5. Hezbollah
Translated to mean ‘Party of Allah,’ Hezbollah is a Shi’a militant group. Speared by Ayatollah Khomeini, Hezbollah was established by a group of Muslim clerics in 1982 to counter the Israeli occupation of Lebanon. They made it clear they do not favor any form of western presence, and they are intent on driving them out of the region.
In 1983, Hezbollah bombed the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon. The Lebanese hostage crisis ensued for a decade. The extremists attacked an aircraft flight in Panama, and the London Israeli Embassy in 1994.
Although Hezbollah has not been in the media recently for global terrorism, the Lebanese government has representatives in its cabinet.
4. Boko Haram
This notorious West African terrorist group is a branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Syria (ISIL / ISIS), and has close ties with Al-Qaeda. The name Boko Haram itself translates to ‘Western education is a sin.’ By some accounts, the word ‘Western’ may also be changed with ‘non-Islamic.’
Mohammed Yusuf is the founder of the sect and he passionately despises western education. He even discredits the Earth being round because he claims it is a western concept. Boko Haram has been active in Nigeria since 2009. After Nigeria had begun to accept different cultures, the terrorists wanted to impose Islamic laws throughout the entire country.
They even attempted to overthrow the government by imposing Sharia law, which has zero tolerance for any outside behaviors, including drinking alcohol. In 2011, Boko Haram took responsibility for bombing the United Nations headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria. Just three years later, the terrorist group gained international attention when they kidnapped over 200 Nigerian schoolgirls. Countries all over the globe recognized their brutal terror, and a massive social media campaign demanded the return of the children, many of whom were already married with children.
From its foundation until 2014, some 5,000 innocent souls have been murdered at the hands of Boko Haram.
3. Taliban
Mullah Mohammed Omar formed the Taliban in 1994. Its origins derive from the Afghani struggle against the Soviets. It is such an aggressive terrorist organization that it was in charge of an entire country. From 1996 until 2001, the Taliban’s militant group enforced strict Islamic laws in Afghanistan until the United States military invaded the country.
The Taliban makes money via human and drug trafficking. The terrorists are known murderers and they kill innocent people in the name of Jihad, including over 130 high school teachers and students in northern Pakistan. The Taliban regularly practices heinous crimes such as ethnic cleansing. Like other groups, the Taliban received support from Al-Qaeda.
2. Al-Qaeda
The objective of Al-Qaeda is to unite Muslims everywhere through Jihad and strict interpretation of Sharia law.
For nearly 30 years, Al-Qaeda has been one of the biggest terrorist groups in the world. Osama bin Laden created the extremist organization in 1988. It is responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Africa, and the 2002 Bali bombings.
Osama bin Laden mostly famously carried out the 9/11 attacks in New York City, Washington, and Pennsylvania which killed over 3,000 Americans. As a result, the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan ensued. Osama bin Laden was captured and killed in Pakistan in May 2011. Since then, Ayman al-Zawahiri has been the leader of Al-Qaeda.
1. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant / Syria (ISIL / ISIS)
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi formed the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which has grown to 80,000 militants and counting. Although the terrorists occupy large parts of the Middle East including portions of Iraq, Syria, and Palestine, they have affiliate groups all over the world including in Southeast Asia, Nigeria, and Libya. They even have some members in western countries.
As an extreme Sunni Jihadist organization, ISIS claims to have control over Muslims worldwide including authority over political, religious, and military groups. Abuse from these savages has occurred all over the globe.
ISIS is especially notorious for creating slave markets where they trade captured women. Such crimes have already happened to the Yazidi Kurdish sect after ISIS murdered their children.
Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading
Encyclopedia Britannica – Lord’s Resistance Army
Hindustan Times – 2005 Delhi Serial Blasts: What Happened That Day
BBC News – Varanasi Bombing: Child Dies in Indian Holy City Attack
First Post – All You Need to Know About The 2001 Parliament Attack
BBC News – Who are Somalia’s al-Shabab?
Aljazeera – The Westgate Mall Attack and Kenya’s National Amnesia
The Guardian – Terror in Nairobi: The Full Story Behind Al-Shabaab’s Mall Attack
National Geographic Channel – Boko Haram Kidnapped 276 Schoolgirls. Where Are They Now?
CNN – Boko Haram: Why Terror Group Kidnaps Schoolgirls, And What Happens Next
National Public Radio – What the Kidnapped Nigerian Schoolgirls Have to Tell Us
The Washington Post – The Taliban Says It Will Rule Under Sharia Law. What Does That Mean?
Reuters – Profits and Poppy: Afghanistan’s Illegal Drug Trade A Boon for Taliban
Their World – Students Killed as Taliban Gunmen Storm College Campus in Pakistan
FBI – World Trade Center Bombing 1993
History – 7 Facts About the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing
BBC News – The 12 October 2002 Bali Bombing Plot
History – September 11 Attacks
Council of Foreign Relations – The Role of Egyptians in the 9/11 Attacks Still Reverberates Today
History Collection – 12 Steps in the Evolution of Historic Terrorist Organizations