10 deadly Terrorist groups you Probably don't know of

Who exactly are terrorists? Are they rebels with (or without) a cause? Monsters with an unquenchable thirst for blood? Mindless robots out on a killing spree or are they just human beings fighting for the greater good?

These questions and much more have plagued the human race ever since the first appearance of this breed of savage entities. It is virtually impossible to deny the fact that terrorists have given rise to an untold amount of death, suffering, and horror wherever and whenever they show up. Their activities range from suicide bombings to genocides, toppling of governments, and a whole lot more. Terrorists all over the world have killed millions all in the name of patriotism, religion, or for the so-called ‘glory’ of their fatherland. The following represent the most dangerous groups ever brought into existence.

  

10. LASHKAR-E-TOBA

Ranked among the most notorious groups currently in operation, the Lashkar-e-Toba became infamous after the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai. The attack resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and left the nation damaged. The group also carried out the attack on India’s Parliament in 2001. With the sole intention of introducing an Islamist state in Southern Asia, the Lashkar-e-Toba has sworn to free Muslims living in Indian Kashmir. 

9. HEZBOLLAH

 The Lebanese-based Shi’ist militant group was established by Muslim clerics (headed by Ayatollah Khomeini) with the sole intention of countering Israel’s occupation of Lebanon (1982). Their intention has been clearly defined as they seek to expel all foreign presence, particularly Americans together with their Western allies. The group is sponsored by Syria and is also known to receive funding and training from Iran. 

8. Al-Shabaab

 The group sprouted from the splintering of the Islamic Courts Union after it was defeated by Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and their Ethiopian military allies. The group was established in 2006 with the sole aim of stopping foreign Somalian military forces. It is a Salafist jihadist group that is based in East Africa and it pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda in 2012. In 2015, they carried out their deadliest attack which resulted in the killing of 148 students at a Kenyan university. 

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7. FARC

The FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) was founded in the 1960s, and their regular activities include kidnapping, illegal mining, and extortion. The Colombian Government together with other North American, European and Latin American governments have all recognized the FARC as a terrorist group. It was discovered in 2002 that the FARC and IRA had ties to each other- the IRA had received nearly $2 million in cash from the FARC from their drug trafficking operations. The FARC has been credited with several killings, assassinations, and bombings in Colombia and ranks among the largest drug-trafficking organizations in the world.

6. IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY

Founded in 1913, the IRA is a revolutionary organization formed from the now defunct Irish Volunteers and are based in Ireland. From 1919 to 1921, the IRA was solely responsible for carrying out a war of independence against the British. This war of attrition was a very vicious affair and resulted in heavy casualties on both sides. Members of the IRA were trained as guerilla units and were highly skilled in carrying out ambushes and surprise attacks. Just before the conclusion of the war, the Anglo-Irish treaty was signed, and this resulted in a division among the IRA: those who supported the signing of the treaty became known as the Irish National Army while the rest maintained their membership in the IRA. This division culminated in a civil war which the IRA ended up losing. Ever since then, the group has continued to exist with the sole intent of overthrowing Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State to realize their dream of an Irish Republic. The IRA has claimed responsibility for assassinations (which includes the assassination in 1979 of Lord Mountbatten) and several car bombings.

5. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)

The LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) or the Lord’s Resistance Movement is a Christian cult/dissident/terrorist group whose area of operation includes South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, northern Uganda, and the Central African Republic. It was formerly known as the Uganda Christian Army/Movement, and the United Holy Salvation Army and its sole objective was the creation of a multi-party system of democracy, and the ruling of Uganda according to the Ten Commandments

4. ISIS/ISIL

Known officially as ISIS or ISIL which stands for Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (the Levant/Syria), the group controls part of northern Iraq and parts of Western Syria. It has fashioned a form of brutal government that enacts and enforces sharia law. The Islamic State, which was founded by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has perpetrated acts of terrorism and barbarism that are so cruel that it was condemned by even Al-Qaeda.  

3. AL-QAEDA

Founded by Abdullah Azzam, Osama Bin Laden, as well as other militants, the Al-Qaeda is a Wahhabi organization whose objective is to unite all the Muslims around the world in a global jihad and a harsh interpretation of Sharia law. The al-Qaeda played a role in the US embassy bombings in 1998, the September 11 attacks, and the Bali bombings in 2002. Even though Osama Bin Laden’s death resulted in a setback for their operations, they remain the deadliest terrorist organization in the world.

  

2.TALIBAN

The Afghanistan chapter of the Taliban is ubiquitous in their illicit activities. The group has an annual revenue of nearly $400 million resulting from their activities ranging from extortion, human trafficking, drug trafficking among others. Mohammed Omar is a founding member of the group and remains its spiritual leader since its commencement in 1994. The September 11 attacks on New York’s World Trade Center was perpetrated by the Taliban. The Taliban was trained by the ISI and organized by the USA to free Afghanistan from Soviet Union control.

1 .BOKO HARAM

Boko Haram is an Islamist based militant group in Nigeria, and is affiliated to and receives funding from Al-Qaeda. They are exceedingly vocal concerning their intolerance of Western education and made the news for their abduction of over 250 Nigerian school girls. Boko Haram literally means that western education is anathema. Boko Haram is alleged to have killed at least 6,742 civilians between 2009 and 2014. The group was originally established as a Sunni Islamic group and advocates for the proliferation of the very intolerant Sharia law in places where they have seized power. They continue to threaten an overthrow of the Nigerian government, which they say has become heavily biased and open to Western influence.