Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) -- Founding Group

Named for Abdurajak Janjalani, the fallen founder and leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), the Abdurajak Janjalani Brigade was a short-lived splinter of the ASG entirely comprised of ASG members. The group was led by brothers Anih and Itin Sailani, both commanders in the ASG. The exact whereabouts of the Sailani brothers is currently unknown, as both managed to escape prison in 2002. In its history, the AJB has only been responsible for one terrorist incident, a small armed attack in January 1999 that targeted two villages in Basilan province and resulted in no injuries or casualties.

Since this attack (and several others known to have been perpetrated by the ASG) occurred shortly after the death of Abdurajak Janjalani at the hands of the Philippine military in December 1998, reprisal was seen to be the main motive. It is likely that the AJB was created for ASG members to honor their fallen leader and not meant to be an organized splinter faction of Abu Sayyaf. As such, the group is assumed to have disbanded after the attack and its members reabsorbed into ASG proper.

Abu al-Abbas is an Islamist group that many believe to be responsible for the August 2004 kidnapping of James Brandon, a British journalist in Basra, Iraq.  <P><br /><br />On August 13, 2004, a group of about 20 gunmen stormed the hotel where Brandon was staying and abducted him.  Just hours earlier, a previously unknown Shia group calling themselves Abu al-Abbas threatened to kill anyone cooperating with British troops in response to a U.S. led attack on the Shia holy city of Najaf. <P><br /><br />Shortly after Brandon was kidnapped, the gunmen released a video in which Brandon appeared with a hooded man who threatened to kill the journalist in 24 hours unless fighting stopped in Najaf.  After about 20 hours, the kidnappers freed Brandon, purportedly at the orders of Moqtada al-Sadr, leader of the Shia rebel organization  Mahdi Army.  It is unclear what connection the Mahdi Army had with the kidnappers, but securing the journalist's release was somewhat of a "publicity coup" for the Mahdi Army, who had been engaged in heavy fighting with coalition forces. <P><br /><br />Although the Abu al-Abbas group never directly claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, it is highly likely that they were responsible.  Aside from demanding the end of hostilities in Najaf, the group gave no indication as to their ideology or further aims.  The name Abu al-Abbas is probably a reference to Abu al-Abbas as-Saffah, first Caliph of the Islamic Abbasid dynasty, and a revered figure amongst Shia Muslims.  From both their name and their goal of ending fighting in Najaf, the group can be positively identified as a Shia Islamist organization.  <P><br />