U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
1995 APRIL: PATTERNS OF GLOBAL TERRORISM, 1994

Department of State Publication 10239

Office of the Secretary
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Philip C. Wilcox, Jr.

APPENDIXES

CONTENTS

Appendix A: Chronology of Significant Terrorist Incidents, 1994

4 January
Ireland: The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) claimed responsibility for two mail bombs sent to Sinn Fein's Dublin offices.
Turkey: Iranian state agents are believed responsible for the assassination of a member of the Iranian KDP Central Committee in Corum.
9 January
Iran: An armed attack was carried out against the British Embassy in Tehran. No one was injured, and no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
10 January
Italy: A bomb detonated in front of the NATO Defense College building in Rome. That evening, copies of an eight-page Red Brigades bulletin, claiming responsibility on behalf of the "Combatant Communist Nuclei" (NCC), were found in several provinces.
11 January
Peru: A suspected Sendero Luminoso (SL) satchel bomb exploded in front of the Peruvian-Japanese cultural center in Lima, causing minimal damage to the structure.
14 January
Colombia: Suspected members of the National Liberation Army (ELN) kidnapped US citizen Russell Vacek, his wife Elizabeth, and other family members as they were traveling in El Playon.
29 January
Lebanon: A Jordanian diplomat was shot and killed outside his home in Beirut. The Government of Lebanon arrested and prosecuted ANO terrorists for the attack.
2 February
Azerbaijan: Several bombs exploded inside railcars, killing five persons and injuring several others at the Baku train station.
3 February
Greece: A bomb detonated at the German Goethe (culture) Institute in Athens. A local newspaper received a warning a half hour before the detonation from the Revolutionary People's Struggle (ELA) terrorist group.
Italy: A bomb was placed underneath the car of a Spanish Military Attache, Lt. Col. Fernando Sagristano, in Rome. The device severely injured an embassy driver.
19 February
Egypt: Unknown assailants fired upon a passenger train and wounded a Polish woman, a Thai woman, and two Egyptian citizens in Asyut. The al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group) claimed responsibility for the attack.
23 February
Egypt: A bomb explosion aboard a passenger train in Asyut injured six foreign tourists -- two New Zealanders, two Germans, and two Australians -- and five Egyptian citizens. The Islamic Group (IG) claimed responsibility for the incident.
4 March
Egypt: Unknown gunmen opened fire at a Nile cruise ship and wounded a German tourist near the Sohag Governorate. The Islamic Group (IG) claimed responsibility for the incident.
Iraq: Unidentified gunmen fired on a European Relief Organization vehicle and wounded two local guards near Irbil.
9-13 March
United Kingdom: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) fired mortars at London's Heathrow International Airport in three separate attacks. There were no injuries because the fully primed mortars failed to detonate.
13 March
Lebanon: A grenade detonated on the British Embassy compound, causing minor damage and no injuries. No arrests or claims of responsibility were reported.
24 March
Turkey: The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is believed responsible for bombing the Central Bazaar in Istanbul's historic tourist district. Four tourists, including two Romanian women, were injured by the blast.
27 March
Turkey: A bomb detonated in the gardens of the Saint Sophia Mosque and Museum in Istanbul, injuring three tourists: one German, one Spanish, and one Dutch. The Metropole Revenge Team of the political wing of the PKK claimed responsibility.
29 March
Iraq: Six assailants fired on a United Nations guard contingency bus traveling from Irbil to Mosul and seriously wounded two Austrian guards.
1 April
Colombia: Six members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) kidnapped US citizen Raymond Rising, Security Chief of the Summer Linguistic Institution, as he rode his motorcycle from the Municipal Capital of Puerto Lleras.
2 April
Turkey: The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) claimed responsibility for bombing the IC Bedesten, the old bazaar at the center of the bazaar complex, in Istanbul. Two foreign tourists, one Spanish and one Belgian, were killed, and 17 others were injured.
3 April
Iraq: Assailants fired on a German journalist and her bodyguard while they were traveling in their car near Suleymaniyah. Both occupants of the vehicle were killed instantly.
8 April
Sri Lanka: A small bomb exploded inside a bathroom at the Marriott Hotel in Colombo, causing minor damages and no casualties.
11 April
Greece: The 17 November terrorist group claimed responsibility for planting rockets aimed at a British aircraft carrier, the Arc Royal. The rockets were defused by explosives experts.
13 April
Lebanon: Five individuals, including two Iraqi diplomats, were arrested for assassinating Iraqi opposition figure Shaykh Talib Ali al-Suhayl in his house near West Beirut.
27 April
South Africa: A car bomb exploded at Jan Smuts Airport in Johannesburg, injuring 16 persons, including two Russian diplomats and a Swiss Air pilot. Although no group has claimed responsibility, white separatists opposed to South Africa's first multiracial election are believed responsible.
8 May
Algeria: Two French priests were shot and killed by two male assailants in the lower Casbah district of Algiers. In its weekly publication, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) claimed responsibility.
17 May
Greece: A time-detonated rocket was fired at an IBM office in downtown Athens. The 17 November terrorist group claimed responsibility in a warning call to a radio station.
29 May
Iraq: At least two unknown assailants shot and killed an Iranian dissident, Seyeed Ahmad Sadr Lahijani, as he drove his car through Ghalebieh.
17 June
Uganda: A driver for the Catholic Relief Services was badly beaten by Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels who ambushed the truck he was driving.
21-22 June
Turkey: In the coastal towns of Fethiye and Marmaris, bombs killed one foreign national and injured 10 others at tourist sites. The PKK claimed responsibility for the attacks on German television.
22 June
Turkey: Two bombs detonated within minutes of each other at a beach and park in the resort town of Marmaris, wounding 12 persons, including four British nationals, one of whom died five days later.
24 June
Greece: The Revolutionary People's Struggle (ELA/1 May) claimed responsibility for a bombing outside the offices of the European Community in downtown Athens. There were no injuries reported.
4 July
Greece: A senior Turkish diplomat in Athens, Omer Sipahioglu, was killed by three gunmen as he sat in his car. "November 17öTheofilos Georgiadis Commandos" claimed responsibility for the attack.
11 July
Greece: A bomb detonated in a Lindos restaurant on the Island of Rhodes, seriously injuring an Italian tourist and a Greek citizen.
18 July
Argentina: A car bomb exploded at the Israeli-Argentine Mutual Association (AMIA), killing nearly 100 persons and wounding more than 200 others. The explosion caused the seven-story building to collapse and damaged adjacent buildings.
19 July
Panama: A commuter plane exploded in flight over the Santa Rita mountains. Among the 21 victims were Israeli nationals, dual Israeli-Panamanian citizens, three US citizens, and 12 Jewish persons.
23 July
West Bank: Two unknown Palestinians stabbed and seriously injured a US woman in the Arab quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The assailants escaped unharmed.
26 July
Cambodia: The Khmer Rouge attacked a train traveling in Kompong Trach and kidnapped a number of passengers, among them an Australian, a Briton, and a Frenchman.
United Kingdom: A car bomb exploded at the Israeli Embassy in London, injuring 14 persons. Police said the bomb was planted by a woman who was driving an Audi.
27 July
United Kingdom: A car bomb detonated outside a building that houses Jewish organizations in London. Five persons were injured in the attack.
3 August
Algeria: Five French Embassy employees were killed and one injured when guerrillas from the Armed Islamic Group (AIG) attacked a French residential compound in Algiers.
8 August
Turkey: The PKK kidnapped two Finnish nationals, stating that they did not have "entry visas for Kurdistan." The Finns were held for 22 days before being released unharmed.
12 August
Turkey: A bomb detonated in the Topkapi Bus Terminal, killing one Romanian consular official and wounding seven other people. The PKK is suspected.
18 August
Chile: A bomb exploded at a Santiago office building that houses the American company Fluor Daniel. The Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front (FPMR) claimed responsibility and stated that the incident was carried out in solidarity with Cuba and against the US economic blockade of the island.
26 August
Angola: A Portuguese priest and four nuns were kidnapped by suspected National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) rebels near Choba.
27 August
Philippines: Seven South Korean engineers and 30 Filipino workers were taken captive by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
23 September
Colombia: Twelve terrorists from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) kidnapped US citizen Thomas Hargrove when he stopped at a guerrilla roadblock.
27 September
Egypt: 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. The Islamic Group claimed responsibility for the attack.
9 October
Israel: Two Arabs armed with assault rifles and grenades attacked pedestrians in Jerusalem. The gunmen killed two persons and injured 14 others. Two US citizens were among the injured. HAMAS has claimed responsibility for the incident.
18 October
Algeria: Approximately 30 members of the Armed Islamic Group (AIG) attacked an oil base, killing a French and an Italian worker.
23 October
Egypt: Assailants shot and killed a British tourist and wounded three others in an attack on a bus near Luxor. The Islamic Group is believed responsible for the attack.
11 December
Philippines: The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) claimed responsibility for an explosion aboard a Philippine airliner. One Japanese citizen was killed, and at least 10 others were injured.
12 December
Turkey: The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is believed responsible for a bomb blast outside a store in Istanbul, which injured eight persons, including four Romanian tourists.
24 December
Algeria: Members of the Armed Islamic Group (AIG) hijacked an Air France flight in Algeria. The plane arrived in Marseille, France, on 26 December. A French antiterrorist unit stormed the plane, ending the 54-hour siege in which three hostages were killed by the terrorists. All four terrorists were killed during the rescue.
25 December
Israel: An American was among 12 persons injured when a HAMAS supporter carrying a bag of explosives blew himself up at a West Jerusalem bus stop.
27 December
Algeria: The Armed Islamic Group (AIG) claimed responsibility for the murders of four Catholic priests. The murders were apparently in retaliation for the deaths of four GIA hijackers the previous day in Marseille.

Appendix B: Background Information on Major Groups Discussed in the Report

Abu Nidal organization (ANO) a.k.a.: Fatah Revolutionary Council, Arab Revolutionary Council, Arab Revolutionary Brigades, Black September, Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims
Description: International terrorist organization led by Sabri al-Banna. Split from PLO in 1974. Made up of various functional committees, including political, military, and financial.
Activities: Has carried out over 90 terrorist attacks since 1974 in 20 countries, killing or injuring almost 900 people. Targets include the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, moderate Palestinians, the PLO, and various Arab countries, depending on which state is sponsoring it at the time. Major attacks include Rome and Vienna airports in December 1985, the Neve Shalom synagogue in Istanbul, the Pan Am Flight 73 hijacking in Karachi in September 1986, and the City of Poros day- excursion ship attack in July 1988 in Greece. Suspected of carrying out assassination on 14 January 1991 in Tunis of PLO deputy chief Abu Iyad and PLO security chief Abu Hul. ANO members assassinated a Jordanian diplomat in Lebanon in January 1994.
Strength: Several hundred plus ``militia'' in Lebanon and overseas support structure.
Location/Area of Operation: Headquartered in Iraq (1974-83) and Syria (1983-87); currently headquartered in Libya with substantial presence in Lebanon (in the Bekaa Valley and several Palestinian refugee camps in coastal areas of Lebanon). Also has a presence in Sudan. Has demonstrated ability to operate over wide area, including the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.
External Aid: Has received considerable support, including safehaven, training, logistic assistance, and financial aid from Iraq and Syria (until 1987); continues to receive aid from Libya, in addition to close support for selected operations.
Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)
Description: Islamic extremist group operating in the southern Philippines led by Abdurajik Abubakar Janjalani. Split from the Moro National Liberation Front in 1991.
Activities: The organization uses bombs, assassinations, kidnappings for ransom, and extortion payments from companies and businessmen in its efforts to promote an Iranian-style Islamic state in Mindanao, an island in the southern Philippines heavily populated by Muslims. The ASG is suspected of mounting more than 60 terrorist attacks. Recent attacks have been mounted in opposition to ongoing peace negotiations between Manila and other Islamic groups.
Strength: About 200 members, mostly younger Muslims, many of whom have studied or worked in the Gulf states, where they were exposed to radical Islamist ideology.
Location/Area of Operation: The ASG operates almost exclusively on Mindanao Island, although it bombed a light railway in Manila in 1993. A person purporting to be an ASG member claimed responsibility for the midair bombing of a Philippines Airlines jumbo jet flying from Manila to Tokyo in December 1994.
External Aid: Probably has ties to Islamic extremists in the Middle East.
Al-Fatah a.k.a.: Al-'Asifa
Description: Headed by Yasser Arafat, Fatah joined the PLO in 1968 and won the leadership role in 1969. Its commanders were expelled from Jordan following violent confrontations with Jordanian forces during the period1 1970-71, beginning with Black September in 1970. The Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 led to the group's dispersal to several Middle Eastern countries, including Tunisia, Yemen, Algeria, Iraq, and others. Maintains several military and intelligence wings that have carried out terrorist attacks, including Force 17 and the Western Sector. Two of its leaders, Abu Jihad and Abu Iyad, were assassinated in recent years.
Activities: In the 1960s and the 1970s, Fatah offered training to a wide range of European, Middle Eastern, Asian, and African terrorist and insurgent groups. Carried out numerous acts of international terrorism in Western Europe and the Middle East in the early-to-middle 1970s. Arafat signed the Declaration of Principles (DOP) with Israel in 1993 and renounced terrorism and violence. There has been no authorized terrorist operation since that time.
Strength: 6,000 to 8,000.
Location/Area of Operation: Headquartered in Tunisia, with bases in Lebanon and other Middle East countries.
External Aid: Has had close political and financial ties to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other moderate Gulf states. These relations were disrupted by the Gulf crisis of 1990-91. Also had links to Jordan. Received weapons, explosives, and training from the former USSR and the former Communist regimes of East European states. China and North Korea have reportedly provided some weapons.
Armed Islamic Group (AIG) a.k.a. GIA
Description: An Islamic extremist group, the AIG aims to overthrow the secular Algerian regime and replace it with an Islamic state. The AIG began its violent activities following the ouster of President Bendjedid in early 1992 and the cancellation of elections, which the Islamic Salvation Front was leading.
Activities: Frequent attacks against regime targets -- particularly security personnel and government officials -- civilians, journalists, teachers, and foreign residents. Since announcing its terrorist campaign against foreigners living in Algeria in September 1993, the AIG has killed almost 90 expatriate men and women -- mostly Euro-peans -- in the country. The AIG uses assassinations and bombings, including car bombs, and it is known to favor kidnapping victims and slitting their throats. In December 1994, four AIG terrorists hijacked an Air France flight in Algiers and killed three passengers before flying to Marseille, France, where French police stormed the plane, killing the hijackers. Since 1992, between 10,000 and 35,000 people have died in Algerian violence.
Strength: Unknown, probably several hundred to several thousand.
Location: Algeria.
External Aid: Algerian expatriates, many of whom reside in Western Europe, provide some financial and logistic support. In addition, the Algerian Government has accused Iran and Sudan of supporting Algerian extremists and severed diplomatic relations with Iran in March 1993.
Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) a.k.a.: The Orly Group, 3rd October Organization
Description: Marxist-Leninist Armenian terrorist group formed in 1975 with stated intention 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. Led by Hagop Hagopian until he was assassinated in Athens in April 1988.
Activities: Initial bombing and assassination attacks directed against Turkish targets. Later attacked French and Swiss targets to force release of imprisoned comrades. Made several minor bombing attacks against US airline offices in Western Europe in early 1980s. Bombing of Turkish airline counter at Orly International Airport in Paris in 1983, in which eight persons were killed and 55 were wounded, led to split in group over rationale for causing indiscriminate casualties. Suffering from internal schisms, the group has been relatively inactive.
Strength: A few hundred members and sympathizers.
Location/Area of Operation: Lebanon, Western Europe, Armenia, the United States, and the Middle East.
External Aid: Has received aid, including training and safehaven, from Syria. May also receive some aid from Libya. Has extensive ties to radical Palestinian groups, including the PFLP and PFLP-GC.
Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)
Description: Founded in 1959 with the aim of creating an independent homeland in Spain's Basque region. Has muted commitment to Marxism.
Activities: Chiefly bombings and assassinations of Spanish Government targets, especially security forces. Since arrest of ETA members in France in March 1992, ETA also has attacked French interests. Finances activities through kidnappings, robberies, and extortion.
Strength: Unknown; may have hundreds of members, plus supporters.
Location/Area of Operation: Operates primarily in the Basque autonomous regions of northern Spain and southwestern France but also has bombed Spanish interests in Italy and Germany and French interests in Italy.
External Aid: Has received training at various times in Libya, Lebanon, and Nicaragua. Also appears to have close ties to PIRA.
Chukaku-Ha (Nucleus or Middle Core Faction)
Description: An ultraleftist/radical group with origins in the fragmentation of the Japanese Communist Party in 1957. Largest domestic militant group; has political arm plus small, covert action wing called Kansai Revolutionary Army. Funding derived from membership dues, sales of its newspapers, and fundraising campaigns.
Activities: Participates in mass street demonstrations and commits sporadic attacks using crude rockets and incendiary devices usually designed to cause property damage rather than casualties. Protests Japan's imperial system, Western ``imperialism,'' and events like the Gulf war and the expansion of Tokyo's Narita airport. Launched four rockets at the US Army base at Camp Zama, near Tokyo, at the start of the G-7 Summit in July 1993.
Strength: 3,500.
Location/Area of Operation: Japan.
External Aid: None known.
CNPZ (see Nestor Paz Zamora Commission under National Liberation Army (ELN)-Bolivia)
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP)
Description: Marxist group that split from the PFLP in 1969. Believes Palestinian national goals can be achieved only through revolution of the masses. Opposes the Declaration of Principles (DOP) signed in 1993. In early 1980s, occupied political stance midway between Arafat and the rejectionists. Split into two factions in 1991, one pro-Arafat and another more hardline faction headed by Nayif Hawatmah (which has suspended participation in the PLO).
Activities: In the 1970s, carried out numerous small bombings and minor assaults and some more spectacular operations in Israel and the occupied territories, concentrating on Israeli targets such as the 1974 massacre in Ma'alot in which 27 Israelis were killed and more than 100 wounded. Involved only in border raids since 1988.
Strength: Estimated at 500 (total for both factions).
Location/Area of Operation: Syria, Lebanon, and the Israeli occupied territories; attacks have taken place entirely in Israel and the occupied territories.
External Aid: Receives financial and military aid from Syria and Libya.
Devrimci Sol (Revolutionary Left) a.k.a.: Dev Sol
Description: Formed in 1978 as a splinter faction of the Turkish People's Liberation Party/Front. Espouses a Marxist ideology, intensely xenophobic, and virulently anti-US and anti-NATO; seeks to unify the proletariat to stage a national revolution. Finances its activities chiefly through armed robberies and extortion.
Activities: Since the late 1980s, has concentrated attacks against current and retired Turkish security and military officials. Began new campaign against foreign interests in 1990. Protesting Gulf war, claimed assassination of two US military contractors and attempted assassination of a US Air Force officer. Launched rockets at US Consulate in Istanbul in April and July 1992. Recent terrorist activities have been less ambitious as Dev Sol works to recover from internal factionalism and police raids that netted several operatives and large weapons caches.
Strength: Several hundred members, several dozen armed militants.
Location/Area of Operation: Carries out attacks in Turkey, primarily in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and Adana. Conducts fundraising operations in Western Europe.
External Aid: Possible training support from radical Palestinians.
ELN (see National Liberation Army)
ETA (see Basque Fatherland and Liberty)
FARC (see Revolutionary Army Forces of Colombia)
Fatah (see Al-Fatah)
15 May Organization
Description: Formed in 1979 from remnants of Wadi Haddad's Popular Front for the Liberation of PalestineöSpecial Operations Group (PFLP-SOG). Led by Muhammad al-Umari, who is known throughout Palestinian circles as Abu Ibrahim or the bomb man. Group was never part of PLO. Reportedly disbanded in the mid-1980s when several key members joined Colonel Hawari's Special Operations Group of Fatah.
Activities: Claimed responsibility for several bombings in the early-to-middle 1980s, including hotel bombing in London (1980), El Al's Rome and Istanbul offices (1981), and Israeli Embassies in Athens and Vienna (1981). Anti-US attacks include an attempted bombing of a Pan Am airliner in Rio de Janeiro and a bombing on board a Pan Am flight from Tokyo to Honolulu in August 1982.
Strength: 50 to 60 in early 1980s.
Location/Area of Operation: Baghdad until 1984. Before disbanding, operated in Middle East, Europe, and East Asia. Abu Ibrahim is reportedly in Iraq.
External Aid: Probably received logistic and financial support from Iraq until 1984.
Force 17
Description: Formed in early 1970s as a personal security force for Arafat and other PLO leaders.
Activities: According to press sources, in 1985 expanded operations to include terrorist attacks against Israeli targets. No confirmed terrorist activity outside Israel and the occupied territories since September 1985, when it claimed responsibility for killing three Israelis in Cyprus, an incident that was followed by Israeli air raids on PLO bases in Tunisia.
Strength: Unknown.
Location/Area of Operation: Based in Beirut before 1982. Since then, dispersed in several Arab countries. Now operating in Lebanon, other Middle East countries, and Europe.
External Aid: PLO is main source of support.
FPM (see Morazanist Patriotic Front)
FPMR (see Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front)
Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya(a.k.a.: The Islamic Group)
Description: An indigenous Egyptian Islamic extremist group active since the late 1970s; appears to be loosely organized with no single readily identifiable operational leader. Shaykh Umar abd al-Rahman is the preeminent spiritual leader. Goal is to overthrow the government of President Hosni Mubarak and replace it with an Islamic state.
Activities: Armed attacks against Egyptian security and other officials, Coptic Christians, Western tourists, and Egyptian opponents of Islamic extremism. It assassinated the speaker of the Egyptian assembly in October 1990 and launched a series of attacks on tourists in Egypt in 1992. The group wounded the Egyptian Information Minister in an assassination attempt in April 1993.
Strength: Not known, but probably several thousand hardcore members and another several thousand sympathizers.
Location/Area of Operation: Operates mainly in the Al Minya, Asyut, and Qina Governorates of southern Egypt. It also appears to have support in Cairo, Alexandria, and other urban locations, particularly among unemployed graduates and students.
External Aid: Not known. Egyptian Government believes that Iran, Sudan, and Afghan militant Islamic groups support the group.
HAMAS (Islamic Resistance Movement)
Description: HAMAS was formed in late 1987 as an outgrowth of the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood and has become Fatah's principal political rival in the occupied territories. Various elements of HAMAS have used both political and violent means, including terrorism, to pursue the goal of establishing an Islamic Palestinian state in place of Israel. HAMAS is loosely structured, with some elements working openly through mosques and social service institutions to recruit members, raise money, organize activities, and distribute propaganda. Militant elements of HAMAS, operating clandestinely, have advocated and used violence to advance their goals. HAMAS's strength is concentrated in the Gaza Strip and a few areas of the West Bank. It has also engaged in peaceful political activity, such as running candidates in West Bank Chamber of Commerce elections.
Activities: HAMAS activists especially those in the Izz el-Din al-Qassam Forces have conducted many attacks against Israeli civilian and military targets, suspected Palestinian collaborators, and Fatah rivals.
Strength: Unknown number of hardcore members; tens of thousands of supporters and sympathizers.
Location/Area of Operation: Primarily the occupied territories, Israel, and Jordan.
External Aid: Receives funding from Palestinian expatriates, Iran, and private benefactors in Saudi Arabia and other moderate Arab states. Some fundraising and propaganda activity take place in Western Europe and North America.
The Harakat-ul-Ansar (HUA)
Description: The Harakat-ul-Ansar (HUA) -- an Islamic militant group that seeks Kashmir's accession to Pakistan -- raised its visibility by kidnapping two British citizens in June. The HUA was formed in October 1993 when two Pakistani political activist groups, Harakat-ul-Jihad al-Islami and Harakat-ul-Mujahedin, merged. According to the leader of the alliance, Maulana Saadatullah Kahn, the group's objective is to continue the armed struggle against nonbelievers and anti-Islamic forces.
Activities: This group recently has carried out a number of operations against Indian troops and civilian targets in Kashmir. The HUA captured Lt. Col. Bhobandar Singh in January and demanded that Indian forces turn over an HUA commander in return for Singh's release. When Indian authorities refused, the militants killed Singh. In mid-May, HUA militants conducted two attacks in Doda district in which they stopped buses, forced the passengers off, then singled out individuals for execution -- the last victim was a 14-year-old Muslim boy. The HUA also supports Muslims in Indian-controlled Kashmir with humanitarian and military assistance.
Strength: The Harakat-ul-Ansar has several thousand armed members located in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, and in the southern Kashmir Valley and the Doda regions of India. The HUA uses light and heavy machineguns, assault rifles, mortars, explosives, and rockets. Membership is open to all who support the HUA's objectives and are willing to take the group's 40-day training course. It has a core militant group of about 300, mostly Pakistanis and Kashmiris, but includes Afghans and Arab veterans of the Afghan war.
Location/Area of Operation: The HUA is based in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan, but HUA members have participated in insurgent and terrorist operations in Kashmir, Burma, Tajikistan, and Bosnia. The HUA is based in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan, and is actively involved in supporting Muslims in Indian-controlled Kashmir with humanitarian and military assistance. The HUA's Burma branch, located in the Arakans, trains local Muslims in weapons handling and guerrilla warfare. In Tajikistan, HUA members have served with and trained Tajik resistance elements. The first group of Harakat militants entered Bosnia in 1992.
External Aid: The HUA collects donations from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf and Islamic states to purchase relief supplies, which it distributes to Muslims in Tajikistan, Kashmir, and Burma. The source and amount of HUA's military funding are unknown but is believed to come from sympathetic Arab countries and wealthy Pakistanis and Kashmiris.
Hizballah (Party of God) a.k.a.: Islamic Jihad, Revolutionary Justice Organization, Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine
Description: Radical Shia group formed in Lebanon; dedicated to creation of Iranian- style Islamic republic in Lebanon and removal of all non-Islamic influences from area. Strongly anti-West and anti-Israel. Closely allied with, and often directed by, Iran but may have conducted rogue operations that were not approved by Tehran.
Activities: Known or suspected to have been involved in numerous anti-US terrorist attacks, including the suicide truck-bombing of the US Embassy and US Marine barracks in Beirut in October 1983 and the US Embassy annex in Beirut in September 1984. Group also hijacked TWA Flight 847 in 1985. Elements of the group were responsible for the kidnapping and detention of most, if not all, US and other Western hostages in Lebanon. Islamic Jihad publicly claimed responsibility for the car-bombing of Israel's Embassy in Buenos Aires in March 1992.
Strength: Several thousand.
Location/Area of Operation: Operates in the Bekaa Valley, the southern suburbs of Beirut, and southern Lebanon; has established cells in Europe, Africa, South America, North America, and elsewhere.
External Aid: Receives substantial amounts of financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid from Iran.
Jamaat ul-Fuqra
Description: Jamaat ul-Fuqra is an Islamic sect that seeks to purify Islam through violence. Fuqra is led by Pakistani cleric Shaykh Mubarik Ali Gilani, who established the organization in the early 1980s. Gilani now resides in Pakistan, but most Fuqra cells are located in North America. Fuqra members have purchased isolated rural compounds in North America to live communally, practice their faith, and insulate themselves from Western culture.
Activities: Fuqra members have attacked a variety of targets they view as enemies of Islam, including Muslims they regard as heretics, and Hindus. Several Fuqra members were convicted in a Canadian court in late 1993 of conspiracy to commit murder -- a charge related to their plans to bomb a Hindu temple and a Hindu-owned cinema in Toronto -- and Fuqra members in the United States have also been convicted of criminal violations, including murder and fraud. Attacks during the 1980s included assassinations and firebombings across the United States.
Strength: Unknown.
Location/Area of Operation: North America, Pakistan.
External Aid: None.
Japanese Red Army (JRA) a.k.a.: Anti-Imperialist International Brigade (AIIB)
Description: An international terrorist group formed around 1970 after breaking away from Japanese Communist League Red Army Faction. Now led by Fusako Shigenobu, believed to be in Syrian-garrisoned area of Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. Stated goals are to overthrow Japanese Government and monarchy and to help foment world revolution. Organization unclear but may control or at least have ties to Anti-Imperialist International Brigade (AIIB); may also have links to Antiwar Democratic Front -- an overt leftist political organization -- inside Japan. Details released following November 1987 arrest of leader Osamu Maruoka indicate that JRA may be organizing cells in Asian cities, such as Manila and Singapore. Has had close and longstanding relations with Palestinian terrorist groups -- based and operating outside Japan -- since its inception.
Activities: Before 1977, JRA carried out a series of brutal attacks over a wide geographical area, including the massacre of passengers at Lod airport in Israel (1972) and two Japanese airliner hijackings (1973 and 1977). Anti-US attacks include attempted takeover of US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur (1975). Since mid-1960s, has carried out several crude rocket and mortar attacks against a number of US embassies. In April 1988, JRA operative Yu Kikumura was arrested with explosives on the New Jersey Turnpike, apparently planning an attack to coincide with the bombing of a USO club in Naples and a suspected JRA operation that killed five, including a US servicewoman. He was convicted of these charges and is serving a lengthy prison sentence in the United States.
Strength: About 30 hardcore members; undetermined number of sympathizers.
Location/Area of Operation: Based in Syrian-controlled areas of Lebanon; often transits Damascus.
External Aid: Receives aid, including training and base camp facilities, from radical Palestinian terrorists, especially the PFLP. May also receive aid from Libya. Suspected of having sympathizers and support apparatus in Japan.
Jihad Group a.k.a.: al-Jihad, Islamic Jihad, New Jihad Group, Vanguards of Conquest, Talaa'al al-Fateh
Description: An Egyptian Islamic extremist group active since the late 1970s; appears to be divided into at least two separate factions: remnants of the original Jihad led by Abbud al-Zumar, currently imprisoned in Egypt, and a new faction calling itself Vanguards of Conquest (Talaa'al al-Fateh or the New Jihad Group), which appears to be led by Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is currently outside Egypt, specific whereabouts unknown. In addition to the Islamic Group, the Jihad factions regard Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman as their spiritual leader. The goal of all Jihad factions is to overthrow the government of President Hosni Mubarak and replace it with an Islamic state.
Activities: The Jihad groups specialize in armed attacks against high-level Egyptian Government officials. The original Jihad was responsible for the 1981 assassination of President Sadat. More recently, the newer Jihad group led by Zawahiri claimed responsibility for the 18 August 1993 bomb attack in Cairo, which wounded Egyptian Interior Minister Hassan al-Alfi and killed five others, and the 25 November 1993 car-bomb attack in Cairo on Prime Minister Sedky; although Sedky was unharmed, a teenage girl was killed and 18 others were injured. Unlike the Islamic Group -- which mainly targets mid- and lower-level security personnel, Coptic Christians, and Western tourists -- the Jihad group appears to concentrate primarily on high-level, high-profile Egyptian Government officials, including cabinet ministers. It also seems more technically sophisticated in its attacks than the al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya -- notably in its use of car bombs.
Strength: Not known, but probably several thousand hardcore members and another several thousand sympathizers among the various factions.
Location/Area of Operation: Operates mainly in the Cairo area. Also appears to have members outside Egypt, probably in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sudan.
External Aid: Not known. The Egyptian Government claims that Iran, Sudan, and militant Islamic groups in Afghanistan support the Jihad factions.
Kach and Kahane Chai
Description: Stated goal of restoring the biblical state of Israel. Kach (founded by radical Israeli-American rabbi Meir Kahane) and its offshoot Kahane Chai, which means "Kahane Lives," (founded by Meir Kahane's son Binyamin following his father's assassination in the United States) were declared to be terrorist organizations on 13 March 1994 by the Israeli Cabinet under the 1948 Terrorism Law. This followed the groups' statements in support of Dr. Baruch Goldstein's 25 February attack on the al-Ibrahimi Mosque -- Goldstein was affiliated with Kach -- and their verbal attacks on the Israeli Government.
Activities: Organize protests against the Israeli Government. Harass and threaten Palestinians in Hebron and the West Bank. Groups have threatened to attack Arabs, Palestinians, and Israeli Government officials. They also claimed responsibility for several shooting attacks on West Bank Palestinians in which four persons were killed and two wounded in 1993.
Strength: Unknown.
Location/Area of Operation: Israel and West Bank settlements, particularly Qiryat Arba in Hebron.
External Aid: Receives support from Jewish people in the United States and Europe.
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) a.k.a.: Kurdistan Workers' Party
Description: Marxist-Leninist insurgent group composed of Turkish Kurds established in 1974. In recent years has moved beyond rural-based insurgent activities to include urban terrorism. Seeks to set up an independent Marxist state in southeastern Turkey, where there is a predominantly Kurdish population.
Activities: Primary targets are Turkish Government forces and civilians in eastern Turkey but becoming increasingly active in Western Europe against Turkish targets. Conducted coordinated attacks on Turkish diplomatic and commercial facilities in dozens of West European cities on 24 June and 4 November. In May 1993, began a campaign against Turkish tourism industry and kidnapped 19 Western tourists traveling in eastern Turkey in summer 1993; released all unharmed. Also has bombed tourist sites and hotels.
Strength: Approximately 10,000 to 15,000 full-time guerrillas, 5,000 to 6,000 of whom are in Turkey; 60,000 to 75,000 part-time guerrillas; and hundreds of thousands of sympathizers in Turkey and Europe.
Location/Area of Operation: Operates in Turkey and Western Europe.
External Aid: Receives safehaven and modest aid from Syria, Iraq, and Iran.
Lautaro Youth Movement (MJL) a.k.a.: The Lautaro faction of the United Popular Action Movement (MAPU/L) or Lautaro Popular Rebel Forces (FRPL)
Description: Violent, anti-US extremist group that advocates the overthrow of the Chilean Government. Leadership largely from leftist elements but includes criminals and alienated youths. Became active in late 1980s, but has been seriously weakened by government counterterrorist successes in recent years.
Activities: Has been linked to assassinations of policemen, bank robberies, and attacks on Mormon churches.
Strength: Unknown.
Location/Area of Operation: Chile; mainly Santiago.
External Aid: None.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Other known front organizations: World Tamil Association (WTA), World Tamil Movement (WTM), the Federation of Associations of Canadian Tamils (FACT), the Ellalan Force
Description: Founded in 1976, the LTTE is the most powerful Tamil group in Sri Lanka and uses overt and illegal methods to raise funds, acquire weapons, and publicize its cause of establishing an independent Tamil state. The LTTE began its armed conflict with the Sri Lankan Government in 1983 and relies on a guerrilla strategy that includes the use of terrorist tactics.
Activities: The Tigers have integrated a battlefield insurgent strategy with a terrorist program that targets not only key personnel in the countryside but also senior Sri Lankan political and military leaders in Colombo. Political assassinations have become commonplace and culminated in May 1993 with the fatal bombing of President Rana-singhe Premadasa. In April 1994, the Ellalan Force claimed credit for setting off three bombs at major tourist hotels in Colombo.
Strength: Approximately 10,000 armed combatants in Sri Lanka; about 3,000 to 6,000 form a trained cadre of fighters. The LTTE also has a significant overseas support structure for fundraising, weapons procurement, and propaganda activities.
Location/Area of Operation: The Tigers control most of the northern and eastern coastal areas of Sri Lanka but have conducted operations throughout the island. Headquartered in the Jaffna peninsula, LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran has established an extensive network of checkpoints and informants to keep track of any ``outsiders'' who enter the group's area of control. The LTTE prefers to attack vulnerable government facilities, then withdraw before reinforcements arrive.
External Aid: The LTTE's overt organizations support Tamil separatism by lobbying foreign governments and the United Nations. The LTTE also uses its international contacts to procure weapons, communications, and bomb- making equipment. The LTTE exploits large Tamil communities in North America, Europe, and Asia to obtain funds and supplies for its fighters in Sri Lanka. Information obtained since the mid-1980s indicates that some Tamil communities in Europe are also involved in narcotics smuggling. Tamils historically have served as drug couriers moving narcotics into Europe.
Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front (FPMR)
Description: Original FPMR was founded in 1983 as armed wing of Chilean Communist Party and named for hero of Chile's war of independence against Spain. Group splintered into two factions in late 1980s, one of which became a political party in 1991. The dissident wing FPMR/D is one of Chile's most active terrorist groups.
Activities: The dissident wing (FPMR/D) frequently attacks civilians and international targets, including US businesses and Mormon churches. In 1993, FPMR/D bombed two McDonalds restaurants and attempted to bomb a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. Successful government counterterrorist operations have significantly undercut organization.
Strength: Now believed to have fewer than 500 members.
Location/Area of Operation: Chile.
External Aid: None.
Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK or MKO) a.k.a.: The National Liberation Army of Iran (NLA, the militant wing of the MEK), the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI), National Council of Resistance (NCR), Muslim Iranian Student's Society (front organization used to garner financial support)
Description: Formed in the 1960s by the college-educated children of Iranian merchants, the MEK sought to counter what is perceived as excessive Western influence in the Shah's regime. In the 1970s, the MEK -- led by Masud Rajavi after 1978 -- concluded that violence was the only way to bring about change in Iran. Since then, the MEK -- following a philosophy that mixes Marxism and Islam -- has developed into the largest and most active armed Iranian dissident group. Its history is studded with anti- Western activity, and, most recently, attacks on the interests of the clerical regime in Iran and abroad.
Activities: The MEK directs a worldwide campaign against the Iranian Government that stresses propaganda and occasionally uses terrorist violence. During the 1970s, the MEK staged terrorist attacks inside Iran to destabilize and embarrass the Shah's regime; the group killed several US military personnel and civilians working on defense projects in Tehran. In 1979 the group supported the takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran. In April 1992, the MEK carried out nearly simultaneous attacks on Iranian embassies in 13 different countries in North America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. The attacks caused extensive property damage and demonstrated the group's ability to mount large-scale operations overseas. Iran's belief that the MEK was responsible for the bombing of the Mashhad Shrine and subsequent attacks against Iranian oil facilities led Tehran in November 1994 to launch attacks against an MEK base.
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).
Location/Area of Operation: In the 1980s, the MEK's leaders were forced by Iranian security forces to flee to France. Most resettled in Iraq by 1987. Since the mid-1980s, the MEK has not mounted terrorists operations in Iran at a level similar to its activities in the 1970s. Aside from the National Liberation Army's attacks into Iran toward the end of the Iran-Iraq war, and occasional NLA cross-border incursions since, the MEK's attacks on Iran have amounted to little more than harassment. The MEK has had more success in confronting Iranian representatives overseas through propaganda and street demonstrations.
External Aid: Beyond support from Iraq, the MEK uses front organizations to solicit contributions from expatriate Iranian communities.
MJL (see Lautaro Youth Movement)
Morazanist Patriotic Front (FPM)
Description: A radical, leftist terrorist group that first appeared in the late 1980s. Attacks made to protest US intervention in Honduran economic and political affairs.
Activities: Attacks on US, mainly military, personnel in Honduras. Claimed responsibility for attack on a bus in March 1990 that wounded seven US servicemen. Claimed bombing of Peace Corps office in December 1988; bus bombing that wounded three US servicemen in February 1989; attack on US convoy in April 1989; and grenade attack that wounded seven US soldiers in La Ceiba in July 1989.
Strength: Unknown, probably relatively small.
Location/Area of Operation: Honduras.
External Aid: Had ties to former Government of Nicaragua and possibly Cuba.
MRTA (see Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement)
National Liberation Army (ELN) -- Bolivia includes Nestor Paz Zamora Commission (CNPZ)
Description: ELN claims to be resuscitation of group established by Che Guevara in 1960s. Includes numerous small factions of indigenous subversive groups, including CNPZ, which is largely inactive today.
Activities: ELN and CNPZ have attacked US interests in past years but focused almost exclusively on Bolivian domestic targets in 1993.
Strength: Unknown; probably fewer than 100.
Location/Area of Operation: Bolivia.
External Aid: None.
National Liberation Army (ELN) -- Colombia
Description: Rural-based, anti-US, Maoist-Marxist-Leninist guerrilla group formed in 1963. Attempted peace talks with the government ended in May 1992.
Activities: Periodically kidnaps foreign employees of large corporations and holds them for large ransom payments. Conducts frequent assaults on oil infrastructure and has inflicted major damage on pipelines since 1986. Extortion and bombings against US and other foreign businesses, especially the petroleum industry.
Strength: Has fallen off in recent years and now estimated at only about 700 combatants.
Location/Area of Operation: Colombia.
External Aid: None.
New People's Army (NPA)
Description: The guerrilla arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), an avowedly Maoist group formed in December 1969 with the aim of overthrowing the government through protracted guerrilla warfare. Although primarily a rural-based guerrilla group, the NPA has an active urban infrastructure to carry out terrorism; uses city-based assassination squads called sparrow units. Derives most of its funding from contributions of supporters and so-called revolutionary taxes extorted from local businesses.
Activities: The NPA is in disarray because of a split in the CPP, a lack of money, and successful government operations. With the US military gone from the country, NPA has engaged in urban terrorism against the police, corrupt politicians, drug traffickers, and other targets that evoked popular anger. Has vowed to kill US citizens involved in counterinsurgency campaign. Has assassinated 10 US military and private citizens since 1987. Has also attacked US businesses in rural areas that refused to pay so-called revolutionary taxes.
Strength: 16,000, plus support groups.
Location/Area of Operation: Philippines.
External Aid: Receives funding from overseas fundraisers in Western Europe and elsewhere; also linked to Libya. Diverts some funding of humanitarian aid.
Palestine Liberation Front (PLF)
Description: Terrorist group that broke away from the PFLP-GC in mid-1970s. Later split again into pro-PLO, pro-Syrian, and pro-Libyan factions. Pro-PLO faction led by Muhammad Abbas (Abu Abbas), who became member of PLO Executive Committee in 1984 but left it in 1991.
Activities: The Abu Abbasöled faction carried out abortive seaborne attack staged from Libya against Israel on 30 May 1990. Abbas's group was also responsible for October 1985 attack on the cruise ship Achille Lauro and the murder of US citizen Leon Klinghoffer. A warrant for Abu Abbas's arrest is outstanding in Italy. Others involved in the hijacking are wanted elsewhere. Openly supported Iraq during Gulf war.
Strength: At least 50.
Location/Area of Operation: PLO faction based in Tunisia until Achille Lauro attack. Now based in Iraq.
External Aid: Receives logistic and military support mainly from PLO, but also from Libya and Iraq.
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
On 9 September 1993, in letters to Israeli Prime Minister Rabin and Norwegian Foreign Minister Holst, PLO Chairman Arafat committed the PLO to cease all violence and terrorism. On 13 September 1993, the Declaration of Principles between the Israelis and Palestinians was signed in Washington, DC. Between 9 September and 31 December, the PLO factions loyal to Arafat complied with this commitment except for one, perhaps two, instances in which the responsible individuals apparently acted independently. Two groups under the PLO umbrella, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of PalestineöHawatmeh faction (DFLP-H), suspended their participation in the PLO in protest of the agreement and continued their campaign of violence. The US Government continues to monitor closely PLO compliance with its commitment to abandon terrorism and violence.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
Description: The PIJ originated among militant Palestinian fundamentalists in the Gaza Strip during the 1970s. The PIJ is a series of loosely affiliated factions, rather than a cohesive group. The PIJ is committed to the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state and the destruction of Israel through holy war. Because of its strong support for Israel, the United States has been identified as an enemy of the PIJ. The PIJ also opposes moderate Arab governments that it believes have been tainted by Western secularism.
Activities: The PIJ demonstrated its terrorist credentials when it attacked a tour bus in Egypt in February 1990 and killed 11 people, including nine Israelis. The PIJ also has carried out cross-border raids against Israeli targets in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The PIJ has threatened to attack US interests in Jordan. PIJ agents were arrested in Egypt in September 1991 while attempting to enter the country to conduct terrorism.
Strength: Unknown.
Location/Area of Operation: Primarily Israel and the occupied territories and other parts of the Middle East, including Jordan and Lebanon. The largest faction is based in Syria.
External Aid: Probably receives financial assistance from Iran and possibly some assistance from Syria.
The Party of Democratic Kampuchea (Khmer Rouge)
Description: The Khmer Rouge is a Communist insurgency that is trying to destabilize the Cambodian Government. Under Pol Pot's leadership, the Khmer Rouge conducted a campaign of genocide in which more than 1million persons were killed during its four years in power in the late 1970s.
Activities: The Khmer Rouge now is engaged in a low-level insurgency against the Cambodian Government; although its victims are mainly Cambodian villagers, the Khmer Rouge has occasionally kidnapped and killed foreigners, including Westerners, traveling in remote rural areas.
Strength: The Khmer Rouge is made up of approximately 8,000 guerrillas. Location/Area of Operation The Khmer Rouge operates in outlying provinces in Cambodia, particularly in pockets along the Thailand border.
External Aid: The Khmer Rouge is not currently receiving external assistance. PKK (see Kurdistan Workers' Party)
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
Description: Marxist-Leninist group that is a member of the PLO founded in 1967 by George Habash. After Fatah, it is the most important military and political organization in the Palestinian movement. Advocates a Pan-Arab revolution. Opposes the Declaration of Principles signed in 1993 and has suspended participation in the PLO.
Activities: Committed numerous international terrorist attacks between 1970 and 1977. Since the death in 1978 of Wadi Haddad, its terrorist planner, PFLP has carried out numerous attacks against Israeli or moderate Arab targets.
Strength: 800.
Location/Area of Operation: Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and the occupied territories.
External Aid: Receives most of its financial and military assistance from Syria and Libya.
Popular Front for the Liberation of PalestineöGeneral Command (PFLP-GC)
Description: Split from the PFLP in 1968, claiming that it wanted to focus more on fighting and less on politics. Violently opposed to Arafat's PLO. Led by Ahmad Jabril, a former captain in the Syrian Army. Closely allied with, supported by, and probably directed by Syria.
Activities: Claims to have specialized in suicide operations. Has carried out numerous cross-border terrorist attacks into Israel, using unusual means, such as hot-air balloons and motorized hang gliders. Hafiz Kassem Dalkamoni, a ranking PFLP-GC official, was convicted in Germany in June 1991 for bombing US troop trains. He faces additional charges in Germany for other terrorist offenses, including manslaughter.
Strength: Several hundred.
Location/Area of Operation: Headquarters in Damascus with bases in Lebanon and cells in Europe.
External Aid: Receives logistic and military support from Syria, its chief sponsor. Financial support from Libya. Safehaven in Syria. Support also from Iran.
Popular Front for the Liberation of PalestineöSpecial Command (PFLP-SC)
Description: Marxist-Leninist group formed by Abu Salim in 1979 after breaking away from the now defunct PFLPöSpecial Operations Group.
Activities: Has claimed responsibility for several notorious international terrorist attacks in Western Europe, including the bombing of a restaurant frequented by US servicemen in Torrejon, Spain, in April 1985. Eighteen Spanish civilians were killed in the attack.
Strength: 50.
Location/Area of Operation: Operates out of southern Lebanon, in various areas of the Middle East, and in Western Europe.
External Aid: Probably receives financial and military support from Syria, Libya, and Iraq.
Popular Struggle Front (PSF)
Description: Radical Palestinian terrorist group once closely involved in the Syrian- dominated Palestinian National Salvation Front. Led by Dr. Samir Ghosheh. Rejoined the PLO in September 1991. Group is internally divided over the Declaration of Principles signed in 1993.
Activities: Terrorist attacks against Israeli, moderate Arab, and PLO targets.
Strength: Fewer than 300.
Location/Area of Operation: Mainly Syria and Lebanon, and elsewhere in the Middle East.
External Aid: Receives support from Syria and may now receive aid from the PLO.
Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) a.k.a.: The Provos
Description: A radical terrorist group formed in 1969 as the clandestine armed wing of Sinn Fein, a legal political movement dedicated to removing British forces from Northern Ireland and unifying Ireland. Has a Marxist orientation. Organized into small, tightly knit cells under the leadership of the Army Council.
Activities: Bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, extortion, and robberies. Targets senior British Government officials, British military and police in Northern Ireland, and Northern Irish Loyalist paramilitary groups. PIRA's operations on mainland Britain have included truck bombings and bombing campaigns against train and subway stations and shopping areas.
Strength: Several hundred, plus several thousand sympathizers.
Location/Area of Operation: Northern Ireland, Irish Republic, Great Britain, and Western Europe.
External Aid: Has received aid from a variety of groups and countries and considerable training and arms from Libya and, at one time, the PLO. Also is suspected of receiving funds and arms from sympathizers in the United States. Similarities in operations suggest links to ETA.
Red Army Faction (RAF)
Description: The small and disciplined RAF is the successor to the Baader-Meinhof Gang, which originated in the student protest movement in the 1960s. Ideology is an obscure mix of Marxism and Maoism; committed to armed struggle. Organized into hardcore cadres that carry out terrorist attacks and a network of supporters who provide logistic and propaganda support. Has survived despite numerous arrests of top leaders over the years.
Activities: Bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, and robberies. With decline of world Communism, has had trouble recruiting replacements for jailed members. Now concentrating on domestic targets, particularly officials involved in German or European unification and German security and justice officials. Carried out one operation in 1993, destroying a new prison with at least 400 pounds of commercial explosives. Police shootout with two members ended in death of GSG-9 officer and group member Wolfgang Grams. Group temporarily galvanized afterward. RAF has targeted US and NATO facilities in the past. During the Gulf war, RAF shot up US Embassy in Bonn with assault rifle rounds. There were no casualties.
Strength: 10 to 20, plus several hundred supporters.
Location/Area of Operations: Germany.
External Aid: Self-sustaining, but during Baader-Meinhof period received support from Middle Eastern terrorists. East Germany gave logistic support, sanctuary, and training during the 1980s.
Red Brigades (BR)
Description: Formed in 1969, the Marxist-Leninist BR seeks to create a revolutionary state through armed struggle and to separate Italy from the Western Alliance. In 1984 split into two factions: the Communist Combatant Party (BR-PCC) and the Union of Combatant Communists (BR-UCC).
Activities: Original group concentrated on assassination and kidnapping of Italian Government and private-sector targets; it murdered former Prime Minister Aldo Moro in 1978, kidnapped US Army Brig. Gen. James Dozier in 1981, and claimed responsibility for murdering Leamon Hunt, US chief of the Sinai Multinational Force and Observer Group, in 1984.
Strength: Probably fewer than 50, plus an unknown number of supporters.
Location/Area of Operation: Based and operates in Italy. Some members probably living clandestinely in other European countries.
External Aid: Currently unknown; original group apparently was self-sustaining but probably received weapons from other West European terrorist groups and from the PLO.
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
Description: Established in 1966 as military wing of Colombian Communist Party. Goal is to overthrow government and ruling class. Organized along military lines; includes at least one urban front.
Activities: Armed attacks against Colombian political and military targets. Many members have become criminals, carrying out kidnappings for profit and bank robberies. Foreign citizens often are targets of FARC kidnappings. Group traffics in drugs and has well-documented ties to narcotraffickers.
Strength: Approximately 4,500 to 5,500 armed combatants and an unknown number of supporters, mostly in rural areas.
Location/Area of Operation: Colombia.
External Aid: None.
Revolutionary Organization 17 November (17 November)
Description: A radical leftist group established in 1975 and named for the November 1973 student uprising protesting the military regime. Anti-US, anti- Turkish, anti-NATO; committed to violent overthrow of the regime, ouster of US bases, removal of Turkish military presence from Cyprus, and severing of Greece's ties to NATO and the European Union (EU). Organization is obscure, possibly affiliated with other Greek terrorist groups.
Activities: Initial attacks were selected handgun assassinations of senior US officials, including US Embassy official Richard Welch in 1975 and US Navy Capt. George Tsantes in 1983. Began assassinating Greek officials and public figures in 1976 and added bombings, including attacks against US military buses in 1987 and assassination of US defense attache William Nordeen in 1988. Since 1990, has expanded targets to include EU facilities and foreign firms investing in Greece and added improvised rocket attacks to its methods. Such an attack against the Greek Finance Minister in 1992 killed a passer-by, 17 November's first ``civilian'' casualty. In 1991 was responsible for at least five of the 15 terrorist attacks against Coalition targets in Greece during the Gulf war, including the assassination in March of a US Army sergeant. Also attacked two Turkish Embassy officials in 1991.
Strength: Unknown, but presumed to be small.
Location/Area of Operation: Greece, primarily in Athens metropolitan area.
External Aid: May receive support from other Greek terrorist group cadres.
Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path, SL)
Description: Larger of Peru's two insurgencies, SL is among the world's most ruthless guerrilla organizations. Formed in the late 1960s by then university professor Abimael Guzman. Stated goal is to destroy existing Peruvian institutions and replace them with peasant revolutionary regime. Also wants to rid Peru of foreign influences. Guzman's capture in September 1992 was a major blow, as were arrests of other SL leaders, defections, and President Fujimori's amnesty program for repentant terrorists.
Activities: SL engages in particularly brutal forms of terrorism, including the indiscriminate use of car bombs. Almost every institution in Peru has been a target of SL violence. Has bombed diplomatic missions of several countries represented in Peru. Carries out bombing campaigns and selective assassinations. Involved in cocaine trade.
Strength: Approximately 1,500 to 2,500 armed militants; larger number of supporters, mostly in rural areas.
Location/Area of Operation: Originally rural based, but has increasingly focused its terrorist attacks in the capital.
External Aid: None.
17 November (see Revolutionary Organization 17 November)
Sikh Terrorism
Description: Sikh terrorism is sponsored by expatriate and Indian Sikh groups who want to carve out an independent Sikh state called Khalistan (Land of the Pure) from Indian territory. Sikh violence outside India, which surged following the Indian Army's 1984 assault on the Golden Temple, Sikhism's holiest shrine, has decreased significantly since mid-1992, although Sikh militant cells are active internationally and extremists gather funds from overseas Sikh communities. Active groups include Babbar Khalsa, Azad Khalistan Babbar Khalsa Force, Khalistan Liberation Front, and Khalistan Commando Force. Many of these groups operate under umbrella organizations, the most significant of which is the Second Panthic Committee.
Activities: Sikh attacks in India are mounted against Indian officials and facilities, other Sikhs, and Hindus; they include assassinations, bombings, and kidnappings. Sikh extremists probably bombed the Air India jet downed over the Irish Sea in June 1985, killing 329 passengers and crew. On the same day, a bomb planted by Sikhs on an Air India flight from Vancouver exploded in Tokyo's Narita Airport, killing two Japanese baggage handlers. In 1991, Sikh terrorists attempted to assassinate the Indian Ambassador in Romania once India's senior police officer in Punjab from 1986 to 1989 and kidnapped and held the Romanian Charge in New Delhi for seven weeks. In January 1993, Indian police arrested Sikhs in New Delhi as they were conspiring to detonate a bomb to disrupt India's Republic Day, and, in September 1993, Sikh militants attempted to assassinate the Sikh chief of the ruling Congress Party's youth wing with a bomb. Sikh attacks in India, ranging from kidnappings and assassinations to remote-controlled bombings, have dropped markedly since mid-1992, as Indian security forces have killed or captured a host of senior Sikh militant leaders. Total civilian deaths in Punjab have declined more than 95 percent since more than 3,300 civilians died in 1991. The drop results largely from Indian Army, paramilitary, and police successes against extremist groups.
Strength: Unknown.
Location/Area of Operation: Northern India, Western Europe, Southeast Asia, and North America.
External Aid: Sikh expatriates have formed a variety of international organizations that lobby for the Sikh cause overseas. Most prominent are the World Sikh Organization and the International Sikh Youth Federation.
Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA)
Description: Traditional Marxist-Leninist revolutionary movement formed in 1983. Currently struggling to remain viable. Has suffered from defections and government counter-terrorist successes in addition to infighting and loss of leftist support. Objective remains to rid Peru of ``imperialism'' and establish Marxist regime.
Activities: Bombings, kidnappings, ambushes, assassinations. Previously responsible for large number of anti-US attacks; recent activity has dropped off dramatically.
Strength: Unknown; greatly diminished in recent years.
Location/Area of Operation: Peru; provided assistance in Bolivia to Bolivian ELN.
External Aid: None.
Tupac Katari Guerrilla Army (EGTK)
Description: Indigenous, anti-Western Bolivian subversive organization.
Activities: Frequently attacks small, unprotected targets, such as power pylons, oil pipelines, and government offices. Has targeted Mormon churches with firebombings and attacked USAID motorpool in January 1993.
Strength: Fewer than 100.
Location/Area of Operation: Bolivia, primarily the Chapare region, near the Peru border, and the Altiplano.
External Aid: None.

Appendix C: Statistical Review

[Editor's Note: Appendixes C and D are not available in this electronic version of the report]

Appendix D: International Terrorist Incidents, 1994

[Editor's Note: Appendixes C and D are not available in this electronic version of the report]

HAMAS Attacks

Operations by the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) against Israelis in the occupied territories and inside Israel have increased in number and lethality. While most of these incidents, which are aimed at the peace process, do not qualify as "international terrorism" and as such do not appear in the statistics in the appendix of this book, they are a very disturbing trend.

HAMAS attacks killed 55 Israelis and wounded more than 130 in 1994, resulting in the highest number of Israeli casualties inside Israel since the intifadah began in 1987:

HAMAS attacks would have killed even more Israelis during the past year, but several miscarried. According to press reports, at least two HAMAS car bombs exploded prematurely, killing only the bombers. In the 25 December attack, the IDF's bus driver in Jerusalem did not allow the bomber to enter the bus. The bomber detonated the device on the street, killing himself but no passengers, although 12 were injured. [End of Document]

Blue Bar

Patterns of Global Terrorism Contents