Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)

Islamic State – East Asia Province

DATES OF 1989 present

OPERATIONS

Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani †

LEADER Khadaffy Janjalani †
Radullan Sahiron
Isnilon Hapilon †
Mahmur Japuri †
Hajan Sawadjaan †
Abu 'Abdillah al-Muhajir[

 
ACTIVE REGION(S) Philippines, Malaysia

IDEOLOGY Islamism
Islamic fundamentalism

 designated as a terrorist
STATUS group by Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Japan,
Malaysia, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates,
the United Kingdom and the United States.

SIZE 424 members (2019)

171 members (2020)
 Al-Shabaab

DATES OF
OPERATIONS 2006–present

Ahmad Umar (2014–present)
LEADER
Ahmed Godane † (2007–14)

ACTIVE REGION(S) Somalia, Kenya and Yemen

Salafi jihadism
IDEOLOGY Wahhabism
Islamism
Anti-Christianity
Anti-Zionism
Antisemitism
 Designated as a terrorist organization by Australia,
STATUS Canada, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, the United
Kingdom and the United States.

4,000–6,000 (2014 estimate)

SIZE
7,000–9,000 (2017 estimate)
 

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province

DATES OF 26 January 2015 present

OPERATIONS

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (2014–2019) †

LEADER Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi (2019–present)
Emir of ISIL-KP:
Hafiz Saeed Khan † (2015–July 2016)
Abdul Haseeb Logari † (2016–April 2017)
Abdul Rahman Ghaleb † (April–July 2017)
Abu Saad Erhabi † (July 2017–August 2018)
Zia ul-Haq (August 2018 - April 2019)
Abdullah Orokzai  (POW) (April 2019 - April 2020)
Major field commanders:
Qari Hekmat †
Mufti Nemat 
Dawood Ahmad Sofi †
Mohamed Zahran †
Ishfaq Ahmed Sofi †

Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

ACTIVE REGION(S)

Salafist Islamism
Salafist Jihadism

IDEOLOGY

Designated United States and NATO forces in Afghanistan and

STATUS Pakistan.

3,000+ (November 2017)
SIZE 3,500–4,000+ (In Afghanistan)
10,000 (2018 Russian claim)
 Taliban

DATES OF
OPERATIONS
1994–1996 (militia)
1996–2001 (government)
2002–present (insurgency)

LEADER
Mohammed Omar † (founder, 1994–2013)
Abdul Ghani Baradar (co-founder)
Akhtar Mansour † (2015–2016)
Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–2021)
Muhammad Rasul (splinter faction, 2015–present)

ACTIVE REGION(S)
Under control of the Afghan Government, NATO, and Allies
Under control of the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and Allies
Under control of the Islamic State (ISIL) and Allies

Deobandi fundamentalism
IDEOLOGY
Pashtunwali

Religious nationalism

STATUS Designated  Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab

Emirates.

45,000 (2001 est.)

SIZE
11,000 (2008 est.)

36,000 (2010 est.)

60,000 (2014 est.)

  Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People's Army

DATES OF
OPERATIONS 1964–2017 (militarily dissolved as of 2017; FARC dissidents still
active)

Timochenko
LEADER
Iván Márquez
Pastor Alape
Joaquín Gómez
Pablo Catatumbo
Mauricio Jaramillo
Alfonso Cano †
Manuel Marulanda #
Jacobo Arenas #
Efraín Guzmán #
Raúl Reyes †
Iván Ríos †
Mono Jojoy †

ACTIVE REGION(S) Concentrated in southern, south-western, north-western and

eastern Colombia. Incursions to Peru, Venezuela, Brazil,
[2]
 Panama,[3] and Ecuador. Sporadic presence in other Tropical
American countries,
predominantly Mexico, Paraguay and Bolivia.

Marxism–Leninism
IDEOLOGY
Guevarism
Revolutionary socialism
Left-wing nationalism
Foco theory

STATUS
 7,000–10,000 (2013)
SIZE

Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK

DATES OF 1985
OPERATIONS

Abdullah Öcalan (POW)
LEADER
Cemîl Bayik
Besê Hozat
Murat Karayılan
Duran Kalkan
Sozdar Avesta
Bahoz Erdal
Mustafa Karasu

ACTIVE REGION(S) southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq.

 Democratic confederalism
IDEOLOGY  Libertarian socialism
 Anti-capitalism
 Communalism
 Jineology
 Social ecology
 Kurdish nationalism
 Designated southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq.
STATUS
  
SIZE
4,000 to 5,000

AL-NUSRA FRONT (A BRANCH OF AL-QAEDA)

DATES OF
OPERATIONS 23 January 2012 – 28 January 2017

LEADER Abu Mohammad al-Julani (top emir)

Abu Abdullah al-Shami (senior member)
Ahmad Salama Mabruk † (senior member)
Abu Hajer al-Homsi † (top military commander)
Abu Omar al-Turkistani † (top military commander)

ACTIVE REGION(S)  Syria (Primarily in Northwest Syria, around the Idlib and Aleppo
Provinces) Lebanon](2013-2017)

Salafism
IDEOLOGY Wahhabism
Salafist jihadism a form of Islamic fundamentalism

STATUS The United States Department of State designated it a foreign

terrorist organization

SIZE 5,000–10,000
 Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)

DATES OF
OPERATIONS
1987–present

Joseph Kony (believed to be in hiding in South Sudan)

LEADER
Vincent Otti 
Caesar Achellam (POW)
Raska Lukwiya †
Okot Odhiambo †
Dominic Ongwen (POW)
Odong Latek †
Alphonse Lamola
Nixman Oryanga †

Uganda
ACTIVE REGION(S) South Sudan
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Central African Republic
Chad
Sudan
 United States Embassy
IDEOLOGY  International Crisis Group 

 Founder and leader of the LRA Joseph Kony goes into

STATUS hiding
 Senior LRA commander Dominic Ongwen surrenders to
American forces in the Central African Republic and is tried
at the Hague
 Majority of LRA installations and encampments located in
South Sudan and Uganda abandoned and dismantled
 Small scale LRA activity continues in eastern DR Congo,
 and the Central African Republic

500–3,000 (2007)
SIZE
300–400 (2011)

100 (2017)

 Irish Republican Army

DATES OF December 1969 – Late 1990s (on ceasefire since 1972)
OPERATIONS

LEADER
Cathal Goulding, Billy McMillen

ACTIVE REGION(S) Northern Ireland (mainly); Republic of Ireland; England

Irish republicanism
IDEOLOGY Marxism-Leninism
Anti-imperialism

The RIRA also has political wings: the 32 County Sovereignty

STATUS Movement 
The RIRA is distinct from the Continuity IRA
SIZE
1,500–2,000 (between 1969 and 1972)

Hezbollah

DATES OF
OPERATIONS 1985–present

Aziz al-Muhammadawi 
LEADER

ACTIVE REGION(S) South, Beirut and its environs, and the northern Beqaa valley
and Hermel region.

Islamic nationalism
IDEOLOGY
Anti-Zionism
Anti-imperialism
Shia Jihad
Khomeinism
Anti-West
Antisemitism

Abdul-Aziz al-Mohammadawi (usually known as Abu Fadak,

STATUS sometimes Abu Hamid), the acting deputy chairman of Iraq’s
Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). He was designated for
terrorist activities under Executive Order 13224.
20,000 to 50,000
SIZE
 Lashkar-e-Taiba

DATES OF 1986 –present

OPERATIONS

LEADER
Hafiz Muhammad Saeed

ACTIVE REGION(S)
India and Pakistan

Sunni Islam
IDEOLOGY
Islamic fundamentalism

Designated as a terrorist organization by U.S. (26 December

STATUS 2001), Pakistan (2002),[7] Australia (2003) and India. Banned in
UK (2001) and EU (2003). Sanctioned by the UN (2008)

100 000s members all over Pakistan (2005)

SIZE
  Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin

DATES OF 1975–2016 (as a militia)

OPERATIONS 1975–present (as a political party)

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
LEADER

ACTIVE REGION(S) Afghanistan

IDEOLOGY
Islamism

The remaining part of Hezb-e Islami, still headed by Gulbuddin

STATUS Hekmatyar

1,500–2,000+
SIZE
 Haqqani network

DATES OF 1980s–present
OPERATIONS

LEADER
Jalaluddin Haqqani (deceased)
Sirajuddin Haqqani

ACTIVE REGION(S)
Pakistan

IDEOLOGY
Islamic fundamentalism

the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Pakistan's Inter-

STATUS Services Intelligence (ISI) during the 1980s Soviet–Afghan War.

SIZE
4,000–15,000

Boko Haram
DATES OF 2002–present
OPERATIONS

Abubakar Shekau
LEADER
Abu Musab al-Barnawi

ACTIVE REGION(S)
Northeast Nigeria, Northern Cameroon, Niger, Chad, Mali

Salafist Jihadism
IDEOLOGY
Wahhabism

Boko Haram for years waged an armed campaign in the

STATUS northeast of the country and neighbouring Cameroon, Chad
and Niger.

At least 15,000 (Amnesty International claimed, January 2015)

SIZE
20,000 (Chad claimed, March 2015)
4,000–6,000 (United States claimed, February 2015)
 Tehrik-i-Taliban in Pakistan

DATES OF December 2007 – present

OPERATIONS

LEADER Baitullah Mehsud †

(2007–09)
Hakimullah Mehsud †
(2009–13)
Maulana Fazlullah †
(2013–18)
Noor Wali Mehsud
(since 2018

ACTIVE REGION(S) Pakistan

Deobandi fundamentalism
IDEOLOGY

The United States designated the TTP as a Foreign Terrorist

STATUS Organization (FTO) and identified Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali
ur-Rehman

designated global terrorists.

The designation of the TTP as an FTO makes it a crime to

provide support or to do business with the group and also allows
the U.S. to freeze its assets.

The US State Department also issued a $5 million reward for

information on the two individuals' locations.

SIZE
25,000 in 2014

3,000–5,000 in Afghanistan in 2019 (according to U.S.

Department of Defense)