The Islamic State in West Africa or Islamic State's West Africa Province

(abbreviated as ISWA or ISWAP),[15][16][14] formerly known as Jamā'at Ahl as-

Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād (Arabic: ‫والجهاد للدعوة السنة أهل جماعة‬, "Group of the People
of Sunnah for Preaching and Jihad") and commonly known as Boko Haram[17] until
March 2015, is a jihadist terrorist organization based in northeastern Nigeria, also
active in Chad, Niger and northern Cameroon.[8] 2019 has seen the further decline
of Boko Haram and the loss of much of the territory it once reportedly controlled.

Founded by Mohammed Yusuf in 2002, the group has been led by Abubakar
Shekau since 2009. When Boko Haram first formed, their actions were nonviolent.
Their main goal was to "purify Islam in northern Nigeria". Since March 2015, the
group has been aligned with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Since the
current insurgency started in 2009, Boko Haram has killed tens of thousands and
displaced 2.3 million from their homes and was at one time the world's deadliest
terror group according to the Global Terrorism Index.

After its founding in 2002, Boko Haram's increasing radicalisation led to the
suppression operation by the Nigerian military forces and the summary execution of
its leader Mohammed Yusuf in July 2009.Its unexpected resurgence, following a
mass prison break in September 2010, was accompanied by increasingly
sophisticated attacks, initially against soft targets, but progressing in 2011 to include
suicide bombings of police buildings and the United Nations office in Abuja. The
government's establishment of a state of emergency at the beginning of 2012,
extended in the following year to cover the entire northeast of Nigeria, led to an
increase in both security force abuses and militant attacks.

MEJOS, DANIEL A. MRS. LELIOSA ESTRELLADO

BSCRIM 2C INSTRUCTOR
 Hamas (Arabic: ‫ حماس‬Ḥamās, an acronym of ‫ االسالمية المقاومة حركة‬Ḥarakat al-
Muqāwamah al-ʾIslāmiyyah [Islamic Resistance Movement]) is a Palestinian Sunni-
Islamist fundamentalist militant organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah,
and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. It has been the de facto
governing authority of the Gaza Strip since its takeover of that area in 2007.During
this period it fought several wars with Israel. It is regarded, either in whole or in part,
as a terrorist organization by several countries and international organizations, most
notably by Israel, the United States and the European Union.[Russia, China, and
Turkey are among countries who do not regard it so.

Hamas was founded in 1987, soon after the First Intifada broke out, as an
offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, which in its Gaza branch had been
non-confrontational towards Israel, refrained from resistance, and was hostile to the
PLO.Co-founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin stated in 1987, and the Hamas Charter
affirmed in 1988, that Hamas was founded to liberate Palestine, including modern-
day Israel, from Israeli occupation and to establish an Islamic state in the area that is
now Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The group has stated that it may
accept a 10-year truce if Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders and allows Palestinian
refugees from 1948, including their descendants, to return to what is now Israel,
although clarifying that this does not mean recognition of Israel or the end of the
conflict. Hamas's military wing objected to the truce offer.Analysts have said that it
seems clear that Hamas knows that many of its conditions for the truce could never
be met.

MEJOS, DANIEL A. MRS. LELIOSA ESTRELLADO

BSCRIM 2C INSTRUCTOR
 The Taliban (Pashto: ‫طالبان‬, ṭālibān "students") or Taleban, who refer to
themselves as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA),are a Sunni Islamic
fundamentalist political movement and military organization in Afghanistan currently
waging war (an insurgency, or jihad) within that country. Since 2016, the Taliban's
leader is Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada.

From 1996 to 2001, the Taliban held power over roughly three quarters of
Afghanistan, and enforced there a strict interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law. The
Taliban emerged in 1994 as one of the prominent factions in the Afghan Civil
War[49] and largely consisted of students (talib) from the Pashtun areas of eastern
and southern Afghanistan who had been educated in traditional Islamic schools, and
fought during the Soviet–Afghan War. Under the leadership of Mohammed Omar,
the movement spread throughout most of Afghanistan, sequestering power from the
Mujahideen warlords. The totalitarian Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was established
in 1996 and the Afghan capital was transferred to Kandahar. It held control of most
of the country until being overthrown after the American-led invasion of Afghanistan
in December 2001 following the September 11 attacks.

The Taliban have been condemned internationally for the harsh enforcement
of their interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, which has resulted in the brutal treatment
of many Afghans, especially women. During their rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban
and their allies committed massacres against Afghan civilians, denied UN food
supplies to 160,000 starving civilians and conducted a policy of scorched earth,
burning vast areas of fertile land and destroying tens of thousands of homes.
According to the United Nations, the Taliban and their allies were responsible for
76% of Afghan civilian casualties in 2010, 80% in 2011, and 80% in 2012. Taliban
has also engaged in cultural genocide, destroying numerous monuments including
the famous 1500-year old Buddhas of Bamiyan.

MEJOS, DANIEL A. MRS. LELIOSA ESTRELLADO

BSCRIM 2C INSTRUCTOR
 Abu Sayyaf (/ˈɑːbuː sɑːˈjɑːf/ (About this
soundlisten); Arabic: ‫ ;سياف أبو جماعة‬Jamāʿat Abū
Sayyāf, ASG; Filipino: Grupong Abu Sayyaf),[26]
officially known by ISIL as the Islamic State –
East Asia Province,[27][28] is a Jihadist militant
and pirate group that follows the Wahhabi
doctrine of Sunni Islam. It is based in and
around Jolo and Basilan islands in the
southwestern part of the Philippines, where for
more than four decades, Moro groups have
been engaged in an insurgency seeking to make
the province independent. The group is considered violent and was responsible for
the Philippines' worst terrorist attack, the bombing of Superferry 14 in 2004, which
killed 116 people.[30] The name of the group is derived from the Arabic abu (Arabic:
‫"( )أبو‬father of"), and sayyaf (Arabic: ‫"( )سيّاف‬swordsmith"). As of 2012, the group was
estimated to have between 200 and 400 members, down from 1,250 in 2000.They
use mostly improvised explosive devices, mortars and automatic rifles.

Since its inception in 1991, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings,
assassinations and extortion. They have been involved in criminal activities,
including kidnapping, rape, child sexual assault, forced marriage, drive-by shootings,
extortion and drug trafficking. The goals of the group "appear to have alternated over
time between criminal objectives and a more ideological intent".

The group has been designated as a terrorist group by Australia, Canada,

Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia the Philippines, United Arab Emirates, the United
Kingdom and the United States.[ From 15 January 2002 – 24 February 2015, fighting
Abu Sayyaf became a mission of the American military's Operation Enduring
Freedom and part of the Global War on Terrorism.[39][40] Several hundred United
States soldiers were stationed in the area to mainly train local forces in counter-terror
and counter-guerrilla operations, but, following a status of forces agreement and
under Philippine law, they were not allowed to engage in direct combat.

The group was founded by Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani, and led after his
death in 1998 by his younger brother Khadaffy Janjalani until his death in 2006. On
23 July 2014, Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon swore an oath of loyalty to Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIL. In September 2014, the group began kidnapping
people for ransom, in the name of ISIL
MEJOS, DANIEL A. MRS. LELIOSA ESTRELLADO
BSCRIM 2C INSTRUCTOR
MEJOS, DANIEL A. MRS. LELIOSA ESTRELLADO
BSCRIM 2C INSTRUCTOR