South East Asia

Defending Israel, but not Kurdistan?

When U.S. Patriots shot down an Iranian missile over Erbil on April 15, Kurds wondered why such defenses weren’t activated when they were attacked.

Late in the night of April 13, Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, was shaken by the sound of a Patriot missile battery shooting down an Iranian ballistic missile flying toward Israel. “One of those missiles was a ballistic missile that was taken down in the vicinity of Erbil that was en route toward Israel,” Pentagon press secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed in a press briefing.

Jaish-e-Mohammad

Established In: 2000

Established By: Unknown

Also Known As: JeM

Country Of Origin: Pakistan

Leaders: Maulana Masood Azhar, Abdul Rauf Asghar

Key Members: Maulana Masood Azhar, Abdul Rauf Asghar

Operational Area: Pakistan, India

Number Of Members: 10,000+

Involved In: Armed attacks, Suicide bomb attacks

Harkat-ul-Mujahideen

Established In: 1985

Established By: Fazlur Rehman Khalil

Also Known As: HUM

Country Of Origin: Pakistan

Leaders: Fazlur Rehman Khalil

Key Members: Fazlur Rehman Khalil, Farooq Kashmiri

Operational Area: Pakistan, India

Number Of Members: Unknown

Involved In: Kidnappings, Hijacking,

Khalil al-Rahman Haqqani

Terror organization: Leader of Haqqani Network (HQN) and senior Taliban

Status: Chief of security of the Taliban government. Acting minister for refugees of the Taliban government

Roll: Involved in financing the terror organizations and planning operations for attacks that killed hundreds of people. Also, dealing with the connections with Al Qaeda

The Haqqani Network is the most dreadful terror group in the Taliban Government

The Haqqani Network has appeared to be the most powerful group in the newly formed Taliban government. Unsurprisingly, four of the clan were nominated as cabinet members. Let’s have a look at the insides of this particular terror group.

The Haqqani Network gets its name from the leader of the group, Jalaluddin Haqqani. He first fought the Soviet Army in Afghanistan as a faithful ally of the CIA and the ISI. Eventually, he fought the US and NATO forces while defending North Waziristan, where Pakistan gave him and the entire group a hideout or safe haven.

Taliban

Established In: 1994;

Established By: Mohammed Omar;

Also Known As: Taleban;

Country Of Origin: Afghanistan;

Leaders: Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada, Mullah Muhammad Rasul;

Key Members: Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada, Mullah Muhammad Rasul;

Operational Area: Afghanistan, Pakistan;

Number Of Members: 60,000;

Involved In: Human trafficking, Massacres against civilians, Drug Traficking, Rapping, Exec

Al-Qaeda

Established In: 1988

Established By: Osama bin Laden and Abdullah Azzam

Also Known As: Al-Qaida, The Base, The Foundation, The Database

Country Of Origin: Afghanistan

Leaders: Ayman al-Zawahiri

Key Members: Abdullah Azzam, Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Sayed Tayib al-Madani, Saif al-Adel, Nasir al-Wuhayshi

Operational Area: Worldwide

Number Of Members: 57,600 ++

Involved In: Terrorist Attacks, Drug Trafficking, Money Laundering, Terror Financing

Said-al-Jamal

Terror organization: Houthis

Status: Financier

Role: He is running a network (companies in the Middle East, Asia and Africa) generates tens of millions of dollars in revenue from the sale of Iranian commodities, Iranian petroleum, a significant portion of which is then directed through a complex network of intermediaries and exchange houses in multiple countries to the Houthis in Yemen.

Jaish-e-Mohammad

Established In: 2000

Established By: Unknown

Also Known As: JeM

Country Of Origin: Pakistan

Leaders: Maulana Masood Azhar, Abdul Rauf Asghar

Gangsters, Money and Murder: How Chinese Organized Crime Is Dominating America’s Illegal Marijuana Market

A quadruple murder in Oklahoma shows how the Chinese underworld has come to dominate the booming illicit trade, fortifying its rise as a global powerhouse with alleged ties to China’s authoritarian regime.

It seemed an unlikely spot for a showdown between Chinese gangsters: a marijuana farm on the prairie in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma.