TERROR MAP

Terror Map

Terror Map



Summary

The terrorist groups selected for the purpose of this assignment are Al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Al-Qaeda, alternatively spelled al-Qaida and sometimes al-Qa'ida, is a global militant Sunni Islamist group founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad. Al-Qaeda has attacked civilian and military targets in various countries, such as the September 11 attacks, US embassy bombings and Bali bombings. The U.S. government responded by launching the War on Terror. Al-Qaeda has continued to exist and grew through the decade from 2001 to 2011. Characteristic techniques include suicide attacks and simultaneous bombings of different targets. Activities ascribed to it may involve members of the movement, who have taken a pledge of loyalty to Osama bin Laden, or the much more numerous "al-Qaeda-linked" individuals who have undergone training in one of its camps in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq or Sudan, but not taken any pledge. Al-Qaeda ideologues envision a complete break from the foreign influences in Muslim countries, and the creation of a new Islamic caliphate. Reported beliefs include that a Christian-Jewish alliance is conspiring to destroy Islam, which is largely embodied in the U.S.-Israel alliance, and that the killing of bystanders and civilians is religiously justified in jihad.

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is a militant organization. Formed in 1996, it has operated in Pakistan since Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP) activist Riaz Basra broke away from the SSP over differences with his seniors. The group is considered a terrorist organisation by Pakistan and the United States. Basra formed his own neo-Wahabi organization, named after the late founder of the original Sipah-e-Sahaba, Haq Nawaz Jhangvi. Jhangvi was killed in a retaliatory bomb attack by Shia militants in 1990. Riaz Basra gained notoriety when he orchestrated the assassination of Iranian diplomat Sadiq Ganji in Lahore. Basra was also involved in the killing of Iranian Air Force cadets visiting Pakistan in the early 1990s, when sectarian attacks on Shias in Pakistan were at their peak. Both acts occurred in the northern city of Rawalpindi and greatly disturbed contemporary Pakistan-Iran relations.

Discussion

Bin Laden and his group left Afghanistan and settled in Sudan, where they operated training camps for Al Qaeda recruits and planned various terrorist operations. Pressure on the Sudanese government by the United States and others caused Sudan to expel Al Qaeda, so Bin Laden and company relocated back to Afghanistan, where they helped the Taliban win the civil war that had broken out after the Soviet withdrawal. Once the Taliban was in power, they allowed Al Qaeda to set up bases and operate extensive training camps in the country. It was from the Al Qaeda bases in Afghanistan that the September 11 attacks were orchestrated, and thousands of young men were trained in terrorist tactics and weapons handling.

The Taliban and Al Qaeda are often referred to as Islamist or Salafist, and they are not the only groups to which these labels have been ...