Lashkar-e-Omar (The Army of Omar)
is an
Islamic fundamentalist
Islamic fundamentalism has been defined as a puritanical, revivalist, and reform movement of Muslims who aim to return to the founding scriptures of Islam. Islamic fundamentalists are of the view that Muslim-majority countries should return t ...
terrorist organisation. The group, which was formed in January 2002, is a mixture of elements from three other terrorist groups:
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami ( ar, حركة الجهاد الإسلامي, ''Ḥarkat al-Jihād al-Islāmiyah'', meaning "Islamic Jihad Movement", HuJI) is a Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist Jihadist organisation affiliated with Al-Qaeda and Tali ...
,
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ; ur, ) or "Army of Jhangvi", is a Deobandi Sunni supremacist, terrorist and jihadist militant organisation based in Afghanistan. The organisation operates in Pakistan and Afghanistan and is an offshoot of anti-Shi ...
, and
Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jaish-e-Mohammed ( ur, , literally "The Army of Muhammad", abbreviated as JeM) is a Pakistan-based: "The JEM is a Pakistan-based, militant Islamic group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in March 2000."
Deobandi: "Deobandis like Masood Azhar ...
. It also includes members of the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pas ...
and
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
. Its reported mission is to attack
Americans
Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Amer ...
in Pakistan. The current leader is
Qari Abdul Hai, also known as Qari Asadullah alias Talha.
Several events have been linked to the group. It was reportedly behind a grenade attack on a church in
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capita ...
on 17 March 2002, which resulted in five deaths and 41 injuries. A couple of months later on 8 May a suicide bomber detonated outside a
Sheraton hotel in
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...
. Again in Karachi 10 people were killed when the US consulate was attacked on 14 June. Finally on 28 October 2002, a church in
Bahawalpur
Bahawalpur () is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. With inhabitants as of 2017, it is Pakistan's 11th most populous city.
Founded in 1748, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur, ruled by the Abbasi f ...
in
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
, was attacked by six gunmen, killing 17 Christians and a police officer. Some of its members are also allegedly connected to the murder of US journalist
Daniel Pearl
Daniel Pearl (October 10, 1963 – February 1, 2002) was an American journalist who worked for ''The Wall Street Journal.'' He was kidnapped and later decapitated by terrorists in Pakistan.'
Pearl was born in Princeton, New Jersey, and rais ...
.
References
South Asia Terrorism Portal{{Militant Islamism in South Asia
Jihadist groups in Pakistan
Islamic terrorism in India