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HomeTopicsTerrorist GroupsOther Terrorist Groups
Other Terrorist Groups in the NewsThe Aum ShinrikyoThe Aum Shinrikyo (Aum, Aum Supreme Truth, Aleph) is a doomsday cult established in 1987 by Shoko Asahara with the goal of taking over Japan and then the world. The Aum came to the world's public eye on March 20, 1995 in their coordinated sarin nerve gas attack on Tokyo subway trains, which killed twelve people and injured thousands more. Two months later, Asahara was arrested on suspicion that he had masterminded the attacks. In September 1999 and June 2000, former senior cult members Masato Yokoyama and Yasuo Hayashi were sentenced to death for their roles in the 1995 subway attack.
In January 2000 the Aum changed its name to Aleph (the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet), appointed a new representative, and insisted that the group was now a benign religious party.
In February 2004, Shoko Asahara was sentenced to the death penalty, making him the twelfth Aum member to be sentenced to death. Most of the current members of Aum Shinrikyo still remain loyal to Ashara's teachings that justify violence.
The cult operates many software companies and claims the businesses will earn money to compensate the victims of past errors. Many suspect the funds are really being used to recruit members and expand the group. Aum Shinrikyo is still under surveillance of the Japanese government.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of ColombiaThe Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), established in 1964 as the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party, is Colombia's oldest, largest, and most capable Marxist militia group. FARC activities include hijackings, bombings, murders, and kidnappings. On September 24, 2001 the FARC kidnapped, along with about twenty other people, Consuelo Araujo, 62-year old former Colombian culture minister and wife of Colombia's inspector general. Thirteen of those kidnapped were released the following day — Araujo was not one of them. Her body was found a week later with two gunshot wounds to her face.
In 1998, the FARC were given control of a 16,000-square-mile area in southern Colombia to begin peace talks. After three years of negotiations with the Colombian government, FARC agreed to suspend its mass kidnappings, but peace talks ended in February 2002 and Colombian forces were ordered to retake the FARC-controlled zone.
Currently, the FARC is believed to be in temporary strategic withdrawal due to increasing military actions of the new Colombian president. This has lead to the capture of many fighters and mid-level commanders. Recent pressure from the public and former presidents has caused the Colombian government to initiate talks with the FARC for a formal prisoner exchange.
Chechnya and RussiaChechnya has been a part of the Russian empire since 1859 and has been a source of much conflict. While Chechens clamored for independent sovereignty, the Russians were loathe to give up the territory due to its oil assets and strategic importance.
In 1991, Dzhokhar Dudaev, the Republic of Chechnya's nationalist president, declared independence from Russia. Russian president Boris Yeltsin refused to recognize Chechen independence and sent in troops, but when they were confronted by Chechen troops in the airport, the Russian troops withdrew. In 1994, tension between the Russians and Chechens escalated into war and the two sides fought. Russian forces overran Groznyy in November of 1994. In response, Chechen rebels occupied a hospital in southern Russia and took over 1000 hostages. This incident, as well as televised accounts of Chechen rebels torturing and executing captured Russian troops, resulted in the withdrawal of Russian troops in early 1996, allowing peace talks to begin. In 1999, Chechen rebels were blamed for the bombing of an apartment complex in Moscow and Russia's new Prime Minister Vladimir Putin used that as a pretext to invade Chechnya. Russian forces currently control most of Chechnya, but the rebels still control a large portion of the mountainous southern regions. Many Chechen separatists have retreated into Georgia. Russia has accused Georgia of harboring militants and demanded the government take action; Georgia has refused. Various bombing attacks on federal buildings have occurred, including two truck bombs driven at high speed into the Groznyy's headquarters of Chechnya's federal-backed government on December 27, 2002. On May 9, 2004, Moscow-backed president Akhmad Kadyrov was assassinated by a bomb placed under his seat while observing a Victory Day parade. On August 24, 2004, five days before presidential elections in Chechnya, two airliners were hijacked and crashed in southern Russia by two Chechen women killing the combined 89 passengers. The women were part of a group called the "black widows" because they are sisters, mothers, and wives to Chechen men killed in battle with federal troops). Over the years, Al Qaeda has recruited many young Chechens. There is even suspicion that some rebel groups in Chechnya receive aid from Osama Bin Laden, but no evidence supports these claims.
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