The al-Islambouli Brigades of al-Qaeda is an Islamic terrorist organization named after Lieutenant Khalid al-Islambouli, the man who assassinated Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981. Al-Islambouli is considered one of the most well-known Muslim shahids (martyrs) of modern times, and his younger brother, Muhammad Shawqi al-Islambouli, is reportedly the group's leader. <br /><p><br />The al-Islambouli Brigades is a suspected offshoot of the International Justice Group, which itself is believed to be an offshoot of al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya (GAI). Allegedly, the Brigades has strong ties to al-Qaeda, primarily through Muhammad Islambouli's capacity as the head of one of Osama bin Laden's Maktab al-Khidmat (Bureau of Services) in Peshawar during the Afghan War and has a similar Sunni extremist, anti-American ideology.<br /><p><br />In its history, the group has been associated with several suicide bombings with such diverse targets as the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistani Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz, two Russian airliners, and a Russian metro station. However, it is unclear whether or not the group was actually responsible for any of these attacks.<br /><p><br />Three Egyptian terrorist organizations claimed the November 1995 Islamabad embassy bombing, including al-Jihad and al-Islambouli Brigades' founding groups, al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya (GAI) and the International Justice Group. Pakistani officials concluded that members of al-Jihad conducted the attack and have prosecuted accordingly. Although the Islambouli Brigades are the only group to have publicly claimed responsibility for the July 2004 assassination attempt on Finance Minister Aziz, Pakistani officials believe that extremist group Jaish-e-Mohammed was responsible. Chechen terrorist leader Shamil Basayev claimed responsibility for the August 2004 Russian airliner and metro stations attacks, and his fighters are the most likely culprits given their attack history and tactical capabilities, although group leader al-Islambouli is known to have had contact with Chechen terrorists in the past.<br />