One of the reasons Isis was so potent in its rise to power in Iraq was that almost the entire world underestimated it’s strength. In 2012, Obama lumped them in with a bunch of small peas terrorist groups, referring to them as a junior varsity team wearing the uniforms of The Lakers, which in this case represent Al Qeada. But now in 2014, Isis has taken over a significant portion of Iraq, and the world wonders where in the world they even came from. Are there more of these terrorist organizations, and if so, how powerful are they?
Here are some of the most formidable terrorist groups in the world that are not your normal, name brand terrorists like Al Qeada or Hezbollah.
1.) Kurdistan Worker’s Party: More commonly known as ‘PKK’, this group was founded in Turkey out of the desire for an independent Kurdish state. Although this group prides itself on having equality of the genders in it’s ranks, their tactics are sadly violent and rely heavily on taking innocent civilian lives. The U.S and NATO both list PKK as a terrorist organization.
2.) Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam: A militant terrorist organization in Sri Lanka, advocating an independent state for Tamil people. It started off using terrorist tactics such as suicide belts and woman suicide bombers, but eventually became so powerful that they owned battleships, tanks and warplanes, like an actual army. The LTTE was defeated in 2009, but there has been evidence of a possible resurgence down the road.
3.) Lashkar-e-Taiba: The members of this Pakistani militant group call themselves the ‘Army of The Righteous’ and are a major player in the eternal struggle between India and Pakistan. Their bombs have killed hundreds of civilians and somehow they maintain an annual revenue of $100 million a year from secret extremist supporters.
4.) Aden-Abyan Islamic Army: As part of the Islamist Jihad movement, this terrorist organization aims to dispel all secularism throughout the Middle East. In 1994 they captured 16 western tourists in Yemen, killing four.
5.) Boko Haram: Another Muslim extremist operation, this time in Nigeria, this group hopes to overthrow the Nigerian and establish an Islamist state. Recently they have captured over 200 Nigerian school girls, saying that “Western Education is Sin”. Through their pillaging it is estimated the group earns about $70 million per year.
6.) FARC: A Columbian group of Marxist guerrillas, this group terrorizes it’s own people through bombings and kidnappings to make statements about American Imperialism. They also are heavily involved in drug trafficking, which can give them an annual income of about $350 million a year.
7.) Army of God: Although not as wealthy or militarized as some, the Christian American terrorist group was what inspired Eric Robert to bomb both and abortion clinic in 1997 in addition to a famous lesbian bar. It’s base continues to grow.
Insane right? The world is a lot more complicated than it once was. Keep an eye on some of these guys, you might be seeing their in the news in the future.
