Insurgency group
An armed group of militants in conflict with a nation’s government. Insurgency groups often field fighting forces orders of magnitude larger than terrorist organizations. They are usually organized in the form of a semi-unitary movement, with a leadership, fighters, and support units. They may have an overt political wing and/or social services, and they may use both violent and nonviolent tactics. Integrated insurgent groups tend to be the most resilient. They can be splintered by intensive counterinsurgency operations (as the Provisional IRA did), or they can be absorbed into the government’s power structure as part of a deal that defuses the insurgency. Alternatively, they can be broken down by militant-inspired state-building counterinsurgency that focuses on destroying insurgents’ institutions and disrupting their social ties.
HAMAS
A Palestinian Islamist group founded in 1987 that uses both violent and nonviolent tactics to pursue its goal of establishing an Islamic Palestinian state in Israel. Initially known as the Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestinian branch, it changed its name to HAMAS in 1990 to reflect its focus on violence against Israel. HAMAS also maintains affiliate groups in various countries of the Americas.
JEM
An armed Pakistani extremist group that has attacked US military and diplomatic personnel and facilities in Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan. Its initial campaign against foreign targets in 1990 was carried out under the name of Dev Sol and included the assassination of two Turkish businessmen in New York City. The group has also blown up more than a dozen Turkish military and civilian vehicles and bombed more than 40 other targets in Turkey, the Philippines, and Pakistan.
