FED: Terror groups listed in Australia

AAP General News (Australia)
08-21-2009
FED: Terror groups listed in Australia

Terrorist groups listed in Australia



* Abu Sayyaf Group - Listed November 14, 2002, re-listed November 3, 2008.

These Islamist militants based in the Philippines boast of links to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiah.



* Al-Shabaab - Listed August 21, 2009.

Based in Somalia, this group seeks control of the war-torn African country.



* Al-Qaeda - Listed October 21, 2002, re-listed August 28, 2008.

Translated as The Cell, al-Qaeda was behind the September 11 attacks in the United
States and remains led, by proxy, by ailing leader Osama bin Laden.



* Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) (formerly listed as Al-Zarqawi and TQJBR).

Listed March 2, 2005, re-listed November 3, 2008. A Sunni Muslim group that led much
of the unrest in Iraq following the US invasion in 2003.



* Al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)

Listed November 14, 2002, re-listed August 8, 2008. This group grew out of the Algerian
civil war and remains based in north Africa where some of al-Qaeda's strongest holdings
remain.



* Ansar al-Islam. Listed March 27, 2003, re-listed March 17, 2009.

Formed in December 2001 and based in Kurdistan, this group wants to create a Sunni
Islamist state in Iraq.



* Asbat al-Ansar (AAA)

Listed April 11, 2003, re-listed March 17, 2009. A Lebanese-based Sunni group largely
situated in the Ayn al-Hilwah Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon in southern Lebanon.

AAA was formed in 1986.



* Hamas's Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades AKA Hamas

Listed in November 9, 2003, re-listed September 10, 2007. Hamas is a radical Sunni
Islamic group that emerged from the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in late
1987. Hamas soon became the dominant Islamic fundamentalist group in the Occupied Territories.



* Hizballah External Security Organisation

Listed June 5, 2003, re-listed May 15, 2009. Translated as Party of God, Hizballah
controls the southern portion of Lebanon. It also has representation in the Lebanese parliament.



* Islamic Army of Aden (IAA)

Listed April 11, 2003, re-listed March 17, 2009. Formed in 1996 this Yemeni Sunni group
was responsible for killing an Australian during a rescue attempt in 1998. The IAA is
linked to al-Qaeda and has similar aims.



* Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan

Listed April 11, 2003, re-listed March 17, 2009. This central Asian group formed in
the early 90s in Uzbekistan and around 2001 began toying with far western China in an
attempt to turn the area into an Islamic caliphate.



* Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)

Listed April 11, 2003, re-listed March 17, 2009. Working predominantly in Pakistan,
this Sunni group was predominantly preoccupied with Kashmir but has lately turned its
focus to its homeland, Afghanistan and India. The group is supported by al-Qaeda and the
Taliban.



* Jamiat ul-Ansar

Listed November 14, 2002, re-listed November 3, 2008. This Pakistani Sunni group works
primarily in Kashmir and was formed to fight in the 1980s Afghan-Russia war.



* Jemaah Islamiah

Listed October 27, 2002, re-listed August 8, 2008. This group is responsible for many
Australian deaths via bombings in 2002-2005 and again in 2009. JI has Salafist aims and
is closely linked to al-Qaeda. Responsible for the Bali bombings in October 2002, the
2003 JW Marriot Hotel bombing and the 2004 bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.

The 2005 Bali bombing killed four Australians.



* Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)

Listed December 17, 2005, re-listed September 27, 2007. A contentious listing, the
PKK was fighting for a separate Kurdistan in northern Iraq and Turkey but has since abandoned
that aim and now petitions for recognition of Kurds in Turkey.



* Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ)

Listed April 11, 2003, re-listed March 17, 2009. A Sunni Islamist group based in Karachi,
LEJ has a reputation as one of the most violent extreme groups in Pakistan through its
murder of hundreds of Shia academics since its formation in 1996.



* Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)

Listed November 9, 2003, re-listed September 10, 2007. LeT is a major terrorist group
that turned its attention to Western targets after largely being focused on Kashmir initially.

The LeT has been involved in a number of terrorist attacks, including suicide attacks,
against non-Muslims in Kashmir, Indian security forces and Indian government installations.



* Palestinian Islamic Jihad

Listed May 3, 2004, re-listed September 10, 2007. PIJ emerged from the Muslim Brotherhood
Movement and was inspired by the Islamic Revolution in Iran. The objective of PIJ is the
establishment of an Islamist Palestinian state and the destruction of the state of Israel.

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KEYWORD: TERROR AUST GROUPS FACTBOX

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