Begin)

Location:               Palestine
Strength:               ....



Irish Republican Army (IRA) (Provisional Irish Republican Army [PIRA], Provos)

[Ireland Flag]

 5 Oct 1968                Irish Republican Army (IRA)(Óglaigh na hÉireann) formed as the
                             clandestine armed wing
of Sinn Fein, a legal political movement.
                             Begins attacks to
remove British forces from Northern Ireland
                             and unify Ireland.

28 Dec 1969                The Irish Republican Army split into the Marxist-Leninist Official
                             IRA on one side and the more militant traditional Provisional
                             Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known
                             as the Irish Republican Army (IRA) but informally known as "the
                             Provos."
 3 Jan 1974                IRA suitcase bomb on bus kills 11 ad wounds 14 in Yorkshire.

17 Jul 1974                IRA bomb kills one and injures 36 at the armory of the Tower
                             of London.
27 Nov 1975                Ross McWhirter, editor of Guinnes Book of Records, shot dead
                             by IRA in London after he establishes a terrorist reward fund.
22 Mar 1979                Provisional IRA kills British Ambassador Richard Skyes in 
                             The Hague.
27 Aug 1979                Responsible for the assassination of Louis Mountbatten, Earl
                             Mountbatten of
Burma, the last Viceroy of British India.
21 Jan 1981                Sir Norman Srange, former Stormont Speaker, and son are 
                             killed by IRA in South Armagh.
12 Oct 1984                IRA bomb planted in Grand Hotel, Brighton, where Prime minister
                             Margaret Thatcher and cabinet are staying for Tory conference
                             kills 5 and injures 32.
23 Mar 1987                IRA bomb in U.K. base at Rheindalen, West Germany injures 31.
 7 Feb 1991                IRA mortar attack on British cabinet at 10 Downing Street.
Sep 1994 - Feb 1996        Observed cease-fire.
Jul 1997 - 28 Jul 2005     Observed cease-fire. 
28 Jul 2005                Provisional IRA Army Council announced an end to its armed
                             campaign.

Chiefs of Staff of the (anti-Treaty) Irish Republican Army
26 Mar 1922 - 18 Jun 1922  Liam Lynch (1st time)              (b. 1892 - d. 1923)
18 Jun 1922 - 30 Jun 1922  Joe McKelvey                       (b. 1898 - d. 1922)
30 Jun 1922 - 10 Apr 1923  Liam Lynch (2nd time)              (s.a.)

20 Apr 1923 - 12 Nov 1925  Frank Thomas Aiken                 (b. 1898 - d. 1983)
12 Nov 1925 - Jul 1926     Andrew Cooney                      (b. 1897 - d. 1968)
1926 - Jun 1936            Moss (Maurice) Twomey              (b. 1897 - d. 1978)
                             (acting to 1927) 
Jun 1936 - 1936            Seán MacBride                      (b. 1904 - d. 1988)
1937                       Thomas "Tom" Barry                 (b. 1897 - d. 1980)
1937 - 1938                Michael "Mick" Fitzpatrick         (b. 1893 - d. 1968)
1938 - Apr 1939            Seán Russell                       (b. 1893 - d. 1940) 
Apr 1939 - 30 Jun 1941     Stephen Hayes                      (b. 1902 - d. 1974)
1941 - 27 Nov 1941         Patrick Pearse Kelly ("Paul Kelso")(b. 1916 - d. 1974)
af.Nov 1941 - Feb 1942     Seán Harrington                    (b. 1900 - d. 1976)
Feb 1942 - 14 Aug 1942     Seán McCool (Seán MacCumhaill)     (d. 1949)
1942                       Eoin McNamee                       (d. 1986)
1942 - 12 Oct 1942         Hugh McAteer                       (b. 1916 - d. 1970)
                             (Aodh Mac an tSaoir)

Oct 1942 - 16 Jun 1944     Charlie Kerins                     (b. 1918 - d. 1944)
16 Jun 1944 - 1944         Vacant
1944 - 1945                Harry White                        (b. 1916 - d. 1989)

 1 Mar 1945 - 1947?        Patrick Fleming 
1947 - 1948?               Willie McGuinness 
Nov 1948 -  6 Jul 1957     Anthony "Tony" Magan               (b. 1910 - d. 1981)
Jul 1957 - Sep 1958        Seán Cronin (1st time)             (b. 1922 - d. 2011)
                             (acting to 11 Nov 1957)
Sep 1958 - 24 Oct 1958     John Joe McGirl                    (b. 1921 - d. 1988)
24 Oct 1958 - May/Jun 1958 Ruairí Ó Brádaigh (1st time)       (b. 1932 - d. 2013)
                             (= Peter Roger Casement Brady)

May/Jun 1959 - Jun 1960    Seán Cronin (2nd time)             (s.a.)
1960 - 1962                Ruairí Ó Brádaigh (2nd time)       (s.a.)
1962 - 1969                Cathal Goulding                    (b. 1923 - d. 1998)
                             (Cathal Ó Goillín)

Chiefs of Staff of the Provisional Irish Republican Army 
Dec 1969 - 19 Nov 1972     Seán Mac Stiofáin "Mac the Knife"  (b. 1928 - d. 2001)
                             (= John Stephenson) 
Nov 1972 - Mar 1973        Joe Cahill (Seosamh Ó Cathail)     (b. 1920 - d. 2004)
Mar 1973 - Jun 1973        Seamus Twomey (1st time)           (b. 1919 - d. 1989)
                             (Séamus Ó Tuama)

Jun 1973 - Jun/Jul 1974    Éamonn O'Doherty                   (b. 1939 - d. 1999)
                             (Éamonn Ó Dochartaigh) 

Jun/Jul 1974 - Dec 1977    Seamus Twomey (2nd time)           (s.a.)
 3 Dec 1977 - 18 Feb 1978  Gerry Adams (Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh)  (b. 1948)
1978 - 1982                Martin McGuinness                  (b. 1950 - d. 2017)
                             (Séamus Máirtín Pacelli Mag Aonghusa)

1982 - Sep 1983            Ivor Malachy Bell                  (b. c.1937)
Sep 1983 - Oct 1997        Kevin McKenna                      (b. 1945 - d. 2019)
                             (Caoimhín Mac Cionnaith)  

Oct 1997 - 1998            Thomas "Slab" Murphy               (b. 1949)
                             (Tomás Mac Murchaidh)
1998 - 2002 (or May 2008)  Brian Keenan                       (b. 1942 - d. 2008)

Chiefs of Staff of the Official Irish Republican Army
Dec 1969 - 1972            Cathal Goulding                    (s.a.)
1998                       Donal McDermott
1998 - 20..                Seán Garland                       (b. 1934 - d. 2018)

Locations:                 Northern Ireland, Irish Republic, Great Britain, Europe.
Strength:                  Several hundred members, plus several thousand sympathizers.



Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)

[Islamic Movement of
                    Uzbekistan flag]

1992                       Adolet ("Justice") Movement created to oppose the secular regime 
                             of Islom Karimov and to make Uzbekistan an Islamic state.
1998                       Renamed Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
Feb 1999                   Detonates six bombs in Tashkent, Uzbekistan killing 16. 
Aug 1999                   Held 4 Japanese men hostage until a ransom of several million was
                             paid.
 6 Aug 2015                Pledges allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's Islamic State.

Emirs
1992 - 1 Oct 2009          Tohir Abduhalilovich Yuldashev       (b. 1967 - d. 2009)
                           + Juma Ahmadyonovich Khojayev        (b. 1968/69 - d. 2001)
                             "Juma Namangani" (to Nov 2001)
Oct 2009 - 29 Apr 2012     Abu Usman Adil                       (d. 2012)
2012 - 2015?               Usman Ghazi                          (d. 2015?) 

Locations:                 Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan
Strength:                  Thousands



Jaish Ansar al-Sunna (Army of the Protectors of the Sunna) 

[flag of Jaish Ansar
                  al-Sunna (Iraq)]

Sep 2003                   Jaish Ansar al-Sunnah ("Army of the Protectors of the Sunnah")
                             formed with claim to seek to expel U.S.-led occupation forces
                             from Iraq and to subsequently establish an Islamic state.
14 Oct 2003                Car bomb outside the Turkish embassy in Baghdad which killed one. 
20 Nov 2003                Car bomb attack on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan headquarters 
                             in Kirkuk which killed six.
29 Nov 2003                Ambush against two vehicles, killing 7 Spanish Intelligence
                             officers. The militants directly credit the Hamzah Sariyah
                             Squadron of the al-Mansurah brigade, and say they retrieved 3
                             automatic weapons and a video camera from the wreckage.
31 Jan 2004                Bombing of the al-Taqafah police center in Mosul, killing nine.
23 Feb 2004                Bombing the Rahimawa police station in Kirkuk, killing 13.
28 Mar 2004                Claimed to have killed 8 Intelligence officers from Britain and
                             Canada, though neither country recognizes this claim as valid.
                             Al-Sunna then later showed their office ID badges.
11 Aug 2004                Released a videotape of the killing of a CIA agent
25 Aug 2004                Released a videotape of the killing of a second CIA agent
31 Aug 2004                Released a videotape of the killing of 12 hostages from Nepal who 
                             had come to work for contractors in Iraq after the war; one was
                             beheaded, the remaining eleven were shot in the back of the head.
 2 Oct 2004                Released a videotape of the killing of an Iraqi named Barie Nafi'a 
                             Daoud Ibrahim, accused of collaboration with the enemy.
22 Oct 2004                Released a videotape of the killing of an Iraqi named Seif Adnan 
                             Kanaan, accused of collaboration with the enemy.
23 Oct 2004                Released a videotape of the killing of a captured Iraqi civilian,
                             Yassar Musil, accused of collaboration with the enemy.
28 Oct 2004                Released a videotape of the killing of 11 captured members of the
                             Iraqi National Guard; one was beheaded, the remaining eleven 
                             were shot in the back of the head.
 4 Nov 2004                Released a videotape of the killing of a captured officer of the
                             new Iraqi Army working in tandem with U.S. Army, Hussein Shunun.
                             Shunun had been captured by the group in Mosul a days earlier.
 9 May 2005                Announced the kidnapping of a Japanese man, Akihiko Saito, who was
                             working for British Security Contractor Hart GMSSCO. 
 5 Aug 2005                Claims to have killed eight U.S. Marines in a shoot-out in Haditha,
                             though the U.S. claims the number is only six.
10 Dec 2007                Ansar Al-Sunnah reverts Name to Ansar Al-Islam ("Army of Islam").

Emir
Sep 2003 -                 Abu Abdullah al-Hassan bin Mahmoud



Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) (Jaishi-i-Muhammed, Army of Mohammed)

[flag of Jaish-e-Mohammed
                  (JEM)]

1994                       Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM)("Army of Mohammed"), aim to unite all
                             Kashmir
with Pakistan. Most of the JEM's cadre and material 
                             resources have been drawn from the militant groups Harakat 
                             ul-Jihad al-Islami (HUJI) and the Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM).
23 Jan 2002 - 21 Feb 2002  Holds Daniel Pearl, Wall Street Journal Asia Bureau Chief, hostage 
                             before executing him.
Jul 2000                   Rocket-grenade attack on office of Chief minister in Srinagar.
2000                       Bombings in Qamarwari and Srinagar kill 21.
13 Dec 2001                Indian Parliament attack by Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed
                             against the building housing the Parliament of India in New
                             Delhi. The attack led to the death of 5 terrorists, 6 police
                             and 1 civilian.

Leader
1994 -                     Maulana Masood Azhar                  (b. 1968)
                             (under arrest 1994 - Dec 1999)

Locations:                 Pakistan, Kashmir
Strength:                  Several hundred armed supporters.



Jamaat ul-Fuqraa'

[Jamaat ul-Fuqraa,
                    Muslims of the Americas]

1980                       Jamaat ul-Fuqraa' ("Community of the Impoverished") an organization
                             of  mostly African-American Muslims based in Pakistan and the
                             U.S. It operates two front groups: Muslims of the Americas, and
                             Quranic Open University.
1980 - 1990                ul-Fuqraa' members have been either convicted or suspected in 13
                             assassinations and 17 fire bombings across the United States.
29 Jul 1983                Member sets off bomb at Hotel Rajneesh, a hotel in Portland,
                             Oregon.

Leader
1980 - 15 May 2021         El-Sheikh Syed Mubarak Ali Shah Gillani (b. 1936 - d. 2021) 

Locations:                 United States, Canada, Caribbean, Pakistan.
Strength:                  3,000 (est.)   



Japanese Red Army (JRA) (Anti-Imperialist International Brigade (AIIB), Nippon Sekigun, Nihon Sekigun, Holy War Brigade, and the Anti-War Democratic Front)

 31 Mar 1970               JRA's predecessor hijacked a Japan Airlines Boeing 727 carrying 129 
                            people at Tokyo International Airport. Eight Red Army members
                            wielded katanas and carried a bomb during Japan's most infamous
                            hijacking. The plane was forced to fly to Fukuoka and later Gimpo
                            Airport in Seoul, where all the passengers were freed. It then 
                            flew to North Korea, where the Red Army members abandoned the 
                            plane and the crew members were released.
Feb 1971                  Japanese Red Army (Nihon Sekigun) breaks away from the Japanese 
                            Communist League-Red Army, founded to overthrow the Japanese
                            government and monarchy and to help foment world revolution.
30 May 1972               Responsible for massacre at Lod Airport Tel Aviv, Israel; 26 killed.

20 Jul 1973               Red Army members led PFLP guerrillas in hijacking a Japan Airlines
                            (JAL) plane over the Netherlands. The passengers and crew were
                            released in Libya, where hijackers blew up the plane. 
Jan 1974                  Laju incident: Red Army attacked a Shell facility in Singapore 
                            and took five hostages; simultaneously, the PFLP seized the 
                            Japanese embassy in Kuwait. The hostages were exchanged for a
                            ransom and safe passage to South Yemen in a JAL plane.
13 Sep 1974               JRA seize 11 hostages at French Embassy in The Hague. They
                            secure the release of Yukata Furuya from French prison.
Aug 1975                  The Red Army took more than 50 hostages at the AIA building housing
                            several embassies in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The hostages 
                            included the US consul and the Swedish charge d'affaires.
Sep 1977                  The Red Army hijacked Japan Airlines Flight 472 over India and 
                            forced it to land in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Japanese government
                            freed six imprisoned members of the group and allegedly paid a 
                            $6m ransom. 
Dec 1977                  A suspected lone member of the army hijacked Malaysia Airlines
                            Flight 653. The flight was carrying the Cuban ambassador to Tokyo
                            Mario Garcia. The Boeing 737 then crashed killing all on-board 
                            after he shot both pilots and himself.
Apr 1988                  Bombing of a USO club in Naples, Italy a suspected JRA operation
                            that killed five.
Apr 1988                  JRA operative Yu Kikumura was arrested with explosives on the New
                            Jersey Turnpike, apparently planning an attack to coincide with
                            the bombing in Naples.
1991                      Shigenobu established the "People's Revolutionary Party" for the
                            purpose of armed revolution in Japan with the front organization
                            "The 21st Century of Hope" in charge of its public activities.
 8 Nov 2000               Fusako Shigenobu arrested by Japanese police in Takatsuki, near
                            Osaka.
16 Apr 2001               During her trial hearing Shigenobu stated that she was disbanding
                            the Japanese Red Army.

Leaders
Feb 1971 - 16 Apr 2001    Tsuyoshi Okudaira                   (b. 1945 - d. 1972)
                            (to 30 May 1972)
                          + Fusako Shigenobu (f)              (b. 1945)
                            (in prison 8 Nov 2000 - 28 Feb 2022)
                          + Osamu Maruoka (to Nov 1987)       (b. 1951 - d. 2011)

Locations:                Japan, possibly traveled in Asia or Syrian controlled areas of
                            Lebanon.
Strength:                 About eight hard-core members; undetermined number of sympathizers.



Jemaah Islamiyah (Jemaah Islamiah, Islamic Group, Islamic Community)

[Jemaah
                    Islamiyah (Islamic Group or Islamic Community)]

1969                       al-Jemaah al-Islamiyah ("Islamic Group" or "Islamic Community")
                             created
to establish and Islamic state encompassing Indonesia,
                             Philippines, and Malaysia.
 1 Aug 2000                Attempted assassination of Philippine ambassador to Indonesia,
                             Leonides Caday. 
13 Sep 2000                Car bomb explosion tore through a packed parking deck beneath 
                             the Jakarta Stock Exchange building- killing 15 people 
                             and injuring 20.
24 Dec 2000                JI took part in a major coordinated terror strike, the Christmas
                             Eve bombings- 18 are killed.
12 Oct 2002                Suicide car bombing of Bali, Indonesia nightclub- killed 202 
                             mainly Australian tourists.
17 Oct 2002                Explosion of two bombs in the main shopping district of the 
                             mostly Christian city of Zamboanga, Philippines, killing six
                             and wounding about 150.
 5 Aug 2003                Bomb attack on the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia- killing
                             14 people.
 9 Sep 2004                Australian embassy bombing in Jakarta, Indonesia- several killed.
Aug 2014                   Abu Bakar Bashir pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader
                             of the Islamic State.

Spiritual Leader
1969 -                     Abu Bakar Bashir                    (b. 1938)
                             (Abubakar Ba'asyir, Abdus Somad)
                             (Indonesia prisoner 15 Oct 2004 - 14 Jun 2006,
                              and 13 Dec 2010 - 8 Jan 2021)

Leaders
1969 - Nov 1999            Abdullah Sungkar                    (b. 1937 – d. 1999) 
1999 - 11 Aug 2003         Isamuddin Isamuddin "Hambali"       (b. 1964)
                             (Indonesia prisoner from 11 Aug 2003)
2003 - 2004                Abu Rusdan 
                             (Indonesia prisoner from 2003)
2004 - 2005                Sunarto bin Kartodiharjo "Adung"
                             (Indonesia prisoner from 2005)
2005 - Jul 2007            Zarkasih                            (b. c.1962)
                             (Indonesia prisoner from Jul 2007)
2008 -  1 Jul 2019         Para Wijayanto "Abang", "Abu Askary"(b. c.1963)
                             (Indonesia prisoner from 1 Jul 2019)

Locations:                 Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia
Strength:                  ....



Kach/Kahane Chai

[Kach/Kahane Chai Movement
                  (Israel) 1972-2003]

1971                       Kahana LaKneset "Kach" ("Kahane to the Knesset") founded by 
                             radical Israeli-American Rabbi Meir Kahane. Its stated 
                             goal was to restore the biblical state of Israel.
1980's                     The Machteret, a terrorist group with links to Kach, staged 
                             several attacks, including attempts to kill Palestinian mayors.
1988                       Prior to the elections to the 12th Knesset, the Central Elections
                             Committee disqualified the Kach list.
 5 Nov 1990                Meir Kahane assassinated in the U.S.

Nov 1990                   Kahane Chai ("Kahane Lives") was founded by Meir Kahane's 
                             son Binyamin Kahane following his father's assassination.
                             They threatened to attack Arabs, Palestinians, and Israeli
                             government officials.
1993                       Claimed responsibility for several shooting attacks on West Bank
                             Palestinians in which four persons were killed and two were
                             wounded.
Feb 1994                   Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Palestinian worshipers inside
                             the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, killing 29.
13 Mar 1994                Both organizations were declared to be terrorist organizations
                             and banned by Israel. 
31 Dec 2001                Binyamin Kahane and his wife are murdered in a random ambush 
                             by Palestinians.
2001 - 2003                New Kach Movement existed. It maintained websites posting
                             Kahanist political commentary and held meetings with 
                             informal members. 

Leaders
1971 -  5 Nov 1990         Rabbi Meir David HaKohen Kahane         (b. 1932 - d. 1990)
                             (= Martin David Kahane)

Nov 1990 - 31 Dec 2001     Rabbi Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane             (b. 1966 - d. 2000)
2001 - 2003                Efraim Hershkovits                      (b. c.1982)

Location:                  Israel and West Bank settlements like Qiryat Araba.
Strength:                  Unknown, Membership of the two groups overlap.



Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF)

[Khalistan Liberation Force logo (India)]

1986                       Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) militant Sikh separatist
                             group founded.
20 Aug 1991                Indian ambassador to Romania was wounded in a drive-by shooting
                             assassination attempt in Bucharest by KLF.

Chiefs
1986 - 1986                Shaheed Jathedar Aroor Singh            (b. 1958 - d. 1986)
1986 - 21 May 1988         Shaheed Avtar Singh Brahma              (b. 1951 - d. 1988)
1988 - 31 Jul 1992         Shaheed Bhai Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwal (b. 1964 - d. 1992)
1992 - 25 Feb 1994         Shaheed Kuldip Singh Keepa Shekhupura   (b. 1971 - d. 1994)
1992 - 25 Feb 1994         Shaheed Navneet Singh Khadian           (b. 1970 - d. 1994)
1994 - 29 Mar 2008         Pritam Singh Sekhon                     (b. 1959 - d. 2008)
2008 - 17 Apr 2018         Harminder Singh Mintoo                  (b. 1967 - d. 2018)
2018 - 27 Jan 2020         Harmeet Singh "Happy"                   (b. 1981 - d. 2020)



Khmer Rouge (The Party of Democratic Kampuchea)

[Khmer Rouge (The Party of
                  Democratic Kampuchea) 1963-1999 (Cambodia)]

Feb 1963                   The Party of Democratic Kampuchea "Khmer Rouge" founded,
                             begins communist insurgency aimed at overthrowing the Cambodian
                             government.
13 May 1976 -  7 Jan 1979  In control of the Cambodian government, conducted a campaign of
                             genocide, killing an estimated 1.7 million.
 7 Jan 1979                Khmer Rouge government ended by Vietnamese invasion.
1991 - 1992                Signed a treaty calling for elections and disarmament. But in
                             1992 the Khmer Rouge resumed fighting and the following year
                             they rejected the results of the elections. 
1996                       Mass defection when around half the remaining soldiers (about
                             4,000) left.
from 1997                  Disintegration due to factional fighting.
 6 Mar 1999                Insurgency against Cambodian government ends, remnants 
                             are captured or surrender.

Secretaries-general of the Kampuchean Communist Party (KCP)
Feb 1963 - 15 Apr 1998     Pol Pot (Saloth Sar)              (b. 1925 - d. 1998)
15 Apr 1998 -  6 Mar 1999  Ta Mok (Chhit Choeun)             (b. 1926 - d. 2006)

Location:                  Cambodia
Strength:                  Fewer than 500, possibly no more than 100.



Kosovo Liberation Army  (KLA) (Ushtria Clirimtare e Kosovoes, UCK)

[Kosovo Liberation Army
                  (Ushtria Clirimtare e Kosovoes)]

1992                       Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës (UÇK)("Kosovo Liberation Army" [KLA])
                             a militant Albanian separatist group is formed in Serbia
1995                       Begins carrying out small arms and sabotage attacks on Serbian
                             police.
20 Sep 1998                Kidnaps 13 Democratic League of Kosovo representatives for 48 hrs.
30 Jan 1999                Explosive detonation at Cafe Galarija in Pristina, 7 are injured.
Jun 1999                   Transformed into Kosovo Protection Force.

Commanders
1992 - 1999                ....
Feb 1999 - Apr 1999        Sylejman Selimi              (b. 1970)
Apr 1999 - Jun 1999        Agim Çeku                    (b. 1960)
 

Locations:                 Kosovo province of Serbia
Strength:                  several hundred to several thousand.



Kurdish Hezbollah (Turkish-Hezbollah)

[Turkish-Hezbollah or Kurdish-Hezbollah]

late 1980's               Kurdish-Hezbollah (Hizbullahî Kurdî‎) or Turkish-Hezbollah (Türk
                            Hızbullahı), a Kurdish Islamic (Sunni) extremist organization that
                            arose in response to Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) atrocities
                            against Muslims in southeastern Turkey, where Kurdish-Hezbollah
                            seeks to establish an independent Islamic state.
mid-to-late 1990's        Nearly 70 bodies of Turkish and Kurdish businessmen and 
                            journalists found that Kurdish-Hezbollah had tortured and 
                            brutally murdered.
Jan 2000                  Turkish security forces kill Huseyin Velioglu, the leader of
                            Kurdish-Hezbollah.
Jan 2001                  Operatives assassinated the Diyarbakir police chief.

Leaders
1980's - 17 Jan 2000      Hüseyin Velioğlu                   (b. 1952 - d. 2000)
2000 -                    ....

Locations:                Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria.
Strength:                 17,000 to 20,000 members.



Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
(Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan, Kadek, Kongra-Gel)

[Kurdistan Workers' Party
                        (PKK) former flag]
Former PKK Flag
[Kurdistan Workers'
                        Party (PKK/Kadek) flag]
PKK Current Flag

27 Oct 1978                Kurdistan Workers' Party (Partîya Karkerên Kurdistanê)(PKK)
                             established to form an independent
Kurdish state in southeastern
                             Turkey, where the population
is predominantly Kurdish and improve
                             rights for Kurds in Turkey.

Oct 1998                   Syrian government expelled PKK leader and known elements of the
                             group from its territory.
Sep 1999                   PKK declares its disarmament, drops use of word "Kurdistan."
16 Apr 2002                Renamed the Kurdish Freedom and Democracy Congress (Kadek),
                             purportedly renounces terrorism.

Chairmen
1978 - 1999                Abdullah Öcalan "Serok Apo"        (b. 1949)
                             (Turkish prisoner from 15 Feb 1999)
1999 - 2013                Murat Karayilan "Cemal"            (b. 1954)
                             (= Mirad Qarayîlan)
Jul 2013 -                 Cemil Bayik                        (b. 1951)
                           + Besê Hozat (Hülya Oran)(f)       (b. 1978)

Locations:                 Turkey, Europe, Syria, and the Middle East.
Strength:                  4,000 to 5,000, with thousands of sympathizers in Turkey and Europe



Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT) (Army of the Righteous, Lashkar-e-Toiba)

[Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT)
                  (Army of the Righteous, Lashkar-e-Toiba) ]

1990                       Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT) ("Army of the Righteous") formed to unite 
                             Kashmir with Pakistan as the armed wing of the Pakistan-based 
                             religious organization, Markaz-ud-Dawa-wal-Irshad (MDI) — a 
                             Sunni anti-U.S. missionary organization. One of the three
                             largest and best trained groups fighting in Kashmir against
                             India, it is not connected to a political party. The group has
                             conducted a number of operations against Indian troops and
                             civilian targets in Kashmir since 1993.
Aug 2000                   Suspected of attacks that kill nearly 100.
17 Jan 2001                A heavily armed group of Muslim militants attempted to storm the
                             Srinagar airport, triggering a fierce gun-battle that ended 
                             with 10 people dead and 8 wounded.
13 Dec 2001                Indian Parliament attack by Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed
                             against the building housing the Parliament of India in New
                             Delhi. The attack led to the death of 5 terrorists, 6 police
                             and 1 civilian.

13 Jul 2002                Suspected Islamic militants burst into a mainly Hindu slum in 
                             Jammu, Kashmir, India on a Saturday night opening fire on
                             local residents, killing at least 27 people. Nearly 30
                             were wounded.
24 Nov 2002                Islamic militants raided the Hindu Raghunath Temple complex in 
                             Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing 11 people before being 
                             shot dead by security forces. At least 50 people were injured 
                             in the attack.
11 Jul 2006                Mumbai train bombings a series of seven bomb blasts that took place
                             over a period of 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai
                             (Bombay), 209 people lost their lives and over 700 were injured
.
26-29 Nov 2008            
Mumbai attacks take place. Eight of the attacks occurred in South
                             Mumbai: at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Oberoi Trident,
                             the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital,
                             the Orthodox Jewish-owned Nariman House, the Metro Cinema,
                             and a lane behind the Times of India building. There was also an
                             explosion at the Mazagaon docks, in Mumbai's port area, and in a
                             taxi at Vile Parle. 173 people are killed and at least 308 are
                             wounded.

Leaders
1990 - ....                Hafiz Muhammad Saeed                   (b. 1950)
                             (under arrest 21 Dec 2001 - 31 Mar 2002,
                             9 Aug - 17 Oct 2006, from 17 Jul 2019)
.... -                     Mohammed Latif

Locations:                 Afghanistan, Pakistan, India
Strength:                  Several thousand armed supporters.



Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) (Tamil Tigers)

[Liberation Tigers of
                          Tamil Eelam (LTTE) flag 1976-1990 (Sri Lanka,
                          India)]
1976 - 27 Nov 1990
[Liberation Tigers of
                          Tamil Eelam (LTTE) flag 1990-2009 (Sri Lanka,
                          India)]
27 Nov 1990 - 19 May 2009
 5 May 1976                Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)(Tamilila viyutalaip
                             pulikal
) established to create
an independent Tamil state.
23 Jul 1983                13 soldiers killed in LTTE ambush in Jaffna, sparking anti-Tamil
                             riots leading to the deaths of an estimated several hundred
                             Tamils. Conflict develops in north of island between army
                             and LTTE. 
 3 May 1986                Explosion on-board an Air Lanka Flight, killing 20.
17 Apr 1987                Tamils ambush 3 buses and 2 trucks near Trincomalee, killed 120.
 2 Mar 1991                Suicide bomb kills Sri Lanka Defense Minister Ranjan Wijeratne
                             and 19 others.
21 May 1991                LTTE-affiliated suicide bomber Thenmuli Rajaratnam assassinated
                             former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi while the latter was
                             campaigning for a parliamentary candidate in Tamil Nadu, also
                             killing an additional 13 bystanders.
 1 May 1993                Assassinated the President of Sri Lanka, Ranasinghe Premadasa 
                             while he was attending the annual May Day rally. 
31 Jan 1996                An attack by the LTTE on the Colombo Central Bank killed 90 and 
                             injured a further 1,400 people, damaging other buildings in
                             the process.
15 Oct 1997                LTTE bomb exploded at the Colombo World Trade Center, killing
                             13 and injuring hundreds. 
 5 Jan 1998                Four likely members of the Black Tiger squad drove an
                             explosives-laden truck into the Sri Dalada Maligawa (or "Temple
                             of the Tooth"), a major Buddhist shrine, killing 7 and injuring
                             25. 
 5 Mar 1998                Two LTTE bombs exploded aboard a bus in Maradana, killing 32
                             and injuring 252 passersby. 
14 May 1998                A member of the Black Tiger squad jumped in front of a vehicle
                            carrying Sri Lankan Brigadier Larry Wijeratne and detonated
                             explosives, killing the general and two guards. 
29 Jul 1999                LTTE suicide bomber killed Sri Lankan MP Neelan Thiruchelvam 
                             a Tamil, along with 2 others and 6 bystanders were injured. 
18 Dec 1999                A female LTTE suicide bomber exploded herself at a rally in 
                             Colombo in an apparent assassination attempt on Sri Lankan 
                             President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who was injured in the blast.
                             10 people were killed and three injured. 
18 May 2000                Suspected LTTE bomber killed 23 and injured 70 at a Buddhist
                             temple in Batticaloa during celebrations of the Vesak holiday. 
 8 Jun 2000                Suspected LTTE suicide bomber killed Sri Lankan Industrial
                             Development Minister C.V. Goonaratne during a holiday march
                             in Colombo. A further 20 were killed and 60 wounded.
 3 Oct 2000                LTTE bomb killed parliamentary candidate Mohammed Baithullah
                             and more than twenty others in Muttur. At least 49 others were
                             injured. Baithullah had previously served as an intelligence
                             officer in the Sri Lankan police. 
24 Jul 2001                LTTE suicide squad attacked Bandaranaike International Airport.
                             In three waves, a highly trained and heavily armed 14-man squad
                             penetrated the 800-acre high security complex and destroyed or
                             damaged 26 commercial and military aircraft. 
Feb 2002                   Cease-fire agreement with the Sri Lankan government.
12 Aug 2005                Sri Lankan Foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar is shot 
                             by an unidentified sniper in Colombo at his private residence.
                             LTTE denies responsibility.
 1 Jan 2008                Assassination of a member of parliament from the opposition United
                              National Party (UNP), T. Maheswaran.
 8 Jan 2008                Assassination of Sri Lankan Nation-Building Minister D.M.
                             Dassanayake.
 6 Apr 2008                Assassination of Sri Lankan Highway Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle.
17 May 2009                LTTE announces unconditional surrender to Sri Lankan government.
18 May 2009                LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, his elder son Charles Anthony,
                             LTTE intelligence chief Pottu Amman and Soosai, the head of the
                             LTTE naval wing are killed by the Sri Lankan army.
21 May 2009                President of Sri Lanka announces a formal end of the war with LTTE.
 

National Leaders
 5 May 1976 - 18 May 2009  Velupillai Prabhakaran "Thambi"          (b. 1954 - d. 2009)
Jul? 2009 -  5 Aug 2009    Selvarasa Pathmanathan                   (b. 1955)
                             (Sri Lankan prisoner 5 Aug 2009 - 17 Oct 2012)

Locations:                 Sri Lanka, mainly in Jaffna peninsular.
Strength:                  8,000 to 10,000 armed combatants in Sri Lanka, with a core of
                              trained fighters of approximately 3,000 to 6,000.



Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)

[Lord's Resistance Army
                        (LRA) flag (Uganda)]
LRA Flag
[Lord's Resistance Army
                        (LRA) possible flag variant (Uganda)]
Possible LRA Flag Variant

Jan 1987                   United Holy Salvation Army begins warfare against Uganda's govt.
                             The insurgency has been mainly contained to the region known
                             as Acholiland, consisting of the districts of Kitgum, Gulu,
                             and Pader, though since 2002 violence has overflowed into 
                             other districts. 
1992                       Renamed Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
1994 - Dec 2001            Supported by the government of The Sudan.
 4 Aug 2006                Cease-fire announced by LRA.
26 Aug 2006                Ugandan government and LRA signed a truce. Under the terms of
                             the agreement, LRA forces are to leave Uganda and gather in 2
                             assembly areas protected by the government of Sudan;
                             the Ugandan government agreed not to attack those areas.
19 Feb 2008                Government and LRA sign interim peace accord.

Prophet
Jan 1987 -                 Joseph Kony                    (b. 1961)

Locations:                 Sudan, Uganda
Strength:                  500 - 1,000, possibly up to 3,000



Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF)

[Loyalist Volunteer Force
                  (LVF) flag (Northern Ireland)]

Jul 1996                   Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) formed as a faction of the
                             mainstream loyalist Ulster
Volunteer Force (UVF), to prevent a
                             political settlement with
Irish nationalists in Northern Ireland
                             by attacking Roman Catholic
politicians, civilians, and
                             Protestant politicians who
endorse the Northern Ireland peace
                             process.

Jul 1997                   Kills an 18 year-old Catholic school girl because she had a 
                             Protestant boyfriend.
15 May 1998 - 30 Oct 2005  Observed cease-fire. 
30 Oct 2005                LVF announced an end to the use of violence.

Leaders
Jul 1996 - 27 Dec 1997     Billy "King Rat" Wright             (b. 1960 - d. 1997) 
                             (imprisoned from Mar 1997)
Dec 1997 - 10 Jun 2002     Mark "Swinger" Fulton               (b. 1961? - d. 2002)
                             (British prisoner 1998-Apr 2001 from Dec 2001)
Jun 2002 - 30 Oct 2005     Robin Andrew "Billy" King           (b. 1966) 

Locations:                 Northern Ireland
Strength:                  Approximately 250.



Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front (FPMR)

[Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic
                  Front (FPMR) flag]

1983                       Frente Patriótico Manuel Rodríguez ("Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic
                             Front") created by the Chilean Communist Party as an armed
                             wing to carry out terrorist attacks with the express goal of
                             overthrowing the regime of Augusto Pinochet.
 8 Apr 1986                FPMR guerrillas kidnap and held the Carabinero corporal Germán
                             Obando captive for 48 hours.
 7 Sep 1986                Attacked Augusto Pinochet's car in an assassination attempt. Five
                             of Pinochet's bodyguards are killed and 11 wounded. Pinochet,
                             however, only suffers minor injuries.
13 Apr 1987                FPMR simultaneously assaulted the offices of Associated Press (AP)
                             and eight radio stations in Santiago, killing an off-duty
                             security guard.
 1 Sep 1987 -  3 Dec 1987  Kidnapping of Chilean Army Lt. Colonel Carlos Carreño, who is
                             released 3 Dec 1987 in Brazil.
21 Oct 1988                Occupies the village of Los Queñes during the National Patriotic
                             War.
1989                       Chilean Communist Party, debated the legitimacy of sponsoring a
                             terrorist organization in a post-Pinochet Chile. Out of the
                             debate emerged two factions of the FPMR, the FPMR Party and the
                             FPMR-Dissidents. The FPMR Party put down its arms, but the
                             FPMR-D continued to engage in terrorism as protest of the
                             lack of prosecution against members of the Pinochet
                             administration and to discredit the Chilean Armed Forces.
 5 Nov 1990                Guerrillas detonate a bomb inside the restaurant Max und Moritz
                             in a seaside resort of Viña del Mar, wounding three sailors from
                             the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Three British
                             tourists and two waitresses were also injured in the attack.
 1 Apr 1991                Assassinates Chilean Senator Jaime Jorge Guzmán Errázuriz
                             (b. 1946 - d. 1991).
 9 Sep 1991                Cristián Edwards del Río, son of the publisher and owner of the
                             daily El Mercurio, he is released 5 Feb 1992.
1993                       FPMR guerrillas bombed two McDonald's restaurants and attempted
                             to bomb a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant.
1990's                     Following multiple arrests of FPMR-D's leaders in the 1990s, the
                             group is no longer an active terrorist threat.
Dec 1996                   Stages successful escape from prison, using a helicopter, for
                             several of its members.
30 Apr 1997                Announced it was leaving the armed struggle and to become a
                             legal political organization.

Leaders
1983 - 30 Oct 1988         Raúl Alejandro Pellegrin Friedmann  (b. 1958 - d. 1988)
                             "Comandante José Miguel" or "Rodrigo"
1989 - 2001                Galvarino Sergio Apablaza Guerra    (b. 1950)
                             "Comandante Salvador"

Location:                  Chile
Strength:                  500-1,000


Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) (National Liberation Army of Iran,  People's Mujahedin of Iran)
 
[Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization flag
                            (Iran)]
Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization
[National
                            Liberation Army of Iran flag]
National Liberation Army of Iran
[Lion and Sun
                            flag adopted 1993 by National Council of
                            Resistance of Iran]
NCRI Flag Adopted 1993

 5 Sep 1965                Mojahedin-e-Khalq-e Iran (People's Mojahedin Organization of
                             Iran)(MEK [PMOI]) formed in opposition to the Shah's
                             authoritarian
government.
1970's                     Staged terrorist attacks inside Iran and killed several U.S.
                             military personnel and civilians working on defense
                             projects in Tehran.
25 May 1972                Founders of the MEK/PMOI, Mohammad Hanifnejad, Saeed Mohsen, and
                             Ali Asghar Badizadegan,
along with two members of the MEK/PMOI
                             leadership, Mahmoud
Askarizadeh and Rasoul Meshkinfam, were
                            
executed by the Shah's regime.
31 Jul 1975                Majid Sharif Vaghefi, a senior member of the MEK/PMOI, assassinated
                             by Maoist
PMOI/MEK separatists who attempted to hijack MEK/PMOI.
28 Jun 1981                Bombs detonated at the headquarters of the Islamic Republic Party.

                             About 70 high-ranking officials, including Chief Justice
                             Mohammad Beheshti, cabinet members, and elected members of
                             parliament, were killed.
21 Jul 1981                National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)(Shura-ye melli-e
                            
moqavemat-e Iran) is announced in Tehran as a coalition of
                             democratic Iranian opposition groups dedicated to overthrowing
                             the mullahs' Velayat-e Faqih regime and establishing a
                             pluralistic democracy.
29 Jul 1981 -  7 Jun 1986  MEK's and NCRI leaders flee Iran to Auvers-sur-Oise, France.
30 Aug 1981                A bomb detonated killing the popularly elected President
Mohammad
                             Ali Raja´i and Premier Mohammad Javad Bahonar. An active member
                             of the Mujahedin, Massoud Kashmiri, was identified as the
                             perpetrator.
 7 Jun 1986 - 2016         MEK headquarters moved to Iraq.
20 Jun 1987                National Liberation Army of Iran (NLA) founded in Iraq as the
                             militant wing of the MEK.
25-29 Jul 1988             National Liberation Army of Iran (NLA) advanced under heavy Iraqi
                             air cover, crossing the Iranian border from Iraq. It seized and
                             razed to the ground the Iranian town of Islamabad-e Gharb.
28 Jul 1988                Iranian regime began a mass purge of its prisons from political
                             prisoners. In the span of a few months, the regime's executioners
                             sent more than 30,0000 prisoners.
1992                       Conducts attacks on Iranian embassies in 13 different countries.
10 Aug 1993                National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the Iranian
                             Resistance's parliament, elects Maryam Rajavi (f) as Iran's 
                             future president for the 6 month transitional period following  
                             the mullahs' overthrow.
1997 - 12 Sep 2012         MEK and NCRI listed as a foreign terrorist organizations by the
                             U.S. government.
22 Aug 1998                Assassinates Asadollah Lajevardi, former director of Evin Prison.
10 Apr 1999                Assassinates Brigadier General Ali Sayyad Shirazi, the deputy joint
                             chief of staff of Iran's armed forces.
 5 Feb 2000                A mortar attack on Iran's Presidential Palace was carried out by
                             the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MKO), based in neighboring Iraq. 
                             According to the official IRNA news agency, the attack, which 
                             took place at 19:30 on a Saturday evening killed one person--
                             a 34 year-old worker in a print shop--and injured five. President
                             Mohammad Khatami was in his office at the time but was not hurt 
                             in the attack.
2001                       MEK officially renounces violence.
2002                       MEK was a source for claims on Iran's clandestine nuclear program.
15 Apr 2003                After U.S. forces in Iraq bomb camps in Iraq the PMOI entered into
                             a ceasefire agreement with the coalition, and
National Liberation
                             Army of Iran
is disarmed by U.S. forces.
 1 Jan 2009                U.S. military transferred control of Camp Ashraf to the Iraqi
                             government. On the same day, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki
                             announced that the militant group would not be allowed to base
                             its operations from Iraq.
2016                       MEK relocated to Albania.

Leaders
 6 Sep 1965 - 25 May 1972  Mohammad Hanifnejad                (b. 1939 - d. 1972)
                           + Saeid Mohsen                     (b. 1939 - d. 1972) 
                           + Ali Asghar Badizadegan           (b. 1940 - d. 1972) 
Chairmen of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
21 Jul 1981 - 13 Mar 2003? Massoud Rajavi                     (b. 1948 - d. 2003)  MEK
                             (disappeared in Iraq 13 Mar 2003)
                          
+ Abolhassan Bani-Sadr             (b. 1933 - d. 2021)  Non-party
                             (co-chairman to 24 Mar 1983)

President-Elect of the Parliament-in-exile, National Council of Resistance of Iran
10
Aug 1993 -              Maryam Qajar-Azodanlu Rajavi (f)   (b. 1953)            MEK

                             (imprisoned in France 18 Jun - 3 Jul 2003)

Locations:                 Iraq, Iran, France, Albania
Strength:                  Several thousand fighters based in Iraq with an extensive
                             overseas support structure. Most of the fighters are
                             organized in the MEK's National Liberation Army (NLA).



Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)

[Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
                  (Philippines)]

Mar 1984                   "New MNLF" officially declared to be a separate organization
                             with the name Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)(Jabhat Tahrir
                             Moro al-'Islamiyyah).

Jan 1987                   MNLF signed an agreement relinquishing its goal of independence
                             and accepting Philippine government's offer of autonomy for
                             Muslim regions; rejected by MILF.
30 Dec 2000                Wave of six bombings in Manila kills 22, injures 45.
 4 Mar 2003                Davos City Airport bombed- 24 killed, 100 injured.
 2 Apr 2003                Davos City Airport bombed again- 16 killed, 55 injured.
11 May 2003                Bombings in Koronadal City, Maguindano- kills 9 injures 43.
Jan 2005                   Attacks government troops in Maguindano- 23 killed.
24 Mar 2014 -              Permanent ceasefire. 

Chairmen
26 Dec 1977 - 13 Jul 2003  Sheikh Salamat Hashim                (b. 1942 - d. 2003)
2003 -                     Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim                (b. 1949)
                             (= Ahod Balawag Ebrahim)

Locations:                 The Philippines (Palawan, Basilan, Sulu archipelago),
                             and Southeast Asia
Strength:                  estimated 15,000 members



National Liberation Front of Corsica (FLNC)

[Flag of Corsica used by
                  National Liberation Front of Corsica (FLNC)]

1976                       FLNC -Fronte di Liberazione Naziunale di a Corsica (Front de 
                             Libération Nationale de la Corse) founded by merger of
                             two other Corsican terrorist organizations: Ghjustizia Paolina 
                             and the Fronte Paesanu Corsu di Liberazione. Aimed at 
                             Self-determination for Corsica through independence.
end 1980's                 Split into into the "canal historique" (historic channel) and the
                             "canal habituel" (usual channel), followed by a whole series of
                             new splits and the creation of a number of other terrorist
                             organizations: Resistenza, Fronte Ribellu, Front Armé 
                             Révolutionnaire Corse, etc. Some of these groups only existed for
                             a few years. 
30 Jan 1997                FLNC-canal habituel decided to end activities.
 6 Feb 1998                Implicated in the assassination of prefect Claude Erignac.
1999                       FLNC-canal historique merged with some of the other underground 
                             organizations, adopting the name FLNC again.

Leaders
1976 -                     ....

Locations:                 Corsica, France
Strength:                  Estimated at 600.



National Liberation Army - Colombia (ELN)

[ Ejército de
                          Liberación Nacional (ELN) [National Liberation
                          Army] (Colombia)]
ELN Flag

[National Liberation Army
                        (ELN) variant flag (Colombia)]
ELN Flag Variant

1965                       Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN)("National Liberation Army") 
                             formed as a Marxist insurgent group formed by urban intellectuals
                             inspired by Fidel Castro and Che Gueva. Aim replacing the
                             current government with a Marxist regime in Colombia.
late 1990's                Conducted a campaign of mass each of which involved at least one
                             U.S. citizen.
24-27 Jul 2004             Abducted Misael Vacca Ramírez, the Catholic Bishop of Yopal,

Leaders
1965 - 1970's              Fabio Vásquez Castaño                   (b. 1940 - d. 2019)
1970's - Jun 2021          Nicolás Rodríguez Bautista "Gabino"     (b. 1950)
                           + Gregorio Manuel Pérez Martínez        (b. 1943 - d. 1998)
                              "el Cura Pérez" 
                              (to 14 Feb 1998)
                           + Eliécer Erlington Chamorro Acosta     (b. 1956)
                              "Antonio García"

Location:                  Colombia (in rural and mountainous regions).
Strength:                  Approximately 3,000 to 6,000 armed combatants.



New People's Army (NPA)
 
[New People's
                            Army (NPA) flag to 1986 (Philippines)]
c.1969 - 1986
[New People's
                            Army (NPA) 1986-1999 (Philippines)]
1986 - 1999
[New
                            People's Army (NPA) former flag
                            (Philippines)]
Former Flag
[New People's
                            Army (NPA) (Philippines)]
Current Flag

29 Mar 1969                New People's Army (NPA)(Bagong Hukbong Bayan) formed as the
                             military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines
                             (Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas), to overthrow the government 
                             of the Philippines through protracted Maoist guerrilla warfare.
Nov 1986 - Jan 1987        Brief ceasefire with the Philippine government.
29 Oct 1987                Bombs a Pepsi Cola bottling plant and two Del Monte pineapple
                             facilities.
14 Nov 1987                Bombs of the Manila Garden Hotel (owned by Japan Air Lines),
                             which injured ten people.
 1 Apr 1988                Kills of two security guards in Davao of a Japanese businessman,
                             who was an employee of the Takeda Chemical Corp.
21 Apr 1989                Claims responsibility for the assassination of U.S. Army
                             Colonel James "Nick" Rowe (b. 1938 - d. 1989) in Quezon City.
16 Jul 1992                Kills a Philippine-Chinese businessman and the wounding of his
                             wife in Manila.
Oct 1992                   President Fidel Ramos decriminalized membership in the NPA and
                             CPP.
1994                       Philippine Army apprehends Eduardo Quitoriano, who was a NPA
                             liaison officer to the Japanese Red Army.
 4 Jun 1996                Attack on a helicopter owned by the Arimco Mining Corporation,
                             results in the death of a Canadian geologist near Didipio,
                             Nueva Viscaya.
12 May 2001                Claims responsibility for the assassination of Congressman
                             Marcial Punzalan and his cousin of Quezon province.
12 Jun 2001                Claims responsibility for the assassination of Congressman
                             Rodolfo Aguinaldo from Cagayan province.
 9 Aug 2002                NPA designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S.
 5 Nov 2004                Attacks the headquarters of Petron Corporation and Caltex
                             Philippines.
 5 Dec 2007                President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed amnesty proclamation for
                             members of the CPP and the NPA and other communist rebel groups.
25 Oct 2008                NPA rebels disguised as Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency
                             personnel raided a prison in Lucena, Quezon Province, and
                             freeing rebel prisoners.
 3 Oct 2011                NPA conducted attacks against three large-scale mining corporations
                             in Surigao del Norte (Taganito Mining Corporation at Taganito
                             village in Claver town, the 4K Mining at Cadiano village, also
                             in Claver, and the Thpal Mining).
27 May 2013                NPA ambushed a truck in Allacapan, Cagayan killing 7 police.
22 Mar 2014                Arrest of Benito Tiamzon, chairman of the CPP and its armed wing,
                             the NPA in the Cebu province.
Feb 2017                   Rebels ambush an army convoy.
Dec 2017                   President Rodrigo Duterte declares the NPA, along with the CPP,
                             as terrorist organizations.
22 Aug 2022                NPA leaders Benito, Wilma Tiamzon reportedly neutralized by
                             government forces in Catbalogan City; not confirmed by military.

Leaders
29 Mar 1969 - 16 Dec 2022  Jose Maria Canla Sison "Amando Liwanag" (b. 1939 - d. 2022)
                             (jailed 10 Nov 1977-5 Mar 1986; from 1986 in exile)
                           + Bernabe Buscayno "Kumander Dante"
                             (to 1987) (jailed 26 Aug 1976-5 Mar 1986)
c.2004 -                   Benito Tiamzon                          (b. 1951)
                             (jailed 22 Mar 2014 - 19 Aug 2016)

Location:                  Philippines (Manila, rural Luzon, Visayas, and part of Mindanao)
Strength:                  4,900 (2009), in 10 of 81 provinces (formerly 10,000-25,000
                           operating in 62 of 74 provinces).



The Order

Sep 1983                   The Order (or "The Order of the Silent Brotherhood"), an 
                             American neo-Nazi organization. Self-described white
                             nationalist and revolutionary group, founded to oppose 
                             the United States government which it called "Zionist Occupation
                             Government (ZOG)." The group was partly modeled on, and was
                             named for, a fictional group in the neo-Nazi novel "The Turner
                             Diaries." The Order's goals included the establishment of an
                             all white (and non-Jewish) homeland, presumably involving the
                             extermination of non-white and Jewish people as detailed in 
                             in that book. Group founded in Metaline Falls, Washington
                             by Robert J. Mathews.
18 Jun 1984                Gunned down controversial liberal Jewish KOA 850 AM talk radio 
                             host Alan Berg at his home in Denver, Colorado.
Jul 1984                   Used a dozen men to rob a Brinks' truck of $3,800,000.
 8 Dec 1984                Mathews refused surrender after an intense exchange of gunfire. 
                             The FBI then fired several M-79 Starburst flares inside the
                             house, burning it to the ground and killing Mathews.

Leader
Sep 1983 -  8 Dec 1984     Robert Jay Mathews                (b. 1953 – d. 1984)



Organisation de l'Armée Secrète (OAS) (Secret Army Organization) 

[Organisation armée
                  secrète public logo 1961-1963 (France, Algeria)]

Jan 1961                   Organisation de l'Armée Secrète (OAS)("Secret Army Organization")
                             French right-wing terrorist group formed to resist the granting 
                             of independence to the French colony of Algeria formed by
                             French "stay behinds", former French Army officers, Foreign 
                             Legion members from Indochina War, Colons, local Pieds Noirs.
1962                       OAS attempted to assassinate French President Charles de Gaulle 
                             several times. The most prominent attempt was a 1962 ambush at 
                             Petit-Clamart, a Paris suburb, planned by military engineer 
                             Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry.
Mar 1962                   Mouloud Feraoun (b. 1913 - d. 1962), an Algerian writer born in 
                             Tizi Hibel, Kabylie assassinated by the OAS.
Mar 1962                   Over 100 bombs a day were detonated by the OAS.
Apr 1962                   Leader of the OAS Louis Salan captured.
17 Jun 1962                OAS agreed to the ceasefire.
27 Oct 1962                Possibly responsible for the death of Enrico Mattei, head
                             of the Italian oil company, Agip and supporter of Algerian
                             independence.
1963                       Group is effectively eliminated.

Leader
Jan 1961 - Apr 1962        Raoul Albin Louis Salan                 (b. 1899 - d. 1984)

Locations:                 Algeria, France
Strength:                  estimated several thousand members



The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)

[Palestine
                          Islamic Jihad (PIJ)-Shaqaqi Faction flag]
PIJ Flag

[Palestinian Islamic
                        Jihad Movement flag variant (Palestine)
PIJ Flag Variant

1981                       The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)(Harakat al-Jihad al-Islami
                             al-Filastini) originates among militant Palestinians in the
                             Gaza Strip. Aims to create an Islamic Palestinian state and
                             to destroy Israel through holy war. Also opposes moderate
                             Arab governments that it believes have been "tainted" by 
                             Western secularism. 
17 Mar 2006                Suicide bombing of a restaurant in mall at Old Bus Station
                             in Tel Aviv killing 9 and 49 are wounded 49 more.

Secretaries-general
1981 - 26 Oct 1995         Fathi Abd al-Aziz Shaqaqi          (b. 1951 - d. 1995)
27 Oct 1995 - 27 Sep 2018  Sheikh Abdullah Ramadan Shallah    (b. 1958 - d. 2020)  
28 Sep 2018 -  1 Apr 2024  Ziyad al-Nakhalah                  (b. 1953 - d. 2024)

Locations:                 Israel, Gaza Strip, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, Iran, and Syria.
Strength:                  Unknown



Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) - Abu Abbas Faction

[Palestine Liberation
                  Front (PLF)-Abu Abbas Faction flag]

1961 - Dec 1967            Original Palestinian Liberation Front was founded by Ahmad Jibril,
                             but in Dec 1967 it merged with the Heroes of the Return group 
                             and The Youth of Revenge group (the military wing of the Arab
                             Nationalist Movement -ANM) to form the Popular Front for the
                             Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). 
24 Apr 1977                Splits from the PFLP-GC, goal: creation of a Palestinian state.
1983                       After its initial break with the PFLP-GC, split again into pro-PLO,
                             pro-Syrian - Palestinian Liberation Front (Abu Nidal Ashqar
                             wing),
and pro-Libyan factions in Jan 1984. Each faction
                             continued to
carry the original name and each claimed to
                             represent the mother
-organization. 
20 Oct 1985                The Abu Abbas-led faction responsible for attack on the cruise 
                             ship Achille Lauro and the murder of U.S. citizen Leon 
                             Klinghoffer.
25 Apr 2003                Abu Abbas captured by U.S. forces in Iraq. Ghanim founds new party.
 

Secretaries-general
1961 - Dec 1967            Ahmed Jabril                  (b. 1938 - d. 2021)
24 Apr 1977 - Jan 1984     Talat Yakub                   (b. 1944 - d. 1988)
                           + Muhammad Zaidan "Abu Abbas" (b. 1948 - d. 2004)
- pro-Libyan faction in Damascus (moves to Tripoli)
Jan 1984 - 2003            ‘Abd ul-Fattah Ghanim
- pro-Syrian faction in Beirut
Jan 1984 - 17 Nov 1988     Talat Yakub                   (s.a.)
1988 -                     Yusuf Muqtah "Abu Nidal Ashqar"
- pro-PLO/Iraqi faction in Tunis (from Nov 1985 in Baghdad)

1983 - 25 Apr 2003         Muhammad Zaidan "Abu Abbas"   (s.a.)

Location:                  Tunisia (to 1985), then Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, Gaza, and Iraq
                           (1994-2003)
Strength:                  Unknown



Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
 

[Palestine Liberation
                          Organization (PLO)]
Adopted 1 Dec 1964

1964                       Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)(Munazzamat at-Tahrir
                             al-Filastiniyyah) founded.
1969                       Organization of the Islamic Conference admits
                             Palestine, represented by the PLO.
1970                       Avivim school bus massacre by PLO members, killed nine
                             children, three adults and crippled 19.
1972                       Munich massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics was
                             carried out by the Black September group, which was allegedly
                             affiliated with the PLO. This group also hijacked a plane flying
                             from Belgium to Tel Aviv.
1974                       Members of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine carried
                             out the Kiryat Shmona massacre at an apartment building in
                             Israel, killing 18 people, 9 of whom were children.
22 Nov 1974                PLO is granted observer status in the United Nations.
 9 Sep 1976                Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) admitted
                             as a member of Arab League.
13 Aug 1978                PLO headquarters in Beirut bombed, 150 are killed.
 1 Oct 1985                Israeli Air Force bombed the PLO's Tunis headquarters, killing
                             more than 60 people.
16 Apr 1988                Khalil al-Wazir "Abu Jihad", PLO 2nd in command, is assassinated
                             in Tunis.
15 Nov 1988                Palestine National Congress meeting in
                             Algiers declared a Palestinian state on the
                             West Bank and Gaza Strip (to no effect).
14 Dec 1988                PLO renounces terrorism and accepts Israel's right to exist.
 4 May 1994                Palestinian Authority created to administer most
                             of Gaza Strip and parts of West Bank.

Chairmen of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee 
10 Jun 1964 - 24 Dec 1967  Ahmad ash-Shuqeiri                 (b. 1907 - d. 1980)
24 Dec 1967 -  2 Feb 1969  Yahya Hammuda                      (b. 1908 - d. 2006)
 2 Feb 1969 - 11 Nov 2004  Yasser Arafat "Abu Amar"           (b. 1929 - d. 2004)
                             (in exile in Jordan to Apr 1971; Lebanon 1971 -
                             Dec 1982; and Tunis Dec 1982 - May 1994)
29 Oct 2004 -              Mahmoud Ridha Abbas "Abu Mazen"    (b. 1935)
                             (acting [for Arafat] to 11 Nov 2004) 


Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah)

[Fatah Harakat
                    al-Tahrir al-Watani al-Filastini, (Palestine
                    National Liberation Movement)]

1959                       Harakat al-Tahrir al-Watani al-Filastini ("Palestinian National
                             Liberation Movement")("Fatah") founded.
1967                       Fatah joins the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Chairmen of Central Committee
1959 - 11 Nov 2004         Yasser Arafat "Abu Amar"           (b. 1929 - d. 2004)
11 Nov 2004 -              Mahmoud Abbas "Abu Mazen"          (b. 1935)

Secretaries General of the Central Committee
11 Nov 2004 - Aug 2009     Farouk al-Kaddoumi "Abu al-Lutf"   (b. 1931)
2009 - 2017                Muhammad "Abu Maher" Ghneim        (b. 1937)               
2017 -                     Jibril Mahmoud Muhammad Rajoub
                             "Abu Rami"                       (b. 1953)

Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF)

[Palestinian Popular
                    Struggle Front (PPSF)]

1967                       Palestinian Popular Struggle Organization (PPSO), in the West Bank.
                             It had a far-left Baath- influenced ideology.
1969                       Attacked civilian Israeli passengers at the Athens Airport.
1971 - 1974                A Fatah-affiliated organization.
1974                       Renamed Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF)(Jabhat al-Nidal
                             al-Sha'biyya al-Filastini).
Sep 1991                   Rejoins PLO.
1992 -                     Khalid ‘Abd al-Majid, a Palestinian politician and militia
                             leader, heads a breakaway faction of the Palestinian Popular
                             Struggle Front in Syria.

Secretary-general of Palestinian Popular Struggle Organization
1967 - 1971                Samir Ghawshah (Ghosheh)     (b. 1937 - d. 2009)
                             (1st time)
Secretaries-general of Palestinian Popular Struggle Front
1974 -  3 Aug 2009         Samir Ghawshah (Ghosheh)     (s.a.)
12 Aug 2009 -              Ahmed Majdalani              (b. 1956)
- al-Majid faction -
1992 -                     Khalid ʽAbd al-Majid

Locations:                 Syria, Lebanon
Strength:                  fewer than 300



Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) 

[Popular Front for
                          the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)]
PFLP Flag

[Popular Front for the
                        Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) variant]
PFLP Flag Variant
11 Dec 1967                al-Jabhah al-Sha`biyyah li-Tahrir Filastin ("Popular Front for the
                             Liberation of Palestine")(PFLP), a Marxist Palestinian
                             nationalist group, founded in the immediate aftermath of the Six
                             Day War.
1968                       PFLP joins the PLO; in 1974 it exits from the executive committee
                             (but not the PLO), rejoining in 1981.
23 Jul 1968                PFLP hijacks an Israeli El Al flight from Rome, lands in Algeria.
1969                       PFLP re-designates itself as a Marxist-Leninist movement.
29 Aug 1969                TWA flight from Rome to Athens and Tel Aviv hijacked
                             to Damascus. 2 Israeli hostages freed 5 Dec 1969 for 13
                             Syrians held in Israel.
 6 Sep 1970                PFLP seizes three planes en route to New York a Swiss Air
                             DC-8 from Zurich, TWA Boeing 707 from Frankfurt, and
                             a Pan Am 747 from Amsterdam.  Swiss air and TWA are
                             flown to Dawson's Field in Jordan, the Pan Am to Beirut
                             then Cairo. On 9 Sep 1970 a BOAC VC10 is hijacked en route
                             Bombay to London and taken to Dawson's Field. The 3 planes
                             in Jordan are destroyed 12 Sep 1970, and hostages released.
21 Feb 1972                Lufthansa flight from New Delhi to Athens hijacked and
                             diverted to Aden. Passengers and crew freed 23 Feb when
                             West Germany pays $5 million ransom.
20 Jul 1973                PFLP and Japanese Red Army hijack a JAL 747 en route from
                             Amsterdam to Tokyo, Plane lands at Dubai then flies
                             to Benghazi, Libya.
1993                       Announces opposition to Declaration of Principles between
                             Israel and PLO and suspended participation in the PLO.
27 Aug 2001                Israel assassinates PFLP leader Abu Ali Mustafa.
17 Oct 2001                Assassinates Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi.
2002                       Ahmed Saadat imprisoned by Palestinian Authority in Jericho
17 Mar 2006                Israeli seizes Saadat from the Palestinian prison.

Secretaries-general
11 Dec 1967 - Jul 2000     George Habash "Abu Maysa"        (b. 1926 - d. 2008)
Jul 2000 - 27 Aug 2001     Mustafa Zibri "Abu Ali Mustafa"  (b. 1938 - d. 2001)
 3 Oct 2001 -              Ahmad Sa'adat "Abu Ghassan"      (b. 1953) 
                             (imprisoned from 2002)

Locations:                 Syria, Lebanon, Israel, West Bank, and Gaza Strip
Strength:                  about 800.



Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC)

[Popular Front for
                    the Liberation of Palestine-General Command
                    (PFLP-GC)]

Oct 1968                   Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command
                             (PFLP-GC)(al-Jabhat al-Shaebiat Litahrir Filastin - al-Qiadat
                             aleama) split from PLFP, opposes PLO, backed by Syria.
                             Known for cross-border terrorist attacks into Israel using
                             unusual means.
25 Nov 1987                "Night of the Gliders" infiltration into Israel from South Lebanon
                             using hang gliders attacking Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
Oct 2012                   PFLP-GC helped the Syrian Army to fight the Syrian rebels in and
                             around Yarmouk Camp – a district of Damascus.
Dec 2012                   Syrian rebels, which included Palestinians, had won control of
                             Yarmouk forcing Jibril to flee into Damascus.
20 May 2020                Jihad Ahmed Jibril (b. 1961 - d. 2020), who headed the PFLP-GC's
                             military wing, is killed by a car bomb in Beirut, Lebanon.

Secretary-general
Oct 1968 -  7 Jul 2021     Ahmed Jibril                 (b. 1938 - d. 2021)

Locations:                 Syria, Lebanon, Israel, West Bank, and Gaza Strip, Europe,
                             and Middle East 
Strength:                  Several hundred.



Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-Special Command (PFLP-SC)

[Popular Front for the
                    Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC)

1978                       Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-Special Command 
                             (PFLP-SC) split faction from Wadie Haddad's PFLP-SG, as a 
                             separate Marxist-Leninist group.
Apr 1985                   Attacks a restaurant in Torrejon, Spain frequented by U.S. military
1980's                     Believed to have ceased operations.

Secretary-general
1978 - 1980's              Salim Abdul Salem "Abu Muhammad"

Locations:                 Lebanon, Middle East, Europe
Strength:                  50


Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-Special Operations Group (PFLP-SG)
(Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - External Operations (PFLP-EO) or Special Operations (PFLP-SO) or Special Operations Group (PFLP-SOG)

[Popular Front for the
                  Liberation of Palestine-Special Operations Group
                  (PFLP-SG) (Popular Front for the Liberation of
                  Palestine - External Operations (PFLP-EO) or Special
                  Operations (PFLP-SO) or Special Operations Group
                  (PFLP-SOG)


1969                       Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - External Operations
                            (PFLP-EO) or Special Operations (PFLP-SO) or Special Operations
                             Group (PFLP-SOG) were organizational names used by Palestinian
                             radical Wadie Haddad when engaging in international attacks, that
                             were regarded as terrorism, and were not sanctioned by the PFLP.
Jun 1976                   Organized the Entebbe hijacking in collaboration with the
                             West German Red Army Faction; Hadad expelled from PFLP.
12 May 1978                Haddad dies.

Secretary-general
1969 - 12 May 1978         Wadie Haddad "Abu Hani"          (b. 1927 - d. 1978)

Locations:                 Lebanon, Middle East, Europe
Strength:                  unknown


al-Qaeda (The Base, Qa‘idat al-Jihad, Islamic Army for the Liberation of the Holy Places, World
Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders, Islamic Salvation Foundation, Osama bin Laden
Network)

[al-Qaeda flag]

11 Aug 1988                al-Qaeda established by Osama bin Laden to create a pan-Islamic
                             Caliphate throughout the world by working with allied Islamic
                             extremist groups to overthrow regimes it deems "non-Islamic,"
                             and expelling Westerners and non-Muslims from Muslim countries.
26 Feb 1993                Bombing of the World Trade Center, NYC- 6 killed, 1,000 injured.
 4 Oct 1993                Claims to have shot down U.S. helicopters in Somalia -
                             14 servicemen killed.
22 Feb 1998                Bin Laden issues a fatwa against the United States.
25 Jun 1996                U.S. military base in Saudi Arabia bombed- 19 killed.
 7 Aug 1998                Bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and
                             Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - at least 220 persons are killed
                             5,000 are injured.
12 Oct 2000                Bombing of the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen- 17 U.S. sailors killed.
11 Sep 2001                Planes are crashed into the Pentagon, Virginia and World Trade
                             Center, NYC. World Trade Center is entirely destroyed-
                             about 3,000 people die in both attacks and the hijackings.
11 Apr 2002                Bombing of Djerba, Tunisia synagogue - 19 are killed.
12 Oct 2002                Bombing of Bali, Indonesia nightclubs - 202 killed.
20 Dec 2003                Bombing of British consulate in Istanbul, Turkey - 27 killed.
11 Mar 2004                Bombing of Madrid, Spain commuter trains- 191 killed, 1,800 injured
 7 Jul 2005                Attacks in London, U.K. on commuter trains and buses - 50 die, 700
                             are injured.
 9 Nov 2005                Bombing of three hotels in Amman, Jordan -56 killed, 96 injured.
11 Apr 2007                Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb claimed to have been
                             responsible for the Algiers bombings. Two bombs exploded within
                             a short time of each other, one at the prime ministers office
                             and the other at a police station. The blasts killed 33 people.
 2 Apr 2008                Al-Qaeda claims responsibility for the bombing of the Danish
                             embassy in Pakistan. A car bomb killed six persons and injuring
                             several.
 2 May 2011                Osama bin Laden is confirmed dead by the United States, having
                             been killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan by U.S. Special Forces.
31 Jul 2022                Ayman al-Zawahiri is confirmed dead by the United States, having
                             been killed in Kabul, Afghanistan by a CIA drone strike.

General Emirs
11 Aug 1988 -  2 May 2011  Osama bin Laden                         (b. 1957 - d. 2011)
16 Jun 2011 - 31 Jul 2022  Ayman Mohammed al-Zawahiri              (b. 1951 - d. 2022)

Locations:                 Afghanistan, Pakistan, worldwide cells in several countries.
Strength:                  Several hundred to several thousand members. 



Qibla and People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD)

[Qibla and People
                    Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD) logo (South
                    Africa)]

1979                       Qibla ("Muslims Against Global Oppression" [MAGO]; "Muslims Against
                             Illegitimate Leaders" [MAIL]) founded as a radical Islamic group
                             seeking to establish an Islamic state in South Africa.
Dec 1996                   PAGAD began as a community anti-crime group fighting drug lords in
                             Cape Town's Cape Flats section. PAGAD now shares Qibla's anti-
                             Western stance as well as some members and leadership.
25 Aug 1998                Qibla and PAGAD may have masterminded the bombing of the Cape 
                             Town Planet Hollywood restaurant, 1 person killed. 
Sep 2000                   Magistrate Pieter Theron, who was presiding in a case involving
                             PAGAD members, was murdered in a drive-by shooting.
Nov 2002                   Bombing of the Bishop Lavis offices of the Serious Crimes Unit in
                             the Western Cape.

Leader of Qibla
1979 -                     Imam Achmad Cassiem                       (b. 1945)
                             (South African prisioner 1987-1991)
Leader of PAGAD
1996 - 2002                Abdus Salaam Ebrahim

Locations:                 South Africa
Strength:                  Qibla: 250 members, PAGAD: at least 50 gunmen


Real IRA (RIRA, True IRA)

[Real Irish Republican
                    Army (RIRA) flag]

Feb/Mar 1998                Real IRA (RIRA)(Óglaigh na hÉireann)(a.k.a. True IRA) formed as
                              the clandestine armed wing of the 32-County Sovereignty
                              Movement, a "political pressure group" opposed to Sinn Fein's
                              adoption of the Mitchell principles of democracy and nonviolence
                              1999 additions to the Irish Constitution, which lay claim to
                              Northern Ireland. Aimed at removing British forces from Northern
                              Ireland and unifying Ireland.
23 Feb 1998                 Car bomb exploded in center of Portadown, County Armagh.
10 Mar 1998                 Mortar bomb attack on RUC station in Armagh, County Armagh.
24 Jun 1998                 Car bomb exploded in Newtownhamilton, County Armagh.
22 Jul 1998                 Mortar bomb attack on RUC station in Newry, County Armagh.
28 Jul 1998                 Incendiary bombs were found in stores in Portadown, County Armagh.
 2 Aug 1998                 Car bomb exploded in center of Banbridge, County Down. The bomb
                              resulted in 33 civilians being seriously injured.
15 Aug 1998                 Car bomb in Omagh, Northern Ireland; kills 29 and injured 320.   
 7 Mar 2009                 Gunmen ambush and kill 2 British soldiers Cengiz "Patrick" Azimkar
                              and Mark Quinsey and injure 2 more and 2 civilians at Massereene
                              Barracks in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Leader
Feb/Mar 1998 - 2001         Michael "Mickey" McKevitt               (b. 1949 - d. 2021)
                              (Irish prisoner 2001 - 2016)

Locations:                  Northern Ireland, Irish Republic, Great Britain
Strength:                   Fewer than 50 hard-core activists.



Red Army Faction (RAF) (Rote Armee Faktion, Baader-Meinhof Gang)

[Rote Armee Faktion
                    logo (Red Army Faction) 1968-1998]

1968                       Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion)(RAF) was born out of
                             extra-parliamentarian protest movement against Vietnam war.
                             It emerged from the "Baader-Meinhof Gang", founded by Andreas
                             Baader and Ulrike Meinhof (f). Marxist-Maoist ideology and 
                             terrorist activities aimed at paralyzing and toppling the 
                             democratic order in West Germany.
14 May 1970                First public appearance: freeing of A. Baader by force.
1972                       Leading members imprisoned.
24 Apr 1975                Occupation of West German Embassy in Stockholm. It is blown 
                             up as police prepare to attack, the RAF members surrender.
21 Dec 1975                OPEC headquarters in Vienna is seized by Palestinian and RAF
                            terrorists led by Carlos "the Jackal"
 7 Apr 1977                Federal Attorney General Siegfried Buback (b. 1920 - d. 1977)
                             killed.
 5 Sep 1977                Kidnapping of Hanns-Martin Schleyer (b. 1915 - d. 1977), Pres. of 
                             the Fed. Assoc. of German employer union.
13 Oct 1977 - 18 Oct 1977  A Lufthansa plane 'kidnapped' by Palestinians (intended to be used
                             for exchange with the imprisoned leaders), freed by German 
                             special police forces (GSG 9) in Mogadishu, Somalia.
30 Nov 1989                Deutsche Bank CEO, Alfred Herrhausen, killed by RAF car bomb.
 1 Apr 1991                Claims responsibility for murder of Detlev Rohwedder, head of 
                             the Treuhandanstalt (agency charged with privatizing the state 
                             holdings of the former East Germany), in his house in Düsseldorf.
1991                       RAF attacked the US Embassy in Bonn, firing assault rifles at
                             the building.
Apr 1998                   RAF announced that it was disbanding.

Leaders
1968 - 18 Oct 1977         Andreas Baader                    (b. 1943 - d. 1977)
                           + Ulrike Meinhof (f)              (b. 1943 - d. 1976)
                            (imprisoned from 1972)
18 Oct 1977 - Apr 1998     ....

Locations:                 West Germany, East Germany
Strength:                  command level: 122 core members, supported by militants and about
                             250 sympathizers and (logistically) by the GDR ministry of 
                             state security.


Red Brigades (Brigate Rosse)

[Red Brigades (Brigate
                    Rosse) (Italy)]

Nov 1970                   Red Brigades (Brigate Rosse) a Marxist-Leninist Communist
                             militant group formed out of the student movements to
                             separate Italy from the Western NATO alliance.
10 Mar 1978                Police Marshal Rosario Berardi (b. 1926 - d. 1978) is murdered
                             in Turin.
16 Mar 1978                Kidnaps and kills former Prime Minister Aldo Moro (b. 1916 -
                             d. 1978).
17 Dec 1981                Kidnaps U.S. General James Dozier (b. 1931), who held a post
                             with NATO in Italy. He is later freed in a police raid.
by 1981                    Red Brigade splits into two separate organizations: the Communist
                             Combatant Party (Partito Comunista Combattente)(Red Brigades-PCC)
                             and the Union of Combatant Communists (Unità Comuniste
                             Combattenti)(Red Brigades-UCC).
15 Feb 1984                Kills Leamon R. Hunt (b. 1927 - d. 1984), U.S. Chief of the U.N.
                             Sinai multinational force.
Apr 1984                   Four imprisoned leaders of the organization, Curcio, Moretti,
                             Ianelli and Bertolucci, publish an "open letter" in which they
                             reject the armed struggle as pointless: "The international
                             conditions that made this struggle possible no longer exist."
10 Feb 1986                Red Brigades-PCC kills the ex-mayor of Florence Lando Conti
                             (b. 1933 - d. 1986), and attempted to murder Antonio Da
                             Empoli (b. 1942 - d. 1996), adviser to Prime Minister Bettino
                             Craxi, on 21 Feb 1986.

20 Mar 1987                Red Brigades-UCC kills General Licio Giorgieri (b. 1925 - d. 1987)
                             in Rome.
16 Apr 1988                Red Brigades-PCC kills Senator Roberto Ruffilli (b. 1937 - d. 1988)
                             an adviser of Italian Prime Minister Ciriaco de Mita, in Forli
20 May 1999                Red Brigades-PCC murders Massimo D'Antona (b. 1948 - d. 1999), a
                             senior adviser to the cabinet of Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema.
20 Mar 2002                Red Brigades-PCC assassinates Marco Biagi (b. 1950 - d. 2002), an
                             economic adviser to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Leaders
Nov 1970 - 1984            Renato Curcio                    (b. 1941)
                            (jailed  1976-1998)
                           + Margherita Cagol (f)           (b. 1945 - d. 1975) 
                              (to 5 Jun 1975)
                           + Alberto Franceschini           (b. 1947)
                              (jailed 1974-1992)

Location:                  Italy
Strength:                  Currently thought to have had no more than 50 members.



Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -People's Army (FARC-EP)

[Revolutionary Armed
                    Forces of Colombia -People's Army (FARC-EP)

1964                       Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Ejército del Pueblo
                             ("Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army")
                             (FARC-EP) established as the military wing of the Colombian
                             Communist Party to replace the current government with a Marxist
                             regime.
Mar 1999                   Executed three Indian rights activists in Venezuela.
 4 Nov 2011                Colombian military operation in Cauca state kills FARC leader Cano.
23 Jun 2016                Peace treaty signed between the FARC and the Colombian government.
27 Jun 2017                FARC ceases to be an armed group, disarming itself and handing
                             over its weapons to the United Nations.
 1 Sep 2017                FARC announces its reformation as a legal political party, the
                             Common Alternative Revolutionary Force (Fuerza Alternativa
                             Revolucionaria del Común).

Commanders-in-Chief
1964 - 15 Aug 1990         Luis Morantes "Jacobo Arenas"              (b. 1924 - d. 1990)
1990 - 26 Mar 2008         Manuel Marulanda Vélez "Tirofijo"          (b. 1928 - d. 2008)
                             (= Pedro Antonio Marín)
26 Mar 2008 -  4 Nov 2011  Alfonso Cano (Guillermo León Sáenz)        (b. 1948 - d. 2011)
Nov 2011 -  1 Sep 2017     Timoleón Jiménez "Timochenko"              (b. 1959)
                             (= Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri)

Location:                  Colombia
Strength:                  Approximately 8,000 to 18,000 armed combatants


Revolutionary Organization 17 November (17 November)

[Revolutionary
                    Organization 17 November (17 November)

1975                       Revolutionary Organization 17 November (Epanastatikí Orgánosi
                             17 Noémvri) formed as a radical leftist group, 17 November is
                             described as anti-Greek establishment, anti-United States,
                             anti-Turkey, anti-NATO, and committed to the ouster of U.S.
                             bases, removal of Turkish military presence from Cyprus, and
                             severing of Greece's ties to NATO and the European Union (EU).
Dec 1975                   Assassinates U.S. embassy employee (CIA's Athens station
                             chief) Richard Welch.
15 Nov 1983                Assassinates U.S. Navy Captain George Tsantes.
28 Jun 1988                Assassinates U.S. defense attache William Nordeen.
12 Mar 1991                U.S. Air Force Sergeant Ronald O. Strong killed by a car bomb.
 7 Oct 1991                Cetin Gorgu, a Turkish press attaché, shot in his car.
 4 Jul 1994                Omer Haluk Sipahioglu, a Turkish embassy official shot on Athens.
28 May 1997                Assassinates Anglo-Hellenic shipping tycoon Constantinos Peratikos.
 8 Jun 2000                Claims responsibility for the murder of British Defense
                             Attaché Stephen Saunders in Athens.
17 Jul 2002                Group leader Alexandros Giotopoulos arrested on island of Lipsi.
 5 Sep 2002                Dimitris Koufodinas -identified as group's chief of operations-
                             surrendered to the authorities.  

Leader
1975 - 17 Jun 2002         Aléxandros Giotópoulos              (b. 1944)
                             (Greek prisioner from 17 Jul 2002) 

Location:                  Greece
Strength:                  Unknown, but presumed to be small.


Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) (Dev Sol)

[Revolutionary People's
                    Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) (Dev Sol)

1978                       Devrimci Halk Kurtuluş Partisi/Cephesi (Revolutionary Left "Dev
                             Sol"), formed as a splinter group of Devrimci Yol (Dev Yol) which
                             was itself a splinter group of the Turkish People's Liberation
                             Party-Front (THKP-C). 
13 Aug 1991                Murder of Andrew Blake, head of U.K. Commercial Union in Istanbul.
1992                       Launched rockets at U.S. consulate in Istanbul.
early 1990's               Infighting within Dev Sol resulted in the emergence of two
                             factions. Dursun Karatas, group's DHKP-C from 1994. 
                             Bedri Yagan, a founding member of Dev Sol, broke from the 
                             Karatas faction and created a new faction, THKP-C (not to be
                             confused with the original THKP-C).
1993                       Renamed Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front
                             (Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Partisi-Cephesi)(DHKP-C). 

Leaders
- from 1993 of DHKP-C
1978 - 11 Apr 2008         Dursun Karataş                 (b. 1952 - d. 2008)

Location:                  Turkey
Strength:                  Probably several dozen operatives, with a large support network



Revolutionary People's Struggle (ELA)

29 Apr 1975                Epanastatikós Laïkós Agónas (ELA)("Revolutionary People's
                             Struggle") founded as an extreme leftist group, the ELA is
                             self-described as revolutionary, anti-capitalist, and
                             anti-imperialist. Strongly anti-U.S., and seeks the removal of
                             U.S. military forces from Greece.
1975 - 1995                Took responsibility for the installation of 260 bombs (of these,
                             200 were from 1975 to Apr 1990).
1980's                     Received weapons and other assistance from international
                             terrorist Carlos "the Jackal"
23 Jan 1989                Supreme Court Deputy Prosecutor Anastásios Vernárdos is killed.
Jan 1995                   Announced its disbandment, after a political decision.
2003                       Epanastatikós Agónas (Revolutionary Struggle) emerges.
12 Jan 2007                Members shoot an antitank missile at the US Embassy in Athens,
                             damaging part of the building near the Ambassador's office
Jun 2009                   Designated foreign terrorist organization by U.S.
 2 Sep 2009                Detonates a car-bomb outside the Athens Stock Exchange, damaging
                             the building and wounding one person.
 5 Jan 2010                Gunmen shoot and seriously wound a Greek police officer.
10 Apr 2014                Co-leader Pola Roupa plants a car-bomb at the headquarters of
                             Bank of Greece that damages the headquarters, nearby buildings.
Leaders
1975 - 2003                ....
2003 - 10 Mar 2010         Lámbros Foúndas                 (d. 2010)
2010 - 2014                Nikólaos Maziótis -Co-Leader
2010 - 2017                Póla Roúpa (f) -Co-Leader

Location:                  Greece
Strength:                  Unknown


Revolutionary United Front of Sierra Leone (RUF)

[Revolutionary United
                    Front (RUF) flag, 1991-2002 (Sierra Leone)]

23 Mar 1991                Revolutionary United Front (RUF) began actions to topple the 
                             government of Sierra Leone and retain control of the
                             lucrative diamond producing regions of the country.
18 Jan 1995                Five Europeans and at least three Sierra Leoneans were kidnapped.

25 Jan 1995                RUF raided a mission near the Guinea border, taking 100 hostages.
                             Seven nuns - six Italians and one Brazilian - were among 
                             the captives.
Mar 1995 - Apr 1995        RUF forces attack the suburbs of the capital, Freetown.
20 Nov 1996                Abidjan Accord between Sierra Leone government and RUF.
May 1997
- Jun 1997        RUF forces sack the capital, Freetown.
 6 Jan 1999 - Jan 1999
    RUF forces again sack the capital, Freetown, large parts of the
                             city burned and 6,000 were killed and 3,000 children abducted
                             as RUF retreated.

 7 Jul 1999                Lome Accord Foday Sankoh offered chairmanship of the Commission
                             for the Management of Strategic Resources, National
                             Reconstruction, and Development, which was to have the status
                             of Vice President, in that he was to be only answerable to
                             the president.
17 May 2000                Sankoh arrested after RUF forces kill protesters near his home.
Dec 2001                   RUF
disarmament and demobilization begins.
18 Jan 2002                11-year civil conflict officially ended when all parties to the
                             conflict issued a Declaration of the End of the War. The
                             government since asserted control over the whole country, backed
                             by a large U.N. peacekeeping force. RUF insurgents, who fought
                             completed disarmament and demobilization. An estimated 50,000
                             people were killed during the war, and over 500,000 people were
                             displaced in neighboring countries.

Commanders
23 Mar 1991 - 20 Aug 2000  Foday Saybana Sankoh                 (b. 1937 - d. 2003) 
                             (imprisoned in Nigeria [from 25 Jul 1998 Sierra Leone]
                             2 Mar 1997 - 19 Apr 1999,
imprisoned again from 17 May 2000)
Mar 1997 - Apr 1999        Sam Bockarie (acting for Sankoh)     (b. 1964 - d. 2003)
20 Aug 2000 - 18 Jan 2002  
Issa Hassan Sesay (interim)          (b. 1970) 

Locations:                 Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea. 
Strength:                  Once estimated at several thousand supporters and sympathizers,
                             the group has dwindled to several hundred.


Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) 

[Salafist Group for
                    Preaching and Combat (GSPC) logo]

1998                       Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (Groupe Salafiste
                             pour la Prédication et le Combat, also 'Group for Call and 
                             Combat') founded.
12 Nov 2002                Ambush of a group of Algerian soldiers. 9 dead, 12 wounded.
Feb 2003                   32 European tourists are kidnapped. 1 dead, 17 hostages rescued by
                             Algerian troops on 13 May 2003, and 14 released in Aug 2003.
12 Feb 2004                Near Tighremt, Algeria, Islamic extremists ambushed a police
                             patrol, killing 7 police officers and wounding three others.
Oct 2003                   Announced alignment with al-Qaeda and Taliban leader Mullah Omar.
 7 Apr 2005                In Tablat, Blida Province, Algeria, armed assailants fired on five
                             vehicles at a fake road block, killing 13 civilians, wounding
                             one other.
Sep 2006                   Announces it has joined Al-Qaeda.
15 Oct 2006                In Sidi Medjahed, Ain Defla, Algeria, assailants attacked and
                             killed eight private security guards.
24 Jan 2007                Officially renamed "Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb."

Spiritual Leader
1998 - 17 Jan 2006         Abu al-Baraa el-Azdi                  (b. 19.. - d. 2006)

Emirs
1998 - af.2001             Hassan Hattab                         (b. 1967)
by 2003 - 20 Jun 2004      Nabil Sahraoui                        (b. 1969 - d. 2004)
2004 -  3 Jun 2020         Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud                (b. 1970 - d. 2020) 
                             (= Abdelmalek Droukdel)

Locations:                 Algeria, Chad, Libya, Mauritania, Mali, Morocco, Niger
Strength:                  300 est.



Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path)

[Sendero Luminoso (Shining
                    Path) flag (Peru)]

1960's                     Sendero Luminoso ("Shining Path") founded.
since 1980                 Became one of the most ruthless terrorist groups in the Western
                             Hemisphere — approximately 30,000 persons have died since SL
                             took up arms in 1980.
 4 Sep 1989                Abducted and interrogated two Newsweek reporters in Ramal de 
                             Aspusana, Peru and then released them after three days.
24 Nov 1989                An American reporter was kidnapped in Huallga, Peru and turned 
                             over to drug traffickers, presumably in exchange for money.
                             His body was later found, together with a note signed by SL.
13 Jan 1990                Sendero Luminoso terrorists singled out and shot two French 
                             tourists aboard a bus traveling in the Apurimac Department.
                             Peruvian passengers were forced to pay the terrorists money
                             but were unharmed.
10 Dec 1990                Terrorists exploded a car bomb near the US Embassy in Lima. No 
                             injuries or damage resulted.
17 May 1991                SL killed the Canadian director of the humanitarian organization 
                             world mission and seriously injured his Colombian assistant 
                             in a Lima suburb.
22 May 1991                An Australian Nun and 4 Peruvian government officials were 
                             executed after a "people's trial" in a rural village.
26 Jun 1991                A Soviet textile technician was ambushed and killed by four
                             SL members in Lima.
12 Jul 1991                Three Japanese agronomists were assassinated by 10 SL members at
                             a Japanese funded rural research center in Peru.
 9 Aug 1991                Two polish priests were shot and killed by SL members in a remote 
                             rural area. A local mayor was also murdered and an Italian nun
                             was held for several hours.
25 Aug 1991                An Italian priest was killed in an ambush on his car by SL members.
16 Jul 1992                Detonated a powerful bomb on Tarata Street in the upscale district
                             of Miraflores in Lima, killing more than 20 people.
 9 Oct 1992                Five Sendero Luminoso terrorists assassinated an Italian
                             Lay Missionary in Jangas.
28 Dec 1992                SL guerrillas detonated car bombs at the Japanese and Chinese 
                             Embassies in Lima, causing injuries and damaging more than 
                             60 homes and buildings. At least 12 people were injured by the 
                             car bomb at the Japanese embassy, all bystanders or neighbors.
19 May 1993                Terrorists detonated a car bomb in front of the Chilean Embassy
                             in Lima at the end of a strike called by the SL terrorist group. 
                             The explosion damaged the embassy and nearby houses but did not
                             result in any casualties.
 7 Jul 1993                Police discovered the bodies of 2 European tourists in a 
                            remote area of Ayacucho. The two had been traveling together
                            in a region contested by Sendero Luminoso terrorists.
27 Jul 1993                After first spraying the building with automatic weapons,
                             terrorists exploded a van bomb outside the US Embassy in Lima. 
                             One Embassy guard was injured. The explosion caused extensive
                             damage to the embassy's facade and perimeter fence. The nearby 
                             Spanish embassy and an US-owned hotel, were also damaged. Two 
                             hotel employees and a hotel guest were injured.
11 Jun 1995                A suspected SL bomb exploded in front of the Peruvian-
                             Japanese cultural center in Lima, no casualties.
24 May 1995                Presumed members of Sendero Luminoso detonated a 50-KG car bomb
                             in front of the Maria Angola Hotel in a suburb of Lima,
                             killing 3 hotel employees and a passerby. About 30 others
                             were injured.
16 May 1996                SL terrorists detonated a car bomb, injuring at least 4 persons 
                             and destroying a portion of the joint Shell-Mobil offices 
                             and warehouse in Lima. 
15 Aug 1997                60 Sendero Luminoso (SL) guerrillas kidnapped 30 oil workers in
                             Junin Department. The workers are employed by a firm that is
                             contracted by a French transnational oil company. On 17 Aug
                             the SL rebels released the oil workers unharmed in exchange for
                             a ransom of food, medicines, clothing and batteries.
21 Mar 2002                A car bomb exploded outside the U.S. Embassy in Peru killing 
                             10 people and injuring more than 30. The blast occurred at about
                             10:45 p.m. outside a Banco de Credito bank in an area crowded 
                             with shops and restaurants.
 9 Jun 2003                Shining Path group attacked a camp in Ayacucho, and took 68
                             employees of the Argentinian company Techint and three police
                             guards as hostages. Two days later, after a rapid military
                             response, the terrorists abandoned the hostages.
22 Dec 2005                Shining Path ambush a police patrol in Huánuco region, killing 8.
Apr 2009                   Shining Path ambushed and killed 13 government soldiers in Ayacucho

Leaders
1969 - 12 Sep 1992         Manuel Rubén Abimael Guzmán Reinoso      (b. 1934 - d. 2021)
                             "Presidente Gonzalo" (secretary-general)
Sep 1992 - 14 Jul 1999     Óscar Ramírez Durand "Comrade Feliciano" (b. 1953)
14 Jul 1999 - 12 Feb 2012  Florindo Eleuterio Flores Hala           (b. 1961)
                             "Comrade Artemio"
2012 - 11 Aug 2013         Orlando Alejandro Borda Casafranca       (d. 2013)
                             "Comrade Alipio"

Location:                  Peru
Strength:                  100-200 armed militants. 


Stern Gang (Lehi, Lohamei Herut Israel, Fighters for the Freedom of Israel)

[Stern Gang (Lehi,
                    Lohamei Herut Israel, Fighters for the Freedom of
                    Israel logo(Palestine, Israel 1920-1948]

1920                    Lohamei Herut Israel ("Lehi")("Fighters for the Freedom of Israel") 
                          an armed underground faction in pre-state Israel that that had as
                          its goal the eviction of the British from Palestine to allow 
                          unrestricted immigration of Jews and the formation of a Jewish
                          state. Split from Irgun. The smallest by far of any of the Jewish 
                          armed groups during the mandatory era, it never attracted more than 
                          a few hundred followers, and was reviled by most of its
                          contemporaries.
 2 Nov 1944             Assassinated Lord Moyne, a British government representative, 
                          in Cairo, Egypt.
 9 Apr 1948             Lehi and Irgun attacked Deir Yassin ("Deir Yassin massacre"),
                          approximately 107 and 120 Palestinian Arab civilians were killed.
28 May 1948             Merged into the Israeli Defense Force along with Hagana and Irgun.
17 Sep 1948             Assassination of United Nations Mediator, Folke Bernadotte.

Commanders
1920 - 12 Feb 1942      Abraham Stern (Avraham Shtern) "Yair"  (b. 1907 - d. 1942)
1942 - 1948             Triumvirate 
                        - Israel Eldad                         (b. 1910 – d. 1996) 
                        - Natan Yellin-Mor                     (b. 1913 - d. 1980)
                        - Yitzhak Shamir                       (b. 1915 - d. 2012) 

Locations:              Palestine, Egypt.
Strength:               a few hundred followers.


Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)

[flag of Symbionese
                    Liberation Army (SLA) (U.S.) 1973-1975]

Aug 1973                   Symbionese Liberation Army founded in California.
 6 Nov 1973                SLA murdered Oakland, California Superintendent of Schools Dr.
                             Marcus Foster and badly wounded his deputy Robert Blackburn.
 4 Feb 1974                SLA kidnaps 19-year-old publishing heiress Patty Hearst from her 
                             Berkeley, California apartment.
17 May 1974                Los Angeles Police department surrounds a house of armed SLA
                             members. After the fire the bodies of Nancy Ling Perry (Fahiza),
                             Angela Atwood ("General Gelina"), Willie Wolfe (who was reported
                             to be Patricia Hearst's lover and who bore the SLA alias "Cujo"),
                             Donald DeFreeze ("Cinque"), Patricia Soltysik ("Mizmoon",
                             "Zoya"), and Camilla Hall ("Gabi") were found.
21 Apr 1975                The remaining members of the SLA robbed the Crocker National Bank
                             in Carmichael, California and killed Myrna Opsahl, a customer, 
                             in the process.

Leaders
Aug 1973 - 17 May 1974     Donald David DeFreeze                   (b. 1943 - d. 1974)
                             ("General Field Marshal Cinque Mtume")
May 1974 - 1975            William Harris "General Teko"           (b. 1945)

Location:                  United States
Strength:                  ....


Terra Lliure (Free Land)

[Terra Lliure
                        (Catalonia) Spain)]
[Terra Lliure
                        (Catalonia) Spain)]

1970's                     Terra Lliure ("Free Land") established with goal of creating an
                             independent Marxist state in the Spanish provinces of Catalonia 
                             and Valencia.
12 May 1987                General Electric Company in Barcelona bombed.
14 Oct 1987                Bombing of U.S. consulate in Barcelona.
17 Mar 1988                British consulate in Barcelona attacked.
 2 Mar 1989                Failed bombing of French tourism office in Barcelona,
                             8 are injured.
Jul 1991                   Announces end of terror campaigns.
Sep 1995                   Group announced its definitive disbanding.

Leaders
1970's - 1995              ....

Locations:                 Spain
Strength:                  Unknown



Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA)

[Tupac Amaru
                    Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) flag (Bolivia, Peru)]

1984                       Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA)(Movimiento
                             Revolucionario Túpac Amaru) established as Marxist group 
                             to rid Peru of all imperialist elements (primarily U.S.
                             and Japanese influence). Previously conducted bombings, 
                             kidnappings, ambushes, and assassinations, but recent activity 
                             has fallen drastically.
1986/87                    Begins armed struggle against Peruvian government.
Feb 1987                   Occupies 7 radio stations in Lima.
 9 Jan 1990                Assassinates former Defense Minister Manuel E. Lopez Albujar.
17 Dec 1996 - 22 Apr 1997  Occupies the Japanese ambassadors residence in Lima, 
                             taking guests 72 hostage.

Leaders
1984 - 22 Apr 1997         Néstor Cerpa Cartolini                (b. 1953 - d. 1997)
                             "Comandante Evaristo" 
1984 - Jun 1992            Victor Polay Campos                   (b. 1951)
                             "Comandante Rolando"
                             (imporisioned Feb 1989-Jul 1990, from Jun  1992)

Locations:                 Peru, Bolivia, throughout Latin America 
Strength:                  No more than 100.



Tupamaros (MLN) (Movimiento de Liberación Nacional, National Liberation Army)

[Flag of Tupamaros (MLN)
                    (Movimiento de Liberación Nacional, National
                    Liberation Army)(Uruguay, Brazil) 1962-1985]

1962                       Tupamaros (MLN)(Movimiento de Liberación Nacional or "National 
                             Liberation Movement") founded to lead a Marxist-Leninist 
                             state in Uruguay.
1963                       Raid on a Swiss rifle club.
10 Sep 1964                Bombing of home of the Brazilian ambassador.
31 Jul 1970                Two diplomats are kidnapped in Montevideo: Dan Mitrone
                             of USAID is killed 10 Aug 1970, Aloysio Gomide of Brazil
                             is released 21 Feb 1971 after his family paid a ransom.
 8 Jan 1971                British Ambassador Geoffrey Jackson is kidnapped. He is
                             released 9 Sep 1971 after 106 Tupamaros escape from prison.
18 May 1972                Colonel Artigas Alvarez, chief of Uruguay civil defense forces,
                             is assassinated.
1973                       Movement crushed by the military.
 4 Sep 1985                Existing members renounce armed struggle and state they are
                             joining Frente Amplio coalition and Movimiento 26 de Marzo.

Leader
1962 -  4 Sep 1985         Raúl Sendic Antonaccio                  (b. 1926 - d. 1989)

Location:                  Uruguay, Argentina, Cuba
Strength:                  in 1972 around 6,000.


al-Ummah

1992                       Radical Indian Muslim group, goals unknown.
1998                       Believed responsible for the Coimbatore
                             bombings in Southern India.

Leader
1992 - ....                ....

Location:                  India
Strength:                  Unknown



United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC-Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia)

[United Self-Defense
                    Forces of Colombia (AUC) 1997-2006]

Apr 1997                   United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC)(Autodefensas
                             Unidas de Colombia) an umbrella organization formed to 
                             consolidate most local and regional paramilitary groups
                             each with the mission to protect economic interests and
                             combat insurgents locally.
 2 Feb 2006                As this date about 17,000 of the AUC's 20,000 fighters have
                             surrendered their weapons since 2003.

Supreme Leaders
Apr 1997 - 16 Apr 2004     Carlos Castaño Gil                     (b. 1965 - d. 2004)
2004 - 2006?               José Vicente Castaño Gil               (b. 1957)

Location:                  Colombia
Strength:                  Estimated 20,000 paramilitary fighters, including former military 
                             and insurgent personnel.


Weathermen (Weather Underground Organization)

[Weather Underground
                    Organization (WUO) logo (U.S.) 1969-1977]

1969                       "The Weathermen" (later, "Weather Underground Organization") a
                             U.S. Radical Left organization consisting of splintered off
                             members and leaders of the Students for a Democratic Society
                             (SDS) formed. The group referred to itself as a "revolutionary
                             organization of communist women and men." Their stated purpose
                             was to carry out a series of militant actions to achieve the
                             revolutionary overthrow of the Government of the United States,
                             and of capitalism as a whole.
Jun 1969                   The "Action Faction" of the SDS releases a detailed statement of
                             their political ideology in the official SDS newspaper "New Left
                             Notes." This essay concluded with the quotation "You Don't Need
                             A Weatherman To Know Which Way The Wind Blows" which gave rise
                             to its adherents being called "Weathermen."
18-22 Jun 1969             SDS National Convention, held in Chicago, Illinois, sees the
                             organization collapse as a student group and the Weathermen
                             seizing control of the SDS National Office.
Jul 1969                   Bernardine Dohrn, Eleanor Raskin, Dianne Donghi, Peter Clapp,
                             David Millstone and Diana Oughton, all representing the
                             Weathermen, travel to Cuba where they meet with representatives
                             of the North Vietnamese and Cuban governments.
 7 Oct 1969                Haymarket Police Statue is bombed in Chicago, Illinois.
 8-11 Oct 1969             "Days of Rage" riots occur in Chicago in which 287 Weatherman
                             members from throughout the country were arrested and a large
                             amount of property damage was done.
 6 Dec 1969                Several Chicago Police cars parked in a Precinct parking lot at
                             3600 North Halsted Street, Chicago, are bombed.
27-31 Dec 1969             The Weathermen hold a "War Council" meeting in Flint, Michigan,
                             where they finalize their plans to submerge into an underground
                             status from which they plan to commit strategic acts of sabotage
                             against the government. Thereafter they are called the
                             "Weather Underground Organization" (WUO).
Feb 1970                   WUO closes the SDS National Office in Chicago, concluding the
                             major campus based organization of the 1960's.
13 Feb 1970                Several Police vehicles of the Berkeley, California, Police
                             Department are bombed in the police parking lot.
16 Feb 1970                Bomb is detonated at the Golden Gate Park branch of the San
                             Francisco Police Department, killing one officer and injuring
                             a number of other policemen.
 6 Mar 1970                A group blows themselves up when their bomb factory located
                             in New York's Greenwich Village accidentally explodes. WUO
                             members Ted Gold, Diana Oughton (f), and Terry Robbins die in
                             this accident. The Bomb was intended to be planted at a
                             Non-commissioned officer's dance at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
30 Mar 1970                Chicago Police discover WUO bomb factory on Chicago's north side.
10 May 1970                National Guard Association building in Washington, D.C. was bombed
                             to protest the National Guard killings of four students at
                             Kent State in Ohio.
21 May 1970                WUO under Bernardine Dohrn's name releases its "Declaration of
                             a State of War" communiqué.
 9 Jun 1970                New York City Police Headquarters is bombed in response to what
                             Weatherman call "police repression."
27 Jul 1970                The Presidio Army Base in San Francisco is bombed to mark the
                             11th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution.
12 Sep 1970                The WUO helps Dr. Timothy Leary, LSD user break out and escape
                             from the California Men's Colony prison.
 8 Oct 1970                Bombing of Marin County Courthouse in retaliation for the killing
                             of Jonathan Jackson, William Christmas, and James McClain.
10 Oct 1970                Queens Courthouse is bombed to express support for the New York
                             prison riots.
14 Oct 1970                Harvard Center for International Affairs is bombed to protest
                             the war in Vietnam.
 1 Mar 1971                U.S. Capitol is bombed to protest the invasion of Laos.
Apr 1971                   FBI agents discover an abandoned WUO bomb factory in San Francisco.
29 Aug 1971                Bombing of the Office of California Prisons allegedly in
                             retaliation for the killing of George Jackson.
17 Sep 1971                New York Department of Corrections in Albany New York is bombed
                             to protest the killing of 29 inmates at Attica State Prison.
15 Oct 1971                Bombing of William Bunny's office in the MIT research center.
19 May 1972                Bombing of The Pentagon in retaliation for the new U.S. bombing
                             raid in Hanoi.
18 May 1973                Bombing of the 103rd Police Precinct in New York in response to
                             killing of 10-year-old black youth Clifford Glover by police.
19 Sep 1973                WUO member Howard Norton Machtinger is arrested by the FBI in New
                             York. Released on bond, Machtinger again submerges into
                             the underground.
28 Sep 1973                ITT headquarters in New York and Rome, Italy are bombed in
                             response to ITT's alleged role in the Chilean coup earlier
                             that month.
 6 Mar 1974                Bombing of the Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare offices in
                             San Francisco to protest alleged sterilization of poor women.
31 May 1974                Office of the California Attorney General is bombed in response
                             to the killing of 6 members of the Symbionese Liberation Army.
17 Jun 1974                Gulf Oil's Pittsburgh headquarters is bombed to protest its
                             actions in Angola, Vietnam, and elsewhere.
Jul 1974                   WUO releases its book "Prairie Fire" in which they indicate
                             the need for a unified Communist Party. They encourage the
                             creation of study groups to discuss their ideology, but continue
                             to stress the need for violent acts. The book also admits WUO
                             responsibility of several actions from previous years. The
                             Prairie Fire Organizing Committee (PFOC) arises from the
                             teachings in the book, organized by many former WUO members.
11 Sep 1974                Bombing of Anaconda Corporation (part of the Rockefeller
                             Corporation) in retribution for Anaconda’s alleged involvement
                             in the Chilean coup the previous year.
28 Jan 1975                Bombing of The State Department in response to escalation in
                             Vietnam.
Mar 1975                   WUO releases its first edition of a new magazine entitled
                             "Osawatomie."
16 Jun 1975                They bomb a Banco de Ponce (a Puerto Rican bank) in New York in
                             solidarity with striking Puerto Rican cement workers.
11-13 Jul 1975             The PFOC holds its first national convention during which time they
                             go through the formality of creating a new organization.
Sep 1975                   Bombing of the Kennecott Corporation in retribution for
                             alleged involvement in the Chilean coup two years prior.
1977                       The group begins dissolving, many members moved on to other
                             armed revolutionary groups and were subsequently arrested and
                             held for long periods. Very few served prison sentences for
                             their time in the Weather Underground.

Widely-known members ("the Weather Bureau")
1969 - 1977                - Kathy Boudin (f)                   (b. 1943 - d. 2022)
                           - Mark William Rudd                  (b. 1947)
                           - Terry Robbins (to 6 Mar 1970)      (b. 1947 - d. 1970)
                           - Ted Gold (to 6 Mar 1970)           (b. 1947 - d. 1970)
                           - Naomi Esther Jaffe (f)             (b. 1943)
                           - Cathy Platt Wilkerson (f)          (b. 1945)
                           - Jeff Jones                         (b. 1947)
                           - David Gilbert                      (b. 1944)
                           - Susan Ellen Tanenbaum Stern (f)    (b. 1943 - d. 1976)
                           - Bob Tomashevsky                    (b. c.1942)
                           - Samuel M. Karp                     (b. c.1947)
                           - Russell Neufeld                    (b. 1947)
                           - Joe H. Kelly                       (b. c.1945)
                           - Diana Oughton (f)                  (b. 1942 - d. 1970)
                           - Eleanor Stein Raskin (f)           (b. 1946)
                           - John Gregory Jacobs                (b. 1947 - d. 1997)
                           - Bernardine Rae Dohrn (f)           (b. 1942)
                           - William "Bill" Ayers               (b. 1944)
                           - Laura Jane Whitehorn (f)           (b. 1945)
                           - Matthew Landy Steen                (b. 1949)
                           - Linda Sue Evans (f)                (b. 1947)
                           - Brian Flanagan                     (b. 1946)



Locations:                 United States
Strength:                  about 400 members


Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN)

[Zapatista National
                    Liberation Army [EZLN] flag (Mexico)]

17 Nov 1983                Zapatista National Liberation Army (Ejército Zapatista de Liberción
                             Nacional)(EZLN) founded.
 1 Jan 1991                Zapatistas go public with the initial goal of overthrowing the
                             Mexican government. Short armed clashes in Chiapas end two weeks 
                             after the uprising and there have been no full-scale
                             confrontations since. 

Subcomandante Insurgente
 1 Jan 1994 - 25 May 2014  Marcos ("Delegado Zero")             (b. 1957)
                            (= Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente)

Locations:                 Chiapas, Mexico
Strength:                  ....






© Ben Cahoon