International Journal on Criminology Volume 7, Number 2, Spring 2020 | Page 32

Why Salafi-Jihadist Terrorist Groups Pledge Allegiance to Al Qaeda or Isis
Table 2: Active Jihadist Groups That Declared Loyalty to ISIS in 2018, by Country
Jihadist Group Country Reason for Pledging Allegiance
Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh 76 Bangladesh Restructure
ISIS Sinai Province 77 Egypt Restructure
ISIS – Jammu and Kashmir 78 India-Kashmir Fragmentation
Jamaah Ansharut Daulah 79 Indonesia Restructure
Mujahidin Indonesia Timur 80 Indonesia Restructure
ISIS Libya 81 Libya Fragmentation, Restructure
ISIS – Greater Sahara 82 Mali Fragmentation
Ansar al-Sunna 83 Mozambique Restructure
Boko Haram Nigeria Fragmentation, Restructure
76 Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh formed in late 1990s and was responsible for plotting five hundred
attacks in three hundred locations in 2005. The crackdown by the government weakened
the group, after which it became affiliated with ISIS. See S. Choudhury, “Story of ISIS Affiliated
Bangladeshi Jihadist Sisters,” Blitz, https://www.weeklyblitz.net/news/story-of-isis-affiliated-bang
ladeshi-jihadist-sisters/.
77 Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis restructured and changed its name to ISIS Sinai province as a result of a military
crackdown by the Egyptian military. “Sinai Province: Egypt’s Most Dangerous Group,” BBC
Monitoring, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-25882504.
78 ISIS Jammu and Kashmir were founded by militants who left Hizb-ul Mujahedeen. One of these
militants was killed in 2017. See S. Mir, “What the Unveiling of IS’s Wilayat al Hindi,” The Wire,
https://thewire.in/security/isis-jammu-kashmir-ishfaq-ahmad-sofi.
79 Jihadists formed Jamaah Ansharut Daula. The group had strong linkages with ISIS in Syria. See B.
Wilkinson, “Terror Group JAD Linked to Indonesia,” CNN, https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/14/
asia/jad-indonesia-terror-intl/index.html.
80 Mujahidin Indonesia Timur pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2014. Sidney Wockner, “Indonesian
Police Are Confident Killed the Country’s Most Wanted Terrorist Santoso Who Pledged
Allegiance to Islamic State,” https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/indonesian-police-are-confi
dent-killed-the-countrys-most-wanted-terrorist-santoso-who-pledged-allegiance-to-islamic-state
/news-story/529b4f85d445c8b827f0100c91a28f73.
81 The ISIS in Libya group was formed by Libyan rebel fighters. They fought on the side of jihadist
groups in Libya and then returned to Libya to establish the country franchise of ISIS in Libya. See
F. Wehrey, “Rising Out of Chaos: The Islamic State in Libya,” Carnegie Endowment, https://carne
gie-mec.org/diwan/59268?lang=en.
82 ISIS-Greater Sahara was formed by Walid al-Sahrawi in 2015 and pledged allegiance to ISIS
in 2016. The group was split off from Al Motabitoun, where it was split off from AQIM. “Intelbrief:
ISIS in the Greater Sahara,” Soufan Center, https://thesoufancenter.org/intelbrief-isisin-the-greater-sahara/.
Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi proclaimed his group’s allegiance to the
Islamic State in October 2016. The Islamic State accepted that pledge. As is the case in the
chaotic world of Sahel terrorist affiliations, al-Sahrawi’s group split off from Al-Mourabitoun,
which itself had split off from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
83 Ansar al-Sunna was established as a religious organization and militarized in 2015. Suguta West, “Al
al-Sunna: A New Militant Islamist Group Emerges in Mozambique,” https://jamestown.org/program/ansar-al-sunna-a-new-militant-islamist-group-emerges-in-mozambique/.
Ansar al-Sunna has
gained recognition thanks to ISIS. “ISIS in Mozambique Creates Terror Threat,” Strategic Intelligence,
https://intelligencebriefs.com/isis-in-mozambique-greatest-terror-threat-to-east-andsouth-africa-yet/.
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