Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami

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Template:Infobox militant organization Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (Template:Langx, HuJI) is a Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist organisation affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Taliban.[1][2]

It has been most active in the South Asian countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India since the early 1990s. The organisation has been designated as a terrorist group by India, Israel, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, and Bangladesh when its Bangladesh branch was banned in 2005.

The operational commander of HuJI, Ilyas Kashmiri, was killed in a U.S. drone strike in South Waziristan on 4 June 2011.[3] He was linked to the 13 February 2010 bombing of a German bakery in Pune. A statement was released soon after the attack that claimed to be from Kashmiri; it threatened other cities and major sporting events in India.[4] A local Taliban commander, Shah Sahib, was named as Kashmiri's successor.[5]

History

HuJI or HJI was formed in 1984, during the Soviet–Afghan War, by Fazlur Rehman Khalil and Qari Saifullah Akhtar. Khalil later broke away to form his own group, Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA), which became a highly feared militant organisation in Kashmir.[6] This group re-formed as Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) when HuA was blacklisted by the United States in 1997.[7]

HuJI first mainly operated in Afghanistan to fight the Soviets, but after the Soviets retreated, the organisation also started operating in Jammu and Kashmir. HuJI's influence expanded into Bangladesh when the Bangladeshi branch of the organisation was established in 1992, with direct assistance from Osama bin Laden.[8]

Ideology

The organisation along with other jihadist terrorist groups such as Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Al-Qaeda & Lashkar-e-Taiba have similar motivations and goals. Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen were both strongly backed by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and the group professed Taliban-style fundamentalist Islamist ideology. The organisation aims to spread radical Islamist ideology, to take over Kashmir, Afghanistan, Palestine, and the rest of Muslim-majority lands from what it calls "enemies of Islam" and enforce its extremist interpretations of Sharia in all those regions.[1]

Activities in Bangladesh

In the 1990s, HuJI gave recruitment training near the hilly areas of Chittagong and Cox's Bazar.[8][9] In 1999, members of the organisation attacked Bangladeshi poet Shamsur Rahman.[10] HuJI claimed responsibility for the 2001 Ramna Batamul bombings, where 10 people were killed.[11] It was also the prime suspect in a plot to assassinate former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina in 2000.[12] In 2005, it was officially banned by the government of Bangladesh.[13] HuJI has been condemned by various Islamist groups such as the Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh.[14][15]

In 2008, the founders formed Islamic Democratic Party (IDP) and Abdus Salam was chosen as the leader.[16]

Activities in India

The government of India has declared HuJI a terrorist organisation and banned it.[17] In 2006, the Indian state police Special Task Force uncovered a plot by six HuJI members, including the mastermind of the 2006 Varanasi bombings, involving the destruction of two Hindu temples in Varanasi. Maps of their plans were recovered during their arrest. The organisation has claimed responsibility for blasts at the Delhi High Court that killed 10 people and injured around 60.[18] Vikar Ahmed, a member of an Islamist group connected to HuJI, has been accused of murdering police officers in Hyderabad. He is also a suspect in the Mecca Masjid bombing.[19]

HuJI claimed responsibility for the 2011 Delhi bombing, but this has not been confirmed by the National Investigation Agency.[20][21] 14 people were killed and 94 injured in the blast. Police have released two sketches of the suspects.[22][23][24] HuJI has threatened to target other Indian cities.

Designation as a terrorist organisation

Country Date References
United Kingdom 14 October 2005 [25]
India 29 December 2004 [26]
Bangladesh 17 October 2005 [27]
Israel 2005 [28]
New Zealand 15 December 2010 [29]
United States 6 August 2010 [30]

On 6 August 2010, the United Nations designated Harakat-ul Jihad al-Islami a foreign terror group and blacklisted its commander, Ilyas Kashmiri. State Department counterterrorism coordinator Daniel Benjamin said this demonstrated the global community's resolve to counter the group's threat. "The linkages between HUJI and Al-Qaeda are clear, and today's designations convey the operational relationship between these organisations", he said.[31][32]

Militant attacks claimed by or attributed to HuJI

Date Country Description
1999 Bangladesh Failed attempt to assassinate the humanist poet Shamsur Rahman
2000 Bangladesh Alleged failed scheme to assassinate the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina
14 April 2001 Bangladesh Pahela Baishakh attack on Ramna Batamul
2003 India Role in assassination of the former Gujarat Home Minister Haren Pandya.
2002 January India Terror attack near the American Centre in Kolkata, executed in collaboration with the Dawood-linked mafioso Aftab Ansari
2004 Bangladesh 2004 Dhaka grenade attack attempt to assassinate Sheikh Hasina
2005 June India Bombing of the Delhi-Patna Shramjeevi Express at Jaunpur
2005 India Suicide bombing of the headquarters of the Andhra Pradesh Police's counter-terrorism Special Task Force. A Bangladeshi national, Mohatasin Bilal, had carried out the bombing
March 2006 Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India Bombing of the Sankat Mochan temple, which was traced to HuJI's Bangladesh-based cells
25 August 2007 Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India 25 August 2007 Hyderabad bombings (suspected, but no evidence revealed as of early September)
13 May 2008 Jaipur, Rajasthan, India 13 May 2008 Jaipur bombings (suspected; evidence pending.)
25 July 2008 Bangalore, India 2008 Bengaluru serial blasts (suspected; evidence pending.)
26 July 2008 Ahmadabad, India 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts (suspected; evidence pending.)
13 September 2008 Delhi, India 2008 Delhi serial blasts (suspected; evidence pending.)
20 September 2008 Islamabad, Pakistan 2008 Marriott Hotel bombing (claimed by HuJI; evidence pending.)
1 October 2008 Agartala, Tripura, India 2008 Agartala bombings (HuJI suspected; evidence pending.)
30 October 2008 Guwahati, Barpeta, Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, India 2008 Assam bombings (HuJI suspected; evidence pending.)
13 February 2010 Pune, India 2010 Pune bombing (HuJI suspected)[33]
7 September 2011 New Delhi, India 2011 Delhi bombing (claimed by HuJI; evidence pending.)

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Frontline Pakistan: The Struggle with Militant Islam{{#if:Hussain|, Hussain}. Columbia University Press(2007). ISBN 978-0-231-14224-3
  2. ↑ Pakistan – Mapping Militants Template:Webarchive. Stanford University.
  3. ↑ US strike 'kills' key Pakistan militant Ilyas Kashmiri. BBC News(4 June 2011). Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  4. ↑ Asia Times Online :: South Asia news, business and economy from India and Pakistan(13 February 2010). Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  5. ↑ Shah Sahib new chief of 313 Brigade. Pakistan Today(13 August 2011). Retrieved 7 March 2011.
  6. ↑ Frontline Pakistan: The Struggle with Militant Islam{{#if:Hussain|, Hussain}. Columbia University Press(2007). ISBN 978-0-231-14224-3
  7. ↑ Frontline Pakistan: The Struggle with Militant Islam{{#if:Hussain|, Hussain}. Columbia University Press(2007). ISBN 978-0-231-14224-3
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Sudha Ramachandran. 'PART 2: Behind the Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami' Asia Times Online, 10 December 2004
  9. ↑ John Wilson. 'The Roots of Extremism in Bangladesh' Template:Webarchive Terrorism Monitor, January 2005 issue, published by the Jamestown Foundation
  10. ↑ Shamsur Rahman, Bangladeshi Poet, Dies(19 August 2006). Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  11. ↑ Sudha Ramachandran. 'The Threat of Islamic Extremism to Bangladesh' Template:Webarchive PINR – Power and Interest News Report, 27 July 2005
  12. ↑ Assassination Attempt on Hasina: Ten Huji men get death by shooting(21 August 2017).
  13. ↑ Bangladesh Nabs Five Suspected HuJI Militants(8 December 2016).
  14. ↑ Al Qaeda won't gain ground in Bangladesh: Politicians. English24.com(4 September 2014). Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  15. ↑ Condemnation continues to pour from all corners against Al-Qaeda establishment in South Asia, Mirsab, A. Indian Muslim Relief and Charities(7 September 2014). Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  16. ↑ Huji adviser 'detained'. The Daily Star(1 January 2010). Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  17. ↑ List of Banned Organisations. Ministry of Home Affairs, GoI. Government of India. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  18. ↑ NIA team of 20 to probe Delhi blast. Firstpost(7 September 2011). Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  19. ↑ Islamist extremism related incidents in Andhra Pradesh since 2007 South Asia Terrorism Portal
  20. ↑ 11 dead, 76 injured in terror strike. Hindustan Times(7 September 2011). Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  21. ↑ HuJI claims responsibility for Delhi high court blast. The Times of India(7 September 2011). Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  22. ↑ Briefcase bomb at Delhi high court kills 11, injures 62. The Times of India(7 September 2011).
  23. ↑ Another e-mail claims responsibility for Delhi blasts. YouTube(9 September 2011). Retrieved 8 November 2011.Template:Cbignore
  24. ↑ Delhi Police Releases Sketches of Two Blast Suspects. YouTube(7 September 2011). Retrieved 8 November 2011.Template:Cbignore
  25. ↑ Template:Cite act
  26. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
  27. ↑ Dhaka outlaws third Islamic group(17 October 2005). Retrieved 24 August 2010.
  28. ↑ The Proclamation & Orders List. Ministry of Justice (Israel).
  29. ↑ Lists associated with Resolution 1373. New Zealand Police(20 July 2014). Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  30. ↑ Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  31. ↑ US, UN declare HuJI a terrorist organisation. Hindustan Times(7 August 2010). Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  32. ↑ Template:Cite press release
  33. ↑ Pune blast probe: Maha ATS detains suspected HuJI member. Zee News(23 February 2010).

Template:US War on Terror Template:Militant Islamism in South Asia

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