Led by former Saddam Hussein adviser Khalid Abd al-Ghafur al-Dubrani before his assassination in 2004, the al-Fursan Brigades is an anti-American, Hussein-loyalist terrorist outfit. The group has only been responsible for one attack in its history, the kidnapping of three Turkish truck drivers in August 2005. A video released by the group demanded that all foreign contractors leave Iraq or else the hostages would be killed. The next day, the Turkish company where the drivers were employed issued a statement that claimed their drivers were only present in Iraq to retrieve equipment left there from a previous job. The whereabouts of the hostages remains unknown, though most kidnappings that occur in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq usually end with the captives' safe release.

Though the al-Fursan Brigades has only committed one attack in its history, the tenuous security situation in Iraq and the uncertainty regarding future American and coalition troop levels leaves open the possibility that the group is still active.

al-Islambouli Brigades of al-Qaeda -- Faction
International Justice Group -- Suspected Alias/Ally

Al-Gamat al-Islamiya, Islamic Group (IG), Jamaat al-Islamiyya

The Egyptian Government believes that Iran, Bin Laden, and Afghan militant groups support the organization. Also may obtain some funding through various Islamic NGOs.

For members still dedicated to violent jihad, the main goal is the overthrow of the regime of President Hosni Mubarak and the establishment of an Islamist state in Egypt.  Since allying themselves with al-Qaeda however, the faction likely has broader objectives, including attacks on the US.

Al-Hadid initially emerged with its kidnapping of American and British tourists in Indian administered Kashmir in the fall of 1994. Although previously unknown, the group appears to be a Kashmiri separatist organization, as it demanded the release of Kashmiri prisoners in return for the release the tourist hostages. <br /><p><br />Some analysts believe that al-Hadid, along with <a href="?id=3910">al-Faran</a>, a group that kidnapped tourists in a similar manner a year later, are aliases of the prominent Pakistani-based Kashmiri terrorist group Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM).  This analysis, however, appears to be based solely on the common aims of the groups, and local sources are more convinced that both al-Hadid and al-Faran are creations of the Indian Security Forces meant to discredit the Kashmiri movement.