With terrorist threats on the rise across the globe, it can be confusing to understand which group is which.  Although all organizations employ destruction and violence, they differ in demographics, objectives and areas of influence. Below are four profiles assembled to highlight the similarities and differences among some of the world’s most aggressive terrorist groups.

The Taliban                                                

Meaning: “student”

Leadership: Mullah Mohammed Omar

Location: Afghanistan

Objectives: Control of Afghanistan.  Upholds strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law through violence.

Origins:  Traces roots to the early 1990s.  A group of militants associated with the Mujahideen faction of Islam banded to fight against the Soviet Union, who invaded Afghanistan in 1979.  After taking control of the country’s capital, Kabul, the Taliban maintained power from 1996-2001.  After the attacks made on September 11, 2001 on the World Trade Center towers in New York City, The Taliban protected Al-Qaeda and refused to disclose the location of Al-Qaeda’s leader, Usama Bin Laden, also known as Osama Bin Laden. United States troops were subsequently sent to Afghanistan and overthrew Taliban plower.  Though they support Al-Qaeda, tensions rose because the Taliban opposed aggravating the United States.

Headlines Today:  In 2005 the Taliban reappeared storming through southern Afghanistan attacking villages and American troops. 2006 was an extremely deadly year of fighting until the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) deployed troops to halt the battles in August 2006.  The Taliban still combats for power in violent attacks such as suicide bombings and the holding of hostages.

Al-Qaeda

Meaning:  “the base”

Leadership:  Ayman al-Zawahiri

Location:  parts of Africa including Libya and Egypt, parts of Middle East including Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Spain, Germany

Objectives: to establish an Islamic state through global Jihad

Origins:  Similar to the Taliban, Al-Qaeda sprouted in 1979 from opposition to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.  Based off of the ideas of the Islamic writer Sayyid Qutb, the group also holds a harsh interpretation of Sharia.  The founding of this group is credited to Usama Bin Laden, who proceeded to set up offices in numerous parts of the world, including the United States.  By establishing training camps, Al-Qaeda gained influence and power recruiting soldiers.  The group was and is strongly opposed to the United States, due to the fact that it is not an Islamic country and disagreement with its involvement in the Gulf War. This hostility was displayed in the 9/11 attacks.

Headlines Today: In the past 14 years, Al-Qaeda has terrorized several countries such as the bombing of the London train station in July 2005 and 9/11 attacks.  In May 2011, the Navy Seal team killed Bin Laden, transferring power to the new caliph, al-Zawahiri. Recently it has been held responsible for the shooting in Paris at the Charlie Hebdo offices, a satirical magazine found offensive by various global religions.

ISIS

Meaning: Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

Leadership: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

Location: based in Syria, throughout Middle East

Objectives: to establish an all-powerful Islamic state

Origins:  Originally a part of Al-Qaeda, ISIS was disengaged for its excessive violence and conflict of objectives with Al-Qaeda.  In the summer of 2014 the group first started to distribute pamphlets in Peshawar and Afghan refugee areas.  ISIS gained global attention when it took control of the northern region of Iraq by diverting its army.  Funded by stolen oil, ransom for hostages, and foreign funder, the group pushes through Iraq and Syria continuously accumulating more land and power.

Headlines Today: ISIS’ outreach to foreign recruits has become a growing problem in the United Stares as they have gained many followers through social media sites such as Twitter.  Camps are located thought Iraq and Syria of young boys and men training for combat and terror of villages throughout the Middle East.  The organization beheads many of its hostages, some of whom are journalists including James Foley and Steven Sotloff.  This is done in an effort to threaten the United States and other world power to meet its request of ultimate power.  ISIS released a video on January 20 threatening to kill Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa of Japan if the Japanese government does not pay them $200 million within three days.  Japan is having difficulty communicating with the kidnappers.

Boko Haram

Meaning: roughly “Western education” or “Western education is a sin”

Leadership: Abubaka Shekau

Objectives: calls for educational, political and cultural reform to uphold extremist Islamic values

Origins:  Started in 2002 by Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf, Boko Haram campaigned throughout Nigeria attacking the United Nations, government offices and other locations in order to protest modern Western culture.  It is similar to the Taliban in that it is concentrated in a single country.  In August of 2011 the group constantly bombed public places and churches in northeast Nigeria and progressed to target schools.  The Boko Haram threat has not been fully addressed as groups like the Taliban and Al-Qaeda have.

Headlines Today:  On April 14, 2014 Boko Haram abducted 100-300 girls (sources differ in number) from a school in Chibok and drove off into the jungle. The group threatened that the girls would be sold as slaves or forced to marry by age 12 and have not been seen since. On January 20 an estimated 100-2,000 people were slaughtered in the town of Baga located on Lake Chad by Boko Haram. In a video released by Shekau he stated “We indeed killed them as our Lord instructed us in his book…We will not stop. This is not much. You’ll see.”