Al-Qaeda is a militant Sunni Islamist multi-national organization founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Azzam, and several other Arab volunteers during the Soviet–Afghan War.
Tohir Yo'ldosh, cofounded the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), an Islamist organization active in Central Asia, with Juma Namangani in August 1998. According to the Defense Intelligence Agency he was a key leader opposing US forces during Operation Anaconda. The United Nations considers the IMU an Islamic terrorist organization.
The 055 Brigade was an elite guerrilla organization sponsored and trained by Al Qaeda that was integrated into the Taliban army between 1995 and 2001.
Jaish-e-Mohammed is a Pakistan-based Deobandi Jihadist Islamic terrorist Mujahideen group active in Kashmir. The group's primary motive is to separate Kashmir from India and merge it into Pakistan. Since its inception in 2000, the group has carried out several attacks in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It portrays Kashmir as a "gateway" to the entire India, whose Muslims are also deemed to be in need of liberation. After liberating Kashmir, it aims to carry its 'Jahad' to other parts of India, with an intent to drive Hindus and other non-Muslims from the Indian subcontinent. It has carried out several attacks primarily in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It also maintained close relations with Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and continues to be allied with these groups.
Baitullah Mehsud ; c. 1972 – 5 August 2009) was a leading militant in Waziristan, Pakistan, and the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He formed the TTP from an alliance of about five militant groups in December 2007. He is thought by U.S. military analysts to have commanded up to 5,000 fighters and to have been behind numerous attacks in Pakistan including the assassination of Benazir Bhutto which he and others have denied.
The Waziristan Accord was an agreement between the government of Pakistan and tribals resident in the Waziristan area to mutually cease hostilities in North Waziristan. The agreement was signed on 5 September 2006 in the North Waziristan town of Miranshah. The agreement effectively ended the Waziristan War, fought between the Pakistani military and rebels in the border region with ties to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. However, recent attacks by the pro-Taliban militants suggest that the truce has been broken by the militants who attacked and killed 50 Pakistanis including soldiers and police. The attacks are also believed to have been as a retaliation for the Lal Masjid attacks by Pakistan Army.
Syed Saleem Shahzad was a Pakistani investigative journalist who wrote widely for leading European and Asian media. He served as the Pakistan Bureau Chief of Asia Times Online and Italian news agency Adnkronos (AKI).
Sirajuddin Haqqani is a military leader hailing from Afghanistan, who, as deputy leader of the Taliban, had previously overseen armed combat against American and coalition forces, reportedly from a base within North Waziristan in Pakistan. Sirajuddin Haqqani is the leader of the Haqqani network, a sub-set of the Taliban organisation, and scion of the Haqqani clan. Haqqani is currently deputy leader under the Taliban supreme commander, Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada. However, it was later acknowledged on 7 May 2020 that late Taliban founder Mohammad Omar's son Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob had become head of the Taliban military commission, thus making him the insurgents' new military chief.
The following items form a partial timeline of the War in Afghanistan. For events prior to October 7, 2001, see 2001 in Afghanistan
The insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, also known as the War in North-West Pakistan, is an armed conflict involving Pakistan, and armed militant groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jundallah, Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI), TNSM, al-Qaeda, and their Central Asian allies such as the ISIL–Khorasan (ISIL), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, East Turkistan Movement, Emirate of Caucasus, and elements of organized crime.
Barmal District is a district of Paktika Province, Afghanistan, bordering South Waziristan and North Waziristan, two of the districts of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Qari Ziaur Rahman is a citizen of Afghanistan who is reported to be a leader of the Taliban's and al-Qaeda's leadership. He was believed to have been killed in March 2011 during an attack on militants by the Pakistani military, however Ziaur Rahman later phoned media reporters to confirm that he survived the airstrike.
Qari Hussain Ahmad Mehsud was a top lieutenant in the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the organizer of the group's suicide bombing squads. He was a cousin of Hakimullah Mehsud.
Tehrik-i-Taliban in Pakistan, alternatively referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, is a radical Islamic terrorist armed group that is an umbrella organization of various militant groups based along the Afghan–Pakistani border. Most Taliban groups in Pakistan coalesce under the TTP. In December 2007 about 13 groups united under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud to form the Tehrik-i-Taliban. Among the stated objectives of Tehrik-i-Taliban is resistance against the Pakistani state. The TTP's aim is to overthrow the government of Pakistan by waging a terrorist campaign against the Pakistan armed forces and the state. The TTP depends on the tribal belt along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border from which to draw its recruits. The TTP draws ideological guidance from al-Qaeda and maintains ties with al-Qaeda.
Bill Roggio is an American commentator on military affairs. Roggio is the managing editor of The Long War Journal. Prior to leading a team of online commentators, Roggio published the online weblog The Fourth Rail. Roggio was an active duty soldier in the United States Army in the 1990s.
Maulvi Nazir was a leading militant of the Pakistani Taliban in South Waziristan. Nazir's operations were based in Wana.
Mullah Abdul Bari was alleged to be a Taliban commander. He is reported to have been killed with 29 other fighters. However, Abdul-Bari survived and in fact was imprisoned in Pakistan from 2008-13. He was released in 2013 after a galling stint and promoted to command the Helmand military front. The released Abdul-Bari was at the time confused with another Abdul-Bari Agha, who had been governor during the 1990s. Source: https://www.thedailybeast.com/freed-taliban-prisoners-in-pakistan-and-afghanistan-return-to-jihad)
The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, or al-Qaeda in Lebanon, is a Sunni Islamist militant group, and the al-Qaeda's branch in Lebanon. The group, which began operating in 2009, was founded by Saudi Saleh Al-Qaraawi and has local networks in various countries, mainly in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
Ilyas Kashmiri, also referred to as Maulana Ilyas Kashmiri and Muhammad Ilyas Kashmiri, was a Pakistani Islamist militant, senior al-Qaeda operative and leader of the Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HUJI). He was also connected with the Soviet–Afghan War, the Kashmir conflict and attacks against India and the United States. In August 2010, the US and the United Nations designated him a terrorist. NBC News reported that United States officials had mentioned him as a possible successor to Osama bin Laden as head of al-Qaeda. Prior to his death, a CNN News headline called him the "most dangerous man on Earth", while the late journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad said of him that "he is invariably described by the world intelligence agencies as the most effective, dangerous, and successful guerrilla leader in the world."
Abdullah Said al-Libi is described as being an al Qaeda operational leader in Pakistan. He is reported to have previously served in the Libyan military. He led an al-Qaeda paramilitary force. Said al-Libi was killed in a drone strike on 17 December 2009 in North Waziristan. In April 2009 he had released a statement where he identified himself as the leader of al Qaeda's efforts to take control of Khorasan - an ancient Islamic province that included Afghanistan, Pakistan, and some neighboring areas.
