Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of the group Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin (HIG), espouses an extreme Islamist anti-Western ideology with the objective of overthrowing the Afghani administration and creating an Islamic state. Hekmatyar has declared his intention to wage jihad against foreign troops and interests in Afghanistan until all occupation forces are driven out. He has perpetrated indiscriminate attacks against civilians, government officials and foreign officers. In 2006, Hekmatyar pledged allegiance to Al Qaida leader Usama bin Laden and vowed to join Al Qaida's holy war. On May 18, 2016, Afghanistan's government signed a draft peace agreement with HIG. In July 2016, Hekmatyar ordered his followers to fight against the Taliban in support of the Islamic State.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's faction of the Hezb-e Islami, Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin (HIG), espouses a radical Islamist anti-Western ideology with the objectives of overthrowing the Karzai administration, eliminating all Western influence in Afghanistan, and creating an Islamic state. Hekmatyar's men were reputed to be the most effective mujahideen group to fight against the Soviet occupation and the most extreme of all Afghan fighters. Drawing support from Pakistan, HIG now has a presence in much of Afghanistan and is an important component of resistance forces in the country. HIG is known to cooperate with Al Qaida and the Taliban, and has a history of engaging in terrorist activities including killings, torture, kidnappings and forcible detainment, and attacking political figures. HIG often targets civilians, journalists, and foreign aid workers. On May 18, 2016, after over two months of negotiations, Afghanistan's government signed a draft peace agreement with the HIG.
Islamic State – Sinai Province (ISSP), formerly known as Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, is a Sunni Salafist Islamist extremist group based in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, which first appeared in 2011. The primary objective of the group is the formation of an Islamic state in Egypt under Sharia Law. The primary targets of ISSP's violence include the Egyptian military and security services, Israeli interests, and Israeli economic interests. They have carried out repeated attacks against security forces, politicians, and civilians in Egypt using small arms, improvised explosive devices, vehicle-born improvised explosive devices, and surface-to-air missiles. In November 2014, ISSP pledged its allegiance to the Islamic State (IS), and expanded its targets to include tourist sites, Western interests, Western embassies, and the media. In August 2015, ISSP claimed to have beheaded a Croatian national kidnapped and taken hostage in Cairo in July. Two months later, ISSP claimed responsibility for downing Russian airliner KGL9268 over the Sinai through an improvised explosive device (IED) killing all 224 passengers aboard. ISSP continues to conduct cross-border attacks against Israel, including firing several rockets in February, April, and October 2017.
The Proud Boys is a neo-fascist organization that engages in political violence and was formed in 2016. Members of the group espouse misogynistic, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, and/or white supremacist ideologies and associate with white supremacist groups. The Proud Boys consists of semi-autonomous chapters located in the United States (U.S.), Canada, and internationally. The group and its members have openly encouraged, planned, and conducted violent activities against those they perceive to be opposed to their ideology and political beliefs. The group regularly attends Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests as counter-protesters, often engaging in violence targeting BLM supporters. On January 6, 2021, the Proud Boys played a pivotal role in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Leaders of the group planned their participation by setting out objectives, issuing instructions, and directing members during the insurrection. The leader of the Proud Boys was arrested two days before the insurrection as part of a stated effort by U.S. law enforcement to apprehend individuals who were planning to travel to the D.C. area with intentions to cause violence.
The World Tamil Movement was created in 1986 and became a known and leading front organization for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Canada. The leadership of the WTM acts at the direction of the LTTE and has been instrumental in fundraising in Canada on behalf of the LTTE. WTM representatives canvas for donations amongst the Canadian Tamil population, and have been involved in acts of intimidation and extortion to secure funds.
In December 2012, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a former commander of Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), created al-Muwaqi'un Bil Dima (MBD), with the goal of deterring Western and African military intervention in northern Mali and imposing Sharia Law in North Africa. The MBD has carried out suicide bombing attacks and assaulted civilian facilities. For instance, the MBD claimed responsibility for the January 16, 2013 attack on the Tigantourine gas facility near the town of In Amenas in eastern Algeria. MBD militants, using assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank mines, took dozens of foreign and Algerian workers hostage that resulted in the deaths of at least 48 hostages. In August 2013, MBD merged with Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) to form Al-Murabitoun.
Blood & Honour (B&H) is an international neo-Nazi network whose ideology is derived from the National Socialist doctrine of Nazi Germany. Through their armed branch, Combat 18 (C18), the group has carried out violent actions, including murders and bombings. B&H was founded in the United Kingdom in 1987 and grew during the 1990s, establishing branches throughout Europe by the end of the decade. B&H attacks have occurred in North America and in several EU-member states. In January 2012, four B&H members in Tampa, Florida, were convicted of the 1998 murder of two homeless men who were killed because the group considered them “inferior.” In February 2012, members of B&H and C18 firebombed a building occupied mostly by Romani families, including children, in Aš, Czech Republic.
Founded in the United Kingdom between 2006 and 2010, the Aryan Strikeforce (ASF) is a neo-Nazi group which aims to carry out violent activities to overthrow governments, start a race war, and eradicate ethnic minorities. The ASF describes itself as a white nationalist organization with the goal to protect the honour of their women, children, and the future of their race and nation, using violence as a necessary tool to achieve its goals. ASF subscribes to the philosophy of decentralized leaderless resistance and has had chapters in the United Kingdom and the United States, and contacts in Eastern Europe, South America, South Africa, and Canada. Members of the group have been convicted of crimes in the United Kingdom and the United States involving the production of chemical weapons, preparing and possessing material useful to commit acts of terrorism, facilitating the transfer of bomb-making instructions, and attempting to secure illegal firearms. Of particular note, the ASF had planned a suicide bombing attack on counter-protestors during a November 2016 white supremacist rally in Pennsylvania. The group is associated with Combat 18, the armed branch of Blood & Honour, both listed entities in Canada, that has carried out violent actions including murders and bombings.
James Nolan Mason is a life-long American neo-Nazi born on July 25, 1952. He has been an active neo-Nazi since he was 14 years old, when he joined the youth group of the American Nazi Party in 1966. Mason is responsible for publishing a series of newsletters in the 1980s, which promoted the idea of lone actors conducting terrorist attacks against the United States government in order to bring about the collapse of society and a race war. Mason’s collective works, published as a book called
Three Percenters are a decentralized entity within the broader anti-government militia movement in the United States. The name “Three Percenters” is a reference to a false belief that the number of Americans who fought against the British during the Revolutionary War amounted to only three percent of the population at the time. The entity has a presence in the United States and Canada. Three Percenters have been linked to bomb plots targeting United States federal government buildings and Muslim communities. In November 2015, a Three Percenter was arrested and eventually convicted of shooting and wounding five men at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Most notably, in 2020, two of the group's leaders directed a plot to kidnap the Governor of Michigan that involved acquiring and detonating explosives to divert police attention from the kidnapping, as well as public executions of public officials by hanging them on live television.