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Hot Topics: Terrorism in the Middle East: Terrorist Groups

The various forms of radical Islamist terrorist groups in the Middle East

Background on Groups

Alphabet Soup Explained

al-Qaeda (AQ) - a radical Islamist terrorist group whose origins stem from the Soviet war in Afghanistan

ISIS and ISIL - ISIS and ISIL are the same group translated slightly differently (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), ISIS is a radical Islamist terrorist group that splintered from al-Qaeda and is based in Syria

IS - (Islamic State) a radical Islamist terrorist group formed from ISIS/ISIL but broadening its geographic area worldwide, claims authority over all jihadist groups

ISIS-K - a regional ISIS affiliate group, based in Afghanistan and Pakistan, led by two former Taliban members; also known as ISIS - Khorasan

JNIM - an al-Qaeda affiliate group in Mali and other nearby parts of West Africa. The acronym stands for Jamaat Nasr al Islam wa al-Mulsimin

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